In February of 1860 Cassius M. Clay was scheduled to speak in Hartford, Connecticut.  Five “Republican” dry goods clerks decided spontaneously to meet him at the train station and give him an escort.  They borrowed some whale oil torches, made some black capes to protect themselves from the dripping torches, and marched through Hartford with the Senator trailing behind wondering what happened. 

With a few days the organization had grown to about fifty members and they began marching silently, in unison, carrying torches and wearing black oil cloth capes and military hats.  Somewhere along the way they picked up the name “Wide-Awakes.”  By summer time there were similar bands all across the country.  They turned out to be one of the most effective grassroots political organizations this country has ever seen.  By November of 1860, there were several hundred thousand young men who had joined and they helped elect Abraham Lincoln President of the United States. 

The stock market may rebound, slightly, today, but the long term trend is down.  The real news is not the down grade by Standard & Poor’s.  What really matters is that a high percentage of American citizens agree.  Along with the rest of the world, the American people have lost faith in their government.  The American people have downgraded the American government.

We are on the verge of a revolution.  A clash is inevitable.  In Europe we are already witnessing what happens when governments run out of money and start to cut entitlements.  The demonstrations are becoming increasingly violent.  We got a taste of this in Wisconsin with the wide spread demonstrations designed to intimidate the government in to giving unions what they want.  We have been lucky that so far the demonstrations in the United States have been peaceful.  However, when one watches the fires in London, it is wise to be concerned.

In 1860 a grass roots organization rose up spontaneously to change the world.  This was not a political party.  There were no real leaders.  This was merely a vehicle by which concerned citizens found a way to send a message to their government.  The Wide-Awakes marched in silence, but they spoke with a loud voice.  They would no longer tolerate a government that compromised with slavery, something they considered to be evil.

The Tea Party movement has a lot of similarity with the Wide-Awakes.  Both are spontaneous grass roots organizations that grew exponentially, not because of great leadership, but because of the strength of their cause.  The Tea Party is already winning the war that really matters.  The latest polls show that a vast majority of Americans favor a balanced budget.  If the Tea Party sticks to its original principles and avoids becoming just another political organization, it has the potential to change the world.  Determined men and women, marching silently in unison with great determination, are an irresistible force.  When someone in the main stream media in 1860 watched the Wide-Awakes march through town he understood what really mattered.  Quiet men, he said, are dangerous men. 

TDM