And I anticipate for
Massachusetts a career of influence beneficial to all, whether disputed
or accepted, when I reflect that, with less good fortune in the presence
and combination of learning and liberty, Greece, Rome, Venice, Holland,
and England, enjoyed power disproportionate to their respective
populations, territory, and natural resources. And, while the object for
which we are convened may pardon something to local attachments and
state pride, the day and the occasion ought not to pass without a
grateful and hearty acknowledgment of the interest manifested by other
states and sections in the cause of general learning, and especially in
common-school education. The Canadas are our rivals; the states of the
West are our rivals; the states of the South are our rivals; and, were
our greater experience and better opportunities reckoned against us, I
know not that there would be much in our systems of education of which
we could properly boast. It is, indeed, possible that North Carolina,
untoward circumstances having their due weight, has made more progress
in education, since 1840, than any other state of the Union.
Education is not only favorable to liberty, but, when associated with
liberty, it is the basis of the Union and power of the American states.
As citizens of the republic, we need a better knowledge of our national
institutions, a better knowledge of the institutions of the several
states, a more intimate acquaintance with one another, and the power of
judging wisely and justly the policies and measures of each and all.
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