Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 9.djvu/31

 Edward Dickinson Baker. 23 him into political debate and conflict, and lie will be known in history as one of the great figures of the Civil War. The central thought of his public life seems to have been a sin- cere devotion to his country. A man of deep emotion, his heart was touched and stirred by any apparent or real as- sault upon the integrity of his adopted country. He served his country best in his great work as an orator. His de- fense of the prosecution of the war, his justification of the course of the government in his replies to Benjamin and Breckenridge, constitute a sufficient passport to his immor- tal fame. His occasional addresses which so stirred the hearts of the people prove his genius as a master and his ability to influence the emotions and minds of men. His death ended a brilliant and useful life; but, measured by the work which he has left behind, it is not too much to say of Edward Dickinson Baker that he was a great orator, a noble patriot and a distinguished American.