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VOL. I.
ALBANY, BAKER COUNTY, GEORGIA, JULY 23,1843.
NO. 15.
is
rt honor or
GEN. ANDREW JACKSON,
Tit \rttd«l Albany, Ga., on the 4th of July, 1815, by
A. H. BRISBANE:
FnUisbed by Request of llio Citizens.
OssiiME* and Ladies :—One of onr own poets
las nio-t beautifully expressed the sentiment with
—J character of Gen. Andrew Jackson : a senti-
is-ul, which, if not produced, greatness has lost the
r .fKt i—cutial of its virtues. It is from Longfellow’s
P Psalm of Life:
stealthy savage greatly outnumbering their little rial element to which he belongs than the arithmeti-j to high and chhmlric dispositions, is. not enough to and on hia return to private life, he was unrcmiting-
band. Lit os mark the effect of the discovery s all cal calculator" of what has been produced by genius, constitute greatness; Unnecessary that there should' ly engaged in fulfilling the duties of his command
1 ~ - — —'• - - ■ ^ -
tall co
,. _ - . --- - o-.-.—, 1 . wirjTrT.mil! ;:—rr—r — . ~ r —„„ of the militia that our freedom dc-
this necessary effort to supply tho troops with food,, dignity at the Hermitage, and taking at the time myj afforded us by nature, is, in tho grand economy of its finds. Ah outbreak on the part of the Creek na-
was alone perfectly collected. Calling a halt, he : first lesson* in the science of the Heavenly bodies, I i operations, definitely assigned or. not, is a question tion soon put General Jackson’s assiduity to the test,
directed the orderly to muster Uio men—eee that all ; could not refrain, when called npon for a toast, to j which men differ upon, and will continue to do so; so At the head of the Tennessco troops be marched un
wore present, and state, that if at camp a single, cry out, with a feeling, almost of inspiration, for 1 by wh^uroceases we reach our destiny, ayi come to on tho Indian frontier. Oh how soon did he find
absentee was found who hod not been shutdown by {there were many around who began already to see! fulfil tfloduties specifically appropriated to us, if they that military attainment alone was not sufficient;
.1 -1—,J„, a giant in the path of their ambition—" Gen. Andrew j really are, is not more successfully attempted to be this could only be known by hard blows and daring
Jackson—like Jupiter, we behold him revolving in j solved. General Jackson at all events, although his j action. Martinets may be found outranking talent;
his retired orbit, unsullied by the faint assaults of aspiring spirit would not tamely submit to tho serin- J jealousies may bo found disturbing tins' im&pensn-
«•“ ‘r-!~ *» - *• «*
XIJUIAltC
’ <■ 'j'r.c lives of great men all remind us,
\Vc can make our lives sublime.
Ami, departing, leave behind us
Footsteps on the sands of time.
Foot-tops, tiiat, perhaps another,
Sailing o'er iiic's solemn main,
A jorlorn and shipwreck’d brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.”
tViil your children; the sons of tho Republic, I
iavc a different aim. The Fathers of the Revolu-
•.on consecrated our glorious Fourth to the hearing
n j i^ndering over sublime traits of character, and
j>Mc diet Is of daring, tiiat tlie fire of genuine chival-
r, mayhe ever kept ulive, and tho pre-eminence of
;r .ocial and political relations made rather to dc-
don this virtue in our people than upon the
ssnltr. of low intrigue or cold calculation. May I
ructroJ ia achieving something on the present oc-
siofl in furtherance of tliis liigli object.
Put mere was another reason for the establish
ment of this, our great National Jubilee. This was,
o to have portrayed the immediate acts of greatness
a, t| H y shall Item time to time occur, as to furnish
ti c best guides, by which to direct future gencra-
in tue management of all matters of political
import If I fail in these eflbrts, with the life of
Andrew Jackson licfore me, it will be my fault, not
!:.it of the Hero of both the battle-field and the
ouncil chamber.
In Fi lecting from the life of one who was con-
fianlly engaged in the onward enterprise of a young
iud energetic people, it is difficult to fix upon the
exact trait which would indicato to all alike the
meet index to tho true character. That which
suuld strike me as most decisive would perhaps
altogether escape another. It is to tho taste of tlio
individual selecting, that the choice must at last
lelong. With myself the little urchin of the interior
■f Snath Carolina, a province at the time, or if not,
the hoy educated in tho iinliiU of the provincial,
refusing most peremptorily to black the boots of an
itigust officer of his majesty; the officer with sword
Irawn and raised to striko him; presents tho most
distinguishing trait in the disposition of our great
licit min; determination—indomitable determina
tion. Fathers of America, teach tliis trait to your
hiidren; mothers of the Republic, look for it in
your sons; and while on the one hand you watch
its too great frowardness, on the other repine not
at its idle inconveniences, for it alone makes for
your country emulators of the invincible Jackson.
If I he wrong, let me select a second in the cata
logue of greatness which lays before me; disinter
estedness <f self. The man who could achieve so
much fr.r his country—who could labor so hard and
fo Ion? in her cause, must have possessed tliis noble
qiui.ty. Let us mark it in its first decisive exhibi
ts. A recent emigrant to the new State of Ten'
nowe at the time, an ill treated wife was presented
iniui her distress to the-sympathies of a group of
young practicing atlqjnrys. Most looked on with
indifference. Andrew Jackson alone sprung for
ward, awl offered every assurance of protection.
His own conscience asserting the right, he placed
all the formulary of civilized society, which bad
been attempted to be engrafted upon uncivilized, at
defiance; and in shielding from brutal oppression
the person of a delicate female, in the end won for
himself a wile, who richly repaid him in a long life
u domestic happiness for tliis daring act of youthful
gallantry. I claim from the fair sex of America a
pari.mil for the youth who shall ever prove a shield
to female innocence, let her bo found the victim of
him iwho takes her cither from or to society to im,
pom upon her helplessness.
Am I still at fault J Why then let me set before
ray countrymen the example of Jackson as one who
knew cheerfully how to obey the call to public scr-
viee, both civil and military. It is a high and dis-
tmguishing evidence of disinterestedness; and wo
Hud it most forcibly traced in every line of the life
of our long to be cWished soldier and statesman.
What bait an invalid of Tennessee to do with the
invasion of the Gulf States ? It is idle to refer bark
to the ilia of his boyhood as sufficient cause to urge
him to the field. It is equally so to attribute it to
the reckless ambition of a fiery spirit as evinced in
the second trait to which I have alluded. It was
neither of these. Andrew Jackson took the field
liecausc tho interest of the country required it; and
while there evinced tiiat exact idea of duty which
must ever characterize the well disciplined or disin
terested will.
Rut it may not be enough to point out evidences
of determination and of disinterestedness. To con
stitute a hero there is at least one other quality to be
superadded, which can alone give efficiency to the
rest I mean bravery. It was the moral courage
of Andrew Jackson which made him the idol of a
whole nation—which made him the respected of the
whole world. Now will I take him at the bead of
a refractory army, quelling rebellion by hia own
turn; now in the unhappy issues which he waa at
times obliged to submit to in hia connexion with a
w orld that will undertake to settle its own attain of
honor as they are called, to prove hia bravery. I will
1-lace hfm foremost in a foraging party in the wilda
of Alabama: the Indiaim occupying the surround-
mg country, and his own troops afraid to obtain the
supplies which the forests afforded, although they
were m want of the common necessaries-of life.
l*t us suppose the fudge ended, or bring the party
within a lew miles of carup on its return, the sun
being about set. Let ist at a certain point of the
valley directing their march homeward, discover
* sudden the hills which shitted it, thickset with the
fcr instant death upon his reaching the tanks. The
effect was electrick; an unit of forco was created,
which, not only maintained perfect onlcr on the
march, but so surprised the enemy as entirely to
keep them at bay.
Determination—disinterestedness—bravery; give
me these united in any one individual, and we must
how down to him “ were our knees of brass,” as a
great man—as a ruler of his own age—as a model
ol all future, ages. That these were the prominent
points in the character of General Jackson, I have
just shewn; tiiat ho realized by them the homage of
which I have spoken, there is os little doubt; that
he will be upheld as the pattern of our youth in all
Uio offices of public and of private life, in peace and
in war, can with as little propriety be questioned.
But traits of character do not alone constitute great
ness ; there must be genius—there must be talent
highly improved. It ia not the disposition alone,
but the disposition and intellect combined which
make up the whole man. Unquestionably! and
willingly do we enter upon the history of tho depart
ed cliicltain and sage, to trace, as we have already
done those evidences of mind which best comported
with so noble a heart. First then as to tho deter
mination which led the son of an Irish Emigrant
widow, uot affluent in circumstances, to the study
and practice of law in the new Stare of the West,
rather than till the fields of the less enterprising
State of his birth. Was this not an indication of
genius—a fire within tiiat would net be quenched
save by burning out 7 I at least, regard this as the
best proof of an aspiring intellect. In a country
like ours, where tlic avenues to preferment are left
open to all, I like to trace in the countenance even
of the schoolboy, who ploughs to-day and spells to
morrow Uio daring idea that he might be President
of the United States; and thanks to the history of
our country, there arc many who, if they have not
actually fulfilled this exalted destiny, secured to us
by the wisdom of our forefathers, have been greatly
instrumental in giving effect to tlic administration of
those who have; for wlint man thoroughly imbued
with the spirit of self-help, but surrounds himself,
when called upon to assume important responsibili
ties, with confident souls like Ids own. But why
dwell upon tho question of General Jackson’s gen
every step in life evinces tliis pre-eminent
quality; tho quality of graspiug only upon those
tilings which are grandest, most important and most
pervading in their nature. See him issuing seventy
writs tlic first day be entered upon bis legal prac
tice in tlic courts of Tennessee; and why I because
ho regarded tlic law as the most sacred palladium
of our liberties; all tilings being weak indeed tiiat
are not based upon the principle of justice. See
him marching back to their proper muster ground
an army of men, of whom lie suspected the general
government of desiring to take advantage; and read
his letter to the Secretary of War, charging him
With having lost his pro-eminent claim of being the
supporter of the rights of the dependent soldier.—
Ilis eye of genius saw at a glance, that if the object
of the department were accomplished, and the regu
lar array reinforced by ncccssiluous individuals, that
instead of the chivalry of tho citizen soldier, which
his experience in the revolution had taught him to
respect far more than tiiat of tlic mercenary veteran
—a chivalry in fact upon which our very institutions
depend; lie should be the instrument of inflicting a
deadly wound upon the interests of the country.—
lie determined to offer himself as a sacrifice rather.
Take him in the field of diplomacy, when directed
by the government to negotiate with full powers
with the authorities of Spain. He had no sooner
discovered tho duplicity of tho functionaries who
rule over this unfortunate people; and farther, their
inefficiency as a government from their instability
at home, than he advised the Secretaiy to force them
into measures, and lost no time to carry his advice
into effect; warning the party in opposition, tiiat it
must he taught what it was to tamper with tho rights
anil reputation of a nation of freemen. All arc ac
quainted in the buttlo field with his coup d’oeil,
whether in subduing the viudictivo treacherous
savage, circumventing him in ambushes, or bayonet
ing bins from his fortre.-sca.—Or in opposition to the
veteran ticops of the Fcnintnla war. It makes no
difference to genius what is brought to oppose its
object; all are alike obstacles to be overcome, and
his invidious satellites.” The factions of petty poli
ticians who even began then to effect the move
ments of our government, had failed to reward him
with the prime command of our peace establishment;
because perchance his laurels had not been made to
bloom in a northern atmosphere; or because be
would not bend to every breath of special policy; or
because the people of the West were not tho bone
and sinew then of the Republic, and could not sound
the merits of their chief with sufficiently loud clarion.
At all events he was lost to the ranks of the regular
army, and was to my young imagination, there, the
imple farmer; the ploughman perchance of his own
seven acres. It was a glorious sight to the young
soldier of tho Republic—it read a grand lesson on
the subject of a soldier’s office: “ in war the tiger,
in peace the lamb.”
But if I do leave the field of Orleans, are there
none others ift which to find the traces of General
Jackson’s geniust We have alluded to tho retire
ment of tlic Hermitage os a fit sequel to the achieve
ments of his public life; could the justice or wisdom
of government fail to acknowledge the law that
nothing at all-valuable can in seven years be want
ing to the demands of usefulness. At any rate it
was not the case with tho man, who, the more the
nation dwelt on his merits, the more it found to
approve. Negotiations with the Spanish govern
ment were on foot for the Fioridas.—The Seminole
tribes were infesting the borders adjacent to these
territories. Who but the dcplomatist who told the
Governor of Pensacola a few years before, “ that all
farther discussion should be carried on by the mouth
of his cannon,” was calculated to conduct the first;
who but the chieftain, who had subdued nation after
nation of onr Indian toes, to conduct the second.
General Jackson was sent to Florida; and when I
shall have Ftated a single fact in each field of entor-
prize, I will leave the question, not of genius, but of
consummate genius to you. First, then, the cam
paign. After forced marches of twenty miles per
day, unheard of in the annals of war, and particu
larly through a wild and barren country, tho troops
in advance came in sight of an extensivo lake. It
was near night fall; tho twenty miles had been ac
complished, but the General knew that tliis lako lay
within five miles of the celebrated Suwancc towns,
the head quarters of the enemy; and upon their ar
rival at the one margin of the lake, there were a par
ty of Indians seen upon the other who had instantly-
taken to flight. To loose the panick which the des
truction of tliis town would produce, might change
tlic whole character of the war, and instead of a
single night of labor and danger, they have months
of both. The troops were ordered “ to halt, to un-
sling knapsacks,” and in an instant after were on
the march “double quick time” for the Suwannee
Towns. As may be supposed the army kept pace
with tlic Indian runners; at least it arrival licfore
the alarm became too general, and before morning
there was nothing left to tell the tale, save perhaps
the pen which I now hold, for I got the incident from
gallant officer of the Seminole army, Col. Gadsden,
of South Carolina; the same, who, when some yeare
before, was ordered by General Jackson, as his en
gineer aid, “to march him to Pensacola,” asked him
for the route; “ route,” exclaimed the determined
mind, “ why, have yon no compass 1” An old sea
man’s compass was accordingly screwed by Col.
Gadsden into the pummel of his saddle, and thus
was a distance of some hundreds of miles overcome
by an army, with no other mark or trace through
the wild woods than an old mariners compass.—
What was the result of the brilliant mark of genius
to which I allude as connected with the Seminole
campaign ? An immediate close of a war with a
savage nation, wiiich a short time after cost our
government years of hostility and millions of money
to conquer. In fact, I was told myself by a military
guide in Florida, that for weeks after the destruc
tion of tho Seminole Towns, the Indians continued
their flight—mm, women and children; and that
he himself had seen lliem rushing into tho streams
of Florida, not excepting the St. John’s itself, and
swimming towards the extreme islands of the Pen
insula, where they lived for months after in state of
perfect panick.
But if a single blow could silence a nation of
it seizes tho best means.—His country was to be savages, why could not a single blow bring a nation
protected as well from the maraudings of savage of slaves to a just appreciation of the laws of right
nations as from the insolence of civilised, and he ■ and justice, or if not, to a due sense of respect for a
set diligently about it But I must leave this fieldi nation of Freemen with whom they had treated. As
of his action; should I stop to detail his achieve-1 may have been supposed, grants innumerable, and
ments in it, I would detain you tho entire evening, j of years standing had been made of the territory of
See the treasures for instance of the great cominer- 1 Floriday by the Spanish government to persons who
cial mart of tho illimitable valley; not offered in! had failed to pay any attention to the claims arising
barter for a disreputable peace, but heaped bale upon ! from them, but who now endeavored to assert them
bale as a rampart against the enemy. See tho, by formal records. General Jackson appointed Gov-
treachery of a commercial people; treacherous, be- j ernor of the new Territory, finding that the spirit of
cause dealing with all nations they have enmity the treaty was shout to be frustrated by tho delay of
against none, circumvented by the Immediate dc-1 tho Spanish Governor, whom he was required to
clantion of martial law. See the very ermine of: relieve, did not hesitate for a second, but directed in
the'judiciary, the most sacred of symbols with him
as we have shewn, laid asido for a moment, that tho
property and rights of the people over which it was
called to preside might first be secured; and then
again see him in his own person restore it in all its
supremacy to its rightful power.
His retirement from these glorious scenes, shew
a given space of time to deliver up the public ar
chives, or he should be forced to do so. Thus do
we see what genius eon do in any immeigency—
how much renown it brings to the possessor, and
the incalculable benefit to the country to which it
belongs. Wc can now begin to see with how much
justice the people of the United States gloried in
oven the peculiarities of genius. It has struggled an occasion to repay our noble chief with the high-
hard when tho contest was hottest,—it has wastedj ost gift in their power.
itself in exact proportion to the grandeur of the I will follow onr history no farther for marks of
object; when tint is over, it seeks tho seclusion General Jackson’s genius, bat reserve his admirna-
of its own bosom for rest—to the hallow of its own tretion as President of the United Styles for the
domestic circle it flies for a renewal of its powers, second branch of onr subject, viz: “tint the deed*
The spoils of victory have not been taken into ac-' of greatness serve as guides for all future genera-
count for an instant by the hero. He leaves them lions, in the management of their political affairs.”
to the many who can soar no farther into the ethe-1 But wc have asserted that genius alone, suited
sion and drudgery of the Gum yard, and although he
had adopted the only available means of making hia
escape—tho study of tho law; soon found that if he
were to influence the interests of his fellow man, it
was to holy acts, and not by words; his lips, like
Plato’s had not been tipped with honey,lint his
strong arm could execute what his firmer will should
actuate. But a few years, when wc take into con
sideration his protracted life, Wore spent in the courts
of law. From these he voluntarily retired, even
although he had been rapidly promoted: tlic office
of Judge of the Supreme Court of his State having
been held by him. It would be scarcely then, an
act of justice to look for tho proper improvement of
General Jackson’s talents in the distinction which he
gained as a skillful jurist or sound Judge. Besides,
the career of a young politician—a favorite of the
people—and withal a man not covetous in disposi
tion, is too rapid—too independent, at least in a new
coufitry, of the regular promotion of the courts, to
allow the active mind time to acquire that stable lore,
which alone gives to the talent of the counsellor its
true pre-eminence. But while wc too often find, that
with tho distinction which Lord Bacon draws be
tween the “ expert” and “ learned man,” the descrip
tion of mind to which we allude falls under the for
mer catagory, “ men who can judge of particulars
one by one, but who are unfit for the general coun
cils, the plots, and the marshalling of affairs,” tho
rule does not apply to Andrew Jackson. If he left
tho courts oflaw—if he left tho Supreme bench—
and still more, if be left his post at Washington as
counsellor of the nation, it was not because he was
wanting In tho necessary perseverance to perfect
himself in cither line of duty, but because it was re
vulsive to his tastes; and more satisfactory still, be
cause the attractions of ah independent country life,
and the endearments of a peculiarly interesting fam
ily circle, had more charms for him, than tlic inces
sant litigation of man with man, or the more dis
tressing intrigue of politician with politician, lie
who shall doubt tliis has but to behold him in the
meridian of his glory, ruling tho most enlightened
cabinets, swaying tho most excited Congresses, and
setting aside tho most artful assumptions of the law,
by his clear discernment, whenever they interfered
with his principles of right and justice.
It is in the career that General Jackson volunta
rily assumed, that wc must test the degree of im
provement to which ho brought his characteristic
talent: the office of a citizen soldier—more important
to his country than ever was the phalanx of a Cssur
to Rome, or tho square of a Napoleon to France.—
There is no doubt but that the depredations of the
neighboring savages impressed upon him the impor
tance of this character; and the appointment to the
office of Major General of the State of Tennessee,
forced upon him tho responsibility. At all events,
the science, first of Indinn warfare, ami then of gen
eral war, became his fort, and if success be the test of
talent, he became pre-eminently distinguished. Nor
was it merely in the drill and discipline of the camp
tint be was signally successful, but in tho economy
of Quartermaster and Commisaariate deportments,
he established rule* and enforced performances,
which at tho timo excited the surprise and admira
tion of the whole country. In (met it is idle to dwell
longer on a subject which has been only questioned
by those who have accustomed themselves to regard
nothing as intellectual—nothing as enlightened that
does not belong to, or cminatc from tho halls of law.
We have now cotno to the second and moat im
portant part of out subject—the precedents set by
General Jackson for the guidance of our own and all
future generations—precedents that hare been all
confirmed, either by the power of public opinion, or
the acts of Congress, through his own unremitting
vigilance; and 1 refer with triumph to the vote of
the last Congress, which refunded him the petty
sum wrested from him by barefaced perfidy, and for
an act which alone remained to be hallowed by tho
suffrage of a grateful poople. How little did those
understand tho value of a Hero’s (time and example,
who accused the veteran of tho Hermitage of undue
self-love for urging the claim in point. When a
military officer of the Republic has dared to place
the arm of martial power above that of tho civil, the
occasion can alone determine the necessity; and
who, but the voice of the nation can determine the
occasion T This was the urgent cause of hia solici
tude ; and this, thanks to the outburst of applause
which followed his triumph inCongress—anapplausc
which ccaaod not to reverberate from every city, vil
lage and hamlet, until it had reached from one ex
tremity of the Union to the other, repaid him.
I have dwelt more particularly on this fact, as it
constitutes the brilliant point in his character of
General of the Republic: and allow me fellow citi
zens, to press upon yon the groat importance of this
character; it is tho first great example set to his
countrymen by the military hero of the first half
century at least General Jackson, as I before hin
ted, had been callod into the publicaervice aaa mere
militiaman, and at the head of an army of volunteers,
ordered to drop dotal the Mississippi. It soon ap
peared that the object requiring the move had ceased
to exist,andinorder todishondhia force,ho waa bro’t
into contact with angular officer of the army.—
Quickly did he perceive the wide difference which
mast ever exist in the repablic, between those two
branches of ite service] that while tho militia Gen
eral could, at tho first aound of his trumpet call thou
sands to hia standard, and of tho first energy of tho
land, the rogidar General may be well satisfied, it,
by low acts and measures, he could entrap even the
mart degraded of the fartaer’s tone. This forcibly
bio harmony of military maacuvre. How were
these obstacles to be overcome, even where the forco
acting should be entirely militia T One course alette.
Organize the army movement so that cue head shall
be alone recognized; that bead supreme in all things
appertaining to the district and object of the cam
paign. Should it be found unequal to the dutio* cf
tho post, have it depoeod, and another substituted.—
General Jackson entertained no sympathy, with thoao
who apprehend danger to a republic from its military
Generals. He held the strong aim of the majority
of twenty millions of freemen too powerful for tho
most daring military revolutionist Confident in
this opinion, ho conducted the Creek campaign op
en it—silencing dissentient Generals—displacing
crafty or inefficient agents, and promotingto respon
sible stations those only who were worthy the rank
of republican officers. Hie success was complete.
This is the second lesson taught by the hero of tho
Creek war to the freemen of all time, that a republi
can General should be clothed with plenipotentiary
power while conducting a military operation. These
successes of our hero were now spreading over tho
Union, and when a free people have a great object
to attain, they arc generally found to select the best
agents for it It is only in the management of mi
nor matters, and where the public attention is cot
aroused, that intrigue stops in and elevates its vota
ries. General Jackson was now called upon by tho
Federal Government to assume a new military char-
rctrr, that of Major General in the regnlar army ;
a Major General who should not require a recruit
ing Sergeant, with ribbon, drum and fife, to fill up
Iiis ranks, or worse, the necessities of a disbanded
militia corps; but under whom the proudest would
be proud to serve. He entered at once upon active
service, and only brought It to a close before tho
entrenchments of New Orleans. These brilliant
achivemcnts determine tho third and last lesson
under his military head of precedents, that it is from
among the most experienced militia Generals ef art-
public, that the Government is to find its surest reli
ance in timesof foreign invasion. General Jackson
himself was so satisfied of this (act, that although ho
had many of his own family roared to military life at.
the Federal school at West Point, none were allow
ed to remain in the army, but all obliged to seek
promotion in the ranks of the militia. Thcso Gen
eral officers know the people—ore from the people—
by no possible means can they become the bantlings
of Government against the interests of tho people.
It may be a startling proposition this, bnt it is one
that must become a fixed principle in the action cf
government, or wc loose the invaluable results cf
past experience.
Butl fear me that 1 shall tiro you before I set
clearly forth the many important examples left by
our departed great man. Remember that he not
only led onr armies bnt governed onr provinces,
and executed the will of this great nation as its
Chief Magistrate. Let mo beg yon to bear with mn
until I extract from this last field of his labors, a few
examples that must be handed down forever for tho
rule of all enlarged and enlightened republican com
munities. General Jackson, before ho bod been el
evated to the Presidency of the United States, bad
neither enjoyed the advantages of foreign missions,
or distinguished himself as a Federal politician; bnt
ho had seen enough to know that there was a wide
difference between a great people, and a great na
tion : that while the one meant “the greatest hap
piness of the many,” tho other meant “ the greatest
wealth of the few.” He studied to comprehend
clearly the causes of this difference, and why it waa
that the inevitable tendency of power had ever been
from the one to the other: the rights of the many
concentrating in the hands of the few. The causa
he found to consist in the operations of government
constitutional power could he made, actually to
usurp control over a real power. Who were thn
instruments of this enormity; and what the object l
General Jackson had been long enough in Congre.'.i
in his youth to know to whom the first charge should
be laid: the professional politician; a class increas
ing daily in the republic; a class living beyond tho
range of their par dim, and forced necessarily upon
the sea of adventure. Who became of consequent*!
interested copartners of this class I Hie mercan
tile aDd manufacturing capitalists of the whole coun
try. And why 1 Because government laid taxes
on the people th* people despised taxes, and rather
than meet them, would allow of any substitute;
hence tariffs. Bat tariffs would soon surcharge tho
Treasury. Of no importance; Government coaid
build roads and canals for the convenience of com
merce and manufacture. But this would require tco
much outlay; it would be equally alarming to tha
people. Of no importance still; Government could
issue bills of credit, and thus even make money—
We were a young people, and knew nothing as yet, of
the power of government. General Jackson pander
ed well over these simple propositions, drawn from
history, his own experience, and the daily progress
of our Federal legislation. He knew that tho con
fiding people of a republic too, were not calculated to
stem this current; that their representatives became
too often the dopes of the organized plans of the in
terested agents of capitalists, and that tha only poasi-
blehope lay in the august power of the Presidential
veto. He put no confidence In the hackneyed opin-
ion that republican governments are weak. Ho
knew them stvbecanee their executives were too
often so. He examined the administrations of tho
two last residents; they were hath cabinet men,
UlWfwto—ed to mntml, and anaqual to intrigue.—
It would not be at aU surprising then, iff in visw -of
impressed upon him tto high obligation of improve- these peculiar tenet*. General Jacks* should has*
raeattatliesitof war inqpored open th* »ilitiaman;i been pfosenl to Jearpthat he ksdbeea ■pmfcrttsdto