Year: 1865

ed an OratiOn at Nlatteawan, n. Y, on the
4th OF July, from which we make the follow
ing extract:


Twill say, in general terms, that the issue
made between the people Of the United States
and the leaders Of the Rebellion was distinctly
recognized on both SIDES. 1t was not after ali.
| when you come to the root Of the matter so
much contest for State Rights, it was not a
| contest tor the supremacy of cotton; it was in
fact contest entered upon to determine whetb.
er society IN the United States should be con
stltuted on democratic or ON ariStocratic princi-
| pies. 1t was a struggle forced upon us in or
der to determine whether the principles of
| slaVehOdng despOtsm should be natiOnalized
or whether the principles Of the Declaration of


Independence should be as powerful in New
Orleans as IN Boston, in Louisiana and in
| South Carolina as in Massachusetts. CHEERS
And, thank God We have carried Nassachu


setts to the Gulf, and we have carried Con


neetleut downto Charleston. (Renewed cheers


We have established the principles of free
society right IN the heart of what was intended
to be slaveholding empire


Lest should be supposed to misouote and
to mallgn the leaders of the Rebellion, let me
give you their own statements. Said the Rich.
mond Erdmlner, which was the clearrSt prob
ably, OF all the organs of Southern opinion in
| enunclatlng the principles of the contest "The
establishment of the Contederacy is verify
distinct reaction against the whole course of
the civilization ofthe age. For Liberty, Equal
lty, fraternity, We have deliberately substitu-
ted slavery, subOrdinaton and Government. ."
| There is the issue stated in all confidence. and
the character Of the struggle fully confessed =
Another one OF the leading minds of South
carolina, Governor Hammond, distinguished
for his culture and his candor, spoke Of the ma
ture of the struggle in this way


= In all social systems there must be a class
to do the mean duties, to perform the drudg-
cry OF life that Is, class requiring but low
order OF intellect and but little skill Its re-
qulslteS are vlgor, docility, fidelity. Such a
class you must have, or you would not have
that other class which lends progress. refine
ment, and civilization. 1t constitutes the very
mud-sllls OF society and Of political govern
ment; and You might as well attempt to build
house in the air, as to build either the one
or the other, except on the mud sills. Fortu-
nately for the South, she found a race adapted
to that purpose to her hand "A race inferior to
herself, but emlnenty qualified in temper, in
vlgor, IN doelhty In capacity to stand the eli
mate, to answer all her purposes. We use
them tor the purpose, and call them slaves
W are Old-tashloned at the South vet it is a
word discarded now by ears polite but | will
not characterize that class at the North with
that term but you have it it is there it is
everywhere; it is eternal


Thus you perceive that the Southern idea is
that IN the free States, though you might not
have slavery in name, you must Of necessity
nave 1t In fact; that it is Gods eternal ordi
nance that there should be two distinct classes
Ofmankind- one class imbedded in the
ground tor the more fortunate class to stand
up0n-the lower class born to bear the upper
class upon their shOuldcrS-destincd to no 9th
er fortune and SO preOrdaned to it; that it is
criminal IN them to ask for or to attempt to at
tain to anything better. 1t was a common cx.
preston among the Southern leaders that there
was one part ofmankind born all sadded and
brldied in order to be ridden, and there was
another class of mankind who came into the
world booted and spurred to do the riding
(Applause and laughter Their idea was that
there were two forces in all human society
muscle and brain, and that those two forces
never could be combined in the same class of
men; that the muscle belonged to one class and
that the brain to another; that it was the duty
OF muscle to work and to obey and it was the
duty of brain to lead and to command. They
were the mind and you were the white muscle
and their slaves the black muscle Of the coun-
try, but you and the slaves were according to
their theory essentially alike. That was their
idea.


Now we have vindicatcd Democracy and
completely refuted their whole theory. First
by putting down the rebellion in the person of
man who combined brain and muscle together
1t seemed to be divincly ordered that the cho-
sen instrument to suppress the rebellion should
be Abraham Lincoln, the rail splitter and at
tOrney, and it seemed as though Divine PrOvi-
dence had determined to carry out this selec-
ton to the end so to have Abraham Lincoln
succeeded by Andrew johnson, at one time a
tailor. Yes, we have proven IN every act of
our national struggle that the muscle does not
belong to one class and the mind to another
We believe that the principle lying at the iou.-
datiOn of our national life is that mind and
muscle may be associated; that


The rank is but the guinea's stamp,


The man S the gold for a that. E"


According to the Southern theory, capital in
the slave states owned the labOrers, and in the
free states hired the labOrcrs, but it was held
that the laborers, whether purchased or hired,
were about equal in social condition and de-
served about equal treatment. Indeed, the
common feeling of the South was an utter con
tempt for labor and for abOrers and the equ-
ally common feeling of the free states ever has
been that all labor is honorable; that he who
tills the ground with his own hands, that he |
who swings the fail or the axe, that he who |
hammers out the iron on the anvil, that he |
who with the trowel builds the house, that he |
who guides the loom, it he but have true man. |
hood in him, is the peer OF any that walk the
earth. (Applause.) And, thank God, olong
as we have men like Henry Wilson and Ma. |
thaniel Banks-the one from the factory and
the other from the shOp--so long us we have |
such men adOrnlng our national council cham |
bers, and guiding the nation in the way in
which it should go, we shall be able to demon
strate that


"Honor and fame from no condition rise,


Act we'll your part, tbs there the honor lies. "


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