ing until with new fuel they shall flame up again, then our present gloom is but the shadow, the penumbra of that deeper and darker eclipse, which is to totally obscure this hemisphere and blight forever the anxious anticipations and expectations of mankind! Then, hereafter, by some bard it may be sung, "The star of hope shone brightest in the west, The hope of liberty, the last, the best; That, too, has set upon her darkened shore, And hope and freedom light up earth no more." May we not all, on this occasion, on this anniversary of the birthday of Washington, join in a fervent prayer to heaven that the Great Ruler of events may avert from this land such a fall, such a fate, and such a requiem! STEPHEN ARNOLD DOUGLAS 1813-1861 Stephen A. Douglas was a New Englander, born at Brandon, Vt., April 23, 1813, and received such education there as an academy could give him. His profession was the law; and he studied it in several States, roaming from one to another in an unsettled manner, as if seeking in vain the ideal spot for his proposed career. He was always restless, physically and mentally; and in spite of the vigor and trenchancy of his utterances, it was for a long while in doubt whether at heart his sympathies, in the discussions which preceded the Civil War, were for the South or for the North. He did, indeed, uniformly deprecate secession, affirming that the constitution gave the general government absolute powers for its own preservation; nevertheless it was a surprise to many when, at the final outbreak of hostilities, he took the Northern side. 66 He was a member of the Illinois legislature at the age of twentythree, and from that time was constantly in politics. He first sat as member of Congress in 1843, and in the Senate in 1847, and retained his seat until his death, June 3, 1861. In 1860 he was the nominee of the Democratic party for President. He advocated the doctrine of "" squatter sovereignty in the Territories in relation to the slavery question. He was always a tireless and energetic speaker, and in his addresses showed many of the arts of the demagogue, as well as more worthy qualities. His sense of humor, often coarse, but generally effective, made him a favorite with the crowds in open air meetings and the like informal gatherings; and he excelled in debate, as his contest with Lincoln sufficiently proves. There is great ability in many of his speeches; but it is not ability of the kind that inspires confidence in the speaker. The speeches in the Lincoln-Douglas campaign are characteristic of Douglas, and show his merits and defects. He had no character outside of his speeches to fall back on or refer to; and therefore, he was fain to indulge in dodgings, quick turns, jokes, abuse of the plaintiff's attorney, and the like tricks, which amuse but do not convince. His audiences, going home after the speech to think it over, arrived at the conclusion that Douglas was a good fellow, but not a man to pin one's political faith to. The speech here given was delivered in a joint debate with Lincoln at Freeport, Ill., in the campaign of 1858. REPLY TO LINCOLN Delivered in joint debate, at Freeport, Illinois, June 17, 1858 L ADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I am glad that at last I have brought Mr. Lincoln to the conclusion that he had better define his position on certain political questions to which I called his attention at Ottawa. He there showed no disposition, no inclination, to answer them. I did not present idle questions for him to answer merely for my gratification. I laid the foundation for those interrogatories by showing that they constituted the platform of the party whose nominee he is for the Senate. I did not presume that I had the right to catechise him as I saw proper, unless I showed that his party, or a majority of it, stood upon the platform and were in favor of the propositions upon which my questions were based. I desired. simply to know, inasmuch as he had been nominated as the first, last, and only choice of his party, whether he concurred in the platform which that party had adopted for its government. In a few moments I will proceed to review the answers which he has given to these interrogatories; but in order to relieve his anxiety, I will first respond to these which he has presented to me. Mark you, he has not presented interrogatories which have ever received the sanction of the party with which I am acting, and hence he has no other foundation for them than his own curiosity. First, he desires to know if the people of Kansas shall form a constitution by means entirely proper and unobjectionable, and ask admission into the Union as a State, before they have the requisite population for a member of Congress, whether I will vote for that admission. Well, now, I regret exceedingly that he did not answer that interrogatory himself before he put it to me, in order that we might understand, and not be left to infer on which side he is. Mr. Trumbull, during the last session |