First edition.
Daniel Dougherty (1826-1892) was a Philadelphia lawyer. He was known as an orator and a humorist. He was one of the founders of the first Union League. This lecture, delivered before the literary society of Lafayette College, was quoted and commented on in the House of Commons by Lord Lytton.
INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR TO FELLOW LAWYER EDWARD HOPPER ESQ. AND SIGNED BY DOUGHERTY. Edward Hopper was the lawyer who edited the Second Edition of J.J.S. Wharton's" Law lexicon, or, Dictionary of Jurisprudence".
A timely pamphlet: "The solemn question now presents itself and demands an answer from this generation: Is this nation to prosper in the long future as she has in the brief past? Will she stand the test of time, and make her name resound through a thousand years, or has she already reached her prime? Are her glories to depart like a dream?..incompetency swaggers in prominent positions, bold-faced mediocrity drives superior attainments into private life, and, with audacious presumption, aspires even to the Presidency! Fraud and corruption hold their rivals in high places. Legislation, at least in some States, has become a burning reproach. Discord rears her horrid front, and a division of the Union is gloried in by those who have sworn to defend the Constitution. Very good .
Keywords: AMERICANA; FEARS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE REPUBLIC; AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE LITERARY SOCIETIES OF LAFAYETTE COLLEGE BY DANIEL DOUGHERTY, ESQ. OF PHILADELPHIA, JULY 26, 1859; SIGNED PRESENTATION COPY; 1ST EDITION; FIRST EDITION; 19TH CENTURY; NINETEEN