The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-09-16
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Congress by Southern Representatives, which
showed absolute brutality hard to ina
gine.
Farther on the conditions preceding Sc
cession are described
when Congress met on December 3, the coun-
Try WAS fuee to face with crisis for which no
was Tou,ly prepared. Everything un-
certain. In the South compact body of men
was bent secession, but by means con-
temp attd civil war. They expected TO be Joined
BY The border slave States SO that the con
liberation would control large territory ard
prezsn united font They depended upor the
! aCtiyr-sympsthy Of Europe, beneyins that the
manufacturing nations would exert pressure
enough TO prevent any war that would interrupt
thtlr supply Of cotton. A Hammond said in the
Soi-ate: ~ hat tyouid happen il no cotton was
furnished Tor .hree yearsf IN! and would topple
headiong and carry tne whole CIVILIZED world
viii her. Ne, you dare net make upon cot
ton. No power Garth dGrts 10 make upon
IL" BIS more Enthusiastic Associate. " r;taii Of
Texas, insisted that ''Yictoria's crown would not
stand On Ter head one week if cotton WAS
stopped, nor would her head stand on her shoui-
deTs''
They relied also on disunion at the North.
Some beEved that the Northwest would join
tLuIn in order not TO lose the control of the Mis-
| sissipgi Others predicted i new union from
| which New Engand ard New jersey alone would
] be excluded, or to which they would be admitted
} only on eruls 20 te imposed by the slave power.
Nearly all believed iuat any attempt at coercion
would lead to civil war in. the free States, and
! fancied that the s,opp4ge Of cotton would throw
millions ont Of employment, and create disturb
anoos vhich would paralyze the aggressive force
3 Of the Government Alexander H. stephens said:
Z II fave but little d uht that the North will go
! into anarchy. With such expectations, il i not
singular that the Southern l,ad5rs agreed with
! lvorson 1at 'tLeIe is TO be no war"
1t viii be seen that the misapprehensions
under which secession occurred were SIM
/ ply colossal; and ali this goes to show the
unwisdOm of making cocksure predictions
] abou: the course of human events, even
on what are supposed to be sufficient prem
ises.
/ 1t may surprise some Southern readers
! if this book has any circulation south of
Mason and Dixcn's Iine-to discover
I that Sumner. during the war, was one OF
: the strongest advocates of just and pa
/ cifc measures, which were not favored
by some of his followers He spoke in
favor of the compensation of slave-owners
on the emancipation of slaves. in oppo-
sition to many of the anti-slayery men who
refused thus to recognize any right in hu-
man property. He also urged the release
! Of Mason and Slidell against the wishes
Of a great part of the population OF tina
I North He also, in the days of reconstruc-
ticn. wrote an article on this subject TO
the Atlantic Monthly strongly antago-
nist:c to the views of the Tadlcal men
amcng bic own followers. The bographer
! says of this paper:
Z lie began by pointing out that the President.
3 without consulting Congress, had appointed mill
iaiy govCTuors in fotr States, giving them pTac-
tiCally absolute power, and ii this precedent
& were 10 be followed eleven States and
I tllal n.I:e millors of peop,e would be governed
arbitrarily by une man. IN way not recognized
by the Cons tuition Requested by law. lie
reviewed the history Of the confederation cTd
the reasons which led 10 the adoption Of RE
Constitution. reaching the conclusion that Ibis
GveILmeit is not established by the States.
l. II established for tie s,Gtes. but il Is es-
tshlishcd by the people fur them ewes and their
T1stciity. To The surTgcstCz that loyal
might reorsan.ze the Governments. he re-
piled: Assuming that al this is practicable,
il clearly IS not, il attributes TO the loyal cit
ztTs Of rebel State. however few in numiers-
; il nay be an Insignificant minority l,ower
clearly inco..sistca. With the received principles
81 popular government. that the majority aust
rule.
Altogether This biography of Sumner is
extremely interesting, and should find a
place in the library OF anyone wto is
4. desircus CT gathering together ali docu-
Eents and books relating to the history
of the war. tBcstcn: Houghton, Mifiin
& Co Sl25J
The second of this trio of Biographies
IS Salmon Portland Chase" BIZ Albert
Bushnell Hart. and the dedication has an
interes; CT its own. 1t reads:
To Albert caillard Hart, Abolition ist. Under-
ea..g-N 'f-aAs"N 'oi@H'tSff i-ibtItt ill., AitloH
Soldier
A sens Gratitude
Mr.. Hart has done exceedingly well with
his material and the book contains not
only much that is CT interest regarding
the life CT Chief Justice Chase, but great
deal OF interesting Information regarding
the events OF the day.
As Sumner represented the New England
Abelitionist, Chase was one of the leaders
Of the anti-slayery element in the Middle
West These men were not so extreme
and incorporating in their views as the
New Englanders, partly because many of
them we're themselves OF Southern de-
scent, and partly because they came di-
rectly in contact with all the difficulties
OF the situation, and saw obstacles in the
way of uncompromising action which the
Boston enthusiasts either overlooked or
underestimate. Born IN New Hampshire,
educated at Dartmouth, and passing the
years Of his public life in Ohio aud in
Washington, Chase was thoroughly repre-
sentative of the Ohio Union men
In describing the conditions of social
and political life in Ohio during the sec
ond quarter of the century, Mr.. Hart re-
lates some particularly interesting things
In connection with the recent riots in
akron and elsewhere, the following state
ments are significant
LndeT Tic Constitution OF Ohio, negroes we're
as matter Of course excluded from voting and
by statutes similar - th1sc OF al slJve-ho!dins
and Of some free, States, they were pu; in po.i.
tion of painful legal intcriori;y. Thus their les
tmony could not be received agIiust white per
sons, even TO confederate white witnesses. Tney
had no right to public oducation even though
they paid school gaXcs; and where law did not
reach, public sentiment IN, to prevent whle
people from employing c0iored mechanics, 10 keep
the negroes out Of the best quarters OF tine cities
and TO prevent any kind OF social iuiercOursa
The negro popuiatiOn was OF various kinds
Many Of the negroes had lost, OF had never pos
sessed, legal proofs Of their freedom; many
these a considerable number slowly buying
their freedom Indeed, biological student is
known 10 have provided for his education from
the installments thus paid hy a man Of his own
flesh, and 10 have charged the poor negro u per
cent deferred Payments. And negro child in
a charitable school excused her absence hy ex-
planning: TN saying at home TO hep buy
father" Hence when in 1920 attempt was
made in Cincinnati to enforce the registration
law OF 1907 the colored people in extremity sent
a committee to whether homes could be found
in Canada. BUs before the emigration could be
arranged mob descended upon them. and there
street fights, In which some OF the assaiants
killed. Eventually fright drove I, 100 OF
the 200 negroes in the city, of whom many
went TO Canada. The whole incident is a proof
that the prcindicCs against the negro race were
strong on the north bank OF the Ohio as on
the south, and that the ordinary principles Of the
right to labor, of Increment from place TO place |
and of legal privileges did not apply to men and
women Of dark skinss-
Side by side with the manifest disisste Of the |
people Of Ohio for free negroes stood the entire |
Willingness Of certain inhabitants, black and
white. to harbor and did fugitive slaves. The |
Ohio River was barrier easily TO be passed by |