We have had our seasons of peace and of war, with all the evils which
precede or follow a state of hostility with powerful nations. We
encountered these trials with our Constitution yet in its infancy, and
under the disadvantages which a new and untried government must always
feel when it is called upon to put forth its whole strength without the
lights of experience to guide it or the weight of precedents to justify
its measures. But we have passed triumphantly through all these
difficulties. Our Constitution is no longer a doubtful experiment,
and at the end of nearly half a century we find that it has preserved
unimpaired the liberties of the people, secured the rights of property,
and that our country has improved and is flourishing beyond any former
example in the history of nations.
In our domestic concerns there is everything to encourage us, and if
you are true to yourselves nothing can impede your march to the highest
point of national prosperity. The States which had so long been retarded
in their improvement by the Indian tribes residing in the midst of
them are at length relieved from the evil, and this unhappy race--the
original dwellers in our land--are now placed in a situation where we
may well hope that they will share in the blessings of civilization
and be saved from that degradation and destruction to which they were
rapidly hastening while they remained in the States; and while the
safety and comfort of our own citizens have been greatly promoted by
their removal, the philanthropist will rejoice that the remnant of that
ill-fated race has been at length placed beyond the reach of injury or
oppression, and that the paternal care of the General Government will
hereafter watch over them and protect them.
Pages:
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710