IT has ever been the enlightened policy of civil­ized Nations, to celebrate the return of those days, which have afforded any memorable lesson to mankind, or given birth to any remarkable event. By recalling our attention to these eras; by reviewing the causes, which originated them; the events, of which they were productive; and the characters, who bore an illustrious share in them; their memory is renewed and perpet­uated, and the impressions made on our feelings, enlivened and strengthened. This recurrence, as it were, to first principles, gives us also a standard, by which our conduct may be measured and appretiated; a criterion, by which its deviation may be detect­ed, and its rectitude restored. By reviewing the sentiments and conduct of the Fathers of the American Revolution, our love of virtue is animated, our feelings of gratitude enlivened, and our principles of patriotism confirmed.—The anniversary of this eventful day, which gave the Laws, a Temple; Liberty, an Al­tar; and Independence, Birth; must ever be the subject of in­structive review, of grateful applause, and festive remembrance; [Page 8] —must ever be celebrated by gratulatory mirth, and joyous ac­clamation.

THIS Continent, from an auspicious pre-arrangement and predisposition of things, seems peculiarly marked out by Heav­en, as the destined abode of civil and religious freedom. The time of its discovery sanctions the opinion. When the daring hand of LUTHER had rent the veil of the Temple of Superstition, which for ages, had concealed the deformity and wickedness of the Church of Rome; half Europe shrunk back from the view, bewailed their folly, and forsook their delusion; then, lest perse­cution should destroy those illustrious Reformers, our vast conti­nent was seen offering itself as an asylum for the oppressed of all Nations:—as a sanctuary for Liberty, when driven from the Eastern Climes, and hunted from every other quarter of the globe. This spirit of Liberty, brought hither by our Forefathers, has ever found a soil congenial to its nature;—has ever flourish­ed in its native luxuriance;—has ever grown with our growth, and strengthened with our strength; and though Great-Britain of­ten strove to subdue and crush this spirit, still did Liberty, An­taeus-like, grow stronger by the struggle; and that proud and haughty Nation was at last compelled, with hesitating voice, and reluctant hand, to acknowledge us, free, sovereign, and inde­pendent.

THE causes, which originated;—the events, which accompa­nied;—and the consequences, which flowed from the Ameri­can Revolution, have been too often traced, and too minutely recounted,—have been too ably and diffusively displayed, to re­quire [Page 9] or justify a very detailed consideration. However exten­sive the field, or exuberant may have been its harvests; its paths have been too often explored, and its treasures too often gather­ed, to leave much for present collection; and, like the humble follower in the fertile fields of Boaz, we must now rest content with the scanty gleanings of former industry.

AMONG the causes, which gave birth to, or prepared the way for, the American Revolution, may principally be ranked, the relative situation of the two Countries, and the general disposition, and the particular circumstances of Great-Britain.

HOWEVER severe the oppression, or tyrannical the measures, which drove our Forefathers from their native land to explore the inhospitable wilds of America;—however slender the assist­ance afforded, or the protection extended, to their infant settle­ments; still, had they ever been taught and accustomed to view, with filial regard, the Mother-Country. The ties of consan­guinity endearing and strengthening the bands of interest, had ever secured to her laws, a kind reception, a willing obedience, and prompt execution. This relation, by throwing the Conti­nent into her scale, had given her a preponderating influence in the balance of Europe;—had raised to an enviable and stupend­ous height the arch of her wide-extended Empire. This dispo­sition, so favorable to her views, and beneficial to her interests, it was the policy of Britain ever to cultivate and promote;—ever to suffer her power to rest only upon the firm basis of antient pre­judice, hereditary attachment, and national affection. But our rapid population, our encreasing resources, and astonishing [Page 10] growth, instead of fortifying this system, and enforcing the neces­sity of this policy, served only to excite her suspicions, and alarm her jealousy. She already began to regard as rivals. She fear­ed, that acquainted with our own strength, we should renounce her protection, and disclaim her superiority: she wished, there­fore, and strove to prolong the period of our infancy and weak­ness;—to keep us in a state of perpetual minority;—to impress us more deeply with a sense of her supremacy; and to rivet more firmly upon us the chains of our dependence. Viewed through the medium of political jealousy, every object appeared disguised and discolored; and all our actions forced and refracted from their true directions. Even our swift advances in prosperity, and rapid progress towards maturity, were considered as proofs of our aspiring criminality, and construed as leading steps to separa­tion and independence.

To strengthen this feeling, was added the general disposition, Great-Britain had ever manifested to oppress and tyrannize over her connections and dependencies;—which stimulated her to watch with a jealous eye, and curb with a rigid arm, her colonies in every part of the world;—that Avarice of Liberty ^*, which urged her to accumulate and engross, rather than to spread and diffuse it. Of which disposition, her possessions, both in the East, and in the West, afford the most melancholy proofs, which stand recorded in the most bloody characters;—which disposition has already made her execrated on both sides of the globe. Which, however, shews, that she was actuated, rather by a partial spirit, [Page 11] than the genuine principles of Liberty. Impressed with these prin­ciples, she would have made Liberty commensurate with her pos­sessions;—she would have given freedom to the universe. True Liberty, like Mercy, is twice blessed; it blesses him who gives, and him who takes; it is neither to be circumscribed by lines nor lat­itudes, nor does it turn critic on the different shades of the hu­man complexion; but like the Sun, would travel through every clime, and visit, with propitious rays, every quarter of the globe.

IT must likewise be considered, that the period we contem­plate, was peculiarly unfavorable to any arbitrary exertions of power. The progressive energy of reason, and extensive diffu­sion of political light, had, in some measure, dissipated the shades, which veiled the mysteries of government, from the profane view, and rude search, of vulgar eyes; and America was already re­marked for that science, which teaches the Rights of Man, and dis­tinguished for that spirit, which kindles the flame of freedom.

THE particular circumstances, in which Great-Britain was in­volved, at the period under review, strongly co-operated with the preceding causes. Exhausted by her efforts in the course of a successful war; which, however, was as pernicious in reality, as splendid in appearance;—in which, her conquests, like those of Pyrrbus, had nearly proved her ruin;—in which, her strength was consumed, her resources drained, and finances deranged;—Great-Britain began to cast her selfish regards towards America, and to survey the prosperity of her Colonies, with a rapacious as well as jealous eye. Bending under the oppressive weight of na­tional encumbrances, she sought to lighten their pressure, by [Page 12] transferring to us, some part of her burden; by devolving upon our shoulders, some part of the accumulated pressure of her national debt. Abandoning, in pursuance of this interested, selfish plan, the principles of her former policy, which limited by a system of external taxation, extended only to the regula­tion of commerce; she assumed the new and arbitrary powers of internal taxation, which embracing objects of revenue, could be bounded, only by her own moderation. This prin­ciple^*, so far back as the beginning of the reign of George II, she attempted first insidiously to introduce, and afterwards, in 1765, more completely to establish, by the Stamp-Act; trust­ing, that the lightness of the imposition, and smallness of the duties, would tend to conceal the nature of the principle, and the extent of its consequences;—that the precedent would, in fact, be established, before the principle was contested. But she was ignorant of the disposition and character of the people she inten­ded to beguile and enslave. A people virtuous, intelligent, and enlightened; who had penetration to foresee, as well as spirit to resist, the first approaches of tyranny; who could discern in em­bryo the full grown consequences of arbitrary principles, and an­ticipate the meditated encroachments of oppression;—a people, [Page 13] whose spirit recoiled at the idea of their liberties being made the subject of experiment, or sport of speculation.

OUR flourishing growth, our encreased wealth, and extended commerce, stimulated the rapacity, as well as alarmed the fears of Great-Britain. From these sources, she expected to draw a re­venue, sufficient to relieve her incumbrances, to swell the fund of her corruption, and supply the means of her extravagance. From us, she expected to reap the emoluments of war, without its dan­gers, and the fruits of victories, without their blood shed; to be enriched by statutable spoils, and legal plunder. To this end, she eagerly sought and created opportunities, invented and em­ployed means, to render our prosperity entirely subservient to her interest; to reduce us to the situation of mere Factors of her com­merce,—mere pensioners upon her bounty. To this end was it, that after our firm, vigorous, and determined opposition had compelled the repeal of the Stamp Act, that the Declaratory Law was passed, armed with, and announcing' powers, to bind us in all cases whatever. Not content with engrossing us entirely to herself; not content with restraining and monopolizing our com­merce, the source of her wealth, and arm of her power, she strove, by this Law, to reduce us to a state of unconditional sub­mission, or rather of humble vassallage, of abject slavery:—to reduce us to mere hewers of wood, and drawers of water, under British Task-masters. To this end every nerve was strained, and every sinew tortured. Every plan that could disunite, every proposition that could ensnare, every menace that could intimi­date, and every force that could awe, was employed. Prohibit­ory [Page 14] Bills, Restraining Acts, and Penal Laws, assailed us, like so many tempests, from every point of the compass;—and, as if in­vention were exhausted, even musty records were examined, and mouldy parchments disturbed, to hunt for obsolete statutes, fa­bricated in the most tyrannical reigns^*, to revive, arm, and point them, against our liberties. All our privileges and immunities; all our chartered rights, fortified by solemn compacts of the Crown, and guaranteed by the plighted faith of Parliament, were laid prostrate. Commissioners were appointed over us, without appeal, control, or responsibility. Soldiers were quartered up­on us, Courts of Common Law superseded, trials by jury suspen­ded, commerce interdicted, and intercourse cut off. In a word, every constitutional guard, every civil security, every natural ad­vantage, and every commercial benefit, was sacrificed to gratify royal and ministerial vengeance and rapacity. The fleets and armies of Britain were sent to ravage our coasts, destroy our towns, and desolate our country. Savage tribes were excited to scalp, and German mercenaries hired to massacre us; and bands of Cossacks were to have been associated with her, in the trade of rapine, blood and death. Every step was taken, and every mea­sure adopted to carry into effect, this system of slavery and op­pression;—measures the most tyrannical and arbitrary;—mea­sures, to which reason afforded no countenance, law no sanction, and experience no precedent. Look through the long succes­sion of ages, survey the whole extent of human affairs, and where will you find such instances of encroaching violence, of lawless power, of accumulated outrage? Where will you find such ag­gravation [Page 15] of injury; contempt so mixed with injustice, and insult so added to violence! Where unresisting obedience was provok­ed into opposition, and unoffending humility tortured into rage. Even the most humble petition was rejected with contempt, or answered with insult; the most pathetic complaint was stig­matized as the voice of sedition, and the most respectful remon­strance pronounced the herald of rebellion.

NOR were the Americans wanting to themselves in this alarm­ing and hazardous situation; in this severe trial, and arduous struggle. Every plan of division and scheme of disaffection, but strengthened and cemented their union; every menacing appear­ance, and tyrannical measure but encreased and invigorated their resolution. Their conduct was firm and collected; their resist­ance temperate and dignified. Though they had often submit­ted to transitory imposition and encroachment; though, as free­men, they had often voluntarily taxed themselves, to raise money for Great-Britain, yet, when she demanded it, with the bayonet at their breasts, "they would give her nothing but their blood."

THUS were the ties of consanguinity which endeared us to, and the bands of interest which connected us with, Great-Britain, violently torn asunder, and in 1776, America, by declaring her­self, free, sovereign, and independent, assumed a separate and equal station among the nations of the earth.—This, my FELLOW CITIZENS, was a crisis teeming with dangers! A day big with fate! America had governments to form and organize; armies to raise and support; unconnected also with, and a stranger to the disposition of European powers; while Great-Britain had the [Page 16] range of every Court, and the key of every Cabinet in Europe. Thus, surrounded with every danger that could intimidate her spirit, and encumbered with every difficulty that could oppress her efforts, still, did that glow of thought, that energy of mind, that elasticity of soul, which independence inspires, give vigor to her resolutions, and success to her exertions.

MANY, who are now present, bore parts, in this important dra­ma, and were actors in those scenes which tried men's souls; and now enjoy, with refined sensations, and enhanced pleasure, the rewards of Independence, and the triumphs of Liberty. How must your bosoms glow, and your hearts burn within you, at the recollection of these scenes! You best can tell the difficulties, dis­tresses, and dangers, with which you were environned, and with which you so successfully struggled. You best can describe the principles, feelings, and energies, which urged you to combat, and animated you in so glorious a contest; when without arms to attack, or forts to shelter, you offered your bodies, as bulwarks for your Country. In contemplating these animating, inspiring, and heart-enkindling scenes, we feel almost tempted, in the ar­dor and transport of youthful enthusiasm, to wish that the period of our nativity had been anticipated,—that we had been brought forward earlier into existence,—to have accompanied you in the paths of glory, and now to share with you the mead of valor, and the reward of virtue. Should any event, however, in the revo­lution of human affairs, overcast the presentscene, should the dan­ger of our Country ever summon us to the field, we swear, by the blood of those heroes, who fought and fell in the battles of Liberty, that we will not shame your example, or disgrace the an­cestors [Page 17] from whom we sprang;—we swear, ever to defend that Independence, to keep inviolate that Liberty, you acquired.

IT is unnecessary to dwell upon the operations of a war, which gave so severe a check to British arms, and so just a lesson to Bri­tish presumption;—in the progress of which, she suffered almost a continued series of mortifying defeats, and humiliating losses;—in which, her armies were destroyed, her resources exhausted, and her credit sunk;—in which, while Lord North, the British Palinurus, was sleeping at the helm, indulging in dreams of con­quest and subjugation, our Continent broke from his grasp,—from the grasp of that hand, which had threatened to humble it in­to the dust:—in the close of which, the energetic efforts of free­men, supported by the timely aid of France, compelled Great­Britain to a sullen and reluctant acknowledgement of our free­dom, sovereignty, and independence.

DURING this glorious struggle, the eyes of Europe had been fixed upon us, the attention of the World drawn to us, as to a common centre. Our concerns had absorbed every other mat­ter of political speculation. The American Revolution, was re­garded, as opening a new prospect in human affairs,—as com­mencing a new epoch in the history of mankind. America was, in fact, considered as the forlorn hope of the Universe;—as mak­ing the last experiment of those great political truths, which, eventually, are to enlighten and govern the world;—as reduc­ing to practice those important principles of the social body, which have since emancipated France;—"as having touched that nerve, whose sensation has vibrated to the heart of Europe;" [Page 18] —as having kindled that torch of political knowledge, whose united radiance, and accumulated light, have already begun to warm and illuminate the world,—have already dispelled the clouds which inveloped the Rights of Man, and made tyranny tremble in the remotest regions of the globe.

IT must, however, be acknowledged, with painful emotion, and severe regret, that, at the close of the war, our glory, in some measure, was tarnished and obscured. The ties of common in­terest, which had connected, and the pressure of common danger, which, during the war, had united us, imparted an energy to government, which it did not intrinsically possess; and when its conclusion, in 1783, had deprived Congress of this adventitious support, its recommendatory system was found totally inadequate to the exigencies, or even common purposes of government,—hardly competent, indeed, to preserve the mere forms of adminis­tration. Those habits of ready obedience, that rigid discipline, as it were, of society, which the emergency of our situation had exacted and preserved, was no longer maintained. The wishes of Congress were no longer anticipated, and its recommendations had ceased to carry the force of laws. Its measures, which, from the principles of its constitution, were calculated to operate pri­marily upon the State Legislatures, instead of individuals, were no longer assisted or executed by them, but more frequently re­tarded or opposed.—The relaxed tone, and deliberated energies of the Body Politic, gave a menacing aspect to our national af­fairs, and began to threaten the most serious evils. Already had Disaffection reared her head, and Jealousy diffused her spirit throughout the Union.—Already were witnessed the disturban­ces [Page 19] of North-Carolina and Pennsylvania, and the insurrections of Massachusetts; nor was our own State free from subjects of em­barrassment and confusion.—Already was seen our national cred­it sinking to the extreme point of depression, and our national character verging to the lowest stage of humiliation;—the veins of commerce were drained, and the wheels of government arrest­ed.—Already had our enemies begun to triumph in the comple­tion of their inauspicious predictions; and to contemplate in idea, our unbalanced systems of government, loosened from the bands of ATTRACTION, rushing to conflict and ruin. Strongly affected by a sense of these evils, by the disorganization of Con­gress, and apprehended dissolution of our Union, a firm, efficient, and energetic government was loudly demanded, and in 1787, a Convention appointed, to carry into effect the united wishes of the Continent.

AT this period, did America present to the world, the new and august spectacle, of a people, uncompelled by foreign invasion, and unconvulsed by civil war, "convening voluntarily, delib­erating fully, and deciding calmly," upon a form of constitu­tion, which was to bind themselves and their posterity. The difficulties of the task were encreased by the vast extent of terri­tory, "by the enlarged ORBIT, within which, the different in­ternal, legislative systems were to revolve;"—by the diversity of genius, the contrariety of habits, and the rapid and encreasing population of the Country, for which it was intended.—They were encreased, by the novelty of situation and attempt, which left them without guide or precedent; to which History could bring no fund of applicable remark, or practical information. [Page 20] To bind together thirteen different States, to assimilate their wide­spread interests, to conciliate their local prejudices, to harmon­ize their clashing claims, required the highest exertions of legis­lative intellect, the highest efforts of the human faculties. Nor were we disappointed in the execution of this arduous task intrusted to our tried patriots, their deliberations ended in the production of a constitution, which is the pride of science, and boast of the human understanding.

IT would be superfluous to detail its perfections, or analyze its beauties;—to follow the conciliating spirit, the principle of mutual accommodation upon which it was founded:—to point out the regular distribution of power into distinct departments, or the judicious introduction of legislative checks and balances, of counteracting and co-operating forces and powers. It would be equally superfluous to repeat the encomiums so justly, and al­most universally accorded to the administration of government formed under it. Its salutary, renovating, and invigorating ef­fects speak its warmest eulogium, and give "an experimental an­swer to the sophistry and declamation of its enemies and detrac­tors." Its operations already prove, that in principle it was as found, as in theory beautiful; as happy in its execution, as origi­nal in its plan. Already has it had the effect to restore tranquil­lity at home, and respectability abroad. Under its auspices, Enterprize has explored new sources of commerce, and the Ocean is whitened by her sails. Dormant capitals have been quickened into life and activity, and Credit has called into cir­culation; money, that never would have emerged from the coffer. Our manufacturers, are encreasing and flourishing, [Page 21] and every branch of Industry is revived. Agriculture has been astonishingly invigorated; our produce is transported to every clime, and America has almost become the grana­ry of Europe. Our natural sources of population are contin­ually augmented and augmenting by the influx of foreigners, who wish to share with us those blessing of Civil Liberty denied them in their own soil.—Our interior Country is connected by bridges, that vie with those of the Old World, in point of utili­ty, and style of magnificence; and by means of canals, the ad­vantages of maritime communication are already enjoyed through a large extent of Continent; on every side, are removing the obstacles, and clearing the paths to unbounded opulence and grandeur. Vast tracts of territory whose prolific powers, for ages, have wasted in silence and obscurity, now acknowledge the hand of improvement, and resound with the voice of indust­ry. Lakes, whose extended shores, but served to reflect the sur­rounding woods, and whose expanded bosoms, the impending Heavens, are now ploughed by adventurous keels, and agitated by the busy train of navigation.—On whatever side we turn our eyes, we behold the marks of happiness, and the face of pros­perity: a prosperity, whose "rapid growth, and astonishing in­crease, has mocked the calculations of politicians, and out-strip­ped the speculations of philosophers."

MANY, whose military, political, and deplomatic powers, were exerted during the Revolution, in the service of their Coun­try, and were the chief actors in that important drama, now en­joy the rewards of their Fellow-Citizens, and continue by their [Page 22] conduct and abilities, to enlarge their claims upon the gratitude of their Country. At the head of our government presides the CHIEF, the STATESMAN; whose name excites the warmest emo­tions of gratitude, affection, and veneration. To the name of WASHINGTON,—a name so great and good,—I had intend­ed to annex my feeble encomium;—but the space he fills in my mind, is hallowed;—nor dare I even praise him;—that he ever has been censured, can be accounted for, only upon that princi­ple, which leads men, through the obliquity of their understand­ings, the ingratitude of their feelings, and the perverseness of their hearts, to arraign, even the wisdom and goodness of Providence.

AMERICANS! When a character like this, is attempted to be traduced, it is a direct attack upon all;—it is wounding Vir­tue and Patriotism in the person of their most distinguished vo­tary, and illustrious supporter.—When a character like this, is suffered to be reviled,—is suffered to be treated with wanton in­dignity, where will you find the man, who has talents to exert, who has a character to be injured, or feelings to be wounded, who will venture to serve his Country? What integrity of life, what exertion of patriotism, what accumulation of services, will shield him! Who can expect to escape obloquy, when shafts of calumny have been aimed at a bosom, which never knew dishon­or, or felt reproach!

FELLOW-CITIZENS! The wide-spreading tokens of prosperity throughout the land, call upon us all, to combine, unite, and exert our efforts, to ensure its continuance, and to pro­long the reign of peace and tranquillity. The sentiments, to [Page 23] which your benevolence has induced you to attend, sufficiently acquit the Speaker, of any suspicion of partiality towards Great­Britain; but whatever, as individuals we feel, as a nation, we are to be swayed, neither by prejudice nor partiality; nor ought we to suffer our feelings to put to hazard a situation, which leaves us scarcely any thing to wish for? Shall we suffer them to be excit­ed and played upon, by the artifices of interested and designing men? Shall we submit to be duped by the professions, to be led by the influence, to be arranged under the banners of a foreign­er? A foreigner too, who owes his impunity to the mildness of the government, he is laboring to overthrow, and his very head, to the mercy of the man, he is suffered to revile.—Why should WE espouse European interests or make ourselves a party in Eu­ropean quarrels? The pure federalism we profess, will be equal­ly adulterated,—equally tainted by the infusion of French, as well as British politics. WE are AMERICANS. The commotions of Europe, so far as they have a tendency to engage our connected concern, or active interest—to disturb or endanger our own tran­quillity; ought to pass by us, like the idle winds, which we res­pect not. To preserve this wise neutrality, which is equally our dignity, and our interest, policy requires, our situation demands, and we must expect to make, some sacrifices. Already has the political horizon been overcast, and its complexion louring; thunders were heard to roll at a distance; but thank God! we have escaped the storm.

AMERICANS! The eyes of the world are fixed upon us, and the fate of distant times interested in our example. We are [Page 24] building a fabric for future ages. Liberty, which shewed, and but just shewed herself, in the four celebrated Empires of the world ^*, where she appeared a fleeting, evanescent form; even in Europe, where she was long worshipped as the UNKNOWN GODDESS, has chosen her residence in this congenial clime, and here erects the Temple of the Laws. This fifth Empire, if I may so call it, from a happy coincidence of events, seems prepared for her re­ception; and it seems destined by Heaven, that in us, all the Nations of the Earth will be finally blessed. Already has the voice of Liberty, uttered from the Western shores of the Atlan­tic, reached the Eastern Continent.—Already has the New World begun to regenerate the Old;—and America, by recog­nizing, illustrating, and establishing the Rights of Man, laid the primordial basis, the legitimate origin, and generating principle, of all power and government.—Already may we hail the ap­proach of the POLITICAL MILLENNIUM.—Already may we antici­pate that perfection of the social body, when all the Nations of the earth will form but one society, one vast family; when there will exist no authority, but that of Reason; no Throne, but that of Justice; no Temple, but that of the Laws; no Altar, but that of Liberty^†.