HISTORY OF THE GREAT REBELLION.

CHAPTER I.

CAUSES OF THE REBELLION-TARIFF OF 1816-THE NULLIFICATION DOCTRINE OF JOHN C. CALHOUN-PROMPT MEASURES OF PRESIDENT JACKSON-THE PART PLAYED BY SOUTH CAROLINA-DOCTRINE OJ STATE SUPREMACY-SLAVERY IN THE UNITED STATES-MISSOURI COMTM ROMISE -WILMOT PROVISO-SLAVERY IN KANSAS-INFLAMED STATE OF PARTIES CONSPIRATORS. YANCEY

-BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION-SOUTHERN

AND FLOYD-THE SOUTH PREPARING FOR WAR-POPULAR PRESENTIMENTS.

DIVINE Providence, as seen in the history of all nations, presides over the destinies of mankind. The fierce and effervescent passions of the human mind, the desire of conquest, the coveted objects of stimulated ambition, the unscrupulous efforts of tyranny, oppression, and wrong, are so controlled as to vindicate the perfection of the moral government of the Supreme arbiter of events, and prove that the "Most High ruleth in the kingdoms of men."

Such a consideration, though frequently disregarded by historians, is indispensable in the discussion of any portion of the history of a people who laid the foundations of a great Republic, firm and sure, on the grand principle of religion; and whose institutions and laws, closely entwined therewith, flourish, at once the glory and safety of Constitutional liberty. The wisdom of Providence developed the resources of struggling colonies, gave them a Washington to lead their armies, broke the rod of the oppressor, proclaimed liberty to the people, and raised, under the fostering care of heaven, the mighty republic whose bounds are washed by oceans, and contain a wider area than the great monarchies of old.

For a period of eighty years the nation grew, prospered with astonishing increase, and was happy. On a fruitful soil, the emigrant found a home. Agriculture raised the

NULLIFICATION DOCTRINE.

23

broken hearts, drown the piercing cries of the fatherless orphan, or dry up the bereaved widow's tears. Strange anomaly! which seems like some horrid nightmare, but too real, alas! Wonderful history, full of dreadful tragedies as ever were enacted on the stage of time, thrilling and captivating the heart.

It is our task, within the limits assigned, to trace the ori gin of the feud that bathed the nation in blood, to follow the course of events that drew armies to the ensanguined field, to describe faithfully the battles, skirmishes, incidents, toils, dangers, and sufferings in which the combatants engaged; and, following the best guides, aided by our experience of the actual conflict for four years in the Federal service, lead the reader to a just appreciation of this portion of national history, and only part when rebellious citizens lay down. their arms, and happy peace once more smiles on a distracted and tempest-tossed nation.

The terrible monster of Rebellion had three heads, now to be described, namely, the experiment of Nullification, attempted in 1828 by John C. Calhoun, the doctrine of State Supremacy, and the Perpetuation of Slavery.

Congress, in 1816, made a reduction on imported woollen and cotton goods of five per cent., which was not favored by those who desired protection, and such required a higher tariff. In 1824, a law was made increasing the profits on certain manufactures, but this tariff was found not to afford sufficient protection to the manufactures of Eastern States, the Pennsylvania Iron trade, and the wool and hemp trade of the Northern and Western States. After a severe contest, in 1827, 1828, between these interests and the advocates of the cotton interest in the South, a tariff bill was passed imposing duties averaging fifty per cent. on imports.

The Representatives of certain important Southern States violently opposed the bill, and John C. Calhoun, a man of genius, and wielding great logical powers, revolved in his mind the bold design of Nullification. Meetings were held in different parts of South Carolina in defence of Nullification, and documents were printed and distributed declaring the acts of Congress for the protection of Eastern and Northern manufactures unconstitutional, and inviting other Southern States to aid South Carolina in preventing their execution. In 1832, on the 24th of November, the Conven

24

PROMPT MEASURES OF JACKSON.

tion at Columbia passed the Nullification Act; forbade appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States in any matter wherein the validity of the ordinance was concerned; and declared that any attempt at enforcing the revenue laws, except through the civil courts, would "justify that State in seceding from the Union, and in establishing a separate and independent government." The Legislature, which was in session, approved of the ordinance, and ordered the State to prepare for defence; raised, armed, and equipped as many men as were deemed sufficient to resist the Government in collecting the revenue, and declared that resistance was to be made to the utmost. When General Jackson, then President of the United States, declared his intention of collecting the revenue, and warned the people of South Carolina in a proclamation, Governor Hayne in another proclamation defended Nullification, and called for twelve thousand volunteers to arm against the Federal forces. The Force Bill, which gave the President greater power, and extended the jurisdiction of the Courts of the United States so as to deal with cases arising under the revenue laws, was passed 28th of February, 1833, and the President, by sending General Scott with a body of troops to Charleston, thus crushed this incipient rebellion. If the imbecile President, James Buchanan, who ruled during the outbreak of the great civil war, had used the same strenuous efforts, the country might have been saved from rebellion. The seed sown by Calhoun and his associates sprung up afterward, and South Carolina was destined to take a leading part in treason against the Government, and to "pierce herself through with many sorrows." Charleston played a prominent part in the war of the great rebellion, and Columbia, in which the Ordinance of Nullification was passed, beheld a fugitive and terror-stricken people, and became a heap of burning ruins.

Another head of rebellion was the doctrine of State Supremacy, in opposition to the policy of Centralization. Various arguments were used to justify the right of sccession from the Federal Union, claimed by the seceding States. The absurdity of the doctrine is obvious. It is evident that the States gave up all rights to the Federal Government for the common good, and that the people of all the States established the Federal Government. "The people" framed and adopted the Constitution, and they have a right