Try to Avoid Parties—Unless They're the Kind With Cake
- The unity of the United States is what makes it strong, but there will be people who will try to weaken the country's bonds.
- Americans need to remember that being Americans is more important than their attachments to local regions.
- The North benefits from the South because it gets materials it needs for industry.
- The South benefits from the trade and naval protection provided by the North.
- The East benefits from the West because it has new markets for its products.
- The West benefits by getting the East's products and materials, as well as military protection.
- So basically, every region benefits from being united with the other regions.
- No one knows if the unified republican government experiment will work on such a large scale, but real patriots won't try to destroy it.
- The American people need to be on their guard against people who try and drum up sectional tension by spreading false ideas about how one region is being treated by another.
- Look at the West and how it was mistaken in thinking no one cared about its problems with trade on the Mississippi—the federal government just negotiated a treaty to fix that problem.
- The Constitution can be changed by the people, but until it is changed, its laws must be followed by everyone.
- People who go against the law help produce factions among people, which eventually creates factions within the government as well.
- Certain dishonest, power-hungry people can use the existence of those factions to gain power and then destroy the democratic machine that helped them get their power in the first place.
- So be patient—a new government system needs time and practice to see what works and what doesn't, and to function as it's supposed to.
- It's a part of human nature to divide into factions and eventually seek out strong individuals who will lead those factions.
- But that leads to disorder, infighting, and opening up the country to foreign influence and control.
- Parties can keep a government in check, to a limit, but everyone needs to work together to prevent full-fledged division.
- If people are unsatisfied with the Constitution, they should use amendments to change it rather than overturn the government, which would probably destroy their freedom.
- Morality and religion are crucial for people and politicians.
- Be careful not to spend too much of taxpayers' money, but also be aware that taxes are necessary for government revenue.