Year: 1866

the Stump" in the April number of the North
American Review.]


If history were still written as it was till
within two centuries, and the author put
into the mouth of his speakers such words
as his conception of the character and the
situation made probable and fitting, we
could conceive an historian writing hun
dred years hence to imagine some such
speech as this for Mr.. johnson in an inter-
view with Southern delegation:


Gentlemen, am glad to meet you once
more as friends, wish l might say as fel-
low-citizens. How soon we may again stand
in that relation to each other depends wholly
upon yourselves. You hive been pleased to
say that my birth and lifelong associations
gave you confidence that would be friendly
to the South. In so saying, you do no more
than justice to my heart and my intentions :;
but you must allow me to say frankly that,
If you use the word South in any other than
a purely geographical sense, the sooner you
convince yourself of its impropriety as ad
dressed to an American President. the bet
ter. The South as political entity was
slavery, and went out of existence with it.
And let me also, as naturally connected with
this topic, entreat you to disabuse YOUR
minds of the fatally mistaken theory that
you have been conquered by the North. 1T
is the American people who are victors in
this conflict, and who intend to infict no
worse penalty on you than that of admitting
you TO an entire equality with themselves.
They are resolved, by Gods grace, to Amer
icanize you, and America means education.
equality before the law, and everv upward
avenue of life made as free to one man as
anDthpr fOu with
force and variety of argument, the manifold
evils of the present unsettled state of things.
the propriety and advantage of YOUR being
represented in both houses of Congress, the
injustice of taxation without representation.
| admit the Importance of every one of these
considerations; but | think you are la Boring
under some misapprehension of the actual
state of affairs. | know not if any of you
have been in America since the spring of
1861, or whether las | rather suspect) you
have all been busy in Europe endeavoring
to-but beg pardon, did not intend to say
anything that should recall old animosities
But intelligence is slow to arrive in any part
of the world, and intelligence from America
painfully so in reaching Europe You do
not seem to be aware that something has
happened here during tie last four years.
o'hOthih, thdt idS iudlt IL very DdlIll I'll ana
lasting impression on the memory of the
American people, whose voice on this oc.
casion | have the honor to be. They feel
constrained to demand that you shall enter
into bonds to keep the peace They do not,
l regret to say, agree with you in looking
upon what has happened here of late as ONLY
more emphatic way of settling a Presiden-
tial election, the result of which leaves both
parties entirely free to try again They
seem to take the matter far more seriously.
Nor do they, so far as | can see agree with
you in your estimate of the importance of
conserving your several State soveregnties.
as you continue to call them, insisting much
rather on the conservation of America and
of American ideas. They say that the only
thing which can individualize or perpetuate
a Commonwealth is to have history and
they ask which of these States lately in re-
bellion, except Virginia, had anything of the
kind? In spite of my natural sympathies,
gentlemen, my reason compels me to agree
with them. Your strength, such as it was,
was due less to the fertility of your brains
than to that of your soil and to the invention
of the Yankee Whitney which you used and
never paid for. You tell me it is hard to
put you on level with your negroes. As
believer in the superiority of the white race,
| cannot admit the necessity of enforcing
that superiority by law. A Roman emperor
once said that gold never had the unpleasant
odor of the place it came from, and l must
say to you that loyalty is sweet to me wheth-
er it throb under a black skin or a white
The American people has learned of late to
set greater value on the color of ideas than
on shades of complexion. As to the injustice
of taxation without representation, that is
an idea derived from our English ancestors,
and is liable, like all rules, to the exceptions
of necessity. l see no reason why State
may not as we'll be disfranchised as
borough for an illegal abuse of its privileges !;
nor do l quite feel the parity of that reason
which should enable you to do that with
loyal black which we may not do with a
disloyal white Remember that this gov.
ernmentis bound by every obligation, ethical
and political, to protect these people because
they are weak, and to reward them (if the
common privilege of manhood may be called
a reward) because they are faithful. We
are not fanatics; but nation that has neith-
er faith in itself nor faith toward others
must soon crumble to pieces by moral dry
rot. 1t we may conquer you, gentlemen,
and you forced the necessity upon us, we

may surely impose terms upon you; for it
Is an old principle of law that cui liceat
majus. ei licet etiam minus.


In your part of the country, gentlemen,
that which we should naturally appeal to as
the friend of order and stability, property.
is blindly against us; prejudice is also
against US; and we have nothing left to
which We can appeal but human nature and
the common privilege of manhood. You
seem 70 have entertained some hope that
would gather about myself Presidents
party which should be more friendly to YOU
and those anlmosities which you mistake for
interests. But you grossly deceive YOUR
selves; have no sympathy but with nv
whole country, and there is nothing out Of
which such party as you dream Of could
be constructed. except the broken remnant
of those who deserted you when. for the first
time, you needed their help and not their
subserviency, and those feathery characters
who are drawn hither and thither by Office.
Ela hits of manor hv alactrizad soaI:.--