Arizona republican., 1920-10-10
X. THE LING oLN-D OUG LA S. BRECKINRIDGE-BELL CAMPAIGN
By Frederic J. Haskin

X. HE l. W C V L N U V U S l. "A o-
 BRECKINRIDGE-B CAMPAIGN
 By Frederic J. Haskin
 WASHINGTON, D. C., Oct. 9-Much of the practical politics of the presi- dential campaign of 1860 has been bu- ried beneath the glory of the Lincoln administration and the horrors of the Civil war. The political result of that lcampaign was the promotion of the newly born Republican party to power. | the second political revolution of American history.
 | For the first F years of government
 under the constitution the Federalists
 were in power With the election of
 Thomas Jefferson an actual revolution
 was accomplished and the power of | government was given to the Demo- cratic party. The Democrats ruled for | 50 years. Twice during that time the Wings elected a president but there
 was no practical interruption of Demo
 cratic ascendency. With the election
 of Lincoln the Republican party as-
 stunned the reins of power and held
 them 4S years. The two Cleveland ad
 ministrations checked, but did not stay
 the Republican march.
 The first Lincoln campaign was
 marked by practical politics. MT Lin coin did not make an active campaign. The Republicans contented themselves
 with continued denunciations of "bor-
 der ruffianism.' Many of them were
 somewhat ashamed of their candidate,
 and none of them, outside of Illinois,
 brought the personal equation into the
 discussion.
 The fight ragged in its greatest bit
 terness between the two Democratic
 candidates. stephen A. Douglas and
 John c. Breckenridge. John Bell led
 the Constitutional Union forces as the
 representative of extreme conserva-
 tism. but, like Lincoln, he took no in-
 dividual part in the campaign.
 A Famous Speaking Tour.
 Douglas the little Giant of De
 mocracy" stumped the country from
 New England to Luisiana. A wonder
 ful orator, earnest as he was in his ef-
 forts to accomplish the salvation ot
 the Union and believing that the only way to save it was his way; the coun-
 try never knew before and perhaps
 never will know again such a masterly campaign. But it was all in vain. He had broken with the South and with Buchanan, and not logic nor reason nor oratory had power to heal wounds so deep.
 Douglas was indirectly responsibl,
 for the nomination of Lincoln. Two years before, in 1858, Lincoln had op. posed Douglas for reelection to tn, | senate. Their joint debates in tha year still live in the memories of men | and will live on the pages of histor, | for all time. Douglas was the bette | speaker and he won the election fo | senator. But Lincoln had pressed hin | close and had had the eyes of tn | whole country upon him.
 | It was against the advice of ever | friend he had that Lincoln bore dow | upon Douglas and asked him a serie H of questions involving slavery in tn H territories. One question was: Ca H a territorial legislature exclude shaver III if it sees fit? If Douglas had an swered that question in the negativ, Lincoln would have been elected sen ator in 1858 and might never have bee Hi president. But Douglas said "Yest II That reply carried him back to tn III United States senate, caused Horac Greeley seriously to propose Dougla for the Republican nomination fc president in 1S6O broke the Demo H cratic party in twain and elected Lir | coin president.
 II The Status of Slavery II Slavery in the territories was il H whole issue, as it had been more | less for half century. It was Thoms III Jefferson, a Virginia slaveholder, WI III wrote into the Northwest Territoi II Bill the provision that the territol III should be forever free of slavery. TT II question was compromised in 1920 ar II in 1850 by Henry Clay. The Wilm III proviso, using the exact language H Thomas Jefferson, kept slavery off u HI Pacific coast In 1854, by the act Il Stephen A. Douglas himself assist, HI by Franklin Pierce, the Missouri Con HI promise of 1920 was repealed and Il III whole question of slavery extension r. HI opened
 HI The south held that the territori HI were federal and belonged as much HI the slave states as to the free. and tn HI until they became states the fedel HI constitution permitted slavery by HI silence. and this theory would ma HI them slave territory The North he HI that congress coRld legislate slave HI out of territory. but could not legi HI late it in-that the territories must HI free. Douglas took the middle grour II position which Clay would have su HI ported, and declared in favor of "po HI ular sovereignty" is, of perm HI ting the people of a territory to deci HI the slavery question for themselves. HI The Democratic national convent HI met at Charleston that year. The ifs HI on the platform was long and bitt II and when it was seen that Doug HI controlled the convention and { HI Douglas platform would be adoRt HI the majority of the southern state q HI egations withdrew from the conYe HI tion. The regular convention then . HI iourned to meet in Baltimore. I HI bolters adjourned to meet in RiC HI mond The Richmond convention II HI on time. but immediately adjourned