The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1906-09-27


ganization known as the United States
of America. That movement was al
undisputed success.
DO not imagine, however, that al
the people of this country were from
the first enrolled in this new move
ment. The independence party was
opposed by the tory party. The tory
party expressed conservative conten
with conditions that existed, no mat
ter how bad they might be. The tories
were the stand patters' of their day
The tory party's platform was sub
mission to taxation without represent
alton, acknowledgment of the divine
right of kings, and consent to the ex
ploltatlon and oppression of the plair
people by the privilege classes. The
principles of the new movement. or
the other hand, were liberty, equality
and opportunity, recognition of the
power OF the rights of the people. It's
platform was the Declaration of indie
pendence. It's achievement was the
election of George Washington, presi
dent of the United States.
In the cabinet of George Washing
ton party division sprung up again
Hamilton, his secretary of the treas
ury, was an able man with the minC
or financier. He was conservative
in character, reactionary in tendency
His remedy for the inevitable diff
cultIes OF our experiment in govern
ment was a step backward toward the
governments existing in the old world
Jefferson was an idealist, yet thorough
~ practical. His understanding of the
situation was more accurate His
remedy for the difficulties of popular
government was more popular govern.
ment-a closer adherence to the prin.
ciples of the Declaration of Independ.
ence.
The first president elected after
Washington was John Adams, repre-
sentative of the conservative interests,
but Jefferson launched his new popular
party OF the republic and called it the
democratic-republican party. Jeffer.
son proposed government for the
greatest good of the greatest number
and enunciated the doctrine of equal
rights and special privileges to none
AT the next election, in 1900, the
new movement was successful. The
actual practice by the new party of
our protested principles of American
ism was so popular that four years
later the emocratic-republican party
was almost unanimously reelected and
for twenty years there was practically
no other party to dispute its domin-
ance in this country.
1T will be difficult to prove that
this new movement did not score a
certain amount of success.
After twenty years, however, the
classes who cluster around the party
in power, who find their profit in gov
ernmental favors, had fastened them
selves like barnacles upon the demo
States bank has become a mighty f.
nancial and political institution. It
controlled the degenerate party of JEFF
ferson. 1t nominated a conservative,
John Quincy Adams, the son of the
man Jefferson had opposed a quarter
of century before. Adams was elect
ed, but Andrew Jackson launched an
other new party, the democratic party
of today.
Jackson said, speaking of the Uni
ted States bank: If there is in this
county power greater than the pow
er of the people, by the eternal I will
destroy it, Four years later Andrew
Jackson was elected, and what he
promised he performed He destroy
ed the national power of the bank. He
restored the government to the people
and conducted the administration ac-