The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1856-10-09
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
His Opinion OF the Missouri Com
prOmise-The Democracy trMe
10 their Greed. ... l..l .-s.t .


peal of the Missouri Compromise, the Dem.
ocratic party Of 1854 deviated from the prn.
ciples OF the Jeffarsonisn Democracy of 90.
To show that the Democratic party has
never departed from Jeffersonian doctrine,
we submit the following letters written by
him at the time the Missouri question was
| agitAting the country. On the 18th ol
April, 1920, he wrute-to Mr. Short, as fol.
lows: I.... ........ .........
"The old schism of Federal and Republi.
can threatened nothing, because it existed
in every State, md united them together by
the fraternulism Of party But the coinci.
dence of a marked principle, moral and po.
ltical, with a geographical line once con-
ceived, feared, would never be oblite.ated
from the mind; that it would be recurring on
every occasion, and renewing irritations,
until it would kindle such mutual and NOR
tai hatred as to render separation preferable
to eternal dscurd hare been among the
most sanguine in believing that our Union
would be Of long duration. now doubt it
much, and see that event at no great dis t.
tance, and the direct consequence of this
question; not by the line whiah has been
so confidently counted off-the laws Of na-
ture control this-'but by the Potomac. the
Ohio, the Missouri, or more probably the
Mississippi, upwards to our Northern boun.
dairy. My only comfort and confidence is,
that shall not live to see this: and envy
not the present generation the glory OF
throwing away the fruits Of their fathers
sacrifice of life and fortune, and of rendering
desperate the experiment which was to de.
eide ultimately whether man is capable OF
self-government This treuson against hu-
man hope will signuize their epoch in fu.
ture history, as the counterpart of the model
of their predecessors. .. .t, ....
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
Mr.. Holmes, of Maine, Member OF Con-
gress addressed Jefferson letter, which
drew from him the following remarkable
reply:
MONTICELLO, April %, 1920.
thank you, dear sir, for the copy you
huve been SO kind to send me of the letter
to your constituents on the Missouri ques.
ton. 1t is perfect Justification to them.
had for long time ceased to read news.
papers, or pay attention to any public af
farsr confident they ere in good hands, and
content to be passenger in our bark to the
shore from which am rot far distant. BuI
this momcrtous question, like fire bell in
the night, awakened and filled me with ter
Unon. 1t is hushed, Indeed ior the mo-
meEt; but this is rrprIeve only, not final
sentence. A geographical line coincidjng
with marked principle, moral and political,
once conceived and helped up to the angry
passions Of men, will never be obliterated;
and every irritation will mark it deeper and
deeper. can say, with conscious truth
that there is no nan on earth who would
sacrifice more than to relieve us from this
heavy reproach, in any practical way. Ot
on, thing am certain, that as the passage
OF the slaves from one State to another
would not make slave OF human being
who would not be so without it, so the diff
| fusion over greater surface would make
them Individually happier, and proportion.
ally facilitate the accomplishment of theiI
emancipation, by dividing the burthen on Q
greater number Of CONDUCTORS.
An abstinence, too, from this act of pow
er, would remoVe the JEALOUSY excited by
the undertaking of Congress to regulate the
condition of the different descriptions of men
composing State. This certainly is ar
exclusive right Of the State, which nothing
in the Constitution has taken from them
and given to the General government
Could Congress, for example, say that ths
non-lreemen of CONNECTICUT shall be free.
men, or that they shalln not emigrate to any
other State!
regret that am not to die in the belize
that the useless sacrifice Of themselves by
the generation Of ITS, to acquire self-gov
ernment and happiness is to be thrown away
by the un@ise and unworthy passions oI
Etheir sons, ard that my consolation is to be
that live not to weep over it. If they
would dspnssionatey weigh the blessing.
they will throw away, against an abstract
principle Esore likely to be effected by uninI
than secession, they would pause befor
they perpetrate this dreadful act Of suicide
on themselves, and of treason against tn
hopes of the world. To yourself, as the
faithful advocate Of the Union, !, tender th'
offer Of my high esteem and respect 2a hi.
i THOS. JEFFERSON. ,
i He wrote December 20, E82o.a .-a f.
| smoothing, however, presented SO tlreat
ening an aspect us what is called the Mis-
souri, question. The Federalists comple etel
put down, anddespairing of ever rising agai
under Whig and Pory'naties, devised a+ne,
one, Of slaveKoldiDg States, which, while
had semblahce OF being moral wus O
the same time geographical, and calculate
to give them iiscendency, by debahchn
an "a 1.