Address of
James Graham McNab, March 1857
Our Union, Will it be preserved?
Mr. President & fellow
members,
A succession of ages have witnessed the struggle of man for liberty
in every age, & every clime. The star of liberty has been seen proudly to
rise untill times thought to have reached the median of its glory. Then again
to still from human gaze guarded only by an Almighty protector. Thanks be to
God
that star has again risen in the name of
America. Yes Sir She, the palladium of the liberties of
mankind has arisen. And the question now is must she too, fall? The present
condition and future destiny of our country afford abundant food for deep, and
serious reflection. Originating from a colony of obscure adventurers driven
from their native shores by the bigotry, & mistaken zeal of the rulers of
the old world. And cast on a land which served only as the abode of the beasts
of the forest, and ifpossible a race of beings
still more savage! Our country has in the lapse of a few years arisen to a
lofty, & commanding station among the nations of the world. Only a few
short years ago a star was seen to rise and shine, dimly though it was on the
shores of the new world. And now though scarce a century has elapsed, its rays
have penetrated, & are fast dissipating the horrid gloom of
European despotism. The down trodden sons of humanity of
every nation with anxious hearts watch its progress,
and hail its success as a harbinger of liberty for them. Such being the case,
we may, or should look forward to a destiny still more glorious and exalted.
But while these patriotic feelings swell our bosoms, while the hope that our
Union may be ever one, is still strong: we cannot be
blind to the dark, and portentous clouds which hover around us, we cannot shut
our eyes to the fact when we contemplate the future, that it is indeed gloomy.
That it presents a more fearful aspect than ever before. The mad torrent of
fanaticism,and intolerance bearing on its bosom
thousands of the Hell hounds of abolitionism engaged in their unholy crusade
against their countrymen, the constitution, and their
God which has just
swept over the northern States, may well cause every true patriot to shudder
for our future. Such a course on the part of one portion of our
Union is
rapidly sapping the very foundations of our government. Casting aside all
considerations of honor, of justice, or even expediency trampling upon the
remonstrances of a large portion of their fellow citizens, and disregarding the
plainest dictates of reason, and the evident meaning of the constitution, we
behold them pursuing a course of conduct which if persisted in, must, and will
terminate in the destruction of the fairest, and mightiest structure ever
reared by mortal hands. The boast in high wrought terms of the blessings of
liberty which we enjoy in such rich profusion. We claim to be the only free
people of the earth. But even now while our government inspires thesouls, and moves the arms of revolutionary patriots,
we (the
South) are groaning under the most odious oppression, and
smarting from long continued, and repeated aggressions. Taxed for what we do
not enjoy, our funds go in Millions to strengthen
the already too strong arm of our most deadly enemy— Sir it is evident we
do not enjoy the position in the confederacy that we should, or even that we
once did. It is idle to seek for the cause of our present condition in
circumstances of a more local nature! in the defects of our banking system, in
an unimproved state of internal improvements. These have some influence, but
the true cause comes from a higher source, is more extended and consequently
more deadly in its operations. And yet when we remonstrate we are sneered at,
and insulted as disunionists, aiming at the destruction of government. Can any
one suppose but that such treatment superadded to injuries already inflicted
must sooner or later drive the South into measures, which she herself even in
cooler moments would bebe the first to condemn?
Cut off as she is from all sympathy, her motives called in question, goaded to
desperation by the dishonorable conduct of her adversaries— Comment is
useless, yet it is apparent that so long as the usurpations of government are
persisted in we must be in imminent danger of a dissolution, and all the
horrors of anarchy which would follow in its traice. If these acts of injustice
can in any manner be checked, and peace & harmony once again restored we
may then look forward to the future with some degree of confidence that the
progress of succeeding ages will only be coeval with that of our country in
wealth and prosperity. Next we may consider the dangers to be apprehended from
the violence of political parties. The American when
he turns the page of history which records the power, magnificence, vast extent
of territory, parties, divisions, contentions, and finally the destruction of
Ancient and modern republics, and compares with these the virulence, and
animosity of parties in his own land, entering the abodes of private families,
prostrating in their everysentiment of honor and
justice may justly be alarmed. What a spectacle does
Rome
exhibit in the days of her
Manics, and her
Sylla, her
Julius and
Pompey? What is the history of this
wonderful empire from a village on the banks of the
Tiber untill it comprehended the then almost known world
but a series of tumultuous conflicts, and civil dissensions. Torn by factions,
her streets drenched in the blood of her noblest citizens untill she finally
relapsed into the more calm slough of despotism. Party spirit like the baneful
"
Upas" poisoned her vitals, and
Rome was free no
more. Turn to
Venice, to
Genoa, to
Switzerland, sad relics of their former glory, great
beacons standing to warn succeeding ages of the rock upon which their hopes,
their fortunes, and their power were wrecked. But why multiply examples? If the
canker of party has already eaten into the vitals of our commonwealth, well may
we also despair. But let us hope 'tis yet not so. There is a redeeming spirit
in the constitution, and the teachings of our patriot ancestors which we may
well expect to bear us through the storm. If our governmentagain stand the recent shock of shocks, then may we
hope that it will be permanent and eternal: that steadily pursuing a course
which has been marked by the most signal advantages both to herself and
mankind, she will continue to be an honor to herself & the neuclus of
liberty. But should our fond anticipations be nipped in the bud, should the
worst draw near, what Sir, is the duty of Southerners
in that event. Sir around us are assembled the youth of our own sunny
South. And
to you fellow members the priceless boon of human liberty has been confided. I
charge you defend it. And should the tocsin of disunion resound throughout the
land, and the dread torch of civil war cast its lurid glare around our sacred
homes, and over the graves of our ancestors: I adjure you by all you hold
sacred and holy, I adjure you as you value the liberty of your posterity, as
you value your own peace and happiness to ever persevere afresh in your hearts
the bloody scenes of
Charleston, of
Savannah, of
Camden, and
Kings Mountain, remember the sufferings of our fathers and in the midst of the struggle if
come it must, let the motto of each, and every one be Independence in life if possible, if not independence in death.
James G. McNab
Chapel Hill,
March 1857