Excerpt from The Progress and Prospects of America, Vol. 1 As a nation, we are essentially eclectic in character, receiving constant accession to our numbers from all parts of the civilized globe. It is, therefore, of the first import ance to the integrity and security of our free institutions, that the balance of power in the republic should be sedu lously guarded; that a spirit of nationality should rule in the councils of our government; and that the element of foreign political faith, as well as foreign manners and cus toms, be carefully precluded from vitiating our national morals, - the proud distinction of a free people consisting in its public virtue, which is the animating and sustaining principle of true democracy. It is not enough that we glory in our boasted liberties, -we must be jealous of their integrity - must learn wherein consists their security, their defences, and their danger. 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.