New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-07-07


upon a question that was only glanced at 'no'-
rectv in the noisy controversies that preceded It,
The French Revolution began In efforts mercy
10 correct traditional abuses 1t proceeded to the
overthrow OF monarchy and ended In war upon
the whole fabric Of European mediaevalism. Inc
American Civil War began In disputes ABOUT
slavery and the tariff. 1t ended In the most eH-
phato assertion Of a united popular will that ever
reverberatsd in the thunder Of cannon or the rat
tie OF musketry. This assertion was all the more
important because II ran counter 10 all previous
history. The universal belief in regard to repuo-
lies and democracies was that they must faII 10
pieces as soon az they disagreed. Americans were
In doubt Europeans were sure that the Great Re-
public was doomed Fortunately theories on 'his
point were not much discussed in the Ohl'eo
States Attention was so absorbed by the Incl
dental question Of slavery that the real problem
which America wa: destined 10 solve occurred 10
men only as a second thought. Mr.. Rhodes be-
gins by showing how easy II has been Tor MS
torians TO give seemingly complete account OF
American life from 1854 the date Of the repeal OF
the Missouri Compromise. onward to the opening
Of the war by combining their attention solely 10
the slavery contest. They convey the impression
that nothing else was thought Of al the North
but resistance to the extension OF this evil. ana
that the whole country stood still awaiting the
issue of the conflict But profoundly as the dis
pute affected the minds of people always en-
thusiastic in political debate. and now heated by
the moral and religious aspects OF the controversy
1t filled after all only portion OF their daily me-
The country prospered II without thought
Of the tragedy that awaited II. population III
creased at an enormous rate. Agriculture was
revolutionized BY the harvester domestic indus
try by the sewing machine. war by the oreech-
loading gun. and all these were the product OF the
decade before the Rebellion. The vast railway sys-
tenn Of the country was barely begun IN lSis; IN
1850 there were more than thirty thousand miles
and people, especially throughout the North
were thoroughly accustomed 10 notions Of travel
that ten years before seemed Incredible In the
famous dispute over the change Of gauge at Erie
Penn they had an object lesson In the necessity
OF subordinating local preferences TO the general
convenience that was we'll suited TO the times
II was war In miniature, with riots and destruc-
ton OF property, conflicts OF jurisdiction between
state and national courts. and an assembling OF
militia. The Tribune appealed TO President Pierce
to call out troops, and added. with thought
OF the almost universal cause of trouble In those
days Had runaway negro been somehow
mixed No with the matter, we should have had
half the United States Army In Erie a month
ago" While the conveniences OF railroad travel
were meagre in comparison with what they nave
since become travel the great interior rivers.
the Ohio. the Missouri, the Mississippi and others
was at It's best.
II was on the steamboats, OF those rivers that
the STAKEHOLDER OF the Southwest was seen In all
his magnifcence. lie was from the foreign point
OF view perhaps the least censurable specimen
OF American life lie had aristocratic bear
inC he had travelled much. he could ride and
shoot as we'll as any Engllshman. Northerners.
az n rule seemed n state OF tutelage. They
were the humble victims OF a vast deal OF Euro
pean criticism. muca OF which was deserved But
they were at the s,me time eager to learn. and
beneath the stiff, Uneasy manner OF the inland
people there was a curiosity which was gratihcd
by q literature In 1 $ golden age as described by
Mr. Rhodes II thu press did not TEEN then as
II does now, yet that was the age OF Irving and
I.ongfelow and Bryant and Motley and Prescott;
of Whittier and Emerson. OF Bancroft and Tick
nor and Holmes and Lowell, Of the magazine es-
sayist in general when he was inspired by the
freshness and novelty Of his tasks. In the midst
OF all this mental activity. with the area OF nhab-
. tied territory widening daily with new cities
sprinsng into being and those already estab-
lshed rapidly expanding. It cannot be said that
American life lacked variety. On the other hand.
slavery was the topic which was certain to
interest everybody, and American life lacked
a. little in Intensity as 1t did in variety.