American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1864-11-09
NUMBER 47

threat OF secession to enforce and obtain
its demands, and thus from being only
the adversary of sn opposition ele-
ment in the nation, became an enemy
to the nation itself Yet railways called
itself the national party, and the party of
freedom sectional. This eliminated in
the infamous acts Of Buchanan admin
istration, until the North rose up at the
election of 1860 and vindicated the rights
and liberties of the people, and then
commenced the second great period of
American history, when the American
nation gave notice to the slave power that
it would no longer be controlled by IT,
secession threats OF set of aristocrats,
but would take its government into its
own hands. The slave power then retir-
ed to its doctrine of State rights, and cara
rying it to the extreme of secession,
struck murderous blow at the existence
of the nation, and transferred the contest
from the forum to the battlefield. Thus
was originated the struggle for the pres
evation of our nationality, and which
cannot end until the aristocratic spirit is
extinguished by the destruction of the
institution which begot and fostered it,
Loud cheers The General here recap
itulated his previous arguments that Sla-
very was the on y and the natural traitor
to the American nationality; and, seeing
that it could not act otherwise asked,
How are you to act the defenders Of
American nationality Z" The answer was
as plain as the question, and yet there
was difference of opinion. Three codes
OF action, however, were open-either
permit the slave aristocracy to isolate IL
self territorially and politically, l. e. sub
NIT to dlsunion; or, second, preserve our
Union and nationality by striking down
its enemies in arms, and extinguishng
the social and political agency which is
in its nature disloyal and aristocratic; or,
thirdly, invite the slave aristocracy back
into the Union, Offering i. supreme ands
absolute control Of national affairs with
out which it cannot insure It's permanons
cy in the Union. On the first the peo-
pie have already pronounced their judg-
ment-to acooptitwa impossible Loud
applause. The old cry, "rhe Union
must and shall be preserved" was not
sure watchword of party, but the instinct.
i've outcry Of the immovable, the relig-
ious faith Of the American mind. Loud
cheers. The conflict between the second
and third proposition was the real issue in
the present controversy. This second
line Of policy had been consistently acted
on by the party in power. President
| Lincoln's statement-"I am not controll-
ing events, but events are controlling me"
had been denounced and ridiculed as a
confession Of weakness; but he consider
cd it a sign Of just understanding ofh
situation. Revolutionary movements were
never governed by the plans Of individ-
uals, and every such attempt must prove
abortive and end in violent reaction.
What was to be done and what was done
was plain. Treason defed US, and obli-
ged us to strike it, and we struck it on the
head. The Government, following events,
procaims the emancipation of the slave;
but Mr. Lincoln was not the originator of
the decree, he was simply the recorder Of
it; the executors were the people in arms,
| [Cheers. The opponents Of the war said
this act diverted the war from its original
object--it was begun for the Union, and
made war for the abolition Of Slavery.
| 1t was like all revolutionary movements.
We could trace their origin, but could
not tell how far they would go, this do
pending entirely on the resistance they
met with. Was the war Of Independence
commenced with that object. No, it was
for the redress of specified grievances in
yindication of colonial rights, but those
who carried on that war became convin-
ced in its progress that British dominion
was incompatible with American liberty,
and thus struggle for the mere redress
| OF grievances was perverted into one for
the abolition of British dominion and
was there any one bold enoughto say that
this perversion was illegitimate So we
went into the war solely for the Union and
Slavery was scrupulously protected by
many OF our leaders, especially one of
them, and who exhausted all the resour-
ces Of his craftsmanship for that purpose.
/ Laughter. 1t was true, he exhausted
at the same time the patience of the peo-
| pie, and the result of his kid-glove poll
cy was reverse after reverse, popular dis
| OOhbSbt anu Iulu StdElLG US III tuc idCt{
and if the Chicago platform, when de-
claring the war failure, referred to this
portion of it, its trainers had certainly
shown certain degree of judgment.
Gradually it became clear that Slavery,
untouched, was the strength of the Re-
bellion; touched, its weakness The ne
gro titled its fields, fed its armies, carried
its baggage and dug its trenches, and yet
was longing for the day when he might
fight for the Union. To oblige him to work
for the Rebellion, without chance to
fight for the Union, would have been
worse than folly; it would have been a
crime against the nation Could an act
which undermined the strength of the
Rebellion be added to our own, be called
50 perverting the war from its original
purpose? Emancipation must have been
declared in this war even if there had
not been single abolitionists. Still it
had been said that the Emancipation
Proclamation had had an injurious effect
on the conduct of the war, and certainly