The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-12-15

see that q large population OF small idrtneIu
and t~ownspeople would be more profitable
to them than the oligarchy Of plantation
lords with their retinues Of slaves.
While. at the stage which It had reached
when John Browns raid occurred, the nos
tility bet ween the bourpsoisie and the plant
! crs was mainly social, 1t had, nevertheless
exercised some influence in determining
political preferences. Those townsfolk who
wero inclined to give political expression
to their dislike of the slaveholding plant
ers went, first, with the Whig party. then
with the so-called Know-Nothing party,
and, lastly, with the American Union party.
The large shareholders who belonged to
the Wing party were generally men oil su-
perior intelligence and tender hearts, who
ruled their slaves in mercy and kindness,
felt compassion for their condition and
were not averse to considering plans LOT
their improvement and for their ultimate
emancipation. Ia a word, the Wing party
in the Southwest was not a p~ro-slavery
PARTY, In the same sense as was the Demo-
cratic party in that section. IL looked
upon slavery as a temporary necessity and
entertained the hope OF its eventual ex-
tinction. The fact Is recalled that John
Bell Of Tennessee made a stand against
the repeal Of the Missouri Compromise In
1854, inc that he subsequently undertook
to ~reorPanize the Wing strength In the
South, and to hold the party true to its
quasi anti-slavery principles. Prof. Fur
CESS thinks tha, the signs were quite favor
able for such reorganization in 1858. We
are also reminded that at that j%uncture
there appeared a significant revelation OF
A. fao;.xo - tho hauroo.iaie In tina GlnNa-
holding States. Hinton Rowan Helper,
the author Of the Impending Crisis OF
the South" though his North Carolina
citizenship was ~repudiated by the Senators
from that State, described himself as a
native of the South, born and bred in North
Carolina. Of slaveholding parents, while
he himself had engaged In mercantile
pursuits in the town OF Salisbury. lie
was, he said, a Southerner in instinct,
thought and habits. and had the desire and
purpose 10 live and die in the South.
II was to his southern brethren that
Helper addressed himself, and he pro-
fessed n wish -to do something 10 elevate
the South to an honorable and powerful
position among tho enlightened quarters
OF the globe" Prof. Burgess admits that
the language Of Helpers book was generally
too violent. that some of the conclusions
reached were exaggerations, and that
threats were INDUCED In with a frequency
and TO a degree that gave the composition
an %incendiary flavor. He holds never
theless, that Helpers denunciations OF the
great sla veholders were an approximately
fair expression Of a quite general feeling
among the bourpeoisie in the Southern
towns, and that but for John Browns raid,
the class enmity would probably have
developed into an attack upon the insti-
tuition OF slavery itself. as it did in Helpers
mind. Any pressure from without, how
ever, for the fastening of such a develop
ment would be certain 70 call forth a spirit
of resentment that would allay internal
strife and prevent Northern onlookers
from detecting the feeling which had been
slowly creating an anti-slavery class in tho
Middle South. Prof, Burgess thinks it may
be said with truth that in 1858 slavery had
little strength in Delaware and Maryland,
and no great strength in Kentucky, Ten
nessee, Missouri, western Virginia, North
Carolina. northern Georgia. northern Ala
bama and northern Texas. Moreover,
it's strength in those parts was on the de-
cline. These facts. however, were not then
appreciated at the North. The North then
Judged the sentiments OF the South only
or almost only, by the speeches and votes
of the Southern Senators and Representa-
tives in Congress. and by its slavery-sub-
.servient press. The great Shareholders
on their part were cognizant of the facts
and. In our authors opinion, were anxious
TO bring matters TO a crisis before the devel-
opment Of hostili ~ close around them
should proceed further.