George S. Boutwell
Published: 2015-07-11
Total Pages: 260
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Excerpt from Why I Am a Republican: A History of the Republican Party, a Defense of Its Policy, and the Reasons Which Justify Its Continuance in Power, With Biographical Sketches of the Republican Candidates It has been my purpose, in the preparation of this volume, to present at one view a history of the Republican party, a defense of its policy and the reasons which justify its continuance in power. I have not dwelt upon its errors and mistakes; it has committed errors, it has made mistakes, but those errors and mistakes have not interfered with its general policy nor affected in any sensible degree the good fortune of the country. It accepted power when the industries of the country were insignificant in volume, limited in variety, and paralyzed by the constant and vigorous warfare upon every measure designed to foster labor or to add to the security of capital employed in manufactures and trade. The country was enslaved to the idea that agriculture might prosper while manufactures were neglected. It accepted power when the country was on the eve of a gigantic war and when all the conditions and circumstances were unfavorable to its successful prosecution. It has administered the government during a fourth part of its constitutional existence. In that period the resources of the country have been so developed, its industries so multiplied and magnified that the era is marked as one of unexampled prosperity. In that period a new generation of men has come upon the stage, who cannot, out of their own experience, institute either contrasts or comparisons between the near and the more remote past. I have sought to address myself to that class in the hope that I may enable them to see, as in one view, the beneficial changes that have been wrought by the Republican party in constitutional law, in public policy, in the educational and industrial condition of the people, and above all in the sentiment of nationality, which is better security for the preservation of the Union than can be had in statutes and constitutions. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.