In Praise of Steam and Spirit: A Gentleman’s Reply to ‘Men Are But Children Grown’ (1853alt)

Published in response, July 1853

Sir,

I read with no small degree of consternation the recent editorial denouncing the excitement surrounding our latest steam-boat exhibition. Permit me, if you will, a gentleman’s rebuttal. To call such feats mere childish diversion is to ignore the grand strides they signify. These races are not only marvels of mechanical progress but reflections of the very vigor that propels our nation forward.

Let us not conflate passion with folly. Is it not in the testing of machines that we discover their strength? In the spirit of competition, we hone precision. The steamboat race may bring cheer and wagers, but it also advances commerce, quickens travel, and fosters innovation along every mile of riverbank.

A republic must be built upon aspiration as well as decorum. Let us applaud the engineers and firemen whose labor shortens distance and quickens our pulse with awe. If men are but children grown, then surely it is in these pursuits of daring and enterprise that we glimpse their noblest play.

— A. T. Winfield, Baton Rouge

Editor’s Note: This fictional letter was composed as a creative response to a real editorial titled “Men Are But Children Grown,” originally printed in The Weekly Comet, June 5, 1853.

Explore More:

• Letters from the Archives
• 1850alt
• Society of the Vis-à-Vis