Year: 1864

LETTER TO GENERAL FREMONT.


NEW York, June 3.


GENERAL: A convention of the people sitting
at the city Of Cleveland, in the State of Ohio,
on the 3lst day of May, 1864, have nominated
you unanimously and by acclamation as a cam
didate for President Of the United States


The convention have appointed as their com
mittee, with instructions to communicate to you
the result Of their deliberations and to ask your
acceptance of the nomination.


In dscharging this duty the committee need
hardly inform you, general that the convention
which has thus put you In nomination for the
office of President, represented that great mass
of the nation which hold in practice as we'll as
in theory to the fundamental doctrine of its
founders, that all men have the inalenablc right
to life, property, and the pursuit of happiness,
and that slavery and caste are incompatible with
Its enjoyment, and ought not to be suffered to
exist.


The convention, true to its faith in the COM
mon brotherhood of men and of government bv
all the people for all the people, adopted a Sc
ries of resolutions which the committee submit
for your consideration, going in some sense to
express the views which they hold in unison
with those of the radical democracy of the ma
tion upon some of the main issues to be tried
before the people at the coming presidential
election.


That they DO not cover specifically every
point of the political faith of the radical democ
racy of the country, or do not define perhaps
as sharply as they might have been made to do,
the radical views Of the convention upon the
subjects presented, IS, after all, of little impor-
tance. for the reason that the iiustrious nomi-
nee of the convention for president is the living
embodiment of all its principles of government
staIu ana nIutaFy administration which has
called into being the political organization that
has just made you, general, its standard bearer.
/ Your own high character for fidelity to the
equal rights of all the people, and the signal
proofs you have given to the world of the pos
session of the craftsmanship and wisdom neces-
| sary to govern we'll and justly, and of he gen
eralship so sOrely needed to carry the war to
! quick and triumphant issue, are a better guar
anty that the principles you represent will not
/ be betrayed, should the nation elevate you to
! its chief maSistracy, than any written profess
/ sion of political faith, however cunningly drawn
! and gravey accepted, with intent to be broken.
! But the convention, in what they have DONE
! have substantially covered the whole ground Of
+ the political faith of the radical Democracy, in
asserting the necessity for re-estabshing the su-
| premacy of the Federal Union; for the faithful
/ execution of the laws of the United States; for
| maintaining the liberties of person, speech and
press, except when suspended by martial law :;
for suppressing the rebellion by force of arms
| and without compromise; for amending the con-
stitution so as to abolish and prohibit slavery
forever in the United States, and securing to all
! men absolute equality before the law for integ-
rity and economy in the administration of the
national government; for upholding the right Of
asylum, except for crime and ofenses against
internati nal laws for the vindication of the
| Monroe doctrine, by declaring anew the deter
mination of the American people not to toler-
afe the setting up Of any anti-republican gov
ern nent on this continent by any foreign pow
er : fer Insisting upon applying the one term
D,in,,iple to The Office of President, and amend
ina rhe Constitution, so as to provide for the
election of that officer by direct vote of the
whole neo, lie; for restricting the power Of re-
constructing reb 9llious states to the people thro
their represent. ,tives in Congress; and for con-
fscaiing the lands &C rebels, and distributing
them among the soldiers and actual settlers.


What these principles would mean in practice
the convention clearly declared, general, when
they put you upon them their candidate for
President, for they knew and the country knows,
that you will, if elected, faithfully carry them
out to all their logical consequences without
fear or favor, and give the country an admins
tration of public affairs, that viii command the
affections of the whole people and restore 1t to
It's former high place in the scale OF nations
Perhaps Os may best illustrate the temper Of
the contention by referring you TO the letter Of
Mr.. WtndeH Phillips, The reading of which
was ordered and received with a storm of ap-
plause We feel authorized to declare it as our
opinion, that had Il been offered as a platform
Of the principles Of government and admits
tration, 1t sUoulG haze been adopted with the
same tumultuous applause as that which hailed
your nomination. Its mastery exposition of
the needs of the country in this dark crisis of
its existence and struggles for continued life is
fitting commentary upon the purposes Of the
convention, and we commend it to your eonsid-
Grafton as part Of their deliberations.


/ And now, general, having discha' ged or iu-
ty imposed on us by the convention, we asst
you will favor us with an early reply, signifyng
your acceptance of tie nomination, in order
that the radical democracy of the North, whose
hearts have already been thrilled with JOY at the
tidings that their heroic leader in the campaign
of 1856, has been summoned to the field again,