Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1854-02-12
remarkable circumstances The Territory over
IL.

remarkable circumstances. The Territory over
i which it was established was claimed by Vir-
1 ginia in right of her charter and in right Of
| conquest The gallant George Rogers Clarke,
one Of the brayest and noblest sons Of that
State, had, with small body of troops raised
under her authority, invaded and conquered
the territory. Slavery was already there un-
der the French colonial law, and also, IT the
claim Of Virginia was well founded, under the
laws Of that State. These facts prove that the
FIRST application Of the original policy OF the
government converted slave territory into free
| territory.
Now, sir, what guarantees were given for the
| maintenance of this policy in time to come
once, upon this floor, adverted to fact, which
has not attracted so much attention, in my
| Judgment, as its importance deserves. 1t IS
this While the Congress- was framing this or
dinance, almost the last act of its llustrions
labors, the convention which framed the Con-
stitution was sitting in Philadelphia. Several
| gentlemen were members of both bodies, and
| at the time this ordinance was adopted, no
proposition in, respect to slavery had been dis
cussed in the convention, except that which re-
suited in the establishment of the three-6fths
clause. It is impossible to say, with absolute
certainty, that the incorporation Of that clause
into the Constitution, which gave the slave
| States representation for three-ffths Of their
slaves, had anything to do with the unanimous
vote by which the proviso was ingrafted upon
| the ordinance but the coincidence is remarka-
BILE, and justi6es the inference that the facts
were connected. At all events, the proyiso can
hardly fail to have been regarded as affording
guaranty for the perpetuation of the policy
which it established.
Already seven of the original thirteen States
had taken measures for the abolition of slavery
within their limits, and were regarded as free
States Six only of the original States were
| regarded as slave States. The ordinance pro-
vided for the creation Of FIVE new free States,
| and thus secured the decided ascendancy Of the
free States in the confederation. The perpetual
ton of slavery even in any State, it is quite OBJ
vious, was not then even thought of. III
| And now, sir, let me ask the attention of the
| Senate to the Constitution itself That char
| ter Of our government was not formed upon
pro slavery principles, but upon anti-slavery
principles. 1t nowhere recognises any right of
i property in man. 1t nowhere confers upon
the government which it creates any power to
establish or to continue slavery. Mr.. Madison
himself records, in his report of the debates Of
| the convention, his own declaration, that it
was wrong to admit in the Constitution the
idea that there could be property in men,"
Every clause in the Constitute n which refers
| in any way to slaves speaks of them as persons,
| and excludes the idea of property In some
of the States, it is true, slaves were regarded
as property
The language of Mr.. Justice Mclean, on this
point is very striking He says: +
THAT cannot divest them Of the leading and
controlling quality of persons, by which they are
designated in the Constitution. The character Of
| property is given them by the local law. This
law is respected, and all rights under il are pro-
,ected by the federal aAihoriiies. But the Con-
stitntion acts upon slaves as persons: and not as
property"
i Well, sir, not only was the idea Of property
in men excluded from the Constitution, not
only was there no power granted to Congress
to authorize or enable any man to hold another
4 as property, but an amendment was after wardo
engrafted upon the Constitution, which espe-
cially denied all such power.
! The history of that amendment is worth at
tention. The State which the senator's from
Virginia so ably represent on this floor was one
of those which Immediately after the adoption
of the Constitution proposed amendments Of
! it. One of the amendments which she pro-
| posed was this
| "No freeman ought 10 be taken, imprisoned, or
| deprived Of his freehold liberiies or franchises
| or outawed or exied, or in any manner deprived
Of his life, liberty, or property. but by the law of
| the land"
4 Did Congress adopt that amendment? No,
sir; it adopted and proposed to the States a
! very different amendment. 1t was this:
aNo person shall be deprived of life, liberty,
i property, without due process Of law"
/ Now sir, in my Judgment this prohibition
was intended as a comprehensive guaranty OF
personal freedom, and denies absolutely to
Congress the power of legislating for the estab
lishment or maintenance of slavery. This
/ 4 &c cd nd
applied, would be sufficient TO prevent the in
i PRODUCTION of slaves into any territory acquired
nv the United States. At all events, taken in
connexion with the ordinance and with the
ORIGINAL provision of the Constitution, it shows
conclusively the absence of all intention upon
the part of the founders of the government to
afford any countenance or protection to slavery
outside of State limits. Departure from the
true Interpretation of the Constitution has
created the necessity for positive prohibition.
NV general view upon this subject is simply
this: Slavery is the subsection OF one man to
the absolute disposal of another man by force.
Master and slave, according 10 the principles
of the Declaration Of Independence, and by the
/ law of nature, are alike men, endowed by their
Creator with equal rights. Sir, Mr.. Pinckney
was right, when, in the Maryland house of
| delegates, he exclaimed: "By the eternal prin-
| cples of Justice, no man in the State has
right to hold his slave for a single hour"
Slavery then exists nowhere by the law of ma
ture Wherever it exists at all, it must be
through the sanction and support of municipal
or State legislation.
i Upon this state of things the Constitution
acts. 1t recognises all men as persons. 1t
confers no power, but, on the contrary, ex-
pressly denies to the government of its creation
all power to establish or continue slavery.
: Congress has no more power, under the Consti
tuition, to make slave than to make king
, no more power to establish slavery than to
. establish the inquisition.
At the same time the Constitution confers no
power on Congress but, on the contrary, de.
, nies oil power TO interfere with the internal
policy Of any State, sanctioned and established
by its own constitution and its own legislation,
in respect to the personal relations of its in
) habitants. The States, under the Constitution,
are absolutely free from all interference oy Con-
\ IL