Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1856-02-19

mon territories, unless they Invested themselves
OF their slave property. The result Of long
and unhappy conflict was the legislation of
1850; by it a large body of the representatives
OF the non slaveboding States, sustained by
the appreciation of their constituents, acting
upon sound principles Of constitutional con-
structlon, duty, and patriotism, aided in voting
down this new and dangerous usurpation, de-
clared for the equality OF the States and pro-
tected the people Of the Territories from this
understandable interference with their rights
Here we wisely abandoned ''the shifting grounds
OF compromise and put the rights of the people
again upon the rock of the Constitution"
Inc law OF 1854, commonly known as the
hansas- n ebraska act,) was made to conform
to tins policy and but carried out the principles
established in 1850. 1t righted an ancient
wrong. and will restore harmony. because it re-
stores justice to the country. This legislation
have endeavored to show is Just, fair, and
equal; that it is sustained by principle, by au-
thority, and by the practice Of our fathers /
trust, believe, that when the transient pas
sions of the day shall have subsidized, and
reason shall have resumed her dominion, it
wall be approved, even appauded, by the col
lective body of the people, in every portion OF
our widely extended republic.
In inviting your calm consideration of the
second point in my lecture, am fully persuad.
ed that even if / should succeed in convincing
your reason and judgment of its truth, shall
nave no and from your sympathes in this work;
yet u the principles upon which our social
system IS founded are sound the system itself
is humane and just as well as necessary. It's
permanence is based upon the idea of the su-
periority by nature Of the white race over the
African; that this superiority is not transient
and artificial. but permanent and natural that
the same power which made his skin unchange-
ably black, made him inferior, intellectually,
TO the white race, and incapable of an equal
struggle with him in the career Of progress
and civilization; that it is necessary for his
preservation in this struggle, and for his own
interest as well as that of the society of which
ne is member, that he should be servant
and not freeman in the commonwealth.
have already stated that African slavery
existed in all Of the colonies at the commence.
ment of the American revolution. The para
mount authority of the Crown, with or without
the consent of the colonies, had introduced it,
and 1t was inextricably interviewer with the
frame work OF society, especially in the south
ern States. The question was not presented
Tor our decision whether it was just or beneficial
TO the African, to tear him away by force or
fraud from bondage in his own country and
place him In a like condition in ours. Eng
land and the Christian world had long before
settled that question for us. AT the final over
throw of British authority in these States our
ancestors found seven hundred thousand Afri-.
cans among them, already in bondage, and
concentrated from our climate and productions
chiefly IN the present slaveholding States. 1t
became their duty to establish governments
Tor themselves and these people, and they
brought wisdom, experience, learning, and
patriotism TO the great work. They sought
that system of government which would secure
the greatest and most enduring happiness to
the whole society. They incorporated no uto-
plan theories into their system. They did not
so much concern themselves about what rights
man might possibly have in state of nature,
as what rights he ought to have in state of
society; they dealt with political rights as
things of compact. not of birthright, in the
concrete and not in the abstract. They held
and maintained and Incorporated into their
system as fundamental truths, that it was the
right and duty of the State to define and fix, as
well as to protect and defend the individual
rights OF each member of the social compact
and to treat all individual rights as subordinate
to the great interests of the whole society.
Therefore, they denied natural equality" re-
pudiated mere governments Of men necessarily
resulting therefrom, and established govern
ments of laws,-thrteen free, sovereign, and
independent Republics. A very slight exami-
nation OF our state constitutions will show how
little they regarded vague notions of abstract
liberty, or natural equality in fixing the rights
OF the white race as well as the black. The
elective franchise, the cardinal feature of our
system, | have already shown was granted,
withheld, or limited, according to their ideas Of
rAtkl IL. IL
Numerous restraints upon the supposed abb
stract right Of mere numerical majority to
govern society in all cases, are to be found
planted in all Of our constitutions, State and
Federal, thus affirming this subordination Of
individual rights to the interest and safety Of
the State.
The slave-holding States, acting upon these
principles, finding the African race among
them in slavery, unfit TO be trusted with politi-
cal power, incapable as freemen Of securing
their own happiness or promoting the public
prosperity, recognized their condition as slaves,
and subjected it TO legal control There are
abundant means Of obtaining evidence of the
effects Of this policy on the slave and society,
accessible 10 all who seek the truth. We say
its wisdom is vindicated by its results, and that
under it the African in the slaveholding States
is found in better position than he has ever
attained in any other age or country, whether
in bondage OF freedom. In support Of this
point, propose TO trace him rapidly from his
earliest history to the present time. The mon
uments of the ancient Egyptians carry him
back 10 the morning Of time-older than the
pyramds-tbey furnish the evidence both Of
his national identity and his social degradation
before history began. We first behold him
slave in foreign lands, we then find the great
body Of his race slaves in their native land, and
after thirty centuries, illuminated by both an
cient and modern civilization, have passed
over him, we still find him a slave Of savage
masters, as incapable as himself Of even at
tempting single step in civilization-we find
him there still, without government or laws or
protection without letters or arts or industry
without religion, or even the aspirations which
would raise him to the rank of an idolator, and
in his lowest type, his almost only mark of hui
manity is, that he walks erect in the image Of
the Creator. Annihilate his race to-day and
you viii find no trace Of his existence within
half score of years, and he would not leave
behind him single discovery, invention, or
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