Year: 1860

In Reply to Senator Douglas. !


IN THE SENATE, MARCH I, 1se0


Mn. THuMBuLL-Mr. President, l have been
struggling for some time to obtain the floor, to in
qure of my colleague what he meant by saying that
he had been battling for four years against negro
equality at home in the State of Illinois, and against
the idea that the Constitution of the United States
in some respects conicted with the diyine law and
was null and void, as if that was the position of
some party i'm the State Of Illinois. desire to in
uuire whether he meant to attribute any such views
as those to The Republican party in Inois7


Mr. DouGLas-So far as know, the Republican
party do hold that the negro and the white man. hy
the Declaration of independence, were secured in
perfect equality, and | have had to meet that ar
gument only for .ur years, but for ten years,
when the Senator, my colleague, was a Democrat.
can excuse him for not understanding tho creed
of his party, for he has not been long enough in it
To learn it, but if he will refer to the leaders he will


find out that / stated it correctly. Laughter-l


Mr.. TRuMBULL-My colleague will perhaps find
that he is about as poor an exponent OF Democracy
as I am. [Iaughter.l think he is rather un-
sound upon that side of the Chamber, and has found
himself so in the country, and if | have departed
from the Democracy of former times, he seems to
be following very closely after me. lauShier.l


Now, sir, know that my colleague has bl,tled
against negro equality in Illinois. and he may have
battlcd for aught know against the idea that the
Constitution conHcted with the divine law, and was
therefore void but if he has battied he has bat
tied Don Quixotte-l like against wndmllls rather
than realities. He Is very much in the habit Of set
ting up principle and then knocking it down, talk
ing about negro equality as il somebody was for IT.,
and then assailing it. Now, sir, am glad to have
nv colleague face to face, where can put it TO him
and tell him that he never heard such declara-
- tl,o rfy N Hi
nois nor the Republican party of the Union. tell
him now to his face, aud his teeth, that when he
charges upon the Republican party of Illinois, or
of the country that has advocated negro equality,
he charges that which is wholly untrue, wholly
without foundation, so far as the Republican party
is concerned.


But. sir, he says that We believe in the Dcclara-
ton of Independence. do. do believe in the
Declaration of Independence; and has my colleague
vet to learn the distinction between natural right
and right in organized society; the distcton be-
tween the gift of God and the gift of manl do
believe in the Declaration of Independence. and Sd
does the Republican party believe in it. that all
men were endowed by their Creator with certain
inaIienable rights. / do believe that all men were
born with the same inalienable rights; and that is
what the Declaration Of independence declares;
that is what ifhc has listened to Republicans i'll ii
linois he has heard many time enunciated rs the
doctrine Of the Republican party, that all men were
created equal, not made eqnal by human society,
by human laws We know that the very idea of
government creates an inequality among men,
To have government you must have rules and reg
u!ations; you must have magistrates, those who
command and those who obey; and, os course, there
is an inequality. But, sir, does that initiate against
the God given right that all were created equal 7
Was there any human government from God7--
Destroy all human government; wipe out all or
ganzed society; take m,n as he came from the
h,.I Df his, H. tall nj.
what superior authority one has over anothcrl If
one has superior authority another. how did he
get il before government was organizedl


The object OF inserting the words in the Declara-
tion of lndcpcnde nee has been proclaimed thou
sand times Itwas this: our ancestors were pco
pie fleeing from the tyranny and the despotismS of
the Old World; escaping from countries where the
idea prevailed that one man hao divine right to
rule over another; and they meant, when they were
proceeding to form government, as the first thing
they did, to write it down in that immortal dccar-
,ton, that their posterty in all time nigh. see it
that they might look to it as the polar star by which
they should ever be guided in their future egisla-
ton, and should never forget it, the great natural
right Of all men to life, liberty, and happiness
Now, keeping that in view. with your eye fixed up
on that star of the equal rights of all, go on and
form your government. infringing as little as poss-
bic upon that great natural right. That you must
infringe somewhat we know; but we repudiate and
trample under know; but we repudiate and trample
under foot for ourselves and forever, the idea that
one man is born with right over another. That
is what the Declaration of Independence meant.
and no such thing as that in organized society VIC
must have perfect e9ullity- IN im2ossibility; and
the Republican party in Illinois has con.ended for
no such thing, As its principles, proclaimed in its
platform, will show. - --........


Bu. my colleague says that the clause ofthe Dec
larition Of Independence, that all are created
ft.f,x
ing against Great Britain, and nobody else Well
suppose il it meant only those who were here at
that time, and contenng against Great Britain, it
would harliy embrace their posterity even; and if
it did, then it would not embrace emigrants from
other countries suppose, according to that the
ory, the Germ,ns, or the inhabitants OF any coun-
try who should come to this. that were not enga-
ged in the conflict of the Revolution. though their
skins were white as his, arc not embraced by
the Declaration of independence give no such
narrow meaning to that instrument


But there is repeated here for the thousandth
time, that each State should be left to manage its
ewn aff,irs as it pleases. Who ever disputed it7
Here is another windmill. The Republican party
has not disputed the right of each Stite to mage
its domestic affairs. without interference either
from the Federal Government or any other State.
So far from it, the Republican party is an advocate
of that doctrine, declares in its platform the rights
of each State sh al be maintained in the Union,
we'll as the rights OF the Federal Government un-
der the Constitution; and this attempt to mix up
States with Territories is only calculated to con-
fuse. The contest between prtics is not about the
interferences of either party with the institutions
Of the States; but it is in regard to the government
of the Territories while the territorial condition
continues. -, ..s.,.. .-..s.. a -f


We have heard repeated here, again, in this
connection, that the great principle of Popular Sow
crcgnty was stricken down in Kansas by the Emil
grant Aid Society. shall not now reiterate the
facts to dsprove that statement. The Kansas-Ne-
braska bill, itself, of which my colleague was the
advocate, trampled Popular ereignty under foot
and the people in Nebraska and in Kansas to-day
are not allowed to have their will on this very sub
ject Of slavery. Why, sir, but short time ago the
Territorial Legislature of Nebraska passed bill
to exclude slavery from that Territory. Did it 60
into force7 Isitalaw7 No, sir. Why not7 Ny
colleague says that the Kansas Nebraska bill cs-
tablished this right. Well, if it did establish il,
Why do not the people of Nebraska haveit1 They
have tried to exclude slavery their Lcgis has
voted to exclude it, and they have not accomplish
ed itl Whyl Because he put it into the Kansas
Nebraska bill that a majority Of the people of Ne
braska should not be permitted to exclude slavery.
He put it into that bill that the President of the
United States should appoint Governor to rule
over Nebraska; and when the proposition was made
to allow them to elect their own Governor, that
they might have a Governor of their own choice,
he. with his friends voted it down. and insisted up
on sending Governor who is now ruling over that
people by prohibiting them through his veto power,
from keeping slavery out Of the Territory That
is your Kansas N ebraska bill, and that is your IL