68 H249 opy 1

I -4-rA>A_A . . c i

°sZtr} SENATE , {Do«'-

tlift ^tJjtefaement of tfje Centuries

ADDRESS OF

THE PRESIDENT

DELIVERED AUGUST 1, 1921

AT

THE TERCENTENARY CELEBRATION

OF THE

LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS

AT

PLYMOUTH

^|-2G70^

PRESENTED BY MR. LODGE August 10, 1921.— Ordered to be printed

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1921

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

"P'^EIVED

DOCUMENTS DIVISION

SV^

ADDRESS.

Governor Cox and Fellow Americans : Thouf^li they seem com- paratively measureless to^iis, three centuries are little more than a moment in the chronicle of human history. Christianity is now rounding out its twentieth century, and there is no comprehensible measure to the human ferment which went before. Our actual na- tional life is less than half the period of marvelous New World de- velopment, the tercentenary of which beginninji" we celebrate- but in that little while the achievement is the most significant of all the cen- turies. It is not too much to say that the three centuries which have passed since men of our race came here to found a new State have been the most momentous and the most pregnant in all the progress of humankind, -

They were more swiftly moving and seemingly more vital than the much longer periods of Egyptian, Greek, or Roman civilizations with which we are familiar, and it is not impossible that the com- manding potency of progress and material possessions may turn the significant beginning at Plymouth into surpassing influence in the making of human history.

To this and the Virginia shore Avere transplanted the seeds of representative democracy', the new ideals of nationality through as- sociation and representation, and there has developed seemingly, the most dependable form of popular government ever witnessed in the Avorld. Perhaps this larger achievement was not intended by the heroes of colonization. They were seeking freedom and found nationality essential to its preservation. Destiny pointed the way, and the hand of divinity traced tlie course of God-intended human advancement. Here came the sturdy English middle class of yoo- manry. burghers, and squires, who clung to their ideals of repre- sentative government. At home they might have been crushed un- der the burdens which reaction. Avas seeking to impose. Here they could have free play and begin anew, and fashion the temple of freedom in a new land, and they began Avhat we call republican institutions. These institutions are the agencies of highest freedom which embody at once the centralized authority strong enough to hold together a great community, and those essentials of democracy whicli insure dominance to the intelligent will of a free people.

Whether Ave reflect upon the restraints upon freedom Avliich the fathers imposed, or measure the broader liberty under the laAv of to-day, here began the reign of dependable public opinion, which unfailingly is the laAv of highest civilization. One may not say Avhether the Puritans at home Avould haA'e been able to Avork out

4 THE ACHIEVEMENT OK THK CEXTrRlHS.

such a system if there had heeii no American colonies and the colo- nial inffuence to react upon tlie motlier country. Doubtless the En<rlish revolution, which came soon after the settlement at Plym- outh, would have come even had there been no settlement here, no Massachusetts Bay Colony, no Viro:inia plantation. But it is easy to believe that in the lon<r stru<i<rle after the restoration, the fruits of the revolution, the stren<:thene(l parliamentary institu- tions, and the restiictions on royal prero<rative weiv helped by the influences of colonial democracy.

It is a difficult task to sin<rle out and measure the factors in jjo- litical and social i)roirress. The jrerm of proirress is doubtless uni- versal, but recjuires favorable conditions for its develo])ment. Con- ditions were favorable in the New AVorld and the Plymouth Colony Avas destined to beirin the surpassing: stoi-y of three centuries of ardent, eajrer pursuit of human justice.

Xo one will ever dispute the larire part New En<rland played in the rearin<r of new standards of freedom. The early .strujxirles here were cotem))oraneous with the makinjr of modern British consti- tutionalism, and the New AVorld beacon was an incentive and an inspiration across the sea; and to-day Old AVorld and New join in rejoicino; at the ends achieved. Here, with crude narrowness and unconscious selfishness hinderinfr. but with supreme intent impellin«r. there developed the accepted plan of emancipatino: humanity, and the frrant to man to sluqie his own destiny. The world choi'us to-day rejoicin<r in maintained democracy, attuned its chord to the notes first sounded here.

This devoloi)ment of liberty, this ureat conception of freedom, took ever firmer hold, until it was held and voiced unceasinfrly by those who boi'e aloft its banners here. And there was siirnificant reflex in the motherland. No Enjrlishman will do his country full justice or will quite understand its human story who does not seek out and study the effects of this sympathy and interaction between the seasoned, aofe-old lil)eralism of the Enjrlish countryside and the new, eaoer, out-reachin<r r.spiration of those wdio were plantino- the seed here in a fresh soil and ^uardiufr its early devel()[)Uient. No American can fullv a]ii)raise his country's contribution to mankind's advance if he overlooks these thinp^s which were truly fundamental in creatin*r two towers of national strenjjth for freedom where there mi<>;ht have been but one. At a time when the restored House of Stuart was bent on breakin": tip the New England confederacy, esteeminff it a lea«rue for ultimate independence, the enemies of Chailes IT were the firm friends of New Euiiland. The confederacy was at len<rth destroyed. l)ut it had served to teach the colonists unity and cooperation. Thus there Avas laid the foundation, in ])ublic opinion and workin<r experience, of the confederation which afterwards brought tooethei' the thirteen Colonies in the revolu- tionary strufro:le, and later the Federal T'nion.

At a time when the Commons at AA'^estminster seemed impotent against the demand of the returned Stuarts, the Kintr sent his de- mand that the Massachusetts charter be sun-endered. The be- ffinnini; of American Ke^olution may fairly l)e traced the larjrer part of a century from the date we conunonly fixed for it to the great town meeting in the South Church, to which was submitted

THK ACHIEVEMliXT OF THE CEXTUIUES. 5

the question whether the coh)ny woukl assent to the charter reor- ganization that the King demanded. Those who voted to aceej^t the royal terms were called on to raise their hand; and no hands were shown! The charter, indeed, was later revoked; but the uni- iied and incensed colony was ah-eady in a state of semire\olt. The fundamental grants of other cok)nies were in turn withdrawn and the King undertook to bring them all together under a single ad- ministration which should hold them in closer leash and keep the royal eye carefully on their activities. He foresaw already that the colonies were disposed to stiff-necked defiance of him and that they were tending to come together and make common cause; ami lie saw, too, that that common cause was more and more appealing to the sj'mpathy of Liberals at home.

If the idea of religious freedom had little to hope for from the effort of the stern old fathers to set up a theocracy in Xew Eng- land, the ideal of political freedom found here a particularly fertile :soil in which to germinate. If we candidly wuU examine the jieriod of the Stuart restoration we will find more than one of England's political tyrants insisting on a wider measure of religious tolerance in these colonies. Ultimately, under the Crown insistence, the fran- chise was widened by placing it on a property-holding basis rather than on that of church communion. It was a distinct liberalization, a significant broadening of the civic foundation. If a Stuart king took from these colonies the right to choose their own governors, lie also undertook to forbid those excesses of religious zeal wdiich led to persecutions for conscience' sake.

In short, there is some justification for the generalization that the political tyrants of the restoration forced a religious freedom on a colonial community whose dominating minority did not want it, while the Colonies wrested political freedom from the Crown. The clash between a theocratic tyranny on this side and ai political tyranny on the other resulted in the destruction of both, to the vast betterment of every human interest involved. It was a long, stub- I)orn, determined struggle between forces, neither of which had much cajjacity for yielding or compromise. In one way or another, sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously, it was going on practically throughout the entire period from the beginning of the colony at Plymouth to the end of the Revolutionary War and the recog'nition of independence. Looking back upon it, we may say that it was inevitable, and that the end which came to it was an inevitable conclusion. But things which look inevitable in the ret- rospect, conclusions which seem inescapable when the long scroll •of developing events can be unrolled before the mind's eye, are never so apparent during the process of their evolution. That mani- fest destiny whose directing hand we descry when we survey the long processes of history would doubtless have brought at last the happy state of both political and religious freedom. But without that cooperation of forces, that reaction of influences between the •old England and the new, we may well doubt whether the light of the new day would have broken through to shine upon the better fortunes of "a^i emancipated race without a struggle longer, by gen- erations, perhaps by centuries, than that which history records.

The men and women who came here to found in a wilderness, across ;a tliousand leagues of ocean waste, a new State, came with high and

b THE ACHIEVKMKNT OF THE CEXTI-HIES.

conscious i)iiiposo of acliieviri<r a great human end. Out of their vohiminous letters, memoirs. j)uhlic records, and historical writintrs Ave constanth- get the impression of their deep ccmviction that they had been called as divine instruments to accomplish a work of su- premest significance. Some have .seen in this nothing more than the basis for an indictment on the ground of zealotry, bigotry, even fanaticism. But bigotry, extremism, fanaticism never found their fruition in noble ends achieved, in freedom established, in numkind emancipated, in gieat States raised up as guardians of unshackled thought and unchained souls. We will find no philosophy i)ased on sucji unworthy assumi)tions which will exjjlain the miracle that was here performed. AVe will have to look higher, to see more clearly, to deal more fairly with human nature, to estimate more generously the purpose of those whom generations of men have honored. No merely human philosophy is capable of explaining such marvels as these. But when we lift our eyes we will rec<ignize the supreme guiti- ance, the divine inspiration, which alone could have wrought these ends.

Hand of uuiu alone did not build what was founded here: it was but the visible sign, the human symbol of a purpose, which we mav not understand but for whose beneficence all men nuist give tribute of praise and voice undying gratitude. We may speculate and c-on- jecture, we may seek to frame laws of human relationship by which to account for such results as here have been wrought. l)ut at last we will have to recognize that they are not for us to explain.

I^ven Cromwell, in his great leadership, failed to understand. He spoke contenijjtuously of those whom he accused of running away from the struggle at home. "Pinched fanatics.'" he proclaimed these fatheis of freedom in half a world. It would be difficult to find more convincing i)roof that human judgments are not to be trusted in these afl'airs wherein a higher than human wisdom directs the destinies of men and nations. Cromwell lived to know he had erred in his estimate of men and motives. 1)ut it was not given to him to know how stupendous Avas his mistake. He did not live to realize that the .schism he deplored was to be the means of winning liberty for both countries, and to bring them at last into that glorious union of free men's energies which in our day has saved a world from re- action and despotism.

There has never lived a generation of men possessing such wealth of historic materials, such capacity for candid analysis, such broad experience to guide them in right determination, as the generation to which we belong. Likewise there has been none which confronted more complex and difficult problems. Therefore, I like to commend study of the history which began here at Plymouth, in it-^ relations to the sweep of modern affairs. It teaches us that sometimes schism may lead to true solidarity; that division may mean nudti])lication.

The English-speaking race had hardly established itself in its true character as the foremost exponent of liberal institutions, when it began to distribute itself among the Avildernesses of the earth. Even before liberty had been secured for the mother country, its soldiers Avere adventuiing into distant parts, carrying their am- bitions Avith them. (^roniAvell looked upon them as deserters, de- si)ised them as Aveaklings. Avas disgusted Avith himself for having once thought to unite Avith them. It Avas not an unnatural or a

THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE ("EXTURH^S. 7

far-fetched jiid<i:niont for one of the Cromwellian habit. But what Avoiild have been his amazement if lie could have foreseen the destiny that awaited this feelde colonial enter[)rise, if he could have known that here Avas being founded the community that would at last in- spire the forces of C)ld-'\\'orld liberalism if he could have looked <lov.-n the vista of three centuries and seen political diA^sion followed by s[)iritual reunion in the greater cause of liberty for all mankind?

The community of free people of our race, whether in Euro])e or America, in Africa or Australia, under the northern or the southern skies — Avhether held together by political ties or by the yet more potent bonds of common traditions, institutions, language, and blood — this community, spread now to all quarters of the world, was begun wdien Jamestown and Plymouth were founded. It has car- ried its ideals wherever it has set its standard. It has won recognition of these ideals as the basis of social conduct, of community relations, throughout the world. Its w'ork is not finished; but, pray God, it has come triumphantly through its determining ordeal. It comes foith from that test, nerved and heartened for further tasks, confi- dent, assured, reliant. None questions either its place or its right of leadership: few doubt its destiny to establish, under that divine guid- ance which it has ever recognized, the splendid structure of human brotherhood in peace and understanding.

The ])erspective of history are not safely to be judged save from the loftiest peaks of human experience. It is the dearly bought privi- lege of our generation to stand on one of those heights of the long ages, to look back over the pathways by which we have come thus far, to see clearly what haA^e been the main traveled roads and what the by- ]iaths. If we Avill but let our minds record that Avhich our eyes tell us, we Avill note that the widespreading landscape behind us is now A'astly changed. It is not what it seemed Avhen Ave Avere passing through it. A little time ago, from a loAver altitude, we looked back on this same sweep and missed much that is now clear-cut and plain. That was before the storm. Then the clouds obscured the heights. Dense fogs of ignorance bedimmed the A^ew. There were poisoned va]>ors of prejudice and the miasmas of intolerance. Noav, in this wider, clearer vision Ave see that some of the routes Avhich Ave sup- l)osed Avere the hiirh )-oads of progress Avere the futile ways of Avasted oifort. Others, which in the journey's heat and toil Ave counted only as its marches of anguish, we recognize as the short-cuts that carried us quickly to loftier leA'els and safer positions.

We stand to-day before the unknoAvn, ])ut we look to the future with confidence unshaken. There is no retracing, Ave must forever go on. We Avekome the theories Avrought out in ncAv hope, hut Ave <ling to the assurance founded on e.\i)erience. All that is — is not l)ad. all that is to be Avill not be ideal. AVe can not lift the veil to the future, but we can analyze and understand what has gone be- fore. It is good to keej) our feet firndy on the earth, though we ;i;aze in higli hope for human l)r()therhood and high attainments.

Just as the Pilgrims had a practical mind for material things amid eifectiA'e i)ursuit of theii" higher ideals, so must Ave Avith our inheritance. God neAer intended an achicAement Avithout great effort — there is' no rcAvard Avithout great labor. Freerlorn is the field of endeavoT, not tlie fancied abode of idleness.

8 THE A(HIEVK.Vli:XT OF TllK I KM lltlES.

Just as these fathers (heM- t<)«!;ether toward ample conmiiiiiity authority to make the Nation and still i)reserve the freedom of those who compose it, so must we <::uar(l a«rainst the supreme centraliza- tion of power at home, and the superstate for the world. More, we must comhat the menace in the ^low in«r assumption that the state must su[)[)oit the pe()i)le. foi- just ijovei-mnent is merely the <ruaranty to the i)e()ple of the ii<iht and oppoi-tunity of that i)eople to support themselves. The one outstandino- dan^rer of to-<lay is the tendency to- turn to Washington for thinirs which are the tasks or the duties of the forty-eight Commonwealths Avhich constitute the Nation. Hav- ing wrought the Nation as the rential power of pi'eservation and defense, let us preserve it so.

A new hoj)e looms to-day. We are slowly but very surely re- covering from the wastes and sonows and utter disarrangements of a cataclysmal war. Peace is i)ringintr its new assurances; and peni- tent realization and insistent conscience will preserve that peace. Our faith is firmer that war's causes may l)e minimized, and over- burdening armament may be largely diminished. And these, too, without surrender of the nationality which has inspired or the good conscience which has defended. The international pros}XH't is more than piomising. and the distress and de])ression at home are symp- tomatic of eaily recovery. Solvent financially, sound economically, unrivaled in genius, unexcelled in industi'v. resolute in determina- tion, and unwavering in faith, these United States will carry on!

In the story of 300 years there is every recompense for the agonies of ye.sterday, there is our staff for the burdens of to-day, there is our assurance for the trials of to-morrow. The civilization of to-day, the status of mankind, has been reached by many routes. We have approximated the common vision, the united purpose, the one supi'eme aim. We note the divisions of the ])ast, the ))arting paths, the clashing aml)itions. the misguided efforts, and we see all of them bringing men together and urging understanding, suggest- ing larger i)urpose. There is no fit temple for num amid eternal rivalries, enmities, hatreds, strife, and warfare. But in the concord of brotherhood and understanding we may ajiproach the state which (lod must have meant for those created in his own image.

Here was the early dedication to religious liberty and political freedom. It was a sublime gift to posterity. We can not better express our reverence to-day than by sweeping aside the errors, the faihu'es. the disappointments, the betrayals of our day. and plant here for all America and all the world the standards of highest jus- tice and real human brotherhood. This would add to the volume of rejoicing on earth and give echo to the heavens of the nobler aspira- tion of united mankind. It w<mld. dim no torch of liberty which was lighted here, but would set the world aglow with new hopes, new confidence, and new exaltation.

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