The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-08-20
.lTHE UNION OF THE OPPOSITION. )

Of dissatisfaction lamentations aud dsmay because
the opposition factions cannot be united against the
democracy. They frequently taunt the latter with
having achieved the control of federal affairs In OPP
position to the wishes Of majority OF the whole
people and chide the various cabals and nriguants
because they do not fall into the republican ranks
1t is quite evident indeed, that they regard all the
diseased and fragmentary portions factions of the
American people belonging exclusively to them
selves. sN
These simple suggestions bring us, very naturally,
to inquire, what are the elements it is proposed TO
unite into one grand harmonious whole Let us
look ut them
l. We have the abolitionsts proper, the real ST.
cause it is compact between free and slave States,
as "a league with the devil"
ii. We have the hypocritical abolitonists, who
entertain the same general views with the Puros,
but being more cautious, wary, and unscrupulous,
take ground nomnally against the admission of any
more slave States into the Union, but who really in
tend to render the parties to the federal compact
uneasy and dissatisfied to force disruption of
the government This class maintain that there is
great struggle going on between free and slave Ia
bor and predict its continuance till the former shall
triumph and the latter be ANONYMOUSLY subdued.
OF course, any man with grain of sense must
see that with such views the first and second
classes must come together sooner or later, as
they are really destined to the common
end. We call these men bypocrtical abolihonists,
because they really contending fos one thing,
and apparently fighting to accomplish another They,
of course know that there is great amount of gen
uine attachment to the Union, and that should they
avow at once open hostility against it, they would
only drive off large portion of the people who
yet ignorant of their real purposes, or rather who
believe that the antislavery scheme is intended to
prevent any more slave States coming into the Union
Of course, they know very well that the people of
any given Territory will settle the question for them
selves whether they will recognise or prohibit sa-
very.
ILL., The know-nothings Americans are small
remnant Of party which came into existence few
years ago as political bauble, but had short a
career as to leave behind it no historical What
few we see lett of this sect have marvellous way
of swelling out their proportions, insomuch that
they really stand somo chance of selling out their
old organization to the rel ublicans who will buy it.
il at ALL simply because it happens to have it's chief
vital power in the South--the republicans not only
having no forces in that direction but being regarded
there as real traitors to the federal Union. The
know-nothings commenced business the magni6-
cent feth that america must be ruled by Ameri
cans''-an imported idea, evidently, as nobody in
this country ever doubted its truth or questioned
the practical fact it discoses Out of thirty millions
Of our people, they thought they discovered some
ten per cont or less of foreign BIRTH and were i'm
medately seized with Mysteries lest the latter should
rise in rebellion against and put down the former,
and thus subvert our free institutions. The amount
of patriotic warnings thrown off to the country in
this way, was fearful indeed. But the people per-
sistently refused to be frightened, and even went
so far as to laugh at and ridicule the poor know
nothings who could do nothing but sell out their
little stock to the highest bidder In this view it is
believed in order to magnify the concern and show
it off to the best advantage they employed Mr.. N.
Sargent as principal agent to get up The Peoples
Movement That affair, however, has turned out a
bad failure so that as matters now stand with the
know-nothings they are in serious danger of being
regarded as political impostors and con6dence-men.
Nv. The fourth faction which challenges notice in
the great work of "unting the opposition is the
.sWoman's-Rights Party which we must treat as
more or less identified with the hypocritca (not the
Puros) republicans because Mr. Greeley is the presi
dent of both concerns Nevertheless the Woman's
Rights Party embrace large number of persons of
both sexes of independent action, opinions, and
principles. The republicans would not be complete
without them OH the general idea that their success
is made to depend upon uniting all in one concern,
but it is not so easy to see how they the Woman
Rights Party, can be benefited by the coalition.
Both factions, however being based upon the grand
conception of overturning all the institutions of mod
ern society, regarding laws as shacklos to control
the swelling heart of the very largest liberty, in
GLIDING free negroes, free love- free speech, free soil
free States free Territories free press and the gen
eral equality Of all the races, count it possible a
least that the Womans Rights Party will join the re
pubcans.
" This faction TO which attention is called al
an element of the total opposition we place las
in the category because their numbers and position
are not well defined. We aude, of courses to thu
Douglas independents, who must not be confoundet
with the Fred Douglass Puos. tits like all the 9th
ers, Of recent origin and yet imperfecty known ant
Wy - Fill