The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-07

the first invasion OF Kansas started the
American civil war, for whose conclusion
we must look across q decade, note
what was to take place during similar
spring days in 1896 at Five Forks. Richmond
and Appomattox. The border blizzard
has swollen to an all embracing national
cyclone Of war. Starting from its humble
birthplace in the West. IL has swept through
Missouri and down the Mississippi Valley,
overwhelming tirst the new Slave States,
and then all the old Slave States inc burn
ing up slavery root and branch along It's
furious path. Such was the end, lurking
in and unfolding out of the tiny starting
point and interlindng with it through .
circular chain Of events, which viewed to-
gether form one Of the most important proc
esses in che worlds history
III.
We pass over, because It proved abortive;
the second ~invasion, which Dol place In
December, 1855, when soms twelve hundred
or more Miseourians were encamped in
Kansas along q stream bearing the name
Of Wakerusa, with tina intention Of besieg-
ing Lawrence, the headquarters Of those
citizens Of Kansas who desired TO bar slav-
cry out Of their inchoate State. Tho siege
was abandoned by order OF Gov. Shan
non Of Kansas and Senator Atchison Of
Missouri. What Atchison thought Of the
issue involved In the conflict on the west
ern border OF Missouri Is evident from q
prediction made by him during the period
under review which will be found re-
corded in the second volume of Rhodes's
history Of the United States: IF Kansas Ia
.LzNst~zG.zl Ng.,,.,l Ill ..az. a. -
Slave State, and New Mexico will become
a Free State. II, on the other hand, We
secure Kansas as q Slave State, Missouri 10
safe; New Mexico and southern California,
II not all OF California, win become Slave
States; In q word, the prosperity or ruin Of
tho whole South depends on the Kansas
struggle
The third invasion Of Kansas took place
early In 1850, when the town Of La wreno
was captured by q body composed mainly
Of M~issourians. but including 4 contingent
from States further south. The Free State
Hotel was bombarded and blown up; stores
were rined, houses were pillaged, and, In
fine, tho town was Quilted. This was the
deed known in history as the Sack Of
Lawrence" A fourth invasion was to be
attempted. but It was to be turned back
and thwarted by the United States Govern
ment itself. An ominous result Of the Eack
Of Lawrence should be noted. Deeming
himself a divine instrument Of vengeance,
John Brown went forth to begin his own
personal war against slavery. According
- Browns reckoning, ave Free State men
had been murdered in his locality during
the third invasion. Gods justice, he said,
demanded Eve victims Of the opposite party.
Hence ensued the Pottaw atomie massacre
Of five Slave State men at the hands Of
Brown and his a~coomplices. Such ri the
effect OF the Missouri invasion on the half
crazed soul Of a religious fanatic, tho San
culinary prelude OF John Browns coming
tragedy. To our authors mind, the furies
evoked by the goddess deeds on the Mis-
border were already preparing the
.retributive wrath which was to involve the
innocent with the wrongdoer in q common
doom.
Overlapping these Kansas events. the
p residential year has arrived, which lie to
determine, temporarily at least, whether
the central authority Of the Federal Union
Is to favor the creation OF a Free State or
OF a Slave State out Of Kansas specially,
and out OF all the Territories generally.
The outcome Of the election Of 1854 was the
exhibition OF a disunited North pitted against
a united South on the great questions Of
the time. The North had yet to undergo
the discipline Of defeat, painful but salu-
tary. The South, on the other hand, had
gained another q~uadrennial lease Of power,
though with many q sharp ~adnOnition,
which she would have done well to heed.
There was, at first, a cessation OF political
excitement in the North after the Presiden-
tial election OF 1859 and IL was generally
thought hat Buchanan would give to Kan
sas sell -govenment, which meant that she
would be a Free State, since the anti-slavery
men constituted q majority OF her voters
Mr.. Snider is convinced that such was
primarily BuchanAn's purpose, but when
was fairly launched upon the sea Of Wash
pro-slavery influence he began to
waver and eventually let himself be borne
on the stronger current OF his
party. In his inau gural address Buchanan
10 a judicial decision soon to DO
given which would settle the whole Ter
ritorial question uponthe principle Of pOpu-
sovereignty" Did Buchanan know
beforehand Of the bred Scott decision and
did he have any hand in brin ging IL aboutP
In view OF his character our author deems
probable that he simply accepted the
scheme which had been forged without his
conniv
In the Kansas conflict there had been one
point about which both sides agreed, though
the agreement may have been largely I'M
conscious; that was the legal right Of the
or the pretended inhabitants,
to exclude slavery from their Territory.
The Nilsson rians, when in their first inv aston
they seized by violence and fraud the forms
Of law and used them In the interest OF
SLAYER recognized the fact that the Kansans
might nave employed them r~ghtiully
against slavery. Thus both sides acknOwl-
edged the validity Of those forms, and the
was to see which side could get
them and sc them up as authoritative.
SO It came to pass that n side exercised
the legality without the right and the other
the right without the legality.
Both, however, agreed by implication that
the people OF Kansas II they got a chance
could legally vote down slavery.
Now. however, in 1857, fell like a bomb
into the midst Of the contestants he bred
Scott decision. declaring that neither tho
people nor Congress could exclude slavery