Excerpt from An Appeal to the Whig National Convention: In Favor of the Nomination of Daniel Webster to the Presidency To the Members of the Whig National Convention to assemble in the Hall of Independence in the city of Philadelphia, on the 1 th day of June, A.D. 1848. The following essays on the subject of the Presidency were originally published in the New York Commercial Advertiser. They have been collected, and are now dedicated to you, gentlemen, by the author, who respectfully requests for them a perusal. You are to hold your deliberations in the same city where the Declaration of Independence was made, and the constitution of the United States was formed. I am sure it is the desire of every Whig, that the same patriotism and wisdom may pervade your counsels, which were so conspicuous in the Congress of 76, and the convention of 1787. Under the constitution then framed, and subsequently ratified by the states of the Union, we and our fathers have enjoyed unnumbered blessings, and a nation has grown up which is, at this moment, the admiration of the civilized world. The union of the states has been the prolific source of our prosperity, security, and happiness, and the constitution is the bond of that union. All the embarrassments which have been experienced, and all the apprehensions for the republic which have been at any time felt among us, have arisen from violations of the letter and spirit of the original compact of union. A constitution is nothing but an agreement of the whole people with each other to abide by, and enforce, certain general principles and regulations, which are prescribed for the protection and security of the community, and every member of it. If the general sense of the people will not uphold this agreement, but will sanction its violation by majorities, or by any officer intrusted with power under it, there can be no guarantee for liberty. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.