Year: 1860

Constitution the Identical Congress
which passed the act already mentioned,
enforcing the prohibition Of slavery in
the Northwestern Territory. | Applause |
Not only was it the same Congress, but
they were the identical, same individual
men who, at the same session, at the same
time within the session, had under CON
sideration, and in progress toward ma
turity, these constitutional amendments
and this act prohibiting slavery in all the
territory the nation then owned The
constitutional amendments were intro
duced before and passed after the act Of
enforcing the ordinance of 1897; so that
during the whole tendency of the act to
enforce the ordinance, the constitutional
amendments were also pending. That
Congress, consisting in all of seventy.siX
members, including sixteen of the franz


ers of the original Constitution, as before
stated, were pre-eminently our fathers
who framed that part of the Government
under which we live, which is now claim


ed as forbidding the Federal Government
to control slavery in the Federal Terrific
ries. Is it not little presumptuous in
any one at this day to affirm that the two
things which that Congress deliberately
framed and carried to maturity at the
same time are absolutely inconsistent with
each other? And does not such affirm
alton become impudenuy absurd when
coupled with the other affirmation, from
the same mouth, that those who did the
two things alleged to be inconsistent un-
derstood whether they really We're incon-
sistent better than we--better than he
who atiirms that they are inconsistent ?


Applause and great merriment.


1t is surely safe to assume that the
thirty nine" trainers of the original
Constitution, and the seventy mem
bers of the Congress which framed the
amendments thereto, taken altogether, do
certainly include those who may be fair
ly called "our fathers who framed the
Government under which we live" And
so assuming, | defy any man to show
that any one of them ever in his whole
life declared that, in his understanding,
any proper division of local from Federal
authority, or any part of the Constitu-
ton, forbade the Federal Government to
control as 10 slavery in the Federal Ter
ritories. Loud applause. | go step
further. defy any one TO show that any
living man in the whole world ever did,
prior to the beginning Of the present cen


tury (and | might almost say prior to the
beginning Of the last half OF the present
century. declare that, in his understands


ing, any proper division Of local from
Federal authority, or any part of the
Constitution, forbade the Federal Govern
ment to control as to slavery in the Fed
eral Territories. To those who now so
declare / give, not only " our fathers who
framed the Government under which we
live" but with them all other living
men within the century in which ii
was framed, among whom to search, and
they shall not be able to find the evidence
Of a single man agreeable with them.


Now, aud here. let me guard little
against being misunderstood. | do not
mean TO say we are bound to follow i'm.
plicitly in whatever our fathers did. To
do SO would be to discard all the lights OF
current experience, to reject all progress,
all Improvement. What | do say is, that
ii We would supplant the opinions and
policy OF our fathers, III any case, We
should do so upon evidence SO conelu-
sive, and argument 50 clear, that even
their great authority, fairly considered
nj
surely not III case whereof we ourselves
declare that they understood the question
better than we. Laug ghtcr. II any
man, at this day, sincerely believes that
proper division of local from Federal au-
thorlty, or any part OF the Constitution,
iorbids the Federal Government 10 con-
troll rs to slavery in the Federal Terrific
ries, he is right to say So, and 10 enforce
his position by all truthful evidence and
fair argument which he can. But ho
has no right to mlslead others, who have
less access 10 history, and less leisure TO
study it, into the false belief that our
fathers. who framed the Government an
der which We live were of the same
opinion-thus substituting ialsehood and
deception for truthful evidence aud fair
argument Applause. Ii any man at
this day sincerely believes " our fathers,
who framed the Government under which
We live used and applied principles, in
other cases, which ought 10 have led
them 10 understand that proper diyi-
sion If local from Federal authority, or
some part of the Constitution. torbids the
Federal Government to control as TO slav-
cry IN the Federal Territories, he is right
TO say SO. But he should at the same
time brave the responsibility Of declaring
thar, in his opinion, he understands then
principles better than they did them


selves, great laughter, aud especially
should he not shltk that responsibility


by asserting that they understood the
question just as well. ana even better


than We do now" Applause But
enough. Let all who believe that our
fathers, who framed the Government


under which we live, understood the


question just as well, and even better,


than We do now, speak As they spoke,


and act rs they acted, upon 1t. This Is


all Republicans ask--all Republicans


desire-in relation 10 slavery. As those


fathers marked IT, SO let il be again mark


Cd, AS an evil not to be extended, but Il