Year: 1860

When the people Of the free States were
thus domoralzed, what wonder is it, that for
twelve years all debate on the subject of
slavery, or the presentation of the subject by
the people, even in the form of petition


was represscd and trampled under foot, and
remained there until John Quincy Adams at
last rallied n party around him strong enough
to restore freedom of debate in the House of
Representatives What wonder is it that
within the last year, in the very fac, Of the
organization, and the onward march of the
Republican party, the administration of the
| Federal Government has actually, by It's Of
ficers, appointed in compliance with the die


tation Of the shareholders, abandoned the
Federal mails to the inspection and sulvei-
lance of the magistrates Of the slave States ;
so that they may abstract and commit to the
flames every word that any man may speak


however eloquent, able, truthful or moderate.
in the Halls of Congress against slavery and


in favor Of freedom.


This. felowci iZens, is your Government
This is the condition in which you are placed
! am sorry TO say-but | Ike to be truthful
that have no especial compliments for
YOU Of the State Of illinois, on this subject ::
for in this long catalogue of extraordinary
concessions, to slavery, under the influence


of fear | think the very first protest that
ever came from the State of Illinois was as
late as the year 1856 after nearly all these


atrocious concessions had been made, and


we were brought TO the necessity of going


back and undcing mischief that had been
done. You sent two Senator'S to Congress I;
YOU insisted upon extending the Wilmot
Pr0viso over the territory ACQUIRED from
4 a. 4 "a
| for the Wilmot Proviso under Your instruc-


tons, and then they voted against it with


out instructions when it came TO the practi-
cal test. | think you made no protest until
Mr.. Douglas demanded one single and last
concession "for the purpose aS he said, "of
excluding the whole subject from Congress" ="
That was the abrogation of the Missouri Com.
promise, containing the restriction for the


protection of freedom in the Territories of
Kansas and Nebraska. Then you sent a


noble representative to the Senate in the


person of Judge Trumbull Loud AMI pro-


longed applause A voice-"We'n send


him again" Yes send him again. T"We


will" ave will" marveed when | rose


here before you to-day and saw this immense


assemblage. which no edifice but only the


streets of Chicago could hold-Tcheers and
! laughter and | wondered now it would have
been had come here in 1850 or even down


at any later day before the abrogation Of the
| Missouri Compromise


| But, fe'l0wctizens, let hv-gones he by
cones. have seen the time when | had as
| little courage and as little resolution on this


subject as most of you Laughter was
born into the demoralization-I was born a


stakeholder, and have some excuse, which


you have not. All these things were done,


not because YOU loved slavery, but because


you loved the Union.


When slavery became Identical in the pub
lie mind With the Union how natural it was,
even for patriotic men, to approve of. or to at
least cXcr<e, and tolerate slavery? How
otiouS did it become for men to be Frecso-
ers and be regarded as Ab0ltiouiStS, when to
be an Abolitionist was, in the estimation of


mankind to be traitor to ones country >
How naturally was it then to believe that
slavery after all might not be so verv bad :;


and to believe that it might be necessary and


might be right ut the same tine, or on some
occasion, which times and occasions were al


ways good way off from themselves: es-
peciallv, how natural was it. when the whole
| Christian Church, with all itS sects. bent it.
self to the support Of the Union, mistaking


the claim of slavery for the cause of the
! Union.


How extensive this prescription for the
sake and in the name of union, has been and
is to this day, you will see at once when
tell you that there is not in this whole Re-
! public, from one end of it to the other, a
man Who maintains that slavery shall not be
extended, who can secure at the hands of his
| country, any part in the administration of
its government from q tide waiter in the
Custom House, or Postmaster in rural
dist let, to Secretary of State. a Minister
in foreign court, or a President of the Unit
| ed States. How could you expect that a
people, every one OF whom is born with a


possible chance, and fair expectation Of


being perhaps President Of the
| United Statcs-to assent to the demoralza-


ton prosecuted by such means? And when


it becomes hereSy, for which man is de-


prvcd of position IN an ecclesiastical sect to
which he belongs, how could YOU expect that
1 the members of the Christian churches wo'd


he bold enough to provoke the censurc of the
! Christian world? Above all, our Consiitu-
ton intended to give us our frame of gov


ernment, as we have always supposed was
| so established, that it did give us a Judiciary


which cannot err, which must be infallible


and must not be disputed; and when the


Judicial authority, which has the army and
| the navy, through the direction Of the Exec
utIve power, 10 execute its judgements and
decrees, pronounces that every appeal made


for freedom is sedltiouS, that every syllable in
defence of liberty is treason, and the natural
sympathy we feel for the oppressed is to be
| punished as crime while that body is uu-


willing, or at least unable to bring to pun


ishment one single culprit out of the thous.


ands of pirates who bring away slaves from


Africa to sci in foreign lands-now could


you expect simple agricultural people such


as we are, to be SO much wiser and better


than our Presidents and Vice Presidents,


Senator's and Representatives in Congress,


and even our Judges?


have brought you down, fellow. citizens,


to the time when this decentralization was al


most complete. How assured its ultimate


success seemed after the compromise If 1850


you will learn from fact which have new


er before mentioned, but which | will now :
Horace Mann, one of the noblest champions
/ of freedom on this continent, confessed to


me, after the passage of the slavery laws OF
that year, that he deSpaired of the cause of
humanity. In 1854, after the repeal of the


Missouri Compromise, without producing so


much alarm as considerable thunder storm


would DO in the nation, there was only one


man left, who hoped against the prevailing


decentralization and who cheered and sustain


ed me through it; and that man, in his zeal


to make his prediction just, was afterwards


betrayed so far by his zeal that he became


ultimately monomaniac and suffered on the


galows. That was John Brown. [Sensa-