of one, and only one, answer. It is here; it is
here in these United States; it is among the descendants of those who
settled at Jamestown; of those who were pilgrims on the shore of
Plymouth; and of those other races of men, who, in subsequent times,
have become joined in this great American family. Let one fact,
incapable of doubt or dispute, satisfy every mind on this point. The
population of the United States is twenty-three millions. Now, take the
map of the continent of Europe and spread it out before you. Take your
scale and your dividers, and lay off in one area, in any shape you
please, a triangle, square, circle, parallelogram, or trapezoid, and of
an extent that shall contain one hundred and fifty millions of people,
and there will be found within the United States more persons who do
habitually read and write than can be embraced within the lines of your
demarcation.

But there is something even more than this. Man is not only an
intellectual, but he is also a religious being, and his religious
feelings and habits require cultivation. Let the religious element in
man's nature be neglected, let him be influenced by no higher motives
than low self-interest, and subjected to no stronger restraint than the
limits of civil authority, and he becomes the creature of selfish
passion or blind fanaticism.

The spectacle of a nation powerful and enlightened, but without
Christian faith, has been presented, almost within our own day, as a
warning beacon for the nations.

On the other hand, the cultivation of the religious sentiment represses
licentiousness, incites to general benevolence and the practical
acknowledgment of the brotherhood of man, inspires respect for law and
order, and gives strength to the whole social fabric, at the same time
that it conducts the human soul upward to the Author of its being.

Now, I think it may be stated with truth, that in no country, in
proportion to its population, are there so many benevolent
establishments connected with religious instruction, Bible, Missionary,
and Tract Societies, supported by public and private contributions, as
in our own. There are also institutions for the education of the blind,
of idiots, of the deaf and dumb; for the reception of orphan and
destitute children, and the insane; for moral reform, designed for
children and females respectively; and institutions for the reformation
of criminals; not to speak of those numerous establishments, in almost
e