We can not continue these brilliant
successes in the future, unless we continue to learn from the past. It
is necessary to keep the former experiences of our country both at home
and abroad continually before us, if we are to have any science of
government. If we wish to erect new structures, we must have a definite
knowledge of the old foundations. We must realize that human nature is
about the most constant thing in the universe and that the essentials of
human relationship do not change. We must frequently take our bearings
from these fixed stars of our political firmament if we expect to hold a
true course. If we examine carefully what we have done, we can determine
the more accurately what we can do.
We stand at the opening of the one hundred and fiftieth year since our
national consciousness first asserted itself by unmistakable action with
an array of force. The old sentiment of detached and dependent colonies
disappeared in the new sentiment of a united and independent Nation. Men
began to discard the narrow confines of a local charter for the broader
opportunities of a national constitution. Under the eternal urge of
freedom we became an independent Nation. A little less than 50 years
later that freedom and independence were reasserted in the face of all
the world, and guarded, supported, and secured by the Monroe doctrine.
The narrow fringe of States along the Atlantic seaboard advanced its
frontiers across the hills and plains of an intervening continent until
it passed down the golden slope to the Pacific.
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