Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1879-11-14
Extracts From Senator Ohandler's Last
Speech,

to restrict thb lines. Of citizenship. In
the Senate of the Unitcd States and in
the halls of Congress you viii hSsr
citizenship described as confined to
States, and it is denied that there is
stItt 4 thing as National citizenship. l
to-fIight addtess YOU, my fellow citizens
5f Chicago, III q broad sense as fellow
citizens of the United States OF Anefi-
ca. A great crime has Beer committed,
my fellow citizens-a crime against this
Nation; a crime against republican i'm
stitutlUns throughout the world; a crime
against civil liberty, and the criminal
is yet unpunished that Is TO say, he is
not punished according TO his deserts.
And 1 shall tonight devote myself
chiefly to the history Of a crime, and
shall endeavor to hold up the criminal
to y0af eAeeration.
But, my fellow citizens, we hive a
matter under consideration tonight of
vastly more Importance than all the
financial questions that can be pre-
sGhteH tU VS.; and that Isl Are we or are
we not a Nati6nF W. hsve supposed
for generations that we NgfB Nation.
Our fathers met in convention to frame
Constitution, and they found some
difficulty in agreeing upon the details
of that Constitution, and for a time it
was q matter Of extreme doubt whether
any asreetf1et1t could be reached. Acri-
monious debates took place in that con-
vention, but finally spirit of COM
promise prevailed. and the Constitution
was adopted by tic convention and
submitted to the people Of these
United States. Not to the States,
but TO the peotle of the United
States, and the people OF the United
States adopted the Constitution that
was framed by the fathers, and for
fhhhf long years the whole people of
the United StSt5s .helie7sd that we had
a Government. The Whisky tehellion
broke out in Pennsylvania, and was pitt
down by the strong arm of the Govern
meht, and we still believed that we had
a Government. We continued in that
belief until the days of General tsek-
son, When South Carolina raised the
flag against the Government. Armed
men trod the soil of South Carolina dnd
threatened that unless the tariff was
modified to suit their view they would
tNOl luO L Ills W dS
Under the leadership of John G. Cal
hUuh, carrying out his doctrine. Old
General Jackson took his pipe out of his
mouth when he was told that Calhoun
was in rebellion against the Govern
meht, and said: "Let South Carolina
commit the first act of treason against
this Government, and by the Eternal, l
will hang John G. Calhoun" and every
man, woman, and child in America, in
cluding Calhoun, knew that he would
do it, and the first act of treason was
not committed against the Government;
for even the State of South Carolina,
under the leadership of John Q. Gal.
houn, had bowed to the power of this
Government. We remained under that
impression until first took my seat in
the Senate on the 4th day of March,
1857. Then again treason raised its
head upon the floors of Congress.
Treason was threatened on the floors of
the Senate and on the floors of the
House, and John Wentworth was there
to hear it. They said then: "Do this
or we will destroy your Government;
fail to do that and we will destroy your
Government" One of them, in talk
ing to brave old Ben Wade one day, re-
peated this threat, and the old man
Strengthened himself up and saidi
Don't delay on my account" Care
tul preparations were made to carry
out these threats. Jefferson Davis
stepped out of the Cabinet of Frank
lin Pierce, as Secretary of War, into
the Senate of the United States,
and became chairman of the Com
mittee on Military Affairs. Your arms
were shipped to the Southern States,
where they could be used TO overthrow
your Government. Your ammunition
followed your arms. There was an in
clause in the general
appropriation bill which read that the
he deems it for tho interest of the Gov
ernment to dispose of, and under that
apparently innocent clause your arse
nails, all over the United States, were
opened and your arms were sold for a
song and shipped in the very boxes be-
longing to your Government to the
South to be used to overthrow your
Government. Your navy was scattered
wherever the winds blew and sufficient
water was found to float your ships
where they coUld not be used to defend
your Government. Your credit, which
stood in 1857 at 122 cents on the dollar
for your six per cent. bonds, was so ut
terly prostrated, debased and degraded
that in February, 1S6l-four years after
your bonds, principal and interest
payable in gold coin, were selling for
cents on the dollar. and no
buyers for the whole amount. Careful
were made for the over
throw of your Government, and when
Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office
as President of the United States you
had no army, no navy, no money, no
credit, no ammunition, no nothing to
protect the National life. And yet,
with all those discouragements staring
them in the face, the Republican party
to save your Government
We raised your credit, we created
navies, raised armies, fought battles,
carried on the war to a successful issue,
and, finally, when the rebels surrender
ed at Appomattox, they surrendered to
a Government. They admitted that
they had submitted their heresy to the
of arms, had been defeated, |
and they surrendered to the Govern
ment of the United States of America. |
They made no claims against the Gov
ernment because they had no claim
against the Government, but they asked,
and asked as a boon from the Govern
ment of the United States, that their
miserable lives might be spared to
them.
We gave them their lives, told them
to take their horses, go home, keep |
their parole of honor, obey the laws and |
raise crops. They had forfeited all their
Every dollar was pledged |
by their own sign manual. We gave
them back their property. We found |
them naked and we clothed them. We |
found them without the right of citizen
ship, having forfeited these rights, aud
we restored to them the rights of citi-
We took them to our bosoms
as brethren, believing that they had re-