The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-03
The ADVERTISERS A HOME STUDY CIRCLE.

Congress.
 regarded as the rights of his country against the claims of England. The
 United States claimed the territory in- cluding the present States, of Washing 64 degrees % minutes on the basis of the Louisiana purchase in 1898. England also claimed the same territory as hers.
 h th. lSii the the co,pTcn probability seemed to be war, with England over the question. The Democrats raised the campaign. cry during that year of ''nfty,four forty or of which this plank formed part. He made speeches on the subject. This dispute invt lved the whole qIestion of
 the Monroe doctrine. and of that doc- trine he was an enthusiastic supporter. He believed that no foreign nation should be permitted to extend Its system on this continent and that we should be suffer such extension. He said: Tt be- comes us to put the nation in a state of def .i.se; and when we are told that this will lead to war. all have to say integrity of the country, but at the same anne tune assert our right to the last inch. and then if war comes let 1t come," He argued that the justice of Americas . reasonable question. If the occupancy of the whole territory by the United States should be used by Great Britain as1& pretext IISts l., for war ,he should not shrink come, England finally proposed that the
 forty ninth parallel be taken as the boundary. On this basis tho compromise averted.
 The compromise measure of 1850, or the
 omnibus bill' as 1t was called. has been considered in other papers of this series. mat .nat famous al measure was really the out.
 extension into new territories. Douglas
 stood with those other giants-webst ana Clay--ln support of that bill. In dis1J cussing the question of admitting slav- cry into the territories he stood steadily for "squatter sovereignty" that is, for
 the settlement of that matter by the
 people s or the territory and not by
 cratic doctrine. "I have always held" he said, that the people have the right
 10 settle these questions as they choose. not only when they come into the Union,
 as a State. but that they should be per-
 mltted to do so while a territory" Z The history of Mir. Douglas, for which
 he U most remembered today centers
 around the year lsos, when he held his famous series of debates with Abraham |. Lincoln, and the year lS6o when he and
 Lincoln were opposing candidates for the | Presidency. &E The joint debates were mostly dis | cussion of the question growing out R0t slavery. Douglas in 1s6s was a candt- 1 date for reelection to the United States Senate and Lincoln was contesung the | chosen would depend upon whether ma | Jority of Democrats or ut Republicans
 should be chosen to the State Lsgisla-
 ture of Illinois. At that time Dougias
 the country. By many it was thought | presumption on the part of Lincoln to
 enter into discussion with the little
 giant ot Illinois: But the .progressssof l was in these debates that L.incoln de-
 veloped his doctrine of the utter de- | structton or the complete establishment
 of slavery in the United States. '1n | my opinion" he said, slavery agitation l will not cease until crisis shall have been reached and passed. l believe thls | Government cannot endure permanently | half slave and half free. It will become | all one thing CT all the other
 In canvasstng the State ia l3se des 1 bates Douglas was eYeryWhs. ceived with boundleJs enthusiasm. : |, were | crowds. rejoicing. cheers and tN, oment Lincoln proved a formidable antagonist, | and the friends of each claimed that
 their particular knight was the champion l of the lists. Douglas never spoke With 1 greater eloquence7 and power. His lmd$t | fundamental theme was the doctrine Of | popular sovereignty, the principle that | the people of each State should be left
 to decide for themselves whether they
 would or would not have slavery. We
 all knew the outcome of the battle royal.
 The Democrats carried the State and | DougIas was sent back to the Senate. But this remarkable contest did more | than decide the question of the United | States Senatorship. it brought both of
 these men prominently to the front for | the Presidency two years later. We all | know the result. Lincoln was elected and
 the mightiest conflict of the ages was begun. One after another of the South
 ern States passed ordinances of seees- ! sion and, before lincolu's inauguration, 1 had formed the Confederate States of
 America. In the meantime Douglas, for
 the preservation of the Union, had pro-
 posed an amendment to the Constitution | forhldding Congress ever to Interfere
 with slavery in the States. But the
 amendment did not pass and the breach l continued to widen.
 1 Although Mir Douglas had previously l acted on most occasions with the South
 ern States where it came to a question l of disunlon, he did not hesitate He
 stood squarely and heartily with Lin
 coin in all measures adopted to put down | the insurrection. But he did not live to
 see the end of the bitter struggle. Never
 of a very robust frame and doubtless
 wSakened by the. almost superhunan la
 bors of a quarter of a century. he died ] in June, 1sGl before the fighting of the | civ war had fairly begun.