Excerpt from Eulogy on the Life and Character of General Andrew Jackson: Delivered at Bedford, Pa;, July 28th, 1845 Fellow Citizens: We have met to pay our tribute of respect and admiration to the memory of a man who has, for nearly fifty years, filled a large space in the public eye, and whose character, for the last thirty years, has been the almost constant subject of discussion by this whole nation. His friends constituted a very large majority of the people, and on their lips his name was the most familiar topic of applause. In their eyes he was mighty in word and in deed. If he addressed their understandings, they were convinced by what they deemed his unanswerable reasoning; if he spoke to their hearts, their affections gushed forth in overflowing gratitude and veneration. In civil and in military life, he was, alike and at all times, "the hero they loved and the chief they admired." This devoted attachment was, however, not universal. A large minority, not only respectable by its numbers, but formidable by the talents, the moral influence, and the social dignity of its members, had a far different opinion of his character. By them his qualifications as a statesman were derided; and though his military services were not denied, his opponents were not always unwilling to depreciate the value even of them. The discussion was bitter enough while it lasted - too bitter perhaps, for the credit of those engaged in it. But death, if it has not closed the controversy, has at least softened the tone in which it is to be conducted. The king of terrors is merciful as well as severe. When he strikes a great man to the earth, he interposes between him and his enemies the most effective shield his character can have. Human nature recoils from an effort to disturb the ashes of the departed, and shrinks from any attempt to continue a war against the spirit which has already rendered its final account to the Great Judge. When the career of a public man is once closed forever, his opponents review their old opinions with candor, the indifferent become interested, and hearts that were cold and hardened are moved, at last, "to the late remorse of love." 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.