New-York tribune., 1885-03-29
THE AMERICAN.
A JUST ENGLISH VIEW OF HIM.
SIR RICHARD TEMPLE DESCRIBES OUR cHARAcTER'
IsTICs-soME CLEAR-siGHTED OBSERVATIONS
lH35.

The leading trait of the American character is
generosity This is to the American character wh"'
the upper shoots are to tho growing tree' tno7o
shoots that rise toward the light and air. deter
mining the direction the growth is to take. 10 use
other metaphors it is as the leaven affecting tno
whole disposition of the people, or the fouhda''oh
that underlies the National character Ihero may
be difficulty in defining this noble quality OF gen
erosity. bnt the full import of the term immediatoF
strikes the English eye and ear. mo Niher'o'h'
are generous in the largest OF the term-tna'
is they arc large-hearted, bountiful, desirons W
please, ready TO forgive, mlgnlnimous III au'oi'"''
free from pottiness of soul. The causes that nav
prodnced this characteristic relate partly to th'
circumstances of the country, ana partly W w
history of The people. The habtable area OF the
continent. rich with a variety of resources uhpar-
alloed in the history of any single Nation the
exhaustless abundance of nature, the spacioushoss
of territory inviting the accession of unnumoereu
millions must open a constantly lcngthening vista
10 the eyes of tho people, must render their thongot
free and fresh as the Atlantic brocz1s. anu musV
make their breasts heaye with patriotic asplrao liz
Such ideas are necessarily conducive to generosity
of temper But more than all that, there Is mncn
in the National history TO foster thus noDiIN "
sentiment The struggles of the early settlers WIZ"
the sayagery of nature and the untaiheaoo "'''o
ness of the Indians, tho uprising oil tho coioh,s''
nnder n sense of wrong inflicted by the mother
country the happy issue from the anx.etlcs ah'
pcrs of that moment0us time. the successful hh'o"
OF Sef-gDvernng States the victorious termination
of the Civil War; avertng secession AMI dHrnptloh'
tho blessed elimination of the one uhJh@t'ha"'o
Institution which was as n plague-spbt to the body
polite the memory of countless sacrifices endured
for these and other righteous cnds,-must on the
tl,n nd aI a
with proud CONSCIOUSNESS of success, and predis-
pose them to take generous wow OF human aHars'
For the same reason tho total absence OF jealousy
is remarkable 1t IS conceivable, for instance. tha'
some of the European Nations-with contcrnhols
frontiers ill-defned or not marked by any clear
physical line with powers respectively odnal am
ore1s iucapable of any considerable expansion MAJ
be mutually jealous and mstrustlul. may. una
ayowedly but actually grleve over one another
good luck or rejoice over ono auoihers reVerseS'
But the Americans feel that their future ~ ai
ever widening prospect that their race marches "n
trulmphIng and to triumph, that their new-world
Nation multiplying faster aud faster. relatively
10 the old world Nations. Hence there Is genuine
iberalty in their doctrine OF 1--we AMI lot iNe'
prosper and let prosper develop and lot develop.
FearlessneSs is among the most salient oi the
American characteristics The magnitude Of defcn-
Il
life of Europe. eularling sacrifices always grleyons
and sometimes yering on the intolcrablo Iho
agency of destruction. instead of decreasing with
the peaceablo influences of civilization. it ss'n
actually TO advance in q sinister mInner together
with the general progress of all trs IN the nine
teenth century. European Nations aro all mDrc or
less fearful of their neIghborA They wond say
that hard experience has male them So Even
England with all her insular se(rollancc, IL fear
ful of losing any part OF this dcf'ncc- with when
nature has endowed her. and at present iorbis the
construction of a tunnel underneath tue British
Channel But the Americans though not mn ier-
rating the value of defensive arnaments. do not
deem IL neces Sary 10 incur tho cost OF miinlntng
either an army navy in any considerable
strength. They apparently prefer to save their
money and labor from being expended IN non-pro-
ductye services and to let tho., TcSpurcos frIctiy
in productive enterprises at home. running whatever
risk may be involved therein. They caI aiOrl to
do this. though other Nations cannot They have
warming. from time To time regarding the doience-
ess state OF their seLbpIrl bat their c RS ara not
aroused thereby. They remember hoN nn the out
break of tho Civil War their military nnprepared-
no, was soon turned into prrprredn"s' andthonsh
they would admit the possibility of roverso iu the
beginning of war. they would hope to prove inyinc
iblc in the end. Indeed there is much reason for
this hope OF theirs and or the icarrssncSs thereby
engendered IL IN probably this that III Ikcs them
think that rs their vital interest, welngh I'M
assailable il is better that they should conrinns
unprepared 80 that the people shall be obliged 10
hesitate before engaging in war. and deliberate a.
to whether the supreme arbitransnt cannot by
some means be avOidef
IL woud almost follow from tho foregoing that
cognate quality of the American, will DO candOr.
Some Nations may be generally reserved ~ speech.
or while in some respects yOlublc, will In others be
reticent. But the Americans are altogether candid
and outspoken. In Europe our neighbor, probably
feel surprise at the mlnner in which the English
find fault with themselves. mercilessly set forth
their own shortcomings. make sackcloth for their
own wearing, aud spread ashes for themselves to
ait upon. The English do this believing that "a
frank recognition Of evil is the first step toward
remedy relying also on the tru,tworthiness OF their
virtue aud on the stability OF their reputation In
this respect however even the English a-e out
strippcd by the Americans In their press aud ia
their public utteranccs, the Americans seem never
tired of shooting at folly in its flight, Of dragging
hidden misdeeds into the glare OF criticism, of do
colossal wrongs 80 hat Tho foreign hearer
or reader is at first dstonlshed. In Nation like
theirs, full OF active virtue aud bursting with
energy, there must needs be Of those counter
vailing faults to which all human societies are
liable something of hagrant error. absurdity. or
wrong Hence thorc doubtless some grounds for
these donuuciatons; but they will probably he
found to be tinged with exaggoration. The
immoderate use Of suporlatyos distortS the vision
and destroys mental perspective. II Is obvious that
Just reprobation loses none OF its force from
being guarded in substance and measured IN
expression.
I il nre w N
National pride. They are rcputed to have been
formerly over-senSltive TO criticism. but are
apparently much less so nowadays Like the
English, they confident of tho general excellence
OF their institutions, and the satisfactory rate Of
their progress Hence they think. aud with reason.