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Gerrit Smith Broadside and Pamphlet Collection

Speech of Gerrit Smith, made in the National Liberty Party convention at...

Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874.

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Call number: Smith 471

SPEECH OF GERRIT SMITH,

Made in the National Liberty Party Convention at Buffalo, September 17th, 1851,

when the following Resolutions were under discussion:

1. Resolved, That righteous civil government is an indispensable agency for blessing and saving the world; and that every political party which does not identify itself, openly and heartily, with such government, is unworthy of confidence and support.

2. Resolved, That righteous civil government is impartial towards all its subjects, and redresses all the wrongs within its reach; and that, hence, it disowns the policy of removing one evil and neglecting another, and of doing justice to one portion of its subjects and leaving another to groan under injustice; and that, more emphatically, it disowns the policy of removing one evil by means which confirm and perpetuate other evils, and of benefitting one class of its subjects at the expense of sacrificing another.

We all believe in christianity: and we all believe, that she only can reform, and save, and bless this sin-crazed and sin-ruined world. But christianity though she is, she, nevertheless, cannot work without tools. Christianity though she is, she, nevertheless, constitutes no exception to the universal law, that, wherever there is work to be done, there must be tools to do it with. Moreover, in her case, as in every other ease, the tools must be adapted to the work. If we could be warranted in supposing it possible for christianity to use wrong tools, we should be warranted in saying, that, in using them, she would do more harm than good.

Even christianity cannot accomplish impossibilities. She cannot make progress by impeding her progress. What, however, impedes her progress so much, as unrighteous civil government? - unrighteous civil government, which, by means of the oppressions, that it tolerates, and the oppressions, that it practices, dwarfs the intellect, and stupefies and shrivels the soul, of the wronged and robbed and crushed masses; and which nourishes in the privileged classes the spirit of caste and the whole group of selfish and haughty affections? - and which, thus, unfits all, both the high and the low-the high, because of their pride, and the low, because of their abjectness - for receiving christianity? It is a mistake, that christianity is adapted to all classes and conditions; and that she can prosper among slaves and among slaveholders. She can prosper among neither. It is true, that, among both, she may, here and there, make a convert. But we repeat, that she can prosper among neither. Her home and the theatre of her triumphs are among neither the rich nor the poor, the oppressors nor the oppressed. The circumstances preferred by Agur, equally removed, as they are, from the pride of wealth on the one hand, and from the abject dependence of poverty on the other - these are the circumstances, in which christianity has "free course and is glorified." But it is the very opposite of these circumstances, which the unjust and spurious civil governments of the earth produce. Such governments make the rich richer, and the poor poorer; the high higher, and the low lower. Bless a nation, however, with a righteous government - with a government, which will maintain impartially all rights for all; and its happy subjects will, in general, be the equals of each other in wealth, and intellect, and education, and goodness.

We said, that christianity must have suitable tools to work with. Poor tool, however, must unjust and spurious civil government be for her hands and her work! Nevertheless, that tool, poor as it is, is commended by the great mass of her professed disciples; - for they do themselves use it, and they steadfastly refuse to discard it, and to use righteous civil government in its stead.

I take the position, that this will never be a blest and saved world, until christians shall make use of righteous civil government. It is not enough, that they shall refrain from upholding unrighteous civil government. They must uphold righteous civil government. Mr. Garrison and his party do well in refusing to vote for unjust men. But they will not have done their whole duty, until they shall have added to this negative merit the positive merit of voting for just men. Many, because of the corruptions of civil government, when in the hands of unworthy administrators, have resolved to abandon civil government altogether. But this is as absurd, as to resolve to have nothing to do with apples, because some apples are rotten; nothing to do with notes and bills, because some notes and bills are counterfeit.

I do not forget, that Mr. Garrison and his party justify non-voting on the ground, that the Federal Constitution is a wicked instrument. But, pray, what has the Constitution, whether proslavery, as they think it, or antislavery, as I think it, to do with the right to vote? The Constitution does not create the right. It is a God-given right - and overrides all human authority. It is true, that there may be human laws to regulate the exercise of the right; but the right itself is derived from a Power infinitely above human laws. If our neighbors assemble to choose civil rulers, it is our privilege, our right, our duty, to assemble and participate with them; - and this too, as well when statutes and constitutions are bad, as when they are good. Is it said, that the rulers elect are required to take an oath of office, in the taking of which they must dishonor and perjure themselves? Our reply is, that we will see to it, that the men, for whom we vote, are men, who, Daniel O'Connell like, will refuse such an oath; and who, also, Daniel O'Connell like, will, nevertheless, insist on holding the office.

I said, that it is not enough to be neutral in regard to civil government - not enough to have nothing to do with civil government, either with that, which is good, or with that, which is bad. Civil government must be used, not disused. And when, the world over, it shall come to be used for all its legitimate purposes and for none other, then will every part of the world make such progress in holiness and happiness, as none, not even the most favored part of it, has ever yet made.

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I said, that government must be used. Let not this remark occasion misapprehensions of my views of the province of government. I claim not for it a wide province. I claim not, that it shall build roads and canals for the people, or promote their schools and churches. I claim for it, in a word, nothing else than the right to protect its subjects - and not even this, except wherein they cannot protect themselves.

What a monster of iniquity is civil government in its present perverted and spurious character! - and what an insurmountable obstacle in the way of christianizing and blessing the world! I call it insurmountable, not because it cannot be removed - for there is no obstacle in the way of christianity, which site cannot remove. But I call it insurmountable, because it must be removed, ere she can prevail. The actual government, of which I have been speaking, deserves not the name of civil government. It is a conspiracy rather. The world over, a conspiracy against human rights has usurped the name, and installed itself in the place, of civil government: - and, alas, that christians, the world over, should be countenancing and sustaining such a conspiracy!

We will glance at a few of the wrongs and outrages practised by this lying counterfeit of civil government.

lst. It divides the people into classes - exalting some, and depressing others. In our own country, it, goes so far in oppression and devilism, as to hold millions in slavery.

2d. It protects the few in plundering the many of the soil - and, this too, notwithstanding the right to the soil is as natural, universal, and equal, as the right to the light and the air. In some countries, as, for instance, in our own, government is itself the great laud-monopolist, and withholds from, or sells to, the people what is the peoples own. I would here add, that, so long as land-monopoly prevails, the masses will, because robbed of their laud, be poor; and so poor, that "poverty's unconquerable bar" will be interposed between them and the intelligence, comfort; and happiness, which are their due, and without which life itself is no blessing.

3d. Notwithstanding the right to buy and sell freely is a great and absolute right, government does, nevertheless, by means of its unnatural tariffs, invade and annihilate it.

4th. Government permits men to traffic in intoxicating drinks, and, thus, to manufacture paupers and madmen - paupers, who burden, beyond endurance, the industry of the sober, and madmen innumerable, who revel in burning& arid murders.

5th. By means of its wars, its standing armies and navies, and its fortifications, government impoverishes, and demoralizes, and wastes its subjects.

6th. Government compels one generation to pay the debts of another, and fastens upon the innocent men of the present day the mountain debts, which were wickedly contracted by their ancestors, centuries ago.

I need not multiply my accusations against the spurious civil government, which afflicts every nation. Those, I have, now, brought against it, suffice to show; that such government is the heaviest curse, under which earth groans.

Now, what must be the effect of such government on the mass of its subjects but to make them ignorant and base and wretched? - what less, in a word, than to make the elevating and christianizing of them impossible, so long as such government is allowed its sway over them?

And, yet, the great mass of christians uphold such government! And even they, who have the care and control of missionary undertakings, uphold it! How absurd, that the advocates of such government should be engaged in sending forth missionaries to evangelize the heathen! The very thing most needed to get the heathen into circumstances, in which they can be reached by the truth, is the subversion of their oppressive civil governments. But if the missionaries are like those, who send them (,and this is to be taken for granted,) they will rather sympathize with these governments than seek to subvert them. The celebrated Swartz kept him self on good terms with the oppressive governments around him. Even when these governments were at war with each other, they were at peace with this idolized missionary. What, however, of the fruits of his labors did these withering governments leave? Almost nothing. When he had passed away, and another band of missionaries had come to the scene of his labors, scarce an evidence could they find, that he had ever been there; - scarce a trace of his triumphs was left.

How great and urgent, then, is the world's need of righteous civil government! - and how small the prospect of speedily obtaining it!

To whom, but to christians and reformers, shall we look to set up righteous civil government in the earth? I say christians and reformers: - for, if it is true, that every christian is, because he is a christian, a reformer; it is, also, true, that there are reformers, who are not christians. To whom, I repeat, but to them can we look to establish righteous civil government? Nevertheless, until they are freed from their false education on this subject, we shall look to them in vain.

Christians are educated to draw a line between religion and politics, and to regard religion as one thing, and politics as another. They are educated to look upon the civil government as a thing distinct and different from the Divine government, instead of being but a department of that government - and a department too, in which there is required to be as full and pure and influential and decisive an exhibition of truth, justice, mercy, as in any other department of the Divine government. "Render unto Caesar the things, which are Caesar's, and unto God the things, which are God's", means with the great majority of christians, that civil government is entitled to some things, to which God is not entitled; and that it may not only lack identity with the Divine government in its aims and interests, but may, at some points, be actually and diametrically opposed to it. Urge the duty of making civil government religious and holy, and the great mass of christians will pronounce you foolish, fanatical, mad. "Bible politics" is, in their eyes, a solecism, a self-contradiction, air absurdity. No exercise draws out their contempt and hatred more promptly and fully than "preaching politics". You may as well talk to them of the duty of making brothels pious, and of sanctifying dram-shops and gambling houses, as of the duty of bringing civil government under the control of religion. They do not believe, that God requires civil government to be holy. They do, it is true, admit the rule: "Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God": - but they believe, that civil government constitutes an exception to this rule, and is exempt from its obligation. In short, they do not believe, that holiness is becoming to civil government. They admit, that "holiness unto the Lord" should be inscribed upon pots and horse bells. But such an inscription upon civil government! - oh, it would be the most out-of the-way-thing, in their eyes! It would be to "cast pearls before swine". It would be, a "jewel of gold in a swine's snout". It would be carrying religion into the Devil's own province. And, yet, these very christians, who consign civil government to the Devil, identify themselves with just such civil government, as they consign to the Devil; vote for its oppressive and profligate administrators; and wallow in its corruptions!

We referred to the false education of reformers, as well as of christians, in regard to civil government. Antislavery reformers, Temperance reformers, Land reformers, and other reformers ask for reformations at

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the hands of government. But they do not ask for righteous government. - Nay, they do not wish government to be righteous. They prefer, that it should continue to be unrighteous. Each class of these reformers wishes success for its own reform; and, as to the other wrongs of government, it prefers, that at least some of them should continue. Land reformers, whilst calling on government to espouse their favorite reform, are, nevertheless, willing to vote for slaveholders and ruin-sellers. Antislavery reformers ask government to be autislavery; but are willing that government should be indifferent to tire claims of the landless. And Temperance reformers are ready to vote for land-monopolists and slaveholders, if they believe, that they call, thereby, promote the cause of temperance. Each class of reformers is a one idea-class of reformers. Each class of reformers goes for but a fraction of truth, and turns its back upon, or even arrays itself against, the remainder of truth. In a word, each class of reformers is too selfish to care for the reforms, which other classes of reformers are interested in; and, I add, that it is too foolish, because of its selfishness, to accomplish the success of even its own reform.

Such, as we have now described them, are the great mass of christians and reformers in their attitude toward civil government - in their views of civil government. And even those of us, who desire to see civil government righteous, and to see the success of every just reform - how prone are we to an undue reliance on numbers, and how slow are we to identify ourselves with a party, which is weak in numbers, and strong only in the truth! We long for success; and, like most men, we are, more or less, under the delusion, that success is to be found in numbers. But our success consists in doing our duty; and equally complete is our success, whether ten millions, or ten thousands, or simply ten persons go along with us. It is a sad spectacle, when a good man's faith becomes so weak, that he shrinks from a minority, and construes a minority into a failure. Who was ever spa successful, as Jesus Christ? And when was He more successful than when He hung upon the cross? Then it was, however, when, by having done his last duty and "finished" his work, he had reached the highest success - then it was, that His disciples all forsook Him, and that truth was left in a minority of one. Strictly speaking, truth is never in a minority. God is, always on its side; and He, of Himself; constitutes a majority. For the like reason, all, who identify themselves with truth, are in the majority.

But, I must close. In the light of the truth, beauty, and value of righteous civil government, how defensible, needful, important is the Liberty Party! The object of this Party is to realize the just idea of civil government, and to secure to the human family the blessings of impartial and righteous civil government. Alas, how greatly does our own nation need these blessings! Alas, how greatly do the other poor bleeding and crushed nations of the earth need them! Give to all nations righteous civil government - and christianity, now so obstructed by unrighteous civil government, will, then, travel triumphant through them all. Give to all nations righteous civil government, and then the heart's desire of the land reformer will be realized, for, then, there will be no landless: and, then, the heart's desire of the temperance reformer will be realized, for, then, there will be no dram-shops: and, then, the heart's desire of the antislavery reformer will be realized, for, then, there will be no slaves: and then the heart's desire of the advocate of peace will be realized, for then there will be no war: and, then, the heart's desire of the advocate of woman's rights will be realized, for, then, justice will be done both to man and woman. Come that blessed day! Come quickly!