oes not pretend to be--he does not promise ever to
be.

Our cause, then, must be intrusted to and conducted by its own undoubted
friends--those whose hands are free, whose hearts are in the work, who
_do care_ for the result. Two years ago the Republicans of the nation
mustered over thirteen hundred thousand strong. We did this under the
single impulse of resistance to a common danger, with every external
circumstance against us. Of strange, discordant, and even hostile
elements we gathered from the four winds, and formed and fought the
battle through, under the constant hot fire of a disciplined, proud, and
pampered enemy. Did we brave all then, to falter now---now, when that
same enemy is wavering, dissevered, and belligerent? The result is not
doubtful. We shall not fail; if we stand firm, we _shall not fail_. Wise
counsels may accelerate or mistakes delay it, but sooner or later the
victory is sure to come.

(1854) THE OPENING OF JAPAN, Matthew C. Perry

In view of the events that have followed, the ending of Japan's
self-isolation and the opening of that country, first to American
commerce, and later to world-wide intercourse, must now be regarded as
an achievement of momentous consequence, far exceeding in importance all
that even the most prophetic statesmanship of the time could foresee.

Under the shoguns (or military chiefs) who after the seventh century
overshadowed the hereditary rulers, the Mikados, there grew up in Japan
a feudal system whereby the generals, recognized as overlords, increased
and perpetuated their power. The attempts in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries to introduce Christianity were met with resistance
and persecution, and ended in failure. In the same centuries Japan
traded with the Portuguese, but excluded them in 1638. After this the
Japanese isolation was complete, except for restricted trade with the
Dutch, until the conclusion of Commodore Perry's treaty.

About the middle of the nineteenth century a large amount of American
capital was invested in the whaling industry in Japanese and Chinese
waters, and one motive for the sending of Perry's expedition to Japan
was the protection of the whalers. Other things leading to that step
were: the discovery of gold in California; the growth of industrial and
commercial centres on the Pacific Coast of the United States; increasing
trade with China; and the development of steam-navigation, necessitating
coaling-stations and