say, were such
men, with such ends in view, by such sacrifice, to frame such a
government, containing the most delicate balance of interests, with strong
checks against the encroachment of any branch, either the legislative,
executive or judicial, giving all trades and professions, and all men, an
equal chance for excellence, influence, and honor; you would not hesitate
to pronounce that a good government, even though you might find slight
exception to some of its terms, though you might not interpret as others
do, all its constitutional phrases.

In view of the protection which such a constitution affords, especially if
it had been tested, for a period of eighty years, by all the inward strain
of domestic evils, and all the outward pressure of invasion; by the
influence of foreign envy, of intrigue, of hostility; by the debasing
power of disloyalty, the incompetency of rulers, and the general
degeneracy of human nature; I say, in view of all these untoward
influences, the government which could still retain its majesty and power,
still stretch its Aegis over every national and individual right--you
would pronounce the best, both for ruler and people, that ever blessed a
nation. And you would not hesitate to declare _that_ man a _traitor_, who
should attempt _to weaken_ and destroy it!

Now we pretend to say that _our_ government was thus formed by the
choicest wisdom and patriotism of the world, with the largest liberty in
view, under the restraint of law, giving equitable privilege to all its
citizens, and so balancing its different departments that they are
mutually a defence. We pretend to claim for our government the loftiest
purpose, the most comprehensive views, and the best practical results. We
claim for it justice, equality, and power. It does not stand out--a thing
distinct from the people and the states. It is not an objective power
only, but subjective; it is in every State and in every freeman. It is not
in machinery, which can be set in motion and work out certain results, as
if every part of it were iron or steel, and put into action by applied
heat; but in _men_, in minds, in hearts, in the family circle, in the
church, in every throb of patriotism, in every fibre of the husbandman and
the artizan, in the pastor's prayers, and the student's living thoughts.
It is in the _nation_ like latent fire, like a hidden life--evoked in time
of peril, and flashing along the telegraph, breathed in song, uttered in