New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-01-27
SOME. POLITICAL HISTORY.
x.pry DISCUSSIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.

+. oo,rse of lectures delivered between Aoof anu
1886. In its present shape" ne sayS i. 10y
serve as sketch Of the pohncai history " ono
limited States from the end OF the heVoiu'iou"is
War TO the adoption of the feoetai '., Wet
m ,,er;oa treated was certainly critical WIN
a." L. 80 the Revolutionary War the union oil
~ c.a+ss heoan to be threatened by concur
80 - disintegrating influences. The Cohu-
.anta, Congress had never possessed much power,
a. had never been able TO meet the expenses -
,be war or to supply the necessary Oroops VI "
;mnose It's authority upon toe cOnleoeraVeo 0oIv
,':as Ia credit went to nothing, The army uu-
"a bolfstarved and treated with ungenerouS
spspieion. was on the verge OF mu"nS' -.
that danger was overcome, chiefly by tne Nisii"n0o
and influence of Washington ana oreeno '.o
loosely and jmperfectly allied STATES pesan "
Quarrel with another, 10 ieeiS"Ve
sno,ber to foster local interests at the expense
20 .hs;r resohbors. and generally to contenn hle
~ s.ses "a The directions Of the Congress Ai
-. of internal dissensions sprang up anu
osexv constantly more threatening Inc spiliV VI
State,s Rights became so rampant ana aesres.No
that the prospect Of a closer union aO one "ni0
snpeared almost hopeless, so strong WAS inc up
position to Capitalization.
The Enropean Powers, finding the United states
unable to carry out its treaty PROVISIONS M ~
card TO the stoppage of Tory persecution anu uue
o.vrnent of private debts TO British suDlecls'
naturally sought to take advantage Oh 1iis I..
ness and ceased to put confidence IN Tue sV'DiHS
Of the Republic. During these nVe years. W ~
neatedly appeared that the old experiences was "
be rehearsed and the new American ho"oi " -
the way of so many antecedeh1 o'"'e
tn. ,,sssnra Of the war debt had, in fact created
Lind Of desperate recllessness among the Ameri-
con naonle and to many Of them it seemed 1nae
,ho aplv recourse lay in reputation ana COM
.Iat,,v new departure The same spirit Oh lhuc-
randence which had thrown off the Englsh YOKE
NOW. pushed beyond reason by tne suherinse v
tho long struggle threatened to rise III
AGAINST all authority. An alarming dspoSlelon "
evade public obligations appeared. Inc genera
COINCIDENCE was singularly torpid. Even the oonus
NJ common interest which had united the uiir'eon
colonies against Great Britain falied 10 preNen'
commercial and fiscal contests between tne oV"oes
which il persisted in, must soon nave 1..,
,iyil war In Massachusetts the so-called ohay
1'tau;sn did actnally introduce civil war, and
The General drift toward anarchy was so s"lIt
~ ,boronohlv 10 alarm the elearestslghted anu
most patriotic citizens everywhere
The Ignorant attempts 20 experiment with new
.;rerlatin0 mediums Of course only aggraVaVeo
,ba .rrevalent depression and suffering. WHAT tne
o,;liotine subsequently failed TO eject Tor the
French assignats one or two OF the American
States sought to obtain Ivy force-aws -conn-
Son,nr ever,,hodv 70 accept deprecated paper
r,onov 81 IFS face valuation. When thus attempO
proved abortive, it was proposed TO resort 70 a
sort of White Cap organization, Inc purPoSe "
which was the lynching OF the unpa'rlouic p1Vplo
who refused to be robbed by taking the "orCl'iesS
,,oror =. ,ar Then the farmers and the merchants
80 =, borcott one another; States also en-
e1".a .,,o hovcott. and others endeavored to
,,;liace their neighbors by elappng import duties
~, everything passing their borders inward.
Meanwhile Congress fell into utter conoenp@ 'n0
@leacnc OF friendship became q mere pfeten.e'
and Europe anticipated q speedy collapse ior one
~onno and upprosperous republic. Nothhg can
he moro interesting than the study o. tne causes
which redeemed this gloomy situation anu 80,
cnred real union and central government DaSeo
upon national constitution, ana lew iaV's "a
history are more surprising than tine lnuirec'ion
revealed in those influences which psoseo AiVs S
,o,ent m the end The Ordinances oil 1914 ana
Pc se- .nrssr a, first sight in no way calculated
"a assist in the cementing of the Union yet III Is
oy. clear that they were important aids to IT. III
as,nuch as they gave all the States, for the lrst
time since the conclusion OF the war; coninAon
interest in common possessions
Mr.. Fsze has followed up this and other SEEM
;ncv Obscure hut none the less powerful, agencies
and exhibited their bearing upon the tendencies
Of the period in an interesting manner. lie mas
devoted much space to the prSceeolnsS Oh 'ne
Constitutional Convention and TO consideration VI
the COMPROMISE upon which that instrument was
ultimately based In his remarks upon Sne Ia
.a1itr which associated slavery with the organic
he is NOT a, together happy. When the enormous
"a continuous evils which the recognition Oh
slavery in the Constitution caused are larry
oonsidered together with the awful sacrinee OF
Hood and treasure which the extirpatlon OIL inc
abrse demanded. it is By no means so clear as 'is
author appears to hold that 1t would hoe ha'e
beea better for the Republic to endahger inc
nascent Union rather than consent 10 the est,p-
lsshment of the great wrong VI COURSE "i'
uyss-a assumes that if slavery had not been con-
serted to the Union would have collapsed, pu.
that is after all merely conjecture ~ h"u i"9VVe
Ave wears already since the end OF the War' anu
.nongh Il was doubtless nfrm, 1T might easily
80 endured as long again. The admission Oh
slaverv was the beginning Of disturbances winch
na,sr ceased. but grew more and more serious
.,r.u thew eliminated in secession IL drew otner
LIE IN its train 1t disarranged the plan OF inc
.,s.ace cave the Southern States an unfair pre-
s.,ao,ance. and thus aggravated the lrrepressioie
sonaict from the beginning MI. flsKe arsues
s, the makers Of the Constitution conld NOT loIe
80 .,,e revival which slavery was TO enjoy DuO he
80. 49,, anncar 10 perceive that this revlVai was
a., No small part due TO the solemn legini "a OroN
- tho system in the National CONSTITUTION An'
truth is that compromise in this case Proved EsarD
fatal Natural Justice cannot De ouOfageu' ~
,'a,.s, under what speoious pretext without entail
in9 6ns penalties; or, as George Mason puts th'
same thought in the Convention, by an IN
sy,tsble chain Of causes and effects, Provldenc'
s,',nishes national sins oy national calamitaes.
Mr, Fiske is on safe ground in discussing tn'
mistaken theory Of the British CONSTITUTIONS
ahverary theory" as Bagehot called it--whion zee
the convention to apportion power between con
r,,sss and the Executive, 10 supposed, IN CLOS
eontopmity 10 the model In truth, the Bnt'Si
Consultation, as at present developed, knows h'
such division Of power, the Executive there peln'
49, an ornamental fieurehead. while the Hous