Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1899-07-27
Lat We Forget!

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1864. That is, 1t assembled at I
time when the armies OF the Uniol
were everywhere fercely contestinl
! with the army Of the secession South
: ern Coniederacy. The war for tht
Union had been going on for about
three years and five months, and the
: losses in it had been appalling, bui
0 the Union army had persistently
Q maintained its cause, in spite Of many
defeats and drawbacks.
. When, however, the Democrats
! met in convention at Chicago, at the
, end Of August, 1854, to nominate
) candidates for the presidency and vice
presidency for the election Of that
year and to frame platform Of party
policy the tide vas beginning mani
testify to turn in favor Of the Union
forces. The Southern Coniederacy
was drawing near its last gasp; it had
exhausted the military resources Of
the secession states to keep up the
armies which nearly three and half
years OF war had depleted terribly,
and its brave fight for existence was
going on against odds which were ir.
resistible.
In the face Of these facts, what did
the pational Democratic convention
doP 1t adopted platform at Chica-
90 on the 30th Of August, 1864, which
denounced the war as a failure and
demanded that the awful slaughter Of
Union troops during its continuance
should be made Of no avail; that the |
living should surrender the cause for
which the dead had died. This was
the language Of that forever infam-
Gus declaration by an American po-
litical party, and it cannot be too
often quoted as warning to pusillan.
imous politicians:
"Resolved, That this convention
does explicitly declare as the sense Of
the American people that, after four
years Of failure to restore the Union
by the experiment Of war, during
which, under the pretense Of a mill.
tary necessity Of war power higher
than the constitution, the constitu-
ton itself has been disregarded in
every part, and public liberty and
private right alike tro iden down, and
the material prosperity Of the coun.
try essentially impaired, justice, hu.
liberty, and the public well
fare demand that immediate efforts
be made for cessation OF hostilities,
with a view to an ultimate conven-
ton Of all the states, or other peace.
able means, to the end that, at the
earliest practicable moment, peace !
may be restored on the basis OF the |
FEDERAL union Of all the states"
This shameful demand that the -,
Union armies should retire before
heir armed enemies was made, more
'ver, in year which had been dis y
inguished by bloody battles and had F
,een notable for Union victories omi- t
lous in their significance for the !
ecesson Coniederacy. General Grant !.
lad begun his campaign in Virginia
y crossing the Rapidan on May 4, y
nd thereafter had followed in rapid v
uccession the series Of great battles il
Which resulted, seven months after n
he adoption Of this platform, in the :,
urrender Of General Lee at Appomat- :,
Ok. On May 4, also, General Sher- VI
ian had begun his Atlanta campaign 81
y advancing southwark from Chat. 81
.nooga. On June 10 the Alabama Al
as destroyed by the Kearsarge off
herbourg, During the month of ~
ugust, in which the national Demo- -
ATTIC convention occurred, Farragut Ia
ad made his successful attack on W
le Mobile forts-forever memorable ri
naval annals. Ia
At this time, when the Union was
raining itself to the utmost to keep r
armies President Lincoln having r.
He'd for 100000 volunteers only pa
'out a month before the date of the be
nvention), at the most critical but IFS
'peful period in the war for the pres or
walton of the Union, the Democratic
rty assembled and denounced the