Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1860-12-08
President jackson on Secession.

ct"tcS, ulciI, IOftllS u government, not
a league; and whether it be formed by
compact between the States, or in any
other manner, its character is the same.
1t is a government in which all the PEG.
pie are represented, which operates di-
rectly on the people Individually, not
upon the States-they retained all the
power they did not grant. But Gael,
State, having expressly parted with SO
many powers as to constitute, jointly
with the other States, single nation,
cannot, from that period, possess any
right to secedc, because such secession
does not break a league, but destroys
the unity of Il nation; and any injury to
that unity is not only breach which
would result from the contravcntion of
Il compact, but it Is an offence against
the whole Union. 10 say that any
State may at pleasure sccede from the
Union, is to say that the United States
are not nation; because it would be a
solccism to contend that any part Of a
nation might dissolve its connection with
the other parts, to their injury or ruin,
without committing any offence. Sc
cession, like any other revolutionary act,
may be morally justified by the cxtrem-
ity of oppression but, to call it a con-
stitutional right, is confounding the
meaning OF terms; and can only be done
thruGh gross error, or to deceive those
who are willing to assert right, but
would pause before they made a revo-
luton, or incur the penalties consequent
on Il failure.
"Fellow-citizens of my native State,
let me not only admonish you, as the
First Magistrate Of our common coun-
try. not to incur the penalty Of It's laws,
but use the influence that father would
over his children whom he saw rushing
to certain ruin. In that paternal Ian
g,E:ge, with that patcrnal feeling, let
me tell YOU, my countrymen, that You
are dcluded by men who are either de-
ccived themselves, or wish to deceive
you. Mark under what pretcnces you
have been led on to the brink of insur-
rection and treason, on which YOU stand!
X Il
IL adiurc You, as YOU honor their
memory: as you love the cause of free
dom, to which they dedicated their lives;
as YOU prize the peace of your country.
the lives of its best citizens, and your
own fair fame, to retrace your steps.
Snatch from the archives of your State
the disappointing edict of its conven-
ton; bid its members to reasscmble,
and promul gate the decided expression
of your will to remain in the path which
alone can conducty You to safety, prosper
ity and honor. Tell them that. com
pared to disunion, all other evils are
light, because that brings with it an ac-
emulation of all. Declare that you
will never take the field unless the star
spangled banner of your country shall
float over you; that you will not be
stigmatized when dead, and dishonorcd
and scorncd while you live, us the au-
thors of the first attack on the consti-
tuition of your country. Its dcstroycrs
YOU cannot be. You may disturb its
ncacn. YOU may interrupt the cotlrse Of
its prosperity, You may cloud its repu-
tation for stability, but its tranquility
will be restored, its prosperity will re-
turn, and the stain upon its national
characterwil be transferred, and remain
an eternal blot on the memory of those
who caused the disorder.
"Fcllow-citizens of the United States,
the threat of unlrallowcd disunion, the
names of those, once respected, BY
whom it is uttered, the array of military
force to support it, denote the approach
Of a crisis in our affairs, on which the
continuance Of our uncxampled pros
pcrity, our political existence, and per-
haps that of all free governments, may
depend. The conjuncture demanded Il
free, a full, and explicit cnunciation,
not only of my intentions, but of my
principles of action; and, as the claim
was asserted of Il right by a State to
anul the laws of the Union, and even
to secedc from it at pleasure, frank
exposition of my opinions in relation to
the origin and form of our government,
aud the construction l give to the in
strumcnt by whichit was created, seemed
to he proper. Having the fullest con-
fidence in the .iustness of the legal and
constitutional opinion of my duties,
which has been expressed, / rely, with
equal confidence OH your undivided sup
port in my determination to execute the
laws, to preserve the Union by all con-
stitutional means, to arrest, ifpossiblc,
by moderate, but firm measures, the
necessity OLA recourse to force; and, if
it be the will of Heaven that the recur-
renee of its primeval curse on man for
the shedding of brothers blood should
fall upon our land, that it be not called