I have another and a far brighter vision before my gaze. It
may be but a vision, but I will cherish it. I see one vast
confederation stretching from the frozen North in unbroken line
to the glowing South, and from the wild billows of the Atlantic
westward to the calmer waters of the Pacific main,--and I see
one people, and one language, and one law, and one faith, and,
over all that wide continent, the home of Freedom, and a refuge
for the oppressed of every race and of every clime.--JOHN
BRIGHT, _Speech at Birmingham_, December 18, 1862: _Speeches on
Questions of Public Policy_, ed. Rogers, (London, 1868,) Vol.
I. p. 225.
* * * * *
This monograph appeared originally in the “Atlantic Monthly”
for September, 1867. It is now revised and enlarged. In the
celebration of our hundredth birthday as a nation, now fast
approaching, these prophetic voices will be heard, teaching how
much of present fame and power was foreseen, also what remains
to be accomplished.