National Republican., 1880-08-04
WHAT ARE THEY

The first plank in the democratic plat
form opens in this form:
We pledge ourselves anew to tho doctrines
and traditions of the democratic party.
What are those doctrines and traditions
The doctrines were the pestilential states.
rights ideas embodied in the Virginia and
kentucky resolution of 1898, under which
South Carolina set up her notification
scheme; under which secession was in
augurated and civil war brought upon the
country; under which the democratic party
was paralyzed from making any efforts to
save it-standng rs BUCHANAN and his
administration did, declaring that there was
no power in the general government to CO.
erce a state in arm ed rebellion seeking its
life.
Another doctrine was derived from the
DRIED SCoTT decision, under which slavery
could so wherever it pleased, The tradition
is that the democratic administration of
BUCHANAN would have il 20 over the whole
country without any power anywhere to
check it, while the "squatter sovereignty"
branch of the democratic party were for re-
pealing the Missouri compromise and let
ting slavery go where it pleased, but gave
the people of territory the right TO shut
1t out when they formed a slate.
These were the great doctrines of the
democratic party, to which they pledge
themselves anew.
The traditions are that every revolution
airy scheme which has dsgraced the politics
of the country since the for nation of the
republican party has been fathered by the
democratic party, from secession in the south
to Garcelonism in Maine.
The traditions are that for thirty years
human freedom never had friendly vote
from the democratic party, while every
measure fastening slavery upon the country
received its hearty support.
The traditions are that had the democratic
party succeeded in 1860, slavery would
have cursed all our territories, and free
labor would have been degraded and dis
graced.
The traditions are that had the demo
cratic party succeeded in 1868, declaring all
the reconstruction measures "unconstitu-
"tional, revolutionary and void, they would
have repealed them all and left the result,
of the war fruitless, except in debts and
public burdens,
The traditions are that every democratic
state voted against nhnlishing slavery by q
constitutional amendment.
That every democratic state voted against
the fourteenth amendment of the constitu-
tion which made "all persons born OF natur-
allied citizens Of the United States and o
" the state wherein they reside" and whicl
provided that "no state shall make or en-
force any law which shall abridge thu
privileges and immuniies of citizen o
the United States; nor shall any state de
"pnve any person of life, liberty or rpropert,
without due process of law; nor deny t.
any person within its jurisdiction tn
equal protection of the laws"
That.every democratic state voted agains
the fifteenth amendment of the constitution
: which provided that "the right OF citizen
5 " of the United States to vote shall not b
" denied or abridged by the United State
" or by any state on account of race, colo
"or previous condition of servitude."
p There is also q tradition that New Yorl;
b New Jersey and Indiana voted for thes
amendments when they were republica
states, and that when they became demo
cratic states they each voted TO Withdraw
the consent which had been given to thes
I amendments.
These are some of the traditions to whic
they pledge themselves anew.