Henry Clay - the Art of Compromise
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- Written by Hamilton Mabie, et al.
"On one occasion allusion was made to a South Carolina hot-head, who had publicly proposed to raise the flag of disunion. When Clay retorted by saying, that, if Mr. Rhett had really meant that proposition, and should follow it up by corresponding acts, he would be a traitor, and added, "and I hope he will meet a traitor's fate," thunders of applause broke from the crowded galleries."
Known as "the Great Pacificator," Henry Clay spent his political life as a champion of Union, but one who would go to great lengths to avoid a civil war.
Free Trade and Sailors' Rights!
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- Written by Hamilton Mabie, et al.
"To such an extent was this insult to our flag carried that our Government had the record of about forty-five hundred cases of impressment from our ships between the years of 1803 and 1810; and when the War of 1812 broke out the number of American sailors serving against their will in British war vessels was variously computed to be from six to fourteen thousand."
Our young nation fought a second war for independence with the cry, "Free trade and sailors' rights!"
Daniel Webster - Union Man
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- Written by Hamilton Mabie, et al.
"Liberty first, and Union afterwards; but everywhere, spread all over in characters of living light, blazing on all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart, — LIBERTY and UNION, NOW AND FOREVER, ONE AND INSEPARABLE!"
Webster was the outstanding spokesman for American nationalism with powerful oratory that made him a key Whig leader. He spoke for conservatives, and led the opposition to Democrat Andrew Jackson and his Democratic Party.
David Farragut - Hero of Mobile Bay
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- Written by Hamilton Mabie, et al.
"Damn the torpedoes!" he shouted;" Go ahead!" Pointing between the threatening buoys, the order was given to move on, and with the foam dashing from the bows of his vessel, he swept forward, "determined," he said, "to take the chances."
David Glasgow Farragut was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. He is remembered for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay, quoted above, which marked the start of a great victory.
The Ghosts of Lady Franklin Bay
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- Written by J. W. Buel
"It was a terrible thing to order the execution of a comrade who had borne with them the sufferings of an arctic winter without food or shelter, but the party could not allow their sympathies to affect justice at the expense of their own lives. The execution of Henry was an inexorable necessity."
The story of an American Arctic exploratory expedition, marooned for two years, and forced to violate the most ancient taboo.