The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1867-07-11
lFor the Pioneer.
The Constitution AS 1t Is,
VERSUS
The Constitutional Amendment

che constitutional Amendment.
ALAS that man
Must prove the direst enemy of man
His boasted reason welded to contrive
Dark systems Of despair-lls wanted
skill.
To forge the fetters which enthrall the
soul"
Why does the Democratic party
now oppose negro suffrage? Here
tofore it has always been the special
advocate of this measure, both upon
principle, and in practice. Here is
the proof. The name { Democratic
to which this party has always SO
adhered, as to its sheet
anchor, and which has heretofore
given to it whatever of prestage it
has had among honest people, i'm
plies party who advocate a govern
ment by all, for ALA governments
in which the weakest as well as the
wisest, the poorest as well as the
and the blacklist as well as
the whitest,- can be equally heard
and felt through a common ballot
box; a government in which each
individual is compensated for bear
ing his portion of its burdens, by
the enjoyment of his just share of
its privileges, protection and honors.
Until recently, whenever this true
Democratic policy has been ass;lled
in this country, by any class or par
ty, as, for instance, in 1854, when a
powerful party sought to, and came
so near excluding our foreign popu-
lation from the ballot-box the party
bearing the same name of that now
opposing the Constitutional Amend
ment, has chung out it's banners on
the outer walls become preg
nant with apparent righteous indig-
nation, and delivered itself of howl
sufficient to make devils start and
stand aghast.
They have exclaimed, "The Con
stitution is about to be assassinated,
our liberty destroyed, and true De-
mocracy .annihilated from the face
of the Land ; our opponents are seek
ing to establish an aristocracy OF
wealth, or intelligence, and if they
succeed. Democracy, and with it,
liberty and equal rights will be at an
end," and last and loudest they have
exclaimed, "this ass5 l~n for the OPP
pressed Of all nations will become
barren, and fall to rise no more, il
we do not rally to the rescue
And will not the principle which
this party then professed to adso-
cate extend the ballot to the negro
What nation has been more oppress
ed than his, and what people have
more need Of an ASYLUM from op
preston
Again, can this Democratic party
now consistently claim that the ne
gro has not sufficient intelligence tC
entitle him to the privilege proposed
to be conferred by this amendment
Can it do so at all without com
pletely stultifying itself? Look q
the record Of this party upon this
question. It claims to be true
lineal descendant of Thomas Jeffer
son and if true how degenerate i
has become). Thomas Jefferson
believed and said that sail men ar,
born equal;;" and to teach and prac
tice this great truth of natural jus
tice, was the business Of this grea
and good mans life But this part,
has time and again freely conceded
the negro to be capable of profita
bly, exercising the elective franchise
1t has done this in the States o
Massachusetts, Maine, New Hamp
shire and New York. Wherevc
this privilege has been conferred S,
far in the Union, it has been done b,
the Democratic party.
Martin Van Buren presided owe
and was the leading spirit Of the Ne,
York Convention which virtual
conferred the elective franchise up
on the negroes of that State. Thi
same man was afterwards electe
President of the United States by
unanimous Democratic party. "A
this is but a part of what this part
has done in this behalf, while tru
to it's name. -
And why has this party so com
pletely gone back upon and stult
fed itself in these late days? Hay
ing proved recreant to all those nc
BILE principles which it formerly sac
vocated and practised, why does
now seek to dishonor the nam
which once gave it responsibility
like the dastardly william who be
trays and abuses the good and piou
mother who gave him life, and fooe
and character, through all the day
of his respectability? Echo al
swers that, ''in consequence a Ion
and apparently secure monopoly {
power, conferred upon the leader
Of this party by the people, VIII
were lured by it's name, before the
had learned that it was being frauC
ulently used upon a spurious CON
modify, and just before the lat
bloody war, these leaders had b.
come terribly and hopelessly CO..
rupt; SO that they were apparent
given over to hardness of heart an
reprobacy of mind,'" as the world
history teaches, must almost inev
tably be the case, under similar eli
cumstances. Especially was this S
, in the Southern and more poWerfl
wing of this party even so much S
that they saw, Or thought they say
that it was necessary for them
sacrifice every remaining semblano
of principle, to secure even ten
porary worldly salvation. Accor'
ingly these more bold leaders of I'll
Southern wing Of this party, witho1
a shadow of justification or excus
} precipitated the war of the rebellic
: which so long and so fearfully ba
tised us in blood and sorrow. Th