The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1902-05-16

uOrOuern views OF nlSUOry III SuCll VI
ganiZations as the Grand Army of
the Republic and Sons of Veterans.
wish to show tonight that the
descendants Of the southern people
have cause to be proud Of their an
cestry. That they can point to the
past as presenting noble achieve
ments of remote ancestry and chal-
lenge any other section to show
brighter or better record Let us
now recall some records Of official
acts, forgotten, or obscured or hidden
away, and to put upon them the orig
inal, the natural and the rational in
depreciation.
l cannot go fully into details in the
short time 1 am with you, but will
dwell on facts easily found and which
should be known by the youth or our
entire country. The first settlement
OF the colonies was in Virginia, thir-
teen years before the landing of the
Pilgrims in the Mayhower. The con-
duct Of the southern colonies to the
revolution was liberal, patriotic and
aggressive, and they overcame all OBJ
stacles in territorial development and
driving back the Indians who oppos-
d the m; their record is fully abreast
in enterprise and valor with the other
colonies north Of Maryland Virginia.
l now present condensed statement
of some facts made up by Mr.. T. X.
Oglesby, Of Georgia, as it is far bet
ter than 1 can give of historic facts
on the line of this address," The
president of the United States, and
the most illuStriOus American, the
man first in war, first in peace and
first in the hearts of his cOuntrymen,
under whose leadership the colonies
won their independence, and on
whom, by common acclaim is bestOw-
ed title the father of his country, p"
was southern man.
The first president Of the conti-
mental congress was a southern man,
Payton Randolph; and a southern
member of that congress was the au-
thor and mover Of the adoption Of
the resolution declaring the colonies
free and independent states, Richard
Henry Lee.
The greatest American orator. the
man whose words most inspired the
American heart and moved the Amer
ican arm in the struggle for indepen-
dehce was a southern man, Patrick
Henry.
The author of the declaration of
independence, the most famous pro-
duCtion of an American pen, was
southern man, Thomas Jefferson; and
when the people of the United States
met to celebrate the centennial of
declaration it was southern man
who was selected to write the poem
for the opening of the centennial,
Sidney Lanier.
The father Of the constitution was
a southern man, Madison; the great
est expounder, the greatest American
jurist, was a southern man, John
Marshall; and when in the fullness Of
time the people Of the union came to
celebrate the centennial Of that i'm
mortal instrument, it was southern
man who was chosen orator of that
memorable occasion, Samuel F. Mil
Ter.
For more than half the period Of its
existence the government formed by
that constitution has been admins
tered by the presidents who were
southern men, and the years of their
administration mark immeasurably
the most splendid and prosperous
eras Of the union. 1t was the states
manship Of southern president, JEFF
ferson, seconded by southern diplO-
mat, James Monroe, that exetended
the boundary of the United States
from the Gulf of Mexico and the Mis-
slssippi river to the Pacific ocean on
the northwest, thus adding to them a
territorygreater in extent than their
original limits; it was southern valor
and craftsmanship that carried the
boundary on the southwest from the
the Sabine to the Rio Grande, and