The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1862-03-15
LETTER FROM AMOS KENDALL.
The Object OF the War.
LETTER No. III.

| LETTER No ILL.,
| TIE Pride Of HIealM and Lust for Pover, fos.
tered by The Cotton Nonopoly, the Cause O
| tie ReJelhoa-1,eo Cllsses Of Stockholders
| One tor Tie Union-hoy Cotton insult
to Great Britain and Fitaace, and Conspiracy
against tie Commercial World
To ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United
,States:
REsPtcTED SIR: In my last. / proposed
to consider in this letter the causes which
have led to tne pending rebellion and to
show the advocates of emancipation that
they have every reason to be satisfied with
the progress that operation is making.
The cause or causes of tie rebellion
may be summed up in the single Phrase,
Pride of Weaih and Lust for Power. These
are not peculiar to the South, but have
their influence in the North as wel,-
! North and South they pervade, with hQtI-
orable exceptions, those classes OF socie3y
which find means to live and to enrich
themselves without manual labor. Notti
as well as South the feelings Of tii<ze
classes revolt against a government CON
trolled by the toiling millions, and would
overthrow it if they could. la the North
| the attempt would be hopeless. and the
! =
| things as they are. Ia the cotton region
of the South the laborers have no political
rights, and the aristocrdtic classes govern
III all that relates TO local affairs. But
/ they are not content with that. Their
pride revolts at association IN any govern
/ inent, however mid and beuI.icent, in
which laboring men participate directly or
| indirectly. To get nd Of such a govern
/ ;nent, though IL had been the CHE! source
Of ali their prosperity, Is the object OF the
( present rebellion. the avowed design oil
the South Carolina leaders Is the or.anizi
ton OF community composed OF gentle
men and laborers, in which the gentlemen
. shall be masters a. the iaboIers their
SLAVES. 70 tais eni they Were, before the
rebellion broke out, avowedly IN favor oil
re opening the African slave trade, ard
have since submitted with bad grace 10
/ Il restriction ia thei Confederate constItu
ton, dictated by an apprehension that IT
would sot be safe at present to oGtrag1
the feelings OF the civilized world.
But there Is considerable class oi
Shareholders. especially in the border slave
holding Stats, who do nos ente tain thi-
an,irathy u !abor Ii Is comp 0-e,i Of men
of moderate mran-, owning but few slaves
/ They are the self made mcl, whose indus
try and economy have enabled them to
purchase one or more slaves. and they
may oItcn bc seen at work in the -amf
fed with tnuir own ne-loss. 1ehy dc
not Synfatn.Z- with t.ie cotton, tl'e ana
. sugar planters. who recon their slaves by
hundred, and who never rui Their owI
. hands 10 the plow. the hoe, or the axe
/ These small shareholders, numerically pro
tabiy more numerous tAan the riches
. class, have no r~pugu.ucc 70 being as-o
cIst.d IN government controlled M par
I by the laborinE m-H Of the North. anc
they are generally faithful 10 tie constitu
ton snd the Union. Slavery does not
make them rebels
C.Hoa Is = more r-oiii: element than
slavery in ceueIa1Iug the "pflde and
wealth OF and last for power which have
proGuces. tle rebellion, though both hays
co operated Had cotton. like whea; as.o
corn, been 1. product Of the North as vel
as the South. It's cultivation woall not
have been Il source of inoriinate wes I'll
TO southern planters; for the Tree labor o
the North would then have been bFough
into direct competition with the slave
labor Of the south, and the price OF tht
article would have been reduced 10
moderate croft But climate has give:
To the South monopoly of this culture
and it l. q monopoly not ~ al! dependen
OH the existence of slavery. IL wouC
still exit as eft ,iuaily as il does now /
slavery were swept cut Of elstence, anC
the commercial fleet would probably II
Ia that event be an enhancement oi tht
price.
The invention of the cotton gin anc
Improvements III manufacturing machi
nery so cheapened :he preparation auo
manufacture OF cotton as to bring II lnts
I competitor, under most favorable tondi
tIoi.s, with every other article used ii
! clothing the human family, and the de
mana Tor it so rapidly increased that pro
( ductIon could not keep up with it, In,
consequence was an increase ia theIprice
of the raw material unit. 1t had reached d
I point far above that OF auv article which
can be brought In competition with 1t II
! the mark is OF the world. This Is not the
! effect OF slavery, but in It's causes, ii Tough
not III rs effects. ii Is entirely InGepe hdenl
/ of that Institution. But, by this Interven
ton OF the demand ior cotton, the slave
holders III South Carolina and ii few o;aei
/ States were enabled to employ tneli
. negroes In Il species OF culture peculiar t.
tneIr climate, the profits OF which could
not be lessened by general competition
/ hough there has been a prod -ious IN
crease of production, the consumption lIa-
fully kep1 pace with 1t, and up tne break
/ ing out ot the rebellion, III no part of the
earth tor the last thirty years, aud in ne
period of history, have the profits Of agri
cultural labor been 50 great as IN the
cotton growing regions OF the United States
But these profits would have been a great
/ if not greater, had the southern produc
ton, as Is the northern manufacture, been
! the proceeds of hired free instead OF slave
I labor.
With the immense profits of the mono
poly the cottonp planters became intoxicated
aud thought that, by means of their cotton
they could rule the world. Cotton j:
king they exclaimed and through h:
power they aspired 70 break up the Unioi
and compel Great Britain and France tC
aid them in the fratricidal operation. L
has seemed strange to me that the ruler:
oil those nations have not seen in thi.
rebellion or rather in the means by which
the leaders proposed to compass success
an insult to their sovereignty and con
So rgcy against the commercial world -
Openly they say to those proud nations
1--WE have the powe: and intend to use it
by withholding our cotton, to compel yoJ
to become our allies, under penalty O
riot and rebellion among the operative:
in your own domin ons" If they have
any such pomer it is the interest of n,
world it should be broken, and one wouo
think that the sagacious Napoleon anC
the proud palmers ton. instead of neditat
ing recosnition.-woulds say to them: La,
down your arms, and not only give u
your cotton but restore to us the marKe
of an United and peaceful country, withou
which your raw material will be compare