AT the close of our revolutionary war, I had the honour to address a respectable audience, then assembled at this place, for the celebration of that auspicious event. The bright return of peace,—the complete establishment of our national independence, was then the theme.—I shall never forget the un­mingled transports of that day,—the joy which sparkled in every eye, and gladdened every heart. Peace, after a destructive war of eight years, was truly a welcome guest; especially, as in her rich train of blessings, she brought us the mighty object of all our struggles. The war-worn soldier who had spilt his blood,—the patriot-citizen who had spent his treasure, met under the same festive roof to re­count the dangers they had passed,—the sacrifices they had made;—to contrast them with the inestima­ble prize they had won, and the glorious prospects before them. How lightly were these dangers, these sacrifices esteemed!—How was the heart filled with gratitude to Heaven!—How vast were our hopes, [Page 4] that this last retreat of liberty would now be secure,—the inviolable asylum of the oppressed of the earth!—That on this theatre, the most interesting acts in the stupendous drama of human affairs would be per­formed, and would be followed by that blissful period which the eye of faith beholds with unceasing delight!

Would that I could now reiterate the same senti­ments,—that I could feel myself, and perceive in others the same emotions!—But the pleasing office of announcing to you the glad tidings of peace, is not now devolved upon me: No, my fellow citizens: I come not to speak to you in the voice of congratula­tion,—to extol your heroic achievements, nor to spread your recent triumphs before you.—I come not to tell you, that your national honor is unassailed,—that your persons and property are respected by all men,—that your independence is fixed on an immove­able basis,—and that you may therefore sit down un­der your own vines and fig-trees in undisturbed tran­quility—Far otherwise. Our political hemisphere has assumed a new and a melancholy aspect,—clouds of portentous appearance are already gathered for a tempest. Whether we shall survive the storm or be swept away in its course, is known only to Him who hath said,—"He will make the wrath of man to praise him."

On this anniversary, then, the birth day of our empire (and possibly its last) it becomes a solemn duty, to notice the causes of our danger, and with [Page 5] humble affiance in Heaven to encourage and animate each other to manly and vigorous exertion.

The immediate causes of our alarm cannot be con­cealed: They are open to the observation of all. The insolence, the proud tyranny of France, and the treachery of our own citizens, have jointly pro­duced the calamities we now feel, and are still to fear.—To speak with composure of that detested na­tion, I confess, is not an easy task: Our indignation is too great for utterance;—nor is this all,—language cannot furnish us with the means. As the crimes of the Monster are without, example, so are they also without a name. The force of epithet and expression is exhausted, and yet the half is not told us. If a posterity shall survive the carnage which is now de­solating the world, new words, new sounds must be invented, if they are to ever comprehend, in any measure, the unparrelled atrocities which have mark­ed the progress of the French revolution.

This revolution, the greatest scourge perhaps which a Holy God has yet permitted to visit the earth, has hitherto been ascribed to causes, which in truth have had little or no agency in producing it. The sub­ject is now better understood; and we discover with certainty, that those principles which we had fondly believed to be the efficient springs of this revolution, never in fact operated at all.—You doubtless thought, as all America indeed thought, that oppression made the French people mad; but it was not so.—You [Page 6] thought it was the intolerable tyranny of the Crown, the insolence of the nobility, and the enormous ex­actions of a corrupt priesthood, which roused the nation to a sense of its wrongs; but this is not true. You thought, for you had yourselves felt the sacred flame, that it was the enthusiastic love of liberty, which rose like a torrent, and with resistless force bore down the throne, the bastile, the altars, arts, institutions, every vestige of the former state of things; and buried all in one promiscuous ruin,—yet nothing is more incorrect.—That the government was arbitrary, and the people oppressed, cannot be contradicted,—and that the state of the former called loudly for reform, and the condition of the latter for great amelioration is equally evident. The destruction of despotism, and the establishment of national liberty upon its ruins, is a consummation devoutly to be wished. But let it be remembered, the nation had submitted to a monarchy for ages without a single attempt to cast it off;—they had become proverbial for their attachment to royalty, and for a species of idolatry to the persons of their monarchs. It must also be admitted, that the people laboured under no new and unprecedented wrongs: On the contrary, their last Sovereign was the most amiable in his character,—the mildest and most moderate in his administration, of any Prince who had ever swayed their regal scep­tre.—To what then shall we ascribe the convulsions which are shaking Europe to its centre, and which [Page 7] threaten to shake our Western world? The answer to this question is of high importance,—it has long been conjectured by discerning men, but may be now said to rest in positive proof: It seems well as­certained, that the French revolution is the result, chiefly, of a combination long since formed, in Europe, by Infidels and Atheists, to root out and effectually de­stroy Religion and Civil Government,—not this or that creed of religion,—not this or that form of govern­ment, in this or that particular country,—but all re­ligion,—all government,—and that through the world.

Those who have attentively observed the course of events, will require little or no other proof of the as­sertion, than the internal evidence which the events themselves afford: Yet such I hope will indulge me in submitting a few facts, derived, it is believed, from authentic sources, and which will need no comment.

As early as the year 1776, an association was formed of certain characters, assuming the appella­tion of ILLUMINATI,—whose pretended purpose was to enlighten their fellow men, and deliver them from the tyranny of prejudices. They at first professed to be, simply, reformers of christianity,—the more ef­fectually to conceal their execrable designs, and lest a ready disclosure of their real tenets should shock and discourage those who might offer themselves for admission. To lead on the mind, eager for novelty, [Page 8] various degrees were instituted, through which can­didates were to pass,—fortified, at every step, by oaths, by the most solemn obligations of secrecy, and of fidelity to the superiors of the order, whose commands they became bound to obey to the extent of their lives and fortunes. At an early stage of the progress, the veil of christianity was wholly laid aside. This incumbrance removed, the candidate could ra­pidly ascend the remaining steps, ripening in all the refinements of infidelity, until he at length reached the perfect stature of Atheism. Here the whole plan was unfolded,—and the disciple, now sufficiently prepared for "treasons, stratagems and death," is plainly told that there is no God,—no future exist­ence,—no retribution;—that all religion is a cheat,—all government a curse;—that, without the aid of these, the principles of a refined morality will form a safe and sufficient directory of human conduct; but, that ordinary morality, as it consisted principally of duties arising from the unequal distribution of pro­perty and power, must be rooted out▪—that the so­cial relations are mostly founded in gross inequality, and must be dissolved;—that the marriage-vow ought to be deemed as possessing neither force nor solemni­ty,—nor ought the nurture of children to be entrust­ed to their parents;—that the time is at hand, when the influence and dominion of the Minister and the Magistrate must be destroyed, and under the mild reign of universal liberty and equality, these new and precious doctrines be every where established: And [Page 9] finally, that there must be no hesitation in adopting any measures to effectuate these benevolent purposes, and to give these principles an extension over the whole earth.

The process which the converts were to pursue in disseminating these principles▪ was no less extraordi­nary. They were instructed to profess themselves citizens of the world, governed by sentiments of un­bounded philanthropy,—to express on all occasions, great concern for suffering humanity, and to preach every where, the imprescriptible rights of man.—That in order to betray more successfully, they must possess themselves of such posts in government, as were within their reach,—of professorships in universi­ties and even of the pulpits;—especially, they were to get into their hands the instruction and education of youth; that their tender minds might be early impressed with those salutary principles. They were to press into their service, printers, journalists and booksellers,—and by all means to gain the fair sex, who from their ascendency over man, it was presu­med might be rendered powerful agents in revo­lutions.

The success of these miscreant philosophers aston­ished even themselves;—their converts increased wonderfully. The profligate and abandoned found here a sanctuary for crimes,—the sour and discon­tented [Page 10] new sources of consolation,—the disappointed courtier new hopes,—the aspiring demagogue most al­luring prospects;—and the whole herd of literary cox­combs, to be found almost every where, who by denying boldly the divinity of the scriptures and the Saviour, imagine they start up at once philosophers and men of much significance, joined heartily in the cause. At any rate, under different names, ^* these secret so­cieties were soon diffused throughout France, Swit­zerland, Germany and the Netherlands. In the short period of ten years, that is, in 1786, there were no less than two hundred and sixty six of these associations in France alone: There were also many members of the same order in England and Scotland; and disci­ples were, even at that time, to be found in America. [Page 11] Men, some of whom, have since filled important offices in the general government, and who, to say no more, have been true to their principles and served their masters with fidelity.

These admirable reformers of the world, perceiv­ing that the seeds of irreligion, sedition, and rebellion had taken deep root and in soils highly favorable to their growth, began now to think of reducing their theories to practice—and that the time had actually arrived, when all civil and religious government must "be given up to the saints" of infidelity. It is said to have been their original design to commence their career in Germany, where many circumstances con­spired to insure success: But the famous dispute be­tween the king of France and the parliament of Pa­ris presented, not long after, a favorable opportuni­ty; and it was accordingly determined that France should begin the great work.—The members of the national assembly were, principally, men of this des­cription. The Duke of Orleans, who afterwards first voted for the death of his near relative the king, was at the head of all these societies in France. Count Mi­rabeau, that distinguished orator in the same assembly who governed its deliberations, had even been one of the evangelists of the order, and had preached through Prussia and the North of Germany, the gladsome ti­dings of anarchy here and eternal sleep hereafter.—The Jacobin clubs were the same private societies acting openly: But it was not until the National Con­vention [Page 12] had taken all power into its own hands, that a public declaration was made of the accursed mo­tives which had influenced the revolution. After having imbrued their hands in the blood of their sovereign, one of the first acts of this Convention, was to proclaim to the world their religious creed. They received with intemperate applause, the impi­ous, the blasphemous declaration,—‘There is no God—Man when free, wants no other divinity than himself—Reason dethrones both the kings of the earth and the King of Heaven.—No monar­chy above, if we wish to preserve our republic below.—Volumes have been written to determine whether a republic of Atheists could exist—every other republic is a chimaera.’—The same senti­ments which had been professed and secretly taught in all these private societies for more than seventeen years. Then followed the abolition of the christian aera, the christian Sabbath, and every thing that bore the christian name;—then followed a declara­tion of war upon regular government,—proscrip­tions—massacres;—but I forbear to offend your ears, any longer, with the odious narrative.—The whole text and commentary of this horrid philosophy, have been awfully written in lines of blood;—they have been exhibited in those dreadful scenes, "which eye had never before seen, ear heard, nor had it ever en­tered into the heart of any (but Atheists) to conceive."

This is the origin of that revolution, which has [Page 13] been the theme of such extravagant eulogy.—What do you see in it?—Do you behold the animating spectacle of a great nation breaking her chains?.—A nation marching with a bold and dignified step to­wards the attainment of her liberty▪—heroically as­serting her own rights, and regarding sacredly the rights of others?—Is this the picture you contem­plate?—Or do you see her

prostrating every institution, human and divine;—audaciously claiming a right of subjugating the whole human race,—bearing abroad universal terror and desolation,—and erecting at home a despotism, be­yond imagination severe and intolerable? The deluded populace of that country, are no longer amused with even the sounds of Liberty and Equality;—those ma­gic sounds, which the wretched citizens were made to vociferate so loudly, are succeeded by notes of bitter lamentation. Should you chance to find an honest man among them, he would frankly tell you, that their kings bound them in cords of silk, in com­parison with the iron fetters they now wear;—"that the little finger of the Directory, is thicker than the loins" of their Monarchy. When the mock republic began the work of illuminating the world, they pro­fessed (and swore indeed) eternal hatred to Kings, but everlasting friendship for Republics. How is the fact? Every king in Europe except their own mur­dered [Page 14] Monarch, now sits on his throne,—while eve­ry republic, every thing known by the name of re­public,—they have successively swallowed up, or destroyed. They would even make treaties of amity with Kings, that they might gain time to annihilate republics.

Holland, who achieved her freedom in a most magnanimous conflict with Spain, of forty years con­tinuance, may now wish herself again under the Spa­nish yoke, for, "that yoke was easy, that burden light," compared with the yoke of republican France.

Geneva, Genoa, the whole list of Italian repub­lics, are blotted out forever. Such part of Venice, as her masters did not immediately want, has been actually sold,—and her name is no more to appear on the map of Europe,—no longer in the catalogue of nations!

Switzerland!—My heart melts within me at the sound! How can we avoid connecting, in idea, her sorrowful destiny with the possible fate of our own dear country!—Think what struggles the virtuous Swiss endured to secure their Independence:—It was begun by the hardy valor of the illustrious William Tell,—it was sealed by the precious blood of the heroes of Sempach; and that honest, industrious people enjoy­ed the dear-bought blessing for upwards of four hun­dred years. But Switzerland had also her Atheisti­cal philosophers, who stood expecting, wishing, and [Page 15] prepared to join the oppressors of their country.—The friends of liberty and order, weakened by divi­sion, were slow and irresolute in defensive measures;—fondly imagining their rugged soil and lofty Alps would effectually shield them from invasion;—and although they knew perfectly, the deceitful, the per­fidious character of their foes, yet they trusted to negociation; and were amused with vain hopes until at last even their desperate valor was not sufficient to save them from destruction—They are fallen,—a sad, a striking example to surviving nations! Such is the friendship France has manifested for republics:—America alone is left,—and America may address Heaven, nearly in the words of the prophet,—"THEY HAVE DIGGED DOWN THINE ALTARS—slain every other republic with the sword—and now they seek my life to take it away."

I shall not tresspass upon the patience of this Au­dience, by entering into a detail of the unprovoked injuries,—the insufferable insults, this country has experienced from France;—these are too well known and too numerous to be recited: Suffice it to say,—we have suffered too much and too long!—More stateliness of demeanor,—more energy of conduct at first, would at least have saved us from national dishonour.

But notwithstanding our apprehensions from a­broad, be assured, our most formidable enemies are [Page 16] in the midst of us. Do you not perceive, that the United States have long been infested with a set of men, professing the same principles, and pursuing the same measures, which have so fatally distinguish­ed the revolutionists in France?—Compare dates and events for a moment—I have already said the Euro­pean philosophers were ripe for action in the year 1786,—in the same year, the affairs of the Union wore a most gloomy appearance.—We were rushing into anarchy as fast as these reformers could have wished;—but in the same year, the collected wis­dom of America convened at Philadelphia, and fra­med in the course of that and the following year, the Federal Constitution. When this Constitution, the most perfect work of man, was presented to the peo­ple for adoption, do you remember the opposition, and the leaders of it?—Some honest men, it is true, from misrepresentation, joined the opposition for a short time, and were soon undeceived: But the same spirit which prompted this opposition, produced in France that revolution.—There it operated in demol­ishing all government;—here in preventing any go­vernment at all from being adopted.—The result the same, and the views of these pestilential philosophers as well answered, in the one case as the other. It is the same set of men, who, whether in democratic societies, or as individuals, as writers, as printers, as publishers, as booksellers,—in office, and out of office,—in the professorial chair, and even in the pul­pit, [Page 17] —have been unceasingly employed in obstructing every movement of the Government since its first establishment,—in vilifying the administration, and in traducing the most meritorious public characters. These are the men who first presumed to lisp a reproach upon the venerable WASHINGTON,—a name which no genuine American can pronounce without the mixed emotions of gratitude and reverence. Im­mortal Chief!—while the tongues of the whole civ­ilized world are vocal in his praise,—there are even in that country, saved by his arm, those who have attempted to depreciate his illustrious services—to de­rogate from his matchless virtues,—and who still persecute him with their envenomed calumnies, even to the humble shade of private life,—BUT IN VAIN—Conscious he had merited the benedictions of his country,—and that his name is enrolled in those deathless records, which the malignant hand of envy can never reach, nor time itself obliterate, he enjoys a dignified repose,—ready, no doubt, at the first call of his country, to again lead her embattled ranks, and to sacrifice the evening of life, as he has spent the meridian of his days, in her service. It is the same incorrigible party, which is also endeavouring to shake the confidence of our citizens in the exalted Patriot who now presides in the government—You have heard the low suspicions, the open and innu­merable slanders, which have been secretly whisper­ed or publicly propagated against this most virtuous [Page 18] and admired Statesman—His character and his worth are far above my humble praise. Called to the first office in the nation at a critical day, he will not dis­appoint the hopes of his country,—"the rock on which the storm will beat"—a rock, which will be found to effectually repel the malicious, the presumptuous attacks of his, and his country's foes. His early and tried attachment to the liberties of America are well known;—and the faithful pen of history will record, that if WASHINGTON reared the glorious fa­bric of our Independence, it was ADAMS who first laid the corner-stone.

It is the same party,—the hirelings—the devotees of France, who are continually crying peace! peace! when destruction is approaching like a whirlwind;—who are constantly extolling French bravery, and justifying every species of French villainy;—who, by retarding the measures of defence, have more effec­tually aided our enemies than by actual hostility—and who have their daggers already whetted,—pre­pared to plunge into the vitals of their country at the first approach of the enemy.

How long is this to be endured?—To what ex­tent is our patience to be drawn out?—Is our coun­try to hold these parricides in her bosom, while her faithful sons are achieving her deliverance?—Shall we calmly see the pillars of our government under­mined by hands placed to support them?—Shall one [Page 19] of the most important offices in the nation be filled by an avowed adorer of France?—And can we hope to succeed while these Achans who have taken of the accursed thing are in the midst of us?^*

I am no friend to sanguinary measures: But as the day has arrived when a seperation must be made be­tween him who fears God and loves his country, and him who regards neither; so I apprehend it is expe­dient, that these haters of their country, and ad­mirers of French liberty, be immediately conveyed to some part of the French territory. There let them riot in the seraphic pleasures of French fraternity and Jacobinic love;—enjoying the delightful pros­pect of despair at death, and annihilation beyond the grave,—those rich rewards, which Atheism holds out to all its friends and followers.—When these are dispatched, you may bid a calm and resolute de­fiance to the utmost efforts of your foreign foes.—Firm and united, what have you to fear?—Can Frenchmen appear terrible to Americans?—Can your steady courage,—your temperate but inextin­guishable ardor, look otherwise than with indignant contempt, upon the French character,—not less re­markable [Page 20] for crime, than vanity,—a strange com­pound of unthinking rashness and silly levity,—a character at once furious and frivolous?—Did your ancestors deem the French invincible?—They nei­ther thought nor found them so. Do you think French bravery has subjugated half Europe?—by no means: Their abominable principles have generally won the victory before their armies arrived. Had not their principles first stunned the victims, their swords could never have drenched Europe in slaugh­ter. With all her boasted conquests, the real and effective force of France is not to be compared with that of Great-Britain at the commencement of our revolution. The latter was at that moment, deci­dedly, the most powerful nation on the globe; while we, in every other respect, excepting in a noble en­thusiasm, might be said to be the weakest. We had neither government, strength, resources, nor expe­rience: Now we eminently enjoy all these advanta­ges: Now we are a great and a mighty people. Would to God I could say we are as virtuous as we are powerful!

But admit the valor and the physical strength of the French to be as great, as formidable, as their abject adherents in this country can pretend;—what is to be done? You must either negociate, submit, or RESIST. Will you consent that another attempt to negociate shall be made? Has not the dignity of the American government been already trodden in the [Page 21] dirt before a nation of robbers and murderers? It has been degraded in the persons of its Envoys, in a manner altogether unexampled, and to a degree that every American heart that deserves to beat, is ready to burst with indignation. Yet nothing but uncondi­tional submission,—nothing but the entire surrender of your property, your liberty, your religion, your lives, can satisfy these outrageous enemies of God and man. There is then but one alternative,—sub­mission or resistance: And are you who are here as­sembled,—you who greet so cheerfully the return of this joyful anniversary, now prepared to say, that this day shall be no more celebrated,—no more re­membered,—and that the twenty-third year of Ame­rican Independence shall be THE LAST? Will you give up, without a struggle, the fairest portion of in­dividual, of social, of political happiness, ever allot­ed to mortals?—Will you relinquish the pious and literary institutions of your ancestors for more than heathenish barbarity?—Your sober habits for French ferocity? The chaste, the tender relations of domestic life, for French brutality and unbridled lust?—Will you see the temple, where you are wont to worship the God of your fathers, razed to its foundation, or what is worse, converted into a circus or a brothel? Will you exchange the bright prospect of a future and Eternal Day, for the hideous gloom of everlast­ing night? Will you in short, descend from the un­rivalled station of AMERICAN FREEMEN, to grovel at the feet of a race of beings, now become the [Page 22] proudest, the vilest, the meanest of the creation of God?—Before you consent to this, recollect, I pray you, from whom you are descended—Can you for­get the first founders of New-England,—their un­conquerable spirit, amidst their unspeakable suffer­ings?—Were they intimidated, do you think, by threats,—by persecutions—by famine—by the sav­ages on the one side, and by foreign invasion on the other?—There was a time when the infant colony of Connecticut alone, was surrounded by greater dangers than now threaten United America—Did they shrink at the approach of danger?—No: Relying on God, they never counted their foes.—They stood, indeed, in an attitude against which no human force could prevail; for while one hand wield­ed the sword, the other was lifted in fervent suppli­cation to Heaven. Such resolution, and such piety united, what earthly power could subdue?—Have you forgotten the war of Independence?—if you have, this is the day to bring it to your recollection—and would time permit, with what transport could I run over the great events of that period!—Those of you who mingled in the conflict, and participated in its glory, can attest that the annals of man have not furnished its parrallel. Shall the glorious fruits of that war be abandoned?—Shall the blood of those heroes who offered their lives on that altar have been shed in vain?—Shall it reproach us with the base surrender of those invaluable rights which were pur­chased at a price so dear?

[Page 23] Fellow Citizens! let us adopt and display the spirit of that memorable Congress, who made to the world the solemn Declaration which has been read to you this day.—‘We have counted the cost of this con­test, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary sla­very.’—‘We will not be hewers of wood nor drawers of water to any nation or people under Heaven.’—Let us resolve, that as for us we will venerate the God of our forefathers,—and, at all hazards, defend the government of our choice.—Let us teach our vile traitors and the despots of France, that we know well the price and the value of our freedom,—that the hand which presumes to sieze the Holy Ark of our civil and religious liberty, shall PERISH AT THE TOUCH;—and that we will valiantly maintain our Independence, or we will gloriously die in the attempt.