The Men Behind the Declaration of Independence. L. Carroll Judson

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СКАЧАТЬ the bright constellations that illuminated the memorable era of ’76. In those days the ladder of fame was firmly based on honest merit and modest worth. It required no stump speeches or bar-room harangues to gain popular favour. The tree was judged by its fruit; principles and not men, were the political land marks. It was also a time of labour. Inglorious ease was not known in the legislative halls; long written speeches were not read to the speaker and walls of the house: the business of the nation was the order of the day; that business was done faithfully, promptly, and effectually. Posts of honour were then posts of duty; profit was out of the question. The motives and actions of the revolutionary sages and heroes were not based on the seven principles of five loaves and two fishes, but on love of country, social order, and human rights.

      By the citizens of his own state the virtues and talents of Mr. Sherman were held in high estimation. In addition to his congressional honours, they continued him a member of council during the war. In 1784, when New Haven received a city charter, he was elected mayor, filling the office with dignity and usefulness to the close of his life, when not absent on more important public duties.

      At the termination of the war, he, in conjunction with Judge Law, was appointed to revise the judicial code of Connecticut, which duty was performed with great ability, and to the satisfaction of all concerned. He was a member of the general convention that framed the federal constitution. From a manuscript found amongst his papers, it appears that this instrument of union received many of its original features from Mr. Sherman. To his conceptive mind and practical wisdom, we are much indebted for the towering greatness and unparalleled prosperity we so eminently enjoy, and which will endure so long as we are faithful to ourselves. With all the local and conflicting interests of the colonies spread open to his view, he was enabled to exercise a salutary influence in reconciling difficulties between the members, that, for a time, threatened to hurl back the elements of government into original chaos, and prostrate the fair fabric of liberty.

      By examining the profound discussions, the variety of opinions, the multifarious interests, the intense anxiety, the agony of soul, and sacrifices of private views that characterized the formation of the federal constitution, we discover wisdom, discretion and patriotism of the purest, loftiest kind, shining in all the grandeur of bold relievo.

      Based upon the declaration of rights, it forms a superstructure towering in sublimity above all others, radiating its heart-cheering influence over sixteen millions of freemen, revered at home, respected abroad, and without a rival in the annals of legislation.

      Judge Sherman did much to remove the objections made against this important document by the people of his own and adjoining states. He showed them clearly, and convinced them fully, that to effect and perpetuate the union, private feeling and interest must yield to public policy and public good; and that each state should strive to produce an equilibrium in the government of the whole. The wisdom of the sages who framed, and by their continued exertion and salutary influence effected the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, deserves our admiration quite as much as when they guided our nation through the storms of the revolution. It is often easier to acquire a particular object than to properly enjoy and preserve it.

      Judge Sherman was elected a member of the first congress under the new government, and resigned his judicial station that he might take a seat in that body. His influence had great weight in the national legislature. His exertions to promote the interests of his country were unremitting. Traces of his magnanimity and prophetic policy are upon the journals, and in many of the early laws of our country.

      Upon many subjects members differed, and, in some instances, much warmth and acrimony were exhibited. On such occasions, Mr. Sherman was peculiarly happy in his exertions to produce reconciliation. He was emphatically a peace maker.

      At the expiration of his representative term, he was elected to the United States Senate, of which he was a member when he closed his useful career, and bade a long adieu, a final farewell, to earth and its toils. He died on the 23d of July, 1793, in the full enjoyment of that religion he had honoured and practised in all the changing scenes of his eventful pilgrimage. He had lived the life of a good man, his closing scene was calm, happy, and serene. He could triumph over death and the grave, reaching forward to receive the enduring prize of immortal glory. He could approach the dread tribunal of the great Jehovah, smiling and smiled upon; and enter into pure and unalloyed bliss, lasting as the rolling ages of eternity.

      Thus closed the valuable and useful life of Roger Sherman. He had been a faithful public servant nearly forty years. He had participated in all the trying scenes of the revolution; he had seen his country burst into being, a nation of freemen. He had aided in effecting a consolidation of the government; he had seen the dawnings of prosperity. In all the important measures of the state of his adoption, and of the American nation, he had taken an active and important part, from the commencement of the French war to the time of his death.

      As a Christian, he was esteemed by all denominations, for his consistent piety and liberal charity. With him, sectarianism was not religion; for him it had no charms. His philanthropy was as broad as creation; it reached from earth to Heaven. He made himself acquainted with the abstrusest branches of theology, and was an esteemed correspondent of several celebrated divines.

      In the history of Roger Sherman, we behold one of nature’s fairest sheets of purest white, covered with all the sublime delineations that dignify a man, and assimilate him to his Creator. His life was crowned with unfading laurels, plucked from the rich soil of genuine worth and substantial merit. No ephemeral flowers decked his venerable brow. A chaplet of amaranthine roses surmounts his well-earned fame. The mementos of his examples are a rich boon to posterity, and, whilst religion and social order survive, the virtues of this great and good man will shine in all the majesty of light. His private character was as pure as his public career was illustrious. He buried none of his talents; he fulfilled the design of his creation.

      By his example it is plainly demonstrated, that man is the architect of his own fortune. By industry and perseverance, with the aid of books, now accessible to all, young apprentices and mechanics may surmount the Alpine summit of science, and take their stations, with superior advantages, by the side of those who have become enervated within the walls of a college. No one in our land of intelligence is excusable for growing up under the dark shades of ignorance. The sun of science has risen, and all who will, may bask in its genial rays. The field of knowledge and path to glory are open to all. The means of acquiring information are far superior to those enjoyed by Sherman and Franklin. Let their bright and shining examples be imitated by Columbia’s sons, and our happy republic will live for centuries. Let ignorance, corruption, and fanaticism predominate, and the fair fabric of our freedom, reared by the valour, and cemented by the blood of the revolutionary patriots, will tremble, totter, and fall. Chaos will mount the car of discord, sound the dread clarion of death, and LIBERTY will expire amidst the smoking ruins of her own citadel. Remember that “knowledge is power,” wealth “the sinews of power,” and that honesty, virtue, and integrity are the regulators of them both. Remember that intrigue, fanaticism, and faction may prostrate, at one bold stroke, the fairest, noblest work of years.

      EDWARD RUTLEDGE

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      The thrilling subject of American Independence is ever welcome to the patriot and philanthropist. The annual celebration of the event is calculated to perpetuate a kindred feeling and a kindred love of liberty. The time may arrive when the day may not be celebrated, but to the end of time the event, and the names of those who achieved it, will be handed down on the historic page with pride and veneration. The names of the Signers of the Declaration, like those of the twelve Apostles, are surrounded by a wreath of glory unfading and untarnished. Among them we find that of Edward Rutledge, who was born in Charleston, S. C., in November, 1749. СКАЧАТЬ