It is, in his judgment, what it ought to be, and he has no other
ambition than to present it as it is to the understanding and
love of his countrymen.
Perhaps simple artistic unity and propriety would require the
author to commence his essay directly with the United States; but
while the constitution of the United States is original and
peculiar, the government of the United States has necessarily
something in common with all legitimate governments, and he has
thought it best to precede his discussion of the American
republic, its constitution, tendencies, and destiny, by some
considerations on government in general. He does this because he
believes, whether rightly or not, that while the American people
have received from Providence a most truly profound and admirable
system of government, they are more or less infected with the
false theories of government which have been broached during the
last two centuries. In attempting to realize these theories,
they have already provoked or rendered practicable a rebellion
which has seriously threatened the national existence, and come
very near putting an end to the American order of civilization
itself. These theories have received already a shock in the
minds of all serious and thinking men; but the men who think are
in every nation a small minority, and it is necessary to give
these theories a public refutation, and bring back those who do
not think, as well as those who do, from the world of dreams to
the world of reality.
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