If, for the right, to wish the wrong
My country shall combine,

Single to serve th' erron'ous throng,

Spight of themselves, be mine.

Thomas Paine, Large Additions to Common Sense. appended to his Common Sense (Philadelphia, 1776), 80

UNION (1777-1780)

The Declaration of Independence was put forth as the explanation of the Revolution; but at once became a fountain of lofty principles for other nations. The question then came up whether that Declaration was to be made a truth by the success of the American arms. Without the aid of France that result could not be attained. The heroism of Washington and his army in holding together in the face of the enemy at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-1778 was rewarded by the appearance of French forces. Lafayette, most gallant and best beloved of all the foreign officers who lent their aid to the infant republic, has left his testimony to the qualities of the Americans. Officers like John Paul Jones fought with one hand and wrote imperishable dispatches with the other. The great spirit in this epoch was George Washington, whose calmness, steadfastness, and lofty belief in his countrymen carried the army through the dangers and disappointments of the campaign. He bitterly protested against the feeble system of raising men and supplies, but he stuck to his work to the end. Even before the successful campaign of Yorktown, American and foreign statesmen had begun to predict a great commercial and political future for the new country.

1. The Marvel of the Revolution

(1777)

By JOHN JAY

Jay, then a young man, was a participant in the new New York State government.

WILL it not appear extraordinary that thirteen colonies, the object of their wicked designs, divided by variety of governments and manners, should immediately become one people, and though without funds, without magazines, without disciplined troops, in the face of their enemies, unanimously determine to be free, and, undaunted by the power of Britain, refer their cause to the justice of the Almighty, and resolve to repel force by force, thereby presenting to the world an illustrious example of magnanimity and virtue scarcely to be paralleled? Will it not be matter of doubt and wonder, that notwithstanding these difficulties, they should raise armies, establish funds, carry on commerce, grow rich by the spoils of their enemies, and bid de

fiance to the armies of Britain, the mercenaries of Germany, and the savages of the wilderness? But, however, incredible these things may in the future appear, we know them to be true; and we should always remember that the many remarkable and unexpected means and events by which our wants have been supplied and our enemies repelled or restrained, are such strong and striking proofs of the interposition of Heaven, that our having been hitherto delivered from the threatened bondage of Britain ought, like the emancipation of the Jews from Egyptian servitude, to be forever ascribed to its true cause; and instead of swelling our breasts with arrogant ideas of our powers and importance, kindle in them a flame of gratitude and piety which may consume all remains of vice and irreligion.

Blessed be God! the time will now never arrive when the prince of a country in another quarter of the globe will command your obedience, and hold you in vassalage. His consent has ceased to be necessary to enable you to enact laws essential to your welfare; nor will you in future be subject to the imperious sway of rulers instructed to sacrifice your happiness whenever it might be inconsistent with the ambitious views of their royal master. The Americans are the first people whom Heaven has favoured with an opportunity of deliberating upon, and choosing the forms of government under which they should live. All

other constitutions have derived their existence from violence or accidental circumstances, and are therefore probably more distant from their perfection, which, though beyond our reach, may nevertheless be approached under the guidance of reason and experience. . .

But let it be remembered that whatever marks of wisdom, experience, and patriotism there may be in your constitution, yet like the beautiful symmetry, the just proportion, and elegant forms of our first parents before their Maker breathed into them the breath of life, it is yet to be animated, and till then may indeed excite admiration, but will be of no use: from the people it must receive its spirit and by them be quickened. Let virtue, honour, the love of liberty and of science be and remain the soul of this constitution, and it will become the source of great and extensive happiness to this and future generations. Vice, ignorance, and want of vigilance will be the only enemies able to destroy it. Against these be forever jealous. Every member of the State ought diligently to read and to study the constitution of his country, and teach the rising generation to be free. By knowing their rights, they will sooner perceive when they are violated, and be the better prepared to defend and assert them.

John Jay, Correspondence (N. Y., 1890), I. 160-161, 163-164 passim.