RACE AND FAMILY IN AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS 181 



Marshall also had as a Randolph heritage wide mental grasp and a supreme 

 power of persuasion, though his father, who was a "planter of the forest" 

 was also noted for his clear-headedness and decision. Pioneering in the un- 

 broken ground of the construction of the Federal Constitution, he rendered 

 opinions on widely divergent cases which he was able to harmonize into an 

 orderly and consistent whole. This he did by his keen analysis of the 

 general principles involved and his power to win the allegiance of his associ- 

 ates. "He was listened to with the ears of affection." 



Time permitting, it would be possible to show in greater detail how fami- 

 lies have influenced sectional and state history, this influence becoming 

 incorporated in our various institutions. Studies along this line have been 

 made by myself in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and the Far West; 

 just recently, an inquiry along similar lines is proving fruitful for the lower 

 Connecticut Valley. Depending on a wide range of historical and biograph- 

 ical material, I have tried here to avoid the "possession of that devil of an 

 idea" to which even scientists fall victim. 



This latest study is showing how the first families which made that ven- 

 ture from the Bay Colony to the first frontier of this Continent had abilities 

 which of necessity enabled them to make their peculiar and outstanding 

 contributions to the development of this section. How terrific were the 

 hazards of the venture, we know from the opinion of Cotton Mather who 

 remonstrated with the "worthy, learned and genteel persons who were 

 going to bury themselves alive on the banks of the Connecticut." Not 

 only did these settlers establish a town system in their domain, which has 

 proved a model for others, but their experience with their government 

 proved, in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, highly useful in deter- 

 mining the form of our Federal organization. The Dwight-Woolsey net- 

 work flourished here, and the Ward-Beecher-Foote family, while the 

 Wolcotts, Morgans, Treats and Willys', in their very name, speak elo- 

 quently of a nationwide activity in the upbuilding of systems, monetary, 

 economic, educational and governmental. Even the traditional wooden 

 nutmeg and basswood ham have significance for a mechanical ingenuity, 

 rooted in the germ plasm, which lies at the base of a varied and powerful 

 manufacturing interest. Cousin marriages have been frequent, carrying 

 at times the stigmata of an hereditary aristocracy, but on the whole, making 

 for leadership along many worthy lines. 



The present crisis cries aloud for effective leadership. Its failure to 

 appear here, in the measure of a century and a half ago, is, shall we say 

 concomitant with the dying out and migration of these families, and the low 

 fecondity of others, which would, if larger, have a safer chance of producing 

 able individuals. 



