Speeches, Reviews, Reports, 1843 (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

Excerpt from Speeches, Reviews, Reports, 1843

Such a review has important uses. It compels us to reflect upon the nature of our institutions, the manner in which they have been built up; and by recurring to their foundations we add new strength to the principles by which they are sustained. We are animated to fresh exertion in our national career, by going back to the original fountains from which American free dom and prosperity have been derived.

History is experience teaching by example; but it is not by ordinary examples that her wholesome lessons are taught. The mean and selfish motives, which so often enter into the induce ments to glorious achievements, are forgotten in the lapse of ages. The petty intrigues and personal quarrels which so often influence the fate of empires, pass to oblivion with those by whom they were fomented; and the character of the age, marked by its prominent moral and intellectual qualities, alone remains to animate or to warn succeeding generations.

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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Speeches, Reviews, Reports, 1843

Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the Historical Society:

We live in an extraordinary age. It may emphatically be denominated an age of improvement. Mechanical inventions, scientific discoveries, and advances in political knowledge, are daily bringing about great changes in the condition of society: and scarcely have we time to contemplate these changes, and to speculate concerning their probable effects, ere our anticipations are realized, and our attention is occupied by new improvements, whose results are beyond the grasp of the most vivid imagination.

The community in which we live remarkably exemplifies these striking characteristics of the age. It comprehends within its bosom many who have seen its day of small beginnings, and who, within their own lives, have witnessed the rapid growth of a few provincial dependencies into this powerful confederacy. These considerations cannot be overlooked by any person familiar with American history; and, yielding to their influence. I propose, in discharge of the duty assigned to me by the Historical Society, to review the history of the European settlements in America, and their influence upon the condition of the civilized world.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.