Political text-book for 1860 : comprising a brief view of presidential nominations and elections, including all the national platforms ever yet adopted ... with the most notable speeches and letters of Messrs. Lincoln, Douglas, Bell, Cass, Seward, Everett, Breckinridge, H.V. Johnson, etc., etc., touching the questions of the day : and returns of all presidential elections since 1836

Page 105

198 .A. POLITICAL TEXT BOOK .FOR 1860. RESPONSE OF JlWG~: llATF:S. J The Territorh:s, whether .&cquired hy conquest 8 1 . 01 'l. M . 1< lT 1 GO pca ce:~bl e purchase, are subJect and subordinate . not T. OUI~, (~t c L , • J sovtre1gy1 11 kc the ~tates. 'I' he nation I~ supreme 'ove To Mt>s~r!l. P ~ t.. 1-'ov., F.dltor of The Afrs~fmrt flt>m()rntt; Dr. them anti the NationaJ Government has p , . t r BEttl>AYS, Editor ntth Anz.t"tyrr; 11.11d otht•r g 'ntlcmcn: mit o'r fo1 bill Shv 'ry wit! in tl E t o~vct 0 per. SIRS: B. Omtz Drown, Esq., as President of the 1\Iis· . , c , 1 1em. u crtatnlng theso sour! 8~ate Convention, which sat In St. Louis on the tenth of this month, hns officially made known to me the proceedings of that body, an<.I by them I am enabled to know some of you 11s Delegates to the Chicago Conven· tion, representing the Rcpublicl\n party of 1\lhssourl. 1 hn.ve received yoW" letter propounding to me certain questions (seven In number) which you suppose will cover most, if not all, the grounds of controvcray, in U1e approaclling Presidential elect.ion. With pleasure I will answer your questions. nut be­fore doing so, ttl!ow me to gl:mce at the peculiar circum· stances in which I am placed, tHl<l the strangeness or the fact that I, n. mere pri vnt e mau, am called upon to make avowals and explanations, wit.h any view t.o t:tke me ft·om the shades of privak life anti place me at the head of the nation. I came to t.ltis frontier in 111y youth, and settled in St. Louis wl1 en it wall rL village. A II m.v manhood has been spent iu 1\Ji~~ouri, anu during all that time 1 have followed a profe~sion which left 111.1' charac· ter and concluct open to the obscr\'ation of society. Anti while it has been my constant lwbit freely to exprc~s n1y opinion of public measures and public men, the penplc of Missouri, of all parties, will be11r me witness that I have ncvet· obtrusively thrust myself forward in pur~u it of official honot·s. I have held no politicnl oOice, aud sought none, for more than twcnty·fi ve yean:~. VICII's,. I am oppose~ ~o the exte~sion of Ia. very, 11nd in my optnion, the spmt and pohcy of the Governmen' ought to be against Its extension. 2. n ws tlH! ( 'on!ltit utlon carry Slavery Into U1c Tcrrltor!es! I nn~wcr no. 'l'he Constil,ution of the United States docs not carry Slavery into the '!'errltorles. Wit.h much more show of n:nson may it be sn.id that it carries da­Yery into all the '1ates. nut it docs not carry S1avery an-' whc1·c. lt only a cts upon it, where it finds it estab­liHhetl by the local law. ln c" nnection with this point, I am asked to state 1ny Yicws of the Orcd , cott case, and what 11'<\S really dctcrrninc\1 hy the Rupreme Court In that case. It is my opinion, carefully con:Jidcrcd, that the Court deter­mined one single p oint. of law only, that Is that Scott the. plaint ill', hein~ a negro nf African descent (not neces~ sanly a ~< lave ), could not he a ci tizen of l\ti~souri and then: fore could uot l'ue in the 1•'edcral Court· and' that for I h;s r enson, and this nlou e, tl1e Circuit Court had no juri:~tlict. ion of the cause, anti no power to give jud!{nH:nt hetwcen the )mrties. 'l'he only jurisdiction which the , UIH't'llle Comt had of the cause ;rns for Ule purpose of con cct ing the erro r of the Circuit Court in aK~Uining th r power to tkride upon the merits of th~ case. 'J' his power the ~upre 1 ue l'llu t did exercise, by ~elt.ing aside the jndgn1er1 t of the Circuit Court upon tho merit:;, and hy di~>rnissing the ·uit., without any judg­ment for or a gainst either part.y. 'L'his I:J all that the ~upreme Court dill, an<.I a ll that it had lawful power to <.lo. Undor these circumstances, I confellS the grat.iflcation which l feel in recci ving the r ecent manifestations of the respect :tnd coofi(lcncc of my fellow-citizens. .First. the Opposition members of the Miseouri Ll'gbla.ture <lecl:~rcd Uleir preference for me as a candi<l:tte; th en followed my nomination by a Convention corupo~etl of all the cle­ments of the Opposition in this ~·tate; and now the He­publicans of 1\lissourl, In their separate co:wcnLion ju:;t held in ~ t. Louis, have reatnrme<.I 1 he no111ination' and proposed, by their delegates , to I H'~l!ent me to 1 h~ N a­ti. oual Convention, soon to be held at Chicago, at~ a C:tll· tluiate for the firt>t otllce in the nation These various demonstrations in my own State arc doubly gratifying to me, because t.lt<!y n.lfortl the ~tronget~t proof that my name ha.s been !Htt forwn.nl only iu a :;pirit of h:mnony and peace, and with the h op~.: of preveuting all <.livision and controver~:~y a.morrg t ho~c who, for their own safety and the public goo<!, ought to be uuit.ell in the.t· action. l<'ot· a ll thie 1 a.m deeply gratefu l, and, as far as C<'Il· cerns me p ersonally, 1 must. declare in simple t.ruth that if the movement go no furtlter and produce n~ national re ult.s, still I am paid and 01•erpaid for a life of lab?t·, nn~l fo1· whatever of zealous elfort <111d pat i ·ut ~atchmg I have becu able to IJestow in support of a hue of govern mental policy which 1 believe to be for the 1 con~i<l er it a great public misfortune that se1rera.l of the leamed judgeM !:'hould have t11ought that their duty required tht·m to discuss an!l give opinions upon various quL·stions out~idc of the case, as the case was actually dispn:-.ctl of by the cou rt. All liUCh opinions are extra judicial and nf no authot·ity. But hct~idc this, it appears to me that sc1·eral of the qn<;stions so cllscu:::scd by the jndl{t'S arc pnlitkal questions, anti therefore beyond the co~ nir.anc' of the judidary, an!! proper only to be consl· dered and disposotl of lty t.he political deparlnu:nts. If 1 11111 ri~h t in tllii!, and it seems to me plain, the precedent h; lllO~t unfortunat e, IJ<'cause it may lead to a dnngerous con tlict of aut ltnrity among the coi.>nllnate branches ot the Govcrnuwnt. pre eot nn<.I permanent good of the count.r.v. . And now, g.entlemcn, 1 proceed to an · ,,•er y our ques-tiOns, bri elly Indeed, hut fully, plainly, and with all po~­sil. lle fraukncss. And 1 tlo th1s the more willmt;lv he· cause I have received ft·o1n individuals manv lctL ·rs (too m11.ny to be separately ILIIe;wererl), and h;l vc seen in many public j oumal:; articl<•s making urg..:nt ca lis upon me for such a statement of views. I. Slaver·y-lls rxtt•n~!l>!l In tlw '1\:rrlll>r;ns. On this subject, in tho Statoo nnd In lite Tenitorle~ I. have no new opinions- no opiuion~ funned in relu.~ iliOn to the ~resent :uTa.v or part ics. I an1 coeval with the 1\llssoun questJon of ISI9-20 having begun my J?Olitical lif~ .in the 1~1idst of !hut st.ruggle. At that t.1me my post~JO~ requtrcd me lo seck tLll1he means of knowledge ."tllun my reach, a.nd 10 !!ludy the principles Involved w1th al.l the powers of my 111 ntl ; and 1 ar­rived at conclusiOns then which no sub ·equent events have in~uced me to cha:1ge.. 'J'he existence of 11 gro Slavery Ill our c~untry had 1ts. bcginui"g in the early time or the Colon1es, and was tmpo:;e<l by tltc 111other country against the wlll of most of the c·olouis ts At the time of the ltevolution, and long afttr, it was com­monl. r regard~<.) ll8 an evil, temporary in its nature, ~nd h~ely to dtS!lJ.>J>ear in the cour:;e of t ime, yet, while 1t ~ontmuecl, a llltsfortune to the eountr.r :50cinlly and pohUc~l~ ' Thus was I. tnught., by those who tnacle our .Govern­ment, an~ neither the new light of tu odern civil.z:,uion, nor the d1scovery of a new sys1eu1 of cO tlsLitutional law and socla.l philosophy, has cnaltlcd n1e to detect the enor of their teaching. 3. As 10 thn t•olvn l?.•tl lon of tlw free blackR. For m:u1,y years I h;we heen conn ected with the Ameri­can Colonization Society, of which the rising young State of Liberia is the first fruit. I consider the object both l!tunane and wbc, beneficent a like to the fr •e blacks who em i.~-p·atc, and to the whites whom they Ie:we behind. But Africa is ditltant, and presents so many obstacle to rapid settlement., that we cannot Indulge the hope of drainlng otr in tlt:tt diret'fion the ~-{rowing numbers of our free black population. The tropica l regions of America, I think, oll\:r a far better pt·ospect hoth for us ancl for them. 4. A~ to any Inequality of rights among Amel'lcan cltlzrns. I I'C\!ognize no distinctions among Amcrlenn citizens bl!C :-;uch as :.rc cxpr •ssly lal!l down in the Constitution. An~ l IH1Id that our Goverument is houncl to protect all the citizens in the enjoyment of all their rights, everywhere and ug:Linst all assaila.nts. An<.l as to all these right.\ the re is no difference between citizens born ancl cltizeoi made ~; uch by law. 6. Arn I In f•tnll' of the con!ltructlon of a mth·oncl from tho \'nll•·.r of the .Misl>is)ltppl to the Pacific Ocean, uuucr the aus pi(,.-,; of 1hu Ucnernl Uorcrnmcnt Y Yes, strongly. I not only believe such n. rond of vasl Importance as the means of increasing tho population, wealth anti power of thil; great valley, but necessary as tho means of national <.Ief<;nce, and of preserving the integrity uf the Union. 6. Am I In f~t~·or of the measure cnllcd tho Homestead bill 1 Yes; I •~m for ~;nanling the public lands, as well as possiule, from the <.IMgcr of becoming the subject of com· mon tra.(lo and speculation-for keeping them for the actual usc of tho people-n.nd for granting tracts ot su!t.ahle alze to those who will a ctually inhabit and im­prove them. i. Am I In f:\Vor of the Immediate admission of Knusns uudrr the Wya.udoL Conslltutlou f Slo rer;r Is " a social relation " - a domestic institu­t. ion. \\ ,Jthln .the States, it exllits by the local law, and U!e Fe<.Icral Gon::ruwcnt has no cout. ol O\'Cr it there. I think that Kn.nsns OU!;ht to be admitted withouS delay, lcuvln~ ller, like a ll the other States, the sole judge of her own Con~Utution. Tllll~, gentlemen I beli,.ve I have aoswererl all yoUJ inqu.irletS in a plaln, intelligible manner, and, I hop", k J ~DGE BATES'S LETTER RESPEG'TING MR. L1NC O L..~. !fO t"• 8lrtiRjrLction. I have not n.ttcmpto<l to support my I corrupted itself and p ' rvertc:d the prlnciplt•s or the <lv­answers lly argument, fo1· that could not be done In a vernment; has ~ct iH1<:lf openly again11t the great ho10e l!hort ll'tt •r; and, r cstraillin!{ myself from going into intt:re~ts or the peu plt", by negl ec~ing to prol t•ct Uto::it general politics, l ha1·c con f! ned my remarks to the intlu~try, and h.Y rt·fu~i ng to improvu and kct'p lu order particullu· l>Uhjccts upon whtch you r eque::;tcd me to tl.c h1ghway~ and dt.:pnt of cou1mercc; an!l even now 1 ~ write. Your obliged fellow-citizen, ll:rging a. mea~urc in Congre~s to nh!licutc the con!'ltitu· Eow,um B.\T.It8. t1onal powt·r nud duty to regulate r omu1c·n:c :tn1 onK t he Sta.tcl:\1 nntl to gnwt to tlw States the d i c• el itJ n~try JUDGE llJ.. TES'S LETTER I~ SUPPORT OF UNCOLJf. ST J,OUIS, rftmo 11, 18GO. 0. H. B coli' NINO, Esq., Quincy, Ill. power to levy tonn11ge duLles upou nit our cnn1merct:, Under the pretense Of improving harbo r~, r ivt:rR, Und luke!!; ha::~ changed the status of the rwgru slavo hy mttk· inK him !10 longer mere property, hut a pol itician, nn antagon ist ,,ower in the , t ntc, a power to which all <Jthcr J)t-:Ail Sr1t: When 1 received your Iotter or !\fay 22d, I hntlltO thought thrLt tho answer woulcl be so long do­llayed; ()ut, waiving a.ll excuses, I proceed to o.ruswer it nOIV. powers are r t'qui rerlto yield, under p<;rHtlt.Y of a di~;so lu· ti on of the Un1on; has directed its energies t c> tht· grati ­fication of it~ lu:;ts of foreign domain, as ma nife~t ·<I In its pcr:si::stent cfl'ort:~ to seize upon tropi ca l region ~, not he-cause those CIJUntri L:s a.ntl their incongruous people a re necessary, or even llesiru.ble, to be incnrpornted into r ur nation, IJut for the mere purpose or making Hlave 'tales, In ord~r to advance the p olitical pc11n•r of the pnrty in the Senate and in the choice of the l'resid ·nt , so 11-8 elfcctually to transfcr the chit:f powers of the Uo vernrr<:r1t frorn the lll!tny to the few; ha~ In variouH lt;t!;:wccs enda.nget·ed the equa.lity of the counlinate l>ra nch e~ nf the Gov<!nunent, uy urgent elfort:1 to enlarge the pQwers nf tltc Executive at the cxpenoe of the Leg 1 ~la t il'e dcpa.rt· 1ncnt; has artcnlj>tetl to discredit a nd deg,at!c t.hc Judi· clary, i)y uU\:ctiug to make it, u.t Dr~t, lhc a rbiter ot' p ;~r ly quarrels, to bt:co1ue soon and iuevi tably tl te pa ­~ i ve r\· g!,l.r~t r of:\ pnrly uecret'. Under the ci rcumstances of the cMe It ought not to rave hcen tlou!.>teu that I would give 1\Jr. Lincoln's nom­tnation a cordial n.nd hen.rt y support. J3ut io tleclaring my inte ntion to do so, it is due to myself to st:\te some of the ta.cts and re;tsons which have a controlling iuCiuencc over my mind, and which I think ought to be persua­sive a.rguments with s cHne other men, whose political opinions and antecedents arc, in soute important lHLrti· cul:t.rs, like rny own. 'l'he1·e was no good ground for supposing tllllt I felt a.ny pique or d issat.h;faction because the Chicago Con­vention f;Lilcd to nominate met 1 had uo such feeling. On part.y ground~, I had no right to expect the nomina­tion. I had no claims upon the ltcpuhllcanH us a part.y, for I have u <;ver been a member of any p:ll' t..v, so as to be bourHl hy Its dogmas, and suhjcct to its discipline, ex­cept only the Whig party, which is now hrokt•n up, and its materials, for the most part, absoruc!l in other orgaui· zntions. And thus I a.rn left., alone an<! tHJwcrlt•s,, in­deed hut. perfectly free to follow the dictate,; of my own judginent, and to take such part in rurre11t. politks as my own scnt~e of <.Iut.v and patriotibm may re!1Ui1 c. Mnny ltt>pul>lic:tns, a.nd nmong them, I think, some of the most moderate and patriotic of that party, hono: cd n1e with their confidence and desired to make me their candidate. .I<' or t.llis f:Lvor I Wit.!:! indebt cd to the fact that betl\·een them nncl me thero wa~ a coincidence of opiu· ion upon cert.ain important questions of government. 'fhcy and [ a.greed in believing t.hnt tl1e Natioual Govern· mcnt ha~ 11overeign power over tha 'l'erritori cs, and that it would he impolitic n.nd unwise to UI:!C that power for the IH"opagat.ion of negro Slavery hy planting it In lcrec 'l'erriLo1·y. ::lome of them believed also that my nomina­tion while it would tet.t ''<I soften tho tone of thP. Hepub­licn~ party, without any t(ban<.lonrnent of its principles, might te n<.I also to generalir.e its character and attract t.lle fl1iendship and support of many, especially in the bordt!r States, who, like me, hat! never been members of U1eir party, but concurred with them in opinion about the government of t.he 'l'erritories. These are the grounds, and !think the only grounds, upon which I was sup­ported at all a.t Chicago. As to the platform put forth hy the Chicago Conven­tiou, I ha1·t.: litl lc to say, because, whet.her gc>cHI or ba!l, that will nut cou~titutc the ground ()f my support of Mr. Li1tcoln. 1 httve no great re:~pec t for )>Mty platfo rms in geueral. 'l'hey a re commonly llla<le in times of high tX· c1t,•ment, under !L pressure of ci rcumstnncts, an!l with the view to C<>ltCilhtt<; prc-cnt support, mtht:r than to esta­blish a permanent system of principles and line of policy fc,r the future good government of country. 1'he Convtntions which form them arc transient in thei r tutture; their power and in Ciuence are consumed in the using, leaving no contiuuing obligation upon their re­~ pcctivc parties. And heuce we ne<;d not wonder that plat fortns so m;1de are httrdly ever acted upon in prac· lice. I ~hnll not discuss their r ela tive merits, but con­tent myself with saying that this Jlepul.>lican platform, t.l1oug!J in several ptu·ti culars it docs nut conform to my vie w~, i.'i Et ill far bt:ttcr than any published crt:ed, past or prc~ent, or the Democrat!<. And as to the new party, it l m~ ltOL chosen to promul~a te any platform at nll, except two or tlt rce bro<td gencntlities which nrc common to the proft:~~lous of faith of all parties in the country. No p:u·t.y, indeed, dare nsk t.l1e confttleneo or tho nation, whi t-e openly !lenyiug the ouligation to suppot·t the Union nnd the Cn u~tll. u tion and to enforce the laws. 'fha t is ~~ COIIlmon duty, hiltdlng upon every citizeu, a.ntl Lht: failure to pcrfonn it is :L crime. To me it i~ plain thtt.l the approaching contest must be hr-tw~clt t ht.: Democratic and the Rcpublicnu parties; ancl, bet wt·c" llt~ u•, 1 p refer the latter. Tl1c Ot·cuocratlc party, by the long posse.qsJon n nd a\H.,t of )Jower, has grown wanton and recl.:lt:ss; has lo most, if uot a ll these par ticulars, I understand the ltepublicau party (j udging it by its acts and hy the kuown opinions of 111any of its leading mcu) to be the exact opposite of the .Democr-atic party; tutd that is the grouncl of my preference of the one party over the other. And t.hat alone would ()e a suilicient reason, if I had no other good 1·ea~ons, for supporting 1\lr. Liucolu against any m;w wl10 ntny ue put forward by the Democratic party, as the exponent of its principles anti the agent 10 work ouc, in p ra ctic..:, Its d!Lngcrous policieH. 'l'he thi rd party, which, lty it::; forrnation, ha~ <l c:stroyt>cl the organ iza: iou of t he A mcricau and Whig panic¥, has !lolnilt ;Lt ed two most excellent men. I know t hem well, as :wund 11t.at es1 uen and true patriots. 1\lorc limn thi1 ty year!! :tgo l serv\·tl with them both in Congre:;:l, and from thai. tintc to this l have alwayi held them in re:spcct and honor. Jlut what can the third party do toward I h<; ele6 tion of evl•n such worthy men as these against the two great parties which arc now in actual co n t e~:~t for the power to rule t.he nation? lt is made up entirely of por· ti ons of lite d isi nt~gmt<;d eierfiCnts of the lltt.c \\"hlg and American parti c~-goo d mate rials, in the main , I :L(hnit, hut qu itc too weak to elect aoy man or est a blish an.f principle. 'l'he most it can do is, here an<l there iu par ticular localitlOi!, to make a tlivcrsiou iu favor of th~ Democrats. In J::.:>G the Whig and Ame ri can parties (not ftJnnlng IL ?lf'W J/cLI't!f, but united as allies), 11 iLh en· t ire unanimit.Y and ::;ome zeal. supporte<.ll\lr. Fillmore for the l're id(•ucy, and with whu.t result~? We m:ul.e :\ mi:;cmule failure carrying no ' tate hut gallant httle Maryhwd. And, 1 urely, the unite<.) Whig:! and Ameri­cans of that day had a fat· greater t>how of strength and fat· better prospects of success than any which belong to the Con.stitutiOilld Uuiun party now. In fact, l set: no pOS!lil> lity of succe~s fur the thi rd party, e.11. cept In one contingency- the Destr uction of the Dt.:mocratic party. ThaL h; a eontit;CII('Y not likely to happen tlti~ year, for, hatlly It:; I think of many of the actll nn<.l poli cies of that party, its cup is not yet full-the <.lay has not y et come when it must dis:.olvc in its own corruption:!. Uut the day is cornlug, anti is not far off. '!'he party has 111ade itself entirely sectional; it has C(lncentmtt·d ils very be­ing into one single idea; negro 'lavet·y Ita::! control of all its faculties, an <lit can !'ct.: and hear n othing ch;e-•• oue stern, tyrannic thought, that makes all other thoughl.i its slaves!, But the Democmtlc party still lives, and while it lives, .it and the ltepulJiican party are the only real nntagon~ttc power· in the nation, awl for the p1·csent, I l~l llst cho~e between t.helll. 1 choose the latter, as wtser, purer, younger and less corrupted by time and self-indulgence. 'l'he CfLntlldatos nominated at Chicago 1\l'C both 1111'11 wh~, as individuals and J>Oiiticians, rauk with the forc m o~t of the country. I h;we heard no ohj~ctiou t~) . l\l r. It amll.n personally, but only to his geographtcal po tltn.n, whkh 1:1 thought to be too far North und .East to nllow ht:i personal good qualities to exercise their proper lu t\uence 01 er tho nation at large. Hut the nominalio!l for the Pre!.itlency is the great controlling net. l\t r. J~tncoln, his character, talents opinions und history will be critici:~ed by thou­sands, ~hilc the ca.n<.lldate for the VIce-Presidency will b<t oassed over in corupnrutlre silence.