New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-08-05

backbone
and ran through the Confederation when we
hrst formed our independence. 1 aIlude to the
Allegheny Mountains, and 1 propose that
States Of Allegheny
This suggestion OF Washington Irving had
some rather notable consequences. One was
that 1t attracted the attention of a powerful
organization devoted to the interests of our
National history, named the New-York Histori-
car S9cI@ry. II was in the year 1S45. in the
midst of the excitement connected with the an
ItXdtlOu Of Texas, that some Of the Younger
ana more aggressive members of that society
'|'h up Lhi5 SUBJECT along IrVlngS suggestion,
and for 4 time they devoted themselves with no
NIUE energy to the task Of trying TO persuade
the United States of America TO turn itself over
into the United States of Allegheny
FOR example, they got the society and the
whole country for time not being very busy
win other matters just At that moment, to
discuss q series of resolutions which they had
brought forth. the first Of which was as follows:
That it is expedient that efforts should now
oe mace TO unite upon a specific geographical
anne for the country; that the name Of Ale
sEehy be recommended as the best. consider
ing Iha' II is derived from the grandest and
most useful feature common to the " hole coun-
TE, an eternal type Of strength and union.
stretching from the Gulf Of Mexico To the Great
Lakes; that it is associated with the most in
teTestlns portion of history and that in
adopting it we would restore to the Land one
or th@ prImordiai titles of the abOrigines." Now,
these people urged the schools that they
should use on their maps the words the United
States OF America and that they should with
them use the Republic of AHeghenia."
A CAMPAIGN FOR ALLEGHENIA
You viii be Interested to know that these
resolutions were submitted TO the society by
David Dudley Field. by Henry r Schoolcraft
IIe FAMOUS writer on Indian topics, and Charles
Fenno Hoffman, and in accord with these reso-
Iutlons a regular campaign was started boom
OF AIlegheDia, working up of public opinion
III favor of that name. An address was sent out
by the New-YOrk society and the various other
State societies suggesting the change of name
and calling for expressions OF public opinion on
the subject OF all the answers returned. while
H;4hy admitted objections urged against the
phrase the United States Of America" as our
NdtoilAI name perhaps only one expressed
decided willingness to accept the proposed sub
stltute for It, and even this did so in Ian
SuaSe or apparent consent which could have
been fairly called irony. II am neither poet nor
orator, but have a heart to pity the dilemma Of
those who are, and for their relief I wish TO see
some specific, brief. significant and musical
name selected by you. The phrase the United
States of America is good enough for acts OF
Congress is good enough for the Collector Of
Customs and the crier of the district courts
but for the relief Of poets and orators I for
An answer from the Southern novelist VIII
lam Gilmore Simms, sounded a note of warning
with respect TO the ridicule which the proposal
would be likely to excite RidiCule did not fail
10 appear as may be shown by the New-Jersey
historical Society which passed some resolu-
tious. written by Dr. Nicholas Murray VINO
writes for The New-YOrk Evangelist and other
religious papers The first one read: Your
committee can see no urgent reason for any
chanse IN the name of our common country.
While the name United States of America is
not as distinctive as il might be, yet we have to
iSe%ti IIal any OF our c4Il26uS on foreign travel
has ever found any very real difficulty in de-
timing this country. When he states in France
England, Germany Italy, that he is an Ameri-
can it IS usually understood that his homo is
IN these United States If from Mexico he is 4
Mexican if from Canada a Canadian if from
Peru q Peruvian, and hitherto If from Texas a
Texan Because are the great people of this
continent the world comedies to US the right of
calling ourselves by the continental name Of
Americans"
The second resolution was as 10 the need OF
an adjective and the writer thought that the
poet who could not American in his
rhymes should hang his harp Oh the willows
A NOvELIsTs SUGGESTION
William Gilmore simms, of South Carolina,
would be delighted With AppalaChia instead OF
Aueghenia. Justice Story, of the Supreme
Court decided he would prefer the old name
Columbia He could q pinch put up with the
name Aileghenia, but if neither Columbia nor
Alleghenia should prove entirely acceptable TO
MS COuntrymen he would suggest the name Of
Vesperia, word which, as he was kind enough
to explain, was derived from Vesper, the evening
star, the star of the west and would at once
indicate the Western World and be equal to an
adjective. II that case, il the people had rushed
10 adopt his suggestion. would have ad-
dressed ourselves here to-day as fellow Yes
pertains"
Furthermore another writer proposed rather
noble suggestiOn-that should call our
selves the Republic of Washington, and be
Neutrality-suspicious. all over the world
Several others have been made within the
present century on occasions quite independent
Of those I have mentioned Francis Lieber %
proposed to give to this country the OF
Freeland and should be Freelanders That
did not succeed any better than the suggestion
IN the early part OF this century by Senator
Y who hat he