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THE ORDINANCE OF 1787 ADDRESS OF HON. CYRUS G. LUCE
But the idea of a central consolidated government of superior power, clothed
with authority to enforce its mandates, seems not to have been entertained or hardly conceived. The consolidating process was one of slow growth, for seventy five years. Of course the embarrassment of the situation was forcibly realized during the revolutionary war and long years after its close. At home and abroad people doubted the validity or value of paper issued by those colonies, who had simply entered into a confederation without recognizing the binding force and responsibility of a general government. This was painfully apparent in the valueless paper issued to prosecute the war of the revolution. And the first or most important step taken toward a recognition Of the fact that the colonies had successfully fought their way to freedom and Independence, and were tending towards consolidation as a nation, was the adoption of the memorable ordinance of 1787. And while the journals of the early sessions of congress are incomplete, compared with the voluminous records now kept, we can see the process of reasoning which resulted in the I adopt ion of this ordinance. This contains within itself nearly all the fundamental principles upon which the government has stood the test of a hundred years. It was the vital and turning point in the early history of this nation. It laid broad and deep the foundation for strength, greatness, prosperity, liberty and education. And in taking the step towards a recognition of the principle which is now recognized by all of our people, north, south, east and west, that we are a nation, they commenced a struggle in our civili-ation that closed three quarters of a century later at Appomattox.
Michigan
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