The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1860-08-01
NUMBER 30.
Speech Of Hon. John C. Breckinridoe
at Frankfort, July IA, 1860.


f welcome to my home. l feel, fellow citizen,
; the impropriety upon an occasion like this {
: doing much more than returning to YOU m
cordial and grateful acknowledgment for you
; kindness Perhaps, however, may be allow
ed here, in the midst of my old district, an
surrounded by my neighbors and friends, o
, the soil OF Kentucky, to make one or two ex
planatory statements. | forbear on this occa
sion to enter into any statement or argumen
; in reference to the circumstances that occur
red at Baltimore, and which resulted unex
pectedly to me, in placing me. before til
country for the office of President. But
thlnk It Nue to you, and to myself to say
that being cognizant Of all those facts, havin
observed all those transactions, having pom
dered carefully over them, having consulted
with my friends, unconscious altogether O
being animated or sustained by hot ambition
feel that the position which occupy to.
day, is right (Great eheering.) feel that
| / could not have shrunk from it without being
false to my country, false to my friends, and
false to myself Consequently | accepted the
nomination with all its responsibilities To
those who take advantage of the position Of
a silent man, to heap upon him execrations, |
say pour on, | can endure. Applause.1 |
leave it to others to explain more fully the
facts and circumstances of this nomination.
| Perhaps, also, l may be allowed to say that
the charge that | stand before the country as
a sectional candidate, cannot be true, whether
reference be had to the number of the States
which co-operated in the nomination, or to
the character of the principles which ANNA
ted them. When you find the Democratic
organization aided by large, conservative
elements of other parties in all the Southern
States, and in those two States upon the Pa
cific ocean, which have been so far removed
from the contests of the Atlantic and Missis-
sippi valleys, that their judgment as to what
IS sectional ought to be conclusive, and when
you find majority of the Democratic organ
ization of the State of Pennsylvania, and a
supposed majority of New Jersey, Connecti-
cut and Massachusetts, with large and i'm
posing organizations in all the other States CO.
operating, how can such a nomination as that
be properly called sectional? ? A majority of
the States Of the Union sectional and at war
with the principles upon which the Union
itself is founded Fellow-citizens, as to the
charge that the Convention to which owe
my nomination, or that my friends, or
that myself, am tainted with a spirit of dis
union, how absurd to make a response to
| Kentucky audience and in this old District,
too! l am an American citizen-a Kentuck-
| ian who never did an act or cherished a
thought that was not full of devotion to the
Constitution and to the Union-who feels as
you do upon this subject But perhaps it
would have been better both in your behalf,
and IN mine, If had refused to respond to
the sentiment
Fellow-citizens, this is perhaps the last time
that will have an opportunity to say any
thing to my neighbors and friends, during the
tendency of this canvass. While, therefore,
l shall enter into no argument upon the par
ticular topics Of the day, perhaps you will
pardon me for making two or three observa-
tons, which, it seems to me- should commend
themselves to all parties, everywhere
FelloW-cltlzens, we live under the best
government on earth. We are the only
country in the world where the experiment
is demonstrated, that free institutions may be
established overa great population and large
area of territory, and be consistent with pub
lie order. 1t has been demonstrated, in our
case, for the first time in the history of the
world. How are we to preserve these insti-
tutlons! How are we to preserve intact that
double form OF government, State and Feder-
al, that has been handed down to us by our
torefathers. My answer is, that we can only
do 1t by clinging with unfaltering fidelity, un-
moved by policy, to the Constitution they be-
queathed to us. | hold that fidelity to the
constitution of the United States in all its
parts, and in all its obligations, is the condi-
tion of the American Union, and of its per-
petuation. That constitution was framed
and transmitted by the wisest generation of
men that ever lived in the tide of times. 1t
may be called an inspired Instrument. Itan-
swered them at an early day. 1t has an
swered our purpose. 1t is good enough for
our posterity. Let US keep it pure
Fellow-citizens, every human being in the
United States, whatever may be his position,
has resting upon him, as a citizen, a personal
obligation to see that the true character of the
Confederacy is preserved. Each in his place,
is responsible, and no man can cast off the OBJ
legation. We must abide by that Constitu-
ton. We must not cast away its obligations
and duties on the one hand, nor claim for it
power not contained therein.
The moment we do that, we change the
character of the Government The moment
we violate one principle of the Constitution
| for policy, that moment it ceases to be the
Government our fathers gave us, and when
once we have dri6ed away from the land
marks of the fathers of the Government, we
may find that the system Of Government has
been changed. What are two or three OF the
fundamental principles Of the Constitution ?
/ assert without fear of successful contradic-
tion anywhere, that the great fundamental
principle underlying it, is the Equality of the
States of the Union. s 81
They were equal and independent soye-
reigns before that instrument was framed
1t was framed to preserve and certainly not to
violate this equality. This government is
Of
that applied to States or the citizens of the
States. or to property of citizens of the States,
you discriminate between one description of
property recognized in one State and that in
another, and that very moment you change
the character of the Government; that mo-
ment you destroy the equality of the States
and their citizens, and that moment you de-
grade one portion of the confederaey, and it
becomes union of some States and some
provinces.
Now, fellow citizens, growing out of this
doctrine of the equality Of the States, which,
in the abstract, no man will deny, rose the
duty of the Federal Government to protect
the rights of citizens, and their property, ey-
erywhere, within its jurisdiction, whenever it
shall be proper and necessary to do so. Un-
der the flag Of the Union the citizens of Mas
a-.oi.s.sotts, AIioiIgaft aarti vermont had the
same rights, no more, no less as the citizens
of Kentucky, Louisiana, and Texas. That
proposition is indisputable. | forbear to ap-
ply it; but / lay it down as fundamental
idea Another fundamental idea is the dis
association of Government from every system
Of Religion or faith. This is given us by the
Constitution. Happily for u.s. no serious at
tack is made upon it now, in any quarter
The Government is also charged with the
preservation of order. Then If we associate
and maintain these fundamental principles.
freedom from religions tests the duty of gov
ernment to protect the citizen and his pronev.
ty recognized as such, and the equality Of the
States OF the Union, and the ca uality of the
rights OF the citizens in their persons and
property, we never can go wrong. And we
have chart by which we may ever steer in
smooth water and ever placent seas. I hoId
these principles as a portion Of those of which
stand to-day the representative. I believe
these principles are essential to the continued
existence Of this Union upon the PRINCIPLES
upon which it was originally framed. | be-
lieYe that by adhering to them the freedom Of
our coniedcracy will long continue and the
union OF prosperous and happy States be pre-
served. Then let us do it Let us look each
for himself upon this question. Fellow-citi-
zens, why not adhere to the principles which
every man in the Commonwealth by their
voices and votes declared year ago, were
principles of the Constitution )
Fellow-citizens, Lind, however, that be-
trayed by your kindness, am wandering in
to saying more than l intended. Mylips
from this time forth are of course sealed. Z
have laid before you principles which believe
to be essential to our peace and our Union
| pass that question over to Kentucky.
pass it over and place it in charge Of her gal-
4 liant and patriotic sons. Itsis now for Ken
tuoky herself to determine and ascertain her
own sense of her, own rights in this conieder-
| acy. feel, fellow-citizens that personal con-
siderations are entirely out of the question:
/ Men upon this occasion are nothing more
/ than the light dust in the balance. The great
4 cause Of the Constitution and the Union is
/ everything, and if another were in my place
and / had voice to speak, and was free TO can
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