habitants of earth, with few and slight exceptions, under some form or name, were and always had been. But when our fathers ceased to be subjects of their king, they founded States without a king; and in this simple fact they indicated, and the wiser among them saw, the dawn of a new day in the life of mankind. This new world, thus and then discovered, was near enough to the old world to receive colonists with no more hinderance and difficulty than were useful to sift out the weak from the strong, that the seed of a new nation might have due vitality. Far enough from the old world to prevent an immediate and controlling influence from stretching across the waters and causing the future to be but a repetition of the past; far enough to permit the germs of nations planted here to grow up into the great possibility which awaited them. And then the hour came, and the last word of God's providence in human government was uttered when he said to a great nation, "Go forth, be free, and GOVERN YOURSELVES.” The great question for this country is, shall we be deaf to this word? In the infinite future there may be and will be vast changes and infinite improvements. These will lessen, or remedy, or prevent many evils which we already discern, and many more which we do not yet discern, in our republican institutions; and whatever good has yet come, or may now be hoped for from these institutions, will be increased a thousand fold, as they are changed for the better. But the nations will never again regard as the only possible or desirable government, that of a power distinct from the people, and deriving no force and no life from their consent and voluntary recognition. The work we have begun will not be suppressed and extinguished. It will live, and it will grow into the fulness of its stature; and that it may live and grow, the wants, the deficiencies, and the errors of any age will be disclosed by whatever lessons may be necessary to teach them, and will be remedied by whatever means are then found best for that purpose. For the period in the progress of mankind has been reached when a government was to be formed, which should possess, and in time of need be able to exert, the force of the nation for national purposes, and the combined power of its component parts for all those purposes which embrace the interests of all, and yet leave each of those parts, States, cities, families, and individuals, in the utmost possible freedom to enjoy the blessing and discharge the duty of self-government. When before, where else, has this ever been the design of government? The colonies, from their beginning, exercised a large amountsome more and some less of self-government. They knew that this must be so, and in some cases provided for it. A noticeable instance of this occurred among the founders of the colony of Ply month in New England. The "Mayflower" dropped her anchor in the roadstead of what is now Provincetown, on Cape Cod, Nov. 11, 1620. A journal of their proceedings says: "This day, before we came to harbor, observing some not well affected to unity and concord, but gave some appearance of faction, it was thought good there should be an association and agreement, that we should combine together in one body, and to submit to such government and governors as we should by common consent agree to make and choose, and set our hands to this that follows, word for word." The following instrument was prepared and signed: "In the name of God, amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, &c., having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the prcsence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obediIn witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names, at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James, of England, France, and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini 1620." ence. This may be called the first written constitution; forced, as it were, upon our fathers, by the compulsion of circumstances. It contains the essential principles of all republican constitutions. In all the colonies, through all their history, there was some conflict, and in some of the colonies an almost constant conflict, between their efforts at self-government and the royal authority, which, in the hands of its agents and officials, sought to control them. They became little republics; or it is more accurate to say that, by the experiences and the discipline they passed through for more than a century, they were trained to become republics. SECTION II. EVENTS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR OF INDEPEN- The colonies of North America were formed in rapid succession, and were scattered all along our seaboard. They were formed, to some extent, by different kinds of people, who came not all from one country nor moved by the same impulse, and they brought with them different characteristics. They were planted at distances which permitted them, independently, or, at least, without much assimilating influence of one upon another, to grow up each in its own way, each under its own circumstances, and each to develop its own peculiarities. And yet they were near enough, and similar enough, to seek and to have much intercourse, and to render to each other much assistance. As time passed on, they found it desirable, in some instances to unite and coalesce under a common government; and in others, to form alliances for mutual assistance and protection. And in this way some unity of feeling and of interest, and some tendency to community of action, grew up. And these experiences undoubtedly facilitated, and perhaps I might say made possible, their united action in their efforts to obtain independence. As the feeling that independence must be won, and would be worth all that it might cost, grew stronger and more general, it became evident to the far-sighted and the patriotic that there must be some concert of action. In June, 1765, James Otis, of Boston, advised the calling of an American congress. But this measure met with much opposition, and for a time it seemed as if there could be no union. Then South Carolina responded to Massachusetts, and declared for union! In New York, those who' held similar views established a newspaper, called the "Constitutional Courant," which had much influence. It bore for its motto the words, first used by Franklin nearly ten years before, "Join or Die." Never was the guiding truth of a great emergency expressed more emphatically or in fewer words. Join or die. This was indeed the great truth of that day, of every day since then, and of the very hour in which we live. Other States acceded, and on the 7th of October, 1765, the first congress, consisting of delegates regularly appointed from six States, with others, representing three more, assembled at New York. The doings of this congress strengthened and diffused the desire for united action. As the necessity became greater and more apparent, at length what is called the Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia on the 5th of September, 1774, and then on the 10th of May, 1775. Still, so great was the jealousy of a central power, that nothing but the peril of impending war, and its pressure when it came, held even this congress of delegates together. But they did hold together; and it was this congress which, on the 15th of June, 1775, appointed Washington commander-in-chief of the continental army; and on the 4th day of July, 1776, declared our independence. In that declaration these two elements of the unity of the whole and the sovereignty of the parts were mingled. It begins, "When it becomes necessary for ONE PEOPLE to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another," and at its close declares that the former colonies are "free and independent States." There they stood, free from all external dominion, and as independent of each other as of England. But in 1777, Washington, when, at Morristown in New Jersey, he found himself in the midst, if not of treason, of an indifference which was hardening into treason, by proclamation required all who had received protections from the British commander to surrender them and take an oath of allegiance to the United States! United; when and how were they united? In Congress he was censured for this. In the legislature of New Jersey it was declared that the required oath encroached upon the prerogatives of the State, and that it was absurd to swear allegiance to the United States before even a confederacy was formed. But even then Washington was justified by the language of the Declaration of Independence: even then were these States united in the contemplation of the good and the wise, and most of all in the heart of him who was best among the good and wisest among the wise. The doings of the Continental Congress before the Declaration of Independence, and in making that declaration, were revolutionary. They acted from necessity; and the general sense of this necessity prevented criticism of their measures or a refusal to obey them. But the Congress itself felt the need of a more orderly organization, which should approach a nationality, so far, at least, as to unite the States into a strong and efficient confederacy. On the same day in which a committee was appointed to prepare a declaration of independence, 11th of June, 1776, it was resolved to appoint another committee "to prepare and digest the form of a confederation to be entered into between these colonies." This committee reported a draft of articles of confederation, which was debated for about a month, and then a new draft was reported by the Congress in committee of the whole. The matter then slept until April, 1777, when it was taken up and debated on sundry days for about seven months, and on the 15th of November was adopted. These particulars are stated, that it may be seen how slowly and with what difficulty the idea of nationality made its way among the people. At that time it had indeed scarcely an existence. The different colonies had always been jealous of each other. Their interests were distinct, and in some respects opposed. Only because no one colony, and no part of the colonies, could achieve their independence, and all desired their independence, could they be induced to combine together sufficiently to act with any concert in the war of the Revolution. The wisest and strongest men in the country-Washington and Franklin may be mentionedlooked further. We cannot say that either of these men or any of their great compatriots anticipated the wonderful future which awaited their country, and which would have been impossible if that country had not become a nation. It is, however, certain that they did earnestly desire an actual and effectual confederation, which should confer upon the general government adequate powers. The nearest approach they could make to this, and that with great difficulty, was in forming the Articles of Confederation. It was no easy matter to carry these articles through the Congress, obvious as must have been the need of them to every member of that body. And after they had been adopted by Congress, there was great difficulty in obtaining the ratification of them by the colonies, which by the declaration of independence had become States. At length, however, in the last half of 1778, about one year from the adoption of this instrument by the Congress, it was ratified by all the States but two; and these, Delaware in 1779, and Maryland in 1781, finally ratified it. It was then publicly declared by Congress, with rejoicings which proved, on the one hand, with how much difficulty it had been obtained, and on the other, how much was hoped from it, and how great a good it was thought to be. The main cause of this difficulty was in the absence of all willingness among the people of the different States to give up so much of the independence and sovereignty of each State as was necessary, that all together might constitute a nation. There were, however, other causes. One of these was a great difference of opinion as to the basis of voting in the Congress. Some wished this to be by States, the smaller having equal power with the larger. Others would have political power proportioned to wealth; and still others to population. There was also much conflict, both of opinion and of interest, as to the ownership of the vacant lands in the vast and then unexplored western territory. The charters of the colonies were exceedingly indefinite as to their western boundaries, some of them running to "The South Sea," as the Pacific Ocean was then |