Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-04-15
THE JEFFERSON FESTIVAL SPEECH OF
CARL SHURZ

veterans OF the service, animated with so ear
nest convictions and declaring them with such
positive and courageous expression in favor Of
the rights of the States and the rights of men.
When the repast was over, Gov. Boutwell,,
in felicitous language, rehearsed the chief
points in the public life of Jefferson which en-
titled it to commemoration, referred to his
consistent devotion to the principle of human
equality, and his never-varying hostility to
every form of human bondage, applied the the
cries which he advocated to the exigencies Of
our own time, and commended that our only
safety lay in maintaining the sovereignty of
the States on the side of freedom. His speech
was cordially and heartily responded to.
In response to appropriate sentiments, elo-
quent speeches were made by John P. Hale,
Henry Wilson, Thomas Davis, Republican
candidate for Congress in Rhode Island, Carl
Shurz of Wisconsin, J. S. C. Knowlton, John
A. Andrew, Erastus Hopkins, ]. Q. A. Grit
fin, John B. Alley, and several others. For
the sake of giving the admirable speech of the
distinguished German Republican of the North
West, Mr.. Carl Shurz, we are compelled to
omit many of the bold and manly things which
were said. We avail ourselves of the report
of the Boston Courier:
Speech of Carl Shurz.
Mr. President and Gentlemen Il am rather
exhausted by fifty hours uninterrupted railway
travel, and feel hardly able to respond to the
sentiment just offered, and to the allusion made
i
greeting through me, and that greeting carries
with it the report of her victorious Western
guns. A few days ago the great tidings from
Connecticut and Rhode Island met half way
the great tidings from Wisconsin and Michigan
and they fell into each others arms. ZAP
plause.) The youngest children of the Union
met the oldest in harmonious rejoicing, and
they swore allegiance to those principles which
are as great as humanity.
1t is necessary that the East and the West,
the native and the foreign born citizens, should
understand each other. Let me explain what
we understand by Jeffersonian Democracy. 1t
rests on three great principles.
The first is that incorporated in the Declare
ton of lndependence-all men are born free
and equal, endowed with certain inalienabe
rights, among which are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness. In the name of that prin-
the enslavement of man by man. In the name
of that belief, the people of the great West
mean to stop the spread of the evil wherever
they can reach it by constitutional means. In
the name of the same principle the great
West mean to secure to free men, without
distinction of creed or birthplace, the right to
free and untrammelled exercise of self-gov-
eminent (Applause.) They do it, sir, be-
cause they think that political liberty without
the exercise of selfgovernment is but wild
delusion-that natural right ought not to be re-
solved into privileges and thus the people of
the great West enter their solemn protest
against every proscriptive policy which may
curtail that right in man. (Applause.)
The second great principle upon which, in
our opinion, Jeffersonian Democracy rests is
that Incorporated in the ordinance of 1887,
that slavery should be confined within the linz
its Of those States where it at that time exist
ed. In the name of that principle we mean to
extend its benefits to every acre of virgin soil
which waits for the plow, and to every stream
OF water which is yet to be pressed into the SER
vice OF manufactureS-we say that the Ameri-
can flag shall carry liberty I'd not slavery in
its folds, wherever it floats. (Applause.)
The third great principle upon which we
think rest the democracy of Jefferson, is con
tanned in his draft of the Virginia resolutions,
viz that the authority of the General Gov
eminent shall be strictly limited within the
scope OF delegated powers and that the rights
of the States are the principal safeguards of
local self government. Gentlemen, hail
from Wisconsin, and with the smoke and dust
of battle still upon me (laughter)-a battle
in which the lines were distinctly drawn, and
the issue was perfectly understood. 1t was a
revival of the old battle of the Federalists and
Republicans, and as before, the Republicans
carried the day. 1t gives me pleasure to hear
so large and distinguished an assemblage cheer
for State rights, although it may be a little
surprising to Wisconsin man; for in the late
contest oDr opponents got nearly all the argu-
ments against US from Massachusetts,. Laugh
ter If Daniel Webster had not made that
speech against Mr.. Hayne, our opponents
would have been defenceless in our hands.
And let me tell you what the meaning of our
recent victory is. The people of Wisconsin
mean to stand by the Constitution, but by the
Constitution as the great bulwark of human
liberty, aud as the safeguard of State rights
The meaning of that victory is that under the
laws of that State, administered by upright
judges, IN the language of Jefferson, every
man shall be protected against every exercise
OF unconstitutional powers. (Applause.) 1t
means that the habeaS corpus shall secure
every man against everything which is not
law, whatever shape it shall assume Zap
plause) 1t means further that the trial by
jury in all questions touching life and liberty
shall be vouchsafed to every man, woman or
child, white or black, alien or native anything
in the fugitive slave act, or any other usurpa-
ton Of unconstitutional powers, to the contrary
notwithstanding. (Great applause.) Thus,
gentlemen, Wisconsin holds out her hand
across the broad lakes, and 1 hope Massachus-
etts will give il a hearty shake fAnnlauso \
Gentlemen, when looking around these ta-
bles l cannot forget remark once made by
Fisher Ames, believe, that not two respecta-
bic men could be found who would subscribe
to the extravagant Democratic doctrines of
Jefferson. daughter But see around me
tonight, doing honor to Jefferson, very re-
spectacle company, including the distinguish
ed Senator from this State, the champion of
the working men in Congress (applause), the
other distinguished Representative from Mas
sachusetts Mr.. Burlingame), who lately re-
vived the old battle between Massachusetts
and South Carolina, and the Senator from
New Hampshire, under whose banner we
fought once, and under whom we may perhaps
fight once more (applause), and | am led to
ask, what is the reason of this change? 1t is
that in all the Democratic doctrines of Jeffer-
son, there is the logical consistency of princi-
pie, and not the mere policy of expediency
That jefferson was philosopher, and not
mere politlclan that his ideas Of human liber-
~, and his ideas of democratic government
did not run in the narrow channel of national
ism or of religious prejudice (Applause.) 1t
is that when he spoke of the rights of man. he
did not make speech in favor of slavery of
the black race; that when he defended the in
stltution Of selfgovernment among us, he did
not establish as privilege that which is an