Taylor, Leonard Henderson, b. 1819
Mr. President
The gentleman who has just addressed the house, after a slight
reversion to the happy condition of our as yet infant though prosperous
republic, has with great propriety dwelt more fully, upon the great importance
of the office of its chief-magistrate—& of the extreme care &
circumspection, to be exercised in his selection. As the last great experiment
of democracy, its course is ever watched with anxious solicitude, by the
advocates of true liberty, as the "bright autumnal star" whose
ascent, or whose fall, will irrevocably decide the momentous question,
"whether the people are capable of self-government". As the beacon
that guides the few rising republics of the present day, which its rays have
warmed into life,
its fate will ever embrace
their fortunes. To give perpetuity to our free
institutions, prosperity & happiness to our country, is the great end which
we have in view—in filling the responsible office of President. But
sir,—as to the most proper means of effecting
this great object—I am compelled to differ with
the gentleman. Our chief magistrate ought in my opinion- to be a military
character. The combination of the civil & military powers of a government
constitute the basis of its national freedom. Though they when united, procure
for us,—peace happiness & security—yet when viewed
apart—their claims to equal contribution are by no means indefeasible. A
wise civil administration is indeed indispensibly necessary to the prosperity
of a government;—but without that security, which is alone procured by
military power—the personal safety of its citizens would ever continue a
source of uneasiness—and
2
Page 2
the administration itself—deprived of its most
powerful support, would find itself incapable either of affording
3 protection, or
of maintaining its authority. Sir, the spirit of liberty is a jealous
one.—Jealous of it's security as the guardian of its rights against all
external invasion. As the preserver of that national character, which confirms
to it, a place among the nations of the earth,—& the rights &
priviledges of a free people—
it looks to the
military chief[t]ain
4 as the proper
person, in whom to confide its fortunes. And it is in accordance with the
strictest policy- that it should be so. It is to the military chieftain, that
we look for that firmness & descision of character—that promptitude
of action, which should ever distinguish him, who rules the destinies of a
nation. What, sir, would we presage to be the fate of a government, devoid of
this most essential qualification? What sir, I would ask, has
history already shown us? Its unerring page records
in letters of blood its dismal train of calamity bloodshed & devastation.
The want of this one principle in
one man oftentimes
involves his whole country in ruin;—"opens the flood-gates of
faction & discord"—whose swelling torrent rushes throughout the
land, impregnating the pure air of heaven with its baleful &
peace-destroying vapour; he sees the sacred name of his country, mocked by
i[t]s
5 insulting
foes—its ambassadors treated with indignity—the sacred principle of
treaty violated—and his own citizens impressed into foreign
service.—And what sir, I would again ask, would have been the condition
of our own glorious republic; in those trying times of its present
administration, when the brand of
infamy was menaced
to to the first patriot of his age, had not his unwavering firmness carried him
through the conflict—unawed & undismayed—his own bright
character, rendered more burnished;
Page 3
and his
recreant defamers crushed by the recoil of their own malicious weapons. It is
perfectly consistent with the experience of past ages, that a man may possess
"skill in the cabinet"—yet be wanting in these characteristic
qualities of a military capacity. He may possess thorough knowledge of
government—skill in diplomacy—acquaintance with the affairs of
foreign nations—and abilities for the facilitation of commerce & yet
be a weak man.
Cicero, the greatest states-man of his age, was
terror-struck by the martial display of the military, around the place, which
daily echoed with the burst of his mighty eloquence & humbly cringed to the
man whom in his heart he despised.
Demosthenes
at once its oracle—& the guardian of his country's glory; in the last
great struggle of its expiring liberty, ingloriously ground his arms- and in
his flight, mistaking the scratch of a bush for the grasp of a
soldier—with a "blanched cheek and quivering lip"—begs
that his life should be spared. What confidance could a people repose in a
ruler of this kind. And yet sir, because he is skilled in the
cabinet, (which
is generally is but the misnomer for skill in intrigue &
cabal) he is entitled to take charge of the "
vessel
of state" and guide it through the stormy seas, which shake the
nerves of the stoutest veteran. In short sir, the ruler of a free people should
be as it were its panoply of defence;—the bulwark which defies insult
& the sword that avenges it;—at once
its
Marcellus
& its
Fabius
.
6
The
Gentleman (Mr Avery)
objects to the elevation of a military character,
to the first offices of state, through fear of a "
military despotism" and has adduced several
instances to sanction
Page 4
it. Those of
Caesar—
Bonaparte &c.—To listen to his eloquent
description of their cruelty & tyranny,—their oppression of their
subjects—& the prostration of
Liberty; we
are unavoidably led into his conclusion.—and see with shrinking
hearts—the imminent risque—the appalling danger- we incur- in
hazarding our liberties upon so delicate a tenure—But sir, listen not to
the deceptive voice of eloquence. Let us for a moment trace effects to their
generating causes—and see how one could thus subvert the liberties of his
country. Examine the history of every age- & you will find the cause to be
in the state of the
people
themselves. It is when a nation becomes a prey to
corruption—when it is torn by civil dissentions—when the sacred
office of government is prostituted to venal purposes—it is sir, when the
temple of
Liberty is beginning to totter,—that
the bloody standard of the
usurper can be planted
over its ruins. And not till then. The independance of
Rome was virtually
lost- before
Caesar
became its usurper—Their assemblies were the shambles of offices secured
by bribery;—the property & honour of the citizens were vio[l]ated;
7 —its
masters were as numerous as its different
factions; and the small thread which bound together
the multifarious states of the Republic—so seperate in their
interests—seemed ready to burst. The occassion seemed imperiously to
demand some master-spirit, to quiet the jarring elements—and unite them
into one body. Let us now examine the position of the gentleman, with respect
to the
French
Revolution, & the efferts of those
patriots which "would
have
been crowned with success but for the usurpation of
Napoleon
Bonaparte
". That the French people ardently
desired Liberty—is what I do not intend to
deny: but
Page 5
that they in their then-existing state
of affairs were incapable of self-government- I will endeavor to show. Groaning
under a state of oppression in which they had long laboured; by the bloody
execution of their king, the French nation emerged into a state of comparative
anarchy. Fired by a spirit, hitherto unknown to them, and rendered enthusiastic
by the happy termination of our struggles, & their own unrestrained
condition, through a mistaken notion of liberty, they gave themselves up to the
most extravagant excesses—Like a lion just burst from his prison—it
vents its rage upon every supposed foe:—the adherents of the unfortunate
king, were
inhumanly persecuted—& all those who appeared inimical to their
designs were sacrificed to their fury. Par[t]y-rage
8 & discord
were now become the rulers of the Republic. From them, sprung
Robespeare—
Danton &
Murat
[Jean Paul
Marat?], who deluged it in blood. A corruption that has become
proverbial, universally prevailed. The
fanaticism,
which characterized the regiscides, spread like
wild-fire, from the
Loire to the
Rhine;—the divine institution of the sabbath was
abolished;—and devotion publickly ordained to be paid to
Liberty—the creature of their own extravagant
madness. The deleterious effects of such a state of things, so inimical to the
peace & liberty, not only of themselves, but of the world, began
universally to be felt; & called for that coalition against them which
finally succeeded in restoring peace & harmony. This is what the gentleman
is pleased to call "
liberty";—
Liberty! Observe sir, how easy the yoke of
Napoleon was borne. Where was that spirit, which brought
the ill-fated
Louis to the
block.? Why did it not with
Bonaparte? see with what open arms, he was recieved when
escaped from
Elba
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—Sir, the French nation, has
never experienced the sweets of
liberty. In the same manner
Oliver
Cromwell reared himself upon the religious faction & fanaticism of
his age:—a fanatacism which absorbed every principle of liberty. Thus we
see sir, that for a nation to be subjugated by an usurper, it must have
previously lost its
liberty
freedom. For as long as the pure spirit of
liberty, breathes throughout a country—the corrupt & heavy vapour of
tyranny will sink beneath its refined atmosphere,
"Unless corruption first
deject the pride
And guardian vigor of the free-born
soul
All crude attempts of violence are vain
Too firm—within—& while at heart untouched
Ne'er yet by force was Freedom
overcame"
Thompsons
Liberty
9
Sir, the gentleman has inveighed with much severity
against the [l]icentiousness
10 of the
camp;—which he identifies with a sink of corruption—& school of
vice. Such anathemas might well suit the undisciplined & profligate
mercinaries of the despot;—but will by no means apply to the soldiery of
our Republic. What sir, was the charac[t]eristic
11 feature, that
distinguished our Patriotic citizens, from the hirelings of
King George?
What was it sir, that enabled a few half-starved militia, to triumph over the
well-fed regulars of a powerful monarch? It was their strict
discipline;—that rigour, with which martial law was carried into
execution, & that circumspection of our officers, ever acts as a
preventative against licentious conduct. The prudent policy of our republic,
will not support, a commander of loose principles
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himself, or who tolerates them in the camp. Entrusted with the care of our
liberties,—his selection, is the result of a cool & calculating
inquiry;
12 —&
his movements watched by an anxious & jealous people. & here sir, I
would remark the duty incumbent upon the people to endue with the highest gifts
in their power, the man from whom they recieved signal military services. It is
a debt which they owe to him, & if not canceled, will ever remain a
monument of their ingratitude. It is in vain sir, to attempt to extenuate
13 the claims of
him, who generously offers his own life a sacrifice to the interests of his
country; & who perhaps has spilt his blood in her cause;—to its most
ample remuneration. It was the ardent love of his native soil—that called
forth the noble sacrifice, and the zealous devotion of the patriot, which makes
its
security—the
Palladium of
his heart. And it is too often the case, that private aggrandizement is the
ruling principle—which moulds the character of the statesman, and gives
direction to his talents. And we have no surety, that his promotion will
engender sentiments incongruous with the uniform tenor of his life. If the
protector of his
country
is denied the participation in its civil affairs,—what recompense shall
he recieve for his services? Shall those heroic deeds, which have won for it
the blessings of liberty, and emblazoned its historic page,—be
recompensed by the mere paltry expressions of gratitude & respect? Or still
less; shall they be acknowledged by that ill-devised
expedient—of increasing his labors, by
promotion in his arduous occupation?. Instead of
rewarding him for services already performed—to make the obligation, more
binding
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by imposing new duties upon him. Mr
President, shall the supporter of his country's indepence,—after the
perilous conflict of battle is over,—covered with wounds—the price
of its freedom—be requited by the unsolid recompense,- of
posthumous fame? shall a
marble column, be raised
over his grave—as if to illicit from more
generous posterity,—that tribute of patriotism to
him,—when
dead,—which they refused
him—when
living? Is this the recompense of
toil & suffering? Is it, the recompense of
pa[t]riotism
14? Forbid it
gratitude!! Forbid it
justice!! Then let our glorious Republic, never permit
its military spirit, to languish. through want of
patronage;—but cherish it—as the
keystone of the mighty fabric, upon which—all
our hopes—all our fortunes—are concentred. Should this decay we
then should bid to liberty & independence—a long—an
eternal—adieu