The New York herald., 1922-11-05

they could not settle at once questions
which we ourselves have not yet settled
entirely.
If the colonists when they began the war
had no idea of declaring their indepen-
dence still less had they had intentions of
making themselves into permanent con-
federation. They were simply allies in a
common cause; and if they had looked
forward to complete independence at all it
would have been as distinct republics. The
notion of local rights was deeply implanted
in each one of them. This in itself is
enough to show you that England had not
hitherto interfered with them very much
and constitutes another reason for your
not blaming people who wished to stick to
a country which on the whole had treated
them very we'll But the consequence of
having been so long allowed to do as they
pleased was that all these separate and
jarring States disliked the thought of even
a loose connection between them if it were
to be permanent. 1t meant making con-
cessions to each other which none of them
was prepared to make. Very few people
were willing so early as 1774 to echo the
words of Patrick Henry when he said: II
am not a Virginian 1 am an American"
Lafayette thought that the members Of
Congress hated one another as much as
they hated the common enemy.
But in the case of the Constitution as in
the case of the war itself events kept push
ing. Events have always this power of
taking things out Of peoples hands. You
yourself will remember this almost in your
own experience in the days before the great
world war We as a people began and
wanted to remain neutral. but the aggres-
sive acts of Germany finally pushed us
INTO the combat. People at first were very
suspicious of the movement which was
started along with the declaration for a
permanent confederation of the colonies.
1t was not until after the revolution had
been won and the danger of weakness in
disunion had become very clear that the
idea began to find acceptance in the minds
of the majority. Franklin, you remember,
was called the president and not the Gov.
ernor of his State; and it took five years
after the end of the war for people to get
used to the thought of having a power
above the State Assembly and an office
above that of its president. Not until then
were the leaders of the States assembled
In an actual attempt to draw up a consti-
tuition. Then came four months of bitter
debate between the leaders who wanted as
much power as possible for the national
Government and the leaders who wanted
as much power as possible for the individ
ual States.
Naturally, therefore. the literature of all
this period was mainly that of passionate
dispute. A dispute not about theology as
that of the Puritans had been but a dis
pute about politics. 1t was sometimes as
splendid literature of its kind as the whole
world has ever produced; but it was not
the kind which we call pure literature,
writing merely for its own sake. Often,
indeed. it was not writing at all. Some of
the best speeches of the Revolutionary
period were not even put down on paper
at the time. And there were speeches
and speeches. and speeches. Before and
during the war there were of course
speeches against the King and the Loyal
lists. and speeches against other people
who differed from the speaker in ideas of
how to get rid of both of them. After the
war came the second flood Speeches by
people who wanted the States to separate
and people who wanted them to STAY to-
gether. And then by people who wanted
part of the proposed new Union to be
stronger than the whole, and by people
who wanted the whole to be stronger than
any of its parts. Washington said that
Congress, where only small portion OF