[PW] Re: Thomas MacCauley

[Kevin W. Woodruff]

Joy:

Thomas Jefferson uses a phrase like this in his
letter:

TO HENRY DEARBORN 
(U. S. MINISTER TO PORTUGAL.)1
Monticello, Oct. 31. 22.

Dear Sir,

—Your letter of Aug. 31, dated so soon after your
departure gave me hopes that the sufferings at sea of
Mrs. Dearborn and yourself, if any, had been short. I
hope you will both find Lisbon a pleasant residence. I
have heard so much of it’s climate that I suppose that
alone will go far towards making it so; and should the
want of the language of the country lessen the
enjoyment of it’s society, this will be considerably
supplied by the numbers you will find there who speak
your own language. Take into the account also that you
will escape the two years agitation just commencing
with us. Even before you had left us our newspapers
had already begun to excite the question of the next
president. They are advancing fast into it. Many
candidates are named, but they will settle down, as is
believed, to Adams and Crawford. If the Missouri
principle should mingle itself with the party
divisions the result will be very doubtful. For altho’
it is pretended there are no longer any parties among
us, that all are amalgamated, yet the fact is that the
same parties exist now that ever existed, not indeed
under the old names of Republicans and Federalists.
The Hartford Convention and battle of New Orleans
extinguished the latter name. All now call themselves
republicans, as the fox when pursued by dogs takes
shelter in the midst of the sheep. Finding monarchy
desperate here, they rally to their next hope, a
consolidated government, and altho’ they do not avow
it (as they never did monarchism) yet it is manifestly
their next object.

Hence you see so many of these new republicans
maintaining in Congress the rankest doctrines of the
old federalists. The judges aid in their old way as
sappers and miners. One of the candidates is supposed
to be a Consolidationist, the other for maintaining
the banner of state rights as provided by the
constitution against the fear of Consolidation.

Our Virginia University is now my sole occupation. It
is within sight of Monticello, and the buildings
nearly finished, and we shall endeavor, by the best
Professors either side of the Atlantic can furnish to
make it worthy of the public notice. Strange as the
idea may seem, I sincerely think that the prominent
characters of the country where you are could not
better prepare their sons for the duties they will
have to perform in their new government than by
sending them here where they might become familiarised
with the habits and practice of self-government. This
lesson is scarcely to be acquired but in this country,
and yet without it, the political vessel is all sail
and no ballast.



--- Joy Tofteland <tofteland at ankeny.k12.ia.us> wrote:

>  Patron is looking for the exact quote by the
> historian Thomas MacCauley and
> the context in which it was stated.
> 
> Patron remembers the quote as "The United States is
> all sail and no ballast"
> 
> Thanks,
> Joy Tofteland
> Reference/ Technical Resources Librarian
> Kirkendall Public Library
> Ankeny, IA 
> 
> tofteland at ankeny.k12.ia.us
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Project Wombat
> list at project-wombat.org
> http://www.project-wombat.org/
> 


Prof. Kevin W. Woodruff, M.Div., M.S.I.S.
Library Director/Reference Librarian, Assistant Professor of Bible and Greek
Tennessee Temple University/Temple Baptist Seminary, 1815 Union Ave. 
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37404, United States of America
423/493-4252 (office) 423/698-9447 (home) 423/493-4497 (FAX)
Cierpke at prodigy.net  http://pages.prodigy.net/cierpke/woodruff.htm