Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1872-08-30
Greeley's Record as a Stcessionist.

EVERYBODY knows that Mr.. Greeley,
previous to the outbreak of the rebellion,
advocated letting 1.-THE erring Southern
sisters depart in peace" and argued that
when they actually determined upon GO
ing, 1t would be foolish to restrain them
by force. But the idea is generally prev
alent that he afterwaId recanted this doc
trine, if not formally, at least practically
by the ardOr and zeal with which he
urged on the war against the rebellion.
The present editor of the Tribune an
swers most of the charges against Mr..
Greeley, based on extracts from the files
of that paper, by asserting that the phil
osopher never saw the Objectionable
matter till after it appeared, seeking thus
to convey the impression that he was not
responsible. Such bubble could hardly
be resorted to regarding the course of the
Tribune in the winter of 1S60-61 A sin
gle article favoring nOn-resistance might
have slipped in by mistake, but a success
sion of them, continuing for a considura.
BILE time, and attracting the attention of
the whole country, could scarcely have
appeared without the sanction of Mr..
Greeley. The fact, undoubtedly is, that
he wrote them himself He never denied
them nor expressed regret that his paper
had advocated such a doctrine. On the
contrary, he distinctly reaffirms it after
years of reflection, in his history of the
American Conflict" In volume |, page
3s9 of that work, appears the following
NAY, we hold with Jefferson, to the inaliena
BILE right of communities to alter or abolish form,
| of government that have become oppressive or in
| furious. and if the Cotton States shall become sat
ised that they do better out of the Union thar
| in it, we insist on letting them 90 in peace. Tb,
! right to secede may be revolutionary one, but i
| exists, nevertheless. and we do not see how one
| party has right to do what another party has
right to prevent We must ever resist the asserted
right Of any State to remain in the Union and nul
! lify and defy the laws thereof To withdraw from
the Union is quite another matter, and whenever
considerable section OF our Union shall deliberate
ly resolve to go out we shall resist all coerciv,
never 10 live in Republic where one section i
pinned TO another by bayonets."
The assumed right of secession wa
never more strongly asserted by any lead
er of the South. Mr. Greeley, accordin.
to this, would be bound to "resist the as
serted right of any State to remain in tht
Union and nullify the laws thereof :" bu
if any considerable section shall desire t.
withdraw from the Union he stand
pledged to "resist all cOercive measure
designed to keep them in it," In Othe
words, unless he has since repudiatet
this mischievous doctrine (ot which ther
is no evidence), Mr.. Greeley as Presiden
would not oppose renewal of the at
tempt to establish Southern COnfedera
cy. As Commander-in. Chief of the Al
my and Navy he would not direct an,
military or naval operations against tn
movement. He would not call out tn
militia of the loyal States for that pun
pose, nor issue any proclamation callin
for volunteers. In short, he would jus
let them go-let the Union, which ha
been maintained, and it was suppose
rendered forever indssoluble by such
vast expenditure of blood and treasure
be sundered in twain. hiLddelphiG Press