Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1857-07-14
e Mn mnnilatRh.
Does the Constitution Of the United States Au-
thorize or Sanction Slaveryl

person upon whom any State Of this Union
should confer the character Of citizens,
would "be entitled to all privileges and
ilnmunities of citizen in the several
States" and that no ingenuity of Judge
fancy or the Democratic party could
make 1t otherwise.
Another question involved in the same
case bred Scott seems worthy of con-
sderation at this time, 10 wit: Does the
Constitution of the United States express
ly recognize the right of MAN to hold
property IN MANI
The Chief Justice says that h" the right
Of property in a slave is expressly confer
red in the Constitution, and guaranteed
to every State This, he adds, 8 is in
language too plain to be misunderstood"
Now, although he says the right is 50 ex-
pressly conferred in the Constitution, and
that, too, IN language too plain to be mis-
understood" he fails to cite the passage
where the right IS expressly conferred
and this seems the more singular in case
wherein he is contradcting, not only the
commonly received opinion but also,
both law and fact. If there were any
such unequiyocal clauses in the Constitu-
ton supporting his new !" tangled" doc
trines, would he not have cited them in
full, or at least have referred TO them in
St1pt loGpi+o
doubt on point of such great importance
Most undoubtedly he would; and the
fact that he did not, negatives the assump-
ton that they are there. But we all have
access to the Constitution ourselves, and
find no such express recognition of the
right of property in slave, or the right
of man to hold property in man, as the
Chief Justice asserts. On the contrary,
the whole history Of the Con stitution-bo,h
internal and external-goes to show that
the trainers of the Constitution were par
ticularly scrupulous to exclude from the
Constitution entirely, the idea that pro-
perry can be held in man.
Note with what rigid care the words
" Slave" Slavery" and "Servitude"
even, are excluded from the instrument
neither word occurring in it from begin
ming to end Now, if the trainers of the
Constitution intended to authorize or sane
ton slavery in that instrument, why did
they SO carefully exclude the very words,
as we'll as idea of, slave and slavery from
the Constitution! They were worthy,
straight forward, plain spoken men, adj
dlcted TO the power and use of words :;
and 1t IS therefore absurd 10 suppose that
they had any notion of authorizing or
sanctionlng slavery; because, if it had
been the intention to sanction slavery
how easy it would have been to place the
matter above question, by inserting a
clause to that effect but they inserted no
such clause; on the contrary, they kept
everything of the kind out of the Consti-
tuition; and we are not allowed to believe
that such men would deliberately frame
an instrument Of such Incalculable Import
ance, apparently meaning one thing and
really meaning another. therefore, we say
1t Is absurd TO suppose that the trainers Of
the Constitution had any intention of au-
thorzlng, sanctioning, or guaranteeing
Slavery by those dubious illusions found
IN that instrument, to the existence of a
State institution, which, by the aid of his
tory, we are able to conclude meant sla-
very.
And in this connection it should be
borne in mind that there is a vast deal of
difference between authorizing, or guar
anieelng thing, and barely recognize ing
the existence of it. Thus, while the con-
stnulIon family recognizes the existence
OF slavery as State institution, at the
same time 1t asserts the rights of person.
ahty, treats all classes of inhabitants as
persons, and, by sedulously guarding per-
sonai liberty, Janishes the idea that man
can hold property in man.
The right of property in a slave"
can only be found guaranteed in the con-
stitution by judges appointed for that ex-
press purpose and it is well known that
no man has been recently confirmed on
the Supreme Bench of the United States,
who was not already committed TO the III
terests of slavery, and the modern doc
trlnes of the slavery propaganda.
So much, then, for the document itself
we have, also, positive collateral informa-
ton on the same point, too precious to be
forgotten. Madison, one of the most IN
fiuencial and reliable members of the Con-
ventlon that framed the Constitution, in
his journal Of the debates in that Conven-
ton together with the proceedings of that
body, most conclusively shows, not only,