Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 23.djvu/21

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cause; and North Carolina, having met in a voluntary provincial assembly, au.iinst the angry protest of its governor, hurried its am- bassador to the General Congress. Thus the South, although not yet threatened with invasion, demonstrated its fraternal spirit. A long stride of the Union sentiment was made by this event; but it soon felt, pending the stress of the Revolutionary war, that yet another step must be taken, and in this, also, the South led the advance. At its instance a committee was appointed to draft the Articles of Confederation under which the alliance of the Colonies grew into the stronger form, and by which general Confederacy of States the war for American liberty was successfully fought. May I not take courage again from this memorial further to say that the title, "Confederate States of America," can never represent any- thing but an honorable nation to any honorable mind.

But there was still another step necessary to a " more perfect union." The Revolutionary war separated the States from England but did not establish a perfect Union among themselves. Difficul- ties concerning inter-State relations arose, especially involving Mas- sachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey to such extent as to make disunion and anarchy imminent. What was the voice of the Southern States at that critical juncture ? I am happy in being made able to answer that amidst these portentous perplexities the first suggestion on record of ' ' the more perfect Union" was made by Madison, and that Virginia, as the spokesman of Southern sentiment, arose to the political zenith and drew after her all the stars of the Confederation into that inspired convention which adopted the Constitution of the United States of America. So it appears that your South nourished the earliest idea of Union among the endangered "settlements"; called the deputies of the Colonies to assemble in general committee of correspondence; sug- gested the Continental Congress of States; devised the Articles oi Confederation, and moving on with the love of Union in its warm heart, advanced the great idea step by step until the loftiest distinc- tion was reached, when it proposed to create this present United States Government by a written Constitution. Your Union, my countrymen, developed into its present form, your Constitution, which is the palladium of your rights as States or as people, and all the privileges you enjoy in this free Commonwealth are due at least in equal measure to the energy, the valor, the wisdom and the patri- otism of Southern men.

In order to make this demonstration still more distinct, I will note