The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1904-06-17
OUR NaTION'S
FIRST Martyr
Miss M. Frapces ZONES.


define. A man is not great by desire
but by necessity. at is as impossible
for the great to be common as for the
common to be great" hence, as he can
be nothing else, the true hero is persist
ent and his life is given to the aboli.
ton of wrong and injustice; The
petty great, like the sands on the sea.
shore, stand only for today and tomor-
row and are scattered hither and
thither by the waves and winds, but
the true hero, like the mountain sum.
NIT towering far into the clouds, re.
mains all object of reverence and In.
spiration through all time.
Never in the history of our nation
was there greater need of true herOism
than III the last half of the eighteenth
century, that era known as the "Critical
Period" Deep and base principles
were struggling for existence, which
gave men the courage to defy kings,
to demand a government which should
be their servant and not their master,
A crisis had comet Men of action
were needed; men who would give ND
position, fame and even life for the
cause of the nation; men ready to risk
all that earth holds dear for the preser.
walton of the principles of liberty and
truth. What a number of our great
and noblest men answered this call
Adams, Jefferson, Lee, Madison, and
towering above all these, the unap-
prOachable Washington!
The history of this period is the
story of the struggle for popular rights
in the United States. In the treatment
of her colonies England had added in
suit TO former injustice Their every
request was met with ridicule and re.
fusal. The country burned with in.
| dignatiOn. At night riotous mobs
charged through the streets of New
| y ork and Boston, and by day these
same streets were filled with pale anx
ious faces. The Very air seemed heavy
with its burden of anxiety and hatred
On July sixth the great Meeting of
the Fields" was called. Speakers talk
ed for hours, pouring forth arguments
against the government of England
and magnifying her injustices but Civ
| ing no logical methods for lettering
conditions. At last, weary of words,
men were turning away in despair
when young college student pushed
his way through the crowd and mount
ed the platform, his figure tense with
emotion, his eyes burning with enthus-
iasm. "'Tis Collegian! IT'S a Col
legianv rose on all sides and men turn
ed their attention to him, first in
amusement, then in admiration and
! finally i'll breathless interest. He re-
peated England's injustice and proved
the useleSsneSs of appeal. Then in a
voice full of emotion he cried, ut is
war! 1t is the battlefield or slaveryv'
Men stood transfiXed, electrified by the
elOquence and convinced by the logic
of the one man who saw clearly the
course of future action-Alexander
Hamilton. His words rang out like
prophesy. In six months the war had
begun in reality.
Fired by patriotism, Hamilton left
College and entered the army. BY his
zeal and brilliant service, he won not
only promotion but the approval and
admiration of Washington and by that
keen judge of men, was chosen as aide
and secretary. He knew that to &C
| cept this position meant that he must
abandon all hope of distinction in the
| field, all thought of fame and success
of his. life, but through love of country
he sank ambition and accepted the
drudgeries of secretaryship. His path
was beset with obstacles; the future
was dark with clouds of threatening
disaster; his heart craved the sympathy
that none could give but, with the grim
determination of a great and noble
man, he worked and waited.
The close of the war found America
plunged in misery, a nation without a
national government, her unity destroy
ed by state jealousy and hatred, her
pride outraged by foreign insolence,
treasury exhausted and her name dis
graced. Had all these years of war
and sacrifice been in vain? Were the
hopes of men who had suffered and
died for their country to be but fruit
less dream? No! for then as ever in
the time of extreme peril, "He who
shapes the destiny of nations had not
failed to send forth the man."
Keenly realizing the difficulties before
him, Hamilton gave himself heart and
brain to the struggle. Throughout the
country there was gradual awaken
ing. The need of stronger government
became more and more apparent, and
few years saw the constitution form
ulated and its ratification by eight of
the states. New York was still an
tagonistic. Her refusal meant contin.
ued agitation and, in course of years,
civil war. The fate of nation hung
OH her decision.
Well knowing the need of rapid and
effective action, Hamilton pushed into
the fray with redoubled zeal. Not
only through the day but far into the
night he worked, faithfully preparing
for the final struggle. On June seven.
teenth the great court house at POUCH.
keepsie was thronged with people.
Presiding over the convention was
Governor Clinton, who for years had
ruled New York like king. To him
the subordination of state government
to that of the nation meant the loss of
power and prestige. Realizing that
his whole future depended upon the
result of the coming struggle, he was
resolved to fight to the end the consti-