Ticknor was prescient. The country in which he was born died when the Democrat-led states broke from the union and left the Northern states in charge. After that war the concepts of duty to the community and self reliance slowly ebbed while the Northern concept of rugged individualism also died as the now Northern dominated Democrat party pushed an expansion of the Federal government into all aspects of public life. Now we cannot imagine living without the Federal government giving us money stolen from other people or from our great grandchildren.