The History of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia Part 30

HEADS OF THE ARMY AND NAVY.

It was Fredericksburg that gave to the country the head of the armies of the United States in the great war for independence, in the person of the peerless Washington, and also furnished the greatest naval commander of that war in the person of the dauntless John Paul Jones. In addition to Washington, the small town of Fredericksburg sent to the field during the great Revolution five other generals--Gen. Hugh Mercer, Gen. George Weedon, Gen. Wm. Woodford, Gen. Thomas Posey and Gen. Gustavus B. Wallace, besides many officers of the line of high rank.

MADISON THE FATHER OF THE CONSt.i.tUTION.

It was James Madison, of Orange county, a Virginian, born a few miles below Fredericksburg, at Port Conway, in King George county, who gave that wonderful instrument, the Const.i.tution of the United States, to the country, that has been described as the "grand palladium of our liberty, the golden chain of our union, the broad banner of freemen, a terror to tyrants and a shining light to patriots."

Hon. James D. Richardson, of Tennessee, in his great work of compiling the messages and papers of the Presidents, with short biographical sketches of each, after recounting the labors, works and achievements of Mr. Madison, says: "It was not for these things or any of them his fame is to endure.

His act and policy in the framing of the marvellous instrument, the const.i.tution of our country, his matchless advocacy of it with his voice and pen, and his adherence to its provisions at all times and in all exigencies, obtained for him the proudest t.i.tle ever bestowed upon a man, the t.i.tle of the 'Father of the Const.i.tution.' It is for this 'act and policy' he will be remembered by posterity."

JUDGE WALLACE ON THE CONSt.i.tUTION.

Hon. A. Wellington Wallace, at one time Judge of the Corporation Court of Fredericksburg, contributes for this work the following paper on the Const.i.tution of the United States:

"No historical sketch of Fredericksburg and its locality would be complete without at least an epitome of the const.i.tutional form of government of the United States; for within a radius of seventy-five miles from Fredericksburg were reared the leading men who inspired the Federal Const.i.tution. There are few, if any, similar areas in magnitude that can furnish, in one epoch of time, such a splendid galaxy of names. George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, James Madison, Patrick Henry, John Blair, George Wythe, Edmund Randolph, and George Mason, the deputies appointed by Virginia to frame the Federal Const.i.tution, were natives of this territory.

"The inspiration given to the men of the age when our const.i.tution was framed, was a wonder to the world. No nation had ever attempted by a written paper to provide a fundamental basis for government to last for all time and to provide for every emergency which might arise. The British Const.i.tution, which had been the maternal chart of government before the Revolution, was a collective name for the principles of public policy on which the government of the United Kingdom was based. It was not formulated in any doc.u.ment, but the gradual development of the political intelligence of the English people, resulting from concessions from the Crown, successive revolutions, numerous enactments of Parliament and from the established principles of the common law. But here in this new country, by young men, born in the territory around Fredericksburg, was inaugurated a departure from the traditions of our ancestors to govern by a written fundamental law, a nation, whose progress thereunder has been phenomenal and has been, and will ever be, a continuing cause of astonishment to the civilized world.

"As has been stated in this chapter, the Const.i.tution of Virginia, of 1777, drawn by George Mason, was the first written const.i.tution.

Subsequently, the several colonies that revolted against Great Britain, entered into written articles of confederation for the common defense and for government in time of war, but when the independence of the United States had been recognized by Great Britain, these articles of confederation were found totally inadequate for the powers of government.

"The power of making war, peace and treaties, of levying money and regulating commerce and the corresponding judicial and executive authorities, were not fully and effectually vested in the Federal Union; so it became necessary that the freed colonies should either become weak, independent sovereignties, or should be bound together by stronger obligations, and, that for the general welfare, the separate sovereignties should surrender certain rights and powers to central control. With a view to this object, on the 21st day of January, 1786, a resolution pa.s.sed the Legislature of Virginia for the appointment of five commissioners, any three of whom might act, to meet similar commissioners from other States of the Union; and, under this resolution, the commissioners appointed fixed the first meeting in September following as the time, and the city of Annapolis, Maryland, as the place of meeting.

"Edmund Randolph, James Madison and Saint George Tucker attended, representing Virginia, and, as a result of this conference a convention was called of all the States, to be held in Philadelphia, on the 25th day of May, 1787, and to that convention Virginia sent the deputies mentioned before in this paper, and, of these deputies, George Washington was chosen president of the a.s.sembled body. An extended account of the proceedings of that convention would be inappropriate in this brief narration. It is sufficient to state that the convention adjourned, having completed its work on the 17th day of September, following its meeting, and that while all the Virginia delegates a.s.sisted in the work of the convention, only three of the delegates, George Washington, James Madison and James Blair, signed the Const.i.tution.

"The Const.i.tution went into effect on the 4th day of March, 1789, although George Washington, the first President of the United States under it, was not inaugurated until the 13th day of April--eleven of the thirteen States having ratified it, the others, North Carolina and Rhode Island, not ratifying, the former until November 21, 1789, and the latter until May 29, 1790.

"The Const.i.tution is a doc.u.ment comprised in seven original articles and fifteen amendments. Of the original articles the first deals with the legislative body, prescribing the mode of election to the House of Representatives and the Senate, the qualifications of members, the method by which bills shall be pa.s.sed, and those subjects on which Congress shall be qualified to act. The second relates to the Executive Department, prescribing the method of election and qualifications and duties of the President. The third relates to the Judicial Department, providing for the Supreme Court and such other inferior courts as Congress may think necessary. The fourth deals with the relations of the Federal Government and the separate States, and provides for the admission of new States. The fifth relates to the power and method of amendments to the Const.i.tution; the sixth to the National Supremacy, and the seventh to the establishment of the government upon the ratification of the Const.i.tution by nine of the States.

"The amendments, according to one of the methods provided, were proposed by Congress and ratified by the States. The first twelve were submitted under acts pa.s.sed in 1789, 1790, 1793 and 1803, and the last three after the Civil war, under acts of 1865, 1868 and 1870. The most important of the amendments are the twelfth, which changed the method of electing the President and Vice-President to the existing method; the thirteenth, which abolishes slavery; the fourteenth, which disqualifies any one who has been engaged in rebellion against the government from holding office, unless his disqualification has been removed by Congress, and prevents the a.s.sumption and payment of any debt incurred in aid of rebellion; and the fifteenth, which prohibits the denial to any one the right to vote because of race, color or previous condition of servitude.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Shiloh Baptist Church, New Site (colored.) (See page 215)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Church of G.o.d and Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ (colored.) (See page 216)]

"This is an epitome of the Const.i.tution of the United States, by virtue of which the government has been maintained to the present time; and the principles laid down therein were, to a very large extent, the suggestions of the men we have mentioned from the locality of Fredericksburg. The Republic based upon this Const.i.tution was an experiment, but it has, for more than a century, withstood the most terrific shocks of the most troublous times. It has waged foreign wars successfully; wild party spirit has always been foiled in efforts to undermine it; the bloodiest internecine strife in the world's history, sustained on both sides by unsurpa.s.sed valor, has but cemented its strength and prosperity at home and its power and prestige abroad; from thirteen small, feeble colonies, it has become a great nation of nearly eighty millions of people, its domain not only spreading from ocean to ocean, but extending far over the seas, and the protecting aegis of the Const.i.tution, and the laws pa.s.sed thereunder, guarding every race from every clime.

"No more splendid apostrophe to the Const.i.tution could be added than the tribute of Mr. Gladstone, of England, the ablest advocate of human rights the century just closed has produced, when he said, in substance, that it was the grandest and greatest compendium of principles that had ever emanated from the brain, or been written down by the pen, of man."

CHAPTER XXI

_The First Proclamation for Public Thanksgiving--Pennsylvania Whiskey Rebellion--John Marshall and the Supreme Court--Religious Liberty--The Monroe Doctrine--Seven Presidents--Clarke Saves the Great Northwest--The Northwest Explored--Louisiana Purchase--Texas Acquired--Mexico Adds to Our Territory--The Oceans Measured, Sounded and Mapped--The Ladies' Memorial a.s.sociation--The Mary Washington Monument, &c._

This chapter is taken up with a continuation and conclusion of the subjects of the last two chapters--that is, a brief reference to what has been accomplished for the country by the giant minds, and through the dangerous and daring exploits of the men who lived in Fredericksburg and within a radius of seventy-five miles of Fredericksburg; therefore no farther introduction to the chapter is necessary.

FIRST THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION.

It was Richard Henry Lee, of Westmoreland county, a Virginian, styled the Cicero of America, who wrote the first proclamation for public thanksgiving in this country. Congress, with the government, had moved from Lancaster, in Pennsylvania, where it had gone for safety, to York, in the same State, then containing about 1,500 inhabitants. At that time the chief cities in the country were in the hands of the enemy, except Richmond and Savannah, and the American army--again defeated at Germantown--retreating before a victorious enemy. Congress had been in session for nine months in York in the years 1777 and 1778, and while there heard the news of the surrender of Burgoyne, adopted the Articles of Confederation, received the news from Benjamin Franklin at Paris of the decision of the French government to aid the Americans in their struggle for liberty, and issued the first national thanksgiving proclamation.

The President of Congress appointed Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, with Samuel Adams, of Ma.s.sachusetts, and Gen. Roberdeau, of Pennsylvania, to draft the proclamation. It was written by Mr. Lee, and for its beauty and comprehensiveness, and being the first paper of the kind ever prepared and issued by authority in this country, it will, we are sure, be regarded with interest and veneration. It is as follows:

"For inasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending providence of Almighty G.o.d, to acknowledge, with grat.i.tude, their obligations for benefits received, and to implore such further blessings as they stand in need of; and it having pleased him, in his abundant mercy, not only to continue to us the many blessings of his common providence, but also to smile upon us in the prosecution of just and necessary war, for the defence and establishment of our rights and liberties; particularly that he has been pleased, in so great a measure, to prosper the means used for the support of our troops and to crown our arms with signal success.

"It is, therefore, recommended to the legislatures, or executives, powers of these United States, to set apart Thursday, the 18th of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise; that with one heart and one voice the people of this country may express their grateful reverence, and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor, and that together, with their sincere acknowledgments, they may join in a penitent confession of their manifold sins, whereby they had forfeited every favor, and their humble and earnest supplication may be that it may please G.o.d, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance; that it may please him graciously to shower his blessings on the government of these States, respectively, and to prosper the public council of the whole United States; to inspire our commanders, both by land and sea, and all under them, with that wisdom and fort.i.tude which may render them fit instruments, under the providence of Almighty G.o.d, to secure for these United States the greatest of all blessings--independence and peace; that it may please him to prosper the trade and manufactures of the people, and the labor of the husbandman, that our land may yield its increase; to protect schools and seminaries of learning, so necessary for cultivating the principles of true liberty, virtue and piety, under his nurturing hand, and to prosper the means of religion for the promotion and enlargement of the kingdom which consists of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

"It is further recommended that all servile labor and such recreation as at other times innocent may be unbecoming the purpose of this appointment on so solemn an occasion."

This historic doc.u.ment was adopted by Congress on the 30th of October, 1777, and sent to the governors of the respective States on the 1st of November by the President of the Congress, Henry Lawrens, of South Carolina, who had just been elected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Hanc.o.c.k, of Ma.s.sachusetts.

THE WHISKEY REBELLION.

It was Henry Lee, of Westmoreland county, a Virginian, known through the war for independence as "Light Horse Harry," who, in 1792, crushed out the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania and restored order to the four counties in rebellion. He was at the time Governor of Virginia, and was in command of 15,000 troops, raised by special requisition of President Washington from the States of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. It was this Henry Lee who delivered the funeral oration in Congress on Washington, in which he used those words which will last in history as long as the memory of Washington shall be revered, "He was first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen."

CHIEF JUSTICE MARSHALL AND SUPREME COURT.

It was John Marshall, of Fauquier county, a Virginian, who, by his great ability and firmness of character, brought the Supreme Court up from a tribunal of little importance and consequence to one of great dignity and to one equal in power and importance with the executive and legislative branches of the government. He did more--he established not only the fact that the Supreme Court was the proper tribunal to declare what was and what was not law, under the Const.i.tution, but it was to set limits to the powers and prerogatives of the chief executive himself.

In an address on the Supreme Court by Justice Brown in 1896, he said: "The Const.i.tution had been adopted by the vote of the thirteen States of the Union, but its construction was a work scarcely less important than its original creation. With a large liberty of choice, guided by no precedents, and generally unhampered by his colleagues upon the bench, the great Chief Justice (Marshall) determined what was law by what he thought it ought to be, evolved from his own experience of the defects of the Articles of Confederation and from an innate consciousness of what the country required, a theory of construction which time has vindicated and the popular sentiment of succeeding generations has approved. In the case of Marbury against Madison, which arose at his very first term, he declared the judicial power to extend to the annulment of an act of Congress in conflict with the Const.i.tution, a doctrine peculiar to this country, but so commending itself to the common sense of justice as to have been incorporated in the jurisprudence of every State in the Union.

The lack of this check upon the action of the Legislature has wrecked the const.i.tution of many a foreign State, and it is safe to say that our own would not have long survived a contrary decision. Had Marshall rendered no other service to the country, this of itself would have been sufficient to ent.i.tle him to its grat.i.tude." And Judge A. W. Wallace, writing of Justice Marshall, said: "By his canons of construction he fortified the foundations of the Const.i.tution and builded thereon the jurisprudence of the United States--whose opinions, nearly a century old, stand, like a great sea-wall, breasting every billow of political frenzy that has threatened to engulf the safety, permanence and perpetuity of our inst.i.tutions."

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.

It was Thomas Jefferson, of Albemarle county, a Virginian, who wrote the act of the General a.s.sembly of Virginia, pa.s.sed on the 26th day of December, 1785, establishing religious liberty in Virginia, which has been adopted, or a law of similar import, by every State in the United States, and made a part of the Const.i.tution of the United States, by the first amendment made to that instrument. It is one of the grandest achievements of Mr. Jefferson, and stamps him as a patriot who could and did rise superior to his environments and surroundings, and even his predilections and life-long attachments, and secure to the people, by a law which he expressed the hope would never be repealed, their rights in matters of conscience as to religion and the worship of their G.o.d. It has permeated this whole country, and its influence is felt more or less throughout Christendom, and as a little leaven will leaven the whole lump, so its influence is still at work and time only can tell what it shall accomplish.

The act was written in Fredericksburg, and, omitting the long preamble, which is written in Mr. Jefferson's best and most vigorous style, is as follows: "That no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be inforced, restrained, molested or burthened, in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities."

THE MONROE DOCTRINE.

It was James Monroe, a native of Westmoreland county, but for years a citizen of Fredericksburg, a Virginian, who announced the American principle, known as the "Monroe Doctrine" that declared that no foreign power should acquire territory on this continent, which has been the guiding principle of the United States government since its enunciation, and which has been the safeguard to all the governments of this hemisphere.

The Monroe doctrine and the causes that called it forth, are succinctly stated in volume 10 of the "Messages and Papers of the Presidents," and are as follows: "After the overthrow of Napoleon, France, Russia, Prussia and Austria formed the so-called Holy Alliance in September, 1815, for the suppression of revolutions within each other's dominions and for perpetuating peace. The Spanish colonies in America having revolted, it was rumored that this alliance contemplated their subjugation, although the United States had acknowledged their independence. George Canning, English Secretary of State, proposed that England and America unite to oppose such intervention. On consultation with Jefferson, Madison, John Quincy Adams and Calhoun, Monroe, in his annual message to Congress in 1823, embodied the conclusions of these deliberations in what has since been known as the Monroe Doctrine. Referring to the threatened intervention of the powers, the message declares: 'We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and shall not interfere. But with the governments who have declared their independence and maintained it, and whose independence we have, on great consideration and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States.'"

ESTABLISHED THE YOUNG REPUBLIC.

And furthermore: Not only did Fredericksburg and vicinity furnish the leader of the American armies to victory and independence, and the leading spirit in the navy; not only did they furnish the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Father of the Const.i.tution, but they furnished the Presidents of the United States for thirty-two years of the most trying and difficult part of the history of the Republic,--it being the formative period of an experiment,--except the four years of John Adams's administration, during which but little, if any, progress was made. Washington was the first President, serving eight years; Jefferson succeeding Adams, who served eight years; then Madison eight years, followed by James Monroe for eight years, thus making the thirty-two years. Besides these four Presidents, Virginia furnished three others, who lived or were born within the circle of seventy-five miles of Fredericksburg, namely, Wm. Henry Harrison, John Tyler and Zachary Taylor.

It is rather remarkable that both Harrison and Tyler should have been born in Charles City county, Virginia, elected on the same ticket, Harrison, who had moved to Ohio, as President, and Tyler as Vice-President, the death of the former just one month after his inauguration, elevating Tyler to the Presidency. President Taylor was born in Orange county.