USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > History of Independence Hall : from the earliest period to the present time : embracing biographies of the immortal signers of the Declaration of Independence, with historical sketches of the sacred relics preserved in that sanctuary of American freedom > Part 2
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distracted, to reel about, exaggerating their own fears and those of others, by terrifying predictions." All these come up rapidly succeeding each other in living realities, and invest that city, that awe-inspiring mau- soleum of antiquity, with associations too hallowed to be resisted.
Similar emotions imperceptibly steal over the soul, as we wander among the ruins of Athens; for there we read, on her sculptured columns, her original glory as the mistress of Greece, and remember the period when she stood forth a towering prodigy of perfection to the gaze of an admiring world. What Greece was in her power-what Tyre appeared in the perfection of her greatness-mighty Athens was in the days of Pericles. Then it was that she, with her three ports, the lashing of the waves of which had so often blended with the vesper-chants, connected by her celebrated walls, formed one vast enclosure of ponderous fortifi- cations. The Acropolis arose in her midst, a massive rock, upon the summit of which were collected some of the noblest monuments of Grecian taste-rearing itself in lofty splendor toward the heavens, "gleaming with its crest of columns on the will of man," as though they had been placed upon "a mount of diamonds." It was there that the Arts and Sciences were not only cradled, but were carried to as great a height of perfection as was ever known in the ancient world. In a word, it was a sanctuary of the Arts, the residence of the gods, a place of sepulchres, altars and shrines for sacred relics, "and peopled with forms that mocked the eternal dead in marble immortality." Peaceful olives crowned its outskirts. There, too, arose the princely Propylon, the splendid Erectheum,
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
and the lofty Odeum, exhibiting in perfect unity that simplicity, grandeur and magnificence to which only Grecian arts and Grecian taste ever attained. And there arose the sublime Parthenon, affecting the admi- ration of the astonished beholder as a production of the Deity rather than the art of man-a mighty fabric of sculpture, in which the human form shone deified by paganism, as the virtues do by Christianity. In her silent halls were assembled the poets, gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, "while beauty in eternal sleep, seemed dreaming of herself." It also contained the statue of Minerva, in which the sculptor appears to have made the immortal spirit of the god- dess speak through the cold and lifeless marble. And there was the Areopagus, where were the seats of the judges-the arena within which the Apostle Paul entered, and in his wonted eloquence proclaimed to Greece's wisest sons the only and true God, and at the sound of whose voice, even the gods themselves trembled ! Opposite this was the scene of the patri- otic exertions of the Athenian orator; a rock was the bema upon which Demosthenes stood while ad- dressing the populace in those fervid strains of cloquence-
"That shook the Arsenal, and fulmined o'er Greece, To Macedon and Artaxerxes' throne."
Athens sat then amid her vine-clad hills and olive- wilds, a sceptred queen. The nodding promontories and blue hills, the cloud-like mountains and lonely valleys of Greece, smiled beneath the genial rays of her disseminating influences. But, alas! how the mighty are fallen ! The birth-place of heroes, and the
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home of bards, is among the places that live only in history and monuments. Fire and embattled hosts have spread wide their withering desolations over this once fair city, blotting out the glowing footsteps of her ancient greatness. Time has trampled into dust her columned piles, and "like a famished beast of prey, satiated his lust to sickness upon beauty's corse." The Turk now roams lawlessly among her ruins, while the spirit of beauty broods over her fallen grandeur. Where once rose the fount of wisdom and sounded the wings of power, ignorance and weakness now prevail. As the roaring and tumbling torrent falls from its dazzling Alpine height, so ruin's current has drowned her towering greatness. "She is now a defenseless urn-the abode of gods whose shrines no longer burn." Slaves are in her senate, and beggars compose her nobility, while the stars that once illu- mined her halls of wisdom shine through their rents of ruin. Gloom-the gloom of desolation-has let down her mantling pall, and broods over a nation's sepulchre. As the moon lights up her broken statues, they appear like pallid phantoms steadfastly watching the current of Time that proved their ruin. The old olive trees which shaded the borders of the Acropolis, now wave in the midnight shade-a noble wreck in ruinous perfection. The spirits of her departed great ones seem to mourn her desolation. "The stork plumes his wings upon a shattered shaft of the Acrop- olis, while the colonade of Lysicrates stands an isolated relic of her former grandeur." The night winds pipe her requiem-hooting owls and the hissing viper chant her funereal obsequies. In truth, Athens stands bereft of all her glory, the weeping Niobe and
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
the Lost Paradise of Greece! Yet, honor decks her heroes' dust, and ruined splendor still lingers around her.
Such are the melancholy reflections suggested by the local associations of Athens. We might profitably explore those of Rome, Palmyra, Tyre, and indeed every other renowned city of antiquity ; but we turn · to our own country to examine its sacred relics and shrines ; for here
" A spirit hangs,
Beautiful region ! o'er thy towns and farms, Statues and temples, and memorial tombs."
Deeply did the poet feel the power of such influences when he penned this eloquent comparative inter- rogatory :
"Oh, if the young enthusiast bears O'er weary waste and sea, the stone
That crumbled from the Forum's stairs, Or round the Parthenon ; If olive boughs from some wild tree, Hung over old Thermopylæ :
If leaflets from some hero's tomb,
Or moss-wreath torn from ruins hoary,
Or faded flowers whose sisters bloom On fields renowned in story ;
Or fragments from the Alhambra's crest, Or the gray rock by Druids blest : If it be true that things like these To heart and eye bright visions bring- Shall not far holier memories To these memorials cling ?
Which need no mellowing mist of time To hide the crimson stains of crime !"
In contemplating the progress and greatness of our
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own nation, the imagination is carried back to the "times that tried men's souls," and the scenes of forensic and physical struggle. Thus, while we stand upon the "Rock of Plymouth," the history and suf- ferings of the Pilgrims rush impetuously on the memory, and we remember, that, it was when the dark woods and dreary mountains were covered with snow-the gushing brooks and bounding streams con- gealed and fettered with ice-and cerements of deso- lation appeared spread over the earth, this Rock- this Mecca of Freedom-was consecrated to immor- tality by the landing, the prayers, the thankfulness, and the sufferings of that little band! Their feet
made the first impressions of civilization on that bleak and sterile coast-their prayers were the first oblations offered from that dismal shore, and their tears were the first of human sorrow shed upon that frozen soil ! The country around them was wild and forbidding ; scenes new and strange were presented to their view, and amidst circumstances so pregnant with discour- agement, many an anxious thought did they send back to the country they had left, and many a wish to return involuntarily took possession of their minds. We almost see them engaged in constructing rude huts to shelter themselves from the howling winds, and know that, in these miserable and wretched hovels, those of them who survived passed that fearful winter. But suffering and death had not been idle among them! Before the winter closed, and spring, with her wild buds and flowers had re- turned, half their number had perished by continued suffering and the privation of those comforts, so neces- sary to health and life which they had been accus.
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
tomed to enjoy! The participants in those scenes have long since passed away, but the records of their deeds remain to invest the spot of their exaltation with thrilling associations. "We cannot stand un- moved on the shore of Plymouth, while the sea con- tinues to wash it;" the spot is consecrated to memory by endearing recollections. The work of Science and Art are now busy there-massive columns and im- penetrable walls encroach upon its hallowed precincts -lofty spires and glittering turrets smile over that first burial-ground of our country-the white sails of commerce swell majestically in the breeze on the bay hard by-the shout of joy and the beaming eye of hope leap up, while the genius of Liberty waves her ægis over that sacred locality. We remember also, while standing there, that almost within sight of the very spot where the Pilgrims landed, in old " Pilgrim Hall," are yet preserved the records of their first winter on that dreary island, in their own hand- writing-the plates on which they ate their simple food; and we feel the spot to be a shrine at which all may worship while drinking in those hallowed asso- ciations peculiar to our country and its institutions.
But if such localities excite our admiration and in- spire our patriotism-if our feelings are moved at the remembrance of deeds performed on the soil where the battles of freedom have been fought-if a spirit of' reverence irresistibly swells the heart on visiting the altars of Liberty, and the places whereon our fore- fathers struggled-what will be our emotions when we stand within the consecrated walls of Independence Hall ? A spot sanctified by events of a holy and ex- traordinary character-the Forum of exalted debate-
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the arena of the purest thought-the birth-place of American Freedom, Independence, and Nationality ? A place so sacred, blessed by so many beneficent spirits, and surrounded by such enduring associations, might well be designated the "Star Chamber" of Liberty. For here are still preserved relics of those brave spirits who dared to combat the powers of despotism, as well as the bell used on the Fourth of July, 1776, to sound the first notes of " Liberty throughout the land, and to all the people thereof."* Here was promulgated the charter which incorporated the colonies into a nation of freemen, and declared a separation from the mother country. Invested with forms and reminis- cences of the past, it is one of the most awful and soul-inspiring theatres which the contemplative mind can explore; it spreads a mystic charm over the aspirations-leads the thoughts back through the archives of the past, and repaints the master spirits who figured within its sacred precincts in the dark days of our country's history. "If other battle-fields are interesting in their associations, what shall we say of this? What history, what picture can ever tell the half of what is suggested to every intelligent and susceptible mind, on entering this venerable edifice ? Who is not immediately carried back to that day, thenceforth memorable forever, when an awful still- ness pervaded the assembly for a few moments pre- vious to voting that 'these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States? What devotion then filled this consecrated place, and
* This is a scriptural motto, and may be found in the twenty- fifth chapter of Leviticus, and the tenth verse.
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
rose to heaven in silent prayer for firmness, unanimity, and deathless resolve! One almost hears Hancock suggesting to Franklin-' We must all hang together, now!' 'Yes,' re-echoes the characteristic response of that plain old Nestor of patriots, 'we must indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.'" Yes, and we, too, can almost see John Hancock, when he appended his signature to that memorable document which gave freedom to the American colonies, and hope to a world in chains, rise from his seat, and in a tone of manly boldness exclaim : "There, John Bull can read my name with- out spectacles, and may now double his reward of £500 for my head. That is my defiance." So in- spiring were the associations and scenes connected with this Hall, that when Richard Penn first came to this country, and was shown by Samuel Coates the trees about the State House, planted by the cotempo- raries of his father, during the infancy of the nation, and which still stood there when our manhood and independence were asserted, the crowd of associations which pressed upon his mind made him raise his hands in ejaculatory thanks, and his eyes to fill with tears. But Independence Hall, the great battle-field whereon our fathers met the the British Parliament, in its most august display of oratorical talent, braved the great kingdom with all its consolidated strength, and won the day under the most fearful odds, yet re- mains. A writer who appreciated these associations, has feelingly said : "The heroes, indeed, are departed, but here before us is still open their scene of action. Death has claimed them, but war and wasting ele- ments have spared the theatre of their stupendous 3
...
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struggles. "We can go and meditate there, gazing at the places where they sat, the floor on which they stood, the windows through which the bright sun looked in smilingly upon their sublime transactions, and may touch the walls, which seem yet to vibrate to the thunders of their eloquence." The genius of Liberty, and the spirits of those noble men who braved the storms of monarchical usurpation, preside with awful imperiousness on the altars of this conse- crated structure-invisible guardians watch over it, to protect its sacred relics from desecration-while Mercy and Justice, twin sisters of heaven, support the star-gemmed emblem of republican purity above its hallowed shrines! Awe-inspiring as are the historical incidents connected with it, and impressive as are the reminiscences which are called into lively existence on reading the proceedings of that Convention which . promulgated the declaration of human rights, thrice grand and beautiful is the mausoleum left to remind us of their labors. Ages may come and depart- nations may rise and fall-empires may spring into existence and cease-time may deface these sacred mementos; but their associations will remain to in- spire patriotic hearts, so long as thoughts of Freedom burn, and Hope's beacon blazes out over the darkness of the earth, or the confederated institutions of the land of WASHINGTON are preserved to ameliorate the condition of humanity in bondage and chains.
1
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
CHAPTER I.
INCENTIVE ASSOCIATIONS.
"Meditation here May think down moments. Here the heart May give an useful lesson to the head,
And learning wiser grow without his books."-Cowper.
LOCALITIES whereon valorous deeds have been ac- complished can never be blotted from pages of truth- ful history. They will still live, though the actors in such achievements have long since been gathered with the heroic to augment the ranks of the mighty dead. The external appearances of such localities may suffer from change and the onward progress of time, but their associations can never decrease in value to the sensitive mind. Sculptured columns may crumble from temples which have withstood the storms of ages; the skill of the artist become defaced and even erased from their surfaces; but the fragments scat- tered over the ground in disintegrated masses will still speak of the beauty and symmetry which were theirs. We look upon such relics with sentiments of reverence, for they recall the fact that, in ages far remote, they were prominent supports and ornaments to gigantic edifices, within whose halls and council- chambers sat statesmen and patriots in solemn con- elave, to deliberate on momentous national affairs. They seem yet to ring with the voice of eloquence
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INDEPENDENCE HALL.
and enthusiastic patriotism. Their age excites vene. ration, because, while we gaze on them, we feel our- selves in the presence of antiquity-living repre- sentatives of centuries which had their origin " far back in the dim distance of the past." Emotions not dissimilar in character come over us when we stand on the Mount of Olives, or visit the scenes of our Saviour's ministrations. His labors and sufferings irresistibly force themselves upon our memories, and His voice still vibrates on the air as He wept over Jerusalem. The garden of Gethsemane assumes the same melancholy characteristics it did the night He "sweat as it were great drops of blood," while our imaginations behold Him invoking the removal of the bitter cup! We see the cross and the crown of thorns-the sepulchre in which He was laid after the crucifixion-the road which he journeyed with two of His disciples, unknown to them, to Emmaus, sub- sequent to His resurrection, and our "hearts burn within us" as we picture to ourselves their consterna- tion when they discovered that they had been walking and conversing with their risen Master. The environs of Jerusalem are invested with associations at once solemn and interesting, and their hallowed influences excite the Christian's aspirations and hopes, inspiring him with renewed energy and devotion. He there beholds the Mount of Calvary upon which the Saviour of man propitiated the sins of the world, at the sight of which sacrifice the sun refused to shine, dense dark- ness covered the earth, the heavens shook, and the battlemented hills were rent asunder. He remembers also the particular incidents connected with that super- natural tragedy-he feels his soul grow warmer, and
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
is ready to exclaim with the Centurion : "Truly this was the Son of God !" In contemplating these locali- ties a vigorous impetus is given to the reflective ; and the thoughtful observer receives additional assurances of universal philanthropy.
But Independence Hall is a shrine at which millions of American hearts worship and beat with thrilling intensity ; it is a Mecca where unrestricted homage is paid-on whose altars sweet-smelling incense is burned as Liberty's oblation-and to which the jealous yet admiring eyes of every nation are turned. Around its unsullied walls is thrown an enchantment which makes the heart pulsate with burning emotions, and the spirit leap up with sentiments of unconquerable patriotism. Undefined sensations steal irresistibly over the senses, while standing in the presence of those mighty men, whose forms still live in "pictured immortality," uniting the present with the past, and recalling their sublime transactions.
"They never fail who die
In a great cause ; the block may soak their gore, Their heads may sodden in the sun, their limbs Be strung to city gates and castle walls ; But still their spirits walk abroad. Though years Elapse, and others share as dark a doom, They but augment the deep and sweeping thoughts Which overspread all others, and conduct The world at last to freedom."
The very atmosphere seems redolent of their great- ness, and still vibrates with the voice of their elo- quence, while the gray walls reflect the awful pur- poses of that august convocation! Their unanimity of thought, feelings, sentiments, and actions, indicated
3*
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the sublime objects for which they were assembled. They had felt, in common with their fellows, the iron hand of despotism, and knew how hard it was to endure its oppressions. They had experienced out- rage and wrong-had borne for years, with meek- ness and fortitude, without murmuring, the tyrannical impositions and exactions of the home government -had witnessed the efforts of the colonists to establish manufacturing and commercial enterprises stricken down-had felt the heavy burden of enormous tax- ation enervating the growth of their respective settle- ments and exhausting their individual resources --. they knew that "taxation without representation" was inimical to republican institutions, and that, when application for redress was made, their petitions were only answered by still more stringent exactions ! They felt that upon them devolved the great respon- sibility of shaping the future destiny of their country, either for good or for evil. They knew that upon them the eyes of their constituents were turned with anxious anticipations, and that the result of their de- liberations would lead their countrymen to sanguinary conflict and all its contingent deprivations and suffer- ings, or subject themselves to the guillotine and gal- lows! To immolate their own lives upon the altar of their country, as an offering to freedom, in case of failure to accomplish the great aim of the struggling Colonies, was regarded by them as an incentive to sub. sequent action and for the achievement of future glory ! All the great motives relating to a separation between the home government and her oppressed dependencies in America, discussed in private and small assemblages throughout the land, were duly and appropriately con-
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
sidered in this grand convocation of the people's rep- resentatives. They felt that a duty of more than ordinary character was to be discharged, for already the clash of resounding arms had thrilled the hearts of the colonists. Their friends in oppression had been shot down at Lexington by British soldiers, and rewards were offered by Parliament for the heads of the leaders in the Colonial rebellion. Taxation, although beyond endurance in point of severity, was still increased-their humble and respectful prayers for justice were treated with contempt; and the last hope of an afflicted people lay in an implicit confi- dence in God, the exalted character of their cause, their military prowess and invincibility. No people since the establishment of governments exemplified a more striking devotion to the authority of their rulers than the colonists, while those rulers tempered their administrations with reason and justice ; but no people were more unwilling to submit when prudence and honor were outraged, or their right to govern them- selves was called in question. Indignant at the arbi- trary disposition of the mother country in refusing them a voice in the enactment of laws affecting their private and colonial interests, they regarded their national dignity insulted, their high and heaven-born prerogatives disallowed-and therefore refused alle- giance to an unscrupulous ministry, whose acts of aggression every day became more and more despotic and intolerant.
Such grave considerations operated with convincing weight upon the minds of those reflecting delegates. Hence the important measures which they adopted, and the direct influences which their deliberative acts
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had upon the country, in a social and national point of view. In a social light, the result of their sublime proceedings had. a tendency to unite the sentiments of the inhabitants in different States, and to give direction to a system of policy appropriately calculated to enhance their growth and prosperity, as well as to bind in indissoluble bonds of fraternization hearts that were once separated by sectionalism and estrange- ment. Socially, this was a potent achievement, for it illustrated practically the aphorism that, "in union there is strength." In several States sectional feelings partially alienated the people from each other, but a sense of danger, their common interest and personal safety, led to a confederation of sentiment which linked them together as a "band of brothers," in the cause of self-protection. It was to strengthen this sentiment in a general convocation that the colonies assembled in primary meetings, selected their delegates, and in- structed them in reference to the great duties before them, determined, at the same time, that they would abide by whatever measures-be they mild or severe -which their chosen representatives might deem prudent to adopt. Stimulated by the encouraging instructions of their constituency, these delegates re- paired to the scene of their exaltation with hearts glowing with patriotism and warm emotion-they knew that a feeling of resistance actuated the masses -and that the ball of reformation when set in motion would continue unabated ab ovo usque ad mala. They were conscious of the fact that their cause was pro- gressing with ever advancing steps toward ultimate triumph-that it was worse than useless-it would be the veriest madness to oppose it. Its success was
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
no longer problematical-it almost bore the semblance of a fixed fact. Contrary to predictions or ungenerous vilifications, and despite misrepresentations of partisan and kingly adherents, the principles of Freedom were permeating the rural population of the country with a rapidity which augured significantly for the success of the cause. These were some of the effects which the action of this first great Convention of the people's delegates were likely to produce upon the future social condition of the country, by creating a unanimity of sentiment, a free interchange of thought, and a union of policy in their political and religious conduct which would inure to their own safety, and· be productive of the greatest good of the greatest number.
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