Outlines of English and American Literature Orators and Statesmen byLong, William J.
For a full century, or from the Stamp Act to the
Civil War, oratory was a potent influence in molding our national life; and
unlike other influences, which grow by slow degrees, it sprang into
vigorous life in the period of intense agitation that preceded the
Revolution. Never before or since has the power of the spoken word been
more manifest than during the years when questions of state were debated,
not by kings or counselors behind closed doors, but by representative men
in open assembly, by farmers and artisans in town halls fronting a village
green, by scholarly ministers in the pulpits of churches whose white
steeples with their golden vanes spoke silently, ceaselessly, of God and
Freedom as the two motives which had inspired the fathers to brave the
perils of a savage wilderness.
Among the most famous addresses of the age were the speech of James Otis in
the town hall at Boston (1761) and the "Liberty or Death" speech of Patrick
Henry to the Virginia burgesses assembled in St. John's church in Richmond
(1775). To compare these stirring appeals to patriotism with the
parliamentary addresses of a brilliant contemporary, Edmund Burke, is to
note a striking difference between English and American oratory of the
period, the one charming the ear by its eloquence, the other rousing the
will to action like a bugle call.
The statesmen of the Revolution, that glorious band whom Washington led,
were also voluminous writers and masters of a clear, forceful style; but it
would probably surprise them now to find themselves included in a history
of literature. In truth, they hardly belong there; for they wrote not with
any artistic impulse to create a work of beauty that should please their
readers; their practical aim was to inculcate sound political principles or
to move their readers to the right action. If we contrast them with certain
of their British contemporaries, with Goldsmith and Burns for example, the
truth of the above criticism will be evident. Nevertheless, these statesmen
produced a body of so-called citizen literature, devoted to the principles
and duties of free government, which has never been rivaled in its own
field and which is quite as remarkable in its own way as the nature poetry
of Bryant or the romances of Cooper or any other purely literary work
produced in America.
Hamilton and Jefferson
These two statesmen, who became bitter antagonists
during the struggle over the Constitution, may be selected as typical of
all the rest. The story of their splendid services in the cause of liberty
cannot be told here; such men belong to history rather than to literature;
but we may at least note that they deserve more careful and unprejudiced
study than rival political parties have thus far given them. Their work has
a broad human interest which extends far beyond the borders of America,
since they stand for two radically different conceptions of life, one
aristocratic, the other democratic, which appear in every age and explain
the political and social divisions among free peoples. Hamilton (the
Federalist) denied the right and the ability of common men to govern
themselves; he was the champion of aristocracy, of class privilege, of
centralized power in the hands of the few whom he deemed worthy by birth or
talent to govern a nation. The most significant trait of Jefferson (the
Anti-Federalist) was his lifelong devotion to democracy. He believed in
common men, in their ability to choose the right and their purpose to
follow it, and he mightily opposed every tendency to aristocracy or class
privilege in America. In the struggle over the Constitution he was fearful
that the United States government would become monarchical if given too
much authority, and aimed to safeguard democracy by leaving the governing
power as largely as possible in the hands of the several states. To readers
who are not politicians the most interesting thing concerning these two
leaders is that Hamilton, the champion of aristocracy, was obscurely born
and appeared here as a stranger to make his own way by his own efforts;
while Jefferson, the uncompromising democrat, came from an excellent
Virginia family and was familiar from his youth with aristocratic society.
Typical Writings
The best-known work of Hamilton (to which Madison and Jay contributed
liberally) is The Federalist (1787). This is a remarkable series of
essays supporting the Constitution and illuminating the principles of union
and federation. The one work of Jefferson which will make his name
remembered to all ages is the Declaration of Independence. Besides
this document, which is less a state paper than a prose chant of freedom,
he wrote a multitude of works, a part of which are now collected in ten
large volumes. These are known only to historians; but the casual reader
will find many things of interest in Jefferson's Letters, in his
Autobiography and in his Summary View of the Rights of
America (1774). The last-named work gave Burke some information and
inspiration for his famous oration "On Conciliation with America" and was a
potent influence in uniting the colonies in their struggle for
independence.
