Nationality in the United States.
history. But the people simply dodged the responsibilities
of deciding - the momentous questions and compromised until
the legislation of the sword began in 1861. The first shot on
Fort Sumpter brought to the national conscience the knowl
edge that not only were freedom and slavery antagonistic
social forces which could never be joined, but that slavery
was inconsistent with the Republican ideal. The question
of State sovereignty could not be decided by any one mind,
nor by a chosen few but by the people themselves.
Josiali Quincy, who declared in Congress in 1811 that the
dissolution of the union was already accomplished, lived to
see the great national uprising at the fall of Sumpter and
then on his death-bed said, “Now I know we are going
to be a g - reat nation. I never felt sure of it before.” From
that hour the existence of the nation in American politics
became an accomplished fact. It was the result of a natural,
slow, continuous and certain growth, culminating in the
great strug'le between two elements, : —the one in favor of a
loose confederacy from which any states might withdraw —
the other, stronger and victorious, which decided that the
States by the Union were one and inseparable.
With the reconstruction began the real organisation of
the nation. Once more our statesmen endeavored to form a
“more perfect union and promote the general welfare.” It
required time to eliminate the sectional feelings, but to-day
the student of American affairs can see 110 influences at work
save those which make for a firmer and closer union. The
time required for the amalgamation of this people seems to
indicate a firm and homogenerous welding.
A continuous stream of immigration which has poured
in upon us spreading itself widely throughout the states has
been most instrumental in bringing about this sense of un
ion. Nowhere in the broad area of our country is there aris
ing a fundamental diversity of interests. “The growth of
nationality must always mean the collective growth of polit
ical institutions, industrial relations and class dependencies