The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1859-09-30
The Concluding Portion of Honorable
Abram Lipcoln's Speech mt Cincin'

The Concluding Portion OF Honorable
Abram LiDcoln's Speech Mt Cihcin'
natl.
1t may appear little episodical
for me to mention the topic OF which
| shall speak now. IL is favorite
proposition of Douglas that the in
reference OF the general government,
through tho Ordinance OF 's7, or
through any other act, never has
made or ever can make q free state;
that the Ordinance of 'S7 did not
make free states OF Ohio, Indiana OF
Illinois. That these states are free
upon his "grcat principle" OF popu.
lar sovereignty, because the people ol
those several states have chosen to
make them 30, or probably here he
undertook to compliment the people
that they themselves have made the
state Of Ohio free and that the Or.
Idinance of 81 was not entitled in any
degree 70 divide the honor with them.
| have no donbt that the people o!
the state of Ohio did make her free
according to their own will and
judgement, but let the facts be re-
membered.
In 1902, believe, it was you that
INTRODUCED the clause prohibiting
slavery, and you did it reckon very
nearly unanimously, but you should
bear in mind that you-speaking Of
you as one people--that you did so
unem mbarrassed by the actual pres
ence Of the institution amongst you;
that you made it a free state, not
with the embarrassment upon you Of
already having among You many
slaves, which if they had been here,
and you had sought to make a free
state, you would not know what to
do with. II they had been among
you. embarrassing difficulties must
probably have indnced you to tolcr.
ate slave constitution instead of u
free one, as indeed these very diff
culties have constrained every peo.
pie on the continent who have adopt.
ed slavery.
Pray what was i. that made YOU
free? What kept you free? Did
you find the state free when you
calpe to decide that Ohio should be
a free state? 1t is important to en-
quirc bv what reason you have found
it so! Let us take an illustration
between the states OF Ohio aud Ken
tucky. Kentucky is separated by
this river Ohio, not mile vide
a portion of Kentucky, by reason of
the course OF the Ohio, is further
North than this portion Of Ohio in
which we now stand. Kentucky is
entirely covered with slavery--Ohio
is entirely free from it. What made
that difference? Was it climate! -
No! A portion OF Kentucky was
further North than this portion oi
Ohio. Was it soil? NJ! There is
nothing in the soil Of the one more
favorable to slave labor than the
other. 1t was not climate or soil
that made one 81 lc OF the line to be
entirely covered with slavery and
the other side free of it. What was
it! Study over it. Tell rs, il you
can. in all the range Of conjecture,
if there be anything you can con
ccive of that made that difference,
other than that there was no law of
any sort keeping it out OF kentucky
And the Ordinance of 'S7 kept il
ont of Ohio. 1t there is any other
reason than this. | confess that it is
wholly beyond my power to conceive
of if. This. then, | offer to combat
the idea that that ordinance has
never made any state free.
| don't stop at this illustra'ion.--
| come to the state of Indiana; ant
what | have said AS between Ken
tuclly and Ohio repeat as between
Indiana and Kentucky; it is equally
applicable. Ono additional argu
ment is applicable, however, to In
diana. III her territorial condition
she more than once petitioned Con
gress to abrogate the ordinance On
tirely, or at least 80 far as to sus
pend its operation Tor time, in or
; der that they should exercise th
"popuar sovereignty" OF havin!
slaves if thev wanted them. Th
men then controlling the government
p Initiating the men of the Revolution
o so far as intelligence was concerned
i refused Indiana that privilege, an
SO We have the evidence that lndi
ana supposed she could have slaves
yIif it we're not for that ordinance; tha
i she besought Congress to put tha
barrier ont of the way; that Congress
d refused to do 90, and it oil ended .
o last in Indiana being free state =
Tell me not, then, that the Ord
rance of 'S7 had nothing to do wit
making Indiana a free state, whe
= we find some men chatting again'
y that barrier.
n Come down again to our state
IS Illinois. When the great Nortl
ID West Territory, including Ohio, IL
70 diana, Illinois, Michigan and Wi
. consin, was acquired, first ! belie'
le by the British government from Il
is French. Before the establishmel
. of our independence, it become
part of Virginia; enabling Virgin
: afterwards to transfer 1t to the gene
us al government. There were Frent
settlements in what is now lllinoi
= and at the same time there we
French settlements in what is NO
Of M,ssouri-in the tract OF count
IN that was not purchased till abo
st st 1903. In these French settlemer
- = .loua, hod avistad for ~, a