"IF it was the arduous task of the first emigrants to America, to fell the forest, plough the field, and defend it from savage beasts, and more savage men; if it was the labour of their children, to make the wilderness "blossom like the rose," guard their young settlements from invasion, and their chartered rights from aggression; if it was the lot of the elders of our day to resist the oppression of the mother country, separate America from the British empire, give her independence and a constitution of government, CAN IT BE DOUBTED, that it falls to our lot to settle the administration of this government, substantiate its powers, and give to our country a national CHARACTER."
This is an edition of a classical book first published in the eighteenth century.