Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1856-06-17
PLATFORM OF JAMES BUCHANAN, OF
PENNSYLVANIA.

Il
dition of parties, in which sectional and par
| tlal issues have been allowed to attain
dangerous supremacy, we recognise in the
policy OF the Democratic party, that which
rests upon the Constitution as its basis and
that it is the party which above. all others has,
| in the language of the illustrious Madison, ever
| continued ito hold the Union of the States as
the basis of their peace and happiness to sup
port the Constitution, which is the cement of
| the Union, as well in its limitations as it's au-
thorities; to respect the rights and authorities
reserved 10 the States and to the people, as
equally incorporated WITH and essential to, the
success of the general system; and to avoid
the slightest interference with the rights of
conscience or the functions Of religion, so
wisely exempted from civil jurisdiction
"Resolred, That by the general consent of the
wise and virtuous of all nations, the trainers of
the Republic of the United States exhibited, in
their individual characters and in the result of
their public deliberations, a degree of virtue
and a practical craftsmanship to which the
history Of the world affords no parallel; that in
no part of the Federal compact is the wisdom
of our Fathers more conspicuous, than in leav-
ing the whole question of slavery to the States
in their separate capacities, and that in the pro-
vision for the re-de!ivery of fugitives escaped
from labor or service, they demonstrated
sense of justice, an appreciation of the value Of
the Union, an attachment to its preservation,
On avoidance of one-sided philanthropy and
impracticable theories of government, which
present proper example for the guidance and
imitation of us their descendants.
"Resolred, That we look only to the Constitu-
ton, and the exposition thereof which has been
afforded by the practices of the Democratic ad-
lministrations, for the chart of our policy. That
these constitute, until the fundamental law is
changed by methods which itself provides, the
highest lao of our obedience as citizens and
that we utterly discard that particular and ex
aggerated sympathy, the attempt to carry
which into practice is at the peril of our dear
est interests as a nation, and threatens the in
Fiction of evils of tenfold magnitude to those
which it proposes to heal.
"Resolced That the equality Of the States is
the vital element of the Constitution itself and
that all interference with the rights of the
States, by those who seek to disregard the
sacred guarantees of the past, and by all others,
should be rebuked with the same spirit that
would denounce and repudiate all attempts to
erect odious distinctions between those who are
entitled to share the blessings and benefits of
our free institutions.
"Resolred, That the effort to direct the power
of the government by anti.savery agitations,
under the various names and phases of Free
Soilism Anti-N Nebraskaism, Fusionism, and Re-
publicanism, and by interfering with the rights
of conscience in establishing religious test as
qualification for Office, BY thesecret oath-bound
society of the Know-nothings, is opposed both
to the letter and the spirit of the Constitution,
and to the earnest teachings and practice Of its
earliest and most honored administrators.
"ReSolued, That we are now as ever nnaltera-
bly, opposed to the doctrines and designs Of all
ubt tan ia hrox
of the civil and religious rights of the citizen,
which, like the equality of the States, is sacred
and nalienable right, never to be interfered with
by factious parties and reckless legislation, with
out subversion Of the primary objects of our
political system, and reputation Of the guar
antees of the past, and the hopes Of the future.
" ResotUed That in the repeal of the act known
as the Missouri Compromise act, and the pas
sage of the act organizing the Territories of
Kansas and Nebraska, free from unconstitu-
tional restrictions, the last Congress performed
a work of patriotic sacrifice, in meeting the
demands Of sectional excitement by unshaken
adherence TO the fundamental law.
"Resolred, That this legislation cannot be
deemed unnecessary, but that it was expedient
to meet the questions Of which it disposed, and
which could never admit Of more easy settle
ment than at present. That we recognize in
United States of the rule Of equal and exact
Justice to al men, Of all sections Of the Con-
iederacy, which was designed by the trainers
Of our Government, and which was defined as
one Of its essential principles by the immortal
Jefferson.
"Resolred, That the Democracy of Pennsyl-
vania, following the counsel Of some Of the
wisest statesmen of the North and South, were
ready on more than one occasion in the past TO
extend the Missouri Compromise line to the
Pacific, so as to make it the basis OF a final set
tlement Of the question Of slavery in the Terri
tories; but when this proposition was rejected,
in lS4S, on the ground that it involved an un-
due concession 10 the South, by the very men
who now camor for restoration of the Mis-
souri, line, there seemed to be but one wise
alternative left, and that was to refer the whole
question Of slavery in the Territories to the
people thereof, to be regulated as they may
deem proper; and we, therefore, cheerfully ex-
tend our hearty support to the policy of the
Government as recognized in the compromise
measures Of 1850, and embodied in the laws
organizing the Territories Of Kansas and Ne
braska."