Peleg Sprague Campaigns for William Henry Harrison, 1839

From Remarks of the Hon. Peleg Sprague at Faneuil Hall, Before the Citizens of Boston and its Vicinity, upon the Character and Services of Gen. William Henry Harrison, of Ohio, the Whig Candidate for the Presidency of the United States, Published by the Whig Republican Association of Boston, 1839, p. 10-13.

General Harrison had been called by his country, to military command because formidable enemies were in the field, and a great emergency required his services. When the exigency had ceased, unwilling to eat the bread of idleness, he resigned his commission and returned to civil pursuits. Such is the man to whom it is objected that he has been a military commander&151;who drew his sword only when the necessities of his country required it, and sheathed it again the moment that that necessity had passed away.

His military career may well be relied upon as evidence,&151;evidence of his patriotism and his talents. To be an able military Chief, undoubtedly required intellect of a high order. I speak not of subordinates who have only to execute commands, but of him who plans and carries on a campaign and guides and controls the movements of battles. This requires an almost intuitive sagacity, great powers of combination, with prudence, caution, promptness and energy, combined with perfect self-reliance and self-control. It eminently requires those practical talents which act upon men and things as they exist. This is an intellectual power which however evinced, may be applied with success to the pursuits of peace as well as of war; and history and observation concur in teaching us that when distinguished military commanders have become civil rulers they have been eminent for their ability as statesmen. They have sometimes indeed continued their habits of military dominion and been high handed and arbitrary; but against this the integrity and civil experience of General Harrison, and his invariable submission to the laws, are an effectual guaranty. His sentiments and the principles which guide his conduct, are happily exhibited in his celebrated letter to General Bolivar, written while Minister at Columbia. The whole is far too long for the present occasion, but with your permission I will present the following extract.

"To be esteemed eminently great, it is necessary to be eminently good. The qualities of the hero and the general must be devoted to the advantage of mankind, before he will be permitted to assume the title of their benefactor; and the station which he will hold in their regard and affections will depend, not upon the number and splendor of his victories, but upon the results and the use he may make of the influence he acquires from them.

"If the fame of our Washington depended upon his military achievements would the common consent of the world allow his the pre-eminence he possesses? The victories at Trenton, Monmouth and York, brilliant as they were, exhibiting as they certainly did the highest grade of military talents, are scarcely thought of. The source of the veneration and esteem which is entertained for his character, by every description of politicians, the monarchist and aristocrat, as well as the republican, is to be found in his undeviating and exclusive devotedness to the interest of his country. No selfish consideration was ever suffered to intrude itself into his mind. For his country he conquered; and the unrivalled and increasing prosperity of that country is constantly adding fresh glory to his name."

This letter was addressed by Harrison to General Bolivar, the chief of the Republic of Colombia, immediately after his arrival in that country, and scarcely had he time to perform this service before he was recalled by President Jackson pursuant to that unsparing system of removals which characteriaed his administration. He returned to his country and his home&151;poor. Yes the man who had served thus long and thus faithfully&151;who as Governor of Indians, Superintendent of Indian affairs and Commissioner had had millions of public property under his control, retired from office so poor that he was under the necessity of engaging in some employment however humble that might enable him to support his family. He could not change his politics and become subservient to power. He could not abandon his principles for the sake of patronage, but chose rather to accept the laborious station of clerk of the Courts in his own State. And for this, the fruits and the proof of his HONESTY, he has been sneered at by those who are incapable of following his example. No wonder that the office holders of the present day are incapable of appreciating such merits. Had he possessed any portion of that laxity of principle which now, alas, is too prevalent, had it not been for his scrupulous, unyielding integrity he might easily, by means of the vast amount of public money which he has heretofore disbursed and public property which has been subject to his control have amassed a princely fortune and been now rolling in wealth. Instead of which, having resigned his clerkship, he has now no resource but the plough, he depends for his support upon what he can obtain from the surface of the earth by the cultivation of his farm.

Of his integrity no one, even of his opponents, utters a whisper of suspicion. The whole course of his life, and the confidence reposed in him by those who know him best, demonstrate that he is pre-eminently AN HONEST MAN. And here let me remark that of all qualities in a public man, integrity,&151;INTEGRITY is the first. With this in your public rulers, combined with prudence and that homely quality&151;strong commonsense,&151;you cannot be in great danger; without it, you can never be safe. Honest errors may be corrected, corruption will soon become fatal.

Such is the candidate now offered for your support. He has been selected&151;not for his sake, but for yours, for the country. In a Monarchy one man is every thing and the People are nothing; in a Republic the People are every thing and one man in nothing. Your happiness and prosperity, aye, the happiness and prosperity of each one of you is more important than the gratification of any individual by elevating him to office. . . .