Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1869-07-07
Speech of Gen. ]. A. Garfield at the
Ratification Meeting in Columbus,
Wednesday Evening, June %, 1869.

Ratification Meeting in columbus
Wednesday Evening, June 23, 1863
FELLow-CITIzENs We have met
here tonight for the purpose of ratifi'
cation; to rejoice together over the
work done to-day; to look forward 6
/ little into the opening campaign; tC
| INQUIRE into some of the issues thai
will soon be brought before the peO'
pie for their action. And | cannot
/ look upon these familiar places, on
/ this mass of people that stand upon
these steps and these grounds, with
out remembering the scenes of the
past, the last time / was here at {
State Convention. Eight years ago
| this month, l believe, perhaps a
month later, was the last time / haC
the pleasure of attending a State Con-
vention in this place. And | have
been all day busy with the memories
of what has transpired since that time
! Eight years ago now you had met tC
nominate David Tod for your Cover
nor. Eight years ago now your streets
were filled with Union Soldiers, and
the camps around your cities were
crowded with men marshaling for the
great conflict then opening. Eight
years ago the city was filled every
where with the gathering, mastering
forces preparing to put down the great
rebellion. And how many events have
transpired since then? What histO-
ry has this Union Republican party
had since eight years ago?
A RETROSPECT.
Let us reflect for a moment upon
that history, my fellow citizens. As
l have gone over it in my mind to-day
I felt satisfaction and pride in the
history of the Union party that l have
felt in no other similar organization
in the range of human history. DO
you know of any organization, have
YOU ever read of a great party that has
met and vanquished such obstacles
and come up to so great triumphs as
the Union party of this republic has
done since since eight years ago? Or,
to go back step further. A little
more than eight years ago, in this
very State House where you are now
standing-I remember the scene as it
were but yesterday-Abraham Lin
coin came up these steps to meet the
Senate and House of Representatives,
and to receive their congratulations
when he was on his way to take
his seat in the Executive chair at
Washington. The Republican party
had Just begun its career of influence
and honor. And now let us follow it
a moment, and see what obstacles it
has vanquished, and let me ask you
q zee with me whether it has not
been a brave party. If 1 were called
upon to pick out, among all its high
qualities, the one that shines the most
eminent, would say it had been a
courageous party, that dared to look
all sorts of disaster in the face-that
dared to meet all sorts of enemies,
and stand up manfully to the issue,
and come through triumphant to the
end. LCheers.
About eight years ago was the time
when the Republican party met its
first great obstacle-and what was
that? A gigantic rebelliOn-eleven
great States of the Union banded to-
geLher by bloody Oaths, to see not
only the Union Republican party, but
the Government itself, destroyed and
ruined beneath their feet. And
against this great and threatening ca
lamity the Republican party buckled
on its armor, and called on the Amer
lean people to stand up and see that
the Union be preserved. And the
long array of the history of the war,
the disasters, the heart-breakings, the
blood and the wasted treasure, all
that followed in the train of that,
could not damp this heroic party, un-
till under the AppomattOx apple tree,
the last shot was fired and the last
great victory of the war achieved.
But this was not the greatest of our
obstacles. We had fellow citizens,
greater obstacles than rebel armies tQ
encounter. We were called upon, not
only to conquer armies; we were call
ed upon to conquer ourselves. We
were called upon to conquer our pref
udices we were called upon to do
that most difficult of all things to do,
what seemed to us odiOus and ac-
knowledge its right, to go down into
our very hearts and pluck up by the
roots deep-seated prejudices, and to
acknowledge the manhood of all men
before the law and before God. And
only now, on this last day of our
struggles, has the great Republican
party of Ohio crowned its career by
indOrsing the Fifteenth Amendment,
which ends the whole story of our
obstacles, and declares that all men
are equal before the law. Applause. ]
And / declare to you tonight, fellow
citizens, that / regard that last moral
triumph over our prejudices as a
grander one than any of our triumphs
over armies in battle.
HOW THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HELP
ED Us.
But we met other foes fellow citi-
Zens. We have met not only euemies
in battle, but we have met that insid-
ious enemy in the midst of us-the
great Democratic party, which, from
the beginning of the contest to the
last day, and on this day, have been
Systematically and persistently ar
rayed against US. At every turn in
the tide, in every dark hour of the
conflict, at every point where we were
most likely to be weak, they have
met us to strike us a blow. You re-
member that eight years ago, when
we were nominating Governor here,
they held a convention across the
street yonder, in which they declared
that if the Republican party under
took to cross the Ohio river and car
ry out their purpose of putting down
the rebellion in the States of the
South, we would be compelled to walk
over the dead bodies of two hundred
thousand Democrats before We could
enter those States. You remember
that threat made in their convention.
But, Notwithstanding, your army did
cross the river, and it did go over a
good many dead Democrats, but most
all of them were from the South.
[Laughter.l
You remember when you COM
menced to raise armies they said "not
a man nor a dollar" You remember
when you made law TO draft citizens
they resisted not only the law but the
draft. You remember when you un-
dertook to raise money TO put down
the rebellion they resisted your efforts
to raise money. You remember they
threw all the weight of their moral
influence against you and your SOL
diers in the great conflict. You SOL
diers remember what terms they used
in reference to you, the discourage
ments they threw about you. You
remember that that party never glo-
ried in your victories and never la
mented over your defeats. You re-
member that, at every stage of the
great conflict, you met their sneers
and their discouragements. But over
all these disasters you triumphed year