ALACRITY IN SLAVE-HUNTING.

221

In the South, where every adult | must vary their course to catch her? white male was accustomed to join | It would be a libel on his memory instinctively and eagerly in the hunt to suppose him capable of any such for a fugitive slave, precisely as baseness. 19 He might have refrained though he were some domestic ani- from giving the woman a hint, by mal that had escaped from his own- nodding or finger-pointing, as to the er's inclosure, and taken to the high-proper place at which to leave the way or the woods, such language road; he probably would have remight have been used with consisten-frained from misleading her pursuers, cy: In the North, it was otherwise; by wink or sign, as to the course she and for this reason: The essence of had actually taken; but he would obedience to law is the acceptance have rendered them no positive aid. of the obligation, not in its letter His soul would have instinctively remerely, but in its spirit. In other volted from becoming a volunteer words, he only can render full, effect- personal accomplice of the womanive obedience to a law who recog-hunters. Yet to refuse this was to nizes in such obedience the fulfill-withhold a genuine and hearty obement of an intrinsic obligation-of a Divine requirement. Let us suppose, now, that Mr. Webster, while riding on one of the highways near Boston, or near Washington, had encountered a black mother with a child in her arms, fleeing on foot, with all possible speed, and had seen in the distance three or four white men, mounted and armed, fiercely pursuing. He would, of course, have comprehended at once that the woman and child were presumptively fugitive slaves, and that the pursuers were her master, or his agent, with assistants, in quest of her. But would he have thereupon attempted, "with alacrity," to stop the fleeing woman, and forcibly detain her, until they should overtake and seize her? Nay, if he had seen her, while in a hollow out of their sight, make a dexterous plunge into a wood, so as to throw them completely off her track, would he have ridden to tell them where she had left the road, and how they

19 It is within the personal knowledge of the writer that politicians who declaimed loudly in public of our constitutional obligations to surren

dience to the vaunted constitutional obligation, that fugitives from Slavery "shall be delivered up on claim" of their masters. It was to repudiate in acts what he so stoutly affirmed in words. It was to "keep the word of promise to the ear, but break it to the hope." And hence-for this discrepancy was general and obviousthe yard-stick clamor throughout the North for a vigorous and thorough execution of the Fugitive Slave law was calculated rather to disgust than conciliate the Slave Power, every day quietly inclining more and more to the desperate expedient of Disunion. It widened and deepened the Southern impression that the North was, at heart, thoroughly antiSlavery, but would profess or do anything base in its own eyes for the sake of securing the immense pecuniary advantages derived by it from the Union.

The National Conventions of the

der fugitives, and reproached their neighbors for infidelity thereto, privately gave money to aid the escape of fugitive slaves to Canada.

rival Whig and Democratic parties | Gen. Cass ran up again to 123; and

on the thirty-fifth to 131, which was his highest-Mr. Douglas dropping to 60 on the thirty-third, and to 53 on this. FRANKLIN PIERCE, of New Hampshire, was first named on this ballot, receiving 15. votes. He ran up to 30 on the next; fell back to 29 on the following; and there stood till the forty-sixth, when he received 44; while Gov. Marcy received 97; Gen. Cass 78; Mr. Buchanan 28; and Mr. Douglas 32, with 8 scattering. On the forty-eighth, Gen.

for 1852 were not held till very late -convening in Baltimore, the Democratic on the 1st, and the Whig on the 16th of June. But it had already been made manifest that a new article-acquiescence in the Compromise of 1850-was to be interpolated into the creed of one or both of these parties, if the strength of its champions should be found sufficient. Indeed, a public pledge had, several months before, been signed by Henry Clay, Howell Cobb, and some fifty other members of Con-Pierce received 55, and on the next gress, of either party, that they would 232 votes-being all that were cast support no candidate thereafter who but six-and was declared the candidid not approve and agree to abide date. For Vice-President, WILLIAM by that Adjustment. And this Com- R. KING, of Alabama, received 126 promise, according to the interpreta- on the first ballot, to 174 scattered tion now put upon it by its leading among nine rivals; and on the sesupporters, was in essence a compact cond ballot he had 277 to 11 for Jefto refrain from and oppose all future ferson Davis, and was nominated. "agitation" or discussion adverse to the security, or the presumed interests, of Human Slavery.

In the Democratic National Convention, on the first ballot for a Presidential candidate, Gen. Cass received 117 votes, Mr. Buchanan 93, and there were 78 scattered among eight others, of whom Gov. Marcy and Mr. Douglas were foremost. On the third ballot, Gen. Cass received 119; but he then began to decline; and on the thirteenth his vote had sunk to 99, while Mr. Douglas's had risen to 50, and his friends had high hopes. On the fourteenth ballot, Mr. Douglas's vote, which had risen gradually, was 92; while Gen. Cass's had settled to 33. On the next ballot, Mr. Douglas for the first time fell off; the result announced being Douglas 92; Buchanan 83; Cass 64; all others 53. On the thirty-third,

This Convention, beside reäffirming the more essential propositions of its three predecessors, and one or two others condemning Nativism, indorsing the famous Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798 and 1799, etc., etc.; with reference to Slavery,

Resolved, That Congress has no power under the Constitution to interfere with or control the domestic institutions of the several States, and that such States are the sole and proper judges of everything appertaining to their own affairs, and not prohibited by the Constitution; that all efforts of Abolitionists or others, made to induce Congress to interfere with questions of Slavery, or to take incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dangerous consequences; and that all such efforts have an inevitable tendency to diminish the happiness of the people, and to endanger the stability and permanency of the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by any friend of our political institutions. covers, and is intended to embrace, the whole subject of Slavery agitation in Con

Resolved, That the foregoing proposition

THE WHIGS ON THE COMPROMISE PLATFORM.

gress; and, therefore, the Democratic party of the Union, standing on this National platform, will abide by and adhere to a faithful execution of the acts known as the Compromise measures settled by the last Congress -the act for reclaiming fugitives from service or labor included; which act, being designed to carry out an express provision of the Constitution, cannot, with fidelity thereto, be repealed, nor so changed as to destroy or impair its efficiency.

"Resolved, That the Democratic party will resist all attempts at renewing, in Congress or out of it, the agitation of the Slavery question, under whatever shape or color the attempt may be made."

The Whig National Convention met in Baltimore two weeks later than its rival, and a caucus of the Southern delegates, held the night before its organization, unanimously resolved to insist on making the wisdom and finality of the Compromise of 1850 a plank in the Whig platform to be constructed by the Convention. They agreed upon a full draft of what they believed the Whig platform should be; which, on being presented to the friends of Mr. Webster, was accepted by them, and thus had a majority of the Convention pledged to it in advance of any general consultation on the subject.

223

The Southern platform had already been imposed on the Conventionthe Slavery plank by a vote of 164 Yeas to 117 Nays. It is as follows:

"Eighth, That the series of acts of the XXXIst Congress known as the Compromise Measures of 1850-the act known as the Fugitive Slave law included-are received and acquiesced in by the Whig party of the United States as a settlement, in principle and substance, of the dangerous and exciting questions which they embrace; and, so far as they are concerned, we will maintain them, and insist on their strict enforcement, until time and experience shall demonstrate the necessity of further legislation to guard against the evasion of the laws on the one hand, and the abuse of their powers on the other--not impairing their present efficiency; and we deprecate all further agitation of the question thus settled, as dangerefforts to continue or renew such agitation, ous to our peace, and will discountenance all whenever, wherever, or however, the attain this system as essential to the nationaltempt may be made; and we will mainity of the Whig party, and the integrity of the Union.”

Gen. Scott made haste to plant himself unequivocally and thoroughly on the platform thus erected, which was in undoubted accordance with his own feelings and convictions. But his success in the canvass was by no means commensurate with the expectations of his friends. Many of the anti-Slavery Whigs, by whose efforts he had been nominated, supported him coldly because of the platform; while the intense pro-Slavery section of the party did not support him at

fluences which, they apprehended, might guide his councils.

On the first ballot for a Presidential candidate, Mr. Fillmore had 133 votes, Gen. Scott 131, Mr. Webster 29. On the next, Gen. Scott had 133, and Mr. Fillmore but 131. These proportions were nearly preserved through three or four days-Gen. | all-distrusting, not him, but the inScott gaining slightly and unsteadily on Mr. Fillmore-till, on the fiftieth ballot, Gen. WINFIELD SCOTT received 142, and on the fifty-second 148. On the next, he was nominated; having 159 votes to 112 for Mr. Fillmore and 21 for Mr. Webster. WILLIAM A. GRAHAM, of North Carolina, was, on the second ballot, nominated for Vice-President.

The "Free Soil Democracy," who yet maintained a National organization on the basis of open and thorough hostility to Slavery Extension and all pro-Slavery compromises, held their nominating Convention at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on the 11th of August; presented JOHN P. HALE, of New

Hampshire, for President, and GEORGE W. JULIAN, of Indiana, for Vice-President; and, though they carried no State, they polled a far stronger vote than they would or could have done but for the Whig platform aforesaid; and they made their gain wholly at the expense of Gen. Scott. When the polls were closed and the result made manifest, it appeared that he had carried only the States of Massachusetts, Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee-four in all, choosing 42 Electors; while Gen. Pierce had carried twenty-seven States, choosing 254 Electors. Never before was there such an overwhelming defeat of a party that had hoped for success. Even little Delaware had, for the first time -save only in the reëlection of Monroe-voted for a 'Democratic' Presi

dent. But quite a number of States had been carried for Gen. Pierce by very close votes; so that the popular preponderance of his party was by no means so great as the electoral result would seem to indicate. In all the States except South Carolina (where the Electors are not chosen by the people, but where there was no serious opposition to Pierce and King) the popular vote summed up as follows: For Pierce, 1,601,274; for Scott, 1,386,580; for Hale, 155,825; Pierce over Scott, 214,694; over Scott and Hale together, 58,896. And, whatever else the Election might have meant, there was no doubt that the popular verdict was against Slavery agitation,' and in favor of maintaining the Compromise of 1850.20

6

XVII.

THE NEBRASKA-KANSAS STRUGGLE.

FRANKLIN PIERCE was inaugurated The Tariff had ceased to be a theme President on the 4th of March, 1853. Never were the visible omens more auspicious of coming years of political calm and National prosperity. Though a considerable Public Debt had been incurred for the prosecution and close of the Mexican War, yet the Finances were healthy and the Public Credit unimpaired. Industry and Trade were signally prosperous.

20 On the day before that of the choice of Presidential Electors by the people, the writer met an old friend whom he had not before seen for years, but whom he had formerly known as an ardent and active Whig. Speaking to him of the morrow's contest, in the undoubting confidence of a political compatriot, he was met at first by blank reserve, and then a frank assertion: 'I shall not vote this year as I formerly

of partisan or sectional strife. The immense yield of gold by California during the four preceding years had stimulated Enterprise and quickened the energies of Labor, and its volume showed as yet no signs of diminution. And, though the Fugitive Slave law was still denounced, and occasionally resisted, by Abolitionists. in the Free States, while Disunionists still plot

did.' 'What does that mean?' 'Why, I have been down South since I last saw you, and I don't think Slavery so bad as I once did.' No question of Slavery had ever been broached between us; and there was now no Slavery issue between the great National parties; yet an instinct stronger than logic had taught him that, if he would uphold and maintain Slavery, he must vote the Democratic ticket.

FIRST EFFORTS TO ORGANIZE NEBRASKA.

ted in secret, and more openly prepared in Southern Commercial Conventions (having for their ostensible object the establishment of a general exchange of the great Southern staples directly from their own harbors with the principal European marts, instead of circuitously by way of New York and other Northern Atlantic ports), there was still a goodly majority at the South, with a still larger at the North and Northwest, in favor of maintaining the Union, and preserving the greatest practicable measure of cordiality and fraternity between the Free and the Slave States, substantially on the basis of the Compromise of 1850.

The region lying directly westward and northwestward of the State of Missouri, and stretching thence to the Rocky Mountains, was vaguely known as the "Platte Country" (from the chief river intersecting it), and its eastern frontier was mainly covered by Indian reservations, on which whites were forbidden to settle, down to a period so late as 1850. Two great lines of travel and trade stretched across it one of them tending southwestward, and crossing the Arkansas on its way to Santa Fé and other villages and settlements in New Mexico; the other leading up the Platte, North Platte, and Sweetwater, to and through the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains, where it divides-one trail leading thence northwestward to the Columbia and to Oregon; the other southwestward to Salt Lake, the Humboldt, and California. The western boundary of Missouri was originally a line drawn due north

1 December 13, 1852.

225

as well as south from the point where the Kansas or Kaw river enters the Missouri; but in 1836 a considerable section lying west of this line, and between it and the Missouri, was quietly detached from the unorganized territory aforesaid and added to the State of Missouri, forming in due time the fertile and populous counties of Platte, Buchanan, Andrew, Holt, Nodaway, and Atchison, which contained in 1860 70,505 inhabitants, of whom 6,699 were slaves. This conversion of Free into Slave territory, in palpable violation of the Missouri Compromise, was effected so dexterously and quietly as to attract little or no public attention.

2

At the first session of the XXXIId Congress (1851-2) petitions were presented for a territorial organization of the region westward of Missouri and Iowa; but no action was had thereon until the next session, when Mr. Willard P. Hall, of Missouri, submitted' to the House a bill organizing the Territory of Platte, comprising this region. This bill being referred to the Committee on Territories, Mr. William A. Richardson, of Illinois, from said Committee, reported a bill organizing the Territory of Nebraska (covering the same district); which bill, being sent to the Committee of the Whole and considered therein, encountered a formidable and unexpected Southern opposition, and was reported from said Committee with a recommendation that it be rejected.. An attempt by Mr. John Letcher, of Virginia, to lay it on the table, was, defeated by a call of the Yeas and Nays; when it was engrossed, read! a third time, and passed: Yeas 98;: Nays 43.

2 February 2, 1853.

3

3 February 10th.