Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1856-04-02
FOR THE RArrssAs's JOURNAL.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES a
VIOLATOR OF THE PUBLIC FAITH.

| preferred against the Chief Magistrate of our
Republic, and as these charges have elsewhere
| been declared untrue, / now will, with your
permission, proceed to make good every charge
| specified in my communication.
The first charge, is that of ssuiolaiing the pub
Tic faith, by breaking up solemn contract be-
! tween the two great sections of our country,
which will greatly endanger, if not entirely
| dissolve our Union.''
The Missouri Compromise was a clear and
| specific contract, entered into by and between
| the people of the Free States, of the one part,
! and the people of the Slave States, of the 9TH
er, and ratified by their representatives in Con-
gress. In 1919, Missouri, formed out of Ter
ritory purchased from France, applied TO Con-
| gress to be admitted into the Union as a slave
holding State. This the people of the Free
States everywhere strenuously resisted, as it
| involved consequences of the utmost impor-
| tance to the welfare of the country. But the
slaveholding interest demanded its admission
| into the confederacy, and denied the right of
| Congress to impose conditions upon new States
| applying for admission into the Union. The
| power, however, rested with the Free States
and missouri was refused admission. In 1920,
the subject was renewed in Congress, and the
people of the Slave States agreed to settle the
controversy by compromise; that if the peo-
pie of the Free States would admit Missouri
as Slave State into the Union, that all that
territory, ceded by France to the United States
north of 36 deg. 80 min. north latitude should
be forever given to Freedom. To this the
people of the Free States. in good faith, agreed
And by their representatives in Congress, both
parties entered into an honorable compromise,
or solemn contract, in the following binding
agreement: 'sIn all that territory ceded by
France to the United States, under the name
of Louisiana, which lies north of Sc deg 80
min. of north latitude, not included within the
limits of the State of Missouri, slarerv, and in
voluntary serrftude, otherwise than in the pun
ishment OF crime, whereof the parties shall
have been duly convicted. shall be- and is here
6y FOREVER prohibited" In each house of
Congress, majority of the members from the
slave States, as well as from the Free States
voted In favor of this compromise. In 1896
Arkansas, another Slave State, formed out of
a portion of this territory, lying south of 36
deg. oO mln., was admitted into the Union.
Thus, two slave states, by virtue of this COM
promise, came into the Confederacy, while
Freedom as yet gained nothing, but the prohi-
Dltlon oil slavery from vast region reserved
Tor free states. The powers OF slavery now
put forth their efforts in earnest to rule the
republic. And under the administration of
fresident Tyler, slavery was declared to be a
pohtical institution, and consequently. was ta-
ken under the special care and guardianship of
the General Government, and no longer left as
state institution, to be controlled by the in
dIvidual states themselves. Then it was that
congress began to act for slavery. The right
speech denied; the privilege Of the press cur
tailed, and the three hundred thousand slave
holders began to rule fifteen millions of free
Americans. None but Shareholder, or one
IN favor of slaveholding, was henceforth to fill
the Presidential chair. Cabinet, and diploma
tic officers, must all be Shareholders in fact or
IN principle, and no Aice of profit or trust
could be filed by any but shareholders, or
those politically identified with slavery. Laws
were enacted, and rules adopted, by Congress,
for the support and advancement of slavery
and the Supreme Court, being composed of a
majority of Shareholders, can make all laws
constitutional. And although slavery had now
got all the power and patronage of the govern
ment IN her own hands, vet she was not satis-
fed, but asked that her limits be extended,
and demanded that the Government paw ten
millions of dollars, and take Texas into the u
Mon, rs 4 slave state, with stipulation that
four more states should become members of
the confederacy, whenever they might be form
cd within her limits. Thus the General Gov
ernment made provision for adding five more
new slave states to the Union. and secured to
the slave power ten additional members in the
Senate of the United States, while the free
states gained nothing but war with Mexico,
which cost the country over one hundred mil
lions of dollars.
The slaveholding power, not yet content
win her achievements over Freedom, demand
ed that slavery should have access to all the
thrPa-
tened to overthrow the Union, unless her de-
rnands were granted. States formed out of
that territory, with free constitutions, asked
admission into the confederacy, and after one
OF the most serious struggles ever had in con-
gress, California was finally admitted into the
Union. But New Mexico, with her free Con-
stltution, was thrown back to the condition of
territory, and contrary to the wish of her
people, her whole region, with that of Deseret,
was thrown open by Congress to slavery.
But the slaveholding power, after having OBJ
taiheu all these conquests over Freedom, only
pecane more arrogant, and consequently de-
manded that the people of the free states ey-
erywhere become subject to the control Of the
slave power, and the General Government now
the willing instrument of the peculiar institu-
ton, enacted a law, that commands all good
cltizens of the free states to run at the word of
the Shareholder, and aid him in his work of
slavery, or be subject to Imprisonment, and
thousand dollars fnc-a law that, contrary to
the Constitution suspends habeas corpus. and
destroys the right of trial by jury-a law that
brioes its officers, by giving them ten dollars
II they eonsign their victim to slavery, or on
Is i've If they let them go free. This act,
which has become the by-word of Europe and
the scorn OF civilization, is now the pandect of
slavery, on the statute of True America.
After this last great victory of the slave
powers over freedom, and becoming satisfied
with their success, they proclaimed through
ali their organs, and the General Government
IN particular, that the slavery question was
now forever settled and that it should rest as
sacred as the Constitution itself, and President
Pierce in his first message to Congress, plcdg-
ed himself to use all his official power to pre-
vent 1t from being disturbed. But all these
promises, proved substantial as dream. The
powers OF slavery, now seeing but one barrier
IN their way to the supreme control of the en-
tire nation, at once resolved on its removal
Ihis barrier was the Missouri Compromise.