Bicentennial Commencement Address Delivers A Powerful Message 48 Years Later

Patrick T. Conley delivered this speech to Bristol High School graduates in 1976. Every high school graduate of any year, of any state, will benefit from the wisdom and advice from Rhode Island’s Historian Laureate.

I am honored to have been asked, in my capacity as state Bicentennial chairman, to address you on the occasion of this great milestone in your life: your graduation from Bristol High School as the Bicentennial class of 1976. To show my gratitude, I promise my talk will have one virtue – brevity. As a student, I have sat (or perhaps suffered) through five commencement talks since my high school graduation. I endured crowded conditions, sweltering heat, and the anxiety of waiting for post-commencement parties and celebrations each time. Commencement speakers are always faced with a dilemma and a problem: they are supposed to be formal, solemn, and inspirational when their audience, the successful students, are rightfully festive, happy, and in a mood to celebrate.

In this Bicentennial year, the two hundredth anniversary of Rhode Island and American Independence, it is most appropriate that we reflect on the history of our country, our state of Rhode Island, and your historic town of Bristol. The Bicentennial should inspire patriotism in all Americans, young and old. Still, by patriotism, I do not mean blind allegiance or uncritical acceptance of everything our ancestors said or did. Rather, patriotism and love of country must be intelligent, critical, and based upon knowing what has been wrong with America and what has been exemplary and worthy of commendation. Our portrait of this nation must include the shadows, the warts, and the blemishes. It must not be retouched (like your yearbook photos) to eliminate the flaws. Only by knowing what has been wrong with America or what continues to be wrong can we address ourselves to the task of correcting those faults and removing those inequities. That is the task that my generation will leave to you! Therefore, you must prepare yourself through education, civic improvement, and a knowledge of history for the duties that await you.

Let me illustrate what I mean by the importance of an informed yet critical knowledge of our past as a guide toward shaping a more perfect future. I will use examples from Bristol’s history at hundred-year intervals, beginning in 1676. That year marked the conclusion of King Philip’s War. Most of you have heard of that great conflict that raged throughout New England three centuries ago. When we reflect upon it, however, the usual emphasis is on the heroic Captain Benjamin Church of Bristol and Little Compton, the most distinguished military figure of that war, a man who reduced the power of the Narragansett Indians in the Great Swamp Fight in December 1675 and participated in the ultimate defeat and death of King Philip of the Wampanoag tribe at Mount Hope in August 1676. Many who commemorate that episode stress the romantic nature of the clash between Indians and whites and praise the militaristic virtues of the combatants- their courage, tenacity, and endurance. Perhaps it should also be said that this was, in some respects, a race war marked by unbelievable cruelty and barbarism; that the Wampanoag tribe owned and lived upon this Bristol land and understandably resented its seizure by the white colonists from Plymouth Colony (of which Bristol was a part); and that the neutral Narragansetts, who had always shown friendliness to Roger Williams and other Rhode Island settlers, were the victims in this war of an unjustified preemptive attack.

In 1776 and throughout the Revolutionary era, your town of Bristol was a leader in the movements for independence and the framing and adoption of the Constitution of the United States. Bristol furnished many ships and seamen for our young navy, and Bristol residents bravely endured a bombardment by the HMS Rose and raids by the enemy. Like other colonists, Bristolians fought with determination for their political, civil, and economic rights. Such enthusiastic and public-spirited groups as the Bristol Bicentennial Commission and the Bristol Fourth of July Committee are so ably commemorating these facts.

Few people will recall, however, that a primary source of colonial Bristol’s Wealth and influence stemmed, according to town historian George Howe, from the slave trade. This detestable practice is a prime historical example of man’s inhumanity to his fellow man. Too few people admit that the Declaration of Independence, which Bristol so splendidly commemorates, contains the phrase “all men are created equal,” a phrase which was contradicted not only by the slave trade and the Constitution of 1787 but by two centuries of discrimination by white Americans against their Black neighbors.

Three hundred years ago, our history was marred by cruelty to Native Americans; two centuries ago, it was blemished by injustice to Blacks. In 1876, as Bristol County was caught up in America’s impressive and highly successful Industrial Revolution, the immigrant laborers who came to this area from Ireland, Portugal, Italy, and French Canada were also subjected to discrimination or abuse because they were foreign in religion, ethnic background, culture, or language. Their lot in life was characterized by long hours, low pay, unsafe working conditions in the textile and rubber factories, and lack of job or retirement security.

While it is most proper and fitting that we praise the courageous veterans of King Philip’s War, the visionary leaders of the War for Independence, and the talented businessmen who led the Industrial Revolution, like Bristolians Samuel P. Colt and Augustus O. Bourn, let us be mindful also that these and other illustrious figures in American history may have had a seamy, greedy, or inhumane side that must be shown. We must not repeat the glories of our ancestors and avoid their sins! We must not view our history through rose-colored glasses if we are to find there some clues to human betterment. We cannot improve society if we see no need for improvement. We cannot promote the cause of justice if we are blind to injustice. If we refuse to recognize racism, greed, injustice, and intolerance in our past, our view of America is not a balanced one- then we will be oblivious to these evils, which still cry out for concern. As the philosopher George Santayana has succinctly stated, ”A nation that does not know History is fated to repeat it.” Another philosopher, Francis Bacon, observed in his evaluation of the various academic subjects that “Histories make men wise.” He was referring to a balanced and objective analysis of the past and not to the one-sided whitewash that often characterizes our commemoration of famous historical events.

We may conclude, therefore, with this observation: Commencement is a word that means “beginning.” Your education does not end here; it continues. Whether you go to college or to work or enroll in adult education programs later in your life, it is your duty as a responsible citizen to learn, experience, and grow in knowledge and wisdom. History, if it is balanced and impartial, and patriotism, if it is informed and rational, will be your invaluable tools as you, of the “Now Generation,” undertake the task of making your town, your state, and your nation a better, fairer place for those who will succeed you.

CONGRATULATIONS; GOOD LUCK; THANK YOU.

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