Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1879-08-08
SPEECH OF SENATOR CHANDLER

At the twenty-ffth anniversary of the
formation of the Republican party held
at Madison, Wis, July %, Senator
Chandler spoke as follows:
MIR. CHAIRMAN AND FELLOW CITIZENS:
have the right TO use the word fellow-c citizens,
and use it In no narrow sense. L might use
It in a narrow sense, inasmuch as the State of
Wisconsin once formed apart of Wayne Coun-
ty, where l now reside, but | use It In its
broadest sense as an American citizen. 1t has
become popular to talk of State citizenship
and deny National citizenship. i am glad
that you and | have precisely the same rights
to go to Illinois, to South Carolina, to New
York or Georgia, and express our views and
cast our votes as much as we have right to
cast it here In Wisconsin OF In Michigan.
Therefore, use the word citizen In It's broad
est National sense.
1t is well, fellow-citizens, for us to celebrate
the twenty fifth anniversary of the formation
of the Republican party. 1t is meet and
proper that we should do so. 1t is well, per-
haps, that we should boast little of the part
that we individually took in that formation,
but let me say, Mr. Chairman and fellow-citi-
zens, that we were but mites in a mighty
whole in its formation Michigan claims TO
have formed on the 9th day of July, 1854, in
advance of Wisconsin, but what does that
matter The Republican party was formed
by God, to save human liberty. No matter
u
vance in carrying out the will of Almighty
God. We were but simple agents to carry out
his will.
1t may be proper for me to dwell little,
upon this anniversary, uponi its formation and
the reasons for the formation of this great
Republican party. Why was it borni and
why has it livedi AS has been well said the
encroachment of the slave power had been so
great that all the lovers of human liberty
throughout the land decided to unite and
resist the further extension OF Its power. The
slave power had repealed the Missouri Com
promise line, had retained slavery and took
possession of all of the vast territory of these
United States, and the Republican party was
formed as one-idea party, to resist that
power. We were one-idea party at our
birth, but that idea was broad enough to
cover the continent, aye, to cover almost the
world. 1t was liberty to men.
Fellow-citizens and Mr.. Chairman, are we a
Nation or are we notl At the foundation Of
our Government, when our Constitution was
adopted, the whole people of these United
States believed that we were Nation indeed,
and SO they continued to believe until 1880,
the State of South Carolina declaring that we
were not Nation, and that South Carolina
had the right to resist the Government of
these United States. Andrew jackson was
then President of the United States, and when
that State raised the flag of rebellion against
| this Government, Andrew jackson said that
| If an attempt was made to resist the laws of
the United States, by the eternal, he would
hang John q. Calhoun, the father of that
doctrine, and all the people knew that he
would do it, including John q. Calhoun, and
from that day forward it was admitted on all
hands that we we're Nation. We remained
under the conviction that we were Nation
until after the repeal OF the Missouri Com
| promise, when notification again raised its
| head. l took my seat in the Senate of the
| United States for the first time on the 4th of
March, 1857, and at that time it was denied
| that we were Nation. At that time the
daily, hourly threat on the floor of the Senate,
on the floor of the House, every
| whtre throughout the Capitol and the Nation,
it was said, "If you do this or If you
do not do that, we will dissolve this Union"
They proclaimed that State sovereignty over
| rided National sovereignty, and that any one
State in the Union had the right to overthrow
the Government; that eliminated In 1861 in
q revolt against this Government. What care.
full preparations had been made for that re-
volt during the four years preceding 1861
Your arms were scattered mostly among the
Southern States. Your navies were scattered
! wherever the winds blew and water was found.
Your National credit, which stood high in
1857, was so absolutely destroyed that in Feb
ruary, 1861, your bonds bearing six per cent.
interest, payable in coin, were sold at eighty
eight cents on the dollar, and no takers for
the whole amount; your credit was destroyed,
and you were in no situation to 20 to war.
But you went to war notwithstanding these
disadvantages. You fought the war through
| to a successful issue. When the rebels sur
rendered at Appomattox they admitted that
| the United States was a Government. They
| said: 1--WE have submitted this question to
the arbitration of arms, and We admit that
you have conquered, and we surrender to this
| Nation.n
At that time these rebels made no claims
upon this Government. They had pledged
and in the very ordinances of secession which
/ a. I. lal
| their fortunes and their sacred honor to the
| overthrow of this Government, and having
| failed they had lost their lives, their fortunes
and their sacred honor. They made no claim
| to right against this Government, for they
had no right against this Government. They
asked, and humbly asked, the boon of theil
miserable lives, and that was all that they did
| ask
Mr.. Chairman, such magnanimity as wai
exhibited by this Nation on that occasion the
world has never seen. We gave them theil
lives, we restored to them their property, an(
| finding them naked, we clothed them and re
stored them to citizenship. They were boun(
by the laws of Nations and by the laws of wa
| for thousand years to pay every dollar of tn,
expense of that rebellion. Every single dol
lar they had forged and lost, and every dolla
| they were bound to pay-al the expenses o
that war. We, in our magnanimity, forgav'
| them the debt and took them back, and tool
| them to our arms as brethren, and now, II
| 1879, what do we find. The same identica
issues that were presented to us In 57 are pre-
| sented to us now. After twenty-five year
from the time first took my seat In the Sen
ate go back, and what do l seel Not tn
| same men, but the self-same identical meas
ures / find being pressed that We're pressed
then. The men have changed; the measure
have not changed at ALL and to-day what d,
they dol They tried war, they undertook tC
shoot this Government to death, and the
failed. They undertook to capture Washing
ton with arms in their hands, but they did no
capture it. But to-day they have captures
Washington, and to-day, while they do no
| threaten again to shoot the Government b
death, they say, " Unless you allow us to rul
this Nation we will starve the Government u
death.n The National life and the NatiOna
honor are in greater peril to-day than the
were In lS57,greater peril say to-day-botl
the National life and the National honor
They said then, Unless we can rule thi
Nation we viii ruin it," and they say tn
self-same thing to-day; "Unless we can rul
this Nation we will ruin it.n The issues ar
the same to-day. Now to-day eight million
of men who were so recently In arms agains
this Government absolutely rule and cOntro
the whole legislation of your Government
Through caucus dictation the eight million
of white men of the South control the Who'll
legislation of this Government One man Il
Wisconsin, whom will not name, the Who'll
Nation was proud of, for he seemed to eXhibi
manhood although Democrat, and he didn'
stand out, though, but by caucus dictation h
humblY surrendered, and even his name is fol-
gotten. But these men say we want purity G
elections, men who occupy their seats on tn
floor Of both houses of Congress by fraud an
violence, by shot-guns and tissue ballots
Thirty.s six members of the House occupy thei
seats upon that floor without one single, sol
tary man for constituency. Thirty-six men
bers of the House occupy their seats as reprI
sentatives of the colored race in violence c
| ha 10 for hat Ia lu fhaf ha
any race or class of men are disfranchise
J they shall not be represented upon that hool
and yet the thirty-six members who occup
, their seats upon that floor occupy them in vie
, lenee of law and through fraud and violence
Twelve members of the Senate occupy the
/ seats In the same way, and thus they hold th
l control of both the Senate and the House
, Representatives, and, holding that contro
they turn round and say: "You rascally r.
puhlicans, we will make you obey such Law
Q as we dictate, or we will starve your Cover
! ment to death"
thfc axrTfn ard, foV