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Show 12 DESPOTISi'll affairs--choosing such an one as the minister recommended;. the Le~islature filled with Ia wyers, whose supenor mformatwn, eloquence and adroitness, put every thing in their power; the judges, secure iu the tenure of their office, and the profound respect with which it was regarded, contributing by their decisions to uphold a system of which they formed a part: thus beset, hemmed in, controlled and over-awed ali !he weaker spirits and more submissive tempers, lhat 1s to say, the mass of the community, cowered and submitted to a power, so boldly claimed, so vigorously enforced, and exerc1sed on the part of those who held It, with a serious and sincere belief that superior knowledge, virtue and capacity justly entitled them to pre-eminent authority. But notwithstanding this moral oligarchy to which New England was subjected, the spint of democracy had nestled in the bosoms of her people; and cherished by degrees mto energy and strength, it presently be· gan to plume 1ts wmgs, and to make ready for assert· ing its just dominion. 'l'hc history of the contest in New England, be· tween Demo~racy on the one hand, and the priestly and legal alhance on the other, has never yet been written. lt is not adorned with any of those palpable acts, th.osc scenes of devastation and slaughter, which have hitherto formed the chief topics of historic nar· rati?n; and .though a most violent and bitter struggle, so httlc T1as It attracted the attention of political wri· ters, that the progress of American Democracy, thns far, has been generally described as quiet silent and almost unresisted. ' 'l'o one, who from the the array of the combatants, had diVIned the probable termination of the conflict, the speedy discomfiture of the democratical party would have appeared inevitable. Behind the legal and clerical champions who proudly led the van of the opposmg forces, there followed a goodly host, including by far the most respectable, and apparently the most worthy portwns of somety. 'l'he wealthy, almost to JN AMERICA. 13 a man, enlisted in behalf of the established order of things, which having made them rich, in their estimation, could not but be- good. Besides, their wealth enabled them to purchase by gifts to pious uses, and without any special personal merit, high scats in the •ynagoguc; and sufficed to enrol them in the list of "gentlemen," with whom the ministers and the lawyers were accustomed to share their authority. Next followed the great mass of the religiously disposed; for it requires an unusual degree of discernment and decision, to escape from the influences of education and habit, and to distinguish between a reverence for religion, and a blind submission to spiritual guides. The literature of the country, such as it was, naturally appeared on the side of those who were its principal patrons; and crowding in the rear, came the young talent and ambition of the times, anxious to sustain a system, which seemed to offer a rightful preeminence to talent, and to ambition a station above the vulgar level. The array upon the other side, was contemptible in comparison. Some leaders there were, "sons of liberty," who had been nursed in the cradle of the revolution, whose character, whose honor, whose patriotism was unquestionable, and upon whose clear reputation not all the outrageous calumny of their opponents could fix the shadow of a stain. And there were some followers too, who seemed to love democracy for itself; men enamoured of the idea of equality, who sought no private advantage, but only the public good. Bnt these, whether leaders or followers, were comparatively few, The mass of the party seemed made up like the hand of David, when he rose in rebellion against the Lord's anointed j-all who were in debt, all who were in distress, all who were discontented, enlisted beneath this banner; and to believe the account of their opponents, not the tatterdemalions of Falstaff's enlistment were more idle, vicious, dishonest and dangerous. The truth is, that so stern, severe, active and influ- 2 |