Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1865-11-10
President JOHNSON and the
Democrats HSSty.

Of sths school Ct Andfew jackson. A.
sueh, hss~ss nsssssivsly chosen Mayor
Of Vie borsega; Representative Of his
Oeauty and Senator iron hi District
Member Of Congress; Governor, end U.
8. Senator: holding the lsst.named post
when the long bsooding conspiracy for
Disvnioa culoiastsd 10 (so-called) Seces.
sion and open Rsbelliou. So far. there
Is no dispute IS to facts. In tho aatual,
dictionary sense Of the term, Mr.. John
son IL . Democrat; in the artificial,
arbitrary, partisan sense, be ceased, to
be,o when thirteen out Of sixteen Dem
ocratic Governors, with large majority
of.the Democratic Members Of Congress,
ana Of the several State Legislatures, also
of Federal and State officers, repudiatcd
their oaths of fidelity to the Federal Con.
stitution and plunged into the mad vortex
Of Rebellion. Then. when the Dem
ocratic leaders even in the loyal States
all but unanimously protested against
coercion. insisting that the Disunion.
lists must be bribed to come back OF per.
nittcd to 70 of and stay of. Andrew
johnson broke with his party and elave
to the upholders Of the Union by force,
since force had been invoked BY tho Re-
bells.
.On.the Slst of January, 1891, the
Democrats of this State held . great
delegated Convention in Tweddle Hall,
Albany. to roprobate and denounce be.
forehand any attempt to "coerce" the
Secessionis,s into obedience to the CoDsti.
tuition and laws. Horatio Seymour.
Amasa J. Parker, James s. Thayer, &C.,
&c, We'd with each other in stig,uatizi"g
coercion" a. unconstitutional and worse
than Secession. Mr.. Thayer gave notice,
amid laundering acclamations, shat if the
incoming Administration Lincoln's
should undertake to " coeree" the South,
itwould have its hands full at the North,
without locking for enemies elsewhere.
And" the party in every Northern or
Border State re-cchoed these threats in
every form and shape treating As public
enemies not those who we're plotting to
dissolve the Union. but those whs we're
suspected Of q fixed determination to
preserve it.
Andrew johnson hereupon took issue
with his party-broke with it-deuounced
it's leaders as traitors. and was denounced
by them in turn. On the 81 Of March,
lS6l-Jo. Lsne Of Oregon, having made
q speech against Il coercion Mr.. john
son answered aim earnestly, deiantly-
saying:
"Show me the man who has been en-
gagged in These conspiracies show me
one who has been sitting in these nightly
and secret conclaves, plotting the over.
throw of the Government. show me who
has fred upon our flag, has given in.
struclioos to take our forts and custom
houses, our arsenals and dock-yards, and
will show you traitor.
That being done, were the President Of
tLesUaited States, I would DO As Thomas
jefferson did in 1906 With Aaron Burr,
who was charged with treason, l would
have them arrested and tried for treason,
and. if convicted, by the eternal God
they should suffer the penalty Of the law
at the hands Of the executioner. Sir,
treason must be punished. Its enorm:ty
and the extent and depth Of the ofense
must be made known, The time Is not
distant, if this Government is preserved,
its Constitution obeycd. and its laws
executed in every department, when some.
thing of this kind must be DONE
Insthis spirit, he has even since spoken
and acted-the distance between him and
the bulk of his former compatriots con.
staptly widening. Thus he spoke and
voted in favor of expelling Jesse D.
Bright from the Senate-.Jssse being q
pronounced Coppcrhead, though esteemed
by his fellow Democrats sound 10 the
faith and loyal to the Usien. In lis
place in the Senate-iu the Joint Com
hi.tec on the conduct Of the WARM
addressing asssmblages Of the people
Mr.. johnson has been among the boldest
and strongest deuouncers OF Secession as
Mr.. johnson has been among the boldest
and strongest denouncers Of Secession as
treason, and of all its abettors a. GRIMM
ais. Hence he was selected BY Abraham
Lincoln for Military Governor. Of Tean.
essee, as one who would do anything, dare
anything for the cause of the Union-a
confidence that was fully justified by his
subsequent course. Mr.. Johnson govern
ed Tennessee as an upholder of the Un'
ION, regarding and treating armed. def
ant Rebels as having no rights that loyal
men were bound to respect. His rule
was far more odious to them than Lin.
colus-his acts stigmatizad by them as
more outrageous. They didn't know how
to nate anybody else SO enormously as
they hated Andrew johnson.
lie was a stern ruler When the PEG.
ple Of Nashville chose Rebel munich
patty, Gov. Johnson-on theiE refusing
to take The oath of allsgiance--scnt them
TO the peuitentiary, annulliug their cleo.
tisn AID ordering . new one. The clergy
men of Nashville sc7uld preach treason {:
he called them before him. required them
to take the oath, and. on their refusal,
sent them to prison. Turner S. Foster,
prominent Secessionist, was chosen
Circuit Judge; Gov. j. gave him COM
mission, but sent him at once to the peni-
Tertiary, 50 as to De sure that he did no
mischief with it. In short, no other man
has done, OF his own yolition, SO many
acts that exposed him to Copperhead de.
testation as has Andrew johnson.
~ As Military Governor. he long since
enancipated by proclamation every slave
in Tennessee. Mr.. Liucolns proclama.