variously gifted by nature, competent to be competitors or fellow-workers on the theater of intellectual operation. From these causes important improvements have taken place in the personal condition of individuals. Generally speaking, mankind are not only better fed and better clothed, but they are able also to enjoy more leisure; they possess more refinement and more self-respect. A su- 10 perior tone of education, manners, and habits prevails. This remark, most true in its application to our own country, is also partly true when applied elsewhere. It is proved by the vastly augmented con- 15 sumption of those articles of manufacture and of commerce which contribute to the comforts and the decencies of life; an augmentation which has far outrun the progress of population. And while the 20 unexampled and almost incredible use of machinery would seem to supply the place of labor, labor still finds its occupation and its reward; so wisely has Providence adjusted men's wants and desires to their 25 condition and their capacity. Any adequate survey, however, of the progress made during the last half-century in the polite and the mechanic arts, in machinery and manufactures, in commerce 30 and agriculture, in letters and in science, would require volumes. I must abstain wholly from these subjects, and turn for a moment to the contemplation of what has been done on the great question of 35 politics and government. This is the master topic of the age; and during the whole fifty years it has intensely occupied the thoughts of men. The nature of civil government, its ends and uses, have been can- 40 vassed and investigated; ancient opinions attacked and defended; new ideas recommended and resisted, by whatever power the mind of man could bring to the controversy. From the closet and the public 45 halls the debate has been transferred to the field; and the world has been shaken by wars of unexampled magnitude, and the greatest variety of fortune. A day of peace has at length succeeded; and now 50 that the strife has subsided, and the smoke cleared away, we may begin to see what has actually been done, permanently changing the state and condition of human society. And, without dwelling on 55 particular circumstances, it is most apparent, that, from the before-mentioned causes of augmented knowledge and im proved individual condition, a real, substantial, and important change has taken place, and is taking place, highly favorable, on the whole, to human liberty and 5 human happiness. The great wheel of political revolution began to move in America. Here its rotation was guarded, regular, and safe. Transferred to the other continent, from unfortunate but natural causes, it received an irregular and violent impulse; it whirled along with a fearful celerity; till at length, like the chariot-wheels in the races of antiquity, it took fire from the rapidity of its own motion, and blazed onward, spreading conflagration and terroi around. We learn from the result of this experiment, how fortunate was our own condition, and how admirably the character of our people was calculated for setting the great example of popular governments. The possession of power did not turn the heads of the American people, for they had long been in the habit of exercising a great degree of self-control. Although the paramount authority of the parent state existed over them, yet a large field of legislation had always been open to our Colonial assemblies. They were accustomed to representative bodies and the forms of free government; they understood the doctrine of the division of power among different branches, and the necessity of checks on each. The character of our countrymen, moreover, was sober. moral, and religious; and there was little in the change to shock their feelings of justice and humanity, or even to disturb an honest prejudice. We had no domestic throne to overturn, no privileged orders to cast down, no violent changes of property to encounter. In the American Revolution, no man sought or wished for more than to defend and enjoy his own. None hoped for plunder or for spoil. Rapacity was unknown to it; the ax was not among the instruments of its accomplishment; and we all know that it could not have lived a single day under any well-founded imputation of possessing a tendency adverse to the Christian religion. It need not surprise us, that, under circumstances less auspicious, political revolutions elsewhere, even when well intended, have terminated differently. It is, indeed, a great achievement, it is the masterwork of the world, to establish govern ments entirely popular on lasting founda- We may hope that the growing influence of enlightened sentiment will promote the permanent peace of the world. Wars to maintain family alliances, to uphold or to cast down dynasties, and to regulate successions to thrones, which have occupied so much room in the history of modern times, if not less likely to happen at all, will be less likely to become general and involve many nations, as the great principle shall be more and more established, that the interest of the world is peace, and its first great statute, that every nation possesses the power of establishing a government for itself. But public opinion has attained also an influence over govcrnments which do not admit the popular principle into their organization. A necessary respect for the judgment of the world operates, in some measure, as a control over the most unlimited forms of authority. It is owing, perhaps, to this truth, that the interesting struggle of the Greeks has been suffered to go on so long, without a direct interference, either to wrest that country from its present mas Under the influence of this rapidly increasing knowledge, the people have begun, in all forms of government, to 30 think, and to reason, on affairs of state. Regarding government as an institution for the public good, they demand a knowl, edge of its operations, and a participation in its exercise. A call for the representa- 35 tive system, wherever it is not enjoyed, and where there is already intelligence enough to estimate its value, is perseveringly made. Where men may speak out, they demand it; where the bayonet is at 40 ters, or to execute the system of pacificatheir throats, they pray for it. 50 When Louis the Fourteenth said, 'I am the State,' he expressed the essence of the doctrine of unlimited power. By the rules of that system, the people are discon- 45 nected from the state; they are its subjects, it is their lord. These ideas, founded in the love of power, and long supported by the excess and the abuse of it, are yielding, in our age, to other opinions; and the civilized world seems at last to be proceeding to the conviction of that fundamental and manifest truth, that the powers of government are but a trust, and that they cannot be lawfully exercised but 55 for the good of the community. As knowledge is more and more extended, this conviction becomes more and more gen tion by force; and, with united strength, lay the neck of Christian and civilized Greek at the foot of the barbarian Turk. Let us thank God that we live in an age when something has influence besides the bayonet, and when the sternest authority does not venture to encounter the scorching power of public reproach. Any attempt of the kind I have mentioned should be met by one universal burst of indignation; the air of the civilized world ought to be made too warm to be comfortably breathed by any one who would hazard it. It is, indeed, a touching reflection, that, while, in the fulness of our country's happiness, we rear this monument to her honor, we look for instruction in our undertaking to a country which is now in fearful contest, not for works of art or memorials of glory, but for her own existence. Let her be assured, that she is not forgotten in the world; that her efforts. The thirteen little colonies of North America habitually called themselves the 'continent.' Borne down by colonial subjugation, monopoly, and bigotry, these ible above the horizon. But in our day there has been, as it were, a new creation. The southern hemisphere emerges from the sea. Its lofty mountains begin to lift themselves into the light of heaven; its broad and fertile plains stretch out, in beauty, to the eye of civilized man, and at the mighty bidding of the voice of political liberty the waters of darkness retire. are applauded, and that constant prayers 5 vast regions of the South were hardly visascend for her success. And let us cherish a confident hope for her final triumph. If the true spark of religious and civil liberty be kindled, it will burn. Human agency cannot extinguish it. Like 10 the earth's central fire, it may be smothered for a time; the ocean may overwhelm it; mountains may press it down; but its inherent and unconquerable force will heave both the ocean and the land, and at 15 some time or other, in some place or other, the volcano will break out and flame up to heaven. Among the great events of the halfcentury, we must reckon, certainly, the 20 revolution of South America; and we are not likely to overrate the importance of that revolution, either to the people of the country itself or to the rest of the world. The late Spanish colonies, now indepen- 25 dent states, under circumstances less favorable, doubtless, than attended our own revolution, have yet successfully commenced their national existence. They have accomplished the great object of 30 establishing their independence; they are known and acknowledged in the world; and although in regard to their systems of government, their sentiments on religious toleration, and their provision for public 35 instruction, they may have yet much to learn, it must be admitted that they have risen to the condition of settled and established states more rapidly than could have been reasonably anticipated. They already furnish an exhilarating example of the difference between free governments and despotic misrule. Their commerce, at this moment, creates a new activity in all the great marts of the world. They show 45 themselves able, by an exchange of commodities, to bear a useful part in the intercourse of nations. A new spirit of enterprise and industry begins to prevail; all the great interests of 50 society receive a salutary impulse; and the progress of information not only testifies to an improved condition, but itself constitutes the highest and most essential improvement. When the battle of Bunker Hill was fought, the existence of South America was scarcely felt in the civilized world. 55 And now, let us indulge an honest exultation in the conviction of the benefit which the example of our country has produced, and is likely to produce, on human freedom and human happiness. Let us endeavor to comprehend in all its magnitude, and to feel in all its importance, the part assigned to us in the great drama of human affairs. We are placed at the head of the system of representative and popular governments. Thus far our example shows that such governments are compatible, not only with respectability and power, but with repose, with peace, with security of personal rights, with good laws, and a just administration. We are not propagandists. Wherever other systems are preferred, either as being thought better in themselves, or as better suited to existing conditions, we • leave the preference to be enjoyed. Our history hitherto proves, however, that the popular form is practicable, and that with wisdom and knowledge men may govern themselves; and the duty incumbent on us is to preserve the consistency of this cheering example, and take care that nothing may weaken its authority with the world. If, in our case, the representative system ultimately fail, popular governments must be pronounced impossible. No combination of circumstances more favorable to the experiment can ever be expected to occur. The last hopes of mankind, therefore, rest with us; and if it should be proclaimed, that our example had become an argument against the experiment, the knell of popular liberty would be sounded throughout the earth. These are excitements to duty; but they are not suggestions of doubt. Our history and our condition, all that is gone before us, and all that surrounds us, authorize the belief. that popular governments, though subject to occasional variations, in form perhaps not always for the better, may yet, in their general character, be as durable and permanent as other systems. We know, indeed, that in our country any other is impossible. The principle of free governments adheres to the American soil. It is bedded in it, immovable as its mountains. And let the sacred obligations which 10 have devolved on this generation, and on us, sink deep into our hearts. Those who established our liberty and our government are daily dropping from among us. The great trust now descends to new hands. 15 Let us apply ourselves to that which is presented to us, as our appropriate object. We can win no laurels in a war for independence. Earlier and worthier hands have gathered them all. Nor are there places 20 for us by the side of Solon, and Alfred, and other founders of states. Our fathers have filled them. But there remains to us a great duty of defense and preservation; and there is opened to us, also, a 25 noble pursuit, to which the spirit of the times strongly invites us. Our proper business is improvement. Let our age be the age of improvement. In a day of peace, let us advance the arts of peace and the works of peace. Let us develop 5 the resources of our land, call forth its powers, build up its institutions, promote all its great interests, and see whether we also, in our day and generation, may not perform something worthy to be remembered. Let us cultivate a true spirit of union and harmony. In pursuing the great objects which our condition points out to us, let us act under a settled conviction, and an habitual feeling, that these twenty-four States are one country. Let our conceptions be enlarged to the circle of our duties. Let us extend our ideas over the whole of the vast field in which we are called to act. Let our object be, OUR COUNTRY, OUR WHOLE COUNTRY, AND NOTHING BUT OUR COUNTRY. And, by the blessing of God, may that country itself become a vast and splendid monument, not of oppression and terror, but of Wisdom, of Peace, and of Liberty, upon which the world may gaze with admiration forever! (1825) (1825) WASHINGTON IRVING (1783-1859) Irving was of immigrant stock, the son of British parents who at the time of his birth had been in America only twenty years. That they were thorough Americans, however, and loyal to the ideals of the Revolution is shown by the name they gave their son who was born in the closing year of the great struggle. Until he was twenty-one the life of the boy was connected with his birth-place, New York City, a small place then of some twenty-three thousand, yet a city. Cooper was a man whose formative years had been passed on the border and on the ocean, but Irving was urban, metropolitan, a man of manners and of social training. He was a lover of books from his childhood; his father was a reader, an importer of English literature, and it is not strange that the boy early began to write and that before he was nineteen he was publishing Spectator-like essays signed Jonathan Oldstyle.' From the city schools he stepped into a law office, but just as he was ready at twenty-one for the bar, his health, always delicate, failed him. Consumption seemed to have fastened itself upon him, and as a last resort he was sent to Europe by sailing vessel, and kept in the open air for nearly two years in various parts of the Continent. The treatment was effective. In 1806 he was admitted to the bar and entered as a member of the law firm of John Irving in New York City. The fruits of his practice soon began to appear, though by no means in the form of briefs. The first was Salmagundi, the hilarious. New York Spectator of the period, and the next was the History of New York, that rollicking epic, written as a colossal joke and then all at once, to its author's amazement. awaking to life as a classic. But in 1809 literature in America could be only a diversion: it could not be entered upon safely as a profession; and as a result the young barrister drifted uncertainly for several years. The turning-point came in 1815. The father had died, and the sons in 1810 had organized two mercantile firms, J. & E. Irving, New York, and P. Irving & Company, London, the Company' in the firm name standing for Washington Irving. It seemed best that he should identify himself with his firm and take charge of the Liverpool office. Accordingly for the next three years, 1815-1818, he was in England, a business man with much leisure which he spent in traveling extensively over the Kingdom. Then had come the crash: the firm had been hit hard by the war of 1812 and bankruptcy was the outcome. At thirty-three the restless junior member found himself again unsettled, and, what was worse, without income. Nothing remained but his pen, and now he must use it not with the hilarious spirits of the former days, but seriously for very bread. He had no great hopes. His awe of the British critics would not permit him to publish in England: he would depend upon his countrymen and dare the less critical public of the new world. Accordingly, May 15, 1819, he issued in New York number one of a periodical which he called The Sketch-Book, containing five essays: The Author's Account of Himself,' The Voyage,' 'Roscoe,' 'The Wife,' and 'Rip Van Winkle.' Other numbers were issued in July, September, November, December, and in March and September, 1820. The second number fell into the hands of the English novelist Godwin, who saw that it was published in the London Literary Gazette. The issue of the collected numbers by Murray in 1820 brought a chorus of praise from the British public. Irving at once took a place with the best authors of the period: Blackwood's Magazine hailed him as by far the greatest genius that has arisen on the literary horizon of the new world.' Bracebridge Hall, 1822, and Tales of a Traveller, 1824, confirmed the judgment of the critics. Irving's next period was connected with Spain. The American Ambassador had become interested in some newly-found Columbus papers and invited the author of the Sketch Book to explore them. The result was three years in Spain from which came not only the Life of Columbus, but The Conquest of Granada, The Alhambra, and several others. He was finally called back to England as secretary of legation, and in 1831 he returned to America, having been away seventeen years. He was now fifty, and desiring to spend a peaceful old age, he secured an estate on the Hud son, christened it Sunnyside,' and indulged his literary fancies unhampered by the spur of necessity. A Tour of the Prairies, Astoria, and Captain Bonneville, belong to this period. But his wanderings were not over. Appointed ambassador to Spain. he accepted with reluctance, and again for four years he was in Europe. The last period of his life he devoted to his Life of Washington, a work into which he put all his best powers. On its completion in 1859 he died. perhaps the best beloved American of his generation. The most serviceable biography of Irving is Warner's in the American Men of Letters series. |