Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1856-01-14
The American Democrat. American
Platform.

party in Virginia, which Is too full of errors,
both OF opinion and fact, to be passed over
without correction. That press assumes that
the adoption, by the combined Councils OF
Richmond, on the lst OF January, OF the series
Of resolutions (which we have heretofore pub
lished) was an attempt to abolitionize the
American party Then this traitorous attempt
one of whose resolutions was reiterated and
endorsed by the combined Councils of Rich
mond, and II is the main one of the two prom
inent resolves, against which the Richmond
Wing and the Baltimore Democrat have hurled
their anathemas And what is the purport Of
that terrible resolution 1t is in substance,
that the agitation of slavery should cease
that the South understands and will maintain
it's constitutional rights, that the agitation Of
this question is kept up by demagogues to the
great injury of the South, and ofslavery, and
that no such sectional question ought to b.
incorporated into an american plaJormi
And this the Baltimore Democrat calls abo.
litionisml What will the Americans of Geor-
gia say, to find themselves denounced as aboli-
tionists for the utterance of this sound national
conservative doctrine What will any sensi-
bic Southern man say, (who is not led astray
by the attrassts of that section,) to such a con-
stTuction of their resolves? Who ever heard
before that the aboltionists desired that agita-
ton should cease and when before the year
1865, has the South demanded anything more
than to be let alone in the enjoyment of their
constitutional rights? When, in the history
of this country, before 1853, have southern
politicians demanded that slavery should be
placed under the guardianship ofNational Con-
ventions ? Did the Hamiltons, Haynes, Nc
Duties and Calhouns of the South, ever de-
mand, or ecen consent that the rights of the
South should be submitted to such conven-
tonss
No, indeed it was reserved for the modern
new-fedged statesmen of the South to discover
that the Federal Constitution was not broad
enough and strong enough to protect the re-
served rights of the States, and that national
partisan conventions must be called upon to
aid in the protection of Southern institutions
What consummate aoisdom indeed, is thatwhich
thus confessos the weakness Of the constitu-
tional guarantees of State rights, and implores
political conventions to have mercy upon the
South Talk of. abolitionizing the South by
the adoption Of the Georgia resolution Why,
the confession of weakness implied in the de-
mand upon national political conventions to
consider of and provide for the security of sla-
verysis itself an invitation to anti-slavery men
everywhere, to take advantage of this weakness
and assail the institution
We doubt not the American Democrat, and
its compcers in this new scheme for exchang-
ing guarantees for the security of slavery, be-
tispe that they are the true friends of the South
in thus throwing slavery into political parti-
san conventions, for their action and endorse
ment, but we tell the Democrat that future
national convention, eren Of simon pure Dem
ocrats, may initiate the State Democratic Con-
vention of Ohio, which on the 9Th day of
January, 1855, resolued, that slavery was an
the South not to trust any national political
conventions with the question of slavery; the
constitution is their safest reliance.
Political presses may denounce us, and po-
litical hotspurs may howl at US, because we do
not choose to surrender our consistency and
our self-respect at their bidding, and adopt
principles and measures which cannot stand
the test of experiment, but soe kno,c that we
are as firm and unfaltering friends of the South
and of the Union, rs can be found between the
Potomac and the Rio Grande And it is be-
cause we are such, that we will neither cater to
the whims, nor pander TO the prejudices of ell
tber section, but maintain the right as between
both, and essay to preserve for both, the bene-
fits of our national Union. We can trust to
time to yindicate the soundness of our policy,
if southern men are now so blinded by phren-
zy and passion that they will not calmly ex-
anime the subject
But, says the Democrat, Mr.. Giddings has
told us sohat they aim att is to abolish
slavery in the District of Columbia-to admit
no more slave States interdict the traffic in
slaves between the States, and to repeal the
fugitive slave law" Is this the first time the
Democrat has heard what Mr.. Giddings " aims
att Is Mr.. Giddings majority Of the Houses
Is Mr.. Giddings the Senate? Is he the Presi-
dehtG And is the Democrat really SO much
frightened by the aims and declarations of Mr.
Giddings, now for the one thousandth time re-
peated, that 1t must needs recommend to the
South to place itself in the hands of any party,
which will promise to take slavery under its
guardian care and protection.
IL FrapL D;oroo z, -. x.n~ c. L. .,.a.u
tses to do that in his late message to Congress-
He promised, too, in 1868, that the slavery
question should never again be disturbed and