CHAPTER

XX. SECOND Session of the THIRTIETH Congress

Wilmot's Part in General Legislation. Opposes Cre-

ation of Department of the Interior. Supports the

Mexican War. Action on Bill to Extinguish Slavery

in the District of Columbia. The Proviso for the

New Territories again. Its Enemies Assert the Di-

vine Origin of Slavery. The California Bill. Wil-

mot's Personal Explanation of a Conference with

Polk. Polk's Diary on the same Subject. Contro-

versy with the Chief Executive. The New York

Evening Post to the Rescue.

XXI. ORGANIZATION OF THE THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS

First Official Appearance of the Free-Soil Party.

Deadlock over the Speakership. Wilmot among the

Nominees. Letters on Slavery as a National Issue.

The Brown-Wilmot Correspondence. Wilmot's Let-

ters to the Press. Tempest in Congress over the

Proviso. Attacks by Administration Organs. His

Vision of the Slavery Issue in and out of Congress.

XXII. THE CALIFORNIA BILL AND THE COMPRO-

MISES OF 1850 .

Situation at the Opening of Taylor's Administration.

Stoddard, Schurz, Schouler and others on the Issue

Created by the Wilmot Proviso. The Temper of

Congress as Revealed in Debate. Six-Months' Dead-

lock on the California Bill. Clay's "Comprehensive

Scheme of Adjustment," Sacrificing the Wilmot

Proviso. Calhoun's Last Speech on the Question.

Webster's "7th of March Speech"-"the Fall of an

Archangel." Webster's Attitude and Policy Com-

pared with Wilmot's. Cass Repudiates the Proviso.

Lincoln's Description of Cass and "the Great Demo-

cratic Ox-Gad" Waving him back. Chase's Prophecy

that those who Thought they Were Killing the Pro-

viso Were only Committing Political Suicide.

XXIII. PASSAGE OF THE COMPROMISE BILLS.

The Committee of Thirteen and the Omnibus Bill.

Their Report that the Wilmot Proviso, as Applied

to New Mexico and California, Was a "Mere Ab-

straction." The Compromise Bills in the Senate

Clay's Despair. Subdivision of the Omnibus Bill

Adoption of the Various Measures. Action in the

House. Wilmot's Votes. His Part in the Genera

Legislation of that Session. Speech on the Presi

dent's Message Transmitting the Constitution of

California. Speech on the California Question.

CHAPTER

XXIV. UN HORSED

XXV.

The Campaign of 1850. Endorsed by his District,

but Defeated by the Powers at Washington. Secret

Correspondence of Buchanan's Lieutenants. Estab-

lishment of a Hostile Press. Nominated a Fourth

Time by his Party. A Bolting Convention and a

Rival Candidate. Wilmot Withdraws to Save the

Ticket, Selecting Galusha A. Grow as his Successor.

Letters of the Three Candidates. Wilmot's Conclud-

ing Months in Congress. A Remarkable Tribute to

him in a Letter from F. P. Blair to Martin Van

Buren.

ON THE BENCH .

Chosen by a Large Majority as the First Elected

President Judge of the Thirteenth Pennsylvania Dis-

trict. Charge to his First Grand Jury. His Char-

acteristics in the Judicial Office.

XXVI. THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA STRUGGLE

An Unstable Peace Following the Compromise of

1850. Douglas's Bid for the Presidency-the Repeal

of the Missouri Compromise. Northern Reactions

against a New Aggression by the Slave Power. The

Response in Wilmot's District. Taking the Issue to

the People. His Welcome to Women in Politics.

Speeches to his Constituents. Letters to Public Meet-

ings. A Dark Horse in the Caucus for United States

Senator.

Wilmot's Circular as Chairman of the First Repub-

lican State Committee in Pennsylvania. His Speeches

throughout the District. Results at the Polls. New

Attempts to Annihilate Wilmot. Vicious Newspaper

Attacks Silenced by a Libel Suit. The Bill Pro-

hibiting Judges from Taking Part in Politics. Its

Death in Committee.

XXVIII. THE FREMONT CAMPAIGN OF 1856

Call by the Republican Central Committee of Five

States, Wilmot Signing for Pennsylvania. His Cir-

cular to the Friends of Freedom. His Accompanying

Letter. The Appeal to the People of the United

States. The Harrisburg Convention of March 26.

The Philadelphia Convention. Wilmot's Draft of

the First Republican Platform. He Is Voted for as

Vice-President on the Ticket with Fremont. His

Speeches at the Convention. His Work in the Cam-

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FREE-SOILER

A BIOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT ADVOCATE
OF THE WILMOT PROVISO

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