Grimke, Thomas S. \
Oration on the Principal Duties
of Americans
Charleston, 1833

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FORMED BY
James Abraham Hillhouse, B.A. 1749
James Hillhouse, B.A. 1773
James Abraham Hillhouse, B.A. 1808
James Hillhouse, B.A. 1875
Removed 1942 from the
Manor House in Sachem's Wood
GIFT or
GEORGE DUDLEY SEYMOUR

U £

ON THE
i DELIVERED BEFORE THE
WJ1SHIJYGTOJY SOCIETY*
AND
IN THE
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,
ON

BY THOMAS S. GRIMKE,
%*4

WITH
OP THE
HON. WILLIAM DRAYTON,
TO THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY,
Delivered on the same day, at their Anniversary Dinner.
—»}<..-
VUELISHED BT REQUEST.
©fearlestoti.
PRINTED BY WILLIAM ESTILL, 212 KING STREET.

a\3 M03

CHARLESTON, 16th JUNE, 1833.
Dear Sir:
Mr. Petigrcj our Orator elect for the ensuing Anniversary of our National Indepen
dence, having bei'ti recently taken ill, and being still so seriously indisposed as to be una
ble to discharge the duty, I have been directed by the unanimous votr of the Committee
of Arrangements to request you to supply his place. — Hoping that you will not find it in
consistent with your other avocations, to meet the wishes of your fellow-citizens,
I remain, Dear Sir, with great respect,
Your obedient servant,
JAMES H. SMITH,
Chairman Committee of A rrangements
of the Washington Society,
Thomas S. Grimke, Esq..

JSo. 38 South Bay.
19th JUNE, 1833.
Gentlemen: I regr et that the serious indisposition of our friend Mr. Petigrd should have renderd
indispensable, the appointment of another person to deliver the Oration before you on
the approaching Anniversary of American Independence. In acceding to your request,
that I should fill the place, thus unexpectedly and unfortunately left vacant, I do it, not
withstanding the little time that is left me, under a sense of duty to him and to the cause.
Suffer me then to avail myself of this opportunity, to inculcate sentiments worthy of Chris
tians and Americans: and of a Society, bearing the most beloved and venerable of names,
in our National Biography, that of Washington. May the spirit, in which he loved
and servd his country, the spirit of Christian patriotism, be with us onthat day, to strength
en our faith in the durability, and our hopes for the glorious destiny, at home and abroad,
of our National Institutions! In discharging the duty allotted to me, however I may fall
short of the just expectations of others or of myself — I cannot fail in the selection of mate
rials, when I take as my principal topics, the gratitude due to Heaven for the almost mira
culous preservations, attested by our history; and the Constitution as a text, with the life
of Washington, as it's purest, noblest commentary. Very Respecttuly, THOMAS S. GRIMKE,
,James H. Smith, Esq..
Chairman, and the other Members of the
Committee of Arrangements of the Washington Society.

CHARLESTON, 6th JULY, 1833.
Dear Sir:
We the undersigned. Committee of Arrangements of the Washington Society, exe
cute with pleasure the task assigned, of requesting for publication a copy of your able and
eloquent Oration, delivered before them on oar recent Anniversary. Whilst thus cordi-

IV

ally conforming to the wishes of the Society, we avail ourselves individually of the oppor-,
tunity of expressing our highest consideration for your talents and virtues, as an orator
and a Citizen of our glorious Republic.
We remain, Dear Sir, with great respest,
Your obedient servants,
JAMES H. SMITH, )
GEORGE THOMPSON,
ANDREW M'DOWALL,
THOMAS DOTTERER,
JOHN F. KNOX,
R. WOETHRSPOON,
A. POURGEAUD.
RICHARD FORDHAM,
BENJN. SMITH,
C. J. STEEDMAN,
OGDEN HAMMOND. J
Thomas S. Grimke, Esq,

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-1

No. 38 South Bay.
6th JULY, 1833.
Gentlemen: Your letter of thb date, requesting a copy of my Oration, deliverd before the Wash-,
ington Society on the 4th, tor publication, has been receivd. I acquiesce in your wishes,,
under the belief, that whatever is devoted to the cause of our wkote Country, to the char
acter of Washington, and to the spirit of American Institutions, cannot be valueless; and
may, if executed with judgment and taste, be eminently useful.
It has been my singular fortune, at the distance of twenty four years, to stand again
before my Country on the Anniversary of American Independence, to vindicate the integ
rity of the Union and the sanctity of the Constitution. In 1809, 1 was called to remon
strate, on behalf of my whole Country, against the discontents and disaffection, which had
been engenderd in the Eastern States. In 1S33, I have been summond to the painful
and mortifying duty of expostulating, on behalf of that whole country, with my native
State, for sentiments and deeds, far exceeding all that has ever yet been done, in this
country, against the Constitution and the Union. May the Carolina of future years, with
redoubled fidelity and love, vindicate the spotless character and elevated standing once
her proud distinction; but now so changed, under the baleful influence of men, who could
have made her the brightest star of the Union. The grief of our Sister States for the sake
of Car jlina, exceeds their indignation at the principles, that have been avowd, and the
acts, which have been threatend, by her leaders. Let us rejoice, at the result of recent
events, not as the victory of party, but as the triumph of our country.
Respectfuly, THOMAS S. GRIMKE.
Messrs. James H. Smith, and others
Committee of Arrangements of the Washington Society.

-«-<©-+-

Our Coutry! Our whole Country! how affecting are the ties which
bind us to thee; how venerable is thy claim lo our faithful services, to our
purest affections! What indeed is our country, but a parent, by obligations
the most sacred and sublime; by associations the most delicate and com
prehensive; by prospects the most animat'ng and delightful! In our Ame
rican creed, what article then is of higher authority, of deeper interest, of
more enduring value, than the precept, which commands us to reverence
and love our country? Are we bound to Father and Mother by relations,
which God himself has ordained and enforced? So are we to our country.
Are we bound to our parents by all the sanctions of civil society, coeval
with its origin, expanding in its progress, and destind to endure while
social life shall last? So are we to our country. Are we bound to Father
and Mother by all those natural affections, which make them the most
venerable of human beings, and home, the happiest spot upon earth? So
are we to our country. The parents, whom nature has given us, die, and
are laid in the earth, by the hands of their children; but our Fatherland
protects us in life and hallows our graves. Our Parentcountry still sur
vives her children. She is immortal. Shall we not then, in the spirit of
gratitude, reverence, love, engrave on our hearts some maxim, not less
beautiful in its moral, if we regard our duty; than eminent for its wisdom
and truth, if we consult only our interest? And where shall we find a pre
cept more venerable for its antiquity, more commanding in authority, than
the inscription on the Table of Stone? "Honor thy Father and thy Mother,
that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth
thee." Our country is indeed a father, to be reverenced in the Autho
rity which commands our obedience; and a mother, to be loved with all
the enthusiazm of gratitude and affection. No voice from Heaven has
indeed proclaimed, amidst the thunders, and lightnings, and clouds of ano
ther Sinai, "Honor thy Country, that thy days may be long in the land,
which the Lord thy God giveth thee." No miraculous hand-writing has
denounced against us, the sentence of destruction for unfaithfulness to her
commands, for hypocricy in our affections. No Prophet or Apostle has
recorded with the pen of inspired truth and by divine authority, "Thy Coun
try is thy Parent — by all that is most solemn and binding in duty, by all
that is most eloquent and holy in love"; — But the voice of nature and the
testimony of all experience; the brightest and the darkest page of History;

6
the wisdom of Philosophy, the energy of Eloquence, and the enthusiazm
of Poetry, ail, all attest the truth, "Thy Country is thy Parent." Reve
rence, gratitude, obedience, love, are due to her. How then, as a tree,
educated, Christian, peaceful people, shall America best acknowlege these
truths, and i>est observe them?
The first duty of \mericans is to acknowlege, with mingled fear
and gratitude, that "God presides in the Councils of Nations,"* and that
these have ever acted a conspicuous part in the administration of his moral
government. However mysterious may be the designs of Providence, ana
his ways are not as our ways, nor his thoughts as our thoughts; yet, all
history, as well as scripture attests the truth of this remark. We cannot
open its pa^es, still less can we study them profoundly, without acknow-
leging, that the Supreme Creator of all men is the Overruler, the Judge,
tb-j Avenger among the Nations. How solemn is the Review of the His
tory of Nations! How doubly impressive the lesson, taught by the Annals
of Free S:ates! Tell me, is there one, whether in the ancient or the
mi-dern world, whose history we should be willing to accept as the history
of our own country; whose institutions we would adopt as the model of our
own? — Assuredly we cannot be insensible to the solemn truths, which their
history teaches, and to tile affecting calamities, which afflicted and destroy
ed them. In the structure of their states of society and governments, do
we not see that the hideous combinations of Monarchy, Aristocracy and
Democracy; their civil dissensions and more ferocious civil wars; the inse
curity of life, liberty and property; the selfish ambition of rulers and the
reckless passions of the demagogue; the degraded condition of woman;
and the disregard of social happiness and virtue, were among the promi
nent causes of aggravated misery? And is it possible to read their history
and not confess, that the spirit of the age which gave them birth, and the
pressure of external circumstances, stamped on them all — the character of
Militaky Republics? Theii institutions were chiefly the instruments of
selfish and ambitious rulers, forever sacrificing the people, without fear or
remorse, under the pretext of National Glory and the public good. Their
institutions breathd not the spirit of peace at home and abroad; of do
mestic and social improvement in virtue and happiness, in property and
inteli.jence. Their objects were not the substantial, permanent good of
the People: and the security of rational liberty underwell balanced govern
ment". Their institutions were founded for the sword, were maintained by
the sword, and perished by the sword. Their hand was against every man,
and every man's hand against them. Is it wonderful then, that the expe
riments of freedom in the ancient world exhibit such a catalogue of guilt
and misery? And what a lesson may be gathered from the history of Freedom in
Modern Europe! How little did the Republics of Venice and Genoa, if
proud Aristocracies can be called such, promote the substantial good of the
people! How were the prospects of constitutional liberty in Spain destroy
er! by the arrogant and despotic Ximenes? How were its principles vio
lated and degraded in England by the fi-st and second Charles? How were
* Washington's Inaugural Address, 5 Marsh. 163.

they, in Revolutionary France, the bleeding victirrs of Atheism and Anar
chy, and the very slaves ol the Imperial Napoleon? And wi.>at shall we say
of the Helvetic Confederacy, scarcely known in the history of man, but
as the mother of the mercenary soldiery ol Modern Europe, and held to-
gethei only by the iron chain of despotizm, which girds them round* And
what of the Baravian Republic, rescued from the weakness of its organi
zation and the avarice of its commercial spirit, by the inexorable pressure
of surrounding monarchies.* How painful the feelings, how solemn the
reflections that arise on this review of the history of free states, in ancient
and modern Europe! Who does not gather from their lamentable failure,
the instructive truth, thai the improvement of the people, the whole peo
ple, in domestic and social virtue, iuteligence and happiness, was not the
great end of all their institutions? And yet, what other legitimate, lauda
ble object could they have had? Is not governmentfounded, are not Rulers
ordaind only for the sake of the people? Except this be their end and
operation, society will always be a reproach to those who found, and to
those who administer governments.
I have said, that it is a primary duty of Americans to acknowlege
the moral government of God, in the affairs of Nations. Let us review the
history of our own country, the more deeply to impress us with this general
truth and with the conviction, for such is the second great duty ot Arr.e-
ricans, that for causes as yet but imperfectly reveald, our country, ever
since her foundatious were laid, has been under the care of a special Pro
vidence. Instead of having been settled by the subjects of gloomy despo-
tizms from Spain and Portugal, or even from the gay, licentious and gallant
France?, our country was colonized by that British race, which alone, of
all men ancient and modern, appears to have under'-tood the true relation of
the People to their Rulers, and the true character of political institutions?
Is it not equaly remarkable that the efficient settlement of these shores
was postponed, till the selfish and ambitious contests of the Red end the
White Rose, till the slavish spirit, that marked the Parliaments of the ty
rant Henry and of the despot Elizabeth, had passed away forever: and the
foundations of modern British freedom had been laid by the Puritans? Du
ring the very century, when the fearful struggle of their principles against
those of Aristocracy and Despotism was going on in England, those prin
ciples were transplanted to a new world, may we not say by divine ap
pointment? there to spring up in nobler and fairer forms, to elevate, honor
and bless the people of an unborn Nation — Our Country. How many cir
cumstances concurred during that very period, to enable the colonies to go
on, comparatively undisturbd, in the improvement and extension of those
free institutions, which became in their maturity, the bone and sinew of
these United States? Was it not equaly an advantage, while the different
settlements were exposed alternately to the jealousies and resentments
^of a succession of dominant parties in Church and State in England,
on account of colonial diveisities in politics and religion, that they
escaped uninjurd to become the broad and deep foundations of that liber
ality in political and religious creeds, which is the ornament and blessing of
* Sec. 1 Eloq. U. S. p. 28, 98, 107, 119, 135, 144, 145, 174, 189.

our country. How Wonderful is it, that the. infant colonies were not over*
wneiind oy the sagacity, martial spirit and daring enterprize of the Indians,.
unquestionably superior in power and resources, had they known how to
profit by them! And if we look at the still greater danger from the enemies
of the Mother Country, in a long series of bloody and obstinate wars, and
especialy from the French and Spaniards, we cannot but exclaim with
astonishment, a special Providence watchd over our infancy! Nor is this
all; for the very contests between the Lords Proprietors and the Officers
of the King on the one side, and the People and the Popular Assemblies on
the other, developd by slow degrees, and confirmd effectualy yet insen
sibly those very principles, which the Puritans had defended in life and
consecrated in death. The mal-administration, the ignorance, perverse-
ness or tyraiiy, the servility and recklessness of Proprietary and Royal
Servants, instead of disgusting or corrupting the people, discouraging emi
gration and weakening the infant cause of freedom, only servd to enlighten
the community, to animate their leaders, to enrich and strengthen the coun
try, and to create that community of sentiment and interest throughout the
continent, which prepared the way for our present Union.
Such is the striking and affecting retrospect before the Revolution of
1776. But the review of our National History since that period, awakens
a deeper sense of dependence on God, and the liveliest emotions of grati
tude for his special interpositions. In reading those annals, who does not
acknowlege some thing marvelous in the combination of events, which
drew forth such a host of talent; which led us, step by step to the Declara
tion o; Independence; which gave us our Allies; which sustaind the people
under so much to appal and dishearten; which saved us from a servile, in
addition to a civil war; and enabled them, scatterd, ill-provided and badly
prepared, to triumph over the most powerful nation on the globe? I es
teem it likewise a striking circumstance, that the obvious policy of Eng
land and France to sacrifice this country, by an arrangement for their
mutual benefit, was ovenuled for our sakes: and Independence was secur
ed, when it might have been destroyd. Let us acknowlege also, the
hand of a merciful Providence, in turning aside the thundercloud that seemd
ready to burst upon us, from the suffering, neglected and unrewarded'
Army* of the Revolution; when a Traitor, in the person of Washington,
might have convulsd the country, by deeds the most ruinous, the most
dishonorable to a free people. Let us equaly confess the same Supreme
interposition, in rescuing us from the perilous gulf of Disunion and Civil
War, under the Confederacy, and from that diseasd state of public credit,
which, next to corruption in the people, is the most fatal of political mala
dies. Still more strikingly was divine assistance manifested, in the sudden,
the almost miraculous transition from the jealousies, weakness and discord
of the confederation, to the confidence, strength and harmony of the Con.
stitution. How surprising is it, that, the very State Governments, the very
State communities, which had been so suspicious even of the imbecility of
the old Congress-, which had been such misers in conferring power on de
legates under a perpetual league; which had denied in so many forms, that,
* Note A.

9
each could or would trust any but itself; which had granted only some
powers indispensable to War and Foreign Relations, but withheld the most
essential to peace, union and prosperity at home; which had so often, wil-
fuly, and dishonorably broken their own engagements, and disabled Con
gress from keeping theirs; which had beheld, without shame or remorse,
and almost without dismay, the fatal consequence's of their own folly and
unfaithfulness; how truly surprising is it, that such Legislatures and com
munities, should have adopted a Constitution, in all its most important fea
tures, the reverse of the Confederation!
But there is another reflection, still better calculated to inspire both
-awe and gratitude: and to plant in our souls the deepest conviction of a
divine superintendance in the affairs of Nations, and especialy of our
own. Look, on the one hand, at the distracted state of our country; at
the ruin of public credit; at the ascendency of state interests and local
leaders; at the loss of confidence at home and of character abroad; at the
absence of harmony in counsel and energy in action; at Washington in
retirement; in a word, at the absolute failure and incurable weakness of
the Confederation. Turn then, and look on the other hand, at the
gigantic power and demoniac spirit of the French Revolution, polluted by
robberies and. murders — countless in number, fiendish in character, atro
cious in guilt, beyond all that is oh the records of history. The very year
(1787,) which produced the call of the Notables at Paris, the first popular
step towards the Revolution, beheld the meeting of our Convention at
Philadelphia to form the Constitution. The very year (1788,) which saw
the establishment of the Clubs in France, the most bloody and remorseless
engins of her republican tyrants, was employed by Hamilton, Madison
and Jay, in composing the Federalist,* and by eight of the States in de
bating and adopting the Constitution.! Still more remarkable is it, that
the very year (1789,) which displayd the American People calmly, peace
ably administering in the organization of their new government, that Con
stitution, exhibited in France the horrors and enormities at the Bastile in
July,, and at Versailles in August: and the conversion of the three orders
of the States General, into the uncontrolable despotism of the National
Assembly. And what but a special Providence could have drawn forththe
reluctant Washington from the tranquility 6f Mount Vernon, to lead us on-
ward,in his own serene confidence in God,through the storms ofa Revolution,
more dangerous to our free institutions, than all the usurpations and op
pressions of a British King.f-: Look now at the discord and weakness of
our country: at her hatred of tyrants, at her entMusiazm in the cause of
liberty; at her attachments to France and her resentments against England.
Turn then to the Giant Demon of the French Revolution, of fearful energy
and Atheist creed, reckless in spirit and savage in passions, and who will
doubt, that, nothing but the Constitutiou of '89, with Washington as our
President, rescued the freedom and religion of this country from the most
powerful and desperate of mortal enemies? Our ruin, as a free, educated,
Christian, peaceful people, but for this wonderful interposition, was inevi
table. And is there a heart in this assembly, that is not filled with over-
* N»teB- -rNoteC. J Note D.
%

10
flowing gratitude, as it breathes in fear and trembling the sentiment of the
Psalmist, "This is the Lord's doing: it is marvelous in our eyes!"
But the record of providential dispensation closes not here. We
have remarkd the astonishing transition, from the Articles of Confedera- .
tion to the Constitution. Not less astonishing was the support which such
a people gave to Washington's Administration, when we reflect on th«
recent jealousy of power and on our sympathies with France; on the de
cision and energy, the unity of purpose, and independence »f spirit, the
fearless patriotism and national measures, which characterized that memo
rable sera. Who indeed but Washington had the sacrifices and services,
the purity of character, the univeisality of influence, the moral courage,
that were indispensable to the champion of God and Man, against ihe Ja
cobins and Atheists of the French Revolution?
Passing onward in our history, we cannot doubt, when we review all
the preliminary circumstances of the }ate war, and the relation of that war
to the European contest, in the opinion of the Dethroners of Napoleon,
that its fortunate and early termination may well be accounted another
example of providential interference. Is it not wonderful, that the con-
querers of an enemy, so powerful and odious, having re-established the
ancient order of things, and founded anew the Dynasties of European
Royalty, should not have been disposed to wreak their vengeance on the
Republic of America, in return for our having kindled the French Revo
lution, and declared that war, as they may weir have believed, in co-ope
ration with their mortal foe? With the command of two milions of sol
diers, and more than twelve hundred ships of war, had they become intoxi
cated with their success, and listened to their natural jealousy of freedom,
and to their natural resentments against us, what must have been our peril,
and how must we regard our preservation from the calamities of such a
war, as a fresh claim on our gratitude to heaven! And when a second
time, we escaped the perilous trial that awaited us, had Napoleon fled
- to the United States, and been demanded of our Government, can we but
acknowlege that his having been, baffled and compelld to surrender, were
eminently fortunate for our country? Shall we then scruple to confess
the hand of Providence in these matters, -whether we look to our own
Country or to Europe? Accustomed as I have been, and trust I ever
shall be, to recognize a divine Ruler in the affairs of men, and to adore
his invisible power, in the administration of the moral government of the"
¦world, I cannot "close this retrospect, without declaring, that such is my
inflexible opinion. I delight to regard our country as a conspicuous part
in the machinery of that gover nment, and destind to- more important and
glorious achievements in the cause of Religion and Peace, of Education,
Freedom and Civilization, than any community that ever existed. I re
gard her as a chief instrument in the hands of Providence, to regen
erate, enlighten and christianize the people df every land.
Let me now recur to the iEra of 1787, the formation of the Consti
tution. We have already seen the extraordinary state of opinions and
feelings, which preceded the meeting of that Convention; and we all
know, that their embarrasments and difficulties were inexpressible. N»
journal, no record even of the debates could exhibit a faithful picture of

11 \
their number and intricacy. Fortunately for them and for us, as Wash-.
ington has said in his letter to the Governors of the States in June 1783 *
"The foundation of our Empire was not laid in the gloomy age of ignorance
and superstition, but at an epocha, when the rights of mankind were better
understood and more clearly defined, than at any former period. The
researches of the human mind, after social happiness, had been carried
to a great extent, the treasures of knowlege, acquired by the trbors of
Philosophers, Sages and Legislators, through a long succession of years*,
Were laid open for our use, and their collected wisdom could be happily
employed in the establishment of our forms of government. The free cul
tivation of letters, the unbounded extension of commerce, the progressive
refinement of manners, the growing liberality of sentiment, and above all,
the pure and benign light. of Revelation, has had a meliorating influence on
mankind and increased the blessings of Society. At this auspicious period,
the People of the United States came into existence as a Nation." Yet,
notwithstanding these immense advantages from abroad, and with others
greater than all these at home, viz: pur own practised sagacity and long
experience in the administration of the Colonial Governments, and of the
Federative Systems of 1775 and 1778, the Convention, as Franklin himself
told them, had made "small progress after four or five weeks close atten
dance and continual reasonings with each other. "f Judge Wilson, another
of the Sages of that Assembly, has recorded as his experience that "The
great undertaking at times seemed to be at a stand: at other times, its
motions seemd to be retrograde. At the conclusion however of our work,
many of the members expressd their astonishment at the success with
which it had terminated. "J
To have organized small communities with a small territory, was es
teemed such an achievment as to immortalize the names of Lycurgus and
Solon, of Romulus and Numa. The ill-constructed federations of antiquity
and of Modern Europe, have secured to the Amphictyonic Union, to the
Achaean League and Lycian Confederacy, to the Helvetic and Batavian
Republics-, some of the brightest and most eloquent pages of history. Yet,
all, according to the testimony of Madison, || Franklin and Wilson, were
weighd in the balance and found wanting. It is remarkable also, that all
who wrote or spoke on the subject, agreed in the opinion, "That Heaven
had crownd all its other blessings, by giving us a fairer opportunity for
political happiness than any other nation had ever been favord with."§
All were equaly unanimous in the sentiment, that the great struggle for
liberty in this country, should it be unsuccesful, would probably be the last
which she would have for her existence and prosperity in any part of the
globe. "H Equaly' common was the sentiment, that "numerous States,
yet unformd, and myriads of the human race who will inhabit regions
hitherto uncultivated were to be affected by the result of their proceed-
ingS;"CCF* Such was the solemn and trying situation of that Convention.
Never did a body of men come together under circumstances better calcu-
* 5 Mash, 43. t 1, Fratfd. Wks. p. 474; t 1. Eloq. V. S. 11.
|| Note E. § 5. Marsh, Wash. 43.
IT 1. Eloq. U. S. p. 15. 1. Frankl. Wks. 475. 5. Marsh, 171:
(P= l.Eloq.U. S.2v

12
lated to fill them wHh a religious awe, with a deep distrust of themselve's
and with painful uncertainty as to the result of their labors. The Congress
of 1776 was sustaind and impelld onward by the external pressure of
imperious necessity, by the spirit of the people, and the excitement of the
times; nay, by the very dangers that surrounded them, and by the triumphs
they had already won. But the Convention of 1787, met under circum
stances that would have filld with despair, any other body of men, less
calm and patient, less wise, thoughtful and discreet; less profound in
. knowlege, thinking and reasoning; less pure, elevated and fervent in pa*
triotism. Theirs was the task
"To form a public, to the general good
"Submitting, aiming and conducting all.
"For this the Patriot Council met, the full
"The free and fairly represented whole.
"For this they plami'd the holy guardian laws,
"Distinguished powers; animated arts,
"And with joint force oppression chaining, set
"Imperial Justice at the helm, yet still
"To them accountable."
The Convention found little or no assistance from the Governments of
Antiquity or those of Modern Europe. In none of them did they discover
the great principles that were indispensible to the strength and harmony,
the independence and prosperity of our Union. They sought in' vain for
an example of a Confederate Republic, as distinguished from a mere
Confederacy of Republics; for no one presented the spectacle of "an As
semblage of Societies, that constituted a new one, capable of encreasing
by means of further association."* Their search was equaly unsuccesful
for an instance of a government, in which "the vigor and decision of a
wide spreading Monarchy, may be joined to the freedom and beneficence
of a contracted republic;"t, for they discoverd no examples of a Federal
System, establishd over an imperial extent of territory ,$ nor of one which
had fulfilld it's first great object the protection of it's members.\\ They
sought equaly in vain for an example of the supremacy, of the popular
will, as secured by a clear, simple, well defined, written Constitution,
created by and for the People; nor could they discover any where, the all
important idea of a Constitution, as distinguished from, and supreme
over the law-making power.§ Nor was it less fortunate, when they
sought the model of "a supreme power lodged somewhere, to regulate and
govern the general concerns of the confederate republic, "without which
no union could be of long duration;"U altho' they met with abundant
proofs both at home and abroad of federative systems, in which "thirteen
different bodies judged of the measures of Cohgress,"ft*p' and the striking
absurdity followd, "that the contracting powers were as numerous as the
varying interests."** Not less in vain did they seek for an example of> a
Confederacy in which the laws of the General Government acted imme-
* Mont. Sp. L. B 9, c, 1, t 1. Eloq. TJ. S. 13. } Note F.
(| 1. Eloq. U. S. 121, 130, 143, $ 1. Eloq. U. S. 18. f 5. Marsh. 47,
EF 1. Eloq.U. S.24. ** 1. Eloq; U.S. 51*.

13 •
Hiatcly on the people individualy* and not as requisitions or rather re*
quests to the political bodies that composed the Union, in their corporate
capacity.! They sought in vain for the light of experience on the just
principles of representation; for, (as Judge Wilson has remarked) "The
dbctrih of representation in government was altogether unknown to the
Ancients;"| and the more they examind, the more they were convinced,
*'to what a narrow corner of the British Constitution, the. principle of re
presentation was confined."|| "The Ancient Democracies" says'Alexan-
der Hamilton, "in which the People themselves deliberated, never pos
sessed one feature of good government. Their very character was tyrany,
their figure deformity."§ And the English Government, the best and
noblest in theory and practice that ever existed in the Old World, exhi
bited a scheme of representation so unjust, unequal and corrupt, as to be
in no proper sense a system of popular representation. Equaly in vain did
they seek for an instance of the construction of a double legislative
department, on principles directly or indirectly purely popular, without a
tinge of aristocracy in the one, without the ignorance, folly and passions of
pure democracy in the other. How vain, how idle was their search for an
example, ancient or modern, in which different States had "displayd the
true greatness of soul, the genuine love of liberty, the enlarged wisdom
and the Christian spirit of moderation, compromise and brotherly love,
which deeply felt and firmly ordained that, "The few, must yield to the
many,"fl that "The particular must be sacrificed to the general inter-
est"fl5s=*' that, "The small good ought never to oppose the great one"**
that, "The head, suffering the control of the members, has ever proved a
fruitful source of commotions and disorders."tt
And how did the Convention escape from the difficulties that surround
ed them; from the embarrasments that impeded their progress, which ever
way they turned? "We indeed," said Franklin to the Convention, "after
four or five weeks consultation, we indeed seem to feel our own want of
political wisdom; for we have been running all about in search of it. We
have, gone back to ancient history for models of government and examined
the different forms of those republics, which having been originaly formed
with the seeds of their, own dissolution, now, no longer exist: and we have
viewed modern States all round Europe, but find none of their Constitu
tions suitable to our circumstances." Such was the situation of those dis
creet and sagacious patriots, who deserved far more than the founders of
the Confederation, to be calld, in the language of Washington, "The col
lected wisdom of the continent." Then it was, that, "groping as it were
in the dark, to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it, when
presented," Franklin, the admirable Franklin, tho' not himself professing
to be a Christian, arose and said to the President, ','In this situation of this
assembly, how has it happened, sir, that we have not hitherto once thought
of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understand
ings? In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible
of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for the divine protection—
* 1 Vol Eloq U S 26. rl do. 34, 124. M do. 7. || 1 do. 8.
$ 1 do 27, 29, 37. % 1 do. 5. EF 1 do. 57; *' 1 do. 4c3.
ft 1 do. 53- £ *

14
Our prayers were heard, and they were graciously, answered. All of us
who were engaged in that struggle, must have observed frequent instances
of a superintending Providence in our favor. To that kind Providence
we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace, on ^he means ot
establishing our future national felicity. I have lived, sir, a long time,
and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that
God governs in the affairs of men, and if a sparrow cannot fall to the
ground without his notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without
his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings, that "except
the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it," and 1 firmly
believe this: and I also believe, that, without his concurring aid, we shall
succeed in this political undertaking no better than the builders of Babel.
We shall be divided by our little partial, local interests; our projects will
be confounded: and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a by-word
down to future ages. I therefore beg leave to move, that, henceforth,
prayers, imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deli
berations, be held in this assembly every morning, before we proceed to
business, "and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to
officiate in that service."* >
What a rebuke was this to the Christians in that Convention, what a
solemn lesson to the Patriots and Statesmen of our own country, as long as
this Nation shall endure! Assuredly the Christian, nay, the very Theist may
well believe, without the imputation of credulity or enthusiazm, that the
Father of Lights, in rebuke to his own Servants, in mercy to our Fathers,
in loving kindness to their descendents, gave, himself, this impulse to
Franklin's mind. Thus viewd, how sublime, how solemn, how affecting
are his situation and words! And is there a heart in this assembly, that
does not leap with joy, at the thought, that reason and religion sanction our
belief, that God himself, the Author and Giver of every good and perfect
gift, condescended thus to teach another chosen People, their weak
ness, dependence and duty, and his power, wisdom and love?
If at this solemn moment, some Layman had been found in that august
assembly, bold enough to style the clergy, "those avaricious, ambitious,
fraudulent and impudent impostors, the Christian Priests"! that with them,
"Religion was a Trade,"! and "Sunday their day of labor;"! that "all
public prayer is forbidden by Christ," expressly by words as well as by
precept:"! If such a Layman had thus arisen, and declared to that as
sembly "the whole ceremony is a farce, and you know it,"! how would that
venerable man have been appalld at the self-stiled "bold and fearless
honesty" of one, who could thus ridicule public worship, and denounce the
Christian clergy, as "hired prayer mongers,"! as "fraudulent priests!"! —
But thanks be to "the Father of Lights," the Atheizm of the French Re
volution, had not yet decreed, that there is no God, and that death is an
eternal sleep. Thanks to the same Mighty and Merciful Being, America
had not as yet, been calld to mourn over that adopted Son, \vho dared,
against her will and desire, to calculate for a united People, the value of
their Union, for a Christian People, the value o/Public Prayer!
* l.Vol. FranH Wks. 474.
t To any Member of Congrws, by A.. Layman, p. 11, 12.

15
The proposition of Franklin prevaild: the incense of daily prayer,
ascended to the throne of Infinite Wisdom, Power and Goodness. — Is there
a being who hears me, too proud to acknowlege, or too skeptical to believe,
with Franklin, that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much?" And in this assembly, who will refuse to believe, that from the
soul of Franklin himself, in the spirit of another Centurion, the prayer of
faith and hope ascended "for a memorial before God?" The result must
convince us, that the supplications of our Cornelius and of his fellow-wor
shipers, were "had in remembrance, before God." Order arose out of
chaos: Light, out of darkness; Discord was exchanged for Unanimity; the
jealous, proud and selfish States, became bound to each other, as by the
indisoluble bond of perpetual wedlock. Then the Declaration, wiser, more
sublime and affecting than the Declaration of Independence, went fortn to
the world. "We, the People of the United States, in order to form a
more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide
for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the bless
ings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish
this Constitution for the United States of America." That Constitution
under the blessing of Heaven, has hitherto secured to us, at home, liberty,
safety and prosperity; abroad, independence, respect and admiration, al
together unexampled in the history of the world.* Such a People, so
singularly privileged, so eminently blessd, ought to engrave upon their
hearts, as the golden rules, equaly of the Citizen and the Ruler, the senti
ments of Washington's Inaugural Address." — No People can be bound to
acknowlege and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the affairs of
meni more than the People of the United States. Every step, by which
they have advanced. to the character of an Independent Nation, seems to
have been distinguished by some token of providential agency. And in
the important revolution, just accomplished in the system of their united
government, the tranquil deliberation and voluntary consent of so many
distinct communities from which the event has resulted, cannot be com
pared with the means by which most governments have been established,!
without some return of pious gratitude. These reflections, arising out of
the present crisis, have forced themselves too strongly on my mind to be
supprest. You will join with me, I trust, in thinking, that- there are none
under the influence of which the proceedings of a new and free govern
ment can more auspiciously commence."! May such ever be the senti
ments of United America! Then will she go forward, calmnly, securely
in her glorious career, the only example the world has ever seen, of a Free,
Educated, Peaceful, Christian People, the only model of a Confederate
Republic: I have said, that the first duty of Americans, is to confess with an inr
flexible faith, a Supreme Director in the affairs of Nations — their next, to
acknowlege with humility and gratitude, "The frequent instances of a
.'Superintending Providence in their favor;" but above all, to believe, that
the Constitution, ordaind by the People of the United States, is in the
eye, both of reason and religion, the gift of that Supreme Director, and
* Note G. t 6. Marsh. 169. ,

16
(he highest preof of that Superintending Providence. The Third great
duty of Americans is then, to cling to the Constitution, as the best safe"
guard of our Union and to that Union as the highest security for
tranquility and freedom at home, for peace respectability and indepen
dence abroad. In order to form a just estimate of this duty, let us devote
a few moments to the reception of that Constitution.* Alexander Hamil
ton, the most profound and sagacious of American Statesmen, the right-
arm of Washington's Administration, remarked in the Convention of New
York, "It is more easy for the human mind to calculate the evils than the
advantages of a measure, and vastly more natural to apprehend the dan
ger, than to see the necessity of giving power to our rulers."! Hence, the
Constitution was assaild, as having sprung from usurpation of power in
the Convention;! as anihilating our treaties;! as substituting a consolida
ted government for a confederacy;! and as having effected a revolution as
radical as that which separated us from Great Britain."! The people
were taught, that, "the rights of conscience, trial by Jury, liberty of the
press, all their immunities and franchises, all pretensions to human rights
and privileges, were rendered insecure, if not lost;"! tnat Congress might
reduce the whole representation ot the Union to thirteen members;"|| that
"it did not leave the States, the means of defending their rights, or of wa
ging war against tyrants;"|| and that they would have "a standing Army to
execute the execrable commands of Tyrany."|| The people were also
taught, with all the zeal of honest conviction, and all the vehemence of in
dignant declamation, that "the features of the Constitution, were horribly
frightful,"§ that among other deformities, it had an awful squinting, to
wards Monarchy," that the "President might easily become a King;"§
that "the Army would salute him Monarch;"§ that "the democratic branch
would possess none of the public confidence:"^ that there was "no true
responsibility on the part of Congress;"§ and the most powerful and elo
quent of the adversaries of the Constitution, in the vehemence of his in
dignation, declared,!} "I would infinitely rather, and lam sure, most of
this Convention are of the same opinion, have a King, Lords and Com
mons, than a Government so replete with such insupportable evils."§~fa
To this sentiment, to us in our day, so unaccountable, so marvelous,.
so unnatural, let us oppose that of Thomas Jefferson, in his first inaugu
ral address. " If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve the
Union or to change its Republican form, let them stand undisturbed,
as monuments of the safety, with which error of opinion may be tolera
ted where reason is left free to combat it."** And reason did combat and
conquer under the same Providential blessing, which had been so liberaly
bestowd on this country for two centuries. The people of the United
States, with calmness, moderation and wisdom, discussd the great ques
tion between the Confederationists and the Constitutionalists. The latter
prevaild, and their triumph, won by the weapons of Reason and Elo
quence, of Wisdom, Experience and Public Virtue, was a triumph more
* NoteH. ! 1. Eloq. 0. S. 61. J 1. Eloq U.Sp 75, 74 77
|| 1. Eloq. U. S. SO, SI, 35. 6 1. Eloq. U. S. 94, 95, 96, 97*.
Ill- Do. 95. ICP Pres. Sp. 163, ** Note, I. ' '

1?
sublime and glorious, than all the achievmfents of the freeman wartiot
in the ancient and the modern world. Who can contemplate the battle
fields, where statesmen, orators and patriots, philosophers and civilians,
scholars and divines, fought mind to mind, in the thirteen Founder States
of this glorious Union, and not acknowlege the moral grandeur and
beauty of the scene to be unrivald in the history Of our race ! Who would
compare with it, even for a moment, the consultations of the Grecian
States to wage war against Troy, or repel the invasions of Xerxes ? Can
you find a paralel in Helvetic or Batavian councils, in the measures of the
gallant Hugonots, of the proud Barons of Runnymede, or of the Parlia
ment,, that called William and Mary to the English throne ?
The People of the United States, listend not to the encomiasts of
the Confederation and the denouncers of the Constitutioni They adopted
this, and abandoned that, we trust forever. Who, when he beholds their
passions, prejudices and local selfishness, all overruled for good to them*,
to their posterity and to the whole world, is not ready to acknowlege, that
this transition, so dignified and calm, so entirely voluntary and rational,
is among the most remarkable proofs of a providential interposition in our
behalf? Guided by the superior wisdom and patriot influence of Wash
ington, Hamilton, Franklin and Jay; of Madison, Sherman, Rutledge and
the Pinckneys, the People of the United States believd and substantialy
declared by this Constitution, that the communities which compose a con
federate republic must "surrender to it, a part of their political indepen
dence,"* that it is proper to give minute attention to the interests of all
the parts;* "but that there was a duty of still higher import, to feel and
to show a predominating regard to the interests of the whole:"! that "ab
solute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority is the vital principle
of Republics, from which there is no appeal but to force, the vital princi
ple and immediate parent of despotism:"! "and that it is essential the
interest and authority of the whole community should be binding on every
part of it."|| The people believd and declared by that instrument, that it
was indispensable "to enable the national laws to operate on individuals in
the same manner as those of the States;"|| that when they had "formd a
Constitution of free principles, when they had given a proper balance to
the different branches of Administration, and fixed representation upon
pure and equal principles, they might with safety furnish it with all the
powers, necessary to answer in the most ample manner the purposes of
government:"|| that when "they had strongly connected the virtue of their
rulers with their interests, when in short, they had rendered their system
as perfect as human forms can be, they must place confidence, they must
give power;"|| but that "to talk of tyrany,§ and the subversion of their
liberties, was to speak the language of enthusiazm."||
The people of the United States, accordingly establishd a double,
legislature, eqealy independent while in office, of the people and the Le
gislatures of the States: they "instituted one branch, peculiarly endowd
with sensibility"|| to the popular will, "another, with knowlege and firm-
ness."|| They invested these houses with all the important powers, as to
* 1. Eloq. U. S. p. 15. t 1. Eloq. U. S. 14. t Pr»s. Sp. p. 185.
J| 1. Eloq. U.S. 11, 26,61, 64,42. 54. $ Not* K.

hoth foreign and domestic relations, which belong to a Constitution, as
distinguishd from a Treaty: to a Government as distinguishd from a Con*-
federacy: and to one People, forming one Nation as distinguishd from
many. They prohibited to the States, all the correspondent powers, which
could conflict with the free and independent exercise of those, which they
granted to Congress. They ordaind an Executive department, and placed
in it, the Chief Magistrate of the Nation, the representative of their digni
ty and power abroad: of their authority, justice and mercy at home. They
establish! one Supreme Tribunal and clothed it with jurisdiction, more
August, important and interesting, than any Court ever possessed; over
cases and controversies the most dignified and momentous; over the Acts
of the very Legislature and Executive of the Union; over States, Ambasa-
dors, Citizens and Foreigners. They declared, that Treason against the
United States, should consist in levying' War against them: and as their.
laws acted on, individuals, without regard, to office or influence, they drew
no distinction between the Officers and Citizens of States, acting under her
Authority, and those who acted without or against it. They declared the
citizens of each State, to be citizens of all, and demanded from each, a
paramount alegiance to the government founded by all, for the good of all,
and administerd by the representatives of all. They provided for the ad
mission of new States into their perpetual Union; the most glorious Sister-*
hoodof Free States, that History has recorded. They guaranteed to every
State a Republican form of Government; they pledged to each the nation
al protection against domestic violence and invasion; they redeemd the
faith of the Confederation, whether plighted to its creditors or to foreign
States, and ordaind alternative tribunals to originate and decide on amend
ments. Lastly, in correspondence with the power and majesty of that
authority which had said, "We, the People of the United States do ordain
and establish this Constitution," they declared, that this Constitution and
the Laws of the United States, which shall be made in pursuance thereof, ¦
and all treaties made or which shall be made under the Authority of the
United States, shall be the Supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in
every State shall be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or Laws
of any State to the contrary, notwithstanding." And as tho' to leave no
doubt of the supremacy of the jurisdiction, Executive, Legislative and Ju
dicial, which they had thus created, they finished this, the model govern
ment for all Nations, by decreeing an Oath of universal official obligation.
"The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of
the several State Legislatures, and all Executive and Judicial Officers-,
both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath
or affirmation to sopport this Constitution."
Such is the government, ordaind by the people of this country for
themselves and their posterity, and destind, the more it is known and the
better ,h is understood, to become the model government of all nations.
To have conceivd* it, implies a higher order of intelect, a more compre
hensive wisdoii, amore enlarged foresight, than to have conceivd the De-
elaration of Independence. To have fashiond it, step by step, from its
* Note L.

19
embryo state, to the maturity and perfection of its manhood, exhibits!
more profound philosophy, more consummate skiii, and a richer experi*
ence in politics.than to have framed the Declaration of Independence. To
have proposed it to a people, who had sent them to reform and not to cre«
ate, to the people of the States, so jealous of power and . watchful over
rights, so full of State pride, prejudice and suspicion, was a manifestation,
of moral courage in the Convention, far exceeding that of the Congress
of 1776, when " with a firm reliance on Divine Providence," they mutu«
aly pledgd to each other, " their lives, their fortunes and their sacred
honor." To have adopted that Constitution, was a more ilustrious in*
stance of popular self-sacrifice, a nobler example of self-denial, a mora
striking proof of self-conquered passion and prejudice, than history has
ever recorded. To have administerd that government with justice and
dignity abroad; with energy, wisdom, moderation and equity at home; to
have made the American Republic, more glorious, more venerable, more
lovely than aught in the annals of mankind: and the name of American,
a title more proud and precious, than that of Greek, or Roman, or Briton,
was the heaven-appointed privilege and reward of Washington. To have
created, adopted, executed, submitted to such a government, was worthy
of a peopfe, who knew thai government derives its " just powers from the
consent of the governd :"* that " it is the right of the people to alter or to
abolish it, and to institute a new government."* Thus to have acted, was
worthy of a people who knew, that " for a people wanting to themselves,
there is no remedy; from their power, there is no appeal: to their error,
there is no superior principle of correction."! Thus to have acted, was
the highest proof that man has ever gfven of his capacity for self govern
ment: and is the most striking ilustration of the truth, value and authoritj
of the maxim, *' Trust the People."
I have said, that the third duty of Americans, was to cling to the
Constitution, as the highest security for our Union; to, the Union, as the
best safeguard of Liberty. Their fourth duty, next to our Country, the
Constitution. and the Union, is to love, honor and reverence the character
and memory of Washington; and to esteem, as the very test of a pure and
lofty patriotism, conformity to his principles and practice.
GENTLEMEN OF THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY.
Let me enjoin it especialy on you, to cherish and ilustrate this great
•duty of Americans. It is your privilege to bear the most precious and ve
nerable name, that man ever conferd on a Society of his fellow men. Shall
it not then, be your office, to bear ever about you the spirit which made
Washington, the first of Americans-, the Father of his Country;
first in War, first in Peace, first in the hearts of his Country
men? And what is that spirit? Read it in the history of the past. Ilus
trate and honor it, in the history of the present and the future. Philoso
phy has nothing more admirable for symmetry, wizdom and virtue: poetry
and eloquence have nothing more commanding and attractive than the life
of Washington. That life teaches you, in his own language, that he made
* Decl. of Indepenrl. * 1 Eloq. U. S. 19,.

20
It "his earnest prayer to God," "To dispose us all to do justice, to love,
mercy and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and pacific
temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the divine author of our
blessed religion, without a humble imitation of whose example in these
things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation."* It teaches you to
believe the moral government of God in the world, his empire over nations,
and his special providence in favor of our country. It teaches you, that
"of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, reli*
gion and morality are indispensable supports:"! that in vain would that
man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great
pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and
citizens:"! and that we must, "with caution indulge the supposition, that
morality can be maintained without religion."! That life teaches you to
reverence, as well as to love the People; to trust, as well as to serve and
obey them: to bear with their passions, to respect their prejudices, and to
forgive their injuries and injustice. It equaly teaches you, that the Peo
ple, if they wander from the paths- of political wisdom err, but are not cri
minal: that the capacity for self-government, in our intricate and extend
ed system, can be perfectly developd and reduced to practise, only when
their Rulers are distinguishd by purity of motive and fidelity of conduct;
by a spirit of moderation, disinteiestedness, candor and magnanimity.
There, may you learn, the inestimable truth, the solemn lesson, that the
danger in our Republic lies, not in the People, for they are honest and
patriotic; but in the selfishness and ambition, in the corruption,and intrigue,
in the reckless passions, in the prejudices and self-sufficiency of Rulers.
In that life, may you read, that the good sense and virtue of the people,
unobscured and unpoluted by the acts of the Demagogue and the resent
ments of the disappointed and violent, are inexhaustible fountains of pub
lic spirit, prosperity and glory. And there may you also read, how hostile
to the best interests of the People, are those who agitate and excite them;
who appeal to their passions and selfishness, to their jealousy and prejudi
ces; who alarm their fears and kindle their resentments; who count as
secondary considerations, the holy bonds of Union, the sacred ties of
brotherly love; who have not the courage, the honesty or the wizdoni, to
appeal to their good sense, patriotism and justice: who while they profess to
be their servants and friends — dare not trust the people. There may
you learn, how dishonorable to our country and to public men, how injuri
ous to national morals, how degrading to the Press, are bitterness and ridi
cule, the savage, reckless spirit of political intolerance, slander and vio
lence; the denunciation of our Rulers, as Tyrants, the proscription of
our Brethren, as Enemies. The Administration of Washington, will teach
you, that a temperate, disinterested, manly, conscientious opposition to the
measures of government, is among the noblest of public virtues, among the
highest of public duties: that an opposition, marked by violence and abuse
by prejudice, and exageration, and hateful passions, is a crime against God
and our Country; but that "no combination of designing men under hea
ven, wlil be capable of making a Government unpopular which in its prin-
- .5 Marsh. 57. t 5 do. 699, % 5 do. 699, 700.

21
ciples a wise and gooil one, and vigorous in its operations.* His public
career will also teach you, "that without an entire conformity to the spirit
of the Union, wc cannot exist as an independent power."! Andinthe whole
life of Washington, may you behold embodied the spirit of American In
stitutions, grave, thoughtful, calm, patient; full of wizdom and moderation;
of magnanimity and disinterestedness; of justice, purity and brotherly
love. Of such a man, wo cannot feel too proud as our countryman. For
such a man, we cannot cultivate too deep a sense of gratitude and venera
tion, as a Ruler and Patriot-Father, as a model of duty and usefulness in
public and' private life.
Such, Gentlemen, of the Washington Society, is the pattern you liave*
selected as a standard for your principles, as a lamp to your paths; wheth
er as citizens in social and domestic 'life, or as servants of the People in
public stations. May you be faithful to the pledge you have given to this
community, to Carolina, to your whole Country, by adopting as the title
of your Institution, a Name, so spotless and venerable; a name, inexorably
hostile to all the arts of intrigue and cortuption, to the selfishness of am
bition and the violence of -evil passions. May you redeem that pledge
most honorably to yourselves, most fortunately for your country. May
you redeem it magnanimously, boldly and frankly, for the sake of your
selves and of your latest posterity. Influenced by these sentiments, and
jlustrating them by a correspondent practice, Carolina shall have reason
to hail you the most faithful and affectionate of her children, as in thought,
word and deed, the disciples of Washington.
The last great duty of Ancericans, is, to reverence and cultivate the
essential, vital spirit of American institutions. How lamentably have we
errd in this respect, "groping in the dark" as Franklin said of the Con-.
vention: and seeking for light and models, among the institutions of ages,
and nations, far removed from us in time or character. How insensible
have we shown ourselves to the spirit of American Institutions! Instead
of studying, developing and perfecting them, we have been seduced from
our alegiance to that spirit, and treading the paths of European precedent,
have sought for our tree of life in the classic gardens of "those finished
histories, which," it is said, "still enlighten and instruct Governments in
their duty and their destiny." Can we better improve the most memora
ble Anniversary in our own, or any other National Annals, than by devo
ting the residue of thjsday to meditation on the true character of that spi
rit? And to whom shall this last last, great duty be assignd?
Fellow-Countrymen, Fellow-Citizens! this last duty is assignd to you.
Your's is the noblest, the most precious heritage, that free men have ever
posessd. Your's is indeed, the Promised Land, foretold by the prophet
pen of Philosophy, or seen through a glass darkly, in the visions of Poetry.
Your's is a Realm, n|ore spacious in extent, more various in character, and
richer in resources, than the Statesman-Patriot of any other age or coun
try ever calld "his own, his native land." Your's was an infancy, marvel
ous beyond that of any other people: a youth, such as the Republics of
Ancient and Modern Europe seek in vain, among the records of their own
* 1 Eloq. U.S. 43. t 5 Marsh. 48.

2*2
historians: a imnlwl, earlier, more dignified, more commanding, thaa
the au-i lis of any oii.jr na-:sou presents to oui view. Shall your s be tne
lot of a premature old age, imbecil, degraded, the object of mockery, con
tempt and indignation? Or shall it be that serene, that beautiful old age;
that virtuous, majestic and glorious old age, little less than immortal youth,
which s'lall be the destiny, but the destiny, only of a Free, Educated,
Peaceful, Christian People? Is there a heart in all this holy lemple
that does not breathe its fervent aspirations to the Father of Lights, to the
God of all mercies, "May such be the old age of our Country! — 1 hat
such may be the lot of our children to the latest generations, depends on
you, my Beloved and Respected Countrymen! You must meditate
often and anxiously on the spirit of American Institutions. That spirit is
Freedom, Education, Peace, Religion. These are the four Cardinal vir
tues of our American Republic: their concentrated essence is the spi
rit of our institutions.
We are, we must continue a Free, Educated, Peaceful, Christian
People. But freedom is not with us, what freedom was in the ancient de-
m >cr:iries. The liberty of those ancient States, was the inertness of palzy,
or he shocking features of apoplexy. It was licentiousness and anarchy,
th • ii jrce contest between patrician and plebian, or between a jealous
and ever-endan^erd people on the one hand, and powerful, corrupt, am
bitious rulers on the other. Their portrait is sketched by the pencil of a
Poet, but wilh the fidelity of history:
Who that wouM ask a heart to dulness wed,
Toe waveless calm, the slumber of the dead?
No! the wild bliss of Nature needs alloy,
And fear and sorrow fan the fires of joy."*
Not such is American Freedom. Her spirit is Religion, Peace, Eck
ucuiion. It is tranquil, sedate, rational, dignified. May the Galvanic
convulsions of Athenian and Roman Liberty, never be the lot of our coun
try! Nor is Freedom with us, the freedom of European States. Tiiere,
the >rreat landmarks are, the supremacy of the members and the subordin-
ati'tn of the head; exemption from the misgovernment of their hereditary
Rulers; and security against Tyranny. But with us, the parts are subjected
to Vr.i whole: representation is pure, simple, equal: au independent Judi
ciary is a shield of defence, agiiinst executive violence, legislative errors,
and popular prejudice. Wo have nothing to dread from tyrany and ty
rants, nothing seriously and permanently from the ambition of rulers; every
thin? from the abuse of self government. Let the People only realize the
true spirit of American institutions, considerate, tranquil, prudent as it is,
and their spirit must be the spirit of their Rulers. Let the People do
THEIR DUTY TO THEMSELVES, TilOUQlITFULY, CALMLY, DISCREETLY, AND
THE'R RULERS WILL NOT, DARE NOT HE DISOBEDIENT TO THE SPIRIT OF
their masters. Let the Devotee of European liberty, perishing in the
battlefield against Tyrants, on the scaffold of civil contest, or in the pris-
* Campb. Plsas.Hope, P. 2, v. 17.

S3
.an of faction, breathe forth his indignant spirit, in the aspiration of the
Tuscan patriot inscribed on his dungeon walls,
" Exoriare aliquis nostris ex ossibus ultor.'— .tEs. L 4, v. 6.
But, while the spirit of American institutions shall endure, our emi
nent patriots may indeed be calld to their rest, in their own homes, us by
divine appointment, even on the birthday of American Independence.*
But never, never shall they die on the battlefield of brothers, never in the
Bastile of tyrants, never on tlie scaffeld of the Rebel or the Traitor. O
my Country! mayest thou cling, with an enduring trust as thou hast so
lately done, to the spirit of American institutions! "Thy faith hath made
thee whole." Thou hast touchd-the garment of that spirit, wise, peaceful,
Christian; and hast been healed of thy plague. The fountain ot thy blood
has been stayd. And in the very depth of that midnight darkness, which
lately shrouded our land; when fear came upon us, and trembling; when
a spirit passd before our faces, but wc discornd not the form thereof; who
shall deny, rather, who can doubt, that the effectual fervent prayer of
many a private Christian, thro' all our borders, ascended to heaven for the
peace of brothers? "His prayer, hi9 praise, his life to vice unknown,
"In sweet mem .rial, rose before the throne;
J'Tbese charms, success in that bright region find,
"And calld an Angel down to calm our mind.' — Parkeix's H ehmit, v 180.
And who, with the past examples of American History, and the tes
timony of Washington and Franklin, can doubt, that Providence, by a
special interposition saved, us then from ourselves? Who shall say, that
the prayer offerd up in that very Convention, whose unchristian, whose
unrepublican spirit, (as we believd it to be) struck us with grief, and
amazement, and almost with despair, was n >t instrumental in fulfilling that
remarkable declaration of the Sacred Writers, quoted by Franklin, "surely
the wrath of man shall praise thee, the remainder of wrath shalt thou re
strain?" — Whilst we lay, as it were, helpless and despairing, and seemd
to wait for some Angel to trouble the waters for our healing, the prayer
for light and help, ascended from the midst of that very assembly. And
it was heard. The blessing of Heaven descended, silent and unseen, as
the dew of evening. The spirit of American Institutions prevaild, and we
were saved. O my Countrymen! letiis never doubt the sincerity of that
prayer! Let us accord with willing hearts, the meed of respect and grati
tude, to those who proposed, to those who offerd up, to those who joind in
that prayer. Let us believe, that in the dark hour of temptation and trial;
of temptation to dishonor their Parent, to smite their Country; of trial to
the strength and sincerity of their love and duty, many a spirit that would
have yielded at her bidding, life, liberty, property; yea, the aged parents
that bore him, and the wife and the children of his fire-side,, struggled in
an agony of intercession, intense and solemn as death-bed supplications,
* Trios. Jefferson and John Adams died 4 July 1S?G, and Jaro«8 Monroe, 4 Jnly 1831.

24
One of the most eminent of that Convention, in talents, energy and inflii*
ence, one of the boldest and most zealous of the men, whom we beheld,
with mingled awe, astonishment and indignation, has yielded his spirit,
within a few days, to his Father and our Father, to his God and our God..
— Let us believe, for his sake and our sakes, that out of the depth of his
soul, as he stood on the verge of the gulf of Civil War and Revolution,,
went forth an impassiond prayer for light and counsel. Peace be to his
ashes! Let his talents and eloquence, as a writer and speaker, be remem-
berd, for they honord Carolina. Let his principles, so deeply condemnd
by us, be recblected, as warning beacons; but without scorn, ridicule, or
bitterness. Let the errors of his political life, for such we must esteem
them, be forgiven, as we trust to be ourselves forgiven; and be forgotten,
for the sake of our common country.
Will you my Fellow-Citizens, yield me your attention yet a little
while longer, that I may ilustrate still farther, the spirit of American In
stitutions? Patrick Henry said, in the Convention of Virginia, "Guard
with jealous attention, the public liberty. Suspect every one who approach
es that Jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it, .but downright
force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruind."*
And the question has been askd, with triumphant confidence, as tho' but
one reply could be given, "What have the People ever'gaind but by Re
volution?" and we have been told, "Revolution has no terrors for me."
The sentiments of Patrick Henry, belonged to the jealousy and anxiety,
the confusion, alarms and doubts, which naturaly sprang up with, and sur»
vived the Revolution. They are unworthy of our age: they are a reproach
to the spirit of American Institutions: "they are foreigners in our Union
and with our Constitution. To the question, "what have the People ever
gaind but by Revolution," I answer, boldly, if by Revolution be under
stood the Law of the Sword, Liberty has lost far more than she ever
chained by it. The sword was the destroyer of the Lycian Confederacy
and the Achaean League. The Sword, alternately enslaved and disehthrald
Thebes and Athens, Sparta, Syracuse and Corinth. The Sword of the
Macedonian cut his way to the Council of Amphictyon, thro' the ranks of
freemen, and expelld Lacedsemon to make room for Philip. The Sword
of Rome, conquerd every other free State, and finished the murder of li-
-berty in the ancient world, by destroying herself. What but the Sword,
in modern times, anihilated the Republics of Italy, the Hanseatic towns,
and the primitive independence of Ireland, Wales and Scotland? What
but the Sword partitiond Poland, asasinated the rising liberty of Spain,
banishd the Hugonots from France, and made Cromwell, the master, not
the servant of the People? What but the Sword of Republican France,
cut down the liberties of the Batavian Confederacy, and traced in letters
of blood on the eternal snows of Switzerland, "the Law of the Sword is
the Law of violence to the peaceful, of slavery to the free?" And what
but the Sword, of the same Republican France, destroyd the Independence
of half of Europe, deluged the Continent with tears, devourd its milions
Upon milions, and closed the long catalogue of guilt, by founding and de-
* 1 Eloq. U. S. p. 78;

25
fending to the last* the most powerful, selfish and insatiable of Military
Despotizms. The Sword, indeed, deliverd Greece from the Persian Invaders,
and expelld the proud Tarquin. The Sword emancipated Switzerland
and Holland: restord the Bruce to his Throne, and brought Charles to the
scaffold. The Sword hewed in pieces the giant power of the oppressor
Napoleon; cut asunder the chains, that bound the Spanish Colonies to the
Mother Country: and redeemd the pledge of the Congress of '76, when
they plighted to each other, "their lives, their fortunes and their sacred
honor." And yet, what would the redemption of that plege have availd,
towards the establishment of our present government, if the spirit of Ame
rican Institutions, had not been both the birthright and the birth-blessing
of the Colonies? Religion, Education and Popular Institutions, a deep
sense of the value of civil and political liberty, of the rights of conscience,
of the Independence of the People, of the responsibility of Rulers, and of
the true nature of the Social Compact, were the mother-milk of our colo
nial infancy. The Indians, the French and the Spaniards, even England
herself, warrd in vain against a People, born and bred in the household,
at the domestic altar of Liberty herself. They were freemen, because they
were worthy to be such; before the Sword of Revolution had cut the Gor-
dian knot of colonial dependence. They never had been slaves, for they
were born free. The Sword was a herald to proclaim their freedom, but
neither created nor preserved it. A century and a half, had already be
held them free in infancy, free in youth, free in early manhood. Theirs
was already the spirit of American Institutions: the spirit of Christian
freedom, of a temperate, regulated freedom, of a rational civil obedience.
,For such a People, the sword, the law of violence; did and could do noth
ing, but sever the bonds which bound her colonial wards to their unnatural
guardian. They redeemd their plege sword in hand; but the Sword left
them, as it found them, unchanged in character; Freemen, in thought
and in deed, instinct with the immortal spirit of American Insti
tutions. But what has the Sword ever done, what can the sword ever do, to
change the Slave in o a Freeman? The fit subject of Despotizm or Mo
narchy, baptized in blood, no more becomes a Freeman; than the Phari
see, plunged in the waves of Jordan, came forth a Christian. The very
materials of the Warrior's Sword, are the materials of the Tyrant's chains,
of the Atheist's Guillotine. The Sword may rescue the slave from the
dungeon, and cut asunder the "iron that enterd into his soul." The Sword
may deliver him from the tyranical misrule of another; but, can it confer
on him the capacity for self-government?- — And what is Liberty without
this?— What is it, but the fickle, tempestuous democracy of Athens: the
selfish and tdl-destructive ambition of Rome; the very whirlwind and hur
ricane of the French Revolution? The Sword cannot give to the slave
the virtues, that public and private life demand of the Freeman. It can
not kindle the sense of duty, and the spirit of usefulness; it cannot clothe (
him with the calm and enlarged wisdom, the moral courage, the self-deni
al and self-command; without which, Liberty is a ferocious and remorse
less demon, "a reproach and a Uy-word down to future ages." The Sword
4

26
cannot elevate and expand the soul of the Slave, and fill it with high and'
holy thoughts of Country and Brethren, of Union and Constitution, of the
majesty of the Laws, and the obligations of civil obedience, of the autho
rity of public sentiment and the Supremacy of its moral power. What
but the spirit of American Institutions can work the change? What but
this is able to cast out the unclean spirit, which fits the Slave to be the
Maniac of a Reign of Terror, or the base satelite of Imperial Ambition?
What — but Education, Religion, Peace — is endured with power to make
liberty a blessing, and not a curse? The spirit of American Institutions
has ruled our Country for two centuries: and, what has it not done for us?
The Sword has had the dominion of the Earth, for nearly six thousand
years: and, what has it Etccomplished for the human race? Milions
upon milions give the answer from the world of spirits. The Sword can
never change the Slave into a Freeman; for it cannot work miracles. It
cannot breathe into him, the breath of life; and Liberty is Life*

NOTES.

NOTE A. p. 7.
I quote with pleasure the following passage from Patrick Henry's 2d Speech in the
Virgmia Convention^'We have seen sons of Cincmnatus without splendd magnificence
or parade, going, with t e genius oftheir great progenitor Cincinnatus, to the plough
men who served their country without ruining it; men who had served it to the destruction
of their private patrimony, their country (.wing them amazing amounts, for the payment of
which no adequate provision was then made. We have seen such men throw prostrate
their arms at your feet. They did not call for those emoluments, which ambition pr sents
to some imagm tlo.s. The sol .iers, who were able to command every thing, instead of
trampling on those laws, which they were constituted to defend, moststrictly obeyd them. The
hands ofjustice have not been laid on a single Arne ican soldier. Bring them into contrast
with European veterans:— you will see an astonishing superio ity over the latter. There
has been astrict subordination to the laws."— Wha a noble example of obedience to the
spirit of American In titutions! Whata rebu-e from the A my of 1783 to civi: Rulers and
citizens of South- Carolina in i 832— when, to wrest by force from the aation and the gov
ernment of the nation, what they conceived to be their rights, these took up the arms cast
away by those. ,
NOTE B. p. 9.
The following sentiment from the pen of Dr. David Ramsay, is inserted in his Chron-
ological Table Amo 1787: " A series of Essays, the Work of Alexander Hamilton, James
Madison and John Jay, with the title of Publius or the Federalist, published soon after the
promulgation of this Constitution, had a decided influence in procuring its acceptance, by
enlightning the mind in the principles o"governn.eht, and removing prejudices in favor of
4 hightoned State sovereig 'ty incompatible ickhth. geteral good." Of the Federalist the Edin-
burg Review says— "a won> little !¦¦ nown in Europ ¦",.¦ but which exhibits an extent and pre
cision of mformati m, a profundity of research, and an acuteness of understanding, wliich
would have done honor to the most ilustrious 'Statesman of ancient or modern times. 1%
vol. p. 471. NOTE C. page 9.
The Constitution was ratified in the following order. By Delaware, Pennsylvania
and New-Jersey in 1787: by Connecticut, Massachusetts, Georgia, Maryland, South:
Carolina, New-Han pshire, Virginia, and New-York in 1788: by North-Carolina in 1789,
and by Rhode Island in 1790.* Had the debates of all of 'hese Conventions been preserved,
they Would have formed a richer and more copious library of political sagacity, wisdom and
knowlege, than any nation ever possessed. Indeed, Elliott's Debates^ The Federalist,
Washington's public papers, Pitkin'e Civil and Political History, and Marshal's Life of
Washington are more valuable to an American, than the whole body of political Liteiature
SfAncientand Modern Europe.
* South-Carolina adopted the Constitution by the auspicious majority of seveuty-s 'x.
NOTE D. page 9.
The following sentiment of Washington in his Farewell Address, is one of the strongest
proofs of his sagacity and wisdom." With me, a predominant motive has been to endeavor
tp gain time to our country, tosett'e and mature its yet recent i-.stituiitis: and to progress,
without interruption to that degree of strength and consistency, which is necessary to give

\t humanly speaking, the command of its own fortunes.'"* It was the Constitution, which
gaindtim for us to settle and mature, and has given us, if we are wise and faithful, tlie com
mandqfo.i fortunes. Who can doubt, thai Jie same advice is s:il applicable? Let Amer
icans engrave it on their hearts. I. is wortH all the advice of the violent and precipitate.
Patience was said by N wton to be the real source of al! his great achievnients. Pauence
was tie pro ^inentfeatur, in the character of Washington. It ought to be the leading fea
ture of American c aracter. Moderation and wi dom a. e its handmdds: a gradual, health
ful, uninterrupted development of all our resources physical and moral will be it's fruits.
'5. Marsh. 708.
NOTE E. page 13.
Judge Wilson savs in his Speech in the Pennsylvania Convention — After a period of
6000 years had elapsed since the creation, the United States exhibit to the world the first
instance, as far as we can learn, ofa nation unattacked by external force, unc'jiivulsed by
domestic nsurrections, assembling voluntarily, deliberating fully and deciding calmly,
concerning the system of government unde which they would wish that they and their
yorterity should live. ' The Ancients so nlightoned on other subjects were very i ininform-
ed with regard to this. They seem scarcely to have had any idea of any other kinds of gov
ernment, than the three simple .orms designated by the epithets, monarchical, r.ristocratical
and democratical " "What induces me to be of this opinion, is that Tactitus the profound
polit.cian Tacitus, who had u .doubtediy studied the Const tutions of all the Slates and King
doms xnown before and in his time, and who certainly was qu .lined, in an uncommon de
gree, for understanding the full force and operation of each of them^ after all he had known
and/ead, eonsidereda mixed government, composed of the three forms, as a. thing rather to be
wishd han expected, and he thinks thatifsu.i.agovernmentcouldeverb instituted, its dura
tion could not be long." l.vol. Eloq U. S p. 6, 7. Mr. Madison says in his speech in
the Virginia C nvention." The uniform conclusion draw.) from a review of \ncient and
Modern Confederacies, is, that instead of promoting the public happiness, or securing pub
lic tranquility, they have, in every instance, been productive of anarchy and confusion —
ineffectual for the preservaaon of harmony, and a prey to their own disssensions and f reign
invasions." 1 vol: Eloq. U.S. p. 13*. Alex. Hamilton, speaking in alio don to the An
cient Governments, says — "No inference can be drawn from these examples, that repub-.
lies cannot exist, we only contend that they have hitherto been founded on false principles."
1 Do. 29 And at page 27 he says, "The fact is, the same false and impracticable principle
ran thro' most of the Ancient Governments." See more on tlie subject, in the Federalist
No.' 9, 18, 63.
NOTE F. p. 15.
Montesquieu says, Sp. L B. 8 c. 20--that ihe natural property of small States is to
be gov rnd by a republic, and ot'large empires to be swayd by a despotic prince. "What
then was to bedjne"saysju ,ge Wilson. "The idea ofa confederate epaWicpresenteditself,"
having "all the internal advan. ages ofa republican, wit.' the externa force of a monarchical
government." Mont. Sp. L. B. 9. c. J . " The experiment," says Paley in his Moral
Philosophy " is about to be tried in America on a large scale." B.6,c 6, at end "Ithas
been advanced as a principle, savs Alexander Hamilton, 1 Eloq U.S. 67, that no govern
ment but a despotism, can exis in a very extensive country." " But the position has been
misapprehended; and its application is entirely false and unwarrantable.  It relates only to
democracies, where the whole body of the people meet to transact business." So Patrick Hen
ry says in the same volume, p. 2H), " Whoever will be bold to Kay, that a continent can be
governed by that system, contradicts all the experience of the worl '. Itis a work too great
for human wisdom. I call for an example of a great extent of country, governd by one
government or congress, call it what you will." Patrick Henry did not see the fine distinc
tion drawn by Jv;dge Wilson p. 5. "This opinion seemsto be supported, rattier than contra
dicted, by the history ofthe governments in the old world. ' Edmund Randolph, in reply to
the same objection, made by George Mason, says, (p. 126,) " No ext nt on earth seems to
we too g eat, prbvid d the laws be wisely made an,d executed. The principles of represen
tation, and responsibility, may pervade a large, as well as a small territory." "Not the d gni-
ty of names, but the orce of reasoning gains my assent." Addison in his remarks on Italy"
thinks "that it would certainly be for the good of mankind to have all the mighty empires ot

29
the world cantoned out into small principalities, which like so many large families, might lie
under the observation of their pro ier iovemors, and the Abbe Sieyes in his plan ,or re
forming and organizing Fr nee. a ted o 1 the same idea when h ¦ divided the ancient provin
ces of France into 3 . departinants ; but combined the w.iole into one compact and general
system of adminstration. See •' mparti.l Hy. ofthe Fr. Rev I. p 149, 150, 151. I ,snow,
says Mr. Jefferson, "that the acquisition of L uiiana has been disapproved by some, from a
candid apprehen ion hat th? enlargement of our country would endanger the Union . But
whocanhmi. the extent, to. wiiich the federative prinei ¦!< may operate effectively? The
larger our assosiatio ,, tlie less will it e shak n by ocal p .ssUms. Presid Sp. 204. I have
be ju thus full and particular in these quotations, in order tj impre.s upon my countrymen
the important truth, that ext nt of territory agreat number o States, a population o: one
hundred millions, will be among the greatest securities for the strength, integrity, and du.a-
bility ofthe Union. Let there be a correspondent improvement in the civil and religious,
not in the mire literary education of th: people, and we have absolutely nothing to fear,
but every thing to hope for, that can mr ;e the destiny of a people, truly g. eat and glorious as
the friend, monitor and example of all nations.
NOTE G. p. 15.
Mr. Madison said, in the spirit.of prophecy, in the Virginia Convention: "I pledge
myself that this government will answer the expectations of its friends, and foil the appre
hensions of its enemies." 1 Eloq. U. S. p. 142. And in his last Message of December,
1816, be thus expresses himself in a passage, more worthy of being studied and memor
ized by the young American, than any dozen passages in the Orations of Cicero and De
mosthenes. Would that our Colleges would substitute the collection of the Presidents'
Speeches, (Messages,) for the little of the latter, and the much of the former, which they
require of their students! I trust yet lo live to see the day, when Text Books of Ameri
can Politics, History, and Constitutional Law, will occupy a full year of every College
course. " Happily I shall carry with me from the public theatre other sources, which those
who love their country most, will best appreciate. I shall behold it blessed with tranquil
ity and prosperity. at home, and with peace and respect abroad. I can indulge the proud
reflection, that the American people have reached, in safety and success, their fortieth
year, as an independent nation; that, for neaily an enure generation, they have had expe
rience of their present Constitution, the offspring of their undisturbed deliberation and of
their free choice; that they have found it to bear the trials of adverse, as well as prosperous
circumstances; to contain, in its combination of the federative and elective principles, a
reconcilement of public strength with individual liberty, of national power for the defence,
of national rights, with a security against wars of injustice, of ambition, and of vain glory,
in the fundamental provision, that subjects all questions of war to the will of the nation
itself, which is to pay its cost and feel its calamities. Nor is it less a peculiar felicity of
this Constitution, so dear to us all, that it is found capable, without losing its vital energies
of expanding itself over a spacious territory, with the increase and expansion of the com
munity for whose benefit it was established. And may I not be allowed to add to this
gratifying spectacle, that I shall read in the character of the American people; in their de
votion to true liberty; and to the Constitution, Which is its palladium, sure presages, that
the destined career of my country will exhibit a government, pursuing the public good as
its sole object, and regulating its means by the great principles consecrated in its charac
ter, and by those moral principles, to which they are so well allied: a governmsnt which
watches over the purity of elections, the freedom of speech and of the press, the trial by
jury, and the equal interdict against encroachments and compacts between Religion and
the State; which maintains inviolably the maxims of public faith, the security of persons
and property, and encourages in every authorized mode, that general diffusion of knowl
edge which guarantees to public liberty its permanency, and to those who possess the
blessing, the true enjoyment of it. A government which avoids intrusions on the internal
repose of other nations, and repels them from its own; which does justice to all nations
with a readiness equal to the firmness with which it requires justice from them, and
which, whilst it refines its domestic code from every ingredient not congenial to the pre-
ceots of an enlightened age, aid the sentiments of a virtuous people, seeks, by appeals
to reason,and by its liberal examples,to infuse into the law which governs the civilized world,
a, spirit which may diminish the frequency, or circumscribe the calamities of war.and meli-
erate the social and beneficent relations ot peace: a government, in a word, whose con-

30
duct, within and without, may bespeak the most noble of all ambitions — that of promoting
peace on earth and good will to man. These contemplations sweetening the remnant of
my days, will animate my prayers for the happiness of my beloved country, and a perpe
tuity of the institutions under which it is enjoyed. — President's Speeches, p. 345.
NOTE H. p. 16:
The great subject of Patrick Henry's fears and declamation, (for there is little or nr>
thinking or reasoning in' his speeches,) was the aecepfance of tbe Constitution, without
amendments beforehand. Accordingly, in his speech of the 24th June, 17SS, he says, "I
conceive it my duty, if this government is adopted before it is amended, to go home," and
be declares Mr. Jefferson to have been of the same opinion, as to rejecting the Constitu
tion till amended, 1 Eloq. U. S. p. 197. This was one of the greatest difficulties attending
the adoption of the Constitution : and had it not been overruled for our goodj must have pro
ved fatal. We may form some conception ofthe extent and seriousness of tbose difficulties,
by adverting to the fact, that although Seven States adopted the Constitution, without pro
posing explanations or amendments, yet the other Six offered no less than (172) one hun
dred and seventy-two of such resolutions and alterations. Let these doubts and fears
teach us to cling with redoubled fidelity to' the Constitution and the Union; and to regard
the preservation of both ; as absolutely indispensable to us at home and abroad. Theoretic
caly, the constitution is not faultless, in the opinion of any inteligent man of the milions
whom it blesses; but practiccdy, it is faultless ; because you cannot prevail on the requisite
majority to agree to any amendment, NOTE I p. 76.
The extravagance of Patrick Henry is absolutely astonishing. All the extracts in:
tbe text are his sentiments. Without discovering any imagination in his speeches, he
has indulged in a wildness of exaggeration, that surpasses the flights of almost any
fancy. How little did he realize the character ofthe Constitution, and the spkit of Ameri
can institutions, when he spoke thus. "What can avail your specious, imaginary balan
ces : your rope-dancing, chain-ratling, ridiculous, ideal cheeks and contrivances ?" 1
Eloq. U. S. 39- At the end of this speech he says, "I have not said the hundred-thou
sandth oart of what I wish to impart." ""There is no title of nobility to be granted,
which by the by would not have been so dangerous, as the perilous cession of powers
contained in that paper.*" " What shall the states have to do ? — take care of the poor,
repair and make highways, erect bridges, and so on and so on."* " Our legislature will
indeed be a ludicrous spectacle, one hundred and eighty men, marching in solemn farci
cal procession, exhibiting a mournful proof of the lost liberty of their country- ". " I look
on that paper as the most fatal plan, that could possibly be conceived to enslave a free peo
ple."* PatrickHcnry was undoubtedly a man of great energy and ardor, but it .would be
difficult to find any thing in the political extravagances and exaggerations of our day, that
surpass these specimens. The truth is, Patrick Henry was wonderfuly fitted for the
irregular action and violent excitement ofa revolutionary period. He would have been
the very monarch of popular orators in an ancient Democracy ' Had he been a Greek, he
would have vanquishd even Demosthenes. But like many of the men, whom we mourn
over in our days he comprehended not the essential genius, the true spirit of American in
stitutions. He understood and admired revolutionary ; but he neither comprehended nor
loved constitutional liberty. This spirit has survived, to the grief and dishonor of Caroli
na, in some of her principal men. But the nation has rebuked it: and Heaven has saved
their country. NOTE K. p. 17.
Alexander Hamilton was tbe reverse of Patrick Henry. He saw that the whole
danger of America lay in the preference of revolutionary to constitutional liberty. His
speeches exhibit a wise profound Statesman, thoroughly intimate with the characteristic
differences of governments, and understanding what medicine his country needed. On
this subject the dread oftyramj, he makes these capital remarks. " In the commencement
of a revolution, which received its birth from the usurpations of tyrany, nothing was more
natural , than that the public mind should be influenced by an extreme jealousy. The

31
steal for liberty became predominant and excessive. In forming our confederation, this
passion alone seemed to actuate us: and we appear to have had no other view than to secure
ourselves from despotism.'"' " Wehave erred through excess of caution, and a zeal false
and impracticable. Our counsels have been destitute of consistency and stability."*
" We have it constantly held up to us, that it is our chief duty to guard against tyrany : it
is our policy to form all the branches of government for this purpose."* " Judge Wilson
says, in the same spirit as Alexander Hamilton, " The truth is, we dreaded danger only
on one side: this we manfuly repelled. But on another side, danger not less formidable,
butmore insidious stole in upon us." "Those, whom foreign strength could not ovei power,
have well nigh become the victims of internal anarcht."* Letjus rejoice that our
country has had thegOod sense, the wizdom,the virtue, the resist indignantly and inflexibly,
the recent attempt, in the form of threats, denunciation and political metaphysics, to se
duce them from their alegiance to the constitution. They have nobly rejected the coun
sel, which strove to induce them, by menace and sophistry, to launch an ew the shipwreck
ed Confederation, and abandon their glorious " Old Ironsides." Washington nailed the
star spangled banner to her mast : and there may it float eqrialy triumphant over foreign
jealousy and domestic intimidation, till a hundred stars shall' glitler in its folds!
It is due to the memory of Alevr. Hamilton, to vindicate him from the unjust aspersion
that has been Cast upon him, of having been an enemy >o the t'tates. Those, who desire to
see the most complete refutation of the charge, will find ample proofs in the opinions ex
pressed by Hamilton, ofthe absolu'e necesity and incalculable value of the States in the
new scheme of Government- S' e the 1 vol. of Eloq of U. S.p. 37,42,49,68,70. His
vindication of Republican Ci overnment against the suggestion, that it had "become a prevail
ing doctrine, that republican principles ought to be hooted out of the world, is simple and
manly. 1 Eloq. U. S. p. 43; 44.
* lEloq. U. S. 101, 212, 219, 225.
NOTE L. p. 18.
Whilst I can claim for Carolina, the merit of having produced Charles Pinckney's draft
ofthe Constitution. I envynotto Virginia the distinction ofhavinppennd th' Declaration of
Independence. Regarding the former as a far nobler monument of wizddm and virtue,
than the latter, I have no hesita ion in placing the reputation of Mr. Pinckney above that of
Mr. Jefferson in this respect. There were ahundred men in the United States, who could
have penned the Declaration as well as Mr Jefferson; bu: Carolina claims for herself the sin
gular merit of Chs. Pinckney s draft r.faFederal Government; for it approaches far nearer
to tlie adopted instrument, than the Resoluti ns of Edmund Randolph, the proposition1- of
Wm. Patterson, or the plan of Government of Alexander Hamilton. Ihus may she well
console herself for having yielded, as truth and justic required she should, to New Hamp
shire, the distinction ofhaving produced the firstumttcn Constitution. ThatofN. H. bears
date the 5th January, 1776; that of So. Ca: 26 March, 1776.

OF THE
HOW. WILLIAM DRAYTON,
T o tine "W astamgtoia. Society .

At the celebration of the Fourth of July, in this city, by the Washing^
Son Society; one of the Vice-Presidents gave the following toast:
The Hon: Wm. Drayton. — The patriot "without fear and without
reproach," — estimable in private, illustrious in public life — all the ends he
kirns at, are his country's.
When the enthusiastic plaudits, with which this toast was received had
subsided, Col. Drayton rose and spoke as follows: —
Fellow-Citizens: —
Although you have been induced, by personal kindness, to speak of me
in a manner which I am very far from meriting, I yet receive your flatter
ing compliment with the most grateful feelings, not because it is flattering,
but because it manifests your approbation of my conduct, and your opin
ions, that the exertions which I have made in the cause of our country, and
for the preservation of your rights, however inefficient they have been,
have been all that my humble abilities enabled be to render, and that they
have been directed by purity of intention. But, fellow-citizens, any thing
relating fo myself, is unconnected with the object of this meeting. We
have met for the purpose of celebrating the Anniversary ofthe Declaration
af Independence; of giving utterance to the deep and heartfelt emotions
which are associated with the recollection, that by the toils, and the suffer
ings, and the valor, and the blood of our ancestors, we were raised from
colonial vassalage to sovereign power. Whilst thus rejoicing, we ought,
also, to remember, with emotions scarcely less intense and reverential, that
our ancestors after experiencing the evils of an embarrassing and feeble
Confederacy, framed that Constitution which was ratified by the people
of the United States, to secure the blessings of Independence, Liberty
and Union, to themselves and their posterity. Greater blessings than In
dependence, Liberty and Union, were never bestowed by man upon man;
and yet have we witnessed a period, when some of the posterity of our glo«-

81
rious ancestors would have hazarded the possession of these inestim
able treasures ; to promote the triumph of a pernicious sophistry, first
promulgated in the " Exposition and Protest," which was published
by the order of the House of Representatives of this State, in De
cember, 1828. These observations are not made by me, as prefa
tory to an elaborate investigation of the odious doctrine of Nullifi
cation — a doctrine so paradoxical, as to involve in its mere statement
the palpable contradiction that a single Statej under no other res
traint than her own discretion, can, within her limits, annul the Laws of a
Government, which the People of all the States have solemnly bound
themselves to obey, as "the Supreme Law ofthe Land" — that a State ca»
exempt herself from the burthens, and participate in the benefits of the
Union — can be a member of the body politic, and absolve herself from the
obligation which it imposes. That these gross incongruities might be sus
tained, what have we not endured? Whilst the accomplishment of Nulli
fication was in progress; the practical effect of which it was alleged, would
be a peaceful and constitutional remedy for our grievances, can we ever
forget that Clubs were organized in every city and hamlet, b}' whose irres
ponsible will, the Constitution and the Laws were controlled— that thou
sands of Volunteers were raised, holding themselves ready, at a minute's
warning, to march and to fight, as if a foreign enemy were hovering upon
our coast — -that large sums of money were expended by the Legislature for
the purchase of arms and ammunition, to reimburse which, we must be
heavily taxed — that our youth were allured from their appropriate avoca-
tionsj and the softer sex from their characteristic pursuits, to mingle in the
strife of political contention— that ancient friendships were dissolved, the
ties of blood rent asunder, and the domestic circle, where affection, and
harmony, and confidence should reign, embittered by party raneor — that a
portion of our citizens were proscribed and disfranchised, because they
would not take an unrighteous and unconstitutional oath — that our whole
State was convulsed to its centre — and that even the horrors of Civil War
were anticipated by those who deprecated it as the direst calamity, with
which an offending people could be visited by an avenging Deity?
These, fellow-citizens, were some of the bitter fruits of Nullification.
What are the benefits which it has conferred upon us? We were told,
that it was resorted to in order that we might be relieved from the intole
rable oppressions of an unconstitutional protective tariff; and yet the Con
vention which annulled all the protective tariff acts, by their Ordinance in
November, 1832, formally repealed that Ordinance in March, 1833, al
though a tariff act was then in existence, which enacted, that protective
duties should be levied until June, 1842, which, thereafter, perpetuated
"the protective system as the settled policy of the country," so far as it
could be perpetuated by legislation, in the event of a uniform duty of 20
per cent, producing a revenue beyond the expenditure of the Government,
which substituted cash in lieu of credit duties upon all imports, and which
introduced the innovation of the home valuation of imports, thus increas
ing, by 40 per cent, the amount upon which the duties are to be assessed
after the year 1842; and although that Convention, in the "Address to the
People of South Carolina," resolved that until these abuses (the protec
tive tariff acts) "shall be reformed, no more taxes shall be paid here," an*

35
in the "Address to the People of the United States," declared, "If we
submit to this system of unconstitutional oppression, we shall voluntarily
sink into slavery, and transmit that ignominious inheritance to our children.
We will not, we cannot, we dare not submit to this degradation, and our
resolve is fixed and unalterable, that a protecting tariff shall be no longer
enforced within the limits of South. Carolina. We stand upon the prin
ciples of everlasting justice, and no human power shall drive us from our
position." That position, nevertheless, has been abandoned — the Ordi
nance of Nullification, founded upon "the principles of everlasting justice,"
has been repealed by the Convention which ordained it — and "a protective
tariff" is now "enforced within the limits of South Carolina." I shall
make no further comments upon the conduct and the acts of the Conven
tion of South Carolina. No powers of eloquence could more vividly ex
hibit their character, than a bare reference to what they have done, and
what they have undone. I take, no pleasure in dwelling upon so humilia
ting a topic, and shall quit it, with simply expressing my fervent hope, that
our sad experience of the evils of Nullification, and the rejection of its dog
mas by every Legislature in the Union which has considered them, may
operate as a solemn and solitary warning to deter others from imitating
the example of those, who, had they not been "driven from their position,"
would have plunged their State into all the miseries of anarchy and blood
shed and civil war, and, ultimately, have subjected themselves to the de
gradation of submission to the Government which they had resisted, or of
dependence upon a foreign power.
If the Convention which assembled at Columbia, in March last, had
limited their acts to the repeal, of their Ordinance of Nullification, the
wounds which have been inflicted upon our distracted State, might have
been healed by the lenient hand of time; the wrongs and injuries which a
minority have suffered, might have been forgiven or forgotten, and, gradu
ally, that harmony might have re-appeared, which formerly prevailed
among us. But, unfortunately, with that Convention originated another
Ordinance, declaring, "that the allegiance of the citizens of this State, is
due to the said State,- and that obedience only, and not allegiance, is due
by them to any other power or authority; and "empowering the general
Assembly of the Said, State, from time to time; when they may deem it
proper, to provide for thie administration, to the citizens and officers ofthe
State, or such ofthe officers as they may think fit, of suitable oaths or af
firmations, binding them to tbe observance of such allegiance, and abjuring
all other allegiance: and also to define what shall amount to a violation of
their allegiance, and to proyide the proper punishment for such violation."
With such an Ordinance as this, to be enforced in the discretion of the
Legislature, to talk of our rights and liberties is an insult to common sense.
I am aware of theargument which is relied upon by bur political op
ponents, that test oaths are required in several of the States, and that a
State may unquestionably, insist that the citizens in the form of an oath,
shall manifest their obedience to her Constitution and Laws. These posi
tions I do not controvert. I except not to a test oath, in the abstract, but
to the purposes to which it has been applied. The Federal Constitution
was as directly ratified by the people of this State, as was the Constitution.

36
of this State. The allegianee of a citizen of the United States to th**
United States, is as substantive and obligatory, as is that of a citizen o.f
the State to 'the State. Within the sphere of Federal Allegiance, the Uni
ted Slates are supreme; within the sphere of State Allegiance, the State is
supreme. Federal and State Allegiance are perfectly consistent; instead
of interfering witb, they mutually strengthen each other. Notwithstand
ing the distinction which is drawn in the Ordinance of the Convention, be;
tween allegiance and obedience, (suggested, I presume, by the same spirit
of paradoxical subtilty as the dogmas of Nullification,) their meanings are
identical. Allegiance is the obedience which every citizen owes to the
Constitution and the Laws of his Country. A citizen of South Carolina
is aisp a citizen of the United States, consequently, he owes Allegiance to
the Constitution and Laws of South Carolina, and to the Constitution and
Laws of the United States. Should he, nevertheless, be involved in any
difficulty, proceeding from an apparent or real variance, between the laws
Of the State and of the United States, by the Constitution of the latter,
"the laws ofthe United States made in pursuance ofthe Constitution, shall
be the supreme law of the land;" should doubts arise, in the judgment of
the citizen, whether a law of the United States has been "made in pursu
ance of the Constitution," those doubts, by the provisions ofthe Federal
Constitution, are to be resolved, in the last resort, by the Federal Judici
ary. Keeping steadily in view the true meaning of Allegiance, and these
provisions of the Constitution of th& United States, no citizen can be em
barrassed by the subject of his Allegiance. When, therefore, the "State,
by an Ordinance, requires her citizens to take a test oath, by which they
abjure all Allegiance, excepting to herself, it is obvious, that they must
either violate that Allegiance, which they are constitutionally, and consci
entiously bound to observe towards the United States, or by "refusing to do
so, be rendered amenable to any pains and penalties, (extending, even,
to death and confiscation of property,) which may be imposed upon them
by the Legislature of the State. It is against such a test oath as this, that
I enter my protest — a test oath, unconstitutional, vindictive, and cruel, ex
hibiting a melancholy proof of the reckless extremes, into which a dominant
party will rush for the attainment of their object, when misled by narrow
prejudices, blinded by exclusive feelings, and infuriated by burning resent
ments. Until the Ordinance containing this test oath be annulled, it must
be execrated by all who recognize the Federal Constitution as a Constitu
tion. It usurps the exercise of a power which no State, in the Union, can
grant — invades the sanctuary of the heart — tramples upon the sacred rights
of conscience — and prescribes to citizens of South Carolina and of the
United States, to abjure that Allegiance from which they cannot be ab
solved, except by expatriation or revolution.
The radical error which pervades all the reasonings of the advocates
of Nullification is this — they have not distinguished between constitutional
and natural rights — between rights under the Constitution and beyond it.
As this State always acknowledged the Federal Constitution, she could not
be relieved from a protective tariff, upon the ground of its being unconsti
tutional, otherwise than in some ofthe modes warranted by the Constitu-
ti«n, among which Nullification was not included. When, by her sole au>

81
thority, she undertoek te annul a protective tariff, she exercised an extra-
constitutional and revolutionary power, derived from the rights of man
and of nature, paramount to all Constitutions, although she never declared
that she had seceded from the Union. Had she made this declaration, and
acted upon it, she would have been entitled to adopt such measures as she
deemed necessary for the accomplishment of her object, for in revolutions
self-preservatron is the supreme law. She might then have called upon
her citizens to renounce their Allegiance to the Union, and to have nulli
fied the Constitution and all the laws ofthe Union. Placed in this situa
tion, she must either have settled her differences with, the United States
peaceably, by treaty, or failing in this, she must have appealed to arms,
and abided by the issue of the contest. In this struggle, they might have
been compelled, at their peril, to choose the side which they would main
tain. Before resuming my seat, I will offer to you a few remarks upon a
subject which has created no little excitement. I allude to the "Act" "fur
ther to provide for the collection of duties upon imports," for my vote in
favor ofthe passage of which, the harshest epithets of censure and crimi
nation have been lavished upo#n me. When that act was passed, the Or
dinance ofthe Convention was in force, by which all protective tariff acts
were declared "null and void, and no law, and all contracts, promises and
obligations made or entered into with purpose to secure the duties impos
ed by the said acts, and all judicial proceedings which shall be hereafter
had in affirmance thereof, shall be held utterly null and void." — This ordi
nance came into operation from and after the 1st day of February, 1833,
from which period, it interdicted "appeals from the State Courts to the
Supreme Court, in any cases within the purview ofthe ordinance," requir
ed "all persons holding, or hereafter elected to any offices, civil or milita^
ly, under the State, (membeis of the Legislature excepted) to take an oath
to execute the ordinance," and forbade jurors to be impannelled, unless
they swore "well and truly to obey, execute and enforce it." If this ordi
nance was constitutional, Congress had no right to interfere with it. If it
was unconstitutional, they were bound to endeavor to defeat it. For the
reasons which I have already submitted to you, as well as for many others
vVhich are familiar to you, Congress entertained no doubts as to the un
constitutionality of the ordinance, they had, therefore, only to deliberate
upon the!-expediency of the measures which they should adopt to prevent
its enforcement. Had they been quiescent, they would, impliedly, have
conceded, that the ordinance was constitutional, and that the Federal Gov
ernment could not protect itself: that government would then have been
annihilated for a government which cannot execute its laws, ceases to be
a government. Upon the passage or rejection of the Act of the 2d March,
1833, depended the momentous alternative, whether the Federal Constitu
tion should exist, or be prostrated at the feet of a dominant party in a
State. Happily forthe integrity of the Union, and the honor and salvation
of the country, Congress were faithful to the trust which was reposed in
them, and in their performance of it, kept themselves within the pale of
their legitimate powers. Those parts of their Act which authorize the
employment of military force, (which can only be defensively employed)

38
are sanctioned by precedents upon our Statute Books, during the admin
istrations of Gen. Washington and of Jefferson, (the constitutionality
and expediency of which are admitted) authorizing the employment of that
species of coercion, under less guarded restrictions, and under circumstan
ces much less imperious; and those parts of the Act,- for which no prece
dents have been furnished, because the exigencies demanding them had
not previously occurred, were introduced for the purposes of preventing
collision between our citizens, and the shedding of fraternal blood, and to
counteract the Ordinance of the Convention, which set the laws at defi
ance. Had the Pres.dent, who is bound to "give Jo the Congress infor
mation ofthe state ofthe Union," and to "take care that the laws shall be
faithfully executed," not infomed the Congress of the desperate legisla
tion of South Carolina, and not recommended those means which were
expedient, in order "that the laws might be faithfully executed," he would
have been guilty of the violation of his official oath. Had Congress, who,
by the Constitution, have power to make all laws which shaU be necessary
and proper for carrying into execution" the powers vested in them, and
"in tlie government of the United States, or in any department or office-
thereof," not passed an Act, without whiSh the laws of Congress could
not have been carried into execution, they would have been guilty of a
violation of their official duty. The Act which was passed in pursuance of
these high obligations, (the true character of which, upon a candid exami
nation, will be perceived to be such as I have stated it to be) has, neverthe
less, been stigmatized as inconsistent with the principles of freedom, as
subversive of the rights of the States, as unconstitutional, ferocious and
bloody, as having been recommended by the President in the spirit of a
fiend, that he might execute it with the malignaty ofa demon.
The repeal ofthe ordinance of nullification of November, 1832, must
have been produced by some measure ofthe Federal Government. But
two measures were resorted to by the Government ; the passage of the
Tariff Act of 2d March, 1S33, and of the Act for the collection of duties
on imports ofthe same date. It cannot be presumed that the repeal was
owing to the first mentioned Act, because it enforces a protective tariff, in
diametrical opposition to " the fixed and unalterable resolve of the Con
vention "that a protecting tariff should, be no longer enforced within the
limils of South Carolina ;" the conclusion, consequently, is irresistible
that the repeal is to be attributed to the latter Act. By the passage, there
fore, of that Act denounced by the Convention, as "unauthorized by the
Constitution, subversive of that Constitution, and destructive of public
liberty," the monster Nullification was strangled, the march of misrule
and anarchy arrested, the supremacy of the Constitution and the laws
maintained, and the cheering assurance afforded to those who venerate the
Constitution and the laws, that our representatives will not be found
slumbering and sleeping upon their posts when the citadel of our liberties
is menaced, either by internal foes or foreign enemies.
Some ofthe observations which I have submitted to you may appear
to be alien to the occasion for which we have met. But it seems to me
, that on the anniversary of our National Birth Day, we ought to take a
comprehensive view ofthe good and evil by which we are surrounded.

39
Thanks to the discernment and patriotism of the people, and to the wis
dom and energy of our Government, we have been delivered from the
miseries of practical Nullification, with which we were recently threaten
ed; but the storm which was raised by its agitators has not yet subsided;
the angry passions which they generated have not yet sunk into repose.
We have heard it iterated and reiterated — that the battle with the Gener
al Government is not over, that it has just commenced — that the State
cannot protect herself without being armed for resistance — that no State
can be sovereign, which permits appeals from her judiciary to the Federal
Courts — that the protective system' constitutes but a small part of our con
troversy with the General Government; and in the Convention at Colum
bia, in March last, it was said by a delegate; "if a confederacy of the
Southern States could now be obtained, should we not deem it a happy
termination of our long struggle for our rights against oppression ?" When
sentiments and declarations such as these are avowed, unabated firmness
and vigilance are still requisite On the part of those who believe that the
Federal Constitution is calculated to effect the great objects for which it
was formed, in order to counteract any open or secret machinations, by
which we may be deprived ofthe inestimable benefits of that Constitution,
and by which the Union may be torn into fragments, and a Southern Con
federation created from its mangled members. Vigilance and firmness
ought to be exerted by all, who would deprecate the success ofa revolu
tion, of which the inevitable concomitants and consequences would be —
anarchy, intestine war, and military despotism. The members of this
Society, which bears the name of WASHINGTON, are peculiarly called
upon to be foremost whenever the Union is endangered. Professing our
selves to be disciples of Washington, we should imbibe a portion of that
spirit, which animatedhim when alive; like him, in the worst of times, we
should never despair ofthe Republic; like him, we- should dedicate our
days and our nights, our hands and our hearts, to the preservation ofthe
honor and the security of our common country; and like him, we should
resolve, either to conquer in the cause of independence, liberty, and uni
on; or to perish in the glorious conflict.
Colonel Drayton concluded with a farewell address to the Society, in
which he spoke in appropriate terms, of their meritorious exertions to
serve the cause which they had espoused, in spite of the terrors of pros
cription, and the discouragement inseparable from an organized majority,
which controlled and directed the power and patronage of the State —
gratefully thanked them for their disinterested and persevering support of
himself— requested them to receive his warmest wishes for their individu
al welfare and happiness, and to believe that he entertained towards them,
the sincerest personal respect and esteem— expressed his fervent hopes
that the dark clouds which now lowered over our political horizon, would
be dissipated, by the interposition of that Omnipotent and merciful Being,
who wielded the destines of men and nations — assured the Society, that
wherever he might be, and whatever might be his lot, he should always
rejoice in the prosperity, and mourn over the adversity of South Carolina,
and that he should be ready and willing in any future crisis, to identify
himself with her fortunes, and to render to her all the aid, within the sphere
of his limited means and talents.

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