Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-01-09
Reply


lions and determinations of the President elect as
the latest manifestations Of an organization estab
lished more than quarter of a century.
1 The President elect was nominated for the place
1 of United States Senator by convention whlch met
i at Springfield Illinois, on the nth day OF June
IS5S he repared carefully as he admits, and de-
liyered platform speech on which he stood TIL the
end of the canvass and on which he still stands
He said in that speech ave are now IN the NTH year
since policy (nOnntervention) was initiated, with
the avowed object and confident promise OF putting
an end TO slavery agitation hatagtaton has not only
not ceased but has constantly augmented lnmy opin-
ion II will not cease until crisis shall have been
reached and passed A house divided against itself
cannot stand believe this government cannot en-
dure half free and half slave. do not expect the
Union TO be dissolved; do not expect the house to
fall: but do expect it will cease to be divided. 1t
will become all one thing all the other Either
| the opponents of slavery will arrest the farther
spread of slavery and place it where the public mind
shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ult
mate extinction, its advocates shall push 1t for
ward till it shall become alike lawful in al the
States old as well as new, North well South.
The principle here alluded to- which he says aug
mented the agitation, the principle embodied in
the compromise measure of 1885, and in the Kansas
and Nebraska BILL which left the power in the hands
of the people to settle the question of slavery as
they chose. The first step in the progress of
his avowed policy of making all the States
free States is to prohibit slavery in all the Ter
enactments. This brought him necessarily in
conflict with the decision of the Supreme Court
of she United States in the of bred Scott Us.
Sanford, IS How. He states that decision as fol-
lows
First. Thatno negro slave imported as such from
Africa and no defendant of sach slave. ever be
a citizen of any State in the of that term as
used in the Constitution of the United States This
nont il made in order to deprive the negro in every
possible event of the benefit of that provision of the
Constitution which declares that the citizens OF
each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and
| immunities of citizens in the several States.N
Second. That subject to the Constitution OF the
United States neither Congress nor a Territorial
Legislature can exclude slavery from any United
States Territory. This point is made in order that
individual men may fill up the Territories with slaves
without danger of losing them property and thus
| to enhance the chance Of permanency through all
| time" a... / a., -. Il
Again he says, " the opinion of the Court, by
Chief Justice fancy and the separate opinions of all
the concurring Judges, expressly declare that the
Constitution of the United States permits neither
Congress nor a Territorial Legislature to exclude
slavery from any United States Territory"
He charged that the decision in the case Of bred
Scott vs. Sanford the result of a settled con-
spiraey between Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan,
Stephen A. Douglas and Roger b. fancy, to carry
slavery into all the Territories of the United States
and lcgalZe slavery in Illinois and all the other free
States and that while they were pleasantly dream
ing of making Missouri a free State, they would
wake some morning and find that the Supreme Court
had established slavery in Illinois. He stated that
in the Fremont election, the Republicans had mus
tered one million three hundred thousand strong,
and that to meetland overthrOwithis dynasty-mean-
ing the aforesaid Douglas, Buchanan. and the Su-
preme Court--was the work before them, so as to
put slavery in a course of ultimate extinction and
and make all the states free states. His competitor
Douglas stated that the charge of design to establish
slavery in the free states too contemplate to de-
serve notice-that the charge that there a con
spiracy TO effect any such purpose was an infamous
falsehood-and that James Buchanan absent in
foreign country for several years previous to the
decision. The President adhered pertinacously TO
his charge through the canvass. ... BE-. .....r
Ga the 10th day Of July. 1858. he made speech
in Chicago in which he declared that 'Ore sixth of
the whole population Of this nation" meaning the
four millions of slaves. "was kept in state of OPP
preston and tyranny unequaled in the world" He
held that the Declaration of Independence ap-
pcable to the slaves of the United States, and that
they were entitled 10 their Liberty according to the
principles of that celebrated manifesto made by
the representatives of the people of the United
States and again assas the decision of the Supreme
Court in the case of bred Scott.
bred Scott, a negro claiming to be free, asserted
the right as citizen Of the United States to for
the recovery of his freedom in the Circuit Court of
the United States for the State of Missouri. The
Supreme Court of the United States, on appeal,
said that the time of the formation of the COnst
tuition they negroes) were bought and sold, and
for a hundred years previous thereto, treated as
merchandse-that they were regarded as inferior
beings. and not the equal of the white man
that they were excluded by common consent, by
civilized governments, from the family of nations,
and that this opinion fixed and universal in the
civilized portion Of the human race at that day.
The Court saws that the people described in the De-
claraton of independence free and equal, and
asserting their right to freedom, were the free
white citizens of the United States, and not negroes
bond or free: that if the Declaration of lndepen-
denCe were intended to include the negroes, (then
five hundred and fifty thousand in number,) the
conduct of the men who issued it would have been
tlagrany inconsistent with the principles they pro-
mulgated;' for twelve out of thirteen colonies
were slayehOlding communities. The Court also
state that the people mentioned IN the preamble to
the Constitution of the United States were the free
white citizens of the United States and not negroes
and they determined that negroes can not, under
the Constitution of the United States, be made ct
of the United States. In support of this decI
sion. the Court refer to the contemperaneous and
previous legislation Of Northern States to show
that they were not coequal members of the COM
munity that in some of the States free negroes
were not allowed to go from place to place with
out a passport from the township officers in
others, they were not allowed to receive
instruction = in others subjected to be striped
at the discretion of Justice of the Peace
in others not allowed to be enrolled in the militia
in most of them not allowed to intermarry with a
white person. and in all of them except one subject
to civil disabilities placing them below the position
of the free and equal white citizens of the States
The Court say that if they were made citizens by
the Constitution, they would citizens have the
right enter any other State whenever they pleased
sIngly or in companies, without pass or passport to
soJourn there as long they pleased, to go when
they pleased at any hour of the day night unless
they committed some violation of law, for which
white man would be punished. 1t would give them
full liberty of speech in public and private upon all
subjects upon which its own citizens might speak
TO hold public meetings, to keep and bear arms
whenever they went; and all this would be done in
the lace of the subject race of the same color,
inevitably producing discomfort and INSTRUMENTATION
amongst Them and endangering the peace and safety
of the State.
The Massachusetts, Judge (Curtis) maintained the
opposite opinion, that the negroes of the United
states, bond and free were part of the people in
cluded in the Declaration of independence and that
free negroes made citizens of any State were citi
zens of the United States, and were entitled to all
the privileges of other citizens.
The President elect from the first to the last of
long canvass introduced and maintained the posi-
ton that the four millions of slaves in the United
states were entitled to their liberty according to the
declaration Of Independence, that itapplied to them
IN It's terms, and intended to embrace them by
those who issued that celebrated manifesto and |
that the holding of slaves, though condemned by the
Declaration Of Independence was permitted by the
trainers OF the Constitution as necessity imposed |
upon them, which they could not avoid On the |
10Th day of July, 1858, he said If the Declaration
dc9s not mean negro, why does not another say it
does not mean another man? If that Declaration |
does not state the truth let us get the statute book
and tear IS OUT > After denying the charge of his |
that he wishes to establish complete |
social and political equality, he concludes NV |
friends, have only to state, let us discard all this
luibbling about this being inferior and there
ore, must be placed in inferior position: let us |
discard all these things and unite as one people
throughout this land until we shall once more stand
Up declaring, that all men are created equal
He concludes as follows: Il leave YOU,
oping that the lamp of liberty will burn in
our bOsoms till there shall be no longer doubt that
Il men are created free and equal"
Three months after this he stated, Il believe the |
rst man who ever stated that Declaration of indie
endence did not include the negro was Chief Jus
ice fancy and the next was Stephen A. Douglas
nd now it is the catchword of the entire partvn
although it was insisted by the President elect that
D vindcate the Declaration of Independence it was
ecessary to abolish slavery and that that declaration
vas intended to condemn slavery, and although 10
asserted that no person had ever asserted before
met Justice fancy that the Declaration intend
TO embrace the slaves it is certain that this posi-
ION was denied in the debates the question of the
ulnlsSIon OF Missouri in 1920, and that Mr.. Clay
au previously asserted that "to mpute secret and
Eomeu purpose to abolish slavery would be to