The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1880-09-15
BRIC-A-BRAC.
HE TELLS ABOUT THE FORMA-
TTON OF EXISTING PARTIES.

/ 004 MI
HE TELLS ABOUT. THE FORMA-
TTON OF EXISTING PARTIES.
To the Editor Of The Morristown Gazette:
1t is to the young men of the land
wish to write. The young voters who
have come to the suffrage age since The
close of the war-a period of Is years
and they form no small body, to which
recruits are constantly being added
The population crop is one that never
fails. If there be any skeptics on this
point, let them attend the next camp OF
basket meeting and gaze fendly on the
babies present.
My young friends, you have present.
ed to you the Republican, Democratic
and Greenback parties. The latter fac
ton as still being but little black
cloud just above the horizon, is not ap-
! preciably political clement. But to
get at the actual construction of the
other parties, one must go back a few
years.
In the nominations for President, in
the fall of 1852, the Democrats and
Wings who both adhered to the cSm-
promise measures of Henry Clay, NOM
mated respectfully Gen. Frank Pierce
and Gen. Winfield Scott. The former
was elected by very large majority.
The Kansas-N ebraska bill of 1854 had
hopelessly divided the cid Wing party,
and, in the fall of 1856, we find Free
Soil, John g. Fremont,) Democratic,
(James Buchanan,) and American, or
Know Nothing, (Millard Fillmore).
The popular vote in round numbers
was, say:
Free Soil. .................... 300, 0Oo
Democratic. .................. 1850
American. .............. 100000
The rather unusual events of the Buc-
hanan administration gave. in the fall
of 1860, Free Soil, "a. Lincoln); Squat.
ter Sovereignty, Is. A. Douglasl; State
Rights, q. G. Breckinridge) and Com
stitutional (Jehn BelD. Mr.. L. claimed
that slavery should be confined to exist
ing limits Mr.. D. that the actual set
tiers should determine the question of
its admission into territory. Mr., B.
that legally slaves could be taken any
where within the boundary of the Unit
ed States, while Bell insisted (Yery eau
tisusly) upon q strict Interpretation of
| the constitution. The election of Mr..
Lincoln brought all parties to an agitat-
ed pause, in the midst of which the
| State Rights men made a rush and
knocked the other three parties in a
pile, falling atop themselves, shouting
most Justify, Secession" From this
pile arose two mighty armies who fought
desperately for four long, weary years.
The ranks were at first crowded with
volunteers, but as the war progressed
and the blows began to hurt, social os-
tracism, high bounty, then ruthless
conscriptiOn was required ON both sides
to keep up the strength of the combat
| ants. The struggle finally terminated
with the success of the Narth as a sec
ton. To claim that the Republican par
/ w CdAiACu OA VIC 10 % CN1tSy 40 eAo
nOnsensical as to say that the war was
! in the interest of the enslaved negro.
Neither party can be fairly charged with
inaugurating the war, or fairly credited
with its termination in favor of the Fed
eral armies. 1t was tremendous strug-
gle between two enraged sections who
had been trained to point of blind pre-
judice insensate hate by unscrupulOuS
demagogues-their leaders. The South
surrendered from pure exhaustion, and
the North were only too glad to stop.
Whether any real advantage has been
gained to US, as republic, by the row,
is an open question. In view of the
| theory, however, that the Democratic
party sought to destroy the Union, and
that its preservation is solely due to the
Republican party, a few facts and fig
ures are admissible.
On the Goth December, 1860, South
Carolina passed an ''act Of secession. !"
Her example was followed by Mississip-
ri, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisi-
and Texas-which States, on the 9th
February, 1861, organized COnfeder-
acy. We will style these the "Confed-
eracy States" While the moderate men
in Congress were endeavOring to patch
up some compromise, fire was opened
upon Fort Sumpter, and Mr.. Lincoln is
sued call fer volunteers. The seces-
sion of North Carolina, Virginia, Ar
kansas and Tennessee followed. We
will term these States the "Seceding
States. Four other States endeavored
to follow their example, but were pre-
vented by force. They were Delaware,
Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri, and
we will style them the "Coerced" States.
/ Taking the popular vote as the true ex-
preston of popular sentiment, we ap-
portion below the relative strength of
each candidate, in the four groups, or
the Northern, COnfederacy. Secession
aud Coerced States, at tae period Of aRc
election, and claim that from these fig
uFes one can base q better idea of the
real character Of the war, than from
either stump, blather or journalistic
casuistry. Recollect the issue is, ''the
Demscrats endeavered to destroy the
country, but the Republican party saved
IT," BY Douglas and Breckenridge
men, may the Democrats be known-by
~ @