The Church of God and Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ (colored.)
(See [page 216])
“This is an epitome of the Constitution of the United States, by virtue of which the government has been maintained to the present time; and the principles laid down therein were, to a very large extent, the suggestions of the men we have mentioned from the locality of Fredericksburg. The Republic based upon this Constitution was an experiment, but it has, for more than a century, withstood the most terrific shocks of the most troublous times. It has waged foreign wars successfully; wild party spirit has always been foiled in efforts to undermine it; the bloodiest internecine strife in the world’s history, sustained on both sides by unsurpassed valor, has but cemented its strength and prosperity at home and its power and prestige abroad; from thirteen small, feeble colonies, it has become a great nation of nearly eighty millions of people, its domain not only spreading from ocean to ocean, but extending far over the seas, and the protecting ægis of the Constitution, and the laws passed thereunder, guarding every race from every clime.
“No more splendid apostrophe to the Constitution could be added than the tribute of Mr. Gladstone, of England, the ablest advocate of human rights the century just closed has produced, when he said, in substance, that it was the grandest and greatest compendium of principles that had ever emanated from the brain, or been written down by the pen, of man.”
CHAPTER XXI
The First Proclamation for Public Thanksgiving—Pennsylvania Whiskey Rebellion—John Marshall and the Supreme Court—Religious Liberty—The Monroe Doctrine—Seven Presidents—Clarke Saves the Great Northwest—The Northwest Explored—Louisiana Purchase—Texas Acquired—Mexico Adds to Our Territory—The Oceans Measured, Sounded and Mapped—The Ladies’ Memorial Association—The Mary Washington Monument, &c.
This chapter is taken up with a continuation and conclusion of the subjects of the last two chapters—that is, a brief reference to what has been accomplished for the country by the giant minds, and through the dangerous and daring exploits of the men who lived in Fredericksburg and within a radius of seventy-five miles of Fredericksburg; therefore no farther introduction to the chapter is necessary.
FIRST THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION.