File:John Quincy Adams (From the painting by G. P. A. Healy).jpg

Identifier: largerhistoryofu01higg (find matches)
Title: A larger history of the United States of America, to the close of President Jackson's administration
Year: 1886 (1880s)
Authors: Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, 1823-1911
Subjects:
Publisher: New York, Harper & Brothers
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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il of barbarians. Some diversity of opinion has prevailed with regardto the powers of Congress for legislation upon subjects of this nature. Themost respectful deference is due to doubts originating in pure patriotism, andsustained by venerated authority. But nearly twenty years have passed sincethe construction of the first national road was commenced. The authority forits construction was then unquestioned. To how many thousands of our coun-trymen has it proved a benefit ? To what single individual has it ever provedan injury? It has already been pointed out that when John OuincyAdams became President the nation had been governed fora quarter of a century by Democratic administrations, actingmore and more on Federalist principles. The tradition ofStates-rights had steadily receded, and the reality of a strongand expanding nation had taken its place. The very men whohad at first put into the most definite shape these States-rights opinions had, by their action, done most to overthrow
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JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.(From the painting by G. P. A. Healy, in tlie Corcoran Gallery, Wasliinjton.j THE GREAT WESTERN MARCH. 41 I them, Jefferson above all. By the purchase of Louisiana hehad, perhaps unconsciously, done more than any President be-fore him to make national feeling permanent. Having, by ahappy impulse, and in spite of all his own theories, enormouslyenlarged the joint territory, he had recognized the need of open-ing and developing the new possession; he had set the exampleof proposing national appropriations for roads, canals, and eveneducation; and had given his sanction (March 24, 1806) tobuilding a national road from Maryland to Ohio, first obtainingthe consent of the States through which it was to pass. Tocontinue this policy would, he admitted, require constitutionalamendments, but in his closing message he favored such alter-ations. It was but a step from favoring constitutional amend-ments for this purpose to doing without them; Jefferson, Madi-son, Monroe had done

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