The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 09 (of 12): Dresden Edition—PoliticalIngersoll, Robert Green
History
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 09 (of 12): Dresden Edition—Political
Ingersoll, Robert Green
Free thought
I do not know that it is true that a man cannot give this record and be
a gentleman, but I admit that a gentleman hates to read this record;
a gentleman hates to give this record to the world; but I do it, not
because I like to do it, but because I believe the best interests
of this country demand that there shall be a history given of the
Democratic party.
In the first place, I claim that the Democratic party embraces within
its filthy arms the worst elements in American society. I claim that
every enemy that this Government has had for twenty years has been and
is a Democrat; every man in the Dominion of Canada that hates the great
Republic, would like to see Tilden and Hendricks successful. Every
titled thief in Great Britain would like to see Tilden and Hendricks the
next President and Vice-President of the United States.
I say more; every State that seceded from this Union was a Democratic
State. Every man who hated to see bloodhounds cease to be the
instrumentalities of a free government--every one was a Democrat. In
short, every enemy that this Government has had for twenty years, every
enemy that liberty and progress has had in the United States for twenty
years, every hater of our flag, every despiser of our Nation, every man
who has been a disgrace to the great Republic for twenty years, has been
a Democrat. I do not say that they are all that way; but nearly all who
are that way are Democrats.
The Democratic party is a political tramp with a yellow passport. This
political tramp begs food and he carries in his pocket old dirty scraps
of paper as a kind of certificate of character. On one of these papers
he will show you the ordinance of 1789; on another one of those papers
he will have a part of the Fugitive Slave Law; on another one some
of the black laws that used to disgrace Illinois; on another Governor
Tilden's Letter to Kent; on another a certificate signed by Lyman
Trumbull that the Republican party is not fit to associate with--that
certificate will be endorsed by Governor John M. Palmer and my friend
Judge Doolittle. He will also have in his pocket an old wood-cut,
somewhat torn, representing Abraham Lincoln falling upon the neck of
S. Corning Judd, and thanking him for saving the Union as
Commander-in-Chief of the Sons of Liberty. This political tramp will
also have a letter dated Boston, Mass., saying: "I hereby certify that
for fifty years I have regarded the bearer as a thief and robber, but
I now look upon him as a reformer. Signed, Charles Francis Adams."
Following this tramp will be a bloodhound; and when he asks for food,
the bloodhound will crouch for employment on his haunches, and the drool
of anticipation will run from his loose and hanging lips. Study the
expression of that dog.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account