ployed in the coastwise slave traffic; and by the extension of slavery far beyond its original limits, by acts of Congress admitting new slave states into the Union.

9. Resolved, That the fundamental truths of the declaration of independence, that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, was made the fundamental law of our national government, by that amendment of the constitution which declares that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

10. Resolved, That we recognize as sound the doctrine maintained by slaveholding jurists, that slavery is against natural rights, and strictly local, and that its existence and continuance rests on no other support than state legislation, and not on any authority of Congress.

11. Resolved, That the general government has, under the constitution, no power to establish or continue slavery anywhere, and therefore that all treaties and acts of Congress establishing, continuing or favoring slavery in the District of Columbia, in the territory of Florida, or on the high seas, are unconstitutional, and all attempts to hold men as property within the limits of exclusive national jurisdiction ought to be prohibited by law. 12. Resolved, That the provision of the constitution of the United States which confers extraordinary political powers on the owners of slaves, and thereby constituting the two hundred and fifty thousand slaveholders in the slave states a privileged aristocracy; and the provision for the reclamation of fugitive slaves from service, are anti-republican in their character, dangerous to the liberties of the people, and ought to be abrogated.

13. Resolved, That the practical operation of the second of these provisions, is seen in the enactment of the act of Congress respecting persons escaping from their masters, which act, if the construction given to it by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Prigg vs. Pennsylvania be correct, nullifies the habeas corpus acts of all the states, takes away the whole legal security of personal freedom, and ought, therefore, to be immediately repealed.

14. Resolved, That the peculiar patronage and support hitherto extended to slavery and slaveholding, by the general government, ought to be immediately withdrawn, and the example and influence of national authority ought to be arrayed on the side of liberty and free labor.

15. Resolved, That the practice of the general government, which prevails in the slave states, of employing slaves upon the public works, instead of free laborers, and paying aristocratic masters, with a view to secure or reward political services, is utterly indefensible and ought to be abandoned.

16. Resolved, That freedom of speech and of the press, and the right of petition, and the right of trial by jury, are sacred and inviolable; and that all rules, regulations and laws, in derogation of either, are oppressive. unconstitutional, and not to be endured by a free people.

17. Resolved, That we regard voting, in an eminent degree, as a moral and religious duty, which, when exercised, should be by voting for those who will do all in their power for immediate emancipation.

18. Resolved, That this convention recommend to the friends of liberty in all those free states where any inequality of rights and privileges exists on account of color, to employ their utmost energies to remove all such remnants and effects of the slave system.

Whereas, The constitution of these United States is a series of agreements, covenants or contracts between the people of the United States, each with all, and all with each; and,

Whereas, It is a principle of universal morality, that the moral laws of the Creator are paramount to all human laws; or, in the language of an Apostle, that "we ought to obey God rather than men ;" and,

Whereas, The principle of common law-that any contract, covenant, or agreement, to do an act derogatory to natural right, is vitiated and annulled by its inherent immorality-has been recognized by one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, who in a recent case expressly holds that "any contract that rests upon such a basis is void;" and,

Whereas, The third clause of the second section of the fourth article of the constitution of the United States, when construed as providing for the surrender of a fugitive slave, does "rest upon such a basis," in that it is a contract to rob a man of a natural right-namely, his natural right to his own liberty-and is therefore absolutely void. Therefore,

19. Resolved, That we hereby give it to be distinctly understood by this nation and the world, that, as abolitionists, considering that the strength of our cause lies in its righteousness, and our hope for it in our conformity to the laws of God, and our respect for the rights of man, we owe it to the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, as a proof of our allegiance to him, in all our civil relations and offices, whether as private citizens, or public functionaries, sworn to support the constitution of the United States, to regard and to treat the third clause of the fourth article of that instrument, whenever applied to the case of a fugitive slave, as utterly null and void, and, consequently, as forming no part of the constitution of the United States, whenever we are called upon or sworn to support it.

20. Resolved, That the power given to Congress by the constitution, to provide for calling out the militia to suppress insurrection, does not make it the duty of the government to maintain slavery by military force, much less does it make it the duty of the citizens to form a part of such military

force; when freemen unsheathe the sword it should be to strike for liberty, not for despotism.

21. Resolved, That to preserve the peace of the citizens, and secure the blessings of freedom, the legislature of each of the free states ought to keep in force suitable statutes, rendering it penal for any of its inhabitants to transport, or aid in transporting from such state, any person sought to be thus transported, merely because subject to the slave laws of any other state; this remnant of independence being accorded to the free states by the decision of the supreme court, in the case of Prigg v. The State of Pennsylvania.

1844.-WHIG PLATFORM,

Baltimore, May 1.

1. Resolved, That these principles may be summed as comprising a wellregulated national currency; a tariff for revenue to defray the necessary expenses of the government, and discriminating with special reference to the protection of the domestic labor of the country; the distribution of the proceeds from the sales of the public lands; a single term for the Presidency; a reform of executive usurpations; and generally such an administration of the affairs of the country as shall impart to every branch of the public service the greatest practical efficiency, controlled by a wellregulated and wise economy.

1844.-DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM,

Baltimore, May 27.

Resolutions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, of the platform of 1840, were reaffirmed, to which were added the following:

10. Resolved, That the proceeds of the public lands ought to be sacredly applied to the national objects specified in the constitution, and that we are opposed to the laws lately adopted, and to any law for the distribution of such proceeds among the states, as alike inexpedient in policy and repugnant to the constitution.

11. Resolved, That we are decidly opposed to taking from the President the qualified veto power, by which he is enabled, under restrictions and responsibilities, amply sufficient to guard the public interest, to suspend the passage of a bill whose merits can not secure the approval of twothirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, until the judgment of the people can be obtained thereon, and which has thrice saved the American people from the corrupt and tyrannical domination of the bank of the United States.

12. Resolved, That our title to the whole of the territory of Oregon is clear and unquestionable; that no portion of the same ought to be ceded to England or any other power, and that the re-occupation of Oregon and the re-annexation of Texas at the earliest practicable period, are great American measures, which this convention recommends to the cordial support of the democracy of the Union.

CHAPTER XIV.

POLK'S ADMINISTRATION.

1845-1849.

POLK'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

The President, in a somewhat lengthy inaugural, set forth his views, which were substantially in accordance with the platform of his party. He discountenanced any interference with slavery, and thought that any attempt to destroy this "domestic institution" would be fraught with most “ruinous and disastrous" consequences.

As to the Texas question, he stated that its adjustment was probable, and declared it to be a matter which exclusively concerned Texas and the United States. He thought the legal claim of our government to Oregon was "clear and unquestionable," and promised to maintain this right by all constitutional means. The President opposed a national bank; was entirely silent on the question of internal improvements; and rather diffuse on the vital question of the tariff. The principle that the spoils belong to the victors, which had come down from Jackson and had been accepted by the whigs, was adhered to by the new administration.

ANNEXATION OF TEXAS.

In accordance with the resolution passed by the last session of Congress, Texas accepted annexation, both by her own Congress and by a popular convention. Mexico offered a formal protest merely, and discontinued diplomatic relations with the United States. She offered to acknowledge the independence of Texas, however, if that state would maintain