Year: 1864

| peculiar ene-a nation formed OF States. and no
nation except as these States form IT, And these
States are no States except as they are States in
that nation. They had no more right torepndiate
the nation than the nation had to reDudiate Them
| None OF them had even the shadow of a right to
do tins, and tiod helping us, we will vndcate that
truth SO thatlt shall never be disputed any more in
| thus world. tApplause tits fearful alterna-
tive that IS set before U.S. but there are great COM
pensatlons for it. Those Of yo1wh0 have alluded
to tins SUBJECT know, or ought to know. that from
the foundation OF the present Government, before
aud since Our present Constitution was formed,
there have always been parties that had no faith
/ IN our Government The men that formed it were
doubtful OF Its success and the men that opposed
Its formation did not desire its success And
am bold to say, without OBTAINING you on this sub
lect, that with all the outcry about our violations
OF the constitutions this present living generation
and this present Union party are more thoroughly
devoted to that Constitution than any generation
| that has ever lived under it. Applause While


| say that, and soiemnly believe it, and believe it
| is capable of the strongest proof / may also add
/ that 1t IS great error which Is being propagated


IN our land, 70 say that our national life depends
merely upon the sustaining of that Constitution.
| Our fathers made 1t, and we love it. He intend
ed tolnalntain it. But if it suits us to change it
we can do so. Applause. And when it suits us
to change it we will change it. tApplause1 If
| 1t We're tog7 INTO ten thousand pieces the nation
would be as much nation as it was before the
! Constitution was lnade--a nation always that de-
clared ITS independence lis a united people, and
! lised as united people until now-a nation indie
pendent OF all particular institutions under which
they lived, and capable of modelling them precise
| y as their interests require. We ought to have
1t distinctly understood by friends and enemies
| that while We love that instrument we viii main,
tam 1t, and will, with uadoubted certainty, put to
TO death friend or foe Nno undertakes to trample
| thunder foot. yet, beyond doubt we will reserve
the right to alter it to suit ourselves from time to
| time and from generation to generation. APP
| plause.l OHe more idea on that subject. We
| have incorporated in that instrument the right Of
/ revolution; which gives us, without doubt, the
/ right To change 1t II never existed before the


american States, and by the right to change there
Is no need Of rebellion, insurrecton or civil war,
except upon adenlal Of the fundamental principles
OF all tree gOVernnents-that the major part must
rule; and there is no other method Of carrying on


society, except that the viii Of the majority shall


be the wall OF the wh0le--or that the viii Of the
| minority shall he the will OF the whole. SO that,


in enc word, to deny the principles have tried to
state Is to make q dognatlcl assertion that the


only form OF government that Is possible with per-
feet liberty and acknowledged by God is pure


and absolute>despotism The principles therefore


which 1 amGrylng 10 state before you are prinei-
pies which, It they be not true freedom Is lmpos-
sIbe, and no government but one of pure force


can exist or ought to endure among men. But


the idea which | wish to carry out, as the remedy


for these troubles and sorrows, is this: Dreadful
az they are, this fearful truth runs through the


whole history of mankind, that whatever else may


be done TO give stability to authority, whatever


else may be done to give perpetulty to institutions


--tsyEeEer wise, however glorious, practicable and
Just may be the philosophy OF tit has been


found that the only enduring, the only nnperisha-


bl9 cement of all free institutions, has been the


blood Of traitors No Government has ever been


built upon imperishable foundations which founda-


tions We're not laid in the blood of traitors, 1t is


fearful truth, but we may as we'll avow It at once,


and every lick you strike, and every Rebel you


XIII, every battle you win, dreadful it is to do it,


you are adding, It may be, year--lt may be ten


years-It may be century-lt may be ten centu-


ries to the Efe of the Government and the freedom


OF your children Great applause


Now, passing over that ldea-passlng over many


other things which it would be right for me to say


did the time serve and were this the OCCASION let


me add-you arc Union party Applause -
Your origin has been referred to having occur


red eight years ago. In one sense it is true. But
you are older than that | see before me not only


primitive Republicans and primitive AbohtioniSts,


but | see also primitive Democrats and primitive
! Whigs-prmtiye Americans and, If you will al


low me to say so, | myself am here who all my


life have been in party to myself Laughter


and applause.


As Union party will follow you to the ends of


the earth and to the gates of death. Applause.


But rs an Abolition par y--as a Republican par


ty--as a Wing party-aS Democratic palty--as


an American party, | will not follow you one foot


Applause But 1t Is true of the mass Of the


Ameri, an people however YOU may divide and
scatter while this war lasts, while this country is


in peril while you call yourselves as you do in the


call Of the Convention the Union party--you are


for the preservation ofthe Union and the distruct-
ion of this rebellion, root and branch. And IN my


judgment, one ofthe greatest errors that has been
committed BY our administration of the Federal
. / fbn Of n
nominate for another term of othce-one of the


errors has been to believe that we have ded
where we have not succeeded and TO act III a man
ner which is precisely as if We had succeeded


You will not, you cannot, succeed until you have


utterly broken up the military power OF thes peo-


pie. lApplause.)


Iwillnot detan YOU upon these incidental points,
one Of which has been made prominent IN the re
marks of the excellent chairman of the National
Committee do not know that | would be willing
to go so far as probably he would But cordially
agree with him in this-l think considering what
has been done about Slavery, taking the thing as
it now stands overlooking altogether, eitherin the


way of condemnation or in the way OF approval,
any act that has brought us to the point where we


are but believing in my conscience and with all my
heart, that what has brought US where we are IN


the matter of Slavery, is the original SIN and folly
! | of treason and Secession, because you remember


that the Chicago Convention itself was unders ood


to-day and that believe it virtually did explicitly
! say, that they would not touch Slavery in the
States Leaving it therefore altogether out ofthe


question how we came where we are, on that par
ticular point we are prepared to 60 further than
the original Republicans themselves were prepared
: to go We are prepared to demand not only that
the whole territory of the United States shall not
! be made slave, but that the General Government
of the American people shall do one Of two things
and it appears to me that there is nothing else


that can be done-either to use the whole power Of
! the Government. both the war power and the
peace power to put Slavery as nearly as possible


back where it was-for, although that would be q


fearful state of society, it is better than anarchy
! or else To use the whole power ofthe Government,