THETrinity Archive.

Published under Supervision of the Professor of English.

The essays which have appeared in the previous numbers ofThe Archiveare specimens of work done in the English Department. The following essay, which has been placed at our disposal, is taken from the work done by the Freshman Class in the Department of History:

The struggle for independence had ended. The British, with the exception of a few forts in the Northwest Territory, had retired from the United States. Peace had been made four years before; yet the state of affairs in the country was such that even the most sanguine began to rue the day that the colonies had thrown off their allegiance to the British crown. Contrary to the expectations of every one, prosperity did not come with peace. The people had no money, the government had none. The roads were very bad and consequently very little headway could be made at traveling and transportation. The farmers were obliged to do a large part of their work with wooden tools, and of course it was very imperfectly done. Many who had been in a state of affluence before the war were reduced to a state of indigence. There were also very few schools. Now it is evident that this state of affairs was calculated to create discontent among the people and a spirit of distrust in the government. The soldiers who had fought so hard and had suffered so much during the war were either granted lands in the West, which at that time were of little value, since the Indians kept the settlers in a state of constant terror, or they were dismissed with the promise that they would be paid as soon as the country should recover from the financial depression which the war had caused. Congress had contracted a large debt with France and Holland, and, as it had no power under the “Articles of Confederation” to lay taxes, it had no means of paying this debt or of rewarding the soldiers. England also was injuring the commerce of the States by seizing their merchant vessels, and Congress had no means of prohibiting her. The people began to see and to feel that the “Articles of Confederation” were insufficient for the government of the country. In reply to the repeated demands of the people, Congress, in 1787, called an assembly of delegates to revise the “Articles,” and to devise such provisions as might render the “Constitution of the Federal government adequate to the exigencies of the Union.”

The convention met in Philadelphia. The States sent their ablest men; and well they did, for dependent upon their actions and decision was the destiny of a great nation. After a discussion of some weeks, the Constitution was decided upon. This Constitution, unlike the “Articles of Confederation,” gave Congress power toact, and not simply to advise the States. The government provided for by this Constitution was to be republican in its nature and was to consist of three departments: a Legislative department, or Congress, to make laws; an Executive department, the President and his officers, to enforce the laws enacted by Congress; and a Judiciary department, the Federal Courts, to decide disputed questions under the law. The Legislative and Executive departments, working in unison, were to govern the country, always acting in accordance with the Constitution as interpreted by the Judiciary department.

This form of government went into effect, being ratified by New Hampshire, the ninth State, in 1788.

During the first year of the administration of Washington, the first ten amendments were proposed. We may assign the same reason for the early proposal of these amendments as that which caused nearly half of the members of the convention to vote against the Constitution. This cause was, we think, that the States feared that too much power would be given to the Federal government. These ten amendments were adopted in 1791, thus assuring to the people freedom of speech and of press, trial by jury and a great many other privileges. The third clause in the first amendment—Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of press—was not very strictly adhered to in later days. For instance, the “Sedition Law,” passed by Congress during the administration of John Adams, was disregardful of this clause. The eleventh amendment, limiting judiciary power, was adopted in 1798. When the presidential election of 1800 came, the Republican candidates were Jefferson and Burr. The votes being counted, it was found that they had received an equal number. It now fell to Congress to decide which should be President. On the thirty-sixth ballot Jefferson received the majority, and Burr, his political opponent, became Vice-President. In order that this defect in election might be removed, the twelfth amendment was adopted in 1804. It provided that the electors should meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for President, and in a distinct ballot for Vice-President.

The people had put aside their old Puritan customs and fashions, and had come to think and act to a great extent as the people of to-day. They were energetic and were steadily rising, soon to take their stand in the foremost rank of the nations of the world. Already foreign nations had begun to respect their claims, yet the country was doomed to be rent by civil strife and to flow with the blood of her sturdiest sons. The war soon passed away, the feeling soon died out, and the North and the South were known no more as two sections disputing about State Sovereignty, but as different sections of the same great nation, governed by the same laws, enjoying the same liberty and freedom, and worshipping the same Divine Being. The termination of this war in favor of the North gave rise to the thirteenth amendment, prohibiting slavery in any part of the United States or in any of her colonies, except as punishment for some crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. The fourteenth amendment was adopted in the year 1868. The fifteenth and last amendment was adopted in 1870. This gives to each and every citizen of the United States regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, the right to vote.

Thus we see that but fifteen amendments have been added to the Constitution in little over one hundred years; and these became necessary, not because the convention of 1787 did its work so imperfectly, but because the growth of the country in population, in wealth, and the change of the condition and avocations of a majority of the people demanded them.

Let us notice some of these changes. During the Revolutionary war and the period between the close of the war and the adoption of the constitution, there were no railroads and no telegraphs, there were but very few factories, and those very clumsily built. The public roads were in a very bad condition, so that the majority of the people knew nothing of the country except that part of it which was in their immediate neighborhood, for there were no means of communication between different sections, and where there is little or no communication between two sections, they know very little of each other. There were strong States oppressing the weaker ones and contentions between State and State concerning their western boundaries. About sixty years later, we find that the electric telegraph had been invented and was in successful use and that there were railroads on every hand. There was close communication between the different sections, so that every one was, or ought to have been, posted on the issues of the times. There were many factories of many kinds built on improved plans, thus changing the employments of a great many citizens. All the States with fixed boundaries were working in unison with but one purpose in view, and that the furtherance of the general good. In the former time, farming was the occupation of the masses; in the later, they were engaged in almost every industry known to the world. The population had increased from three millions (3,000,000) to over seventeen millions (17,000,000), and the wealth of the people had also increased wonderfully. Great political changes had come about. The issues of the times were entirely different, and in order that these issues might be rightly legislated upon, changes were made in the constitution, and these changes constitute the amendments.

With this constitution as a basis, our country has, for the past century, been a prosperous and happy country. She has increased in population and wealth as no other nation on earth has increased. If she goes on increasing as she has increased, half a century hence she will have two hundred millions of people, and there will be no power on earth to compare with her; for she will not be such as China, Hindoostan, Russia, but a nation of civilized men, helped by steam, electricity and machinery, so that each man can do as much work as a score of Chinese. She could then maintain fleets and armies enough to overawe the remainder of the world. She could make other nations yield to her slightest demand. She could make herself a bully and a nuisance among nations. When the United States becomes such a power as this, if rightly ruled, it may be made a great blessing to the world. If the moral forces, which have made the country what it is, should be lost, national decay would soon rid the earth of the evil, and free other nations from anxiety. North America has been the burial place of other races before ours, and it may yet be the graveyard of our own. If every man will fight every evil he sees, if he lives out man’s allotted time of life, he will be rewarded in seeing his country respected and honored by all other nations as no nation has yet been respected or honored, and in feeling that he has done his part in the great work.

S. D. M.

The favorable notices of the Alumni of Trinity are interesting, especially to an old student. This department as a medium of communication between old graduates serves in many instances as an advertising column. All the editors ask of you for this is your subscription. And the Alumnus or any other old student who takes so little interest in the affairs of his own college that he does not subscribe for its publications, I fear has lost his patriotism.

The get-up ofThe Archiveis commendable—the carefully prepared articles deserve the attention of every Alumnus—the book reviews are both interesting and instructive, and the exclusion of long, dry articles is admirable.

The Archiveis not the only thing at Trinity that demands our attention. The reports and circulars issued by President Crowell demonstrate the working of a scholar and a live educator. They are truly inspiring, and every teacher in the State could well afford to read them.

The proposed re-union of the old students and officers of the college, at the approaching Commencement, will meet with the approval of every friend of the institution. Of course the Alumni have their annual re-unions; but all who have ever been connected with the institution should assemble. Let us have a grand re-union that will inspire every one with new energy and a determination to work more faithfully than ever. Let us meet and examine the log-book and see that the old ship is fully equipped for another voyage.

Thus will her captain be encouraged in his faithful efforts to steer our educational craft—her crew inspired with fresh hope, and healthy enthusiasm created among all.

The action of the Alumni will, to a great extent, determine the future standing of Trinity. Let it not be said of them, “They knew their duty and did it not.” With united action of the Alumni and the Conference; endowment, new building, loan fund, and necessary equipments, will place our college at the head of the list in North Carolina.

Liberty is taken to publish the following letter from an old student:

I wish to congratulate the editors ofThe Archiveon the splendid paper you are getting out. It is indeed a fit representation of the College whose upward move is everywhere attracting attention. As one who loves hisAlma Mater, and as one who has watched her struggles in the past with an eye of interest, I rejoice to know of her present prosperity and her bright prospects for the future. My purpose, however, in writing is to subscribe forThe Archive—find enclosed one dollar—and to tell you to put down my name as another of ahundredto payfifty dollarstowards the Society and Library Building.

Very truly,W. H. N.

Very truly,

W. H. N.

University of Va.

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