Waving the bloody shirt

History has some very good political oratory...

I hope you do not mind me sending you this about the post Civil War politics and it reminded me of Robert G Ingersoll who spoke on behalf of Presidential candidate Rutherford B Hayes.


Waving the Bloody Shirt

Campaigning on behalf of Republican candidates against their Democratic opponents, Ingersoll was among the first to "wave the bloody shirt," using emotional war imagery to flog the Democratic Party in prose sometimes astonishing for its venom.

The following are excerpts from an Ingersoll campaign speech in support of Republican presidential candidate Rutherford B. Hayes. The bombast is typical of Gilded Age political oratory, but the vivid rage behind the language is all Ingersoll's:

"I am opposed to the Democratic party, and I will tell you why. Every State that seceded from the United States was a Democratic State. Every ordinance of secession that was drawn was drawn by a Democrat. Every man that endeavored to tear the old flag from the heaven that it enriches was a Democrat. Every man that tried to destroy this nation was a Democrat.

"Every man that shot Union soldiers was a Democrat. Every man that denied Union prisoners even the worm-eaten crust of famine, and when some poor, emaciated Union patriot, driven to insanity by famine, saw in an insane dream the face of his mother, and she beckoned him and he followed, hoping to press her lips once again against his fevered face, and when he stepped one step beyond the dead line the wretch that put the bullet through his loving, throbbing heart was and is a Democrat.

"Every man that loved slavery better than liberty was a Democrat. The man that assassinated Abraham Lincoln was a Democrat.

"... Every man that wanted the privilege of whipping another man to make him work for him for nothing and pay him with lashes on his naked back, was a Democrat. Every man that raised bloodhounds to pursue human beings was a Democrat. Every man that clutched from shrieking, shuddering, crouching mothers, babes from their breasts, and sold them into slavery, was a Democrat.

"... Soldiers, every scar you have on your heroic bodies was given you by a Democrat. Every scar, every arm that is lacking, every limb that is gone, is a souvenir of a Democrat. I want you to recollect it."

Passages like these show another facet of Robert G. Ingersoll, who also composed the deathless lines "The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so."

Senior Chief wrote:History has some very good political oratory...

I hope you do not mind me sending you this about the post Civil War politics and it reminded me of Robert G Ingersoll who spoke on behalf of Presidential candidate Rutherford B Hayes.


Waving the Bloody Shirt

Campaigning on behalf of Republican candidates against their Democratic opponents, Ingersoll was among the first to "wave the bloody shirt," using emotional war imagery to flog the Democratic Party in prose sometimes astonishing for its venom.

The following are excerpts from an Ingersoll campaign speech in support of Republican presidential candidate Rutherford B. Hayes. The bombast is typical of Gilded Age political oratory, but the vivid rage behind the language is all Ingersoll's:

"I am opposed to the Democratic party, and I will tell you why. Every State that seceded from the United States was a Democratic State. Every ordinance of secession that was drawn was drawn by a Democrat. Every man that endeavored to tear the old flag from the heaven that it enriches was a Democrat. Every man that tried to destroy this nation was a Democrat.

"Every man that shot Union soldiers was a Democrat. Every man that denied Union prisoners even the worm-eaten crust of famine, and when some poor, emaciated Union patriot, driven to insanity by famine, saw in an insane dream the face of his mother, and she beckoned him and he followed, hoping to press her lips once again against his fevered face, and when he stepped one step beyond the dead line the wretch that put the bullet through his loving, throbbing heart was and is a Democrat.

"Every man that loved slavery better than liberty was a Democrat. The man that assassinated Abraham Lincoln was a Democrat.

"... Every man that wanted the privilege of whipping another man to make him work for him for nothing and pay him with lashes on his naked back, was a Democrat. Every man that raised bloodhounds to pursue human beings was a Democrat. Every man that clutched from shrieking, shuddering, crouching mothers, babes from their breasts, and sold them into slavery, was a Democrat.

"... Soldiers, every scar you have on your heroic bodies was given you by a Democrat. Every scar, every arm that is lacking, every limb that is gone, is a souvenir of a Democrat. I want you to recollect it."

Passages like these show another facet of Robert G. Ingersoll, who also composed the deathless lines "The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so."

Yes, but This has what to do with the here and now??

Don

_

Logically, if we fill in the blanks to continue the saga, every man who continues to care about this country, his fellow man, and democracy, is also a Democrat.

From a great distance this is puzzling.
Considering that many US citizens are not politically minded and many don't vote, how can it be said that all of those people belonged to a particular party, all those years ago?
Political parties change anyway. In Australia our currently ruling conservative party is called the Liberals. Even their name is misleading.

Daryl wrote:From a great distance this is puzzling.
Considering that many US citizens are not politically minded and many don't vote, how can it be said that all of those people belonged to a particular party, all those years ago?
Political parties change anyway. In Australia our currently ruling conservative party is called the Liberals. Even their name is misleading.

From Classical Liberalism, to whit:

(clasical))iberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but they generally support free markets, free trade, limited government, individual rights (including civil rights and human rights), capitalism, democracy, secularism, gender equality, racial equality, internationalism, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of religion.

Our Liberal party has drifted well to the right. But then our leftist party is closer to Bernie.

Just why does everything have to be about the here and now?

Not everyone cares about politics... but the way people rant and rave about politics it is a wonder they all do not die of a stroke or heart attack...

Senior Chief wrote:Just why does everything have to be about the here and now?

Not everyone cares about politics... but the way people rant and rave about politics it is a wonder they all do not die of a stroke or heart attack...

Because this is the "Politics" Subforum?

Senior Chief wrote:Just why does everything have to be about the here and now?

Not everyone cares about politics... but the way people rant and rave about politics it is a wonder they all do not die of a stroke or heart attack...

I suppose that the answer is that people tend to rant and rave about what intrudes upon their lives. The here and now does that as does politics.

For some of us politics is a hobby to which we are addicted...

Don

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True Don. The old advice of "Don't talk about sex, religion and politics" is appropriate for social occasions. However this is a political blog, so fair enough here. I was interested in Senior Chief's submission and how it reflected the times it was written it. Well written but quite illogical.

Daryl wrote:True Don. The old advice of "Don't talk about sex, religion and politics" is appropriate for social occasions. However this is a political blog, so fair enough here. I was interested in Senior Chief's submission and how it reflected the times it was written it. Well written but quite illogical.

Reflection of the times by one of my favorite presidents:

“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”