Project Gutenberg's Continental Monthly, Vol. I, No. V, May, 1862, by Various

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Title: Continental Monthly, Vol. I, No. V, May, 1862
Devoted To Literature And National Policy

Author: Various

Release Date: January 13, 2005 [EBook #14680]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONTINENTAL MONTHLY, VOL. I, ***

Produced by Cornell University, Joshua Hutchinson, Josephine Paolucci
and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team.

[Transcriber's note: Footnotes at end of document]

THE CONTINENTAL MONTHLY:

DEVOTED TO

LITERATURE AND NATIONAL POLICY

VOL. I.--MAY, 1862.--No. V.

* * * * *

WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH IT?

The first blood that was shed in our Revolutionary struggle, was in
Boston, in March, 1770. The next at Lexington, in June, 1775.

The interval was filled with acts of coercion and oppression on the one
side and with complaints and remonstrances on the other. But the thought
of Independence was entertained by very few of our people, even for some
time after the affair at Lexington. Loyalty to the mother country was
professed even by those most clamorous in their complaints, and
sincerely so, too. The great majority thought that redress of grievances
could be obtained without severance from Great Britain.

But events hurried the people on, and that which was scarcely spoken of
at the beginning of the struggle, soon became its chief object.

Is it not the same with our present contest with the South? We took up
arms to defend the Constitution, to sustain our Government, to maintain
the Union; and in the course of performing that work, it would seem as
if Emancipation was forced upon us, and as if it was yet to be the prime
object in view.

Lo! how much has already been done toward that end, even though not
originally intended! As our armies advance into the enemies' country,
thousands of slaves are practically emancipated by the flight and
desertion of their rebel masters. The rules and articles of war have
been so altered by Congress as to forbid our military forces from
returning to bondage any who flee from it. The President