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Winchester Gazette
Winchester, Virginia
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On October 1, Simon Bolivar, the Liberator, reluctantly took the oath as President of Colombia after addressing a letter to Congress requesting to be excused. He delivered an energetic speech highlighting his military background and desire to become a simple citizen in the new republic.
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On the 1st Oct. this extraordinary man, on being called upon to take the oath as President of Colombia, addressed an eloquent letter to the President of the Congress, earnestly desiring to be excused from serving in that capacity; but he was overruled by them. On taking the Oath he delivered an energetic speech, of which follows a curious sample:—
'I am the son of war, the man whom battles have raised to the magistracy. Fortune has sustained me in this rank, and victory has confirmed it. But these titles, are not those which are consecrated by justice, by the welfare and the wishes of the nation. The sword which has governed Colombia, is not the balance of Astrea, it is the scourge of the genius of evil, which sometimes Heaven permits to descend to the earth, for the punishment of tyrants, and the admonition of the people.—This sword will be of no use on the day of peace, and that shall be the last of my power because thus I have sworn within myself because I have promised it to Colombia; and because there can be no republic, when the people are not secure in the exercise of their own powers. A man like me, is a dangerous citizen in a popular government -is a direct menace to the national sovereignty.
I wish to become a citizen, in order to be free, and that all may be so too I prefer the title of citizen to that of liberator -because this emanates from war, and that from the laws Exchange, sir, all my honors for that of "good citizen."
The President's answer is full of that bewitching eloquence, and overpowering sentiment, which distinguishes times of public trial and the eras of national regeneration,
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Foreign News Details
Primary Location
Colombia
Event Date
1st Oct.
Key Persons
Outcome
bolivar takes the oath as president despite his reluctance.
Event Details
Bolivar addressed a letter to the President of Congress requesting to be excused from serving as President of Colombia but was overruled. He then delivered an energetic speech upon taking the oath, expressing his background as a son of war, the temporary nature of his power, and his preference for the title of citizen over liberator.