Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-04-30
Il the American Party an Anti-Slavery
Party9
vEsPASIAN ELLIS, Editor,

Party9
We quoted from the National Era and New
York Tribune, in our last daily issue, several
paragraphs denouncing the American party as
opposed to the anti-slavery movement, and sta
ted that we should pursue the subject to-day.
We had intended to present in this issue copious
extracts from anti-slavery presses on this point
but slight indisposition has prevented US from
making thorough examination Of the files of
those papers, and we content ourselves to-day
with citing from two independent Southern
presses, their unanswerable arguments against
the assumption that our party has anti-slavery
tendencies.
The Louisville Ky.) Journal, an indepen-
dent southern press, whose editor is firm
friend of southern rights and institutions, uses
the following clear and explicit language:
1.-THE standing charge, the daily charge, made
by the southern and-Know Nothing organs against
the Know-Nothing party Of the North, is that it is
an Abolition or Freesoil party. Throughout the
whole South there Is not single anti-K Know Moth.
ing organ that does not press this charge upon all
possible occasions in season and out Of season. It
is the main charge, indeed the one charge, upon
which the southern anti Known Nothing leaders
rely for success. Take it away from them and
they have little left. And it should be taken
away from them. II is as false and calum-
NOUS charge as the very genius of mendacity
and malice could invent Whatever sins the
mass Of the Know Nothing party of the North
may have to answer for here or hereafter, Adolf
tionsm is not one Of them. Undoubtedly there
are abolitionists among them, and undoubtedly in
some few localities the abolitionists predominant
among them, but take the whole Of the Know
Nothing party of the North together, and it is
sounder at heart sounder in principle and sounder
in action upon the great slavery issues than any
other party in that section has ever been known to
be- Its strong efforts to nationalist itself by sink
ing the slavery agitation so as to be able TO har-
monize with the Know-Nothingism of the South
have been and still continue TO be very great and
the degree of It's success is cheering to the entire
patriotism Of the nation. If the slavery agitation
is destined ever to be allayed that mighty work is
certainly to be accomplished by what IL called the
American party, which, IL we are correctly inform
ed, now requires Of all its members solemn obi
cation to adhere to the Constitution and the Union
in any and every emergency that may arise.
"If the Northern Know-Nothings were Adolf
tionists Free-soers, they would not as they are
accused of doing, seek to discourage the immigra-
ton of foreign hordes into this country. They
know, rs everybody else does, that nine-tenths Of
the immigrants who land in armies on our shores
are Abolitionsts, and, II they themselves were
Aboltionists, and were looking around them for
the most effectual means of promoting Abolition
ism, they would hail with joy the coming Of these
foreign allies and promote 1t to the extent of their
power. II they were Abolitionists, they would
throw no conceivable impeachment in the way Of
the rushing stream by which the foul lake of Abo-
litionism in this country has received and Is recev
ing its chief supply. They would stretch forth
their arms to the people Of foreign lands all Of
whom are Abolitionists TO come over and aid in
the destruction of slavery. To say that the Ameri
party is Abolition party and that it ia strug-
Cling at the same time to shut out the tremendous
tide Of foreign Abolitionists setting upon our
shores Is nothing less than monstrous absurdity.
ave have repeatedly stated the act--a fact
which de6es contradiction-that all of the regular
Fres-Sol organs, which surely ought TO know who
their own friends are, and nineteen-twenticths Of
all the FreeSoil leaders of the NORTH who certainly
know who their co-workers are, denounce the
Know-Nothing party Of the North as pro slavery
party even more vehemently and vindictively, II
possible, than It's Southern enemies denounce Il as
Frce-Soil party Take up the violent, bitter, and
influential Free-Soil organs Of the country take up
the Washington National Era, the New York Tri-
bune, the New York Evening Post, the Albany
Evening Journal, the Buffalo Express, the Cleve-
land Leader, the Cleveland Phindealer, &c, &C.,
&C. from alpha to omega; take up the speeches
and letters OF the Abolition orators and dems-
gogues: take up those Of Seward, and Wade, and
tiddings, and Chase, and Sumner, and you win
find that all these Frse-Soil newspaper organs and
all these Frce-Soil orators and letter are
fierce in their denunciations Of the KNOWN othing
party Of the North, not only as an ally of slavery
and foe Of Fee-Soilism, but as the drest and most
dangerous foe that Northern Free-Sosm has ever
been called on to encounter. We have before us
extracts from the declarations Of these Northern
Free-Soil newspapers and leaders to prove all and
more than ALL that we have said but we could not
publish them without making this article much too
long TO be generally read"
The Greenville, South Carolina, Mountsineer
expresses similar views. II says:
cit Is manifest that there Is an efficacy and
power in the principles Of this new party, which Is
destined TO exert a prodigious influence in the
country. The very virulence with which they are
assailed by many politicians and presses show the
alarm which they have inspired. We are not
among those who believe that the Known othings,
American party as 1t Is called, Is fairly charge
able with fayoring abolition We do not believe Il
because Il Is denied by them, and some facts
corroborate their assertion. Senator Seward was
reelected against the efforts Of the body Of
that party. In the North, many abolitionists have
joined the American party, but they are no more
abolitionists now than they were before. Indeed,
the principles Of the party will, II carried out ope
rate necessarily against the sbotionists. Its effect
win be 10 lessen the weight Of the foreign populs-
ton In the federal councils, which, with few
honorable exceptions, Is generally thrown into the
scale OF abolition"
Judge Bryce, a virginian by birth, and now
a resident Of New York, in answer TO the in
quirics made Of him by a Southern friend,
uses the following explicit language:
"From an early and intimate association with
the American party, / can safely pronounce the
charge Of abotionism against that organization In
The North to be utterly and entirely false
"Thst our organization Itself, however, Is pure,
both In principle practice, from any such hcresy
10 the Constitution and Union Iproudy and defiant
" assert. The men who have adopted the Fare
well Address of George Washington a. their polit-
cal textbook can never be traitors TO their coun-
try, nor to any portion Of It."
I" / need scarcely call your attention to the fact
that the most prominent abolition newspapers In
this State, such as the Albany Journal and New
York Tribune are arrayed in deadly hostility TO
the so-cslled -order Of Know Nothings and that
The impossibiity Of using the order TO promote the