The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-04-01

A JEFFERsoNIAN WHOSE NAME WAS
NOT IN THE SPEAKERS LIST.
He Asks Leave to Print What He
and His Expansion Principles.


IL II ElllOI VI the llI4dlidItA4o JUL A1A
When il was announced, a few weeks
ago. that the admirers of Jefferson would
celebrate his birthday. being myself a
stanch believer in all that IS left of his
distinctive political tenets. and not knowing
but 1 might be called upon to make one
Of the speeches at the celebration, and
not willing to be taken altogether ty sur
prise, / prepared a speech for the occasion.
AS ii is now evident that l shall not be
called to speak in public on the stage, :
ask permission to print, after the man.
ner of congressman in like dilemmas. 1t
will be noted that in the speech l wholly
ignore the only other distinctive political
dogma of that great leader, his States
rights notions. The reason for this omis-
sion is that. after having led to the war of
the rebellion. it was suddenly abandoned
forever. in 1865. and the less said about IL
the better. U. l.. SEE.
The speech which Mr.. See would have
made. had he been invited to respond TIC a
toast, reads as follows:
Fellow Jeffersonians-W do right to cell
citrate the birthday of our greatest Amert-
can statesman. the man who did more
than any other of his period 20 give direc-
ton 10 the political affairs which have
made us great. 1t was he who first con-
structed those twin glittering generalities
but palpable falsehoods,' as Jesse ID.
Bright called them in a speech in the Sen
ate in 1850: "All men are created equal
and Governments derive their just powers
from the consent of the governed" and IL
was he who by his application of them In
practice showed they were TO be received
in a Pickwickian sense only, for he was a
large stakeholder himself, and in his ad-
ministration he showed that the consent
of the governed" was only a convenient
myth TO toy with in apologizing for rebel
lion against authority. Many as were his
political achievements in the formative pc
riod of our Republic, none stands out in
history more prominent than his policy
which declared him to be an expansionist.
He had faith in the principles which con-
stituted the warp and wool of a purely
democratic government, and he believed
that there was leaven enough in them TO
leaven a much larger country than the
peace treaty with Great Britain had con-
firmed TO US. hence the most conspicuous
and far-reaching act of his administration
was the purchasing from France OF that
immense tranSmississippi territory known
in history at the Louisiana purchase, now
comprising eighteen of our States and Ter
ritcries. This act has a double significance;
first. it showed he was an expansionist
in his political faith, and that there was
nothing in his platitude about the con-
sent OF the governed, for he never asked
the inhabitants Of his purchase whether
they were pleased or not, but ne
ran up the flag and proceeded to
govern without any such a formality.
OF course. there were objections. Some
claimed that 1t was unconstitutional, 9th
erS averred that 1t fOrboded Imperialism,
but the American spirit approved. and in
less than twenty years another purchase
or foreign territory was made (thiS time
1t was Florida), and again the consent Of
American flag was at once displayed as the
emblem of authority, to be sharply resisted
by large bodies of natives. But the heroic
Americans of that period, wholly obliv-
iouS to the sentiment that II was wrong TO
thrust a government upon an unwilling
people, sent General Jackson to the new
purchase 10 vindicate our right TO govern
without asking their consent. He killed
thousands. pursuing them into their hiding
places by packs of bloodhounds. and finally
forcibly removing what remained to lands
west of the Mississippi, where a remnant
of them yet remain, the nonconsenting sub
Jects OF the government.
SEEKING NEW FIELDS.
Again there were individual criticisms.
again there were those who wanted TO APP
ply the doctrine of consent. but the ag-
gressive spirit of the people approved, ana
Florida has become one Of the garden
spots of America. But the spirit of ex-
pansion was abroad and new fields were
looked for; next time to the north. In
our quest for them it was discovered that
England's title to so much of British Co
lumbia as lay south of 81 degrees 40 min
utes was defective, and President Polk an
nounced that our title to it was ''clea-
and unquestionable,' whereupon the popu-
lar slogan of the period was "Fifty-four-
forty or fight" 1t is impossible, after
fifty years. to imagine how this slogan
stirred the people. But a little later On.
when England was heard from and the an
.--.. go. ssut,.. Ct. - IN
bleak and uninviting that territory was.
anyhow. and how utterly unadapted to
slave labor. Hence we abandoned our claim
and quietly dropped back to 40 degrees.
which We hold to this day.
Just then. however, a new attraction ap-
peared. n few daring adventures had gone
into the Republic OF Mexico and organized
a revolt in her most northerly State, and.
after a short struggle, had established a
lone star republic, embracing a territory
about six times the size of the State of
,ew York. This was now offered us ON
easy terms, and as it was adapted to slave
labor we eagerly bought it. buying with il.
as was we'll understood at the time, a war
with Mexico. or curse, that war could
end but one way-the conquering of Mex
leo. When negotiating terms of peace we
generously allowed her to remain a ma
ton on condition that she would cede to
us a bit of her outlying territory. and we
took as ours not only a quit claim to Tex
as. but also New Mexico. Arizona, Utah.
Nevada and California. Again we took
governmental possession without cere-
mony, hosting our flag everywhere in the
true Jeffersonian spirit, without so much
as asking anybody'S consent, and not
many Of the present generation, whether
living IN that ceded territory or not. will
claim that we wrongcd anybody.
A little later on Russia sent us word hat
we might have Alaska at a mere nominal
price We had no immediate use for it's
icebergs and eternal SHOWS, but, true Ia
the American idea of expansion, we paid
the gold and took the deed, and ran ND our
flag wherever there was anything TO run IL
up on, and we began to govern everybody
there without even thinking of asking their
consent; and still later on we exDanded
so as to take in the Sandwich islands and
then the Philippine islands and Porte
Rico, In every case, after the example OF
Jefferson, without asking anybody's con-
sent.
a NOTABLE EPISODE.
Meanwhile, this heresy of consent had
had another episode. About forty years
ago several States sent word TO Mr.. Lincoln
that they never would consent to be gov
erned by a President they could not elect;
hence they no longer recognized his author
ity. I'VE will see about it," said MIR. Lin
coin. and he proceeded TO argue the case
with them. The result was that General
Lee. one day at Appomattox. Informed
General Grant that on further reflection
they had changed their minds. and they
now consented. though they did not like to.
Thus It appears that for a hundred years
the JefersOnian idea of expansion has oh.