The Placer herald., 1857-08-08
A Speech from Judge Douglas,

The St. Louis Republican contains synop-
sis Of speech made by the Hon. 8. A.
Douglas, at Springfield, Illinois, on the 18th
Of June. A large portion of the speech WAS
devoted to the consideration Of the decisions
Of the Supreme Court, in the Dred Scott case.
In reference to that subject he said:
The main points affirmed by the decision
we're
lst. That under the Constitution of the
United States, a negro descended from slave
parents is not and cannot be a citizen of the
United States.
I'd. That the Missouri Compromise was
unconstitutional and void before the Kansas
Nebraska bill repeating it was passed.
He would say but little on this latter pro-
position. The people had decided on that
point by the election of Mr.. Buchanan to
the Presidential chair, and the Supreme
Court has re affirmed the truth Of their de-
cision.
To the first proposition he would direct the
attention of his audience. Certain political
organizations declare this decision to be
cruel, inhuman and infamous, neither to be
respected nor obeyed. What then is the OBJ
lection to it' Simply that it declares that
negro is not citizen. The object Of creating
this citizenship must be to give the negro
rights and immunities, and place him on an
equality with the white man. 1t is said to
be Infamous to deprive an African of his
equality. He would ask if his hearers were
prepared to resist the constituted authorities
of the land to secure to them this equality.
If such be the case then must the organic
law and the constitution of the State Qllinois)
be reversed, and such must occur in every
State in the Union. Even then this equality
will not be real; the South must be induced
to emancipate her three millions Of slaves;
from the constitution of Illinois must be
stricken out that portion which prevents the
African from coming to reside in the State,
and the door must be opened to make that
State q negro colony, instead of community
of white men. The words "white man"
must be stricken from the constitution, and
the negro must be allowed to come to the
polls; he must be declared eligible for the
highest Offices in the gift Of the people; the
jury box must be opened to them, and he
must be allowed to marry white women.
This equality of the races is the true point
made by the sympathzers with the negro
race, and when they let it 60, by an acknowl-
edgment of the inferiority Of the black, as
compared with the white race, then they are
compelled to quit the field. In support of it,
however, they quote the Declaration of In
dependence, and yet that instrument was the
work of representatives of slave States, who
must be chargeable with gross hypocrisy, if
it be true that they intended to include the
negro, for they did not emancipate their
slaves nor did their slaves abolish the system
within their borders. The battles Of the
Revolution were fought in slave States, and
the Constitution was drawn Up by savchold-
ing States, one State only being abQHt to be-
come free at the time,
This distinction made between the races is
also observable in the journal of the continen-
tial Congress, when the stipulation that each
State should be sovereign as to regulation of
her own internal concerns, was set as basis
on which to found the confederation.
The Hon. speaker went on to discuss the
point to similar effect, rs in connection
with our domestic concerns. He did not be-
lleve that negro was a brother Of his, or of
any white man, and he doubted the right Of
the white man to corrupt his blood by max
Ing kin Of tho infeFiar race.