They have had great trials and great triumphs. They
have won renown among the nations. They have grown in wealth
and in power. They have subdued a mighty rebellion. They
have carried their flag in triumph to the ends of the earth.
They have wrested the last vestige of power in this hemisphere
from an old and proud nation who once occupied the place that
England has since occupied and which it seems likely we are
to occupy hereafter. They have resisted many strong temptations
and acquired much glory. I am afraid they have of late yielded
for a time to one strong temptation and missed an opportunity
for still greater glory, that never will come back. But there
was something in that struggle with slavery which exalted
the hearts of those who had a part in it, however humble,
as no other political battle in history.
Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive.
And, surely, to be young was far nearer Heaven than Wordsworth
found France in the opening of the French Revolution.
I became of age at just about the time when the Free Soil
Party, which was the Republican party in another form, was
born.
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