About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 Samuel J. Tilden, The Union: Its Dangers: And How They Can Be Averted 1 (1860)

handle is hein.slavery/udhtc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: THE UNION! ITS DANGERS!! AND HOW THEY CAN BE AVERTED. LETTER FROM SAMUEL J. TILDEN TO HON. WILLIAM KENT. 4 = To the Ifon. Willim Aeht: Dear Sir: Among my early memories of public affairs, during the tariff and nullification contro- vesies, I recoiject the illustrious name of your fa- father, Jauies Kent, signed to a call for a meeting of the citizens of New York, to recommend to Con- gress the adoption of measures ot'conciliation tow- ards our brethren of the South. The association recurs to my mind as often as I think of your name on the Union electoral ticket, which I consider a most wise and necessary endeavor to rescue our country in a far more perilous political conjuncture. i had no agency in putting it there; but I know it represents no partisan interest, prejudice or pas- sion, no man's vanity or ambitioi, and still less any illiberal opinion or feeling towards natives of foreign lands who have chosen this for their home. It re- presents nothing less worthy or less noble than pa- triotic devotion to the country, and serious and well-considered soliciude for the welfare of the hitherto fortunate people of these, as yet, United States. ' I share the sentiments which animate you in the present crisis. I recall your desire when last we met, that I should express to our citizens the convictions often avowed to you. An occasion has arisen which commits me to do so. I have chosen the form of a letter; I dedicate that letter to you. It is a testimony of my respect and affec- tion, and that we think the same things concerning our country. Yourinterestin the great theme will compensate all deficiencies in the offering. THE USE OF PARTIES. The tendency of parties is to draw the various po- litical elements into two divisions, and to equalize those divisions. The minority adopts enough of the ideas of the majority to attract those who are nearest to the line of division; and the majority, in struggling to retain them, makes concessions. The issue is thus constantly shifting with the waver- ing tide of battle, uptil the policy, which at last prevails has bepome adjusted so as nearly to repre- sent the average sense of the whole people. It is rare in our political experiene that the differ- ence between the majority and the minority equals five per cent. of the whole number; extremely rare except in cases where the issue on which the parties form is made up to suit specially some lo- cality. In shaping the policy which emerges from the conflict, the minority acts a part scarcely less important than the majority; and the dissentients are thus prepared to accept the result. THE PROCESS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. Such is the process by which the will of all the parts of the community is collected, averaged and represented in the policy finally agreed upon. This is the method of self-government. WHY SELF-GOVERNMENT IS BEST. The reason why self-government is better than government by any one man, or by a foreign people, is that the policy evolved by this process is generally better adapted to the actual condition of the society on which it is to operate. Govern- ment by one man often fails to understand, but it usually defers. Government by a foreign people neither understands nor defers. It has no adapta- tion to the wants or temper of the governed. It is, therefore, about the worst government that can be imagined. THE FEDERATIVE SYSTEM OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT. Our fathers understood this truth. They had tried the experiment. They had been driven to revolution by George. the Third, said to be the most honest man in his own dominions, and by the genial Lord North, and had seen how cordially the British people sustained whatever was worst in all the policy of monarch and minister. They fore- saw that a single government, exercising all the powers of society over the people destined to oc- cupy so vast a region as the United States, and em- bracing the elements of such diversities of interest, industry, opinion, habits and manners, would be in- tolerable to bear and impossible to continue. They, therefore, largely adopted the federative idea in the mixed system which they established; and vesting only the powers appertaining to our foreign rela- tions and to certain specified common objects of a domestic nature in a federative agency, they left the great residuary mass of governmental functions to the several states.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most