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ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  VOLUME  SEVEN 
PAGE 
The  State,  War  and  Navy  Departments  .       .       .  Frontispiece 
Facsimile — Pierce's  Proclamation  Against  Cuban  Filibustering  2769 
Greytown   (Nicaragua)   and  the  Paraguay  Expedition   .       .  2817 
Missourians  Invading  Kansas  to  Extend  Slavery  .       .       .  2881 
Pioneering  and  Invention    2929 
James  Buchanan    (portrait)    2959  B 
(Sketch  of  his  Pennsylvania  home  on  tissue) 
Harriet  Lane  (portrait)    2959  D 
The  Inauguration  of  James  Buchanan    2975 
Ante   Bellum  Cotton   Mill    3007 
Mormon    Temple   and    Tabernacle — ^Young's    Mill — Mormon 
Family    3033 
Cartoon — Brigham  Young  Mustering  Army     ....  3034 
The  Trial  of  John   Brown    3071 
Facsimile — Buchanan's  Message  Concerning  Mormon  Troubles  3135 
Facsimile — South  Carolina's  Secession  Ordinance  .        .  3 151 
Jefferson  Davis — Confederate  Capitol — ^Lee  in  War  Time  .       .  3183 
Abraham  Lincoln  (portrait)    3203  B 
(Sketch  of  his  early  home  on  tissue) 
Mary  Todd  Lincoln   (portrait)    3203  D 
The  Bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter    3213
2759  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents 
of  my  country,  I  hope  it  may  be  my  privilege  to  deserve  and  secure  not 
only  your  cordial  cooperation  in  great  public  measures,  but  also  those 
relations  of  mutual  confidence  and  regard  which  it  is  always  so  desirable 
to  cultivate  between  members  of  coordinate  branches  of  the  Government. 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
SPECIAL  MESSAGES. 
Washington,  December  12,  18^3, 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
In  answer  to  the  resolutions  of  the  Senate  of  the  17th  of  August,  1852, 
and  23d  of  February  last,  requesting  a  copy  of  correspondence  relative 
to  the  claim  on  the  Government  of  Portugal  in  the  case  of  the  brig  Gen- 
eral Armstrong,  I  transmit  a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  to  whose 
Department  the  resolutions  were  referred. 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  December  12,  18^3. 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
I  transmit  to  the  Senate,  for  its  consideration  with  a  view  to  ratifica- 
tion, a  treaty  of  friendship,  commerce,  and  navigation  between  the  United 
States  and  Paraguay,  concluded  on  the  4th  of  March  last. 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  December  12,  1853* 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
I  transmit  to  the  Senate,  for  its  consideration  with  a  view  to  ratifica- 
tion, a  treaty  for  the  free  navigation  of  the  rivers  Parana  and  Uruguay 
between  the  United  States  and  the  Argentine  Confederation,  concluded 
on  the  loth  of  July  last.  FRANKUN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  December  12,  1853, 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
I  transmit  to  the  Senate,  for  its  consideration  with  a  view  to  ratifica- 
tion, a  treaty  of  friendship,  commerce,  and  navigation  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Argentine  Confederation,  concluded  on  the  27th  of  July 
^*^^-  FRANKLIN  PIERCE.
2761  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents 
Washington,  January  p,  i8si* 
To  the  House  of  Representatives: 
In  answer  to  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  3d 
of  January,  1854,  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  a  letter  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  the  papers*  accompanying  it. 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  January  /p,  i8s4* 
To  the  House  of  Representatives: 
I  transmit  herewith  a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  with  accom- 
pan3ring  documents,  f  in  compliance  with  the  resolution  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  3d  instant.  FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  January  23,  i8s4- 
To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives: 
I  transmit  to  Congress  a  report  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  together  with 
the  set  of  works  illustrative  of  the  exhibition  in  London  of  185 1  to  which 
it  refers,  in  order  that  such  disposal  may  be  made  of  them  as  may  be 
deemed  advisable.  FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  January  2^,  18S4. 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
I  transmit  herewith  a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  with  accom- 
pan3dng  documents, { in  compliance  with  a  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the 
23d  instant.  FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  February  2,  1854. 
To  the  House  of  Representatives: 
I  transmit  herewith  a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  with  accom- 
panying documents,§  in  compliance  with  the  resolution  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  30th  ultimo.  FRANKLIN  PIERCE 
*  Correspondence  with  and  orders  to  commanders  of  vessels  or  squadrons  on  the  Atlantic  coast 
of  British  North  America  relative  to  protecting^  the  rights  of  fishing  and  navigation  secured  to  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  under  treaties  with  Great  Britain. 
t  Relating  to  seizure  and  imprisonment  by  Spanish  authorities  at  Puerto  Rico  of  officers  and  crew 
of  schooner  North  Carolina. 
\  Relating  to  a  complimentary  mission  to  the  United  States  of  Archbishop  Gaetano  Bedini,  apos- 
tolic nuncio  to  the  Empire  of  Braril,  for  the  purpose  of  convesring,  in  the  name  of  Pope  Pins  IX, 
sentiments  of  regard  for  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
f  Correspondence  with  the  American  charf^  to  Anstria  relative  to  the  claim  of  Simon  Tousig  to 
the  protection  of  the  United  States
2769  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents 
to  the  suggestion  in  the  report,  it  is  desirable  that  such  of  the  papers  as 
may  be  originals  should  be  returned  to  the  Department  of  State. 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
ExKCurnm  Office,  March  ^5',  i8si. 
Hon.  Linn  Boyd, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives: 
I  communicate  to  the  House  of  Representatives  herewith  a  report  from 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  dated  the  24th  instant,  containing  so  much 
of  the  information  called  for  by  the  resolution  of  the  17th  instant  as  it  is 
practicable  or  compatible  with  the  public  interest  to  furnish  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  respecting  the  proceedings  which  have  been  had  and  negotia- 
tions entered  into  for  the  exting^shment  of  the  Indian  titles  to  lands 
west  of  the  States  of  Miissouri  and  Iowa. 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  March  2p,  18^4, 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
In  answer  to  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  21st  instant,  adopted 
in  executive  session,  relative  to  the  claiins  of  the  Mexican  Government 
and  of  citizens  of  the  Mexican  Republic  on  this  Government,  and  of  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  on  the  Government  of  that  Republic,  I  trans- 
mit a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  to  whom  the  resolution  was 
referred.  FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  March  j/,  18^4. 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
In  answer  to  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  13th  instant,  request- 
ing a  confidential  communication  of  information  touching  the  expedition 
under  the  authority  of  this  Government  for  the  purpose  of  opening  trade 
with  Japan,  I  transmit  a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  to  whom  the 
resolution  was  referred.  FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  D.  C,  April  /,  18^4. 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
I  transmit  herewith  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  State  in  reply  to  the 
resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  •27th  ultimo. 
That  part  of  the  document  which  purports  to  recite  my  official  instruc- 
tions is  strictly  correct;  that  which  is  avowedly  unofficial  and  unauthor- 
ized, it  can  hardly  be  necessary  for  me  to  say,  in  view  of  the  documents 
already  before  the  Senate,  does  not  convey  a  correct  impression  of  my 
views  and  wishes.  ** 
((
Franklin  Pierce  2770 
At  no  time  after  an  intention  was  entertained  of  sending  Mr.  Ward  as 
special  agent  to  Mexico  was  either  the  Garay  grant  or  the  convention 
entered  into  by  Mr.  Conkling  alluded  to  otherwise  than  as  subjects  which 
might  embarrass  the  negotiation  of  the  treaty,  and  were  consequently 
not  included  in  the  instructions. 
While  the  departure  of  Mr.  Ward,  under  any  circumstances  or  in  any 
respect,  from  the  instructions  committed  to  him  is  a  matter  of  regret,  it 
is  just  to  say  that,  although  he  failed  to  convey  in  his  letter  to  General 
Gadsden  the  correct  import  of  remarks  made  by  me  anterior  to  his  ap- 
pcantment  as  special  agent,  I  impute  to  him  no  design  of  misrepresentation. 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  AfirU  5,  18^4. 
To  ike  Senate  of  the  United  StaUs: 
I  transmit  to  the  Senate  a  report  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  with  accompa- 
nying documents,*  in  compliance  with  their  resolution  of  the  14th  ultimo. 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  April  5, 1854., 
To  the  House.  0/  Representatives  of  the  United  States: 
I  transmit  herewith  to  the  House  of  Representatives  a  report  of  the 
Secretary  of  State,  with  accompanying  documents,  f  in  further  compliance 
with  their  resolution  of  the  loth  of  March,  1854. 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  April  5,  1834* 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
I  transmit  herewith  a  report  J  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  in  answer 
to  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  in  executive  session  of  the  3d  instant. 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  April  8, 1834. 
To  the  House  of  Representatives: 
I  transmit  herewith  to  the  House  of  Representatives  a  report  §  of  the 
Secretary  of  State,  in  answer  to  their  resolution  of  the  3d  instant. 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
*  Correspondence  relative  to  the  seizure  of  Martin  Koazta  by  Austrian  authorities  at  Smyrna. 
t  Relating  toyiolations  of  the  rights  of  American  citizens  by  Spanish  authorities  and  their  refusal 
to  allow  United  States  vessels  to  enter  ports  of  Cuba,  etc. 
\  Relating  to  expeditions  organized  in  California  for  the  invasion  of  Sonora,  Mexico. 
f  Statinar  that  the  correspondence  relative  to  the  refusal  by  the  authorities  uf  Cuba  to  permit  the 
United  States  mail  steamer  Crescent  City  to  land  mail  and  passenarers  at  Havana  had  been  trans- 
mitted with  the  messsffe  to  the  House  of  April  5.  1854.
2773  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents 
Washington,  May  ii,  iSsf. 
To  the  House  of  Representatives: 
I  transmit  a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  with  accompanying 
papers,*  in  answer  to  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  ist  instant.  FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  May  20, 1834. 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
I  transmit  herewith  a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  with  accom- 
panying documents,t  in  compliance  with  the  Senate's  resolution  of  the 
30th  of  January  last.  FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  May  ^j,  1834- 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
I  transmit  a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  on  the  subject  of  docu- 
ments! called  for  by  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  9th  instant. 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  May  23,  1834. 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
I  communicate  to  the  Senate  herewith,  for  its  constitutional  action 
thereon,  four  several  treaties  recently  negotiated  in  this  city  by  George 
W.  Manjrpenny,  as  commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  with 
the  delegates  of  the  Delaware,  loway,  ELickapoo,  and  Sac  and  Pox  tribes 
of  Indians.  FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
Washington,  May  29, 1834. 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
I  communicate  to  the  Senate  herewith,  for  its  constitutional  action 
thereon,  a  treaty  negotiated  on  the  12th  instant  at  the  Falls  of  Wolf 
River,  in  Wisconsin,  by  Francis  Huebschmann,  superintendent  of  Indian 
afiFairs  for  the  northern  superintendency,  and  the  Menomonee  Indians,  by 
the  chiefs,  headmen,  and  warriors  of  that  tribe. 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
*  Relating  to  the  rights  accorded  to  neutrals  and  the  rights  claimed  by  belligerents  in  the  war 
t>etween  certain  Buropean  powers. 
t  Correspondence  relative  to  the  difficulties  between  Rev.  Jonas  King  and  the  Government  of 
Greece. 
X  Researches  of  H.  S.  Sanford,  late  charire  d'affaires  at  Paris,  on  the  condition  of  penal  law  in  con- 
tinental Burope,  etc.;  also  a  "  Memoir  oti  the  Administrative  Chan&res  in  Prance  since  the  Revolu- 
tion of  X848."  by  H.  S.  Sanford.
2813  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents 
violated  our  laws.  The  energy  and  activity  of  otu:  civil  and 
authorities  have  frustrated  the  designs  of  those  who  meditated  expedi- 
tions of  this  character  except  in  two  instances.  One  of  these,  composed 
of  foreigners,  was  at  first  countenanced  and  aided  by  the  Mexican  Gov- 
ernment itself,  it  having  been  deceived  as  to  their  real  object.  The 
other,  small  in  ntunber,  eluded  the  vigilance  of  the  magistrates  at  San 
Francisco  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the  Mexican  terrtories;  but  the 
effective  measures  taken  by  this  Government  compelled  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  undertaking. 
The  commission  to  establish  the  new  line  between  the  United  States  and 
Mexico,  according  to  the  p»  ovisions  of  the  treaty  of  the  30th  of  December 
last,  has  been  organized,  and  the  work  is  already  commenced. 
Our  treaties  with  the  Argentine  Confederation  and  with  the  Republics 
of  Uruguay  and  Paraguay  secure  to  us  the  free  navigation  of  the  river 
La  Plata  and  some  of  its  larger  tributaries,  but  the  same  success  has  not 
attended  our  endeavors  to  open  the  Amazon.  The  reasons  in  favor  of 
the  free  use  of  that  river  I  had  occasion  to  present  fully  in  a  former 
message,  and,  considering  the  cordial  relations  which  have  long  existed 
between  this  Government  and  Brazil,  it  may  be  expected  that  pending 
negotiations  will  eventually  reach  a  favorable  result. 
Convenient  means  of  transit  between  the  several  parts  of  a  country  are 
not  only  desirable  for  the  objects  of  commercial  and  personal  communica- 
tion, but  essential  to  its  existence  under  one  government.  Separated,  as 
are  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts  of  the  United  States,  by  the  whole 
breadth  of  the  continent,  still  the  inhabitants  of  each  are  closely  bound 
together  by  community  of  origin  and  institutions  and  by  strong  attach- 
ment to  the  Union.  Hence  the  constant  and  increasing  intercourse  and 
vast  interchange  of  commercial  productions  between  these  remote  divi* 
sions  of  the  Republic.  At  the  present  time  the  most  practicable  and  only 
commodious  routes  for  communication  between  them  are  by  the  way  of 
the  isthmus  of  Central  America.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Government  to 
secure  these  avenues  against  all  danger  of  interruption. 
In  relation  to  Central  America,  perplexing  questions  existed  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  at  the  time  of  the  cession  of  Cali- 
fornia. These,  as  well  as  questions  which  subsequently  arose  concerning 
interoceanic  communication  across  the  Isthmus,  were,  as  it  was  supposed, 
adjusted  by  the  treaty  of  April  19,  1850,  but,  tmfortunately,  they  have 
been  reopened  by  serious  misunderstanding  as  to  the  import  of  some  of 
its  provisions,  a  readjustment  of  which  is  now  under  consideration.  Our 
minister  at  London  has  made  strenuous  efforts  to  accomplish  this  desir- 
able object,  but  has  not  yet  found  it  possible  to  bring  the  negotiations  to 
a  termination. 
As  incidental  to  these  questions,  I  deem  it  proper  to  notice  an  occur- 
rence which  happened  in  Central  America  near  the  close  of  the  last  ses- 
sion of  Congress.     So  soon  as  the  necessity  was  perceived  of  establishing
NICARAGUAN  AND  PARAGUAYAN  TROUBLES 
The  two  great  commercial  nations,  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States, 
were  natural  rivals  for  Central  American  influence.  Both  wanted  to  con- 
struct an  isthmian  canal.  The  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty  seemed  to  settle  all 
differences,  but  it  was  not  long  before  £ngland*s  tactics  showed  she  did  not 
propose  to  be  bound  by  it.  One  of  the  incidents  of  the  friction  occurred  in 
Greytown,  Nicaragua.  This  place  stood  at  the  mouth  of  the  San  Juan  River, 
a  necessary  element  to  any  canal  projects  of  the  time,  and  by  British  advice 
had  renounced  all  political  connections  and  declared  itself  a  sovereignty. 
Our  Consul  there  having  been  insulted,  an  American  war  vessel  bombarded 
the  town.  For  a  fuller  description  of  the  incident,  see  the  President*s 
account  on  page  2814. 
Later  a  fleet  of  nineteen  vessels  was  sent  to  Paraguay  to  obtain  repara- 
tion from  that  republic  for  insults  and  injuries  to  the  Goverxmient  and  to 
individual  citizens.    Needless  to  say,  this  Armada  accomplished  its  purpose. 
The  history  of  our  diplomacy  is  told  in  the  series  of  articles  covering  our 
treaty  relations;  in  this  case  refer  to  the  articles  "  Nicaragua  '*;  "  Nicaragua, 
Treaties  with  " ; "  Paraguay  " ;  "  Paraguay,  Treaties  with  " ;  "  Great  Britain  " ; 
and  "  Great  Britain,  Treaties  with."  The  story  of  the  isthmian  canal  is  told 
in  the  article  entitled  "  Panama  Canal."  All  of  the  articles  are  in  the  Encyclo- 
pedic Index.
a8i9  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents 
placed  them  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Govemmetit.  Conduct  of  this  diar- 
acter,  brought  in  several  instances  to  the  notice  of  the  present  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  naturally  awakened  his  suspicion,  and  resulted  in  the 
disclosure  that  at  four  ports — namely,  Oswego,  Toledo,  Sandusky,  and 
Milwaukee — ^the  Treasury  had,  by  false  entries,  been  defrauded  within 
the  four  years  next  preceding  March,  1853,  of  the  sum  of  $198,000.  The 
great  difficulty  with  which  the  detection  of  these  frauds  has  been  attended, 
in  consequence  of  the  abstraction  of  books  and  papers  by  the  retiring 
officers,  and  the  facility  with  which  similar  frauds  in  the  public  service 
may  be  perpetrated  render  the  necessity  of  new  legal  enactments  in  the 
respects  above  referred  to  quite  obvious.  For  other  material  modifi- 
cations of  the  revenue  laws  which  seem  to  me  desirable,  I  refer  you  to 
the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  That  report  and  the  tables 
whidi  accompany  it  furnish  ample  proofs  of  the  solid  foundation  on  which 
the  financial  security  of  the  country  rests  and  of  the  salutary  influence 
of  the  independent-treasury  system  upon  commerce  and  all  monetary 
operations. 
The  experience  of  the  last  year  furnishes  additional  reasons,  I  regret 
to  say,  of  a  painful  character,  for  the  recommendation  heretofore  made  to 
provide  for  increasing  the  military  force  employed  in  the  Territory  inhab- 
ited by  the  Indians.  The  settlers  on  the  frontier  have  suffered  much 
from  the  incursions  of  predatory  bands,  and  large  parties  of  emigrants  to 
our  Pacific  possessions  have  been  massacred  with  impunity.  The  recur- 
rence of  such  scenes  can  only  be  prevented  by  teaching  these  wild  tribes 
the  power  of  and  their  responsibility  to  the  United  States.  From  the 
garrisons  of  our  frontier  posts  it  is  only  possible  to  detach  troops  in  small 
bodies;  and  though  these  have  on  aU  occasions  displayed  a  gallantry 
and  a  stem  devotion  to  duty  which  on  a  larger  field  would  have  com- 
manded universal  admiration,  they  have  usually  suffered  severely  in  these 
conflicts  with  superior  numbers,  and  have  sometimes  been  entirely  sacri- 
ficed. All  the  disposable  force  of  the  Army  is  already  employed  on  this 
service,  and  is  known  to  be  wholly  inadequate  to  the  protection  which 
should  be  afforded.  The  public  mind  of  the  country  has  been  recently 
shocked  by  savage  atrocities  committed  upon  defenseless  emigrants  and 
border  settlements,  and  hardly  less  by  the  uimecessary  destruction  of 
valuable  lives  where  inadequate  detachments  of  troops  have  undertaken 
to  furnish  the  needed  aid.  Without  increase  of  the  military  force  these 
scenes  will  be  repeated,  it  is  to  be  feared,  on  a  larger  scale  and  with  more 
disastrous  consequences.  Congress,  I  am  sure,  will  perceive  that  the  plain- 
est duties  and  responsibilities  of  Government  are  involved  in  this  question, 
and  I  doubt  not  that  prompt  action  may  be  confidently  anticipated  when 
delay  must  be  attended  by  such  fearful  hazards. 
The  bill  of  the  last  session  providing  for  an  increase  of  the  pay  of  the 
rank  and  file  of  the  Army  has  had  beneficial  results,  not  only  in  facili- 
tating enlistments,  but  in  obvious  improvement  in  the  class  of  men  who
2877  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents 
interests;  if  a  portion  of  the  States  assume  to  impose  their  institutions  on 
the  others  or  refuse  to  fulfill  their  obligations  to  them,  we  are  no  longer 
united,  friendly  States,  but  distracted,  hostile  ones,  with  little  capacity  left 
of  common  advantage,  but  abundant  means  of  reciprocal  injury  and  mis- 
chief. Practically  it  is  immaterial  whether  aggressive  interference  between 
the  States  or  deliberate  refusal  on  the  part  of  any  one  of  them  to  comply 
with  constitutional  obligations  arise  from  erroneous  conviction  or  blind 
prejudice,  whether  it  be  perpetrated  by  direction  or  indirection.  In  either 
case  it  is  full  of  threat  and  of  danger  to  the  durability  of  the  Union. 
Placed  in  the  office  of  Chief  Magistrate  as  the  executive  agent  of  the 
whole  country,  bound  to  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed, 
and  specially  enjoined  by  the  Constitution  to  give  information  to  Congress 
on  the  state  of  the  Union,  it  would  be  palpable  neglect  of  duty  on  my 
part  to  pass  over  a  subject  like  this,  which  beyond  all  things  at  the  pres- 
ent time  vitally  concerns  individual  and  public  security. 
It  has  been  matter  of  painful  regret  to  see  States  conspicuous  for  theii 
services  in  founding  this  Republic  and  equally  sharing  its  advantages 
disregard  their  constitutional  obligations  to  it.  Although  conscious  of 
their  inability  to  heal  admitted  and  palpable  social  evils  of  their  own,  and 
which  are  completely  within  their  jurisdiction,  they  engage  in  the  offen- 
sive and  hopeless  undertaking  of  reforming  the  domestic  institutions  of 
other  States,  wholly  beyond*  their  control  and  authority.  In  the  vain 
pursuit  of  ends  by  them  enti^-ely  unattainable,  and  which  they  may  not 
legally  attempt  to  compass,  they  peril  the  very  existence  of  the  Constitu- 
tion and  all  the  countless  benefits  which  it  has  conferred.  While  the 
people  of  the  Southern  States  confine  their  attention  to  their  own  affairs, 
not  presuming  officiously  to  intermeddle  with  the  social  institutions  of  the 
Northern  States,  too  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  latter  are  perma- 
nently organized  in  associations  to  inflict  injury  on  the  former  by  wrong- 
ful acts,  which  would  be  cause  of  war  as  between  foreign  powers  and  only 
fail  to  be  such  in  our  system  because  perpetrated  under  cover  of  the  Union. 
Is  it  possible  to  present  this  subject  as  truth  and  the  occasion  require 
without  noticing  the  reiterated  but  groundless  allegation  that  the  South 
has  persistently  asserted  claims  and  obtained  advantages  in  the  practical 
administration  of  the  General  Government  to  the  prejudice  of  the  North, 
and  in  which  the  latter  has  acquiesced?  That  is,  the  States  which  either 
promote  or  tolerate  attacks  on  the  rights  of  persons  and  of  property  in 
other  States,  to  disguise  their  own  injustice,  pretend  or  imagine,  and 
constantly  aver,  that  they,  whose  constitutional  rights  are  thus  system- 
atically assailed,  are  themselves  the  aggressors.  At  the  present  time 
this  imputed  aggression,  resting,  as  it  does,  only  in  the  vague  declama- 
tory charges  of  political  agitators,  resolves  itself  into  misapprehension, 
or  misinterpretation,  of  the  principles  and  facts  of  the  political  organiza- 
tion of  the  new  Territories  of  the  United  States. 
What  is  the  voice  of  history?     When  the  ordinance  which  provided  for
MISSOURI  BORDER  RUFFIANS  IN  KANSAS 
The  South  interpreted  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Act  as  contemplating  the 
formation  of  one  slave  and  one  free  State;  Nebraska,  the  northernmost, 
they  left  to  the  North,  but  Kansas,  as  contiguous  to  the  slave  State  of  Mis- 
souri, they  must  have.  When  Northerners  moved  into  Kansas  their  wradi 
was  unbounded.  It  was  a  violation  of  the  pact,  they  thought,  and  such  squat- 
ters must  be  chased  away.  The  stream  from  the  North  assumed  alarming 
proportions;  when  the  time  came  to  vote  for  and  against  slavery,  the  free-soil 
men  woidd  predominate.  By  some  means  Southern  rights  must  be  pro- 
tected. On  the  first  election  day  1,739  Southerners  of  the  type  shown  in 
the  picture,  carrying  rifles  on  shoidders,  pistols  in  belts  and  bowie-knives 
in  boots,  with  whiskey  for  sustenance,  took  possession  of  the  polls,  and  die 
pro-slavery  candidate  won.  On  the  second  election  day  5,000  of  tiie  same 
stripe,  led  by  U.  S.  Senator  Atchison,  repeated  the  performance.  When  die 
Governor,  who  knew  two-thirds  of  the  vote  was  non-resident,  threatened  to 
call  a  new  election,  they  gave  him  fifteen  minutes  to  change  his  mind  or  die. 
He  chose  the  former  alternative.  During  the  time  of  tiieir  domination  only 
fifty  slaveholders  were  in  Kansas. 
Each  party  elected  and  inaugurated  a  government  of  its  own.  Their 
conflicting  claims  to  authority  led  to  bloodshed.  The  free-state  settlement 
of  Lawrence  was  entered  by  a  mob  under  the  guise  of  a  sherilTs  posse  and 
sacked.  It  is  impossible  to  say  which  faction  committed  tiie  most  misdeeds, 
as  after  a  while  the  crimes  of  each  were  simply  retaliatory. 
Consult  the  articles  "  Kansas,"  "  Kansas  Aid  Society,"  "  Kansas-Nebraska 
Act,'*  "Lecompton  Constitution**  and  "Wyandotte  Constitution"  in  the 
Encyclopedic  Index  for  iht  history  of  the  subject
PIONEERING  AND  INVENTION. 
As  in  the  beginning  of  the  settlement  of  any  new  country,  the  early  days 
of  life  in  the  far  West  were  the  acme  of  all  that  is  picturesque.  Not  with- 
out reason  was  the  new  country  termed  the  "Wild  and  Woolly  West."  There 
were  no  formal  laws,  and  whatever  existed  of  unwritten  laws  necessary 
for  human  preservation  had  to  be  enforced  at  the  end  of  firearms.  Bands 
of  desperadoes,  unwilling  to  live  by  their  own  efforts  in  the  new  rich  and 
fertile  country,  attempted  to  prey  upon  those  who  were  laying  the  founda- 
tion for  the  future  greatness  of  the  West ;  and  such  bands  could  only  be 
literally  shot  out  of  existence.  The  early  crude  towns,  which  were  the 
embryos  of  the  later  thriving  metropoles  of  the  West,  in  those  days  were 
little  more  than  trading  points  and .  carousing  centres;  and  the  evolution 
of  these  centres  of  lawlessness  into  progressive  and  cultivated  communities 
is  one  of  the  stirring  stories  of  American  development. 
Along  with  pioneering  developments  went  new  scientific  discoveries  and 
inventions.  Professor  Samuel  Morse  (1791-1872)  began  experiments  with 
a  telegraph  in  the  thirties,  and  in  1835  had  a  mile  of  wire  producing  defi- 
nite telegraphic  results.  His  discoveries,  however,  had  to  wait  upon  slow 
and  grudging  help  from  Congress,  which  was  not  forthcoming  until  1843. 
The  first  lengthy  telegraphic  message  was  sent  on  May  1,  1844,  from 
Annapolis  to  Washington,  and  announced  the  nomination  of  Clay  by  the 
Whig  convention  meeting  in  Baltimore.  From  this  humble  beginning  has 
sprung  our  extensive  system  of  telegraph  communication,  in  which 
were  operated  in  1917  more  than  275,000  miles  of  poles  and  cables,  and 
more  than  1.800,000  miles  of  wires,  carrying  more  than  125,000,000  mes- 
sages yearly.
295^  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents 
PROCLAMATION. 
By  the  Prbsidbnt  of  thb  United  States  of  America. 
a  proclamation. 
Whereas  objects  of  interest  to  the  United  States  require  that  the  Senate 
should  be  convened  at  12  o'clock  on  the  4th  of  March  next  to  receive 
and  act  upon  such  communications  as  may  be  made  to  it  on  the  part  of 
the  Executive: 
Now,  therefore,  I,  Franklin  Pierce,  President  of  the  United  States, 
have  considered  it  to  be  my  duty  to  issue  this  my  proclamation,  declaring 
that  an  extraordinary  occasion  requires  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
to  convene  for  the  transaction  of  business  at  the  Capitol,  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  on  the  4th  day  of  March  next,  at  12  o'clock  at  noon  of  that 
day,  of  which  all  who  shall  at  that  time  be  entitled  to  act  as  members 
of  that  body  are  hereby  required  to  take  notice. 
Given  under  my  hand  and  the  seal  of  the  United  States,  at  Washing- 
r  n     ton,  this  i6th  day  of  February,  A.  D.  1857,  ^^^  of  the  Inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States  the  eighty-first. 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 
By  the  President: 
W.  I^.  Marcy, 
Secretary  of  State.
QUESTIONS. 
1.  May  a  person  enlist  in  this  country  for  service  in  foreign  wars, 
or  leave  here  for  such  service?    Page  2865. 
2.  How  did  England  and  France  treat  neutral  shipping  in  1793? 
Page  2844. 
3.  When  was  the  first  treaty  with  Japan  sent  to  the  Senate? 
Pages  2776,  2812.    ^ 
4.  What   nations   collectively  agreed   to  abolish   privateering? 
Page  2945. 
5.  What  population  did  Pierce  predict  the  generation  of  his  day 
might  see  ?    Page  2757. 
6.  When  did  the  British  Government  enlist  men  in  this  country 
for  service  in  foreign  wars  ?    Page  2865. 
7.  Did  the  British  Government  ever  agree  not  to  assume  any 
sovereignty  in  Central  America?    Page  2884. 
2969-A
SUGGESTIONS. 
During  Pierce's  administration  the  Gadsden  Purchase,  q.  v., 
Encyclopedic  Index,  was  made.  This  was  an  important  step  in 
American  expansion.    Pages  2762,  2763. 
Read  about  Illegal  Combinations  in  Kansas,  a  preliminary  step 
in  slavery  troubles.  Page  2923.  And  in  this  connection  see 
Kansas-Nebraska  Act,  Encyclopedic  Index. 
The  first  Japanese  Treaty,  referred  to  on  pages  2776  and  2812, 
is  regarded  by  publicists  as  marking  an  important  epoch  in  world 
civilization.     (See  Japan,  Treaty  with,  Encyclopedic  Index.) 
Read  Pierce's  Foreign  Policy.  Pages  2731,  2745,  2807,  2864, 
2904. 
NOTE. 
For  further  suggestions  on  Pierce's  administration,  see  Pierce, 
Franklin,  Encyclopedic  Index. 
By  reading  the  Foreign  Policy  of  each  President,  and  by  scan- 
ning the  messages  as  to  the  state  of  the  nation,  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  history  of  the  United  States  will  be  acquired  from  the 
most  authentic  sources;  because,  as  has  been  snid,  "Each  Presi- 
dent reviews  the  past,  depicts  the  present  and  forecasts  the  future 
of  the  nation." 
2069-B
James  Buchanan 
March  4,  1887,  to  March  4,  1861 
SEE  ENCYCLOPEDIC  INDEX. 
The  Encyclopedic  Index  is  not  only  an  index  to  the  other  volumes,  not  onlv  a  key  that 
unlodLS  the  treasures  of  the  entire  publication,  but  it  is  in  itself  an  alphabetically  arranged 
brief  history  or  story  of  the  great  controlling  events  constituting  the  History  of  the  United 
States. 
Under  its  proi>er  alphabetical  classification  the  story  is  told  of  every  great  subject 
referred  to  by  any  of  the  Presidents  in  their  official  Messages,  and  at  the  end  of  each  article 
the  official  utterances  of  the  Presidents  themselves  are  cited  upon  the  subject,  so  that  you 
may  readily  turn  to  the  page  in  the  body  of  the  work  itself  for  this  original  information. 
Nejct  to  the  possession  of  knowledge  is  the  ability  to  turn  at  will  to  where  knowledge 
b  to  be  foimd.
HOME  AT  WHEATLAND.   PEN'NSVLVAXIA.   OF  JAMES   BUCHAKAN 
With  rciiroductinii  o(  ofRcial  portrait,  by  Andrews,  from  the  White  House 
Collection
BUCHANAN 
Mr.  Buchanan  came  to  the  Presidency  through  gfradual  promotion; 
first  the  Pennsylvania  legislature,  then  Congress,  next  minister  to  Russia, 
then  the  United  States  Senate  for  three  terms,  next  Secretary  of  State, 
then  minister  to  England  from  which  he  returned  to  assume  the  reins 
of  government.  His  personal  appearance  was  striking.  He  was  a  little 
over  six  feet  in  height,  broad  shouldered  and  admirably  proportioned; 
dignified  without  austerity,  gracious  to  all  and  especially  courteous  to 
women.  His  complexion  was  fair,  his  forehead  massive;  he  wore  no 
beard,  while  his  abundant  silky  white  hair,  .scrupulous  neatness  in  dress, 
with  the  old-fashioned  standing  collar  and  large  white  cravat,  stamped 
him  as  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school.  His  eyes  were  blue,  one  near- 
and  one  far-sighted,  because  of  which  defect  he  habitually  inclined  his 
head  to  one  side  to  favor  the  better  eye.  He  was  essentially  a  courtly 
and  handsome  man,  and  reached  more  nearly  my  ideal  of  how  a  Presi- 
dent should  look  than  any  President  I  have  seen.  His  moral  character 
and  personal  virtue  were  above  reproach  and,  so  far  as  I  know,  were 
never  assailed.  He  was  of  an  eminently  religious  turn  and  was  always 
a  regular  attendant  at  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Washington,  although 
it  was  not  until  late  in  life  that  he  formally  connected  himself  with  any 
church.  It  is  related  by  Reverend  William  M.  Paxton,  D.  D.,  pastor  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  York  city,  how  this  came  about. 
While  both  were  at  Bedford  Springs,  Pa.,  in  i860,  Mr.  Buchanan  sent 
for  Dr.  Paxton  and  conversed  with  him  freely  on  the  subject  of  religion, 
and  then  and  there  declared  his  intention  to  make  a  public  profession 
upon  his  retirement  from  the  Presidential  chair.  When  urged  to  take 
the  step  at  once,  his  reply  was,  with  deep  feeling:  "I  must  delay  for 
the  honor  of  religion.  If  I  were  to  join  the  church  now,  they  would 
say  hypocrite  from  Maine  to  Georgia."  He  carried  out  his  purpose 
immediately  upon  his  retirement  and  return  to  his  home  in  Lancaster,  Pa. 
Of  his  scrupulous  integrity  and  exactness  in  public  affairs,  I  recall 
this  incident.  During  his  Administration  the  revenue  cutter  "Harriet 
Lane,"  named  in  honor  of  his  niece,  an  uncrowned  queen,  was  sent  to 
Washington.  Howell  Cobb,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  seized  the 
opportunity  to  invite  all  the  public  officials  and  many  prominent  citizens 
in  Washington  to  an  excursion  on  this  recent  and  handsomest  addition 
to  the  revenue  marine.  The  trip  down  the  Potomac  proved  a  brilliant 
success.  After  it  was  over,  Mr.  Buchanan,  who  did  not  go,  desired  to 
know  who  was  to  foot  the  bill.  The  Secretary  was  somewhat  embar- 
rassed when  informed  that  it  must  not  be  paid  from  the  Treasury,  but 
that  he,  the  President,  would,  if  necessary,  draw  his  own  check  for  the 
2959-C
amount.  Mr.  Cobb  managed  the  matter  without  taking  it  from  the 
public  funds.  It  would  be  interesting  if  Congress  would  now  institute 
an  inquiry  how  frequently  this  precedent  has  since  been  ignored,  and 
how  many  millions  have  been  squandered  in  official  junketing. 
Space  is  not  given  me  to  speak  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  attitude  after  the 
acts  of  secession  were  committed.  It  is  necessary  only  to  say  that  a 
purer  or  more  loyal  patriot  did  not  exist,  but  he  had  an  antagonistic  and 
partly  disloyal  Congress  which  absolutely  refused  to  heed  his  messages 
of  December,  i860,  and  January,  1861,  and  provide  him  the  men  and 
means  to  stamp  out  the  rising  and  most  formidable  insurrection.  It 
alone  had  the  constitutional  right  to  do  so.  The  President  was  at  all 
times  ready  to  execute  the  laws,  but  Congress  neglected  to  exercise  its 
constitutional  prerogative.  The  little  regular  army  was  scattered  along 
our  exposed  frontier.  It  was  with  much  difficulty  that  the  President 
could  get  a  regular  battery  to  Washington  in  time  for  the  inauguration. 
The  Capital  was  filled  with  secessionists,  organized  and  ready  to  over- 
throw the  Government  The  district  militia  hastily  formed  was  a  mob. 
The  North  was  greatly  divided  and  New  York  city  peculiarly  so,  with 
scarcely  a  prominent  newspaper  that  was  not  opposed  to  a  civil  conflict. 
Mr.  Buchanan,  therefore,  as  did  Mr.  Lincoln  for  six  weeks  after  his 
inauguration,  bent  all  his  energies  to  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culties. He,  as  very  few  did,  appreciated  the  extent  and  horror  of  an 
internecine  struggle,  and  the  last  words  he  said  to  my  father  as  he  bade 
him  farewell  at  the  depot,  was  the  expression  of  his  great  relief  that 
his  Administration  had  closed  without  bloodshed.  The  gun  at  Sumter 
which  consolidated  the  North  and  West  made  it  easy  for  Mr.  Lincoln 
to  meet  force  with  force.  Says  James  Buchanan  Henry,  his  faithful 
ward  and  private  secretary:  "Mr.  Buchanan,  to  the  day  of  his  death, 
expressed  to  me  his  abiding  conviction  that  the  American  people  would, 
in  due  time,  come  to  regard  his  course  as  the  only  one  which  at  that 
time  promised  any  hope  of  saving  the  Nation  from  a  bloody  and 
devastating  war,  and  would  recognize  the  integrity  and  wisdom  of  his 
course  in  administering  the  Government  for  the  good  of  the  whole  peo- 
ple, whether  North  or  South.  His  conviction  on  this  point  was  so 
genuine  that  he  looked  forward  serenely  to  the  future,  and  never  seemed 
to  entertain  a  misgiving  or  a  doubt."    And  they  will. 
\ 
3959-D
Harriet  T.ane  was  left  an  ori)han  at  nine  years 
of  age,  and  was  brought  up  by  her  uncle,  James 
P>uchanan,  who  took  great  i>ains  with  her  educa- 
tion. When  he  became  Minister  to  England  in 
1852,  she  accompanied  him  and  was  a  marked 
favorite  in  court  and  diplomatic  circles.  She  was 
a  handsome  blonde  of  twenty,  dignified,  grace- 
ful, clever,  and  an  engaging  talker.  On  her 
uncle's  return  to  America  and  his  subsequent 
election,  she  became  mistress  of  the  White  House 
and  was  renowned  for  her  charm,  good  taste  and 
diplomacy.  She  entertained  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
later  King  Edward  VII,  while  in  America  in 
i860,  and  in  recognition  of  this  was  an  especially 
invited  guest  at  his  Coronation  Ceremony.  After 
her  uncle  passed  away,  her  great  sorrows  were 
the  deaths  of  her  husband,  Henry  Elliot  John- 
ston, and  her  two  young  sons.  Shortly  after  her 
return  to  America  she  developed  symptoms  of  a 
serious  illness,  to  which  she  succumbed  in  July, 
1903.
THE  mAUGURATION  OF  JAMES  BUCHANAN 
The  drawing  shows  Buchanan  reading  his  inaugural  message,  while  at 
the  left  stands  General  ^^Hnfield  Scott,  and  at  his  right  stands  Roger  Taney, 
Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  and  Franklin  Pierce,  the  retiring  President. 
For  a  sketch  of  Buchanan's  Administration,  see  the  article  entitled  "Bu- 
chanan, James,"  in  the  Encyclopedic  Index.  A  similar  analysis  of  each 
Administration  appears  in  the  alphabetical  place  of  the  name  of  the  President.
COTTON. 
The  first  attempt  to  cultivate  cotton  in  the  United  States  took  place  in 
Virginia  in  1621.  Cotton  was  introduced  into  South  Carolina  in  1733,  into 
Georgia  in  1741,  into  Louisiana  in  17-11.  It  was  not  until  1770,  however, 
that  cotton  was  grown  as  a  staple  crop.  The  greatest  cotton-growing  sec 
tion  in  the  world,  both  in  extent  and  in  production,  is  the  southern  and 
southeastern  section  of  the  United  States.  Next  to  corn,  cotton  is  the  most 
valuable  crop  raised  in  the  United  States,  and  represents  the  largest  single 
item  of  export.  The  United  States  contributes  more  than  60  per  cent  of  the 
cotton  production  of  the  world.     (See  article  Cotton  in  Encyclopedic  Index.)
JOHN  BROWN'S  RAID  ON  HARPER'S  FERRY 
The  full  account  of  this  occurrence  is  given  in  the  article  entitled 
"Brown's  Insurrection,"  in  the  Encyclopedic  Index. 
The  eyes,  not  only  of  the  United  States,  but  also  of  the  entire  civilized 
world,  were  upon  the  court-room  where  the  trial  of  John  Brown  took 
place.  The  upper  panel  on  the  precedingf>  page  reproduces  a  careful  draw- 
ing made  by  an  eye-witness  of  the  scene.  All  the  world  knows  the  fate 
which  was  meted  out  to  Brown;  and  it  is  his  appearance  as  he  went  to 
meet  that  fate  which  is  reproduced  in  the  lower  panel. 
President  Buchanan  discusses  the  event  on  page  3084.
*/u         *  ^.  ///f  /• 
•'  ■  ■'  / 
I     f/i/  ^  *  //  // .  /.  .  /*      '    fir/,  //,'/. '    .  ,iJ   '    '/i*  t      //'/•..  J/i^  f'  'J 
i/^A/zV,./'   /^    r-./Z-.f    //'    ,///.  z/^/^/ //.-./  . 
«M 
PKFSTDKNT    BUCHANAN'S   NOTE    TO    SENATE    RELATING   TO 
UTAH    MASSACRES.
Jw.jf(eA  y^iiX-u/fi    ^/:',-.\r 
'M 
^^A  V. 'i-r^  ■■•<•    'f    ••'     ''•/»'•  7    ^'  .6»'»      /  ■■•:   •^  -.•»•'.■    .    ..».v    »-*/. -/<1» 
I  A-.  .V^  »m.'.Utfy 
""^IT^.    '•■«> 
         -        ..    <l^ — ^^^._^  -^>-  '^----<».'-     .<i<^';/#.*7::5/cT-. 
^ih0*^  ^^/^/flC;;    '^Irf^**:;^-.^. 
SOUTH   CAR(JLI\A\S   ORDINANCE   OF   SECESStON
3157  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents 
June  instant,  at  12  o'clock  at  noon  of  that  day,  of  which  all  who  shall 
then  be  entitled  to  act  as  members  of  that  body  are  hereby  required  to 
take  notice. 
Given  under  my  hand  and  the  seal  of  the  United  States,  at  Washing- 
TsEAL  1     *°^*  ^^  ^5^  ^^  ^^  June,  A.  D.  i860,  and  of  the  Independ- 
ence of  the  United  States  the  eighty-fourth. 
JAMES  BUCHANAN. 
By  the  President: 
Lbwis  Cass, 
Secretary  of  State, 
FOURTH  ANNUAL  MESSAGE. 
Washington  City,  December  j,  i860. 
Fellow- Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives: 
Throughout  the  year  since  our  last  meeting  the  country  has  been 
eminently  prosperous  in  all  its  material  interests.  The  general  health 
has  been  excellent,  our  harvests  have  been  abundant,  and  plenty  smiles 
throughout  the  land.  Our  commerce  and  manufactures  have  been  pros- 
ecuted with  energy  and  industry,  and  have  3delded  fair  and  ample 
returns.  In  short,  no  nation  in  the  tide  of  time  has  ever  presented  a 
spectacle  of  greater  material  prosperity  than  we  have  done  until  within 
a  very  recent  period. 
Why  is  it,  then,  that  discontent  now  so  extensively  prevails,  and  the 
Union  of  the  States,  which  is  the  source  of  all  these  blessings,  is  threat- 
ened with  destruction? 
The  long-continued  and  intemperate  interference  of  the  Northern  peo- 
ple with  the  question  of  slavery  in  the  Southern  States  has  at  length 
produced  its  natural  eflFects.  The  diflFerent  sections  of  the  Union  are 
now  arrayed  against  each  other,  and  the  time  has  arrived,  so  much 
dreaded  by  the  Father  of  his  Country,  when  hostile  geographical  parties 
have  been  formed. 
I  have  long  foreseen  and  often  forewarned  my  countrymen  of  the  now 
impending  danger.  This  does  not  proceed  solely  from  the  claim  on  the 
part  of  Congress  or  the  Territorial  legislatures  to  exclude  slavery  from 
the  Territories,  nor  from  the  efforts  of  different  States  to  defeat  the  exe- 
crnion  of  the  fugitive-slave  law.  All  or  any  of  these  evils  might  have 
been  endured  by  the  South  without  danger  to  the  Union  (as  others  have 
been)  in  the  hope  that  time  and  reflection  might  apply  the  remedy. 
The  immediate  peril  arises  not  so  much  from  these  causes  as  from  the 
fact  that  the  incessant  and  violent  agitation  of  the  slavery  question 
throughout  the  North  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  has  at  length 
produced  its  malign  influence  on  the  slaves  and  inspired  them  with
James  Buchanan  3162 
parties.  If  this  be  so,  the  Confederacy  is  a  rope  of  sand,  to  be  penetrated 
and  dissolved  by  the  first  adverse  wave  of  public  opinion  in  any  of  tlie 
States.  In  this  manner  our  thirty-three  States  may  resolve  themselves 
into  as  many  petty,  jarring,  and  hostile  republics,  each  one  retiring  from 
the  Union  without  responsibility  whenever  any  sudden  excitement  might 
impel  them  to  such  a  course.  By  this  process  a  Union  might  be  entirely 
broken  into  fragments  in  a  few  weeks  which  cost  our  forefathers  many 
years  of  toil,  privation,  and  blood  to  establish. 
Such  a  principle  is  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  history  as  well  as 
the  character  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  After  it  was  framed  with  the 
greatest  deliberation  and  care  it  was  submitted  to  conventions  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  several  States  for  ratification.  Its  provisions  were  discussed 
at  length  in  these  bodies,  composed  of  the  first  men  of  the  country.  Its 
opponents  contended  that  it  conferred  powers  upon  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment dangerous  to  the  rights  of  the  States,  whilst  its  advocates  main- 
tained that  under  a  fair  construction  of  the  instrument  there  was  no 
foundation  for  such  apprehensions.  In  that  mighty  struggle  between 
the  first  intellects  of  this  or  any  other  country  it  never  occurred  to  any 
individual,  either  among  its  opponents  or  advocates,  to  assert  or  even 
to  intimate  that  their  efforts  were  all  vain  labor,  because  the  moment 
that  any  State  felt  herself  aggrieved  she  might  secede  from  the  Union. 
What  a  crushing  arg^tunent  would  this  have  proved  against  those  who 
dreaded  that  the  rights  of  the  States  would  be  endangered  by  the  Con- 
stitution! The  truth  is  that  it  was  not  until  many  years  after  the  origin 
of  the  Federal  Government  that  such  a  proposition  was  first  advanced. 
It  was  then  met  and  refuted  by  the  conclusive  arguments  of  General 
Jackson,  who  in  his  message  of  the  i6th  of  January,  1833,  transmitting 
the  nullifying  ordinance  of  South  CaroUna  to  Congress,  employs  the  fol- 
lowing language: 
The  right  of  the  people  of  a  single  State  to  absolve  themselves  at  will  and  without 
the  consent  of  the  other  States  from  their  most  solemn  obligations,  and  hazard  the  lib- 
erties and  happiness  of  the  millions  composing  this  Union,  can  not  be  ackn6wledged. 
Such  authority  is  believed  to  be  utterly  repugnant  both  to  the  principles  upon  which 
the  General  Government  is  constituted  and  to  the  objects  which  it  is  expressly  formed 
to  attain. 
It  is  not  pretended  that  any  clause  in  the  Constitution  gives  counte- 
nance to  such  a  theory.  It  is  altogether  founded  upon  inference;  not 
from  any  language  contained  in  the  instrument  itself,  but  from  the  sov- 
ereign character  of  the  several  States  by  which  it  was  ratified.  But  is  it 
beyond  the  power  of  a  State,  like  an  individual,  to  yield  a  portion  of 
its  sovereign  rights  to  secure  the  remainder?  In  the  language  of  Mr. 
Madison,  who  has  been  called  the  father  of  the  Constitution — 
It  was  formed  by  the  States;  that  is,  by  the  people  in  each  of  the  States  acting  in 
their  highest  sovereign  capacity,  and  formed,  consequently,  by  the  same  authority 
which  formed  the  State  constitutions.  ♦  ♦  *  Nor  is  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  created  by  the  Constitution,  less  a  government,  in  the  strict  sense
3163  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents 
of  the  term,  within  the  sphere  of  its  powers  than  the  governments  created  by  the 
constitutions  of  the  States  are  within  their  several  spheres.    It  is,  like  them,  oigan- 
ized  into  legislative,  executive,  and  judiciary  departments.     It  operates,  like  them 
directly  on  persons  and  things,  and,  like  them,  it  has  at  command  a  physical  focce 
for  executing  the  powers  committed  to  it. 
It  was  intended  to  be  perpetual,  and  not  to  be  annulled  at  the  pleasure 
of  any  one  of  the  contracting  parties.  The  old  Articles  of  Confederation 
were  entitled  **  Articles  of  Confederation  and  Perpetual  Union  between 
the  States,'*  and  by  the  thirteenth  article  it  is  expressly  declared  that 
**the  articles  of  this  Confederation  shall  be  inviolably  observed  by  every 
State,  and  the  Union  shall  be  perpetual.'*  The  preamble  to  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  having  express  reference  to  the  Articles  of 
Confederation,  recites  that  it  was  established  **in  order  to  form  a  more 
perfect  union.  *  *  And  yet  it  is  contended  that  this  *  *  more  perfect  union  " 
does  not  include  the  essential  attribute  of  perpetuity. 
But  that  the  Union  was  designed  to  be  perpetual  appears  conclusively 
from  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  powers  conferred  by  the  Constitution 
on  the  Federal  Government.  These  powers  embrace  the  very  highest 
attributes  of  national  sovereignty.  They  place  both  the  sword  and  the 
purse  under  its  control.  Congress  has  power  to  make  war  and  to  make 
peace,  to  raise  and  support  armies  and  navies,  and  to  conclude  treaties 
with  foreign  governments.  It  is  invested  with  the  power  to  coin  money 
and  to  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  to  regulate  commerce  with  foreign 
nations  and  among  the  several  States.  It  is  not  necessary  to  enumerate 
the  other  high  powers  which  have  been  conferred  upon  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment. In  order  to  carry  the  enumerated  powers  into  effect.  Congress 
possesses  the  exclusive  right  to  lay  and  collect  duties  on  imports,  and,  in 
common  with  the  States,  to  lay  and  collect  all  other  taxes. 
But  the  Constitution  has  not  only  conferred  these  high  powers  upon 
Congress,  but  it  has  adopted  effectual  means  to  restrain  the  States  from 
interfering  w^th  their  exercise.  For  that  piupose  it  has  in  strong  pro- 
hibitory language  expressly  declared  that — 
No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confederation;  grant  letters  of 
marque  and  reprisal;  coin  money;  emit  bills  of  credit;  make  anything  but  gold  and 
silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts;  pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto 
law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts. 
Moreover — 
No  State  shall  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress  lay  any  imposts  or  duties  on 
imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  in- 
spection laws. 
And  if  they  exceed  this  amount  the  excess  shall  belong  to  the  United 
States.     And — 
No  State  shall  without  the  consent  of  Congress  lay  any  duty  of  tonnage,  keep 
troops  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter  into  any  agreement  or  compact  with 
another  State  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless  actually  invaded  or 
in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay.
James  Buchanan  3178 
parties  to  vote  at  the  election  of  deles:ates  to  frame  a  State  constitution, 
and  afterwards  at  the  election  to  decide  whether  Kansas  should  be  a 
slave  or  free  State. 
The  insurgent  party  refused  to  vote  at  either,  lest  this  might  be 
con^dered  a  recognition  on  their  part  of  the  Territorial  government 
established  by  Congress.  A  better  spirit,  however,  seemed  soon  after  to 
prevail,  and  the  two  parties  met  face  to  face  at  the  third  election,  held 
on  the  first  Monday  of  January,  1858,  for  members  of  the  legislature  and 
State  officers  under  the  Lecompton  constitution.  The  result  was  the 
triumph  of  the  antislavery  party  at  the  polls.  This  decision  of  the  bal- 
lot box  proved  clearly  that  this  party  were  in  the  majority,  and  removed 
the  danger  of  civil  war.  From  that  time  we  have  heard  little  or  noth- 
ing of  the  Topeka  government,  and  all  serious  danger  of  revolutionary 
troubles  in  Kansas  was  then  at  an  end. 
The  Lecompton  constitution,  which  had  been  thus  recognized  at  this 
State  election  by  the  votes  of  both  political  parties  in  Kansas,  was  trans- 
mitted to  me  with  the  request  that  I  should  present  it  to  Congress.  This 
I  could  not  have  refused  to  do  without  violating  my  clearest  and  strong- 
est convictions  of  duty.  The  constitution  and  all  the  proceedings  which 
preceded  and  followed  its  formation  were  fair  and  regular  on  their  face. 
I  then  believed,  and  experience  has  proved,  that  the  interests  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Kansas  would  have  been  best  consulted  by  its  admission  as  a  State 
into  the  Union,  especially  as  the  majority  within  a  brief  period  could 
have  amended  the  constitution  according  to  their  will  and  pleasure.  If 
fraud  existed  in  all  or  any  of  these  proceedings,  it  was  not  for  the  Presi- 
dent but  for  Congress  to  investigate  and  determine  the  question  of  fraud 
and  what  ought  to  be  its  consequences.  If  at  the  first  two  elections  the 
majority  refused  to  vote,  it  can  not  be  pretended  that  this  refusal  to 
exercise  the  elective  franchise  could  invalidate  an  election  fairly  held 
tmder  lawful  authority,  even  if  they  had  not  subsequently  voted  at  the 
third  election.  It  is  true  that  the  whole  constitution  had  not  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  people,  as  I  always  desired;  but  the  precedents  are  numer- 
ous of  the  admission  of  States  into  the  Union  without  such  submission. 
It  would  not  comport  with  my  present  purpose  to  review  the  proceedings 
of  Congress  upon  the  Lecompton  constitution.  It  is  sufficient  to  observe 
that  their  final  action  has  removed  the  last  vestige  of  serious  revolu- 
tionary troubles.  The  desperate  band  recently  assembled  under  a  noto- 
rious outlaw  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  Territory  to  resist  the  execution 
of  the  laws  and  to  plunder  peaceful  citizens  will,  I  doubt  not,  be  speedily 
subdued  and  brought  to  justice. 
Had  I  treated  the  Lecompton  constitution  as  a  nullity  and  refused  to 
transmit  it  to  Congress,  it  is  not  difficult  to  imagine,  whilst  recalling  the 
position  of  the  country  at  that  moment,  what  would  have  been  the  dis- 
astrous consequences,  both  in  and  out  of  the  Territory,  from  such  a  dere- 
liction of  duty  on  the  part  of  the  Executive.
THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  CONFEDERACY 
The  reasons  put  forward  by  Southerners  for  their  secession  are  considered 
by  Lincoln  in  his  first  inaugural  address  and  the  following  messai^es. 
Jefferson  Davis  was  a  representative  of  the  Southern  aristocracy  as  Lincoln 
was  of  the  Northern  working  classes.  Many  writers  quote  Milton's  description 
of  the  fallen  angel,  Lucifer,  in  describing  Jefferson  Davis's  mental  powers. 
His  face  in  the  photograph  seems  eloquent  of  pride,  decision  and  commanding 
intellect  Robert  £.  Lee's  character  has  been  the  subject  of  so  much  eulogy 
that  no  comment  is  necessary. 
The  Encyclopedic  Index  articles, "  Civil  War  "  and  '*  Confederate  States,*' 
give  a  brief  narrative  of  events. 
Lincoln's  messages  form  the  greatest  Exposition  of  the  Northern  Cause 
ever  written;  for  profundity  of  thought,  for  accuracy  of  analysis,  and  for  clear- 
ness and  beauty  of  language  they  have  remained,  and  will  always  remain, 
unrivalled.
James  Buchanan  3184 
Congress,  and  to  recommend  that  measures  be  promptly  adopted  to  enable 
it  to  discharge  its  pressing  obligations.  The  other  recommendations  of 
the  report  are  well  worthy  of  your  favorable  consideration. 
I  herewith  transmit  to  Congress  the  reports  of  the  Secretaries  of  War, 
of  the  Navy,  of  the  Interior,  and  of  the  Postmaster-General.  The  recom- 
mendations and  suggestions  which  they  contain  are  highly  valuable  and 
deserve  your  careful  attention. 
The  report  of  the  Postmaster- General  details  the  circumstances  under 
which  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  on  my  request,  agreed  in  the  month  of  July 
last  to  carry  the  ocean  mails  between  our  Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts. 
Had  he  not  thus  acted  this  important  intercommunication  must  have 
been  suspended,  at  least  for  a  season.  The  Postmaster-General  had  no 
power  to  make  him  any  other  compensation  than  the  postages  on  the 
mail  matter  which  he  might  carry.  It  was  known  at  the  time  that  these 
postages  would  fall  far  short  of  an  adequate  compensation,  as  well  as  of 
the  sum  which  the  same  service  had  previously  cost  the  Government. 
Mr.  Vanderbilt,  in  a  commendable  spirit,  was  willing  to  rely  upon  the 
justice  of  Congress  to  make  up  the  deficiency,  and  I  therefore  recom- 
mend that  an  appropriation  may  be  granted  for  this  purpose. 
I  should  do  great  injustice  to  the  Attorney- General  were  I  to  omit  the 
mention  of  his  distinguished  services  in  the  measures  adopted  and  prose- 
cuted by  him  for  the  defense  of  the  Government  against  numerous  and 
unfounded  claims  to  land  in  California  purporting  to  have  been  made  by 
the  Mexican  Government  previous  to  the  treaty  of  cession.  The  suc- 
cessful opposition  to  these  claims  has  saved  the  United  States  public 
property  worth  many  millions  of  dollars  and  to  individuals  holding  title 
under  them  to  at  least  an  equal  amount. 
It  has  been  represented  to  me  from  sources  which  I  deem  reliable 
that  the  inhabitants  in  several  portions  of  Kansas  have  been  reduced 
nearly  to  a  state  of  starvation  on  account  of  the  almost  total  failure  of 
their  crops,  whilst  the  har\'ests  in  every  other  portion  of  the  country 
have  been  abundant.  The  prospect  before  them  for  the  approaching 
winter  is  well  calculated  to  enlist  the  sjonpathies  of  every  heart.  The 
destitution  appears  to  be  so  general  that  it  can  not  be  relieved  by  pri- 
vate contributions,  and  they  are  in  such  indigent  circumstances  as  to  be 
unable  to  purchase  the  necessaries  of  life  for  themselves.  I  refer  the 
subject  to  Congress.  If  any  constitutional  measure  for  their  relief  can 
be  devised,  I  would  recommend  its  adoption. 
I  cordially  commend  to  your  favorable  regard  the  interests  of  the 
people  of  this  District.  They  are  eminently  entitled  to  your  considera- 
tion, especially  since,  unlike  the  people  of  the  States,  they  can  appeal  to 
no  government  except  that  of  the  Union. 
JAiMES  BUCHANAN.
3185  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents 
SPECIAL  MESSAGES. 
Washington,  December  5,  j86o. 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
I  transmit,  for  the  consideration  of  the  Senate  with  a  view  to  ratifica- 
tion, a  convention  for  the  adjustment  of  claims  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States  against  the  Government  of  the  RepubHc  of  Costa  Rica,  signed 
by  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  contracting  parties  at  San  Jose  on  the  2d 
day  of  July  last. 
JAMES  BUCHANAN. 
Washington,  December  5,  i860. 
To  the  House  of  Representatives: 
In  answer  to  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  9th 
of  April  last,  requesting  information  concerning  the  African  slave  trade, 
I  transmit  a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State  and  the  documents  by 
which  it  was  accompanied. 
JAMES  BUCHANAN. 
Washington,  fanuary  2,  1861. 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
I  transmit  to  the  Senate,  for  its  consideration  with  a  view  to  ratifica- 
tion, a  treaty  of  amity,  commerce,  and  navigation,  and  for  the  surrender 
of  fugitive  criminals,  between  the  United  States  and  the  Republic  of  Vene- 
zuela, signed  at  Caracas  on  the  27th  of  August  last. 
A  similar  treaty  was  concluded  on  the  loth  July,  1856,  was  submitted  to 
the  Senate,  and  was  by  a  resolution  of  that  body  approved,  with  an  amend- 
ment, on  the  loth  March,  1857.  Before  this  amendment  could  be  laid 
before  the  Government  of  Venezuela  for  acceptance  a  new  minister  of 
the  United  States  was  accredited  to  that  Government.  Meantime  the 
attention  of  this  Government  had  been  drawn  to  the  disadvantage  which 
would  result  to  our  citizens  residing  in  Venezuela  if  the  second  article 
of  the  treaty  of  1856  were  permitted  to  go  into  effect,  the  **  pecuniary 
equivalent ' '  for  exemption  from  military  duty  being  an  arbitrary  and 
generally  an  excessive  sum.  In  view  of  this  fact  it  was  deemed  prefer- 
able to  instruct  our  new  minister  to  negotiate  a  new  treaty  which  should 
omit  the  objectionable  second  article  and  also  the  few  words  of  the  twenty- 
eighth  article  which  had  been  stricken  out  by  the  Senate. 
With  these  changes,  and  with  the  addition  of  the  last  clause  to  the 
twenty-seventh  article,  the  treaty  is  the  same  as  that  already  approved 
by  the  Senate. 
JAMES  BUCHANAN.
James  Buchanan  3186 
Washington  Crt^,  January  8,  1861. 
To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives: 
At  the  opening  of  your  present  session  I  called  your  attention  to  the 
dangers  which  threatened  the  existence  of  the  Union.  I  expressed  my 
opinion  freely  concerning  the  original  causes  of  those  dangers,  and  rec- 
ommended such  measures  as  I  believed  would  have  the  effect  of  tran- 
quilizing  the  country  and  saving  it  from  the  peril  in  which  it  had  been 
needlessly  and  most  unfortunately  involved.  Those  opinions  and  rec- 
ommendations I  do  not  propose  now  to  repeat.  My  own  convictions 
upon  the  whole  subject  remain  unchanged. 
The  fact  that  a  great  calamity  was  impending  over  the  nation  was  even 
at  that  time  acknowledged  by  every  intelligent  citizen.  It  had  already 
made  itself  felt  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  The  nec- 
essary consequences  of  the  alarm  thus  produced  were  most  deplorable. 
The  imports  fell  off  with  a  rapidity  never  known  before,  except  in  time 
of  war,  in  the  history  of  our  foreign  commerce;  the  Treasury  was  unex- 
pectedly left  without  the  means  which  it  had  reasonably  counted  upon  to 
meet  the  public  engagements;  trade  was  paralyzed;  manufactures  were 
stopped;  the  best  pubUc  securities  suddenly  sunk  in  the  market;  every 
species  of  property  depreciated  more  or  less,  and  thousands  of  poor  men 
who  depended  upon  their  daily  labor  for  their  daily  bread  were  turned 
out  of  employment. 
I  deeply  regret  that  I  am  not  able  to  give  you  any  information  upon 
the  state  of  the  Union  which  is  more  satisfactory  than  what  I  was  then 
obliged  to  communicate.  On  the  contrary,  matters  are  still  worse  at 
present  than  they  then  were.  When  Congress  met,  a  stronge  hope  per- 
vaded the  whole  public  mind  that  some  amicable  adjustment  of  the  sub- 
ject would  speedily  be  made  by  the  representatives  of  the  States  and  of 
the  people  which  might  restore  peace  between  the  conflicting  sections 
of  the  country.  That  hope  has  been  diminished  by  every  hour  of  delay, 
and  as  the  prospect  of  a  bloodless  settlement  fades  away  the  public  dis- 
tress becomes  more  and  more  aggravated.  As  evidence  of  this  it  is  only 
necessary  to  say  that  the  Treasury  notes  authorized  by  the  act  of  17th  of 
December  last  were  advertised  according  to  the  law  and  that  no  respon- 
sible bidder  offered  to  take  any  considerable  sum  at  par  at  a  lower  rate  of 
interest  than  12  per  cent.  From  these  facts  it  appears  that  in  a  govern- 
ment organized  like  ours  domestic  strife,  or  even  a  well-grounded  fear  of 
dvil  hostilities,  is  more  destructive  to  our  public  and  private  interests 
than  the  most  formidable  foreign  war. 
In  my  annual  message  I  expressed  the  conviction,  which  I  have  long 
deliberately  held,  and  which  recent  reflection  has  only  tended  to  deepen 
and  confirm,  that  no  State  has  a  right  by  its  own  act  to  secede  from  the 
Union  or  throw  off  its  federal  obligations  at  pleasure.  I  also  declared 
my  opinion  to  be  that  even  if  that  right  existed  and  should  be  exercised  by 
any  Stateof  the  Confederacy  theexecutive  department  of  this  Government
3189  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents 
of  mine  should  increase  the  excitement  in  either  section  of  the  country. 
If  the  political  conflict  were  to  end  in  a  civil  war,  it  was  my  determined 
purpose  not  to  commence  it  nor  even  to  furnish  an  excuse  for  it  by  any 
act  of  this  Government.  My  opinion  remains  unchanged  that  justice  as 
well  as  sound  policy  requires  us  still  to  seek  a  peaceful  solution  of  the 
questions  at  issue  between  the  North  and  the  South.  Entertaining  this 
conviction,  I  refrained  even  from  sending  reenforcements  to  Major  Ander- 
son, who  commanded  the  forts  in  Charleston  Harbor,  until  an  absolute 
necessity  for  doing  so  should  make  itself  apparent,  lest  it  might  unjustly 
be  regarded  as  a  menace  of  military  coercion,  and  thus  furnish,  if  not  a 
provocation,  at  least  a  pretext  for  an  outbreak  on  the  part  of  South  Caro- 
lina. No  necessity  for  these  reenforcements  seemed  to  exist.  I  was 
assured  by  distinguished  and  upright  gentlemen  of  South  Carolina  that 
no  attack  upon  Major  Anderson  was  intended,  but  that,  on  the  contrary, 
it  was  the  desire  of  the  State  authorities  as  much  as  it  was  my  own  to 
avoid  the  fatal  consequences  which  must  eventually  follow  a  military 
collision. 
And  here  I  deem  it  proper  to  submit  for  your  information  copies  of  a 
communication,  dated  December  28,  i860,  addressed  to  me  by  R.  W. 
Barnwell,  J.  H.  Adams,  and  James  L.  Orr,  *' commissioners  * '  from  South 
Carolina,  with  the  accompanying  documents,  and  copies  of  my  answer 
thereto,  dated  December  31. 
In  further  explanation  of  Major  Anderson's  removal  from  Fort  Moul- 
trie to  Fort  Sumter,  it  is  proper  to  state  that  after  my  answer  to  the 
South  Carolina  * '  commissioners '  *  the  War  Department  received  a  letter 
from  that  gallant  officer,  dated  on  the  27th  of  December,  i860,  the  day 
after  this  movement,  from  which  the  following  is  an  extract: 
I  will  add  as  my  opinion  that  many  things  convinced  me  that  the  authorities  of 
the  State  designed  to  proceed  to  a  hostile  act. 
Evidently  referring  to  the  orders,  dated  December  11,  of  the  late  Sec- 
retary of  War. 
Under  this  impression  I  could  not  hesitate  that  it  was  my  solemn  duty  to  move 
my  command  from  a  fort  which  we  could  not  probably  have  held  longer  than  forty- 
eight  or  sixty  hours  to  this  one,  where  my  power  of  resistance  is  increased  to  a  very 
great  degree. 
It  will  be  recollected  that  the  concluding  part  of  these  orders  was  in 
the  following  terms: 
The  sraallness  of  your  force  will  not  permit  you,  perhaps,  to  occupy  more  than  one 
of  the  three  forts,  but  an  attack  on  or  attempt  to  take  possession  of  either  one  of  them 
will  be  regarded  as  an  act  of  hostility,  and  you  may  then  put  your  command  into 
either  of  them  which  you  may  deem  most  proper  to  increase  its  power  of  resistance. 
You  are  also  authorized  to  take  similar  defensive  steps  whenever  you  have  tangible 
evidence  of  a  design  to  proceed  to  a  hostile  act. 
It  is  said  that  serious  apprehensions  are  to  some  extent  entertained  (in 
which  I  do  not  share)  that  the  peace  of  this  District  may  be  disturbed
James  Buchanan  3190 
before  the  4th  of  March  next.     In  any  event,  it  will  be  my  duty  to  pre- 
serve it,  and  this  duty  shall  be  performed. 
In  conclusion  it  may  be  permitted  to  me  to  remark  that  I  have  often 
warned  my  countrymen  of  the  dangers  which  now  surround  us.  This 
may  be  the  last  time  I  shall  refer  to  the  subject  oflScially.  I  feel  that  my 
duty  has  been  faithfully,  though  it  may  be  imperfectly,  performed,  and, 
whatever  the  result  may  be,  I  shall  carry  to  my  grave  the  consciousness 
that  I  at  least  meant  well  for  my  country. 
JAMES  BUCHANAN. 
Washington,  January  75,  1861. 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
In  compliance  with  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  passed  on  the  loth 
instant,  requesting  me  to  inform  that  body,  if  not  incompatible  with  the 
public  interest,  **  whether  John  B.  Floyd,  whose  appointment  as  Secre- 
tary of  War  was  confirmed  by  the  Senate  on  the  6th  of  March,  1857,  still 
continues  to  hold  said  office,  and,  if  not,  when  and  how  said  office  became 
vacant;  and,  further,  to  inform  the  Senate  how  and  by  whom  the  duties 
of  said  office  are  now  discharged,  and,  if  an  appointment  of  an  acting  or 
provisional  Secretary  of  War  has  been  made,  how,  when,  and  by  what 
authority  it  was  so  made,  and  why  the  fact  of  said  appointment  has  not 
been  communicated  to  the  Senate,"  I  have  to  inform  the  Senate  that 
John  B.  Floyd,  the  late  Secretary  of  the  War  Department,  resigned  that 
office  on  the  29th  day  of  December  last,  and  that  on  the  ist  day  of  Janu- 
ary instant  Joseph  Holt  was  authorized  by  me  to  perform  the  duties  of 
the  said  office  until  a  successor  should  be  appointed  or  the  vacancy  filled. 
Under  this  authority  the  duties  of  the  War  Department  have  been  per- 
formed by  Mr.  Holt  from  the  day  last  mentioned  to  the  present  time. 
The  power  to  carry  on  the  business  of  the  Government  by  means  of  a 
provisional  appointment  when  a  vacancy  occurs  is  expressly  given  by  the 
act  of  February  13, 1795,  which  enacts — 
That  in  case  of  vacancy  in  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State,  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury, or  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Department  of  War,  or  of  any  officer  of  either  of  the 
said  Departments  whose  appointment  is  not  in  the  head  thereof,  whereby  they  can 
not  perform  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  in  case  he  shall  think  it  necessary,  to  authorize  any  person  or 
persons,  at  his  discretion,  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  said  respective  offices  until  a 
snccessor  be  appointed  or  such  vacancy  be  filled:  Provided^  That  no  one  vacancy  shall 
b^  supplied  in  manner  aforesaid  for  a  longer  period  than  six  months. 
It  is  manifest  that  if  the  power  which  this  law  gives  had  been  with- 
held the  public  interest  would  frequently  suffer  very  serious  detriment. 
Vacancies  may  occur  at  any  time  in  the  most  important  offices  which 
can  not  be  immediately  and  permanently  filled  in  a  manner  satisfactor\' 
to  the  appointing  power.  It  was  wise  to  make  a  provision  which  would 
enable  the  President  to  avoid  a  total  suspension  of  business  in  the  interval,
James  Buchanan  3192 
resolution  makes  the  additional  inquiry  *'why  the  fact  of  said  appoint- 
ment has  not  been  communicated  to  the  Senate/' 
I  take  it  for  granted  that  the  Senate  did  not  mean  to  call  for  the  rea- 
sons upon  which  I  acted  in  performing  an  Executive  duty  nor  to  demand 
an  account  of  the  motives  which  governed  me  in  an  act  which  the  law 
and  the  Constitution  left  to  my  own  discretion.  It  is  sufi&cient,  therefore, 
for  that  part  of  the  resolution  to  say  that  a  provisional  or  temporary 
appointment  hke  that  in  question  is  not  required  by  law  to  be  communi- 
cated to  the  Senate,  and  that  there  is  no  instance  on  record  where  such 
communication  ever  has  been  made.  TAMES  BUCHANAN 
Washington,  January  22,  1861, 
To  the  House  oj  Representatives: 
I  herewith  transmit  to  the  House  of  Representatives  a  communica- 
tion from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  with  accompanying  reports,  of  the 
persons  who  were  sent  to  the  Isthmus  of  Chiriqui  to  make  the  examina- 
tions required  by  the  fifth  section  of  the  act  making  appropriations  for 
the  naval  service,  approved  June  22,  i860. 
JAMES  BUCHANAN. 
Washington,  January  24.,  1861. 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
In  compliance  with  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  19th  instant, 
requesting  a  copy  of  correspondence  between  the  Department  of  State 
and  ministers  of  foreign  powers  at  Washington  in  regard  to  foreign  ves- 
sels in  Charleston,  I  transmit  a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State  and 
the  documents  by  which  it  was  accompanied. 
JAMES  BUCHANAN. 
Washington  City,  January  28,  1861, 
To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States: 
I  deem  it  my  duty  to  submit  to  Congress  a  series  of  resolutions  adopted 
by  the  legislature  of  Virginia  on  the  19th  instant,  having  in  view  a  peace- 
ful settlement  of  the  exciting  questions  which  now  threaten  the  Union. 
They  were  delivered  to  me  on  Thursday,  the  24th  instant,  by  ex-Presi- 
dent Tyler,  who  has  left  his  dignified  and  honored  retirement  in  the  hope 
that  he  may  render  service  to  his  cotmtry  in  this  its  hour  of  peril.  These 
resolutions,  it  will  be  perceived,  extend  an  invitation  '*  to  all  such  States, 
whether  slaveholding  or  nonslaveholding,  as  are  willing  to  unite  with 
Virginia  in  an  earnest  effort  to  adjust  the  present  unhappy  controversies 
in  the  spirit  in  which  the  Constitution  was  originally  formed,  and  con- 
sistently with  its  principles,  so  as  to  afford  to  the  people  of  the  slavehold- 
ing States  adequate  guaranties  for  the  securities  of  their  rights,  to  appoint
James  Buchanan  3^94 
orable  for  all  sections  of  the  country.  I  trust  tliat  the  mediation  of 
Virginia  may  be  the  destined  means,  under  Providence,  of  accomplish- 
ing this  inestimable  benefit.  Glorious  as  are  the  memories  of  her  past 
history,  such  an  achievement,  both  in  relation  to  her  own  fame  and  the 
welfare  of  the  whole  country,  would  surpass  them  all. 
JAMES  BUCHANAN. 
Washington,  January  jo,  1861, 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
I  have  received  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  24th  instant,  re- 
questing the  return  to  that  body  of  the  convention  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Republic  of  Venezuela  on  the  subject  of  the  Aves  Island. 
That  instrument  is  consequently  herewith  returned.  It  was  approved  by 
the  Senate  on  the  24tn  June  last  with  the  following  amendment: 
Article  III:  Strike  out  this  article,  iu  the  following  words: 
In  consideration  of  the  above  agreement  and  indemnification,  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  and  the  individuals  in  whose  behalf  they  have  been  made  agree 
to  desist  from  all  further  reclamation  respecting  the  island  of  Aves,  abandoning  to 
the  Republic  of  Venezuela  whatever  rights  might  pertain  to  them. 
The  amendment  does  not  seem  necessary  to  secure  any  right  either 
of  the  United  States  or  of  any  American  citizen  claiming  under  them. 
Neither  the  Government  nor  the  citizens  in  whose  behalf  the  conven- 
tion has  been  concluded  have  any  further  claims  upon  the  island  of  Aves. 
Nor  is  it  known  or  believed  that  there  are  any  claims  against  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Venezuela  having  any  connection  with  that  island  other  than 
those  provided  for  in  this  convention.  I  therefore  recommend  the  recon- 
sideration of  the  subject. 
No  steps  have  yet  been  taken  toward  making  known  to  the  Venezuelan 
Government  the  conditional  approval  of  the  convention  by  the  Senate. 
This  might  have  been  necessary  if  the  instrument  had  stipulated  for  a 
ratification  in  the  usual  form  and  it  had  been  ratified  accordingly.  Inas- 
muchy  however,  as  the  convention  contains  no  such  stipulation,  and  as 
some  of  the  installments  had  been  paid  according  to  its  terms,  it  has  been 
deemed  preferable  to  suspend  further  proceedings  in  regard  to  it,  espe- 
cially as  it  was  not  deemed  improbable  that  the  Senate  might  request  it 
to  be  returned.     This  anticipation  has  been  realized. 
JAMES  BUCHANAN. 
Washington,  February  5,  1861. 
To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives: 
I  have  received  from  the  governor  of  Kentucky  certain  resolutions 
adopted  by  the  general  assembly  of  that  Commonwealth,  containing  an 
application  to  Congress  for  the  call  of  a  convention  for  proposing  amend- 
ments to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  with  a  request  that  I 
should  immediately  place  the  same  before  that  body.     It  affords  me  great
James  Buchanan  3198 
ary  between  the  territories  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty  and  those  of  the 
United  States  from  the  point  on  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  lati- 
tude up  to  which  it  had  already  been  ascertained  should  be  continued 
westward  along  the  said  parallel  * '  to  the  middle  of  the  channel  which 
separates  the  continent  from  Vancouvers  Island,  and  thence  southerly 
through  the  middle  of  said  channel  and  of  Pucas  Straits  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean."  When  the  commissioners  appointed  by  the  two  Governments 
to  mark  the  boundary  line  came  to  that  point  of  it  which  is  required  to 
run  southerly  through  the  channel  which  divides  the  continent  from  Van- 
couvers Island,  they  differed  entirely  in  their  opinions,  not  only  concern- 
ing the  true  point  of  deflection  from  the  forty-ninth  parallel,  but  also  as 
to  the  channel  intended  to  be  designated  in  the  treaty.  After  a  long- 
continued  and  very  able  discussion  of  the  subject,  which  produced  no 
result,  they  reported  their  disagreement  to  their  respective  Governments. 
Since  that  time  the  two  Governments,  through  their  ministers  here  and 
at  London,  have  had  a  voluminous  correspondence  on  the  point  in  con- 
troversy, each  sustaining  the  view  of  its  own  commissioner  and  neither 
yielding  in  any  degree  to  the  claims  of  the  other.  In  the  meantime 
the  unsettled  condition  of  this  affair  has  produced  some  serious  local 
disturbances,  and  on  one  occasion  at  least  has  threatened  to  destroy  the 
harmonious  relations  existing  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States.  The  island  of  San  Juan  will  fall  to  the  United  States  if  our  con- 
struction of  the  treaty  be  right,  while  if  the  British  interpretation  be 
adopted  it  will  be  on  their  side  of  the  line.  That  island  is  an  important 
possession  to  this  country,  and  valuable  for  agricultural  as  well  as  mili- 
tary purposes.  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  ours  by  the  treaty  fairly  and 
impartially  construed.  But  argument  has  been  exhausted  on  both  sides 
without  increasing  the  probability  of  final  adjustment.  On  the  contrary, 
each  party  seems  now  to  be  more  convinced  than  at  first  of  the  justice  of 
its  own  demands.  There  is  but  one  mode  left  of  settling  the  dispute,  and 
that  is  by  submitting  it  to  the  arbitration  of  some  friendly  and  impartial 
power.  Unless  this  be  done,  the  two  countries  are  exposed  to  the  con- 
stant danger  of  a  collision  which  may  end  in  war. 
It  is  under  these  circumstances  that  the  British  Government,  through 
its  minister  here,  has  proposed  the  reference  of  the  matter  in  controversy 
to  the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  the  King  of  the  Netherlands,  or  to 
the  Republic  of  the  Swiss  Confederation.  Before  accepting  this  propo- 
sition I  have  thought  it  right  to  take  the  advice  of  the  Senate. 
The  precise  questions  which  I  submit  are  these:  Will  the  Senate  approve 
a  treaty  referring  to  either  of  the  sovereign  powers  above  named  the  dis- 
pute now  existing  between  the  Governments  of  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  concerning  the  boundary  line  between  Vancouvers  Island 
and  the  American  continent?  In  case  the  referee  shall  find  himself 
unable  to  decide  where  the  line  is  by  the  description  of  it  in  the  treaty  of 
15th  June,  1846,  shall  he  be  authorized  to  establish  a  line  according  to
3199  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents 
the  treaty  as  nearly  as  possible?    Which  of  the  three  powers  named  by 
Great  Britain  as  an  arbiter  shall  be  chosen  by  the  United  States  ? 
All  important  papers  bearing  on  the  questions  are  herewith  commu- 
nicated in  the  originals.  Their  return  to  the  Department  of  State  is 
requested  when  the  Senate  shall  have  disposed  of  the  subject. 
JAMES  BUCHANAN. 
Washington,  February  2j,  1861. 
To  the  Seriate  of  the  United  States: 
In  compliance  with  the  resolutions  of  the  Senate  of  the  17th  and  i8th 
February,  1858,  requesting  information  upon  the  subject  of  the  Aves 
Island,  I  transmit  a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State  and  the  documents 
which  accompanied  it.  j^j^^g  BUCHANAN. 
Washington,  February  2jf,  1861. 
Hon.  John  C.  Brbckinridgk, 
President  of  the  Senate, 
Sir:  Herewith  I  inclose,  for  constitutional  action  of  the  Senate  thereon 
should  it  approve  the  same,  supplemental  articles  of  agreement  made  and 
concluded  with  the  authorities  of  the  Delaware  Indians  on  the  21st  July 
last,  with  a  view  to  the  abrogation  of  the  sixth  article  of  the  treaty  of 
May  30,  i860.  JAMES  BUCHANAN. 
Washington,  February  23,  1S61. 
To  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States: 
In  answer  to  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  adopted  on 
the  nth  instant,  respecting  the  seizure  of  the  mint  at  New  Orleans,  with 
a  large  amount  of  money  therein,  by  the  authorities  of  the  State  of 
Louisiana,  the  refusal  of  the  branch  mint  to  pay  drafts  of  the  United 
States,  etc.,  I  have  to  state  that  all  the  information  within  my  posses- 
sion or  power  on  these  subjects  was  communicated  to  the  House  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  on  the  21st  instant,  and  was  prepared  under 
the  resolution  above  referred  to  and  a  resolution  of  the  same  date  ad- 
dressed  to  himself.  j^j^gg  BUCHANAN. 
Washington,  February  26,  1861. 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 
In  answer  to  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  25th  instant,  request- 
ing information  relative  to  the  extradition  of  one  Anderson,  a  man  of 
color,  charged  with  the  commission  of  mtirder  in  the  State  of  Missouri,
QUESTIONS. 
1.  What  were  the  provisions  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty? 
Page  3170. 
2.  What  two  directly  opposite  constructions  were  placed  on  the 
Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty  by  its  signatories?    Page  2973. 
3.  What  precautionary  measure  did  Buchanan  suggest  to  pre- 
vent financial  panics  ?    Page  2972. 
4.  When  did  a  President  recommend  the  passage  of  United 
States  troops  through  a  friendly  neutral  country,  either 
with  or  without  its  consent,  to  reach  an  enemy  beyond? 
Pages  3098,  3176. 
5.  What  constitutional  amendment  did   Buchanan  propose  in 
order  to  avert  the  Civil  War?     Page  3169. 
6.  When  was  the  first  Homestead  Law  passed?    Page  3139. 
7.  What  were  Buchanan's  reasons  for  vetoing  the  Agricultural 
College  Land  Bill  ?    Page  3074. 
8.  What  did  Mr.  Forsyth  declare  were  the  only  means  by  which 
American  citizens  might  secure  justice  in  Mexico?    Page 
3044. 
9.  How  does  the  Bank  of  England  secure  deposits  and  circu- 
lating medium  ?    Page  2969. 
3203-A
SUGGESTIONS. 
Buchanan's  administration  was  embarrassed  by  a  panic,  follow- 
ing the  inflation  of  currency.  Page  2967.  (See  also  Panics, 
Encyclopedic  Index.) 
The  preliminary  rumblings  of  slavery  troubles  reached  alarm- 
ing proportions.    Pages  2962,  2981,  3028,  3084,  3157,  3186. 
John  Brown's  raid  took  place.  Opposite  page  3071,  and  page 
3672.     (See  Brown's  Insurrection,  Encyclopedic  Index.) 
See  Dred  Scott  Case,  Encyclopedic  Index,  and  references. 
Read  Buchanan's  discussion  of  secession.    Pages  3159,  3186. 
Read  Buchanan's  Foreign  Policy.  Pages  2966,  2998,  3037, 
3041,  3066,  3089,  3092,  3173,  3177. 
NOTE. 
For  further  suggestions  on  Buchanan's  administration,  see 
Buchanan,  James,  Encyclopedic  Index. 
By  reading  the  Foreign  Policy  of  each  President,  and  by  scan- 
ning the  messages  as  to  the  state  of  the  nation,  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  history  of  the  United  States  will  be  acquired  from  the 
most  authentic  sources ;  because,  as  has  been  said,  "Each  Presi- 
dent reviews  the  past,  depicts  the  present  and  forecasts  the  future 
of  the  nation." 
8203-B
Abraham  Lincoln 
March  4,  1861,  to  April  18,  1868 
*      SEE  ENCYCLOPEDIC  INDEX. 
The  Encyclopedic  Index  is  not  only  an  index  to  the  other  volumes,  not  only  a  key  that 
unlocks  the  treasures  of  the  entire  pubUcation,  but  it  b  in  itself  an  alphabetically  arranged 
brief  history  or  story  of  the  great  controlling  events  constituting  the  History  of  the  United 
States. 
Under  its  proper  alphabetical  classification  the  story  is  told  of  every  great  subject 
referred  to  by  any  of  the  Presidents  in  their  official  Messages,  and  at  the  end  of  each  article 
the  official  utterances  of  the  Presidents  themselves  are  cited  upon  the  subject,  so  that  you 
may  readily  turn  to  the  page  in  the  body  of  the  work  itself  for  this  original  information. 
Next  to  the  possession  of  knowledge  is  the  ability  to  turn  at  will  to  where  knowledge 
is  to  be  found.
LINCOLN 
Tested  by  the  standard  of  many  other  g^at  men,  Lincohi  was  not 
great,  but  tested  by  the  only  true  standard  of  his  own  achievements,  he 
may  justly  appear  in  history  as  one  of  the  greatest  American  statesmen. 
Indeed,  in  somt  most  essential  attributes  of  greatness  I  doubt  whether 
any  of  our  public  men  ever  equalled  him.  If  there  are  yet  any  intelli- 
gent Americans  who  believe  that  Lincoln  was  an  innocent,  rural,  un- 
sophisticated character,  it  is  time  that  they  should  be  undeceived.  I 
venture  the  assertion,  without  fear  of  successful  contradiction,  that 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  the  most  sagacious  of  all  the  public  men  of  his 
day  in  either  political  party.  He  was,  therefore,  the  master-politician 
of  his  time.  He  was  not  a  politician  as  the  term  is  now  commonly 
applied  and  understood;  he  knew  nothing  about  the  coimtless  methods 
which  are  employed  in  the  details  of  political  effort;  but  no  man  knew 
better,  indeed,  I  think  no  man  knew  so  well  as  he  did,  how  to  summon 
and  dispose  of  political  ability  to  attain  great  political  results ;  and  this 
work  he  performed  with  unfailing  wisdom  and  discretion  in  every  con- 
test for  himself  and  for  the  country. 
Lincoln's  intellectual  organization  has  been  portrayed  by  many  writers, 
but  so  widely  at  variance  as  to  greatly  confuse  the  general  reader. 
Indeed,  he  was  the  most  difficult  of  all  men  to  analyze.  He  sought  in- 
formation from  every  attainable  source.  He  sought  it  persistently, 
weighed  it  earnestly,  and  in  the  end  reached  his  own  conclusions.  When 
he  had  once  reached  a  conclusion  as  to  a  public  duty,  there  was  no 
human  power  equal  to  the  task  of  changing  his  purpose.  He  was  self- 
reliant  to  an  uncommon  degree,  and  yet  as  entirely  free  from  arrogance 
of  opinion  as  any  public  man  I  have  ever  known. 
Unlike  all  Presidents  who  had  preceded  him,  he  came  into  office  with- 
out a  fixed  and  accepted  policy.  Civil  war  plunged  the  Government 
into  new  and  most  perplexing  duties.  But  Lincoln  waited  patiently — 
waited  until  in  the  fullness  of  time  the  judgment  of  the  people  was 
ripened  for  action,  and  then,  and  then  only,  did  Lincoln  act.  Had  he 
done  otherwise,  he  would  have  involved  the  country  in  fearful  peril 
both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  it  was  his  constant  study  of,  and  obedi- 
ence to,  the  honest  judgment  of  the  people  of  the  Nation  that  saved  the 
Republic  and  that  enshrined  him  in  history  as  the  greatest  of  modem 
rulers. 
While  Lincoln  had  little  appreciation  of  himself  as  candidate  for 
President  as  late  as  1859,  the  dream  of  reaching  the  Presidency  evidently 
took  possession  of  him  in  the  early  part  of  i860,  and  his  efforts  to 
advance  himself  as  a  candidate  were  singularly  awkward  and  infelicitous. 
3203-C
Mary  Todd,  born  in  Lexington,  Ky.,  had  from 
girlhood  a  supreme  desire  to  l)ecome  mistress  of 
the  White  House,  which,  however,  did  not  seem 
probable  when  she  married  Abraham  Lincoln  in 
1842.  She  was  short,  attractive  in  appearance, 
inclined  to  stoutness,  self  possessed  in  manner, 
and  would  have  enjoyed  her  high  position  had 
not  the  troublous  events  of  the  Rebellion  pre- 
vented all  festivities  and  converted  the  White 
House  into  a  public  institution.  The  death  of 
her  second  son  preyed  sorely  upon  her,  but  when 
in  1865  her  husband  was  assassinated,  the  shock 
w^as  too  great,  and  that,  added  to  the  blow  of  her 
youngest  boy's  death  soon  after  his  father's, 
partly  unsettled  her  reason.  Although  she  trav- 
eled much  abroad,  she  never  recovered,  mentally 
or  physically.  She  died  of  paralysis  in  her  sis- 
ter's home  at  Springfield,  111.,  in  1882,  and  was 
interred  in  the  Lincoln  Monument  vault  with  her 
husband  and  children.
Abraham  Lincoln 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  bom  in  Hardin  County,  Ky.,  February  12, 
1809.  His  earliest  ancestor  in  America  was  Samuel  Lincoln,  of  Norwich, 
England,  who  settled  in  Hingham,  Mass.,  where  he  died,  leaving  a  son, 
Mordecai,  whose  son  of  the  same  name  removed  to  Monmouth,  N.  J., 
and  thence  to  Berks  County,  Pa.,  where  he  died  in  1735.  One  of  his 
sons,  John,  removed  to  Rockingham  County,  Va., and  died  there,  leaving 
five  sons,  one  of  whom,  named  Abraham,  emigrated  to  Kentucky  about 
1780.  About  1784  he  was  killed  by  Indians,  leaving  three  sons,  Morde- 
cai, Josiah,  and  Thomas,  and  two  daughters.  Their  mother  then  located 
in  Washington  County,  Ky.,  and  there  brought  up  her  family.  The 
youngest  son,  Thomas,  learned  the  trade  of  a  carpenter,  and  in  1806  mar- 
ried Nancy  Hanks,  a  niece  of  the  man  with  whom  he  learned  his  trade. 
They  had  three  children,  the  second  being  Abraham,  the  future  President 
of  the  United  States.  In  18 16  Thomas  Lincoln  removed  to  Indiana,  and 
settled  on  Little  Pigeon  Creek,  not  far  distant  from  the  Ohio  River,  where 
Abraham  grew  to  manhood.  He  made  the  best  use  of  his  Umited  oppor- 
tunities to  acquire  an  education  and  at  the  same  time  prepare  himself  for 
business.  At  the  age  of  19  years  he  was  intrusted  with  a  cargo  of  farm 
products,  which  he  took  to  New  Orleans  and  sold.  In  1830  his  father 
SLgain  emigrated,  and  located  in  Macon  Coimty,  111.  Abraham  by  this 
time  had  attained  the  unusual  stature  of  6  feet  4  inches,  and  was  of 
great  muscular  strength;  joined  with  his  father  in  building  his  cabin, 
clearing  the  field,  and  splitting  the  rails  for  fencing  the  f^irm.  It  was 
not  long,  however,  before  his  father  again  changed  his  home,  locating 
this  time  in  Coles  County,  where  he  died  in  185 1  at  the  age  of  73  years. 
Abraham  left  his  father  as  soon  as  his  farm  was  fenced  and  cleared  and 
hired  himself  to  a  man  named  Denton  Offutt,  in  Sangamon  County,  whom 
he  assisted  to  build  a  flatboat;  accompanied  him  to  New  Orleans  on  a 
trading  voyage  and  returned  with  him  to  New  Salem,  Menard  County, 
where  Offutt  opened  a  store  for  the  sale  of  general  merchandise.  Mr. 
Lincoln  remained  with  him  for  a  time,  durino:  which  he  employed  his 
leisure  in  constant  reading  and  study.     Learned  the  elements  of  English 
3204
BOMBARDMENT  OF  FORT  SUMTER. 
The  story  of  the  bombardment  and  fall  of  Fort  Sumter  is  best  told  by 
Abraham  Lincoln  (page  3221).  In  fact,  his  messages  form  the  most  remark- 
able treatise  ever  written  on  the  moral  aspect  of  the  great  conflict. 
"Judged  by  the  loss  of  life,  no  battle  could  be  more  insigniticant,"  says 
Rhodes.  "Not  a  man  on  either  side  was  killed.  Judged  by  the  train  of 
events  which  ensued,  few  contests  in  our  history  have  been  more  momentous.'* 
"The  people  of  the  North,"  he  continues,  "to  the  last  praying  and  hoping 
that  actual  hostilities  might  be  averted,  were  profoundly  moved.  .  .  .  With 
excitement  and  with  sorrow  they  followed  the  course  of  the  bombardment ; 
with  stern  determination  their  minds  accepted  the  policy  which  this  grave 
event  portended,  and  when  on  Monday,  April  15,  1S61,  they  read  of  the 
President's  »call  for  75,000  militia  .  .  .  they  gave  with  one  voice  their  approval 
of  the  policy  foreshadowed,  and  rose  almost  as  one  man  to  the  support  of 
their  chief  magistrate." 
No  commencement  of  hostilities  could  have  better  suited  Lincoln.  He 
had  avoided  striking  the  first  blow;  so  had  Davis;  but  Davis's  subordinates 
blundered  and  "at  the  darkest  moment  in  the  history  of  the  republic,"  said 
Emerson,  "when  it  looked  as  if  the  Nation  would  be  dismembered,  pulverized 
into  its  original  elements,  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter  crystallized  the  North 
into  a  unit,  and  the  hope  of  mankind  was  saved."  See  the  article  entitled 
"Fort  Sumter  (S.  C),  Fired  on,"  in  the  Encyclopedic  Index. 
During  all  the  bombardment,  the  flag  was  not  hit,  and  remained  flying 
exultantly  and  defiantly  above  the  smoke  of  battle.
3219  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents 
against  the  United  States,  he  is  to  adopt  the  most  prompt  and  efficient 
means  to  counteract,  even,  if  necessary,  to  the  bombardment  of  their  cities 
and,  in  the  extremest  necessity,  the  suspension  of  the  writ  of  habeas  carpus. 
Your  obedient  servant,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
The  Commanding  Gbnsral  op  the  Army  op  thb  United  States: 
You  are  engaged  in  suppressing  an  insurrection  against  the  laws  of  the 
United  States.  If  at  any  point  on  or  in  the  vicinity  of  any  military  line 
which  is  now  or  which  shall  be  used  between  the.  dty  of  Philadelphia 
and  the  dty  of  Washington  you  find  resistance  which  renders  it  neces- 
sary to  suspend  the  writ  of  habeas  carpus  for  the  public  safety,  you  per- 
sonally, or  through  the  officer  in  command  at  the  point  where  resistance 
occurs,  are  authorized  to  suspend  that  writ. 
Given  under  my  hand  and  the  seal  of  the  United  States,  ac  the  dty 
rsEAL  1  ^^  Washington,  this  27th  day  of  April,  1861,  and  of  the  Inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States  the  dghty-fifth. 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
By  the  President  of  the  United  States: 
WnxiAM  H.  Seward, 
Secretary  of  State. 
Genehai,  Orders,  No.  13. 
War  Department, 
Adjutant-Generai,'s  Oppice, 
Washington,  April  jo,  1S61. 
The  President  directs  that  all  officers  of  the  Army,  except  those  who 
have  entered  the  service  since  the  ist  instant,  take  and  subscribe  anew 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  of  America,  as  set  forth  in  the 
tenth  artide  of  war. 
Commanding  officers  will  see  to  the  prompt  execution  of  this  order, 
and  report  accordingly. 
By  order:  I^  THOMAS, 
Ai^'utant'Gefieral. 
To  aU  who  shall  see  these  presents,  greeting: 
Know  ye  that,  reposing  spedal  trust  and  confidence  in  the  patriotism, 
valor,  fidelity,  and  ability  of  Colonel  Robert  Anderson,  United  States 
Army,  I  have  empowered  him,  and  do  hereby  empower  him,  to  receive 
into  the  Army  of  the  United  States  as  many  regiments  of  volunteer  troops 
from  the  State  of  Kentucky  and  from  the  western  part  of  the  State  of 
Virginia  as  shall  be  willing  to  engage  in  the  service  of  the  United  States
Abraham  Lincoln  3220 
for  the  term  of  three  years  upon  the  terms  and  according  to  the  plan 
proposed  by  the  proclamation  of  May  3,  1861,  and  General  Orders,  No. 
15,  from  the  War  department,  of  May  4,  1861. 
The  troops  whom  he  receives  shall  be  on  the  same  footing  in  every 
respect  as  those  of  the  like  kind  called  for  in  the  proclamation  above 
cited,  except  that  the  oflBcers  shall  be  commissioned  by  the  United  States. 
He  is  therefore  carefully  and  diligently  to  discharge  the  duty  hereby 
devolved  upon  him  by  doing  and  performing  all  manner  of  things  there- 
unto belonging. 
Given  under  my  hand,  at  the  dty  of  Washington,  this  7th  day  of  May, 
A.  D.  1 86 1,  and  in  the  eighty-fifth  year  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States.  ABRAHAM  UNCOI<N. 
By  the  President: 
Simon  Cameron, 
Secretary  of  War. 
Statb  Department,  June  20, 1861. 
The   Lieutenant-General   Commanding    the   Armies    of   the 
United  States: 
You  or  any  ofiScer  you  may  designate  will,  in  your  discretion,  suspend 
the  writ  oi  habeas  corpus  so  far  as  may  relate  to.  Major  Chase,  lately  of 
the  Engineer  Corps  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  now  alleged  to 
be  guilty  of  treasonable  practices  against  this  Government. 
ABRAHAM  UNCOI.N. 
By  the  President: 
WnxiAM  H.  Seward. 
The  Commanding  General,  Army  of  the  United  States: 
You  are  engaged  in  suppressing  an  insurrection  against  the  laws  of 
the  United  States.  If  at  any  point  on  or  in  the  vicinity  of  any  military 
Hue  which  is  now  or  which  shall  be  used  between  the  dty  of  New  York 
and  the  city  of  Washington  you  find  resistance  which  renders  it  neces- 
sary to  suspend  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  for  the  public  safety,  you  per- 
sonally, or  through  the  ofl&cer  in  command  at  the  point  where  resistance 
occurs,  are  authorized  to  suspend  that  writ. 
Given  under  my  hand  and  the  seal  of  the  United  States,  at  the  city 
r  n     of  Washington,  this  2d  day  of  July,  A.  D.  1861,  and  of  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States  the  eighty-fifth. 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
By  the  President: 
Wii^uAM  H.  Seward, 
Secretary  of  State.