i
SIDE- LIGHTS
ON AMERICAN HISTORY
'*&&&
SIDE LIGHTS
AMERICAN HISTORY
BY
HENRY W. ELSON, A.M.
LECTURER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE EXTENSION
OF UNIVERSITY TEACHING
AUTHOR OF " HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHIES FOR CHILDREN "
" WHAT TO READ/' ETC.
Volume I
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd.
I908
All rights reserved
I*
Copyright, 1899,
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Set up and electrotyped. Published May, 1899. Reprinted
September, 1899; May, September, November, twice, 1900;
March, August, 1902; March, 1905 ; February, 1908.
New edition, two volumes in one, September, 1906.
KToruJooti $«0g
J. S. dishing & Co. — Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
PREFACE
History can be presented to us only by
means of pictures, reproductions of that which
we cannot directly witness.
If you study a city from photographs, the
general bird's-eye view is necessary to give you
the relative size and location of things ; but such
a view is not enough. You must have pictures,
on a larger scale, of a busy street, a mammoth
office building, a public park, the interior of a
workshop, and the like. The ordinary school
history furnishes the bird's-eye view of our coun-
try's origin and growth ; the present volume
aims to give a more detailed account — a pic-
ture on a larger scale — of some of the chief
events in our history. It is intended not to
replace the text-book, but to supplement it.
The text-book gives the succession of events
and, in some measure, their relative importance ;
but, owing to the multitude of subjects to be
320291
VI PREFACE
treated within the limits of a small volume, none
can be exhaustively dealt with. It is impossible
for any writer, however skilful, to relate his-
torical facts in a form so condensed as that of
the average text-book, and at the same time to
give them that living interest so necessary in
holding the attention of young readers. The
text-book is useful and indispensable; it is the
index that points to the vast wealth of knowl-
edge that may be found in our historical litera-
ture ; it furnishes the groundwork on which
rests the entire structure of historic knowledge.
But unfortunately the text-book too often is
little more than a chronicle of events, an array
of dates and facts, a skeleton without flesh,
without life, without soul. Such a book is ill
adapted to awaken an interest in historical
study, and can be used successfully in the
schools only in connection with other works
as supplementary reading. Used in this way
the skeleton of the text-book may be clothed
with flesh and have breathed into it the breath
of life.
Our learned and more exhaustive historical
works are beyond the reach of most busy peo-
PREFACE Vll
pie, nor are they adapted to use in the schools.
Between these two extremes, the condensed
text-book and the ponderous volumes of the
historian, we find many books of great value —
biographies, memoirs, histories of limited periods
or of particular localities — but none of these,
as far as the author knows, is fitted for the
use of schools or was prepared with that end
in view.
- This work covers a field not hitherto covered.
It has been written for the general reader, as
well as for use in schools of the grammar-school
grade and of the grades immediately above it.
It is hoped that the book may also be found a
pleasant review to the busy teacher, who has
many things to teach and who finds it impossi-
ble to become a specialist in everything.
The period covered is the first seventy years
of our national history ; but no attempt to give
a connected history of that period has been
made. At the same time much care has been
taken to show the bearing of one great event
upon another, their causes and results, and the
part each bore in making our civilization what
it is.
Vlll PREFACE
The subjects treated in the various chapters
have been selected with the utmost care. The
aim has been to choose out, not the dramatic
and exciting, but the strategic points, the pivots
on which the ponderous machinery of our his-
tory has turned. This is true of most of the
chapters. A few, however, such as "Wash-
ington's Inauguration," " Conspiracy of Aaron
Burr," "The Campaign of 1840," and the "Un-
derground Railroad," have been chosen with a
view of picturing the state of society at the time
treated.
In order that every important aspect of our
national growth be presented to the reader, the
subjects chosen are as unlike in character as
practicable, and the events have been related
with greater detail than is possible in the ordi-
nary school history. This has been done at the
sacrifice of leaving out many subjects of almost
equal importance with those selected. Minor
incidents and details in history, often insignifi-
cant in themselves, are, like illustrations in a
sermon or lecture, useful for the light they
throw on more important matters.
The authorities consulted in preparing this
PREFACE IX
work are far more numerous than indicated in
the foot-note references. Those given are
chiefly the works most likely to be accessible
to the reader who may be stimulated to further
research.
H. W. E.
Philadelphia, Pa.,
May, 1899.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
Declaration of Independence
Love of the Colonists for England .
PAGE
3
Causes that led to Independence
6
Progress toward Independence
IO
A View of Congress ....
. 14
The Final Act in the Great Drama .
. 17
CHAPTER II
Framing of the Constitution
Condition of the Country after the Revolution
Defects in the Articles of Confederation
Quarrels of the States
The Annapolis Convention
The Constitutional Convention
The Three Great Compromises
The Constitution before the People
xi
25
28
32
35
37
42
48
Xll CONTENTS
CHAPTER III
The Inauguration of Washington
PAGE
The Unanimous Election 54
The Triumphal March 57
New York's Welcome 61
CHAPTER IV
The Alien and Sedition Laws
Political Parties One Hundred Years Ago . . 65
Folly of the Federal Party 68
Sedition Law in Operation 72
The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions ... 76
CHAPTER V
Fulton and the Steamboat
Fulton's Predecessors 82
Early Life of Robert Fulton 85
Fulton in Foreign Lands 87
The Clermont on the Hudson . . . .90
CHAPTER VI
The Lewis and Clarke Expedition
Ascending the Missouri 99
On to the Pacific 104
The Return to the United States . . . .110
An Indian Story ill
CONTENTS xiii
CHAPTER VII
Conspiracy of Aaron Burr
PAGE
Aaron Burr 117
The Great Conspiracy . . . , . .125
The Arrest and the Trial 130
Theodosia 138
Later Life of Aaron Burr 144
CHAPTER VIII
The Missouri Compromise
Slavery during the Colonial Period . . . .149
Slavery under the Constitution . . . . 155
The Sixteenth Congress 161
CHAPTER IX
The Monroe Doctrine
How this Doctrine Originated .
The Monroe Doctrine in Operation
Cuba and Mexico
Venezuela ....
Remarks on the Monroe Doctrine
168
173
179
185
191
CHAPTER X
Lafayette's Visit
A Nation's Welcome 195
At the Capitol 200
Mount Vernon and Bunker Hill .... 203
XIV CONTENTS
CHAPTER XI
The Caroline Affair
PAGE
The Canadian Rebellion 209
Destruction of the Caroline 212
Arrest and Trial of McLeod 217
CHAPTER XII
The Campaign of 1840 •
The Whig Convention 225
William Henry Harrison 229
The Log Cabin and Hard Cider Campaign . . 232
Last Days of President Harrison .... 237
CHAPTER XIII
Discovery of Gold in California
243
Sutter's Sawmill
The "Forty-Niners" 248
A View of the Miners and the Mines . . .251
California in National Politics .... 257
CHAPTER XIV
The Underground Railroad
The Fugitive Slave Law 265
The Fugitive Slave Law in Operation . . .271
Working of the Underground Railroad . . . 275
CONTENTS XV
CHAPTER XV
The Kansas-Nebraska Bill
PAGE
Presidential Election of 1852 295
Stephen A. Douglas 300
Reception of the Bill at the North .... 306
Results of the Kansas-Nebraska Law . . . 308
CHAPTER XVI
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
A View of the Two Men 310
Preliminaries 313
The Challenge . 318
Extracts 324
The Freeport Doctrine 328
The Result 332
CHAPTER XVII
History of Political Parties
The Earliest Political Parties 339
The Federal Party 341
The Democratic Party 345
The Whig Party 351
The Republican Party ...... 354
XVI
CONTENTS
CHAPTER XVIII
Relation of the States to the Nation
Origin of the States and of the Union
Three Kinds of Governments, Consolidated, Fed-
eral, and Confederate
National and State Laws
National and State Authority .
Advantages of the Federal System
States' Rights ....
PAGB
362
365
368
371
376
381
Index 385
SIDE LIGHTS
ON AMERICAN HISTORY
SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN
HISTORY
CHAPTER I
Declaration of Independence
It is generally considered that the most
important single event in the history of this
Western World is the adopting of the Decla-
ration of Independence, at Philadelphia, by
the Continental Congress, on July 4, 1776.
This was the crowning act of the Revolu-
tion ; without it there would have been no
Revolution.
The word "revolution/' when used in a
political sense, means a fundamental change
of government. If, therefore, the colonists
had not succeeded in gaining their freedom
and changing their form of government, the
war would be known in history as simply a
rebellion.
2 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
The Declaration of Independence did not
win independence; it was simply an act of
Congress, declaring what the people desired,
what they felt of right belonged to them,
what they determined to fight for. They all
knew that it would require long years of
bloody war to achieve their object. But it is
true that the time of deciding, of determining
on any act, is the supreme moment. All the
effort that may follow in carrying out the
decision, is, compared with the decision itself,
as the body to the soul. The moment the
colonists decided on independence was the
supreme moment of the Revolution ; and
the declaring of that decision may rightly be
deemed an event of such far-reaching impor-
tance that nothing else in American History
can be compared with it.
Our school histories all tell something about
this Declaration of Independence; but they
have so many things to tell that only a short
space can be given even to such an event.
What schoolboy or schoolgirl would not like
to know more of this Declaration — how it
was brought about, and who did most to bring
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 3
it about ? Let us devote this chapter to the
subject.
We celebrate the Fourth of July as our
National Birthday; but the 2d of July was
the real original Independence day. John
Adams wrote on the evening of July 2, 1776:
"This day will be the most memorable in the
history of America; to be celebrated by suc-
ceeding generations as the great anniversary
festival, commemorated as the day of deliver-
ance, by solemn acts of devotion to God
Almighty, from one end of the continent to
the other, from this time forward forever-
more."
The Declaration of Independence was not
the result of a sudden burst of enthusiasm,
finding expression in a rash act of Congress ;
it was a growth, a deliberate step of the whole
people.
Love of the Colonists for England
The filial love of the colonists for England
was very strong. The intensity of that love
seems remarkable when we consider that most
of the Americans were native born, few had
4 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
ever seen England, and the ancestors of many
had been driven from that country on account
of their religion. Yet their hope of reconcilia-
tion with the King was deep-seated; at the
beginning of the war few indeed thought of
independence, and when it first began to be
talked about, it was very unpopular.
In November, 1775, five months after the
battle of Bunker Hill, the legislature or
assembly of Pennsylvania instructed its dele-
gates in Congress "to dissent from and ut-
terly reject any propositions, should such be
made, that may cause or lead to a separation
from our mother country." 1
The legislature of New Jersey followed a
few weeks later in almost the same language.
In December the Maryland convention de-
clared that the people of that province
"never did nor do entertain any views or
desires on independency." New York and
Delaware followed with similar statements;
and we hear the same voice from the provin-
cial congresses of New Hampshire and North
Carolina.
1 See Frothingham's " Rise of the Republic," p. 466.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 5
George Washington wrote a letter the pre-
ceding year, in which we find this expres-
sion, " I am well satisfied that no such thing
as independence is desired by any thinking
man in all North America." Years later he
said that when he took command of the army
at Boston he still abhorred the idea of inde-
pendence. Many more examples could be
given, but these show the general feeling dur-
ing the first year of the Revolutionary War.
At the same time there were a few men,
who, from the beginning, seemed to foresee
the end, and these were unwearied in their
efforts to attain that end. Joseph Warren of
Massachusetts, the patriot-hero who gave his
life for the cause at Bunker Hill, used these
prophetic words at the beginning of the war,
" America must and will be free ; the contest
may be severe; the end will be glorious."
Samuel Adams, the most intimate friend of
Warren, and James Otis of the same colony
were among the few earliest leaders for inde-
pendence. But, as stated above, the great
mass of the people clung to the mother coun-
try with childlike affection, and frowned upon
6 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
every suggestion of a separation. How, then,
came the spirit of independence to take pos-
session of the American heart? The fact is
the people were driven and goaded to do as
they did. No other course was left them but
abject servitude.
Causes that led to Independence
We wonder more at the slowness than at
the haste of the colonists to seize the great
prize. After being insulted with the hated
Stamp Act, the Mutiny Act, the Boston Port
Bill, and other indignities, they still longed for
a reconciliation with England. Their petitions
to the King were full of undeserved and al-
most fulsome praise for his Majesty, while
they blamed Parliament for all the trouble.
But this was all changed within a year. Their
yearning for a reconciliation was changed to
a determination never to be reconciled. No
longer did they deal with Parliament; they
ignored the crouching whelps, and grappled
with the old lion himself. What brought about
this great change ? The chief causes are
few.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 7
First : The reception of the last petition to
the King. This petition was agreed on by
Congress in midsummer, 1775. It had been
suggested by John Jay of New York, and
drawn up by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania,
both eminent men, true patriots, but wholly
averse at that time to independence. The pe-
tition expressed the tenderest regard for the
person of the King ; it recited the wrongs
that the colonists had endured ; it then begged
in the most respectful language that these
wrongs be righted, that the old-time harmony
be restored, so that the Americans could live
in happiness and contentment under the Brit-
ish flag. The petition was sent to the King
by a special messenger, Richard Penn, who
was a Tory. Penn hastened away with high
hopes, and the hopes of America went with
him. He reached London late in August.
America waited breathless for the result. The
eyes of all turned almost appealingly toward
England.
The answer came late in October. It as-
tonished everybody. The King had declined
to receive the petition at all, and refused to
8 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
see the messenger that brought it ! Sadly the
people heard the news, and their sadness was
mingled with anger and resentment. King
George III. had thus taken a fatal step
toward estranging forever his subjects in the
Western Hemisphere.
Second : The King's proclamation. On the
next day after the result of the petition was
published in the Philadelphia newspapers, the
King's proclamation was laid before the Ameri-
can public. In this document King George had
declared the colonists in a state of rebellion,
and no longer under his protection. This was
another stunning blow. The people were ex-
asperated in the extreme. The King expected
to frighten them into submission, but the op-
posite effect resulted. Independence, that had
been only whispered here and there, was now
talked of openly on all sides.
Congress assumed a bolder tone. It an-
swered the King's proclamation, almost defi-
antly. It appointed committees to correspond
with foreign nations, and talked no more
reconciliation, nor put forth disclaimers of
independence. This was in the first part of
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE Q
November, 1775, and from this day forward
the united colonies took no step backward
in the great march toward freedom. King
George had made another blunder — had taken
another fatal step.
Third : The employment of foreign aid.
The King of England sent an army of for-
eigners, known as Hessians, hired for the
purpose, into the colonies to fight against his
own subjects! Nor was this all; he stirred
up the savage Indians against the Americans
whenever possible, knowing full well that war-
fare with them meant the murdering of the
innocent — the mother and the babe — in ad-
dition to ordinary warfare. The cruel murder
of hundreds of innocent men, women, and
children along the frontier during the Revo-
lution must be laid at the door of George the
Third.
The colonists were now convinced that their
sovereign did not love them. He cared for
America only from selfish motives, only for
what he could make out of it for commerce
and taxation. Could the Americans, as a self-
respecting people, continue their allegiance to
IO SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
such a man, and to the country of which he
was the sovereign ?
Progress toward Independence
As soon as the full meaning of the attitude
of the obstinate King had taken hold of the
public mind, the air was filled with shouts of
defiance, and calls for independence. The
people discussed the subject in town meet-
ings, on the streets, in the fields, and at their
firesides. The belief everywhere was that a
reconciliation was impossible, and submission
meant slavery. The spirit of independence
spread from New England to Georgia, and
took a powerful hold upon the people. It is
true, the feeling was not unanimous. There
were many Tories to the end ; and even of the
Whigs, especially in the middle colonies, many
hesitated and counselled delay. But the great
body of the people came to favor, during the
winter and following spring, a final break with
England.
Public opinion was moulded largely by the
newspapers and by pamphlets. A pamphlet,
called " Common Sense," written by Thomas
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE II
Paine, converted thousands. A great speech
of Patrick Henry before the Virginia Conven-
tion was published broadcast, and became a
powerful force in moulding the public mind.
But the man who stood first among the
leaders of public opinion was Samuel Adams
of Massachusetts. Adams was a man of broad
views and of the purest motives. He had
been among the few who foresaw the end
from the beginning. From the first he had
opposed all petitions to the throne, and noth-
ing made him happier than the contempt with
which the King received them, for in this he
saw independence. He believed in a glorious
future for America; but first the colonies
must be free from England, and to attain that
end he ceased not to labor day and night,
until the object of his heart was won. May
the name of Samuel Adams ever be honored
by the American people.
Not far behind this man in the great fight
we must place his cousin, John Adams, who
was acknowledged to be the most powerful
debater on the floor of Congress. We shall
see more of him later. There are many other
12 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
great names of that period with which every
schoolboy is familiar.
The idea of independence gained rapidly all
through the winter, and before many months
of the year 1776 had passed, a large major-
ity of the people favored it. But there had
been nothing done officially. The colonies
were still, in the eyes of the world, subject
to England. It was April before any colony
made an official move for independence.
To North Carolina must be awarded the
honor of being first to act as a colony on
this great subject.1 On April the 12th its
provincial congress instructed its delegates in
the general Congress at Philadelphia, " To
concur with the delegates of the other colo-
nies in declaring independency and forming
foreign alliances." This movement was led
by Cornelius Harnet, who was called the
Samuel Adams of North Carolina. This was
a beginning and a very important one. Be-
fore this the talk of separation from England
had all been private talk; now there was offi-
cial action by one of the famous Thirteen
1 Frothingham, p. 504.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 13
The meaning was far-reaching, and none could
mistake that meaning. Not long did North
Carolina stand alone. Rhode Island soon fol-
lowed, and Massachusetts came third. In
Massachusetts the voice of the people was
heard through town meetings held all over
the colony. There was but one voice, " Free-
dom, freedom from the tyranny of British rule."
The next to act was the Old Dominion,
Virginia. The convention met at Williams-
burg on the 6th of May. That convention
listened to the eloquent Patrick Henry, whose
burning words of the year before were still
ringing through the land : " Is life so dear,
or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the
price of chains and slavery ? Forbid it, Al-
mighty God ! I know not what course others
will take; but as for me, give me liberty, or
give me death."
In that convention sat George Mason at
the height of his great powers, and James
Madison, not yet twenty-five years old, but one
of the keenest and profoundest of lawyers.
The Virginia convention went farther than
any that acted before it. It instructed its
14 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
delegates in Congress to actually propose in-
dependence before that body. This bold reso-
lution was immediately sent by a special
messenger, Colonel Nelson, to the Congress at
Philadelphia.
Thus we see that the South and New
England took the lead, while all the middle
colonies still hesitated. Let us now see what
Congress is doing.
A View of Congress
This Second Continental Congress was so im-
portant, and did such great things for Amer-
ica, that it is fitting that we notice briefly a
few of its leading characters.
Many of the members were men of wealth, and
belonged to the greatest families in their respec-
tive colonies. Many attained eminence and fame
in later years ; but the majority are unknown to
fame except through this one act — signing the
Declaration of Independence. The names of a
few are familiar in every home in the land;
such are those of Thomas Jefferson, the writer
of the immortal document; John Adams, the
second President; and Benjamin Franklin, whose
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE lc
fame long before the Revolution extended to
the utmost bounds of civilization.
The three greatest of the colonies were
Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, and
we find from these three the strongest dele-
gations in Congress. Virginia's greatest son
was in the field at the head of the army ; but
we find from that colony still remaining, in
addition to Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee,
who had been educated in England, one of
the most brilliant statesmen of the time, and
Benjamin Harrison, confidential friend of
Washington, the father of one President and
great-grandfather of another.
From Massachusetts we have the two
Adamses, John Hancock, one of the richest
merchants of New England, a statesman of
high qualities, and now President of Con-
gress; and Elbridge Gerry, afterward a mem-
ber of the famous triple mission to France in
l797> governor of Massachusetts and Vice-
President of the United States.
The Pennsylvania delegation was second to
none. First, always first, the great Frank-
lin; next, John Dickinson, of the same age
1 6 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
as Washington, educated in London, a re-
nowned writer against the tyranny of Eng-
land ; truly desirous of independence, but,
thinking the time too soon, he opposed the
measure with great moral courage. Scarcely
below him stands James Wilson. His name,
like that of Dickinson, is not at this day well
known to the masses of the people. He was
afterward a justice of the Supreme Court and
professor in the University of Pennsylvania ;
he was perhaps the most learned lawyer in
America. Let us not forget Robert Morris,
the wealthy Philadelphia merchant, who came
forward in the dark days of the Revolution
and supported the armies for a time from his
own purse, but who afterward lost his fortune,
and, in his old age, to the lasting disgrace of
the United States, languished for several years
in a debtor's prison !
There were men of note in this Congress
from other colonies. There was Roger Sher-
man, the shoemaker statesman from Connecti-
cut, who " never said a foolish thing in his life,"
who spent all the rest of his life, nineteen years,
as a member of Congress ; there was Caesar Rod-
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE lj
ney and Thomas McKean of Delaware, and
Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey ; William
Ellery of Rhode Island and Samuel Chase of
Maryland.
Truly it was an illustrious body of men.
Here were future presidents, governors, min-
isters abroad, cabinet officers, and United
States senators. Nearly all of them lived to
be old, and to see the new Government take
its place among the nations ; and not one of
them ever did or said anything to bring dis-
honor upon the new-born republic. The one
who survived all his fellows was Charles Car-
roll of Carrollton, Maryland, who died in 1832
at the great age of ninety-five years.
The Final Act in the Great Drama
The whole country was astir during the
spring of 1776. Perils were threatening on
every hand. The Howes were moving on
New York ; Carleton was threatening an in-
vasion from the north ; a British fleet was har-
assing the southern coast, while the merciless
Indian was plying the tomahawk on the fron-
tier. But the patriots, instead of being awed
1 8 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
into submission, clamored the louder for in-
dependence. This showed, not only a noble
patriotism, but a courage that all the world
must admire. A great English writer has
said, "America was never so great as on the
day when she declared her independence."
Congress passed in May a resolution per-
mitting the colonies to form governments of
their own in defiance of British authority. This
was true revolution, that is, a changing of
their form of government. " Is not America
already independent ? why not then declare
it?" said the ever vigilant Samuel Adams.
Early in June the messenger from the Vir-
ginia convention reached Philadelphia. What
his message was we have seen. On the
7th, Richard Henry Lee offered a resolution
which was seconded by John Adams. Here
are the words : —
"That these United Colonies are, and of
right ought to be free and independent States,
that they are absolved from all allegiance to
the British Crown, and that all political con-
nection between them and the State of Great
Britain is, and ought to be totally dissolved."
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
19
This was the true Declaration of Indepen-
dence ; it covered the whole subject. But the
resolution was not now voted on. After three
days debate it was laid on the table till the
1st of July. Congress thought best not to
be hasty in dealing with so great a subject.
In order to be ready to act when the right
time came, a committee was chosen to draw
up a suitable declaration. This committee was
chosen by ballot ; and Thomas Jefferson, re-
ceiving the highest number of votes, was made
chairman, and thus became the writer of the
immortal paper. The other members of the
committee were Franklin, John Adams, Roger
Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Some of
the colonies had not yet instructed their dele-
gates to act, and the delegates would not
vote on their own authority. By the end of
June, all the colonies except one, New York,
had granted this authority.
On the morning of July the 1st, the mem-
bers sat in their places ; Lee's motion was
taken off the table and was before the House ;
but no one said a word. The New Jersey
delegates, who had just arrived requested that
20 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
the debate of three weeks before be repeated*
that they might fully understand the subject.
At first no one moved, but the eyes of all
turned to John Adams. He saw that he was
expected to speak ; he had made no prepara-
tion, but his soul was burning with the sub-
ject. He now arose and made a speech which
was no doubt the most powerful one delivered
in Congress during the Revolutionary period.
Not a word of this great effort has been pre-
served ; but Daniel Webster has given us the
spirit of it in his " Supposed Speech of John
Adams."
Several members opposed the declaration,
the leader of whom was Dickinson. He an-
swered Adams as best he could; but he was
on the wrong side, and years afterward he
acknowledged it. The vote was taken on the
evening of the next day. It was desirous that
no colony vote against the measure. Each
colony had one vote, the majority of the dele-
gates casting it, while the minority counted for
nothing. Delaware had three delegates, but
one of them, Caesar Rodney, was absent in
Delaware, and of the two present one was on
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 21
each side. A messenger was sent with all
speed for Rodney. On hearing the news he
leaped on his black horse and started at full
gallop for Philadelphia, eighty miles away.
All day and all night he sped through forests
and over streams.1 This was a greater ride
than the more famous one of Paul Revere;
the more remarkable it seems, when we re-
member that Rodney was suffering from a
cancer in the face, which afterward cost him his
life. He reached the capital city just in time
to cast his vote and save Delaware for freedom.
The majority of the Pennsylvania delegates
opposed independence ; but, seeing that the tide
was against them, and not wishing their colony
to be the only one to vote against the meas-
ure, two of them remained away, and the rest
cast the vote in the affirmative.
The resolution for independence passed on
the 2d of July by the unanimous vote of
twelve colonies, New York not voting. The
2d of July is therefore the real natal day
of the United States — we must call them
colonies no longer.
1 Walton and Brumbaugh's " Stories of Pennsylvania," p. 180.
22 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
But it was necessary to put this great act
into a fitting form of words, giving reasons for
taking the step, before sending it forth to the
world. Jefferson had them prepared. His
document was now taken up, debated for two
days, changed a little here and there, and
adopted on the evening of the 4th. The
same twelve States voted as on the 2d.
New York added her vote a few days later,
and the whole thirteen were now agreed on
the great measure. The form adopted on the
4th was the " Declaration of Independence "
with which we are all familiar; hence the
Fourth of July has become our National Holi-
day. When the Declaration was first sent out
it was signed only by the President of Con-
gress, John Hancock, and by the Secretary,
Charles Thompson. It was also ordered to
be engrossed on parchment; this was finished
in several weeks, when all the fifty-six mem-
bers signed it, most of them on the 2d of
August. This parchment copy is now in
Washington, kept by the secretary of state.
The rest of the story is well known. The
old Liberty Bell rang out the glad tidings of
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 23
freedom. Night was turned into day with
bonfires and illuminations. The Declaration
was read in cities, towns, and villages, from
the pulpit in the churches, from the public
platform, everywhere, amid shouts of joy and
gladness from the people. It was read at the
head of each brigade of the army, and the
roll of the drum and the roar of cannon fur-
nished the glad answer of the patriot-soldiers.
Thus the exultant multitudes welcomed the
new day that was dawning. Thus was the
United States of America launched upon
the ocean of National Life.
CHAPTER II
Framing of the Constitution
If there is one thing in our early history
that approaches in importance the passing of
the Declaration of Independence, it is the
making of our Constitution, which was done
eleven years later in the same building of the
same city. In one sense the latter is of more
interest to us all ; the Declaration is now a
historic document only, highly revered by all
Americans, it is true, but of no present legal
force; while the Constitution is still the su-
preme law of the land. The Declaration was
called for by the people from all parts. Con-
gress simply ratified their wishes in passing
it. The Constitution cost a severe and pro-
longed struggle in the convention that framed
it, and a more severe and more prolonged
struggle in the various States before being
adopted.
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 25
Condition of the Country after the Revolution
Before proceeding to an account of the
making of the Constitution, let us notice
briefly the great need of such an instrument
— the condition of the country before its
adoption. The people had won their free-
dom in a long and bloody war with a great
nation, but at the close of the war the coun-
try was in a sad plight — no money to pay
the soldiers nor the foreign debt, and no
means of raising money.
The Congress had assumed the burden of
the war and had adopted measures for carry-
ing it on, not from any legal authority, but
by common consent. That the colonies stick
together during the war was absolutely nec-
essary to success ; but scarcely was the war
over when the States began to feel their im-
portance and to disregard the laws of Con-
gress. That body could not enforce its own
laws, it could only recommend ; and any re-
fractory State among the thirteen could
openly and successfully defy its power. Now
it is evident that no government can long
26 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
exist if it has not power to enforce its own
measures, and exactly in that condition do
we find the United States for some years
after the Revolution.
The great duty devolved upon the states-
men of that day to organize and consolidate
these States into one firm and compact na-
tion, and at the same time to retain the sep-
arate State governments in such a way that
State laws and National laws would not con-
flict, but work in one grand harmony. This
would secure both liberty and union. These
two, Liberty and Union, are opposite tenden-
cies of government, and they can exist to-
gether only when each yields part of its
prestige to the other. Could these two, Lib-
erty and Union, be so balanced in the same
government as to secure the benefits of both ?
It was a great problenie It was a problem
that the ancient world labored for ages to
solve, but labored in vain. Greece walked
forth in the pride of her freedom, forgetting
the need of Union, until she perished. Rome
made the opposite mistake. Rome fostered
and exalted Union for its strength until it
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 27
became a tyrant and strangled the child Lib-
erty. It was left for America to solve the
problem whether Liberty and Union could be
joined in perpetual wedlock, and the world
turned with wondering eyes to the new-born
Republic of the West and awaited the deci-
sion whether a "government of the people,
by the people, and for the people," could
endure upon the earth.
Before the war the thirteen colonies had
been joined separately to England. When
that bond was broken they found themselves
thirteen separate republics, and not one of
them strong enough to maintain its freedom
alone. Yet there was much prejudice against
uniting, as each was jealous of its own liber-
ties, and the people feared that a general
government, when formed, would become a
tyrant, as England had been.
Union had been a child of the Revolution,
called forth in an emergency, and for a spe-
cial purpose, but was now no longer needful,
especially since it was likely to encroach upon
that other child still dearer to the American
heart — Liberty. It was this feeling among
28 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
the people that made it so difficult for the
statesmen of that day to organize the govern-
ment that we now enjoy. There had been
adopted, it is true, a constitution known as
the " Articles of Confederation " ; but this was
a rope of sand, and its best service was to
teach the people their need of something
better.
Defects in the Articles of Confederation
At different times during the colonial period
there had been efforts at union. The first of
these, dating 1643, comprised four New Eng-
land colonies, and was in force something over
forty years. Another plan of union, drawn
up by Dr. Franklin at the Albany Conven-
tion of 1754, was rejected by the colonies as
too monarchical, and by the King as too
democratic. There were efforts of less im-
portance at various times, but we pass these
by, and give our attention to the period be-
fore us.
In July, 1776, a few days after the Declara-
tion of Independence was passed, a plan of
government was proposed in Congress. It was
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 29
debated for a short time and then laid on the
table, where it rested for over a year, when it
was again taken up and adopted. This instru-
ment was called the Articles of Confederation.
It contained some of the elements of our pres-
ent Constitution ; but it provided for no presi-
dent, no supreme court, and only one house
of congress. This Congress had no power
over commerce, no power to raise taxes ex-
cept by the unanimous consent of the States,
and it dealt with the States as units and not
with the people as individuals. We can read-
ily see how weak such a government must
be. Let us notice more fully a few of these
defects.
First : The operation of National law on a
State and not on the citizen. The citizen had
no direct relation to the government ; all his
political relations were to his State. If, for
example, a man now violates a postal or reve-
nue law, he is punished directly under United
States laws, and the State in which the of-
fence is committed has nothing to do with
the matter. But under the Articles of Con-
federation, Congress had no such power; it
30 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
could only call upon the State in which the
offence was committed to punish the offender,
and if the State neglected or refused to do so,
there was no power to force it.
Second : There was no executive and no
judiciary — no president to enforce the laws
and no supreme court to interpret them. This
was a serious defect indeed.
Third: They voted in Congress by States
and not by individual members, each State
having one vote, regardless of its size and
importance. It required the votes of nine
States to carry any important measure; and
sometimes for months there were less than
nine represented.
Fourth : Congress had no power to enforce
any law whatever. The States, knowing this,
had little regard for the laws of Congress.
The Articles forbade any State to wage war
or make a treaty ; yet Georgia did both with
the Creek Indians. The States were for-
bidden to keep troops in time of peace; yet
several of them did so. They were forbidden
to enter into compacts ; yet Virginia and
Maryland did so concerning the navigation
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 31
of the Potomac River ; so also did Pennsyl-
vania and New Jersey in setting the bounds
to Delaware.1 The Articles were constantly
violated by the different States, but there was
no power to prevent such violations.
Fifth : Congress had no power over com-
merce. This was a most glaring defect.
Our agents were sent abroad to make treaties
of commerce, and any treaty thus made could
be set aside and annulled by any single State
in the Union. The result was that foreign
nations refused to treat with us and our for-
eign commerce was in a most deplorable
condition.
There was no power to raise taxes, directly
or indirectly, without the consent of every
State. In 1782 Congress called upon the
States to consent to a five per cent impost
tariff, so as to raise money to pay the sol-
diers and the foreign creditors. Twelve of
the States acceded to this, but one refused,
little Rhode Island, and the project had to
fall to the ground. The next year a five per
1 MacMaster's " History of the People of the United States,"
Vol. I. p. 340.
32 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
cent tariff, limited to twenty-five years, was
proposed. Twelve again agreed to this, in-
cluding Rhode Island, but this time New
York refused, and not a dollar could be
raised.
The paper money known as continental
money became so depreciated that it took
one hundred and seventy-five dollars to pur-
chase a bushel of corn. When any one
wished to express his utmost contempt for
the value of anything, he would say, " Not
worth a continental," an expression we still
hear sometimes. Congress was penniless and
powerless ; and thoughtful people saw that
something had to be done, and that soon.
Quarrels of the States
Besides the impotency of Congress, there
was continual jealousy among the States.
The small States feared that the large ones
would reduce them to the condition of sub-
jects ,*y^tnd, in fact, Pennsylvania and New
Ta^ey came near doing that very thing
with Delaware. There were constant quarrels
among the States. They remind us of a lot
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 33
of school children, each afraid the others
would gain some advantage. New York and
New Hampshire both claimed the territory
of Vermont and were about to fight over it.
New York sent troops into Vermont and
New Hampshire was about to do the same.
Vermont was plucky and bristled up like a
fighting terrier, and was about to fight them
both, when Washington appeared on the
scene as peacemaker. Vermont stuck to her
claims, and, in 1791, after seeking admission
into the Union for fifteen years, became the
fourteenth State.
Another State quarrel was between New
York, on the one side, and New Jersey and
Connecticut on the other. New Jersey sold
a great deal of poultry and dairy products to
New York, and Connecticut sold firewood to
the same State. Now New York laid a tariff
on New Jersey poultry and Connecticut fire-
wood. Then New Jersey retaliated by taxing
New York's lighthouse on Sandy Hook,
while Connecticut got even by boycotting
New York.
But the most serious of the State quarrels
D
34 SIDE. LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
t
was that between Pennsylvania and Connecti-
cut over the Wyoming Valley. This quarrel
came to blows and bloodshed. Connecticut
claimed the Wyoming Valley by right of her
charter and many of her people had settled
there before the Revolution. Pennsylvania
also claimed it and sent troops there to drive
out the Connecticut people. After much strife
i
and cruelty it was decided to arbitrate. Penn-
sylvania won, and Connecticut moved farther
westward and took possession of a slice of
northern Ohio, then a Territory, one hundred
and twenty miles long and the width of the
State of Connecticut. This was called the
Western Reserve.
By these things we see that the Government
was in an imbecile condition ; something had
to be done, or anarchy would prevail. Wash-
ington wrote a circular letter to the governors
of all the States, urging a stronger govern-
ment than the one existing. The people saw
that there must be radical changes in the
Government ere long, but what shape it
would take no one knew. Some talked of a
kingdom with the second son of George the
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 35
Third as' King. This was freely talked of
in England, but found no footing in America.
The people had had enough of George the
TMrd. Washington was approached on the
subject of becoming King, but this project
gained little favor with the people ; and, be
sides, Washington positively refused to consider
the matter. Then three confederate republic?
were talked of : one comprising New Eng^
land ; another, the Middle States ; and a
third, the Southern States. No one seemed
to surmise that the boundless West was des-
tined to become part of our public domain.
The Annapolis Convention
While the country was in this restless and
unsettled condition, Virginia, the grand Old
Dominion, came to the rescue and called a
national convention to meet at Annapolis,
Maryland, in September, 1786. Only a few
States responded — none from New England,
nor from the extreme South. There were
only twelve delegates present, but these did
something. They called another convention
to meet at Philadelphia the following May.
36 SIDE LIGHTS ON* AMERICAN HISTORY
This proposed meeting at Philadelphia was
destined to be the far-famed Constitutional
Convention.
Would the States respond to the call? was
the question of the hour. The people gen-
erally looked to Virginia to take the lead,
nor did they look in vain. Virginia was con-
sidered the greatest State in the Union, and
she had called the convention at Annapolis.
The election of delegates in this State was
directed by a young man, James Madison,
and he made a happy hit at the outstart by
securing the selection of George Washington.
There was a reverence for Washington in
every State that was little short of idolatry,
and his name was a power in giving the con-
vention tone over the whole country. There
were but two men in America whose fame
was world-wide, and Washington was one of
them. Virginia next chose her governor, Ed-
mond Randolph; but she did nothing better
than when she chose Madison himself as one
of the delegates. Patrick Henry would have
been sent, but he refused to go. He was
opposed to holding the convention ; so also
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 37
was Richard Henry Lee, who had moved the
Declaration of Independence in 1776.
New Jersey soon followed in the election
of delegates. Pennsylvania came next, and so
on until twelve States were represented, one
alone refusing. That one was Rhode Island;
but Rhode Island might have been brought
into line had not her greatest citizen, General
Nathaniel Greene, recently died of sunstroke.
Congress, then sitting in New York, approved
the convention after seven States had chosen
delegates.
The Constitutional Convention
The convention met in Philadelphia in May,
1787, and began its sittings on the 25th.
There were fifty-five delegates in all, some of
whom did not arrive for several weeks after
the sessions began. Ten others who had been
elected never attended.1
Very briefly let us notice the personnel of
this convention. Thomas Jefferson, then min-
ister to France, wrote that it was an assembly
of demigods. It was, indeed, a notable gath-
1 Elliot's " Debates," Vol. I. p. 63.
38 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
ering. Most of the members had filled high
positions before, and many filled still higher
positions afterward. Seven had been gov-
ernors of States, and twenty-eight, members
of Congress. Two afterward became Presi-
dents of the United States, one, Vice-President,
and many others, cabinet officers and ministers
abroad. Eight had signed the Declaration of
Independence eleven years before, and a few
had been members of the Stamp Act Con-
gress of 1765.
The greatest American genius of that day
was the oldest man in the convention, Ben-
jamin Franklin, aged eighty -one. Of him and
of George Washington nothing need be said,
as every schoolboy knows their history. There
were in this convention Robert Morris, James
Wilson, John Dickinson, Elbridge Gerry, and
Roger Sherman — these have been referred to
in the preceding chapter. There was Edmond
Randolph, the popular young governor of Vir-
ginia, who, as a youth, at the outbreak of the
Revolution, could not agree with his Tory
father, ran away from home, joined the patriot
army, and served through the war. He after-
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 39
ward became governor of his State and member
of Washington's cabinet. We also find Gouv-
erneur Morris, the author of our decimal system
of money ; John Rutledge, the brilliant orator of
South Carolina; Rufus King, who was yet to
spend many years in the forefront of political
life; and Charles C. Pinckney, afterward a
member of the famous mission to France, and
twice candidate of his party for the presidency
of the United States.
The two profoundest statesmen in the con-
vention were young men, Madison and Ham-
ilton. To Madison, perhaps, we owe more for
making the Constitution what it is than to any
other man. Alexander Hamilton, afterward a
member of Washington's cabinet, and the
leader of his party as long as he lived, was a
great lawyer and the greatest financier this
country has yet seen. He was born in the
West Indies, came to New York when a boy,
5 left college to join the army, showed military
genius of a high order, entered public life at
the close of the war, and fell at last a victim
of the duelist's bullet1 in the midst of his
brilliant career.
1 See Chapter VII.
40 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
The convention chose Washington as its
president, closed its doors, and began its sit-
tings for the summer. It was well that the
sessions were kept secret from the public, for
had the newspapers printed the wrangles and
disputes that took place in that convention,
the people would have been distracted. There
were now all kinds of speculation as to what
the convention would do. It had been elected
for the purpose of amending the Articles of
Confederation, but there was a general belief
that it would go beyond its instructions. James
Wilson related an anecdote of the poet Pope.
A common expression of the poet, who was a
man of frail body, was " God mend me ! " A
boy was one day assisting him across a ravine
when the poet made use of his familiar phrase.
"Mend you" said the lad; "it would be easier
to make half a dozen new ones." So it would
be easier to make half a dozen new constitu-
tions than to mend the old one.1
The United States Government was com-
pared to an old man who had thirteen sons.
They had built a big house and all lived
1 Bryce's "American Commonwealth," Vol. I. p. 310.
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 41
together for several years, when the sons grew
weary of the paternal roof and each went
out and built a hut for himself. Then trouble
began : one had his corn stolen ; another lost
his sheep by wolves; another, his crops by
flood, and so forth. At length twelve of them
begged their father to take them back, and he
gladly did so. But the thirteenth still held
aloof, and at last went and hanged himself.
That thirteenth was Rhode Island. Hard
things were now said about Rhode Island.
The five per cent impost had been defeated
by Rhode Island, and as the little State now
refused to take part in the convention, every-
thing bad was blamed on it — the bankrupt
treasury, the suffering of the soldiers, the
poverty of the whole nation.1 " Drop the
State out of the Union," it was said; "force
it to pay its share of the Revolutionary debt,
then drop it from the roll of States ; or, better
still, divide it between _ Massachusetts and
Connecticut."
1 MacMaster, Vol. I. p. 393.
42 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
The Three Great Compromises
The Constitutional Convention sat with closed
doors for four months. The work it produced
was a great work: it brought order out of
chaos ; it converted a Confederation of States
into a Federal Government. Mr. Gladstone
has said that "The American Constitution is
the greatest work ever struck off at any one
time by the mind and purpose of man."
From another great Englishman we quote :
"The Constitution of the United States of
America is much the most important political
instrument of modern times."
It is needless to give here a full account
of the working of this convention. The great
document which it produced is based on three
compromises, and to these we give brief
notice.
First Compromise. — Between the large and
small States. When the convention had de-
cided that the new Government should consist
of three coordinate branches, an Executive,
a Judicial, and a Legislative, and that the
national legislature should consist of two
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 43
houses, a dispute arose between the large
and small States. The large States claimed
that each State should be represented in Con-
gress according to population; while the small
States demanded that all be equally repre-
sented, regardless of size and importance, as
under the Articles of Confederation. Long
and fierce were the debates on this subject,
each side avowing that it would not yield.
Two or three times the convention was on
the verge of breaking up, when at length they
struck a compromise, called the Connecticut
Compromise because introduced by the dele-
gates from that State.1 By this agreement
it was decided that in the Lower House of
Congress the representation should be accord-
ing to population, while in the Upper House,
or Senate, the States should be equally repre-
sented. This is the most permanent clause in
the Constitution, for it provides that no State
shall be deprived of its equal representation
in the Senate without its own consent. Thus
Delaware has the same voice in the Senate
as New York, while in the House of Repre-
1 Geo-^e Bancroft's " History of the U. S.," Vol. VI. p. 239.
44 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
sentatives the vote of New York is at the
present time (1899) thirty-four times as great
as that of Delaware.
Second Compromise. — Between the free and
slave States. . Before it was fully decided
whether to base the House of Representatives
on population or wealth, another question
arose : Are slaves population or wealth ? The
South claimed that the slaves were a part of
the population, and should all be counted in
the census that makes up the representation
in Congress. The North contended that as
slaves were bought and sold, they were merely
property ; and since they had no vote, they
should not be counted in making up the
census. Besides, it would give too much
power to the men who owned large numbers
of slaves.
Again there was fierce contention in the
convention. Neither side would yield. Another
compromise was the result — three-fifths of the
slaves were to be counted in the census ; so
it was decided, and so it continued to the time
of the Civil War.
Third Compromise. — Between agricultural
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 45
and commercial States. When the census ques-
tion was settled, the subject of further impor-
tation of negroes from Africa engaged the
attention. A large majority in the convention
opposed the foreign slave-trade. "The traffic
must be stopped," said they; "it is an inhuman
business, this seizure of human beings and
condemning them to lifelong bondage because
they are black; it is contrary to morality, re-
ligion, and the Declaration of Independence,
the very principles on which the Revolution
was fought." Then two States protested in
thunder-tones — South Carolina and Georgia.
The African slave-trade was necessary to
their prosperity, they said. They raised rice
and indigo in their boundless swamps where
no white man could work, and even the black
man could stand it but a few years, and the
ranks had to be constantly refilled from Africa.
They would not join the Union if the African
slave-trade was prohibited. They contended
that it was not a matter of morality nor of
religion ; it was a matter of business ; it was
whether or not South Carolina and Georgia
were wanted in the Union.
46 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
This was now very serious. The delegates
from the other States felt morally bound to stop
this traffic in human flesh and blood, but the
attitude of these two States put a chill on their
ardor. The outlook was grave : Rhode Island
was not represented ; the New York delegates
had gone home in anger because they couldn't
have their own way ; Massachusetts was by
no means certain. If now South Carolina and
Georgia refused to take further part, it was
plain that no Union could be formed.
Before this question was settled another arose,
namely, shall Congress or the States severally
have control over commerce ? The South said,
that by all means the States should manage
their own commerce. It was an agricultural
region ; it desired a low tariff, or none at all,
so as to buy goods cheaply from abroad. New
England now protested. Its wealth was in
shipping. The tariff should be the same in
all the States. Congress should control it.
Again there was a deadlock. Two great ques-
tions now lay before the convention : the con-
trol of commerce and the foreign slave-trade.
Again a compromise was reached. It was
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 47
decided that Congress should control com-
merce, and that the African slave-trade be
left open — not forever, but for twenty-one
years — until the year 1808. This was the
third compromise of the Constitution.
The most important work of making the
Constitution was now completed, and the sum-
mer was well-nigh spent. But there was much
yet to do of minor importance ; as, how to
elect the President, for how long a term, and
what powers should be given him ? Many
wanted the President elected by Congress,
and seven years was the favorite length of
term ; but a term of four years was agreed
upon and the election by an electoral college.
Then the Supreme Court — how should the
judges be appointed ? what should be their
powers ? what powers should Congress have ?
and the like. All these things and many
others were ably discussed, and finally decided
as we have them now in our Constitution.
This great document being finished, the con-
vention ended its sittings on the 17th of Sep-
tember. Few of the members were satisfied
with it; each one thought it would have
48 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
been a little better had he written it himself.
Franklin advised that all the members sign
it, that each one yield his own judgment
to that of the majority. "Too many," he
said, "are like the French lady, who, in an
argument with her sister, exclaimed, 'I do not
know why it is, sister, but I find nobody that
is always in the right, except myself,' " or, we
may add, like the old Quaker who said to
his wife, " Rebecca, all the world is queer but
thee and me, and sometimes I think thee is
a little*" queer."
As the members were signing, Franklin,
pointing to a picture on the back of the chair
in which Washington sat, remarked, "In look-
ing at that picture, I have often wondered,
during the summer, whether it was a rising
or a setting sun, now I know it is a rising
sun."
The Constitution before the People
•The ship Constitution had had a rough
voyage thus far, but the storms were by no
means over. It was decided that if nine
States adopted it, the new Constitution would
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 49
take effect and become the supreme law of
the land; but here it was destined to encoun-
ter serious and almost fatal opposition. It
was sent to Congress, still sitting in New
York, but there was much opposition to it
in that body, led by Richard Henry Lee.
After debating the subject for eight days, how-
ever, Congress sent it to the States without
recommendation for or against it.
Now for the first time the people arrayed
themselves into two great political parties.
Those desiring a strong government and 'favor-
ing the Constitution, became known as the
Federalists; those opposing it were called
Anti-Federalists. The people were nearly
equally divided, and the strife extended over
nearly a year, and was very bitter.
Delaware won the honor of being the first
State to adopt the new Constitution. This
was in December. Pennsylvania followed in
the same month, led by James Wilson. In
that State almost half the people opposed
the Constitution, and it was adopted only
after a most severe struggle. New Jersey
came next and Georgia fourth. Georgia was
5<D SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
bounded on the west by hostile Indians and
on the south by troublesome Spaniards. A
better government was therefore quite welcome
to the people, who felt the need of a stronger
defence.
The two greatest States, Virginia and Massa-
chusetts, still held aloof. There was power-
ful opposition in both. The convention was
in session in Massachusetts and the feeling
was that it would decide the fate of New
England and perhaps of the Union. The
eyes of all now turned toward Massachusetts.
In addition to Elbridge Gerry, who had helped
frame the Constitution and then refused to
sign it, two of the foremost men in the State
opposed it — Samuel Adams and John Han-
cock. But Adams was converted in a novel
way. During the convention a mass-meeting
of laboring men, who favored the new Consti-
tution, met at the Green Dragon hotel, in
Boston. They were great admirers of Samuel
Adams- and sent one of their number, Paul
Revere, famous for his midnight ride of years
before, to inform Mr. Adams that they de-
sired him to favor the Constitution. " How
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 51
many of you are there ? " asked Adams
Revere, pointing upward, answered, " More
than the stars in the sky." Mr. Adams was
much moved ; he was converted, and Massa-
chusetts soon afterward ratified the Constitu-
tion. This was the sixth State. Connecticut
had been the fifth. Maryland and South Caro-
lina soon raised the number to eight, and but
one more was now needed to put the new
Government into operation.
It was now June, 1788. The Virginian con-
vention was in session. The State had waited
nearly a year, and eight of her sisters had rati-
fied. There was a great opposition in Virginia,
led by Richard Henry Lee and Patrick Henry.
But in spite of Henry's eloquence the State
ratified on the 25th of June. The shout of
triumph was thrilling, and it spread over the
whole country.
"The ninth State, the ninth State," cried
the people ; " Virginia has ratified, there are
now nine States, and the Government is
secure. Hurrah for the United States of
America ! " But Virginia was not the ninth
State. New Hampshire had ratified four days
52 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
before, though the news had not yet reached
Virginia. New York joined the ranks in July.
This made eleven. The other two States, North
Carolina and Rhode Island, remained out of the
Union until some time after the first President
had been inaugurated.
Nearly all the States, on adopting the Con-
stitution, proposed amendments aggregating
more than a hundred. These were considered
by Congress. The House boiled them down to
seventeen, and the Senate reduced this num-
ber to twelve, when they were sent to the
State legislatures, as the Constitution pro-
vides. The States ratified ten of them. The
first ten amendments to our Constitution were
therefore adopted before the close of the year
1 79 1. The eleventh followed some years later,
while John Adams was President, and the
twelfth in 1804. This was the last amend-
ment for sixty-one years, the next being that
abolishing slavery at the close of the Civil
War.
The adoption of our Constitution marks a
great era in human history — it marks the
birth of a Nation destined to be the greatest
FRAMING OF THE CONSTITUTION 53
of the earth. It created a Federal Government,
a wonderful combination between the States
and the Nation — each supreme within its own
sphere, neither encroaching upon the domain of
the other. This marvellous machinery was set
in motion by the adoption of our Federal
Constitution.
CHAPTER III
The Inauguration of Washington
The Unanimous Election
In our own times it is not possible to foretell
who will be the next President of the United
States until the people have made their choice
by the ballot. But in 1788, when the Constitu-
tion had been adopted by the requisite number
of States and was soon to go into operation,
there was no speculation as to who would be
the first President. Every one knew that the
great chieftain who had led the Revolutionary
armies to victory was the choice of the Nation.
General Washington, having passed the me-
ridian of life, had retired after the war to his
home at Mount Vernon, hoping to spend the
evening of his days undisturbed on his farm.
Most men in public life are ambitious to rise
higher and higher; but it was not so with
Washington. His great desire was to spend
54
THE INAUGURATION OF WASHINGTON 55
the rest of his life amid the rural attractions
of his home on the banks of the Potomac.
No one can doubt this who reads his diary
and his private correspondence. But when
the great man heard the call,' not only of his
personal and political friends, but of the whole
people as with one voice, to become the Chief
Magistrate, he felt it his solemn duty to heed
and obey the call.
Congress had decided that the electors be
chosen in each State on the first Wednesday
in January, 1789; that they meet and choose
a President and Vice-President on the first
Wednesday in February, and that the new
Government go into effect on the first Wednes-
day in March. This day happened that
year to be the 4th. A few years later the
Fourth of March was made the legal inaugu-
ration day by act of Congress, and it has so
continued ever since. New York City had
been chosen as the temporary capital of the
new Government.
The 4th of March came, but the new Con-
gress did not meet on that day; there was
no quorum present. The President was not
56 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
inaugurated ; he had not yet arrived. In
fact it was only by Congress that he could
be officially informed of his election. The
new Government had been ushered in on the
4th of March * by the booming of cannon
and the ringing of bells ; but, owing to the
bad roads, long distances, and the slow meth-
ods of travel, Congress had not a quorum
until the first of April, when the Lower House
began its first session, the Senate not meet-
ing till the sixth.
One of the first things Congress did was
to count the electoral votes, when it was found
that George Washington had received sixty-
nine, the entire number, and John Adams
thirty-four, each elector having voted for two
men. The votes not cast for Adams were
scattered among ten other men, John Jay
standing next to him with nine votes. But
ten States voted in this election. North Caro-
lina and Rhode Island were not yet members
of the Union, and New York had not voted,
owing to a quarrel between the two houses
of the legislature.
A messenger, Charles Thompson, long the
THE INAUGURATION OF WASHINGTON 57
secretary of the old Congress, was immedi-
ately despatched with the news of the elec-
tion to Mount Vernon. He arrived there
about the middle of April, and Washington
immediately set out on his journey to New
York. On the 16th he wrote in his diary:
"About ten o'clock I bade adieu to Mount
Vernon, to private life, and to domestic felic-
ity ; and, with a mind oppressed with more
anxious and painful sensations than I have
words to express, set out for New York with
the best disposition to render service to my
country in obedience to its call, but with less
hope of answering its expectations."
The Triumphal March
Washington's journey to New York was
one continuous ovation. It was like the tri-
umphal march of a Roman conqueror. Men,
women, and children of all ages thronged the
highways to shout their glad welcomes, and
show their love to this first citizen of the land.
He preferred a quiet, unostentatious journey,
but public feeling was too strong to be sup-
pressed. In every city through which he
58 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
passed there was great preparation for his
reception, and large numbers of citizens and
soldiers escorted him through their respective
States. At Alexandria he was given a pub-
lic dinner presided over by the mayor, whose
happy address was answered by Washing-
ton in a few choice words showing the deep-
est emotion. He was received with high
honors at Baltimore and Chester ; but it was
left for Philadelphia and Trenton to make
the greatest display in doing homage to this
civilian hero.
The people of Philadelphia had erected a
triumphal arch at Grey's Ferry on the Schuyl-
kill, near the entrance of the city. At Ches-
ter, fourteen miles below, Washington had
been placed on a superb white horse. The
procession started for the city and was aug-
mented along the way until it became a mul-
titude. He entered the city amid the shouts
of the gathered thousands and the roaring
of artillery. As he passed under the arch,
a crown of laurel was let down upon his head
by a boy who had been concealed for the
purpose amid the laurel branches. The day
THE INAUGURATION OF WASHINGTON 59
was given to festivities, and at night there
was a grand display of fireworks.
On the next day, April the 21st, a beau-
tiful sunny day, Washington reached Trenton,
and his reception here was the most touch-
ing of them all. What memories must have
rushed to his mind when he reached the banks
of the Delaware, where, twelve years before,
he had crossed on that dark winter night
amid ice and snow to strike a telling blow at
the enemy. The change since then had been
marvellous. Then the darkness of the winter
night only typified the darkness that seemed
to be settling like a pall over the patriot
cause ; now the brightness of the day was
typical of the exultant gladness of a free and
united people.
The people of Trenton were prepared to re-
ceive the approaching chieftain. At the bridge
across the little river that flows through the
city was erected a triumphal arch, tastefully
decorated with evergreen and flowers. In
front of the arch in large gilt letters were
the words : " The defender of the mothers
will be the protector of the daughters." At
60 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
this point a large number of women met
Washington and his escort, and as he passed
under the arch a number of schoolgirls,
dressed in white and crowned with garlands,
came forward singing an ode 1 and strewing
his path with flowers. Washington was more
deeply affected by this than at any other time
during his journey. He said that the impres-
sion it made upon his heart could never be
effaced.2
The procession was two days crossing New
Jersey to Elizabethtown Point, where they were
met by a reception committee from both houses
of Congress. Here a fine barge, built for the
occasion, was waiting to take the President-
elect to the New York harbor. It was manned
by thirteen pilots in white uniform, and was ac-
1 The ode was composed for the occasion and is as follows : —
" Welcome, mighty Chief, once more,
Welcome to this grateful shore;
Now no mercenary foe
Aims again the fatal blow.
" Virgins fair and matrons grave,
Those thy conquering arm did save,
Build for thee triumphal bowers ;
Strew the hero's way with flowers."
a Marshall's " Life of Washington," Vol. V. p. 159.
THE INAUGURATION OF WASHINGTON 6\
companied by many other vessels highly deco-
rated and bearing many distinguished citizens.
These formed a nautical procession and swept
up the beautiful bay, cheered on by instru-
mental music and by the firing of salutes from
the ships lying at anchor along the harbor.1
New York's Welcome
It was Thursday, April the 23d, 1789.
New York City had donned its holiday dress.
Flags were floating over the principal build-
ings, bells were ringing, and the people were
in a flutter of excitement. Soldiers in bright
uniform stood along the side walks, mounted
aids galloped to and fro amid the surging
crowd, while bands of music enlivened the
scene. The bay was full of vessels with flaunt-
ing flags and streaming pennants. The crowd
along the Battery was dense, and, as the
people stood gazing down the bay, the barge
in which Washington had embarked hove in
sight, when the boom of cannon from the an-
chored vessels announced the fact, and was
answered by thirteen guns from the city. The
1 Irving's " Life of Washington," Vol. IV. p. 565.
62 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
barge approached and from it stepped Wash-
ington,— tall and stalwart, with a proud, sol-
dier-like step, but with a serious, thoughtful
countenance. Here he was met by Governor
George Clinton, and escorted through • the
streets amid prolonged cheering on all sides.1
The inauguration was to take place at Fed-
eral Hall (now the New York custom-house)
corner Broad and Wall streets. Vice-President
Adams had been sworn into office before Wash-
ington reached the city ; but a week was yet to
elapse before the latter was to be inducted into
his position, owing to the repairing of the build-
ing still in progress.
At length the day came — April 30, 1789.
At nine o'clock religious services were held in
all the churches in the city. Before noon the
streets about Federal Hall were packed with a
solid mass of people, the windows of the sur-
rounding buildings were filled with eager faces,
and the roofs were covered with anxious sight-
seers.
A few minutes after twelve o'clock, Wash-
1 A good brief account of Washington's reception in New
York is given by Schouler'(Vol I. p. 150).
THE INAUGURATION OF WASHINGTON 63
ington, accompanied by John Adams and Chan-
cellor Livingston, and followed by both Houses
of Congress, stepped forth on the balcony in
the presence of the vast assemblage of people.
The shout of welcome that rose seemed to pour
forth the whole heart of the Nation. Washing-
ton placed his hand upon his heart and bowed
again and again to the cheering multitude.
He then sank back into an arm-chair, and the
crowd, seeming to understand that he was over-
come with emotion, was instantly hushed into
silence. He soon rose again and stepped for-
ward between Adams and Livingston, while
in the rear stood Alexander Hamilton, Roger
Sherman, Baron Steuben, and two Revolution-
ary generals, Knox and St. Clair.
The secretary of the Senate stood by with
an open Bible, on which Washington laid his
hand while Chancellor Livingston pronounced
the oath of office. At its conclusion Washing-
ton replied in solemn, stifled words : " I swear
— so help me God." He then reverently
bowed, and kissed the Bible.
Livingston now stepped forward, waved his
hand to the people, and shouted: —
64 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
" Long live George Washington, President
of the United States."
The next moment a flag was displayed on
the cupola of the hall, and this was the signal
for the discharge of artillery on the Battery.
Bells were rung all over the city, and the shout
that rose from the assembled crowd spread
from street to street until the whole city was
a roaring, seething mass of humanity.
Soon afterward, the newly installed Presi-
dent retired within the hall and read his
inaugural address. His voice was low and
tremulous, as one of his hearers wrote, and
his countenance grave almost to sadness,
showing his deep sense of responsibility.
Thus was ushered into office the first Presi-
dent of the United States, amid the heartiest
welcome that a grateful people could bestow.
More than a century has passed since then,
and the great Washington is still the American
idol. No other President, no other statesman,
has won the universal homage of the people
as he did. Washington has no rival — he can
have no rival — in holding the first place in the
great American heart.
CHAPTER IV
The Alien and Sedition Laws
The most famous legislation in our history
after the adoption of the Constitution and be-
fore the Missouri Compromise was, perhaps,
the Alien and Sedition Laws. The effect of
these laws, though in force but a short time,
was far-reaching and important, as they had
much to do in the overthrow of the political
party that brought them into existence, and
in establishing in power a party of opposite
tendencies.
Political Parties One Hundred Years Ago
Party lines in 1798 were more tensely drawn
than they now are. Far less do our great po-
litical parties of to-day differ from each other
than did the Federal and Republican parties of
one hundred years ago. The Federal party,
led by Alexander Hamilton, stood for a strong,
f 65
66 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
centralized government. The Republican party,
afterward called the Democratic party, founded
and led by Thomas Jefferson, stood for States'
Rights and local self-government.
These two party leaders, Jefferson and Ham-
ilton, were, beyond a doubt, the greatest Ameri-
can statesmen of this period. Both were as
patriotic as it is possible to be, but they differed
widely in their ideas of what the Government
of the United States should be. They opposed
each other at every point, and became personal
enemies. Be it remembered that at this time
the general policy of the Government had not
been fully settled. Hamilton favored construing
the Constitution so as to make the Government
very strong, and modelled after the English
monarchy. He never fully trusted the people
nor believed them capable of self-government.
Jefferson was an extreme republican or demo-
crat. He trusted the people implicitly, and used
all his powers in furthering the one thing near-
est his heart — local self-government. Both
men were extremists, almost radicals. Hamil-
ton lived to see the people rise and overthrow
his party forever. Jefferson lived to see that a
THE ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS 6j
government carrying out his ideals was an im«
possibility ; and after he became President he
was forced to abandon, one by one, some of the
very ideals on which his party had been founded.
But Hamilton and Jefferson each committed
the serious mistake of misunderstanding the
other. Hamilton believed that Jefferson was at
the head of a party of fanatics, who might rise
at any time and take forcible possession of the
Government, as the people of France had done
in that country, and spread anarchy on all
sides. Jefferson believed that Hamilton was at
the head of a great conspiracy, the object of
which was to merge the Republic into a mon-
archy. Both were in error. The Federal party
did not aim nor wish to overthrow the Repub-
lic and substitute a monarchy ; nor was there
any danger of Jefferson's party effecting a revo-
lution similar to the French Revolution.
When we bear in mind this misunderstanding
between these two National parties, we can see
more clearly why partisan hatred became so
intense.
The Federal party did great service to the
country during its twelve years' supremacy, but
68 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
it was never a popular party. On the retire-
ment of Washington, John Adams became
President only after a most vigorous contest,
and even then he had a majority of but three
over Jefferson. Had the Federal party been
wise, it would now have seen the necessity of
doing something to win the popular heart ; but
the party seemed bent on its own destruction.
It proceeded to enact laws that were sure to
drive away the very support that was necessary
to its further lease of power. The most promi-
nent of these were the far-famed Alien and
Sedition Laws.
Folly of the Federal Party
There was a moment in 1798 when the Fed-
eral party seemed to be really popular. It was
at the time of the X. Y. Z. explosion, as it was
called. There was serious trouble between this
country and France. President Adams had
sent three men, Gerry, Marshall, and Pinckney,
to treat with the French Government. These
had a diplomatic correspondence with three
Frenchmen representing their government in a
semi-official way. These Frenchmen made
THE ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS 69
demands upon the United States that could not
be acceded to with honor, signing themselves
X. Y. and Z.1 It was at this time that Pinckney
is said to have used the expression, " Millions
for defence, but not one cent for tribute."
This correspondence was called for by Con-
gress. The President sent it in April, 1798,
and the newspapers soon published it broad-
cast. This was the explosion.
The outburst of patriotism over the whole
country was very enthusiastic. Party differ-
ences were lost sight of for the time, and the
whole people seemed to join the universal
shout. Patriotic songs were written, one of
which, "Hail Columbia," written by Joseph
Hopkinson for a Philadelphia theatre, still sur-
vives. Now this outburst of popular enthusi-
asm was purely non-partisan, yet the party in
power, the party that had brought about the
conditions that produced the excitement, might
have reaped from it a rich harvest, had the nec-
essary tact been used. But the Federal party
was not tactful ; it did not build for the future.
When the party found itself on the upper
1 More accurately, these letters were used by the American
commissioners to conceal the names of the Frenchmen.
20 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
wave of public approbation, instead of strength-
ening itself for the future, it stooped to humble
a few of its old enemies. It passed several
obnoxious laws that tended to weaken it
greatly. Not enough to estrange many owners
of houses and of slaves by passing the House
and Slave Tax Laws ; not enough to offend a
large portion of the foreign-born population by
raising the Naturalization Law to fourteen
years, — it went farther and enacted the famous,
or rather infamous, Alien and Sedition Laws.
The Alien Law, enacted early in the summer
of 1798, was twofold. The. first enabled the
President to apprehend and send out ' of the
country any alien whom he might consider
dangerous or disturbing to society. By the
second he was given power to apprehend any
alien of any country, which was at war with
any other country. It was the former of these
that caused a storm of protest. It had been
aimed at Frenchmen in the country, and all
French sympathizers denounced the law in
unmeasured terms. It was opposed on the
ground that it violated the Constitution in
usurping power over men under the protection
THE ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS 7 1
of the respective States in which they dwelled,
and in denying them trial by jury. The law
expired in two years.
The Sedition Law was also in two sections,
one of which made it a serious offence to con-
spire to oppose any National law. This was
opposed by no one ; but the other, which made
it a crime to print or publish any false, scandal-
ous, or malicious matter against the Government
of the United States, either House of Con-
gress, or the President, was most bitterly op-
posed. This was claimed to be unconstitutional
on the ground that the Constitution guaranteed
the right of freedom of speech and of the
press, and also on the ground that it enlarged
the jurisdiction of the Federal courts without
legal warrant. The law was not more severe
than the libel laws in some of the States,
but it took the power from local judges and
juries and put it into the hands of Federal
officers. There were but two of the Federalist
leaders who were wise enough to foresee that
this law was likely to work injury to the Fed-
eral party. These were Alexander Hamilton
and John Marshall ; but their protests were not
^2 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
heeded. This law was aimed at some of the
most radical Republican editors, who had been
quite reckless in criticising the President and
his party.
Most vehemently did the Republican press
denounce the Alien and Sedition Laws.
"Freedom of speech and liberty of the
press," cried the followers of Jefferson, "these
are our rights, guaranteed by the Constitution.
Who has the right to interfere with them ? "
This was their chief campaign cry two years
later in the National contest, and it won Jef-
ferson thousands of votes from the Federal
party.
The Sedition Law in Operation
The Alien Law was never enforced. The
Sedition Law, which was to expire with Ad-
ams's presidential term, was put into operation
soon after its passage. The first victim
was Matthew Lyon, a member of the Lower
House of Congress from Vermont. Lyon was
an Irishman by birth, had been brought to
this country as a redemptioner when a boy,
had served in the War of the Revolution, and
THE ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS 73
vas now sent to Congress from the State of
his adoption. He was an impetuous Republi-
can ; he despised all pomp and all monarchial
tendency, and became an object of extreme
dislike to the Federalists.
Lyon figured in the first physical contest
on the floor of the House. While he was
speaking one day, Mr. Griswold, one of the
Federal leaders who hated him, made an
offensive remark in an undertone. Lyon was
deeply insulted, and instantly turned and spat
in Griswold's face. The excitement became
intense among the members, and a motion
soon followed to expel Lyon from the House.
The motion was lost by a strict party vote.
The chagrin and rage of the Federalists was
now at the boiling-point, and the trouble was
not yet over.
A few days later Griswold came into the
House with a heavy stick in his hand, and
began beating Lyon with it while the latter
was sitting in his seat. Lyon now ran to the
fireplace, seized the tongs, and the two states-
men engaged in a rough and tumble fight,
rolling over the floor together several times
74 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
amid the greatest excitement of the other
members. Friends soon parted the comba-
tants, and a motion was made to expel both
from the House. But as both had equally
offended, their friends decided at length to
drop the whole matter, and this was done.
But Matthew Lyon's troubles were only
begun. Soon after the Sedition Law took
effect, this Vermont statesman found himself
arrested and called on to answer for a letter
he had published in a Vermont paper criticis-
ing the administration. About the severest
thing in this letter was this : " Every con-
sideration of the public welfare is swallowed
up in a continual grasp for power, an un-
bounded thirst for ridiculous pomp, foolish
adulation, and selfish avarice."
This language was no worse than that used
by scores of editors and pamphleteers of both
parties ; but the Federalists despised this
"wild Irishman," as they called him, and im-
proved this opportunity to wreak their ven-
geance on him. Matthew Lyon was seized,
and, after a short trial, was fined one thousand
dollars, and sent to prison for four months.
THE ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS 75
A petition was soon sent to the President
begging him to pardon Lyon ; but, as the pris-
oner himself refused to ask for a pardon,
President Adams declined to grant it.
There was one occurrence that brought joy
to Lyon's heart in the midst of his misfor-
tunes. He was triumphantly reelected to Con-
gress while still in prison. This proved that
the people were still with him.
To pay his fine his friends started a lottery.
In those days lotteries were common. Public
buildings, school-houses, bridges, court-houses
and the like were often built with money
raised by lottery. Lyon's friends now took
this means of relieving his distress ; and Has-
well, the editor who called upon the people
to support the lottery, used such language as
to land himself in prison under the same law !
Thus we have a sample of the practical
working of the Sedition Law. About ten
men, all editors, fell victims to the law. One
man, Thomas Cooper, was imprisoned for say-
ing that "the President was hardly in the
infancy of political mistake ; " another, named
Frothingham, for accusing Hamilton of trying
y6 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
to purchase a Republican paper in the inter-
est of Federalism.
It was plain that the law was not based on
patriotism, nor was it passed for any good
purpose. It was vindictive and born of par-
tisan bitterness. But its effect was opposite
that intended. It told heavily on the party
that had fathered it.
The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
Before the close of the year 1798, and while
these obnoxious laws were still in force, the
Kentucky legislature passed a series of resolu-
tions severely condemning the Alien and Sedi-
tion Laws. A few weeks later the legislature
of Virginia adopted a series of very similar
resolutions, but somewhat milder in tone.
These expressions from these two legislative
bodies attracted much attention and became
famous in American history. It was not
known at the time who wrote them ; but it
was found many years afterward that Thomas
Jefferson was the author of the Kentucky
Resolutions, and James Madison of the Vir-
ginia Resolutions.
THE ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS JJ
The Kentucky Resolutions were nine in
number. They had been introduced into the
legislature by George Nicholas, who had re-
ceived them from Jefferson. Nicholas changed
and modified them, somewhat. They defined
the Union as a compact in which the States
were a party, the Constitution being the
written agreement defining the powers of the
General Government. They pronounced for
a strict construction of the Constitution, and
claimed that the States as such had the right
to judge of the constitutionality of National
law, and that any infractions of the Constitu-
tion should be opposed by the States. The
next year this legislature added a more severe
resolution, declaring that the States were
sovereign and independent, and that nullifica-
tion was the rightful remedy for an unconsti-
tutional law.
The Virginia Resolutions were eight in
number. They declared if Congress enacted
laws that were unconstitutional, it was the
right and duty of the States to interpose and
arrest the progress of the evil. These reso-
lutions, as well as those of Kentucky, all
78 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
aimed directly or indirectly at the Alien and
Sedition Laws, and their authors called upon
the other States to express themselves on the
subject. Several State legislatures answered
them, but they all took the opposite ground,
claiming that the States had, no right to
judge of the acts of the Federal Government.
The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
opened a grave question that was not fully
settled for more than half a century, and had
to be decided at last by an appeal to the
sword. That question was whether the
United States of America was simply a com-
pact, a confederation of independent States;
or was it a Federal Government, a nation,
with all the powers of sovereignty and self-
preservation ?
South Carolina made much of these resolu-
tions, fathered by the great Jefferson, the
Democratic idol, when adopting her Nullifica-
tion Ordinance in 1832. The school of
Southern statesmen, led by Calhoun, based
their doctrine of State sovereignty largely on
the same ground. Even in 1861 the seceding
States of the South, in arguing for the right
THE ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS 79
of secession, freely quoted the resolutions of
Jefferson. But to assert that the Kentucky
and Virginia Resolutions were the original
cause of nullification and secession, would be
to assert altogether too much. The condi-
tions of the North and the South were so
unlike that an ultimate conflict between them
was inevitable.
Let it be remembered, finally, that these
resolutions did not represent the sober, good
sense of Thomas Jefferson ; this is plainly
shown by his public acts and later corre-
spondence. They were written in time of
great political excitement, and there is little
doubt that the author (for Jefferson, and not
Madison, was the real author) felt an honest
fear that the Federal party was usurping too
much power, and was establishing a danger-
ous precedent. This he wished to counter-
act, and he employed the means that
promised to be most effective. No American
statesman has been more patriotic than Jeffer-
son, and the dismemberment of the Union
for any cause was no part of his political
creed.
CHAPTER V
Fulton and the Steamboat
/
We have spoken of the Revolution which
took place in this country in the latter part
of the eighteenth century. This was a
political revolution, and its effect on the
American people was far-reaching indeed,
while its influence has been felt throughout
the world. But there was another revolution
that soon followed this, of the industrial
world, and its effect on mankind has been
even greater than that of the former. This
second revolution was brought about, not by
the marshalling of armies* and the convulsion
of nations, but silently, in the brain and the
workshop of the man of genius. It came by
the invention of steam navigation. The
steamboat, the steamship, and the railway
have all come into use within the nineteenth
century, and their use has revolutionized
80
FULTON AND THE STEAMBOAT 8 1
commerce and human intercourse, and made
a vast stride toward our modern civilization.
Strange to say, the means of travel had
not improved for more than two thousand
years ; stranger still, in the quarter of a cen-
tury following "1806 the commercial world
was revolutionized by the subserving to
man's use of a simple natural law, as old as
creation. It was known to the ancients that
the expansion of water into steam exerted a
powerful force, but it was left for modern
times to apply that force to practical pur-
poses, and the result has been marvellous.
The world, on receiving some benefaction,
loves to choose out some particular person on
whom to bestow its homage, often neglecting
to award its gratitude to others equally
deserving. For the wonderful benefits of
steam navigation the world has chosen to
honor one name far above all others, and
that is the name of Robert Fulton. In this
case the honor is not misplaced ; but it is
also true that Fulton's achievements rested on
the work of others, without which he could
not have succeeded.
82 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Fulton's Predecessors
The steam-engine was invented by a Scotch-
man, James Watt, some thirty-five years before
Fulton's success on the Hudson. But more
strictly speaking, Watt simply improved and
perfected the clumsy steam-engine of New-
comen, which had been in use for half a cen-
tury.
The subject of steam navigation had been
talked of for many years before Robert Fulton
was born, as we now hear of aerial navigation
and the like. The first known attempt to
apply steam to navigation was by a man wholly
unknown to fame, William Henry, a gunsmith
of Lancaster, * Pennsylvania. Mr. Henry was
the leading gunsmith of his province during
the French and Indian War. In 1763 he made
an engine from models he had seen in Eng-
land, attached it to a boat with paddles, and
experimented on the Conestoga Creek near
Lancaster. His attempt was not successful,
but it is believed that he was first to originate
the idea of the steamboat
1 Thurston's " Robert Fulton," p. 30.
FULTON AND THE STEAMBOAT 83
In 1786 James Rumsey was experimenting
on the Potomac River with a steamboat of his
own construction. His plan was to force a
stream of water backward and thus propel the
boat forward. General Washington saw the
working of Rumsey' s boat, and stated in a
letter that he considered the discovery one of
vast importance.
One more of these predecessors, and the
most important of all, we must notice — John
Fitch. The life of John Fitch was tragical
and sad. He was an inventive genius of the
first rank, but a more unfortunate man would
be hard to name. He was the son of a
Connecticut farmer. His father was a hard-
hearted man, and his boyhood was passed with
little pleasure. Intensely desirous of acquir-
ing knowledge, his stern and niggardly father,
though amply able to procure them, refused
him the necessary books. On reaching man-
hood he married a woman with such a bad
temper that he could not live with her, and he
became a wanderer in the earth. 1
At the same time that Rumsey was experi-
1 Parton's " People's Biography," p. 146 sq.
§4 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
meriting on the Potomac, we find Fitch with a
similar craft on the Delaware. At first he
made a very small engine and applied it to a
very small boat, and succeeded in running it
up-stream at the rate of seven miles an hour.
Then he made a boat forty-five feet long and
placed in it a larger engine, and soon began to
make regular trips from Philadelphia to Bor-
dentown and Trenton. It carried passengers,
and in all ran about two thousand miles, when
its usefulness was over. The curiosity of the
public had been gratified ; and as the boat did
not pay, the people refused to take further
interest in it, believing the whole scheme
impracticable.
Not so with Fitch. His soul was on fire
with the scheme ; he foresaw steam navigation
to the uttermost parts of the sea, and he fully
believed that the time had come for the new
movement to begin. He also believed in him-
self ; he believed that he was capable of carry-
ing out his schemes, and no one at this day
doubts that he was right. But he was penni-
less, the clothes on his back were turning to
rags, but he did not care for that. He wanted
FULTON AND THE STEAMBOAT 85
money to build another boat, but the public
had lost interest in his projects. In vain did
he appeal to Congress for assistance, in vain
did he try to enlist the aid of wealthy men.
At last genius had to flit itself away and die
for want of material aid. At last poor John
Fitch gave up his hopes with a broken heart.
He wandered to the West and settled on a
little farm in the wilderness of Kentucky,
where he died, some years later, by his own
hand. Had he received the needed assistance,
there is little doubt that the name of John
Fitch would hold the place to-day that is held
by that of Robert Fulton.
Early Life of Robert Fulton
While John Fitch was building his boat
on the Delaware, there was a young artist
aged twenty years, living at Second and Wal-
nut streets, Philadelphia. He was a keen ob-
server of what Fitch was doing. His name
was Robert Fulton. He was of Irish descent,
and first saw the light on a farm in Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania, in 1765. At the early
age of three years he was left fatherless and
86 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
his mother was poor. Robert was sent to school,
where he made fair progress, but his thoughts
were more taken with the workshops of Lan-
cester, to which city the family had moved.
He began his career of invention at an early
age. When ten years old he made lead-
pencils, which were pronounced almost as
good as the best made at that time. At the
age of thirteen he invented a sky-rocket, and
at fourteen an air-gun. Congress had a gun-
shop at Lancester during the Revolution, and
young Fulton frequented the place until, while
still a child, he became an expert gunsmith.
Robert Fulton had also a natural talent for
painting, and at the age of seventeen he went
to Philadelphia, determined to become an
artist. Here he remained for four years, and
not only became an excellent artist, but
earned money enough to return at the age
of twenty-one, and purchase for his mother a
small farm. This done, the ambitious youth
sailed for Europe to seek his fortune in the
great world.
FULTON AND THE STEAMBOAT 87
Fulton in Foreign Lands
He went to London and sought the home
of Benjamin West, the great American artist,
then residing in that city. West had been
born in the same State with Fulton, Pennsyl-
vania; their fathers had been old friends, and
now the world-famous artist opened wide his
door to the aspiring boy from his own land.
Fulton became a pupil of West and resided
in his house for several years.
But while Robert Fulton was a successful
artist, he was not a great artist, and none
knew it better than himself. His mind re-
verted to the inventions and aspirations of his
childhood, and at length he decided to give
up painting and become a civil engineer and
an inventor. He remained several years longer
in England and while there invented a machine
for sawing marble, and another for spinning
flax, and still another for making ropes. He
next invented a mechanical power-shovel which
was used in England for many years. He was
also the originator of the submarine torpedo
used for destroying vessels of war. Among
88 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
his intimate acquaintances were many of the
leading men in England. He was the author
of several books on various mechanical sub-
jects. During all this period his mind was
full of steam navigation. The papers of Fitch
had fallen into his hands, and he studied them
with the utmost care.
In 1802 he went to France, and in Paris he
met a friend who proved to be the benefactor
of his life. It was Robert R. Livingston of
New York, the man who had pronounced
the oath of office to President Washington,
and who was now minister to France. Living-
ston had also been thinking much of naviga-
tion by steam. He had not genius, it is true;
but he had something else almost equally
necessary — he had money. In a short time
a compact was made between Livingston and
Fulton, and their aim was to navigate the
Seine River by steam, the former furnishing
the money, the latter the brains.
Fulton soon had his boat ready, sixty-six
feet in length, and to this an engine was
adapted. The time was at hand for making
the trial trip. Fulton had spent a sleepless
FULTON AND THE STEAMBOAT 89
night, and on rising in the morning a mes-
senger from the boat, with despair in his face,
rushed into his room, and exclaimed : —
" Oh, sir, the boat has broken to pieces and
gone to the bottom ! "
Fulton was overwhelmed with grief. Has-
tening to the river, he instantly began the
task of raising the vessel with his own hands,
and he kept at it, without food or rest, for
twenty-four hours. From the injury to his
health, occasioned by this exertion, he never
fully recovered.
In a few weeks the vessel had been raised
and rebuilt, and at the trial trip in July, 1803,
a vast crowd of people stood on the banks
of the river and shouted their acclamations of
approval. But Fulton saw that the vessel was
imperfect, and that a new engine must be
procured. As Chancellor Livington was now
about to sail for America, it was decided that
the next experiment be made on the Hudson
River.
90 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
The Clermont on the Hudson
Robert Fulton was not the inventor of the
steamboat, as is commonly supposed ; but he
was the first to put it into practical use. The
poet Lowell has said : —
" Though old the thought and oft expressed,
'Tis his at last who says it best."
This is true in mechanics as well as in poetry.
Fulton adopted and improved on the ideas of
William Henry, of James Rumsey, of John
Fitch, and others, and where they had failed
he succeeded. The world applauds success,
but it seldom forgives the one who fails. Ful-
ton has received the honor that he deserved,
while the others, scarcely less deserving, have
been forgotten by the great public.
Again, the highest peak in a mountain
system is the noted one ; others almost as lofty
are scarcely noticed. Methuselah is the world's
example of great age, while few consider that
there were others who lacked but a few years of
reaching the same age. So with the inventors
of the steamboat. At the time Fulton was
building the Clermont there were movements of
FULTON AND THE STEAMBOAT 91
the same kind in various parts of the world,
independent of his. The scientific world at
that moment was absorbed with the one great
subject — navigation by steam. Fulton had
great advantages ; he had a monopoly of
the Hudson River, he had Livingston as his
partner. Perhaps he was the greatest genius
of them all; at least he succeeded first; thus
he gained public applause, and became the
popular hero. His fame is now world-wide,
and perhaps will never diminish.
But who besides specialists and historians
has heard of John Stephens? He was an
inventive genius of great skill. Having re-
ceived his ideas of steam navigation from
Fitch, he labored for years to construct a
steamboat. He succeeded at last in 1807 —
just after Fulton had won the popular heart.
In a few years he had steamboats plying on
the Delaware and Connecticut rivers. Had it
not been for Fulton, Stephens would probably
to-day be honored as the inventor of the
steamboat.
Let us return to our subject. Fulton and
Livingston determined to make their next
92 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
attempt in America. They ordered a steam-
engine of Watt, in England, without revealing
the object for which it was intended. Fulton
went to England to oversee its construction,
which took nearly three years. It reached
New York in 1806, and its owners soon had a
boat one hundred and thirty-three feet long, of
one hundred and sixty tons. The steam-power
was applied by means of a paddle-wheel.
Fitch had employed an endless chain with
paddles attached, and Stephens used a screw-
propeller.
Fulton named his boat the Clermont, after
Livingston's country-seat on the Hudson. The
trial trip was made in August, 1807. A vast
crowd of people stood on the banks of the
river to witness the experiment, few believing
it would be successful. The moment came,
and the Clermont moved out into the river,
running against the current at the rate of four
miles an hour.
The trip to Albany, one hundred and fifty
miles, was covered in thirty-two hours, an
average of nearly five miles an hour, while the
return trip took but thirty hours.
FULTON AND THE STEAMBOAT 93
The boat was described as "a monster
moving on the waters, defying wind and tide,
breathing flames and smoke." The fuel used
was dry pine, and the flames rose above the
smoke-pipe. It was said that in some of the
vessels met by the Clermont, " the crews shrank
beneath the decks from the terrific sight and
let their vessels run ashore; while others
prostrated themselves and besought Providence
to protect them from the horrible monster
which was marching on the tides, and lighting
its path by the fires which it vomited."
The great question was now settled ; naviga-
tion by steam was an assured fact. A New
York paper made the statement that there
would soon be steamboats on the Mississippi,
and it was believed that they would make two
miles an hour against its strong current. What
would the editor have thought had he foreseen
that long before the century's close the sea
would be covered with steamships, some of
twelve thousand tons burden, " ocean grey-
hounds," that would cross the Atlantic in less
than six days, averaging more than twenty
miles an hour!
94 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
After the Clermont had made her successful
trial trip, she was scheduled to make regular
trips twice a week from New York City to
Albany, the charge for a passenger being seven
dollars each way. She was usually loaded with
passengers, and the owners found the business
a paying one from the start. During the
winter the Clermont was enlarged and repaired,
and two other steamboats, the Raritan and the
Car of Neptune, were added to the service the
following year. Within seven years Fulton had
twelve steamboats, all built under his directions,
plying the waters around New York.
Robert Fulton was the hero of the hour. He
was a tall, handsome man, rather slenderly
built, graceful and refined. He had risen
socially as well as otherwise ; he had married a
niece of Chancellor Livingston, and his asso-
ciates were the leading men of Europe and
America. His name was on every tongue, but
he was very modest and gave his whole energy
to the further improvement of the use of steam-
power. But he was not long left to enjoy his
triumph. Death claimed him while in the midst
of his useful life. In January, 1815, he was
FULTON AND THE STEAMBOAT 95
called to Trenton to testify in a court trial. On
his return he crossed the Hudson in an open
boat amid heavy floating ice. He caught a
severe cold which resulted in a serious illness.
When only partially recovered he went to the
Brooklyn navy-yard to oversee the building
of a vessel, and was exposed to the cold for
several hours. He suffered a relapse, and on
February the 24th he died, aged fifty years.
Seldom in our history has the death of a private
citizen caused such universal mourning as did
that of Robert Fulton. But his work was done.
He had risen from the ranks of the lowly and
achieved the highest success. He did a great
service for mankind, and the glory of his fame
will not fade.
CHAPTER VI
The Lewis and Clarke Expedition1
At the beginning of the nineteenth century
the Great West, from the Mississippi River
to the Pacific Ocean, was a vast, unbroken
wilderness. Before such a region can be
claimed for civilization — even before the pio-
neer makes his home in the forest — must come
the explorer. The most notable exploring expe-
dition since De Soto and Marquette was that
of Lewis and Clarke in the great Northwest.
The father of this expedition was Thomas
Jefferson. As early as 1792 he proposed to
the American Philosophical Society that an
expedition be sent up the Missouri River to
cross the " Stony Mountains," as the Rocky
Mountains were then called, and to follow the
nearest river to the Pacific. When he became
President in 1801, his pet project was still on
1 For the material of this chapter I have drawn largely on
the account of H. H. Bancroft, Vol. X. — E.
96
THE LEWIS AND CLARKE EXPEDITION 97
his mind, and this desire was greatly inten-
sified two years later by the Louisiana Pur-
chase, which added a vast territory of unknown
bounds to the public domain.
There was a young man in Jefferson's em-
ploy as private secretary, named Meriwether
Lewis, who was very anxious to lead the pro-
posed exploring party. He had been a captain
in the army, and Jefferson, knowing him to be
a man of a daring, adventurous spirit, of truth-
fulness and discretion, appointed him to the
command. Lewis was elated with his appoint-
ment ; he hastened to Philadelphia, and spent
several months in the study of geography,
botany, and astronomy, that he might be able to
do the work before him the more intelligently.
The instructions were written in Jefferson's
own hand, and were signed in June, 1803.
By them Lewis was directed to provide him-
self with arms and ammunition, with tents,
boats, provisions, and medicines, and also with
many articles for presents and barter with the
Indians. Lewis chose Captain William Clarke
of the United States Army as second in com-
mand, and proceeded to Pittsburg in July,
98 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
where part of his outfit was to be provided.
Later in the summer he went down the Ohio
and up the Mississippi, and encamped for the
winter with his company on the eastern bank
of that river, opposite the mouth of the Mis-
souri. The winter was spent in drilling the
men, and in making preparation for the ascent
of the Missouri in the early spring.
The expedition was composed of twenty-
eight men, half of whom were soldiers ; nine
were young Kentuckians, two Frenchmen, one
was a hunter, one an interpreter, and the re-
maining one a negro servant of Captain Clarke.
In the company we find the famous scout and
Indian fighter, Lewis Wetzel. In all our his-
tory of Indian warfare Lewis Wetzel stands
without a superior in daring and reckless
bravery. Escaping at the age of thirteen
from a band of Indians who had murdered
his father, he took a solemn oath that he
would kill every Indian that it came in his
power to kill as long as he should live — and
he kept his word. He could follow a trail
with the keenness of a bloodhound; he could
load his rifle while running at his highest
THE LEWIS AND CLARKE EXPEDITION 99
speed ; and woe to the dusky warrior that
came within range of his deadly aim ! Cap-
tain Clarke, knowing of Wetzel's unerring aim
and his wonderful knowledge of the woods,
and believing that he would make a valuable
member of the party, persuaded him to join
it. But Wetzel was accustomed to the wild
freedom of the wilderness ; he disliked the mili-
tary discipline of an organized expedition ; and,
after accompanying them for three months,
suddenly left them and returned to his native
haunts on the Ohio.
Ascending the Missouri
The party embarked in three boats on May
14, 1804, and ascended the Missouri at the
rate of twelve to fifteen miles per day. Their
largest boat was fifty-five feet long, and carried
one sail and twenty-two oars. They had gone
but eight days when they made their first trade
with Indians — two quarts of whiskey for four
fine deer. The forests were full of game and
the rivers abounded with fish, both of which
they secured in abundance. After they had
journeyed some weeks they frequently met
IOO SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
with Indian tribes, most of whom were quite
friendly.
One day in July, soon after they had passed
the mouth of the Platte River, one of the party,
while hunting in the forest, came upon three
Indians dressing an elk. They belonged to
the tribe of the Ottoes, and it was arranged
that the tribe hold council with the explorers.
The latter chose a bluff on the east bank of
the river, where they pitched their tents and
awaited the Indians. The view from this place
was one of striking beauty. In the distance
were seen groves of cottonwood and elm, rising
here and there from the prairie, and the majes-
tic river winding silently away among the
hills.
The conference was held on the 3d of Au-
gust, and the Indian chiefs were presented
with medals and other trinkets. They seemed
greatly pleased with their strange white visitors
from the East. The council being held on a
bluff of the river, the place was called Council
Bluffs, a name retained by the flourishing city
and railway centre that afterward grew up on
the spot. Two weeks later they encamped at
THE LEWIS AND CLAfcKE EXPEDITION, tOl
the mouth of a little river where now Sioux
City, Iowa, is situated. One of their number,
Mr. Floyd, had died, and they gave his name
to the river. Here they held council with the
Mahas tribe, and some miles farther up, with
the Sioux. Similar councils were held with
many other tribes. These Indians were highly
pleased with the whiskey and trinkets received
from the white men. But there was one tribe,
the Ricaras, that refused to accept whiskey.
" Why," they asked, " should they be offered
drink which made fools of them ? "
The expedition had, by the last of October,
penetrated far into the Northwest Territory ; the
weather was now growing cold, and the men
determined to stop for the winter. They built
several strong log houses, and found them quite
comfortable. The blacksmith of the party put
up a furnace, and made knife-blades and spear-
points, which they traded to the natives for
corn. The Indians were greatly taken with
the bellows ; they thought it a marvellous thing
indeed.
As spring approached the party prepared
to plunge still farther into the boundless
102 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
wilderness. The large boat could not be taken
farther, as the river was growing more rapid;
it was therefore turned back and headed for
St. Louis. An escort of several men, who
had thus far accompanied the expedition, re-
turned with the boat and took with them
several boxes sent by Captain Lewis to Presi-
dent Jefferson. These boxes were filled with
specimens of earth, minerals, native imple-
ments, and stuffed birds and animals. The
two parties separated — the one for the haunts
of civilization, the other for the unknown
Rocky Mountain region — on the afternoon of
April the 7th, 1805.
The expedition had now been a year on the
way ; but there were many weary miles yet
to be traversed. They soon passed the mouth
of the Yellowstone, then the Milk River,
which they so named because of the peculiar
whiteness of the water, and on they pressed
toward the Rocky Mountains. In this remote
region they found wild animals in great
abundance. The country literally swarmed
with buffalo, wolves, bears, and coyotes, prairie
dogs, and many other animals. Captain Lewis
THE LEWIS AND CLARKE EXPEDITION 103
was one day chased by a wounded white beat
and narrowly escaped destruction.
On the 26th of May, Lewis ascended a
hill and cast his eyes westward. He now
saw for the first time the crest of the Rocky
Mountains, far away in the western horizon.
The lofty summits seemed to penetrate the
skies and the captain was deeply moved with
the magnificence of the scene. He wrote in
his journal that he "had got the first glimpse
of the great Rocky Mountains, the object of
all our hopes and the reward of all our ambi-
tions."
One day, as the men were walking over the
plain, they heard an awful rumbling in the sky,
and were soon overtaken by a hailstorm, the
most terrific they had ever seen. All the men
were knocked, bruised and bleeding, to the
ground, Captain Clarke narrowly escaping
with his life.
On the 13th of June the party reached
the Great Falls of the Missouri. They had
heard the mighty roar for several hours; now
they stood before one of the grandest specta-
cles of falling water in the world. The rivet
104 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
descends the mountain side about three hun
dred and sixty feet in the course of sixteen
miles. There are four different cataracts, the
largest being a leap of eighty-seven feet over
a perpendicular wall. Between the cataracts
are rapids where the water leaps and rages
as if possessed by evil spirits. Far above the
mad, seething river rises a cloud of rainbow-
tinted spray, which floats peacefully away over
the forest until dissolved into air by the sun.
On to the Pacific
On reaching the great falls the party were
obliged to carry their canoes for eighteen
miles, when they again made use of the river.
After a journey of one hundred and forty-five
miles from the falls they reach a place where
the Missouri breaks through great mountain
walls many hundred feet in height, and they
call it the "Gates of the Rocky Mountains."
They are still four hundred miles from the
source of the river, and their journey con-
tinues.
Many interesting incidents occur as they
journey along. One morning Captain Lewis
THE LEWIS AND CLARKE EXPEDITION 1 05
awoke and found that a huge rattlesnake had
coiled itself around the tree beneath which he
had slept, where it kept watch over him, but
did him no harm. On one occasion the party
was divided into two parts and came near
losing each other owing to the impudence of
a little beaver. One company led by Lewis
came to the forks of a small river, and he
left a letter placed on a pole for Clarke,
directing him to take the stream to the left.
Along came the beaver and deliberately cut
down the pole with his teeth, and carried it
away, letter and all. Clarke took the wrong
branch, and it was several days before the
parties were reunited.
The party had with them an Indian woman
of the Shoshone tribe, who had been taken
captive by another tribe about five years before
Being informed through the interpreter who
the white men were and whither going, she
was induced to go with them in the hope of
again finding her own people. Captain Lewis
was pleased with this, as he hoped to make
friends with the Shoshones by bringing back
their lost one. While in advance of the rest
106 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
one day in August he saw, about two miles
across the plain, a man on horseback, and by
the aid of his glass he saw that it was an
Indian warrior whom he believed to be a
Shoshone. Lewis approached cautiously, but
when within a few hundred yards the savage
wheeled his horse and soon vanished in the
wilderness.
For some days they searched for these
Indians, their object being to secure guides
and horses, for the faithful Missouri had at
last dwindled to a rivulet, and could guide
them and bear them no longer. Several times
they sighted Indians, but each time they ran
like frightened deer. After several days'
search they came suddenly upon two women,
one of whom escaped, but the other was
captured. She stood expecting instant death ;
but Lewis soon convinced her that there was
nothing to fear, and persuaded her to lead them
to her tribe. While on the way they were
met by sixty armed warriors, coming to her
rescue ; but when she convinced them of the
character of the newcomers, and when they
beheld the other woman, who had been stolen
THE LEWIS AND CLARKE EXPEDITION 107
from them several years before, now brought
back in safety by the strangers, their hostility
was changed to the wildest demonstrations of
joy. They leaped from their horses and
embraced the white men, besmearing the
clothes and faces of the latter with paint and
grease. It is needless to say that our party
had no further trouble securing guides and
horses.
The expedition had now reached the water-
shed which divides the vast basin of the Missis-
sippi Valley from the Pacific Slope ; and one
can imagine a tiny drop of water falling from
the clouds and being divided by the upturned
edge of a leaf, the one half finding its way to
the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Missouri, the
Mississippi, and the Gulf of Mexico, the other
flowing into the Pacific by way of the Columbia
River. Here was the great divide, the culmi-
nation of the Rocky Mountain system, the
birthplace of mighty rivers. From this point
our party must traverse the rugged mountains
on horseback and on foot, leaving behind their
canoes, until they reach the head waters of the
Columbia, that noble river of the Pacific Slope,
108 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
which had been partially explored thirteen
years before by Captain Grey, and to which
he had given the name of his ship — the Co-
lumbia.
We shall not attempt to trace their further
course in detail, as their experience was similar
to that already given. The party discovered
many rivers and creeks to which they gave
names. They evidently had no poet in the
company, as the names they conferred are
peculiarly devoid of euphonic beauty. After
exhausting their vocabulary, they conferred the
names of the President and his cabinet on
rivers. We find the Jefferson, the Madison, the
Gallatin, and the Dearborn rivers. Then they
used the names of the men of their own com-
pany till all were exhausted. The Lewis River,
the Clarke River, the John Day River, are
found among them. Even the negro servant,
York, was honored by having a river called by
his name. Sometimes they gave such pedantic
names as Philosophy, Philanthropy, and Inde-
pendence to the rivers. When they discovered
one river, a large bear was standing on the
bank, and they called it Bear River. One day
THE LEWIS AND CLARKE EXPEDITION IOQ
they encamped on a bank of a stream where
game was scarce, and they killed a colt for
food ; they called it the Coltkilled River. Some
of these names have been changed, but many
are still retained.
On the 28th of September our explorers
found themselves in the presence of Mount
Hood, rising to the clouds in all its grandeur
and magnificence. On they marched, pass-
ing dangerous shoals and rapids in the upper
Columbia, and suffering many hardships. But
they were amply repaid with many romantic
scenes — cascades of marvellous beauty, snow-
capped mountain ridges skirted at the base
with gigantic forests, with here and there an
open space of the most luxuriant vegetation,
now adorned with the richest autumnal hues.
On the morning of November 7, 1806, after
a journey of a year and a half through the un-
broken wilderness, they first saw the blue line
in the western horizon that told them that the
goal of their wanderings was at hand. It was
the Pacific Ocean. At last they had reached
that boundless watery plain upon which Balboa
had gazed with a swelling soul, through which
110 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Magellan had ploughed with his hardy seamen
until he had belted the globe.
The Return to the United States
The exploring party spent the winter in log
cabins of their own construction, near the mouth
of a river, and they called the place Fort Clat-
sop. During the winter they made several ex-
ploring expeditions, and were visited by various
Indian tribes. On March 23, 1807, they began
their return journey. They ascended the Co-
lumbia River in canoes to its head waters, when
they crossed the mountains on horses secured
from the Indians whom they had seen the year
before. Most of these they found still friendly,
while others were becoming suspicious of the
white invaders of their forest home. The
Walla Wallas were so cordial that the party,
after remaining with them some days, found it
difficult to get leave to depart. Later they en-
countered a tribe that was disposed to be treach-
erous, and Lewis was obliged to shoot an Indian
to save his own life.
The return trip was covered more rapidly
than the advance had been, especially after
THE LEWIS AND CLARKE EXPEDITION III
they reached the Missouri, on which they
floated with the current. The expedition
reached St. Louis, September 23, 1807, hav-
ing traversed nine thousand miles of unexplored
wilderness in two and a half years. They had
experienced but few accidents, and had lost but
one man. Their journal was published a few
years later, and it conveyed much important
information concerning the Great West. Con-
gress made grants of land to each member, of the
party, besides a soldier's pay for the time spent.
Captain Lewis became governor of Louisiana
Territory, and Clarke a general of militia, after-
ward governor of Missouri. Two years later
Lewis was attacked by a hereditary disease,
and, in a temporary season of insanity, took
his own life. Clarke's negro servant, York,
now took Lewis's name, and called himself
Captain Lewis to the end of his life, dying some
years ago in Virginia at the great age of ninety
years.
An Indian Story
A member of the Lewis and Clarke expedi-
tion named John Colter, while on the return
112 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
trip, asked and was granted leave to remain in
the wilderness as a hunter and trapper. He
associated himself with a trapper named Potts,
and the two were soon busy capturing fur-bear-
ing animals. They were in the heart of the
Blackfoot Indian country, and these savages
were known to be hostile at the time.
One day as Colter and Potts were sitting in
their canoe on the edge of a small stream they
heard, from behind a neighboring hill, the
tramp of innumerable feet. At first they
feared that it was Indians; then they thought
it was a herd of buffalo. In a few minutes
their worst fears were realized. Six hundred
savage warriors swarmed around the hill, and
the two trappers were unable to escape. Potts
raised his rifle, shot down the foremost Indian,
and his body was instantly pierced by a score
of arrows. The canoe floated away, bearing
his dead body. Colter was taken captive.
The savages had no thought of sparing
Colter's life, but they decided to toy with
him, as a kitten toys with a mouse before
killing it — but sometimes the mouse finds a
hole and escapes. Colter was first stripped
THE LEWIS AND CLARKE EXPEDITION 113
to the skin, not a shred of clothes being left
on his body. He was then asked if he were a
good runner, and he answered that he was not.
The chief then took him about three hundred
yards from the body of Indians, let him go, and
said, " Now save your life, if you can."
At that instant the six hundred savages, with
a terrible war-whoop, started in pursuit. Colter
darted away with a speed that surprised him-
self as well as his pursuers. There was a plain
before him six miles wide, bounded on the far-
ther side by a river fringed with trees. Colter
made for this stream, and the unearthly, demon-
like yells of the on-rushing savages seemed to
lend him wings. The plain was covered with
prickly pears, and, being without moccasins, his
feet were lacerated at every stride. He ran
about three miles before looking back ; then,
glancing over his shoulder, he saw that all but
a few were left far behind. One huge warrior,
however, armed with a spear, was but two hun-
dred yards away and gaining. Colter doubled
the effort, and so great was his exertion that the
blood gushed from his nostrils and flowed down
over his breast. When within a mile of the
114 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
river, he glanced back again and saw that his
pursuer was but few paces away, and was al-
most in the act of throwing his spear.
Colter, moved by a sudden impulse, stopped
and faced the savage, spreading out his arms,
and thus stood in the form of a cross. The
Indian was so surprised at this unexpected
movement and at the bloody appearance of the
white man's body, that he stumbled and fell to
the ground. Colter ran back, seized the spear,
ran it through his antagonist's body, pinning
him to the earth, and renewed his flight.
The pursuing savages halted a few seconds
over the dead body of their comrade, thus
giving Colter an increased advantage. Now
they again resumed the pursuit with more
fiendish yells than before. But Colter was
nearing the river, and was soon hidden by the
trees. The next moment he plunged beneath
the waves. In the middle of the river, lodged
against an island, was a large raft of drift-
wood. Beneath this our hero dived, and stuck
his head up between two logs covered with
smaller timbers and brush. The Indians came
up and searched for several hours, but failed
THE LEWIS AND CLARKE EXPEDITION 115
to find him. Again and again he could see
them walking above him over the driftwood.
He was terribly afraid they would set fire to
it, but they did not.
At nightfall the savages left, and Colter
swam out and was soon speeding through the
forest. After travelling for seven days, utterly
unclothed, and with nothing to eat but roots,
he reached a trading-post on the Big Horn
River. It was several months before he fully
recovered from his terrible experience.
CHAPTER VII
Conspiracy of Aaron Burr
The world is inclined to go to extremes in
placing its stamp of value on the most con-
spicuous public characters. It is true, there
is a great middle class of prominent men who
are rated, after they are gone, at something
near their real worth ; but the people must
have their hero, their demigod, their type of
all perfection ; they must also have their mon-
strosity, their type of all villany. From the
same trait of human nature that tends to
adore too much, springs the tendency to de-
spise too much. The drama must have its
hero and its villain, and if either falls below
perfection in his role, the imagination sup-
plies the deficiency.
Some of the greatest characters in history
were not so great nor so perfect in real life
as posterity has made them ; and it is cer-
116
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 117
tain that some of the villains of history were
not so monstrous as they have been pictured.
History in the abstract is truth, because it pic-
tures human nature as it really was and is;
but it is not always true in the concrete ; it
overdraws some characters at the expense of
others.
Aaron Burr
This chapter is not intended to be a defence
of the character with whom it deals, but the
author wishes to state his belief at the out-
start that Aaron Burr has been judged too
severely by the American people; that he
was not so deep-dyed a villain as is generally
supposed. It is true that he slew the great
Hamilton in a duel; but duels were com-
mon in those days, and he who accepted a
challenge was scarcely less blamable than he
who gave it. It is true, or is supposed to be
true, that he aimed to sever the Union and
to set up a Western Empire with himself at
the head. But let it be remembered that in
those days there was a general belief that
the East and West would eventually become
Il8 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
separate nations ; that so unlike were their in-
terests, and so great their distance apart, as to
render their continuance in the same house-
hold impossible; and that it is still believed
that but for the railway and the telegraph,
which have brought us so near together as
a people, the ultimate separation of the East
and the West would have been inevitable.
Nevertheless, Burr was a bad character;
his ambition was not that of the patriot, but of
the self-seeker; his killing of Hamilton was
little short of murder, as he knew that his
skill with the pistol far exceeded that of his
antagonist, and he was fully determined to
end the career of the latter. But he had his
redeeming traits. He was a great lover of
children ; his perennial exuberance of spirits
under the most crushing trials excites our high-
est admiration ; his devotion to his daughter
was strangely beautiful.
Aaron Burr was a descendant of the great
New England divine of colonial days, Jona-
than Edwards. Scarcely more than a boy
at the outbreak of the Revolution, he flung
himself into the midst of the fray, and proved
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 119
to be one of the bravest of the brave. He
afterward entered the legal profession and
became one of the keenest and most success-
ful lawyers in America. He entered politics
and rose until he became a senator, then Vice-
President of the United States. His wife had
died and left him a little daughter named
Theodosia, a beautiful girl of the rarest men-
tal gifts, who, while yet a child, presided over
her father's luxuriant home with the grace
of a princess. The father adored his charm-
ing daughter, and lavished upon her every
luxury that wealth could bestow; but she did
not become a spoiled child; her good sense
was of the highest grade, and her devotion
to her father was something wonderful.
But an evil day came, and the happiness
of the family became forever blighted. The
misfortune began with the death of Hamilton.
It had been coming, it is true, for some time
before. Hamilton was but one of the power-
ful politicians who had combined to break
the political fortunes in New York and in the
nation of Aaron Burr. They succeeded, and
in the spring of 1804 Burr found himseU
120 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
politically and financially ruined. Up to that
time he had been a political aspirant not unlike
others of his station. His private life was
not pure, but it was no worse than that of
many others of his own class. Had he been
elected President of the United States in 1801,
when he came so near the prize, he would
doubtless now be classed among the honored
fathers. Had he borne his later defeat in
New York in silence, as many a man has borne
equal disappointments, his name would not
now be covered with odium.
But Burr was a vindictive man. He brooded
over his downfall. He thought Hamilton the
chief cause of it, and determined to rid him-
self of his great rival. He challenged him to
a duel. The false code of honor of that day
was such that one could not refuse such a
challenge without being branded as a coward,
and Hamilton had not the moral courage to
defy public opinion, and refuse to fight a duel.
He accepted the challenge. They met at
Weehawken, on the New Jersey shore of the
Hudson, on July 11, 1804. Hamilton fell at
the first fire, mortally wounded. In a few
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 121
hours he was dead. Burr had legally slain
his enemy. He may have experienced a mo-
mentary thrill of joy at the result. The truth
may not at that moment have entered his
brain that his fatal bullet had added a lustre
for all time to the name of his fallen victim,
and had covered his own with indelible dis-
honor.
If ever there was a man who received due
punishment in this life for his wrong-doing,
it was Aaron Burr. From this day forth his
every project was marked with failure. He
lived to be old, and through all his subse-
quent years, misfortune pursued him, like the
Nemesis of evil, with unrelenting severity.
Scarcely had the breath left Hamilton's
body, when public feeling in New York, re-
gardless of party, was roused against his
slayer. Burr, to escape the popular indigna
tion, quietly left the city for Philadelphia, but
here he found the same state of feeling against
him, and he fled to the South, where he re-
mained for several months. When the excite-
ment had somewhat abated, he returned north-
ward, and spent the winter in Washington and
122, SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Philadelphia; but the public feeling was still
such that he thought best not to remain, and
he decided on making a tour of the West.
At that time a tide of emigration was pour-
ing into the Mississippi Valley, new States
were being carved out of the wilderness, and
new cities were growing up in many places.
Burr determined to go westward, but what
his ultimate intentions were no one seemed
to surmise. His friends . proposed (for he
still had friends) that he settle in some rising
Western city, and get himself elected to Con-
gress. This would no doubt have been easy
to do, for very few men of his mental caliber
could be found west of the Alleghanies, and
he was still popular in the Mississippi Valley.
Had he chosen such a course, he could have in
a great measure lived down the odium arising
from the duel, but he was too ambitious for
such a quiet life. This plan, it was afterward
believed, was intended only to hide his real
designs.
He left Philadelphia in April, 1805; in nine-
teen days he had reached Pittsburg, and was
soon floating down the Ohio. The Ohio is
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 1 23
one of the most beautiful of rivers. For hun-
dreds of miles it coils itself among the hills,
which often rise in rocky steeps from the
water's edge, skirted along the base and
crowned at the top with primeval forest. On-
ward the little party proceed until they reach
Marietta, that quaint old town that had been
founded seventeen years before by Rufus Put-
nam, the " Father of Ohio," and named in
honor of the unfortunate queen of France.
Here they alight and inspect those strange
mounds, the relics of an unknown race, at
the mouth of the Muskingum.
A few miles below Marietta there is an
island in the river that was soon to become
famous, and was to be known henceforth as
the Blennerhassett Island. It lies low in the
river, is about three miles long and quite nar-
row. On this island Harman Blennerhassett,
an eccentric, romantic Irishman, with an
equally romantic wife, had made his home.
He had been a barrister in his own country,
had inherited a snug fortune, and brought it,
with his wife, to America. Their thirst for
the novel and the romantic had led them to
124 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
penetrate the western wilderness, and to locate
on this island, where they built a curious
house, modelled after some of the ancient
structures of the Old World. Here they lived
in apparent contentment for several years.
Leaving Marietta, Burr came to this island,
and having heard of the eccentric foreigner
who dwelled there, made a landing out of
mere curiosity. Hearing that the proprietor
was absent, he did not go to the house, but
strolled about the grounds, when Mrs. Blenner-
hassett sent a servant to invite the strangers
to the house. Burr sent his card with a polite
refusal ; but, when the lady saw his name, she
came out and gave him a pressing invitation
to remain to dinner. He now consented, and
the party spent several hours in pleasant con-
versation, when they reembarked and pro-
ceeded to Cincinnati. After a few days' stay
at this growing village, Burr descended the
river to the Falls of the Ohio, where Louis-
ville now stands. At this point he left the
river, and made an overland journey through
the wilderness to Nashville. A travelling
showman had lately been at Nashville, and
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 1 25
had exhibited a wax figure of Burr "as he
appeared when he slew the leviathan of Fed-
eralism under the heights of Weehawken."1
Burr received high honors at Nashville, where
he remained for some days at the home of
Andrew Jackson.
The Great Conspiracy
Burr's plans had now taken shape in his
own mind. There was continuous friction be-
tween the Americans and Spaniards in the
Southwest, and Burr gave out that he in-
tended to conduct a military expedition against
Mexico, which then belonged to Spain. But
an inner circle knew that his designs were
still deeper, that his aim was to raise a re-
volt in the Mississippi Valley, to sever it
from the Union, and to establish an inde-
pendent nation. This Burr had suggested to
the English Minister, Mr. Merry, before
leaving Philadelphia. At Cincinnati he had
met and conferred with Mr. Dayton, former
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
with ex-Senator John Smith of Ohio, both of
1McMaster, Vol. III. p. 57.
126 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
whom were afterward found to be in his plot.
Some have even named Andrew Jackson as
one of the conspirators, but there is no proof
of this ; and Jackson's unswerving patriotism
before and after this period was such as to
make this accusation difficult to believe.
Burr went down the Cumberland from Nash-
ville. On reaching the mouth of the Ohio,
he met the man who was to be his confed-
erate, and afterward his betrayer — General
James Wilkinson. Wilkinson was commander
of the armies of the United States and gov-
ernor of Louisiana at the time. He was a
man of ambition no less sordid than that of
Burr. The two had long been acquainted;
they had fought together under the walls of
Quebec in the Revolution, and had corres-
ponded with each other for many years. Burr
now took Wilkinson into his plot, and the two
men spent four days together, laying their
schemes for the future. Wilkinson then fitted
Burr out in a fine boat in which he proceeded
to New Orleans, where he arrived on June
25, 1805, armed with a letter from Wilkinson
to Daniel Clark, the richest man in the city.
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 1 27
For two weeks Burr was lionized in New
Orleans, and his proposed expedition to Mex-
ico, no longer a secret, was talked of on all
sides. Returning up the river, Burr again
met with Wilkinson, but found the ardor of
that gentleman somewhat cooled. The fact
is, Wilkinson had sounded his subordinate offi-
cers on the subject of dismembering the Union,
and had received so little encouragement that
his enthusiasm had greatly subsided.
Late in the fall Burr returned to Washing-
ton. He had counted much on receiving aid
from England, believing that country ready
to engage in any project that would retard the
growth of the United States. Hastening to
the house of the British Minister, Burr was
greatly dismayed when that gentlemfci in-
formed him that no assistance from that quar-
ter could be expected. But the will of Burr
was indomitable. During the few months he
spent in the East his efforts were prodigious.
He sought out his old friends, army and navy
officials, men of wealth, and every one who
had a grievance against the Government, and
attempted to bring them into his plot. By
128 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
one of these, General Eaton, he was betrayed
to President Jefferson, but Jefferson was slow
to believe that there was any real danger, and
made no attempt to apprehend the conspira-
tors. Burr stated to a friend that the Govern-
ment was in such an imbecile condition that
with two hundred men he could drive the
President and Congress into the Potomac.
In August, 1806, Burr again started west-
ward, taking with him this time his daughter
Theodosia, who was now the wife of Joseph
Alston, the governor of South Carolina, reputed
to be the richest planter in the South. They
soon reached Blennerhassett Island, and the
occupants were completely captivated by the
wit and the vivacity of the charming Theodosia,
who fully believed that her father's schemes
were legitimate and honorable. From this
time the Blennerhassetts were the most de-
voted adherents of the conspirator.
This credulous Irishman was led to believe
that all their projects were about to be real-
ized. A great nation was to be founded in
the West. Burr was to be the monarch as
Aaron I., Mrs. Alston was to be the queen,
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR I2Q
and her little son heir apparent to the throne.
But this was not all; Blennerhassett should
represent the new nation at the court of St.
James, and Wilkinson should command its
armies. This was the vision presented to the
simple-minded Blennerhassett, and he chat-
tered it all around the country.
Leaving his daughter on the island, Burr
went down the river to Cincinnati, and across
to Nashville. All was now haste and activity.
Fifteen boats were being built at Marietta,
several more on the Cumberland. Provisions
were purchased and men were arming on all
sides and making ready for the expedition,
most of whom still believed that the sole ob-
ject was the conquest of Mexico. Burr was
the general manager of everything. We find
him first in one town and then in another, dis-
playing the most remarkable energy.
But he had enemies here and there. At
Frankfort, Kentucky, he was tried in a United
States court for treason, but was acquitted.
One of his counsel in this trial was a young
man whose after career made him a name that
the Nation still delights to honor — Henry Clay.
130 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Burr again went to Nashville, and a great
ball was given in his honor. His hopes were
now at their highest point. He was soon to
become a conquering hero — one who would
draw the eyes of the world — the founder of
an empire — when lo ! a thunderbolt came, and
his whole scheme from the top to the bottom
was shattered and annihilated. The bolt came
in the form of a proclamation from the Presi-
dent of the United States.
The Arrest and the Trial
President Jefferson had at last been awak-
ened from his lethargy and led to believe that
there was some real danger of an uprising in
the Mississippi Valley. Hence the proclama-
tion, issued in November, 1806, which was
called forth by a letter from General Wilkin-
son, betraying Burr's entire plot to the Presi-
dent. When this proclamation was known in
the West, it was no longer possible for Burr
to proceed, because many of his followers had
been made to believe that Jefferson knew of
and favored the expedition ; when they found
that this was not true, they refused to follow
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 131
their leader further. The President in his
proclamation did not mention Burr by name,
nor make any reference to the plan of sever-
ing the Union. He simply stated that there
was reason to believe that an unauthorized
expedition against Mexico was about to be
made, and he called upon all United States
officers to immediately arrest all persons en-
gaged in it.
Wilkinson, now in New Orleans, in order
to clear his own name, made a desperate effort
to pose as the saviour of his country. He
made the people believe that a fleet was about
to come down the Mississippi to capture the
city. He harangued the excited multitude at
a public meeting ; he made many arrests of
suspected persons, and put the city under mar-
tial law. In short, this mighty (but it should
be spelled mitey) commander of the army
blustered and fumed about at a great rate.
But it , was all unnecessary. There was no
armed force coming down the river, and Wil-
kinson probably knew it. He simply wished
to make a loud noise, a patriotic noise, so as
to cover his own false trail of the past.
132 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Aaron Burr at this time was floating down
the Mississippi with a few friends, hoping to
escape arrest till he reached the sea, when he
would embark for a foreign land. None knew
better than himself that Jefferson's note of
warning to the people had utterly blasted his
prospects. None knew better than he that, if
arrested, he would have to contend against an
angered administration, supported by the
enemies he had made in the killing of Hamil-
ton. As he proceeded down the river he was
astonished and dismayed to find that his col-
league, Wilkinson, had betrayed him. A short
distance above Natchez, Mississippi, Burr
landed on the east bank of the river, and, dis-
guising himself in the dress of a river boatman,
he bade his companions good-by and disappeared
in the wilderness.
One cold night in February, 1807, two young
lawyers were playing at cards in a cabin near
the village of Wakefield, Alabama, when two
strangers rode up and inquired the way to
Colonel Hinson's. Being informed that the
colonel lived seven miles farther on, the
strangers departed. One of them, it was
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 1 33
readily seen, was a country guide; the other
seemed to be a different sort of personage.
He was dressed in a rude homespun suit, but
his intellectual countenance, his flashing, bright
eyes, and his elegantly shaped boots, protruding
from the coarse, ill-cut trousers, attracted the
attention of one of the young men, whose name
was Perkins.
Soon after the strangers had gone, Perkins
said to his companion, " That is Aaron Burr ;
let us follow and arrest him." 1
The other ridiculed the idea and refused to
make any move toward making the arrest. But
Perkins was determined ; he at once apprised
the sheriff, and in a short time he and the
sheriff were riding through the darkness
toward Colonel Hinson's.
Arriving near the place, Perkins remained
outside with the horses while the sheriff went
in to make the arrest. He met the polite
stranger, and was soon fascinated with his
brilliant conversation. For some hours the
company conversed, and this stranger was the
life of the party. The sheriff had not a doubt
1 Parton's " Life of Aaron Burr," Vol. II. p. 93.
134 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
that it was Burr, but his heart failed him;
he could not arrest so elegant a gentleman.
He remained over night, and next morning
actually accompanied Burr some distance as
guide.
We have all heard of Marshal Ney, the
French general — - how he was sent to capture
Napoleon returning from Elba ; and how the
wonderful magnetism of his old commander
fascinated, won, captured him. He went to
arrest the fallen Emperor; he came back his
friend and ally.
Similarly did Colonel Aaron Burr captivate
the sheriff of Washington County, Alabama.
Perkins waited for several hours with the
horses. Suspecting at last that his friend had
fallen a prey to the blandishments of Burr, he
returned home. But Perkins was not to be
thwarted so easily. He immediately went to
Fort Stoddard and apprised Captain Gaines,
and in less than -twenty-four hours Burr was a
prisoner in the fort. After being detained here
for three weeks, the distinguished prisoner was
taken northward for trial.
The distance was near a thousand miles,
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 1 35
about half of which was a dense forest. The
guard consisted of nine mounted men, com-
manded by the plucky Perkins, who, remember-
ing his experience with the sheriff, took his
men aside and made them promise to steel their
souls against the winning arts of the prisoner.
The long, fatiguing march began, the party
usually spending the nights in the open air.
They spent one night at a small tavern in
northern Georgia. The landlord, not knowing
the character of his guests, began to converse
on the subject that absorbed the attention in
every part of the Union. " Had they heard
anything of Aaron Burr the traitor? was he
captured ? was he not a very bad man ? " Burr,
who was sitting in the corner, raised his head,
and, fixing his blazing eyes on the landlord,
said, "I am Aaron Burr — what do you want
with me ? "
The journey was very monotonous, but for
one thrilling incident. As they were passing
through Chester, South Carolina, where Burr
knew that he was popular, he suddenly leaped
from his horse, and, appealing to the people
along the streets, shouted in a loud voice : —
136 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
" I am Aaron Burr under military arrest, and
claim the protection of the civil authorities."
The next instant Perkins stood before him
with two drawn pistols and ordered him to
remount.
Burr answered defiantly, " / will not."
Perkins was unwilling to shed blood. He
was a powerful man. He threw his pistols to
the ground, seized his prisoner, and hurled
him into the saddle. Before the spectators had
recovered from their astonishment the party
had left the village behind.1 Aaron Burr was a
man of wonderful nerve, but for once he lost his
self-control ; he was unmanned ; he wept like
a child. It is said that in all his sufferings,
and they were great, this strange man did not
again exhibit weakness.
The party was directed to Richmond, Vir-
ginia, where the trial was to take place. Here
they arrived the 26th of March, 1807. It
would make our chapter too long were we
to give a history of this trial. Let a few
general statements suffice.
The trial of this ex-Vice-President for treason
1 Parton, Vol. II. p. 101.
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 1 37
is the most famous trial in all American history
save one — that of Andrew Johnson. It was
presided over by John Marshal, the Chief-Justice
of the Supreme Court, and the greatest jurist
this country has produced. Both sides enjoyed
counsel of the greatest ability ; the most noted
on Burr's side was Luther Martin of Baltimore,
a framer of the Constitution ; the ablest on the
opposite side was William Wirt, afterward for
twelve years Attorney-General of the United
States, and the Anti-Mason candidate for
President in 1832.
The trial was long and exciting, the jury
finally acquitting the prisoner for want of
evidence, to the great disappointment of Presi-
dent Jefferson. Burr was guilty beyond a
doubt ; but the Constitution provides that
treason " shall consist only in levying war
against" the United States, or in "adhering to
their enemies," and that "no person shall be
convicted of treason unless on the testimony
of two witnesses to the overt act." No such
thing could be proved against Burr. He was a
great lawyer, and he had covered his trail and
managed his plot with such skill that the law
138 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
had no hold on him. He was therefore set at
liberty. He and Blennerhassett were then
indicted for misdemeanor, to be tried later in
Ohio, but the trial never came off.
Theodosia
In the history of Aaron Burr there is one
chapter that presents a charm of more than
ordinary attraction — that which tells of the
relation between him and his daughter. Theo-
dosia was a queenly woman, of high mental
gifts, and beyond all doubt of the purest and no-
blest type. She believed her father the most
perfect of men, and never in her life seemed
to doubt that his motives were the best.
When she heard of her father's arrest, she
was overcome with sorrow. She hastened to
Richmond, and remained during the trial.
Every one had heard of Theodosia, and every
one was charmed who came within her in-
fluence. She followed the trial with the keen-
ness of a trained lawyer. When the acquittal
was announced, her joy was unbounded. Little
did she know that her grief had just begun —
that one burden of sorrow would bear down
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 1 39
upon another until the weight would be greater
than she could endure.
Burr was acquitted by the jury, but not by
the American people ; he was detested as a
traitor on every side. He went to Baltimore
and spent several days with a friend, when
it was discovered that a mob was forming to
do him injury, but he escaped from the city
by night. He spent the following winter in
hiding in various places, hoping that popular
clamor would subside, but it did not. In June,
1808, he escaped from New York under an
assumed name and took ship for England.
After spending several months in England,
he was banished from that country as a
dangerous person. He next went to Sweden,
then to Germany, and finally to Paris. The
French Government was suspicious of him,
kept him under surveillance, and refused him
his passports when he desired to leave the
country. He found no rest wherever he went.
Often he found himself penniless and wholly
without means of support. His dishonor had
followed him from land to land, and he had
nowhere to lay his head to rest.
140 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
But Aaron Burr had one friend whose fidel-
ity never faltered. It was Theodosia. Her
letters to him breathe a spirit of tenderness
and devotion that is at once pathetic and
beautiful. The greater his persecution, as she
Relieved it to be, the greater her adoration.
Here is an extract from one of her letters
written him while in Sweden.
" I witness your extraordinary fortitude with
new wonder at every new misfortune. Often
you appear to me so superior, so elevated
above all other men; I contemplate you with
such strange mixture of humility, admiration,
reverence, love, and pride that very little
superstition would be necessary to make me
worship you as a superior being. When I
afterward revert to myself, how insignificant
do my best qualities appear. My vanity would
be greater, if I had not been placed so near
you, and yet my pride is our relationship."
Such devotion from such a woman would
buoy up the spirits of any man. Burr often
said that his only object in life was to serve
his daughter and her little boy. The con-
stancy of this daughter, whose honesty and
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 14I
sincerity cannot be questioned, means some-
thing— it means that Burr's heart was not all
bad. It is true, she saw only the good, but
there was good there, or he could never
have been to her what he was. He seldom
told her of his indigent condition, for he was
aware that Jefferson's embargo had rendered
the cotton crop unsalable, and that her hus-
band, with all his estates, was often hard
pressed for money.
Burr found no rest in Europe, and he at
last decided to return to his own land, be the
consequence what it may. He had been
absent four years, and, after seeking his pass-
ports from France for more than a year, he
at length received them, and embarked for
America under an assumed name, reaching
Boston in the spring of 1812. He made his
way to New York, but his presence excited
little interest, as war with England was about
to be waged and this absorbed pubiic attention.
On reaching America, the returned wanderer
performed the one delightful task in which
he had always been so faithful — writing to
his daughter. Six weeks passed when he
142 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
received an answer. The news it bore was sad
indeed. The letter was a wail of grief. Theo-
dosia had lost her little boy, her only child.
The boy had shown signs of unusual talent, and
he was the hope and pride of his parents and
his grandfather. Their dreams of his future
greatness thus vanished by his early death, and
his mother was inconsolable. Her father wrote
frequently, offering her every consolation in
his power, but she would not be comforted.
Burr himself had doted on his promising
grandchild, and ceased to mourn his loss only
at the end of his life. The mention of the
subject would start the tear, but this man of
iron would fold his arms tightly over his
breast, as if, by mere physical strength, he
would repress the tide of emotion.1
But the bitterest sorrow of all was yet to
come to Aaron Burr.
Theodosia's grief for her lost boy did not
abate, and her health began to fail. It was
decided that she leave her Southern home and
fly to her father. Her husband would have
accompanied her, but being now governor of
1 Parton, Vol. II. p. 247.
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 143
South Carolina, he could not leave his official
duties. She embarked at Charleston in a small
schooner late in December, 181?, occupying the
best cabin with her maid and her physician.
Fond were the good-bys to her loving hus-
band as the vessel sailed away ; fond were her
anticipations of soon embracing a father whose
devotion to her had been as constant as the
northern star.
The vessel was lost upon the ocean. It was
never seen nor heard of again, and not a life
was saved !
The agonized suspense of Burr can only
be imagined. The eager letters exchanged
between him and his son-in-law, the longing
for news of the lost one, the hope, the despair,
and at last the settled conviction that he was
alone now, that he would see his daughter's
face no more, furnish the most pathetic chap-
ter in the strange history of Aaron Burr.
He said to a friend that when he realized
the truth of his daughter's death, the world
became to him a blank, and life lost all its
value. To her bereaved husband he wrote
that he felt himself severed from the human
144 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
race. Governor Alston survived his wife but
a few years, but the stormy career of Burr
was yet to continue for nearly a quarter of a
century.
Later Life of Aaron Burr
Very briefly let us notice the last chapter
in this strange drama. Of the conspicuous
names in the annals of America, next to that
of Benedict Arnold, the name of Aaron Burr
is the most odious. It is certain that he did
not deserve the love of his countrymen, but it
is equally certain that he has been unduly
hated. There is a tendency in human nature
to join in the hue and cry of the unthinking
crowd, and our subject was a victim of that
tendency.
He had come back to New York by stealth,
in the fear that his creditors would prosecute
and imprison him, or that the old indictments
against him would be pushed. Finding, how-
ever, that he was not likely to be molested,
he quietly began to practise his profession.
He was a great lawyer, and, it is said, never
lost a case in his life, though he was very
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 145
careful not to undertake a bad cause. In a
short time he was earning a good income, and
soon had many of his debts paid off. But he
never won the favor of the public ; in fact,
he lost ground in this direction to the end of
his life. It became the popular thing to cut
him in society, and to circulate in the news-
papers malicious and wholly false statements
concerning him. These he never noticed, nor
did he ever attempt to set himself right with
the public. His old age was similar to that
of other men, except that he was alone ; but
he became hardened to his lonely life, and
lost his interest in public opinion. That he
was a man of the grossest habits and desires
was often stated, but there is little foundation
for such statements.
Aaron Burr was a very kind-hearted man,
and his love for children, especially after the
death of his grandson, was almost a passion.
He was exceedingly kind to the poor, and
many a time he gave away his last dollar.
Old soldiers of the Revolution and their de-
scendants, and those who had lost money in
his hapless expedition in the Mississippi Valley,
146 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
never applied to him for aid without receiving
it, if in his power to help them. He often had
several boys and girls attending school at his
expense.
Once, when driving through the country, he
saw a rude crayon drawing on the side of a
stable which showed some signs of genius.
Learning that a little ragged boy had made
it, he took the boy to the city, educated him,
sent him to Europe, and had the gratification
to see him become a famous artist.
Perhaps the most remarkable trait in this
remarkable man was his wonderful self-poise.
He was truly a philosopher. Whatever the
public thought of him, it did not change his
opinion of himself ; however the people de-
nounced him, he never for a moment lost
his self-esteem. He never weakened, never
complained, never exhibited resentment nor
bitterness. He never repented having killed
Hamilton, always claiming that the latter had
treated him shamefully, and deserved his fate.
The one great sorrow of his later life, the
death of Theodosia and her little boy, rent
his heart, and left a wound that could not
CONSPIRACY OF AARON BURR 1 47
heal. But all his other misfortunes, great as
they were, never seemed seriously to disturb
his mind. We learn by his diary and by the
testimony of others that he was always the
same — jovial, full of flashing wit, self-confi-
dent, and unconquerable. One of the boys
whom he had educated was asked in later life
what effect Burr's character had had upon his
own.
" He made me iron," was the emphatic reply.
Burr's religious views are scarcely known.
He often said that the Bible was the greatest
and best of books, but would not express him-
self further. During the last two years of his
life he was a hopeless paralytic. A clergyman
frequently visited him and prayed with him.
Burr was very reverent, and always thanked
the clergyman for his services, but would not
disclose his own belief. He died in 1836, in
his eighty-first year, and was buried by the
side of his fathers at Princeton, New Jersey,
CHAPTER VIII
The Missouri Compromise
X
One of the most momentous legislative acts
in the history of America is that known as the
Missouri Compromise. From this point, it may-
be said, the great agitation between the North
and the South on the slavery question took
its rise ; thenceforth it continued to be the
dominant public question for more than forty
years, culminating at last in the great Civil War.
This volume is not intended to be a history
of our national legislation ; its aim is to present
with some detail a few of the strategic points,
the pivots on which the ponderous machinery
of our history has turned.1 With this end in
view, the ordinary doings of Congress are
omitted ; but here and there we find an act
of the National Legislature of such importance
that to omit it would be to do injustice to the
1 See Preface.
148
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE 1 49
object of the book. Among these must be
classed the Missouri Compromise. This was
purely a slavery question ; it is fitting, there-
fore, to give, as an introduction, a brief account
of slavery in America up to that time.
Slavery during the Colonial Period
The enslavement of man by his fellow-man
was almost universal among ancient peoples.
The system in most countries gradually merged
into the serfdom of the Middle Ages, and eventu-
ally disappeared, after being greatly ameliorated
by the influence of Christianity. In ancient
times slavery was usually the result of con-
quest in war. The enslavement of the African
race on commercial grounds had its beginning
in comparatively modern times.
Slavery in the English colonies of North
America dates back to within twelve years of
the founding of the first colony, Virginia ; but
it had existed in Central America and in South
America for more than a century before that,
and in southern Europe for about fifty years
before the discovery of the New World by
Columbus. Not long after the introduction of
150 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
slavery into the colonies, the traffic in slaves
became quite profitable, and was chiefly carried
on by English traders. England was respon-
sible, above all other countries, for slavery in
the United States. At different times the colo-
nies attempted to suppress the slave-trade, but
the British government thwarted them at every
turn — simply because it was a profitable means
of commerce.
As early as 171 2 Pennsylvania passed an
act to restrict the increase of slaves, but it
was annulled by the Crown.1 Fourteen years
later Virginia attempted to check the trade
by laying a tax on imported negroes, but the
colony was soon forced to repeal the law.
South Carolina attempted to restrict the trade
in 1 76 1, and Massachusetts made a similar
attempt ten years later. In each case the
effort was summarily crushed by the British
Crown. The traffic was a source of much
profit to England, and she would listen to no
promptings of humanity in the matter. There
had been founded in England, more than a
century before the Revolution, the Royal
1 Wilson's " Rise and Fall of the Slave Power," Vol. I. p. 4.
•THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE 15 I
African Company, a great monopoly, which
furnished slaves for all the British colonies
throughout the world. Queen Anne owned
one-fourth of the stock in this company during
her reign, and she especially enjoined Parlia-
ment to suffer no interference with the slave-
trade.
Thus England, while not permitting slavery
on her home soil, not only encouraged, but
enforced it, in her colonies. But the mother
country was not alone to blame for the in-
crease of the traffic in North America. The
colonists purchased the slaves ; if they had
not, the traffic would have died out. Vir-
ginians made the first settlement in North
Carolina, and took their slaves with them.
Sir John Yeamans introduced them into South
Carolina from the Barbadoes, and from South
Carolina they were carried into Georgia.
The Society of Friends, or Quakers, took
the lead in opposing slavery, beginning about
1688. The Pennsylvania Germans also en-
tered their protest against the evil at an
early date. John Wesley called slavery the
sum of all villanies. At the time of the
152 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Revolution all the colonies but one, Massachu
setts, had slaves. The Continental Congress of
1774 pronounced against the slave-trade. This
was repeated two years later, only three
months before the Declaration of Indepen-
dence. The people were so jubilant over their
own prospects of freedom that they were dis-
posed to extend the blessings of liberty to
their slaves ; but this feeling was temporary
with many, and subsided after the war was
over. Jefferson in writing the Declaration
of Independence put in a clause condemning
the slave-trade, but South Carolina and Georgia
demanded that it be struck out, and it was
done. But they could not prevent that grand
sentiment in the Declaration : " All men are
created equal " — not equal in mental gifts
nor in worldly station, but equal in their right
to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
If the colonists had followed out that noble
principle, it would have freed every slave in
America ; and indeed it did furnish a power-
ful weapon in the hands of the opponents of
slavery down to its overthrow in the sixties.
Soon after the Revolution the northern
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE 1 55
States took hold of the matter and began to
emancipate, Pennsylvania leading in 1780.
Virginia came very near it two years before.
New Hampshire became a free state in 1784,
New York in 1799, and so on until all the
northern States had abolished slavery. New
Jersey had a few left as late as 1840.
In 1787 an ordinance was framed for gov-
erning the territory northwest of the Ohio
River, afterward Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and
Michigan. In this document, known as " The
Ordinance of 1787," slavery was forever pro-
hibited in that territory. Had it not been for
this prohibition Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois
would no doubt have become slave States, as
they were largely settled by emigrants from
Virginia and Kentucky.1 Even then efforts
were made by Governor William Henry Harri-
son and others to break down that ordinance
and to make Indiana and Illinois slave
States ; but they were not successful.
In 1784 Jefferson introduced in the old
Congress a similar ordinance to prohibit slavery
in the new States south of the Ohio, afterward
1 Wilson's "Rise and Fall of the Slave Power," Vol. I. p. 163.
154 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, etc. Had
this motion carried and been effective, how
great would have been the results ; slavery
would have been confined to the few Atlantic
States in the South, and would no doubt have
died a natural death. This would have pre-
vented the seventy years of slavery agitation
and the great Civil War. But the measure
was lost by one vote.1 A member from New
Jersey who would have voted for it was
absent, and for want of his vote the measure
was lost. Thus the entire course of our
history was changed by the absence of one
man from Congress on a certain day in 1784!
Here let me say a word about the slave-
trade, especially the smuggling trade. This
was certainly one of the most nefarious pieces
of business ever carried on. A vessel would
go to the African coast and secure a cargo of
negroes. These were packed in the ship
almost like sardines in a box, and so inhuman
was the treatment that sometimes thirty per
cent of them died before reaching America.
A smuggling vessel, pursued, would sometimes
1 Greeley's "American Conflict," Vol. I. p. 163.
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE 1 55
throw its entire cargo of negroes overboard !
This occurred on various occasions. But when
a smuggling ship was caught, it seldom brought
relief to the poor blacks, as the laws were
persistently against them, and often a whole
cargo of negroes was sold to pay the cost of
investigation. There was always a way found
to enslave the black man; sending him back
to his home in Africa, or giving him his free-
dom in this country was almost unheard of.
A committee of Congress recommended that a
free colored man on trial and proving him-
self free, must pay the cost of the trial, and
if unable to do so must be sold into slavery
to defray the expenses ! But fortunately this
did not become a law.
Slavery under the Constitution
A majority of the makers of the Constitution
would gladly have seen slavery abolished in all
parts of the country where it still existed ; but
this was not possible, for some of the southern
States had come to believe that slavery was
necessary to their prosperity. It was plain that
no Union could be formed if the Constitution
156 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
were so framed as to interfere with the right to
hold property in slaves. Not only did the Con-
stitution recognize the right of property in
slaves ; it forbade Congress to prohibit the for-
eign slave-trade before the year 1808.1 This
prohibition is part of one of the compromises
of that instrument.
In 1806 President Jefferson congratulated
Congress on the near approach of the time
when the traffic could be shut off. Accord-
ingly when the time came Congress prohibited
the African trade under stringent laws. It is
fair to the South to say here that the southern
States had prohibited the trade, each in its own
borders, long before. South Carolina, however,
had reopened it in 1803, and in the five remain-
ing years imported forty thousand negroes.
The people in the North and many in the
South now fondly believed that this National
prohibition of 1808 had severed the artery of
slavery itself, and that the whole system would
disappear in time in the South as it had in the
North. They were therefore lulled to quiet
on the subject, and there was little' slavery
1 See Chapter II.
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE 1 57
agitation for ten years. But their hope was a
delusion. The cotton-gin, which rendered the
laborious work of separating the cotton fibre
from the seed rapid and easy, made the raising
of cotton the greatest industry in America, and
slave-labor was thought to be essential to its
continuance. More slaves were needed, but
they could not be had from Africa except by
smuggling. The new cotton States opening up
along the Mississippi were greatly in need of
more slaves, while Virginia had too many.
Hence the interstate slave-trade was established.
The Louisiana Purchase added a vast ter-
ritory beyond the Mississippi to our public
domain. Soon after the War of 1812, this terri-
tory began to be settled, and the great ques-
tion now arose — slavery or no slavery in
the Great West ? Missouri being the first
of the trans-Mississippi Territories to apply
for statehood, became the battle-ground, and
upon the Missouri question the slavery ques-
tion for the West was fought out. But the
slaveholders stole a march by settling the Mis-
souri Territory and taking their slaves with
them. When the petition, therefore, came to
158 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
the Fifteenth Congress that Missouri be ad-
mitted into the Union, it was as a slave State.
It was believed that there would be little
objection, but the majority of the people of the
North were becoming alarmed at the powerful
hold with which slavery was fastening itself
upon the country. It was clearly seen that
slavery admitted into Missouri without protest
meant slavery in the whole Louisiana Purchase.
It must be opposed. Who will lead the oppo-
sition ?
There was a young man in Congress from
New York named James Talmadge. This was
his first and only term in Congress. He it was
that rose and moved to strike out the slavery
clause from the Missouri bill. He was a youth
of burning eloquence, and in the speech with
which he supported his motion he electrified
the House and the nation. 1 Old men were
reminded of the marvellous eloquence of Fisher
Ames in 1 796. Talmadge was not alone ; he
had a powerful fellow-worker in John W. Tay-
lor, also of New York, and afterward speaker
of the House. The whole South was instantly
1Schouler's " History of the United States," Vol. III. p. 134.
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE 1 59
arrayed on the opposite side. During this
debate, a slave-driver with a gang of negroes
passed the open windows of the Capitol, and
the clank of chains, the crack of the whip, and
the oaths of the driver gave great effect to the
speeches in favor of freedom. These two, Tal-
madge and Taylor, piloted the amendment
through the House, but it was defeated in the
Senate and left over to the next Congress.
The question was thus thrown open to the
public ; but the people were not in a position to
act at an advantage, as the election of the new
Congress had already taken place. Neverthe-
less they made themselves heard. The people
of the North had grown listless on the slavery
subject in the belief that the status of the in-
stitution was settled, and that no attempt would
be made to increase the number of slave States.
But the Missouri question roused them from
their lethargy. Great meetings were held in the
cities, towns, villages, everywhere. Resolutions
were passed branding slavery as a moral and
political evil, avowing that it should encroach
no farther on free soil, and calling on Congress
to prohibit it in Missouri. State legislatures
l6o SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
passed similar resolutions ; and the subject
was discussed in public speeches, sermons,
pamphlets, and newspapers on all sides.
From south of Mason and Dixon's line we
hear a different voice. The people of the
South took the other side of the question, and
spoke with a decision equal to that of the
North. They said that Congress had no
right to prohibit slavery in any State, that
Missouri would not stand on equal footing
with the other States if not allowed to man-
age her own affairs. They argued further
that if slavery was an evil, why not thin it
out by spreading it over more territory ?
The two sections, the North and the South,
had thus begun to array themselves on op-
posite sides. It is true the beginnings of
their differences date back to Revolutionary
times, but they assumed serious proportions
only with the rise of the Missouri question ;
yet none could foretell that this was but the
preliminary skirmish of a long and dreadful
conflict that must eventually drench the land
in blood.
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE l6l
The Sixteenth Congress
The Sixteenth Congress stands out as a
landmark in our history on account of its
one great measure — the Missouri Compro-
mise. The first session of this Congress be-
gan in December, 1819, and the great question
at once came up for a final solution. The pre-
ceding Congress had grappled with the sub-
ject, as we have noticed, but the two Houses
had failed to agree, and the new Congress
was also divided. Talmadge was not now a
member, and Taylor became the champion for
free Missouri. The debates, covering several
months, were very able in both House and
Senate. With much ability Taylor piloted
through the House a motion to prohibit sla-
very in Missouri. The leaders of the other
side were Henry Clay, the speaker, Charles
Pinckney, a framer of the Constitution, John
Tyler, a future President, and William Lowndes,
one of the most brilliant men of the South.
Again was the Missouri Bill sent to the Sen-
ate, with the clause admitting slavery struck
out. Here the debates even surpassed those
1 62 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
of the House. The leader on the slave side
was William Pinkney of Maryland, said to
have been the greatest lawyer in America — a
distinction afterward held by Daniel Webster.
Pinkney's speech on the subject was one of
the greatest ever made in the Senate. It was
answered by Rufus King of New York, the
venerable statesman whose public career dated
back to the Revolution.
Now the Senate was balanced and had been
from the beginning of the Government, half
from slave States and half from free States ;
but there were a few " Northern men with
Southern principles," as they were called, who
were ever ready to help the slaveholders. At
this time there were three, one from Indiana
and the two from Illinois, who could be
counted on to aid the South when needed.
When the bill, therefore, to admit Missouri
passed the Senate, the amendment to prohibit
slavery was again struck out; and the House
again voted to disagree. Thus the two Houses
had reached a deadlock, and it seemed that
nothing could be done.
It happened at this time that Maine was
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE 163
also seeking admission to the Union. The
territory of Maine had belonged to Massa-
chusetts from colonial times. After many
fruitless efforts to obtain a separation from
Massachusetts, the latter had at last given
her consent, on the condition, however, that
Maine be admitted to the Union before the
fourth of March, 1820.1 The time limit was
drawing near, and the people of Maine were
clamoring for admission ; but the Missouri
question was still unsettled, and this was ab-
sorbing the whole attention.
The Senate now adopted a new plan ; it
united the Missouri and Maine bills into one.
It is a principle in our National legislation
that a bill, however incongruous its parts,
cannot be separated by one House of Con-
gress after it leaves the other. Thus the
House could not admit Maine into the Union
without admitting Missouri also, with slavery.
Before this twofold measure left the Senate,
however, Senator Thomas of Illinois, who had
steadily voted with the South, moved that sla-
very be henceforth prohibited in the Louisi-
1 MacMaster, Vol. IV. p. 581.
1 64 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
ana Purchase north of thirty-six degrees and
thirty minutes north latitude — except, of
course, in Missouri, which lies north of that
line. This was the famous Missouri Compro-
mise. It was thrown as a bait to the North
in the hope that the House would thus be led
to pass the measure and admit Missouri with
slavery.
Late in February this Maine-Missouri bill
was sent to the House ; but that body refused
to consider it. The Senate then asked for a
conference, and a joint committee of the two
Houses was appointed. Speaker Clay was
careful to appoint men from the House who
favored slavery in Missouri ; and this com-
mittee soon agreed to report the measure as
it had passed the Senate, including the thirty-
six-thirty amendment of Senator Thomas.
The Lower House had been gradually
weakening, but it was still hard to yield. It
did so, however, and the bill was passed,
signed by President Monroe, and became law
on March 3, 1820. The members from the
North who voted for the bill were called
" Doughfaces " by John Randolph, and this
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE 165
term was used for many years thereafter to
designate a " Northern man with Southern
principles."
Missouri, however, was not finally admitted
to the Union at this time, owing to the fact that
her people in framing a constitution forbade
free negroes on her soil, and also forbade any
future legislature to pass any law emancipating
slaves without the consent of the owners. To
this Congress refused to agree, the old strife
was renewed and kept up for another year,
when the State was at last admitted on the con-
dition that the obnoxious features be expunged
from her constitution.
The Missouri Compromise was a victory for
the South. The North had grown weary of
the long strife that promised no victory, and
had yielded, partly because of the difficulty
that would have been involved in removing
the slaves already in Missouri. This compro-
mise has often been called Clay's Compromise ;
but there is no warrant for this, and Clay him-
self often wondered why he should be considered
its author. It is true Clay favored settling the
matter in this way, and he appointed the House
1 66 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
committee that made the report; but he was
not more instrumental than some others in
bringing about the final result. The Missouri
Compromise was born with great tribulation ;
but it brought peace to the land on the
slavery subject for several years. It remained
unbroken for thirty-four years, when it was re-
pealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Bill of Stephen
A. Douglas. This will be treated in a later
chapter.
CHAPTER IX
The Monroe Doctrine
James Monroe was President of the United
States from 1817 to 1825. He has been called
the last and least of the great Virginians. His
administration is remembered in our history as
the "era of good feeling," as, in a century of
political storm, the one period of calm in which
party lines were obliterated. Monroe also holds
the distinction of having been the only Presi-
dent except Washington whose election was
practically unanimous.1
As a statesman, President Monroe must be
ranked below all his predecessors and many of
1 In the election of 1816 Monroe received one hundred
and eighty-three electoral votes to thirty-four for Rufus King.
In 1820 all the electors voted for Monroe save one, a Mr.
Plumer of New Hampshire, who voted for John Quincy
Adams on the ground, as he said, that Washington alone
should bear the honor of a unanimous election.
167
1 68 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
his successors in the presidential office; yet it
is true that his name is known more familiarly
to-day in foreign countries than that of any
other of our early Presidents except the name
of Washington. This is because of the fact that
his name is inseparably linked with the famous
principle in our foreign policy known as the
Monroe Doctrine.
How this Doctrine Originated
The Monroe Doctrine has its root in Wash-
ington's Farewell Address of a quarter of a
century before the declaration by Monroe ;
and indeed the germs of it may be found in
his Proclamation of Neutrality of a still earlier
date. In the Farewell Address, Washington
urged that America stand aloof from the politi-
cal broils of Europe. A few years later, Jef-
ferson, in his first inaugural address, warned
against "entangling alliances" with foreign
nations. This attitude of non-interference in
matters wholly European expanded until it
included a determination to oppose all Euro-
pean interference in affairs wholly American.
This doctrine had become a settled policy in
THE MONROE DOCTRINE 1 69
the public mind, and needed only an occasion
to call forth a declaration of it from the high-
est authority. This occasion arose in 1823,
when, in his annual message to Congress
(December 2), President Monroe gave utter-
ance to the " doctrine" that has since been
called by his name.
It is generally asserted that the " Holy Alli-
ance " was formed in Europe for the purpose
of assisting Spain to reduce her rebellious
South American colonies to submission ; but
the fact is, this alliance was simply a joint
resolution of the sovereigns of Russia, Austria,
and Prussia to rule their respective countries
in strict accordance with the principles of the
Christian religion. It was an outburst of
religious enthusiasm occasioned by the fall of
Napoleon at Waterloo, and there is no proof
that any ulterior motives entered into the
agreement.1
It was these same three powers, however,
that met in conference at Verona in October,
1822, to consider plans to put down an insur-
rection in Spain and to aid that country in
1 See MacMaster's " With the P'athers," p. 2.
170 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
reducing the South American Republics. They
had met two years before for the purpose of
crushing out the spirit of freedom in Naples,
and an Austrian army had succeeded in do-
ing this. Now they turned their attention
to Spain. England was represented at this
Verona conference, and she entered her ear-
nest protest against any interference in South
America. Two reasons may be given for this
stand taken by England — first, she was be-
yond a doubt farther advanced in her ideas
of liberty and of human rights than were the
continental countries, and second, she had im-
portant commercial interests with the South
American Republics which she desired should
not be disturbed.
The power of Spain had been greatly re-
duced by Napoleon I., and she was no longer
able to govern her colonies. These colonies
in the Western World, except Cuba, had re-
volted against the mother country, and after
a revolutionary war of more than ten years
were in 1822 recognized as independent repub-
lics by our own country. Before the close of
that year the Verona Congress met, and the
THE MONROE DOCTRINE 171
three monarchs who had entered into the
Holy Alliance, ever vigilant to uphold abso-
lutism as against natural human rights and
liberties, proposed to aid Spain in subjugating
her western possessions.
In August, 1823, Mr. Canning, the English
minister of foreign affairs, proposed to Mr.
Richard Rush, our minister at the Court of
St. James, that Great Britain and the United
States issue a joint declaration in opposition
to the designs of the allied powers. Mr. Rush
fully agreed with Canning that something
should be done to save the new republics from
reenslavement, but he had no instructions to
act. He wrote a full account of the whole
matter to President Monroe, who, after care-
ful deliberation, and after asking the opinions
and receiving the written approval of both
Jefferson and Madison, decided to embody
the general public sentiment on the subject in
his message to Congress, which was soon to
meet. In his annual message, therefore, we
find these words: —
" In the wars of the European Powers in
matters relating to themselves we have never
172 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
taken any part, nor does it comport with our
policy to do so. . . . We 'owe it, therefore, to
candor, and to the amicable relations existing
between the United States and those Powers,
to declare that we should consider any attempt
on their part to extend their system to any
portion of this hemisphere as dangerotis to our
peace and safety. With the existing colonies
or dependencies of any European Power we
have not interfered and shall not interfere ;
but with the Governments who have declared
their independence and maintained it, and
whose independence we have acknowledged,
we could not view any interposition for the
purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in
any other manner their destiny, by any Euro-
pean Power, in any other light than as the
manifestation of an unfriendly disposition to-
ward the United States."
This is the famous Monroe Doctrine. Its
secondary immediate object was to stop the
colonizing of the Pacific coast by Russia,
which had been going on for some time.
John Quincy Adams had expressed the same
thought in very similar language, some time
THE MONROE DOCTRINE 173
before, in a letter to Mr. Rush; and it is gen
erally believed that Adams wrote this part of
Monroe's message. But be that as it may,
the "doctrine" took the name of Monroe, and
so it will ever be known in history.
When this message was promulgated, the
English people rejoiced ; but their joy was
mild compared with that in South America.
No more was heard of the unholy alliance in
Europe. From that day to the present the
free republics of South and Central America
have basked in the favor, and lived under the
protection from foreign conquest, of the Great
Republic of the North ; and but for that pro-
tection most or all of them would no doubt
ere this have been reduced to the vassalage
of some European Power.
The Monroe Doctrine in Operation
Since the declaration of President Monroe
in 1823, there have been many occasions on
which this American policy has been called into
service, a few of which we shall briefly notice.
The earliest opportunity for an international
discussion of the Monroe Doctrine was offered
174 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
through the Panama Congress, which met in
1826. This congress was arranged by Mexico
and the countries of South America, and one
of its objects was to form an alliance to carry
the new doctrine into effect when any occasion
might arise. The United States was warmly
invited to join with them. John Quincy Adams,
who was then President, and Henry Clay, his
secretary of state, agreed that our Government
should be represented, and Mr. Adams sent a
message to the Senate, urging that ministers
be appointed for the purpose. But there was
much opposition to this in the Senate, not be-
cause the members disapproved of the Monroe
Doctrine, but rather because Mr. Adams was
not popular in that body ; and besides, the
Panama Congress proposed to discuss some
things (such as the recognition of the negro
republic of Hayti and the suppression of the
slave-trade) which would be offensive to the
southern States. The Senate, therefore, dis-
puted about the 'matter so long that when two
ministers were finally appointed, it was so late
that on reaching Panama they found that the
Congress had adjourned.
THE MONROE DOCTRINE 1 75
Nearly twenty years later the Monroe Doc-
trine was prominently called into service in set-
tling the Oregon boundary. In 1845 President
Polk, in his message to Congress concerning
this disputed boundary, made reference to the
doctrine in these words : " In the existing cir-
cumstances . . . the present is deemed a proper
occasion to reiterate and reaffirm the principle
avowed by Mr. Monroe, and to state my cordial
concurrence in its wisdom and sound policy."
Three years later another occasion of very
different character arose. The peninsula of
Yucatan had been greatly disturbed by a war
between the white people and the Indians.
The white population at length appealed to
England, Spain, and the United States for
protection, and offered "the dominion and sov-
ereignty" of the peninsula to any one of the
three that would grant the necessary aid.
President Polk, without waiting the action of
either of the European nations, made a direct
application of the Monroe Doctrine, quoting
Mr. Monroe's exact words. This was certainly
applying the doctrine in the broadest possible
sense. No European nation was making an
176 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
effort to colonize or extend its political sys-
tem in the New World. On the other hand,
an oppressed people, struggling for existence,
had called on two of them for help.1 Yet
Polk made a direct application of the declara-
tion of President Monroe. It is notable that
in the debate in the Senate which followed,
John C. Calhoun, the only surviving member
of Monroe's cabinet, took strong ground against
the general application of the Monroe Doc-
trine. Before any action was taken the people
of Yucatan settled their troubles, and the whole
matter came to an end.
To trace the application of the Monroe Doc-
trine in its bearing on the proposed canal across
the Isthmus of Panama or Nicaragua, would
require far more space than can be given it
here. We can only make a few general state-
ments. As early as 1846 the United States
Government made a treaty with New Granada
(now the United States of Colombia), in which
the latter granted the United States the right
of way across the Isthmus of Panama. Three
years later the republic of Nicaragua granted
1 MacMaster's " With the Fathers," p. 32.
THE MONROE DOCTRINE 1 77
us a similar right to construct a canal across
that country. Another treaty soon followed,
that known as the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, ar-
ranged in April, 1850, by Mr. Clayton, sec-
retary of state under President Taylor, and
Sir Henry Bulwer, representing Great Britain.
The Clayton-Bulwer treaty was brought about
by the English claims to the Mosquito Coast
of Nicaragua. It provided that neither govern-
ment " will ever obtain or maintain for itself any
exclusive control over the proposed ship canal "
across Nicaragua, nor colonize nor exercise do-
minion over any part of Central America. Soon
after the treaty was ratified, a dispute arose
over its provisions, and this delayed for sev-
eral years any commencement of the great
project. Then came the American Civil War
and its train of difficulties, and nearly twenty
years more elapsed before anything was done.
In 1879 Ferdinand de Lesseps of France
organized a company for the construction of
a canal across Panama ; but this called forth a
declaration from our Congress of the Monroe
Doctrine. This was repeated in substance by
President Garfield, in his inaugural address,
178 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
and soon after by Mr. Blaine, his secretary
of state.
Before the close of the year 1881 the Clay-
ton-Bulwer treaty was again under discussion ;
and Mr. Blaine plainly informed the British
Government that this country could no longer
be bound by the provisions of that treaty,
because the conditions that called it forth
were temporary in their nature, and because
the development of the Pacific coast had vastly
increased the interest of the United States, and
greatly changed the relative interest between
this country and Great Britain.
Without pursuing this subject further, let it
suffice to state that President McKinley, in
1897, appointed a Nicaragua Canal Commis-
sion to survey a route across Nicaragua by
way of the San Juan River, beginning at Grey-
town. This commission, with a company of
engineers and surveyors, began its work in
December of the same year.
A ship canal across the isthmus at Panama
or through Nicaragua is a certainty for the
future. It will cost many millions of dollars
and a vast amount of labor, but the great
THE MONROE DOCTRINE 1 79
advantage it would be to commerce would
repay all the cost. The present settled con-
viction of the American people is that any
such canal between the two Americas should
be and must be controlled by the United States ;
and this conviction is an outgrowth of the gen-
eral acceptance of the Monroe Doctrine.
Cuba and Mexico
Cuba, the " Gem of the Antilles," is an island
of exceedingly fertile soil, and is about the size
of the State of Tennessee. When the other
Spanish-American colonies rebelled against the
mother country and won their independence,
Cuba remained faithful, and has ever since
been considered the most valuable colonial
possession of Spain. But Spain has been
wofully deficient in her government of the
island, and its history for many years has
been the history of disorder and rebellion.
Within two years after the first promulga-
tion of the Monroe Doctrine it was applied
in the case of Cuba. In 1825 a French fleet
appeared among the West India Islands, and
it was believed that France had designs on
I So SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Cuba; whereupon Henry Clay, the secretary
of state, immediately wrote our minister at
Paris that, while the United States was not
disposed to interfere with the Spanish pos-
session of the island, under no consideration
could we permit any other nation to gain con-
trol of it. The French government disavowed
any intention of such an object, and practically
concurred with Mr. Clay's views concerning the
possession of the island.
President Polk in 1848 directed our minister
at Madrid to ascertain if Spain would sell
the island ; but the reply received was that
the people of Spain, rather than see the
island transferred to any other nation, would
prefer to see it sunk into the ocean.
In 1850 an adventurer named Narcisco
Lopez fitted out an expedition in the United
States for the purpose of attacking Cuba. He
landed on the island, but was disappointed in
his belief that the Cubans would join his
standard and make an effort to wrest the
island from Spanish dominion. Lopez was
soon driven off, and the next year, when
engaged in a similar expedition with a follow-
THE MONROE DOCTRINE l8l
ing of about five hundred men, he was over-
powered and captured with his entire force.
Most of the leaders were put to death, Lopez
himself being garroted in the public square of
Havana. It was afterward found that Lopez
had been abetted and furnished money by
some of the leading men of the South, the
object being to annex Cuba to this country
for the purpose of increasing slave territory.
This brought forth the proposal by England and
France of a tripartite agreement that neither of
those countries nor the United States should
ever take possession of Cuba. But this was
declined by the United States on the ground
that Cuba lies right at our doors, commands
the approach to the Gulf of Mexico, and that
the United States in signing such an agreement
would be sacrificing a great deal more than
either of the other countries ; and besides, such
an agreement would be entering into a political
alliance contrary to American practice.
Next followed a declaration known as the
Ostend Manifesto. This was made by our
three ministers1 at London, Paris, and Madrid
1 James Buchanan, John Y. Mason, and Pierre Soule.
1 82 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
respectively. They met at Ostend, Belgium,
and in the declaration put forth they stated
that Cuba should by all means come into the
possession of the United States. The ten
years' war in Cuba, 1868-1878, and the later
revolt against the mother country, beginning
in February, 1895, and resulting in the inter-
vention by the United States and our conse-
quent war with Spain, do not come under a
discussion of the Monroe Doctrine.
The political turmoil in Mexico during the
present century has been greater even than
that of Cuba, if such a thing is possible.
The continual strife between the Liberal party
and the Church party actually gave rise to
thirty-six forms of government within thirty-
three years ! 1 In 1 860 three European coun-
tries, Great Britain, France, and Spain, decided
on armed intervention in Mexico. President
Buchanan in his last annual message protested
against this, and recommended the employ-
ment of a military force to prevent it. But
the Civil War broke out, and America had
enough to engage its full attention for several
1 Tucker's " Monroe Doctrine," p. 92.
THE MONROE DOCTRINE 1 83
years. Meantime the three powers proceeded
to land an army in Mexico ; but first they
signed an agreement not to acquire any terri-
tory for themselves, nor to dictate any form
of government for Mexico ; their only object,
they said, was to enforce payment of their
just claims upon that country. Scarcely, how-
ever, had the armies landed when it was dis-
covered that the object of Napoleon III.,
Emperor of France, was, in violation of the
agreement, to establish an empire in Mexico
and to seat the Austrian Prince Maximilian
on the throne. England and Spain instantly
withdrew, and France was left to make the
conquest alone. As this progressed Europe
rejoiced at what was supposed to be the down-
fall of the Monroe Doctrine. The English
Government, which had now come to hate that
doctrine, joined in the rejoicing. Napoleon
was congratulated for doing a great service
for the world. The Westminster Review said;
" The occupation of Mexico is the extinction
of the Monroe Doctrine. That doctrine, it
must be owned, is both absurd and arrogant
in theory and practice."
1 84 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
But they reckoned without their host. The
American Civil War came to an end ; and the
United States Government had no thought of
abandoning the principle laid down by Monroe.
During the war Napoleon had sought to have
his new empire recognized by this country,
but Secretary Seward informed him in the
name of President Lincoln that this country
favored a republican form of government in
Mexico, and that if France ignored that
American sentiment, she would but prepare
the way for a collision between that country
and the United States. Still Napoleon re-
fused to understand, and in the summer of
1865, soon after the surrender of Lee at
Appomattox, the President sent General Sheri-
dan to the banks of the Rio Grande with fifty
thousand veteran troops. Thus for the first
time the Monroe Doctrine was backed up with
an army. This kind of argument was quite
convincing to Napoleon, and the result was
the French troops were all withdrawn within
a year.
But the foolish Maximilian still clung to
his newly acquired throne. He was now with-
THE MONROE DOCTRINE 1 85
out an army, without protection, and he had
not won the hearts of his new subjects. The
Mexicans soon rose against him, overpowered,
and took him captive. He was condemned by
a court-martial, and was shot to death in 1867.
It is needless to say that since then no
European power has attempted the conquest
of Mexico.
Venezuela
The application a few years ago of the
Monroe Doctrine to the Venezuelan boundary
dispute is still fresh in the memory of all.
Never before in our history had its applica-
tion caused such a profound sensation through-
out the world. Never before were the Powers
of Europe so thoroughly, so suddenly, convinced
that the old doctrine is a living thing, and
that the determination of the American people
is to stand by it at all hazards.
The boundary dispute between Venezuela
and British Guiana had been pending for
more than half a century. In 1840 a botanist
and surveyor named Schomburgk, in the ser-
vice of the British Government, made a survey
1 86 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
of the valley of the Essequibo River, and
claimed the entire basin of the river for Eng-
land. Against this Schomburgk line, as it
was called, Venezuela made an earnest pro-
test. A few years later Lord Aberdeen con-
sented to a new boundary line less pretentious
than the former; and in 1850 the two coun-
tries agreed not to occupy nor encroach upon
the disputed territory. For many years after
this agreement had been made the boundary
dispute was left to slumber. In 1876 the
subject was again brought up, and Venezuela
offered to accept a compromise line; but the
British Government now took the ground that
the disputed territory belonged to that country
alone " by virtue of ancient treaties with the
native races." These " native races " are
supposed to have been Indian tribes which had
no right to make any such treaties; and fur-
ther, England had not owned the colony pre-
vious to 18 14, when it was received from
Holland. How then could there be "ancient
treaties " brought forth to settle the dispute ?
Venezuela now offered to accept the line
offered by Lord Aberdeen in 1844, but Eng-
THE MONROE DOCTRINE 1 87
land claimed that so many British subjects
had settled in the disputed territory that it
was impossible to deprive them of the benefits
of British rule. Great Britain betrayed the
weakness of her claim by refusing Venez-
uela's offer to leave the whole matter to
arbitration. All diplomatic relations were
broken off between the two countries in 1887,
and this was the state of affairs when in
1895 the United States decided to interfere.
Nothing was plainer than that the English
Government, regarding Venezuela too weak to
successfully resist, had decided to seize part of
the latter's territory. This was a palpable
infraction of the Monroe Doctrine. The terri-
tory in dispute comprised one hundred and nine
thousand square miles — a tract larger than all
the New England States combined. Thus
matters stood when in 1895 Mr. Olney, secre-
tary of state under Cleveland, wrote Lord
Salisbury through our minister at London that
the American Government was unwilling to
stand by and see Venezuela despoiled of her
territory, that in accordance with the Monroe
Doctrine we must insist on arbitration. The
1 88 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
reply of Salisbury was a stunning one. He
boldly asserted that he did not accept the
Monroe Doctrine, that "no statesman, however
eminent, and no nation, however powerful, are
competent to insert so novel a principle into
the code of international law."
This could not be misunderstood. A crisis was
at hand, a supreme test of the Monroe Doc-
trine. America must back down and abandon
its time-honored doctrine, its championship of
republican government, of human rights, or
make a defiant stand against the British
Empire.
Would the two great Anglo-Saxon nations of
the world go to war over so trifling a matter
as a little boundary dispute in South America ?
How could the United States justify itself for
the vast sacrifice of men and treasure that a
war with so great a nation would occasion ?
And, further, the Venezuelans are scarcely
capable of self-government, nor are we so
nearly related to them as to the English. Why
should we take any such stand in the matter ?
The fact is there was a principle at stake.
Had we yielded in that crisis, we would have
THE MONROE DOCTRINE 189
thereby abandoned our time-honored Monroe
Doctrine. The New World would have thus
been reopened to European colonization, and
no one could foretell what might have been the
final result. It would probably have been the
beginning of the end of popular self-government
in Central and South America. Our people
were almost unanimous in their determination
to maintain our cherished doctrine at any cost,
and our President was equal to the occasion.
It was on December 17, 1895, that President
Cleveland startled the world with his famous
message to Congress. In that message the
President speaks thus of the Monroe Doc-
trine : " It was intended to apply to every
stage of our national life, and cannot become
obsolete while our Republic endures." This
was investing the doctrine with a permanence
by an authority equal to that which first
proclaimed it. A European power was plainly
trying to extend her system of government on
this continent, and this Monroe had pronounced
"dangerous to our peace and safety." Cleve-
land's message continues : " Having labored
faithfully for many years to induce Great
190 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Britain to submit this dispute to impartial
arbitration, and having been now finally ap-
prised of her refusal to do so, nothing remains
but to accept the situation." The President
then proposes that a commission be appointed
to ascertain the rightful boundary between
British Guiana and Venezuela, and to report
the same to Congress. He then continues :
"When such report is made and accepted, it
will, in my opinion, be the duty of the United
States to resist by every means in its power "
the wilful aggression and appropriation of lands
by Great Britain, which we have determined of
right belong to Venezuela.
This message was unequivocal; none could
mistake its meaning. England was startled at
its suddenness, its positive tone, and still
more at the unanimity of the support given
it by the people. It was said in Europe that
Great Britain had not received such a back-
setting in a hundred years. Congress forgot its
party differences and voted without debate and
without division one hundred thousand dollars
to defray the expenses of the commission to be
appointed. But to the joy of all, the British
THE MONROE DOCTRINE
IQI
Government receded from its position, left the
disputed boundary to arbitration, and all danger
of hostilities soon passed away. It is safe to
say that the Monroe Doctrine is now more
deeply imbedded in the American heart than
ever before, and there is little donbt that it
will be a long time before any European power
will again attempt to trample it under foot.
Remarks on the Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine has a twofold object:
first, it guards against that which may be
" dangerous to our peace and safety" namely,
European encroachment on American soil ; and
second, it protects democratic government in the
Western Hemisphere. Both find a ready re-
sponse in the liberty-loving hearts of the
American people. What the Balance of Power
is to the Old World the Monroe Doctrine is to
the New. This doctrine is not a part of inter-
national law, nor has it even been placed
upon the statutes in our own country. Three
times was the attempt made to have Congress
give it legal sanction. In 1824, Henry Clay
sought to have Congress sanction what Monroe
192 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
had said the year before. Again in 1879, and
still again in 1880, similar attempts were made;
but in each case, for partisan or other reason,
it failed of passage.
An act of Congress, however, would give
little additional value to the doctrine. It is
the business of Congress to carry out the
policies of the people, not to shape them.
President Monroe was not the author of the
doctrine that bears his name ; he simply
voiced the sentiment of the people, and the
people are supreme in this Government. The
Monroe Doctrine is, therefore, not a law; it is
a fact, it is a declaration of an attitude taken
by this Government with reference to the re-
lations of European Powers to the republics
of this hemisphere.
The question is sometimes asked : What right
have we to take such a stand in this matter ?
Surely as much right as Europe has to maintain
the Balance of Power — as much right as the
European nations had to interfere in the recent
Graeco-Turkish War.- The Monroe Doctrine
will stand as long as the American people have
the power and the inclination to maintain k.
'X
CHAPTER X
Lafayette's Visit
The visit of General Lafayette to the
United States in 1824, nearly half a century
after he had so generously aided the strug-
gling colonies to win their freedom, was a
memorable event, and has scarcely a parallel
in history. During the darkest hours of the
Revolution, when the patriot cause seemed
waning, and only the most sanguine could
discern the coming dawn, this young noble-
man had left his home of luxury and royal
favor to offer his life and his fortunes to the
holy cause of liberty. The chief motive of
the French Government in rendering assist-
ance to America in that struggle was not the
noblest of motives — it was largely a dislike
of England. But this cannot be said of La-
fayette. However he may have disliked Eng-
land, his true motive in coming arose from his
o 193
194 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
inborn love of liberty. After suffering the
hardships of colonial warfare for several
years, commanding armies as a major-gen-
eral, living in the closest intimacy with Wash-
ington, whom he loved as a father, and being
present at last when Cornwallis surrendered
his army, this doughty Frenchman, still in the
ardor of youth, returned to his native land
feeling that he had struck an effective blow
in the cause of freedom. He soon became
one of the most prominent national figures in
his native land, and spent most of his long
life in the turmoils of French politics. He
was in the midst of the storm when the Rev-
olution swept the French dynasty from the
throne ; five years he spent in an Austrian
prison. He often said that he was not only a
Frenchman, but also an American citizen. He
has been called the man of two worlds, and
he deserved above all men to be so called.
Vast changes had taken place in America
since the close of the war for independence.
The Republic was no longer an experiment ;
it had now taken its place among the great
nations of the world. The tide of emigration
LAFAYETTE'S VISIT 1 95
had swept over the Appalachian Mountains
and taken possession of the Mississippi Val-
ley; and beyond the Father of Waters, a ter-
ritory of unknown bounds had been added
to the public domain and awaited the com-
ing of the pioneer. It was upon this new
America that the eyes of the aged Lafayette
rested when he made this final visit to the
land which he had so loved in his youth.
But he came not as a stranger to a land of
strangers; he came as a friend, as a brother,
to revisit a people whom, in his long absence,
he had never ceased to love.
A Nation's Welcome.
The joyful welcome, the universal homage,
with which General Lafayette was received
by the American people have never been
equalled before nor since in our history. The
few remaining soldiers of the Revolution, now
tottering with age, gathered around him, and
their eyes were bathed in tears as they beheld
his benignant face and recalled the memories
of the past. Men and women, youths and
maidens, left their homes and hastened to the
196 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
cities which he visited to look upon the coun-
tenance of this hero of a past generation, and
to join in the universal shout of welcome.
Lafayette had been cordially invited to
visit our country, and he -expected a warm
welcome ; but he had not counted on such
an unreserved outburst of joyful acclamation
from the whole people. He had expected to
land quietly and engage private lodgings ; but
when he found that he was to be a public
guest, that the people had made the most
elaborate preparations to do him honor, he
was overcome with emotion. His eyes flowed
with tears, and, pressing both hands upon his
heart, he exclaimed, "It will burst."1
Declining a public ship, he came as a pas-
senger on the Cadmus, accompanied by his
son, George Washington Lafayette, and by
his private secretary. He landed at Staten
Island in New York harbor on August 15,
1824, and repaired to the residence of Vice-
President Tompkins, where he spent the
night.2 Next day a company of ships, gayly
1 Schouler's " History of the United States," Vol. III. p. 320.
2 JViles's Register, August, 1 824.
LAFAYETTE'S VISIT 1 97
decked with flags and streamers, and bearing
six thousand citizens, came to escort him to
the city. His arrival was announced by the
boom of cannon and by the wildest acclama-
tions of joy that a grateful people could be-
stow. The most interesting occurrence was
the meeting of Lafayette with his old com-
panions in arms. The main ceremonies over,
he sat down with Colonel Willet, a veteran,
now in his eighty-fifth year, with whom he
had spent many a day in camp and on the
battle-field. The two venerable heroes talked
over Revolutionary scenes, recalling many in-
cidents that both remembered. In the even-
ing Lafayette went outside his hotel and
shook hands with about seven hundred boys
and girls, who had gathered around hoping
to get a glimpse of him.
After a few days of festivity in New York,
the nation's guest proceeded to Boston, where
he found the same enthusiastic spirit of wel-
come. He reached Boston on August the 24th,
and was driven in an open barouche drawn
by four white horses through the principal
streets. The city was crowded with a vast
198 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
throng of people, and their shouts, mingled
with the sound of the cannon and the ringing
of bells, welcomed the hero of the hour. An
arch across Washington Street was inscribed
with the following stanza, written by Charles
Sprague : —
" Our fathers in glory shall sleep
That gathered with thee to the fight ;
But their sons will eternally keep
The tablet of gratitude bright.
We bow not the neck and we bow not the knee,
But our hearts, Lafayette, we surrender to thee." J
Next day Lafayette attended the commence-
ment exercises at Harvard, where he occupied
the seat of honor. Here it was that Edward
Everett pronounced one of his matchless eulo-
gies, and at its close " every one in the assem-
bly was in tears."2
By the middle of September we find our
national guest again in New York. In Castle
Garden a magnificent banquet was given in
his honor, and of the thousands present, every
one wore a badge or likeness of Lafayette.
1 Quincy's " Figures of the Past," p. 104.
2 Ibid., p. 107.
LAFAYETTE'S VISIT 1 99
made for the occasion. Here are a few de-
scriptive words from the New York Evening
Post: "We hazard nothing in saying that it
was the most magnificent fete given under
cover in the world. It was a festival that
realizes all that we read of in the Persian
tales or ' Arabian Nights,' which dazzle the
eye and bewilder the imagination, and it pro-
duced so many powerful combinations by
magnificent preparations as to set descrip-
tions almost at defiance."1
Lafayette's reception in Philadelphia was
almost if not fully equal to that accorded him
in New York and Boston. It is needless to
recount his experiences as he travelled through
the land. They were everywhere similar to
those described. Great crowds gathered to
greet him in every city. The mayor or some
other noted personage would receive him with
an address of welcome. To this he always
made a short, unstudied reply, and never failed
to say just the right thing. The weight of
years sat lightly on his shoulders. He was
a fine specimen of manhood, six feet in height,
1 Quoted by Magazine of American History, December, 1887.
200 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
muscular and graceful. It is true his almost
seventy years had left their mark ; his hair,
once a deep red, was now silvered, and the
blithe step of his youth was gone; but his
heart was ever young, his vivacity, his good
nature, never forsook him.
He travelled in every State in the Union
and visited all the larger cities. He visited
Albert Gallatin at Prospect Hill near Union-
town, Pennsylvania, General Jackson at the
Hermitage in Tennessee, and the aged Jef-
ferson at Monticello. His progress through
the States, though one unbroken ovation, did
not in the least turn his head ; every honor
was received with unfeigned modesty and true
democratic simplicity. Nothing perhaps in
the life of Lafayette displayed better his
true character than the way in which he re-
ceived the homage of the Nation.
At the Capitol
General Lafayette spent most of the fol-
lowing winter in Washington. On his enter-
ing the House of Representatives the members
arose, and one of his escort introduced him,
LAFAYETTE'S VISIT 201
after which he was escorted to a sofa placed
in the centre of the hall for his reception.
Speaker Henry Clay then pronounced an
appropriate welcome, in which he feelingly
referred to the Revolutionary experience of
their distinguished guest, and especially to
his intimate relations with the illustrious
Washington. Lafayette replied in an equally
appropriate speech, after which the House
adjourned, and Mr. Clay introduced to him
the members individually.
Frequently during the winter the general
visited the House and listened to the debates.
It was a famous session of Congress. The
electoral college had failed to choose a Presi-
dent,1 and for the second time in our history,
and last thus far, that duty devolved upon
the House. Party passion ran so high among
the followers of the four candidates that there
might have been disgraceful scenes but for
the presence of Lafayette. No member could
forget his decorum in the presence of their
honored guest from abroad.
1 In the electoral college, Jackson had received 99 votes,
Adams 84, Crawford 41, and Clay 37.
202 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Our Congress did one thing that winter
that the whole Nation applauded. It voted
Lafayette two hundred thousand dollars and
a township of land in Florida, not as a gift,
but as a partial payment for his Revolutionary
services. The general was taken wholly by
surprise. He could not, however, refuse so
generous a gift ; and it came good indeed in
the remaining nine years of his life, for he had
lost his fortune during the various changes
of the French Government.
One day, when driving in the carriage with
President Adams, Lafayette was amused at
the following incident : As they were crossing
the bridge over the Potomac River, the toll-
gatherer, after counting the horses and per-
sons in the party, informed the President how
much the toll was, and the latter handed him
the amount. As the party started the toll-
gatherer recognized General Lafayette, and
called to the President, offering to return the
amount of the toll, saying, " All bridges and
all gates are free to the guest of the Nation."
Lafayette thought this a remarkable illustra-
tion of the equality and the democratic sim-
LAFAYETTE'S VISIT 203
plicity of the people. In Europe the head of
the nation finds all gates and bridges free,
while here only the guest has a free pass;
the President pays his toll among the rest.
Mount Vernon and Bunker Hill
The most touching scene in this memorable
tour of Lafayette was his visit to the tomb
of Washington. This we can best describe
in the words of his private secretary, M. Le-
vasseur : —
" Leaving Washington and descending the
Potomac, after a voyage of two hours, the
guns of Fort Washington announced that we
were approaching the last abode of the Father
of his Country. At this solemn signal, to
which the military band accompanying us
responded by plaintive strains, we went on
deck, and the venerable soil of Mount Vernon
was before us : at this view, an involuntary
and spontaneous movement made us kneel.
We landed in boats and trod upon the ground
so often worn by the feet of Washington. A
carriage received Lafayette, and the other
visitors silently ascended the precipitous path
204 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
which conducted to the solitary habitation of
Mount Vernon.
"Three nephews of General Washington
took Lafayette, his son, and myself, to conduct
us to the tomb of their uncle ; ... in a few
minutes the cannon of the fort, thundering
anew, announced that Lafayette rendered
homage to the ashes of Washington. . . . As
we approached, the door was opened, Lafay-
ette descended alone into the vault, and a few
minutes after reappeared with his eyes over-
flowing with tears. He took his son and me
by the hand, and led us into the tomb, where
by a sign he indicated the coffin of his paternal
friend. . . . We knelt reverently near the
coffin, which we respectfully saluted with our
lips, and rising, threw ourselves into the arms
of Lafayette, and mingled our tears with his."
Next to the visit of Lafayette to Washing-
ton's tomb the most interesting incident of
his sojourn was his attendance on the cere-
monies of laying the corner-stone of the
Bunker Hill monument. His second visit to
Boston took place in midsummer, 1825, and
the corner-stone of the monument was laid
LAFAYETTE'S VISIT 205
on the seventeenth of June — exactly fifty
years after the famous battle had occurred.
Lafayette had arrived a few days before, and
was the chief guest of the occasion. He had
said that Bunker Hill was the pole star on
which his eyes had been fixed, and he rejoiced
in the prospect of assisting at the jubilee. It
was a gala day for Boston. Never before had
so many people been packed into the city.
" Everything that had wheels and everything
that had legs used them to get to Boston." *
The roar of cannon announced the dawn
of that beautiful day in June; long before
the procession of notables arrived, the hill was
covered with a solid mass of people. From
this mass arose cheer on cheer as the pro-
cession moved through the crowd. Then
followed the introduction severally of the sur-
vivors of the battle of Bunker Hill to the
distinguished visitor from France. This pleas-
ant duty fell upon young Josiah Quincy, chief
of Governor Lincoln's staff. But there were
only a few of the venerable survivors of the
battle remaining. All the officers had been
1Quincy's "Figures of the Past," 130.
206 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
called to their silent home save one, a cap-
tain named Clark, now bending beneath his
ninety-five years.
It has been said that the most impressive ser-
vice of the day was the prayer offered by the
aged Reverend Joseph Thaxter. Fifty years
before, in the morning before the battle, this
same man, then Prescott's chaplain, had stood
on this same spot and invoked the blessing of
God upon the patriot cause. Now, in his old
age, he is again permitted to stand in the midst
of this joyous throng, and to render the same
sacred service in behalf of a great and growing
nation.
After laying the corner-stone with his own
hands, Lafayette positively refused to take the
seat prepared for him under the pavilion.
" No," said he, " I belong there, among the sur-
vivors of the Revolution, and there I must sit." 1
And so he sat among the veterans, with noth-
ing to shelter him from the scorching sun. The
address of the day was made by Daniel Web-
ster, then in the prime of his young manhood.
He has been described as "the front of Jove
1 "Figures of the Past," p. 131.
LAFAYETTE'S VISIT 207
himself ; an eye like Mars, ready to command,"
when he stepped forth to deliver his oration.
Webster is considered the greatest of Ameri-
can orators, and his oration on this day is
numbered among the best of his life.
Lafayette returned from Boston to Washing-
ton, and, thence, on September the 8th, took
his final departure in the Brandywine for his
native land. The farewell address, pronounced
by President Adams, is one of the most felici-
tous and appropriate of its kind in the English
language. Lafayette had spent almost thirteen
months in America, and the royal welcome he
had received did much to disprove the saying
that republics are ungrateful. At various times
have noted foreigners, coming to our shores,
received the hearty plaudits of the people, but
no other has received such a welcome as that
given Lafayette. And can such a thing occur
again ? Have not the conditions that produced
it passed away ? Perhaps the time may never
come again when a foreigner coming to our
country will be welcomed with the homage
of the whole Nation, as was this hero of the
Revolution, this friend of liberty, Lafayette.
CHAPTER XI
The Caroline Affair1
To show how an apparently trifling matter
may disturb the friendly relations between two
great nations, and bring them to the verge of
war ; to reveal a feature of weakness in our
dual system of government, State and National,
as regards our foreign relations ; and to illus-
trate that the public mind may be thoroughly
agitated over a subject and forget all about it
within a few years, — no better example can be
found than that known in our history as " The
Caroline Affair." Few of our citizens to-day,
if asked about the Caroline Affair, could give
any intelligent account of it, and the majority
could not even tell what it was ; while during
the year of 1838, and for several years follow-
ing, it was one of the most prominent subjects
1 For the facts related in this chapter I am largely indebted
to Benton's " Thirty Years' View."
"X)8
THE CAROLINE AFFAIR 209
before the American public. It was brought
about by an insurrection in Canada, and the
dispute it occasioned between the United States
and Great Britain became quite serious, and
extended over several years.
The Canadian Rebellion
There had been for many years previous to
1837 serious differences in both Upper and
Lower Canada, between the popular and loyal-
ist parties. • In the latter part of that year an
open insurrection broke out against the Gov-
ernment, then in the hands of the loyalists, or
British party, as they were called. The discon-
tent had its origin in the concentration of the
Government into the hands of a few great
families, the misuse of public funds, and the
setting apart of certain tracts of land for the
benefit of the clergy. The immediate cause of
the uprising was the refusal of the Assembly to
appropriate money to pay the public officials,
and the carrying through the English House of
Commons, by Lord John Russell, a series of
resolutions, rejecting the demand for an elective
legislative council.
2IO SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
The leader of the revolt in Upper Canada
was William Lyon MacKenzie, a Scotchman,
an editor of Toronto, and first mayor of that
city after its name was changed from York.
He was a man of much ability, but rash, and
wanting in tact; he was an intense hater of
toryism in every form. The leader in Lower
Canada was Louis J. Papinau, a member of
the Assembly from Montreal. Papinau was
a man of energy and courage, nor could any
one question his honesty. Neither of these
men could be accused of sinister motives nor
of selfish ambition. They fully believed that
the only remedy for the evils in the Govern-
ment was an appeal to arms. The insurgents
called themselves "patriots," and their avowed
object was to break away from English rule
and to set up a republic in Canada.
The rebellion found many sympathizers in
the United States. All along our northern
border from Vermont to Michigan there was
great excitement. Men assembled and formed
themselves into companies and battalions, and
chose officers, intending to march into Canada
to aid the patriots.
THE CAROLINE AFFAIR 211
When President Van Buren became aware
of these proceedings, he issued a proclama-
tion commanding all citizens to abstain from
taking part in such illegal acts, and threaten-
ing the guilty with the utmost penalty of the
law. He stated that, as the United States
enjoyed the most friendly relations with Great
Britain, our citizens must not disturb those
relations by abetting or aiding an insurrection
in her colony. The President did still more ;
he called upon the governors of the border
States to assist in suppressing all illegal
movements, which they did; he sent General
Winneld Scott with a body of troops to the
frontier, and he chartered several steamboats
on Lake Erie, manned them with soldiers,
and set them to guard against all offenders.
Nevertheless, a considerable number of Ameri-
cans succeeded in crossing into Canada and
joining the insurgents.
The rebellion was not a great one, and
in a few weeks after the first outbreak it
was suppressed. Sir John Colborne with an
army of regulars appeared against the rebels,
and after a few sharp skirmishes in which
212 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
something over a hundred were killed, suc-
ceeded in dispersing them. Many laid down
their arms and gave up the struggle ; others
fled across the border into New York. The dis-
content in Canada was widespread, it is true,
but the revolt failed for want of leadership,
neither MacKenzie nor Papinau proving suc-
cessful as military leaders. The movement
would scarcely be remembered in history but
for an occurrence that immediately gave it
international importance, and was henceforth
known as the Caroline Affair.
Destruction of the Caroline
The Caroline was a small steamboat on
Lake Erie, and was owned by a citizen of the
United States. She was employed in illegal
traffic with the Canadian insurgents on Navy
Island. This island, situated in the Niagara
River above the falls, had become the rendez-
vous of a body of rebels to the number of
about five hundred under the leadership of
MacKenzie. They had been beaten and
driven from the mainland by the regular
troops, and had here taken refuge with a
THE CAROLINE AFFAIR 21 3
view of collecting materials for another attack
upon the enemy. Opposite Navy Island, near
Chippewa, Ontario, several thousand Canadian
troops were stationed under the command of
Colonel MacNab. When it became known to
MacNab and his soldiers that the Caroline
was carrying men and supplies to the rebels
on the island, they determined to destroy the
vessel.
The night of December 29, 1837, was chosen
for the exploit. Colonel MacNab sent Captain
Drew with a flotilla of five boats to destroy her.
They approached silently under cover of dark-
ness to the shore of Navy Island, where the
Caroline had been seen during the afternoon ;
but the boat was not there. Captain Drew
was unwilling to give up the project so
readily, and without authority from his chief
proceeded to cross into American waters in
search of the offending steamer. About the
hour of midnight the searching party found
the little steamer moored to the shore at Fort
Schlosser, Grand Island, which is a part of
the territory of New York. The officers and
crew of the Caroline consisted of but ten men.
214 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
but on that night twenty-three other men, who
could not be accommodated at the neighboring
inn, had found lodging on board the vessel.
Nearly all these were American citizens.
About fifty of the British party, well armed,
boarded her without warning to the occupants,
most of whom were asleep at the time. The
Americans sprung from their berths and grap-
pled with the foe; but the contest was an
unequal one, and in a very few minutes the
British party had possession of the boat, after
having killed one man and wounding several
others. The victors now put the Americans
ashore, cut the vessel from her moorings, set
her on fire and sent her burning over the Falls
of Niagara. Several of the men who had
gone aboard to spend the night were after-
ward missing, and it was believed that they
were still on board the burning steamer when
she leaped over the cataract, and that they
found a watery grave in the depths of the
dashing river.
The news of the destruction of the Caroline,
an American boat in American waters manned
by American sailors, spread with great rapid-
THE CAROLINE AFFAIR 21 5
ity. The feelings of the people in the border
States were inflamed to the highest degree. Re-
taliatory expeditions were immediately planned,
but the President took measures to repress
them. At the same time he sent a message
to Congress stating that a hostile invasion had
been made into our territory, and an outrage
of the most aggravated character had been
committed against our citizens. He also in-
formed them that an immediate demand for
reparation would be made upon the Govern-
ment of Great Britain.
The feeling in Congress was scarcely less
intense than along the northern border. An
act was immediately passed placing large mili-
tary supplies in the hands of the President, for
the protection of the frontier; while his deci-
sion to demand redress was unanimously
approved.
Scarcely a week had passed after the unfor-
tunate occurrence, when Mr. John Forsyth,
the secretary of state, addressed a letter to
Mr. Fox, the English minister at Washington,
in which he referred to the invasion of our
territory, destruction of our property and the
2l6 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
assassination of American citizens at a time
when it was well known that the President
was doing all in his power to prevent our
people from giving aid and comfort to the
insurgents. The British Government made
no reply to President Van Buren's demand.
The destroyers of the Caroline disclaimed
all intention to invade American soil ; they
fully expected to find the vessel at Navy
Island, which belonged to Canadian territory,
where she had been seen a few hours before.
The boat being engaged in furnishing sup-
plies to the rebels, was, according to the rules
of war, subject to seizure by the British. It
was, therefore, not the act itself, but the place
in which it was done, that caused all the trou-
ble. On this ground the English ministry
justified the act without assuming the respon-
sibility. Every effort of our minister at Lon-
don to bring about a settlement was treated,
not perhaps with contempt, but with a dignified
silence. So matters continued for three years,
when, near the close of Van Buren's adminis-
tration, another event occurred that changed
the relative position of the two countries —
THE CAROLINE AFFAIR 21 J
the United States was put on the defensive,
and Great Britain became the aggressor.
Arrest and Trial of McLeod
Alexander McLeod was a British subject,
a resident of Ontario, a blustering braggart
of no importance in his own neighborhood
nor elsewhere ; yet this man became the
cause of the most serious disturbance between
two great nations — the United States of
America and the British Empire.
Three years had passed since the burning
of the Caroline. The British Government
had made no reparation for the offence and
it was still a subject of general discussion
among the people; but no one believed that
war was likely to result, however the ministry
might decide. Alexander McLeod had boasted
that he was of the party that had destroyed
the Caroline, and that he had himself killed
one of the "Yankees." He appeared on the
American side, and repeated his foolish boast,
whereupon he was instantly arrested and
clapped into prison on a charge of murder
and arson.
2l8 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
The excitement again rose to the highest
pitch. The English minister at Washington
addressed a letter to the President, calling
upon him to take steps for the immediate
release of McLeod, taking the ground that
the latter if guilty was only acting under
authority, and was not personally responsible
for what had been done. Mr. Forsyth in a
very able paper stated that the crime had
been committed on the soil of New York in
time of peace between the two countries, that
the whole matter of personal responsibility of
the perpetrators came under the jurisdiction
of that State, nor had our National Govern-
ment, under our dual system, any power to
interfere in the matter. He further stated
that if the British Government had assumed
the responsibility of destroying the Caroline,
the United States had not been officially in-
formed of the fact.
This answer of Forsyth plainly exhibits the
weak point in our system. Here was a sub-
ject of a foreign power indicted for violating
the laws of a State in the American Union,
and the State has no foreign relations what-
THE CAROLINE AFFAIR 219
ever.1 Great Britain could not, therefore,
treat with the State of New York; she must
deal with the United States Government
alone. But the United States Government
has no power, under our Constitution, to take
a case at common law out of the hands of a
State, nor to interfere in any way with con-
stitutional State laws.
The affair had assumed a serious aspect,
and thus it remained in an unsettled condi-
tion during the winter of 1 840-1 841. The
official term of Martin Van Buren now drew
to a close, and William Henry Harrison be-
came President.
No sooner had the United States Govern-
ment changed hands, than the English min-
istry assumed a bolder and more menacing
tone. The followers of Van Buren were
prompt to assert that England had avoided
showing her true colors until the party she
feared had gone out of power; but she felt
that she could bully the new administration
as she chose. Whether the change of admin-
istration had anything to do with- the matter
1 See Chapter XVIII.
220 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
we are unable to say, but it is a fact that the
change of attitude in the British ministry
began at about the same time.
On the day of Mr. Harrison's inauguration
a rumor gained currency through the capital
city that the British Government had assumed
the destruction of the Caroline. One week
later the English minister addressed a com-
munication to Daniel Webster, the new sec-
retary of state, demanding in the name of
her Majesty's Government, and in a threaten-
ing manner, the immediate release of McLeod.
It was learned soon after that English ships
were being sent to Halifax, troops were land-
ing in Canada, and that Lord Palmerston had
openly stated in Parliament that the ministry
had assumed the act of destroying the Caro-
line. The London newspapers were aflame
with threats of war.
The wisdom of the British ministry in wait-
ing for the new administration to come in be-
fore assuming its threatening attitude seemed
now to be confirmed ; for Mr. Webster, in
answering Mr. Fox, stated that "the Govern-
ment of the United States entertains no doubt
THE CAROLINE AFFAIR 221
of the asserted British principle," but that
McLeod, being in the hands of the State of
New York, was beyond the authority of the
General Government. This was practically
conceding the whole matter. After such a
concession from such an authority, the only
logical thing for the administration to do was
to take the British side, and to use its efforts
to effect the release of the prisoner — and that
is precisely what it did.
Meantime the trial of McLeod approached.
The administration requested the New York
authorities to release him without a trial, for
the sake of national peace ; but this they re-
fused to do. Every means was now employed
by the Washington Government to secure the
release of the now famous prisoner. It is
said that Mr. Webster exacted a secret prom-
ise from Mr. Seward, New York's governor,
to pardon McLeod if convicted. Mr. Critten-
den, the attorney-general of the United States,
was sent by the President to the scene of the
trial at Lockport to use his efforts for acquittal.
The trial was conducted with the utmost fair-
ness before an impartial judge and jury, — and
222 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
how ludicrous it all turned out ! It was proved
at the trial that McLeod had no part in the
destruction of the Caroline. His boast was
an idle and false one. It was shown that
he had slept that night at Chippewa ; that,
on hearing of the exploit next morning, he
expressed the wish that he had been with
the party. This wish had been changed to
the assertion that he had been one of them,
and had killed one of the Yankees ! Thus the
idle boast of a brainless braggart brought about
international disturbance of the most serious
nature. Of course McLeod was acquitted, and
the war attitude of Great Britain soon sub-
sided. The claims of the United States against
the English Government for indemnity, on ac-
count of the destruction of the little steamboat
were eventually abandoned, and the Caroline
Affair, which fills a curious page in American
history, was soon dropped from the public
mind.
CHAPTER XII
The Campaign of 1840
We have all witnessed the torchlight proces-
sions and the great mass-meetings that precede
a presidential election. Every National political
contest is characterized by excitement and com-
motion among the people ; but no other in our
history can be compared in unrestrained enthu-
siasm with that of 1840, when William Henry
Harrison was elected to the presidency. This
remarkable outburst of feeling was a reaction
against the prevailing " hard times " of the
years just preceding it.
During the administration of Martin Van
Buren, which was but a continuation of the
administration of Jackson, the country had
suffered severely from the great industrial
depression, known as the "Panic of 1837,"
which left in its trail the wrecks of many
fortunes. The Whigs were prompt to blame
223
224 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
the whole trouble on the Democrats. This
is a custom in American politics — for the
party out of power to blame the party in
power with everything that goes wrong. Few
statesmen have risen above this practice, espe-
cially when their own advancement depended
on it. In that degree a statesman becomes
a demagogue.
We cannot enter on a general discussion of
this panic of 1837, but a few words about it
will not be out of place. There was no doubt
some truth in the claim of the Whigs that the
Democrats had brought about the panic. Jack-
son's stern dealing with the United States
Bank, and his subsequent Specie Circular,
probably hastened, though they did not pro-
duce, the distressed condition that followed.
But the chief cause of the panic was the
spirit of wild speculation that had taken
possession of the people. The National debt
was paid in 1835, and for the first and only
time in American history there was no public
National debt. The people seemed to think
that they could roll in wealth without limit, and
the country was flooded with paper money.
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1840 225
Almost every bank in the country issued paper
money far beyond its ability to redeem in coin.
Prices rose and work was plentiful at high
wages. Great manufactories were begun and
never finished. The sale of public lands was
increased about sevenfold. Towns were laid
out in the West that have not been built up
to this day. All this was done on a basis of
paper money, far below the value of gold and
silver. But the crash came, as it always will
under such circumstances.
The Whigs made much political capital out of
this panic. During Van Buren's term of office
they had gained steadily on the Democrats,
as shown by the State elections, and it was
generally believed that, if they made no serious
blunder, they would win in the approaching
National contest.
The Whig Convention
The National convention of the Whigs was
held in a newly erected Lutheran church at Har-
risburg, Pennsylvania, in December, 1839, nearly
a year before the time of the election. Before
this convention were the names of three candr
Q
22& SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
dates — Henry Clay, the great Whig leader and
founder of the party ; William Henry Harrison,
the Ohio farmer and hero of Tippecanoe;
Winfield Scott, the leading general of the army
and hero of Lundy's Lane. They had all been
born in Virginia, but were now of different
States.
Scott, whose greatest achievement — his
great march upon Mexico — was still in the
future, was not very seriously considered by
the delegates, and the real contest lay between
Clay and Harrison. The majority of the
delegates preferred Clay for President ; but a
few of the ablest men in the party, among
whom were Thurlow Weed and Horace Greeley
of New York, were using their utmost efforts
to make Harrison the candidate.
The leader of the party was Henry Clay, as
all acknowledged, but there were serious objec-
tions to his nomination. He had been a leader
in National affairs for thirty years, and, owing
to his positive outspoken manner, had made
many enemies. He had been a conspicuous
advocate of the American System, or protective
tariff, which was not popular in the South. To
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1840 227
these objections was added that of the Anti-
Masons. The Anti-Mason party, which had
been a strong factor in the presidential contest
eight years before, had now dissolved, and most
of its members had joined the Whigs ; but Clay
could not have commanded their votes, as he
was himself a Freemason.
These forces, working against Clay, were too
great to be overcome. Clay had authorized the
withdrawal of his name from the convention, if,
in the judgment of his friends, it seemed best
for party harmony. It was about this time that
he had made use of the now famous expression,
"I would rather be right than be President."
Harrison was nominated on the fourth day of
the convention by a plan resembling the so-
called "unit rule." By this plan the delegates
from each State put the power of voting into
the hands of a committee of three, chosen from
their own number. These several committees
then met and chose Harrison for President, and
this choice was ratified by the convention, as
previously arranged. This was certainly an
unfair way of dealing with Mr. Clay. In open
convention Clay would undoubtedly have been
228 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
the first choice ; but the committees, being
smaller, were so managed by the politicians as
to substitute the name of Harrison for that
of Clay.
Clay's friends were deeply disappointed when
their chief was set aside, and the Harrison men
feared that they might " bolt " the ticket. One
of the most ardent followers of Clay, John Tyler
of Virginia, is said to have wept when his chief
was defeated in convention. To shed tears will
not usually prove a means of gaining the presi-
dency of the United States, but in this case it
did that very thing. The Harrison followers,
to make sure of winning the support of the
Clay followers, decided to choose one of the
latter for second place, and as they were cast-
ing about for a suitable choice — behold, John
Tyler in tears ! And he was straightway
nominated for the vice-presidency.
Tyler was a man of some importance. He
was a United States senator from Virginia,
and had been governor of that State. He was
formerly a Democrat, but, being opposed to
Jackson's self-willed policy, he had left his
party and joined himself to the Whigs. The
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1840 229
Whigs hoped, by placing him on the ticket, to
win a certain floating vote from the South which
they could not otherwise have counted on, as
well as to appease the followers of Henry Clay.
William Henry Harrison
Let us take a brief view of the chosen
standard-bearer of the Whigs in this presidential
contest. From the standpoint of availability no
better choice than Harrison could have been
made. It is the custom of our great political
parties to nominate for President, not the great-
est statesman in the party, but the one who
is best fitted to win votes. Harrison had many
points in his favor, not the least of which was
that he had been out of public life for many
years, had few political enemies, and his views
on the great questions of the day were scarcely
known. In addition to this he had a very
creditable military record, and was the son of
one of the Revolutionary fathers, a signer of
the Declaration of Independence. Going be-
fore the people with this record, he was in
position to make a strong race.
In 1 79 1, when the country was shocked by
230 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
the news of the great defeat of St. Clair by the
Indians of the West, William Henry Harrison,
then nineteen years of age, was a medical
student in Philadelphia. He at once deter-
mined to abandon his studies, go to the West,
and lend his aid to retrieve the honor of his
country. Washington, who had been an inti-
mate friend of his father, made him an ensign,
and the young man set out with a brave heart
to win glory for himself and honor for his
country. He proceeded on foot across the
Alleghany Mountains to Pittsburg, where he
took a boat and floated down the Ohio River to
Cincinnati, then called Fort Washington.
A little later we find our young hero serving
under General Wayne in the Indian wars in
northwestern Ohio. In 1801 he was appointed
governor of the Indiana Territory, a post
which he held for twelve years. In November,
181 1, he defeated the Prophet, twin brother
of the great Indian chief Tecumseh, in the
famous battle of Tippecanoe; and from this
battle Harrison received his popular military
name.
At the outbreak of the War of 181 2, Harri-
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1840 23 1
son became commander of the army of the
Northwest, and he did valiant service for his
country in several hard-fought engagements,
the most important of which was the battle
of the Thames, in which the English and Ind-
ians suffered a terrible defeat, and the famous
Tecumseh was numbered among the slain.
The war over, Harrison settled down to a life
of peace, and a few years later he became a
member of the Lower House of Congress, and
still later a United States senator from Ohio.
John Quincy Adams, when President, appointed
Harrison minister to the republic of Colom-
bia, South America ; but Jackson, succeeding
Adams, recalled him. He then retired to
North Bend, a village near Cincinnati, and
became a farmer. In 1836 he was the leading
candidate of the Whigs for President, against
Van Buren.
Harrison did not rank with the greatest
statesmen of his time. His ability was far
below that of his rival Clay, or of Webster ;
but he was a man of the purest of motives, had
a kind and generous heart, and was above any
imputation of political corruption.
232 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
The Democrats held their convention in
Baltimore and renominated Van Buren without
division ; but for second place they made no
nomination. The Vice-President, Richard M.
Johnson of Kentucky, had been chosen four
years before by the Senate, and he now ex-
pected to be placed on the ticket for reelec-
tion with Van Buren, but there was such
opposition to him in the convention that it
was decided to again leave the election to
the Senate, in case Van Buren was chosen
President by the electoral college. The Demo-
crats put forth a strong declaration of princi-
ples, pronouncing against a United States
Bank, a high protective tariff, and paternalism
in general ; while the Whigs had no platform
at all.
The Log Cabin and Hard Cider Campaign
The campaign of 1840 was the most re-
markable in the experience of the American
people. It started out with a whoop and a
hurrah, and so continued, gaining in enthu-
siasm, to the time of the election. The Whigs
had made " Tippecanoe and Tyler too " their
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1840 233
battle-cry. Their meetings were vast beyond
comparison. These mass-meetings, held in all
parts of the Union, were addressed by Webster,
Clay, Corwin, and a multitude of lesser lights.
Harrison himself spoke about half a dozen
times. Men would take their wives, sons, and
daughters to these great gatherings and re-
main all day and often all night. At first it
was attempted to count the people in attend-
ance, but this was abandoned, and the crowds
were measured by the acre. The greatest of
these meetings was held at Dayton, Ohio,
where the number was estimated at one hun-
dred thousand.
A Democratic newspaper in Baltimore made
the statement that Harrison was only a back-
woodsman, and would be more in his element
in a log cabin with a barrel of hard cider
than in the White House at Washington.
The Whigs took up the cry, and made the
log cabin and the barrel of cider the symbols
of the campaign. These they always had at
their meetings, with a live coon chained on
top of the cabin. Horace Greeley started a
paper in New York which he called The
234 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Log Cabin. It sprang into great popularity
with a single bound, reaching an enormous
circulation during the summer.
Then the songs ! The campaign songs of
1840 were the most notable feature of the
canvass. They were written for the occasion,
printed in the papers, and sung at the meet-
ings, rolling forth from fifty thousand throats
and reverberating from hill to hill ! The
poetic merit of these songs is not of a high
order, and none of them has lived in our
literature. Their number was legion; we sub-
join a few specimens.
CAMPAIGN SONGS OF 1840.1
Now join the throng and swell the song,
Extend the circle wider;
And let us on for Harrison,
Log cabin and hard cider.
And let Calhoun change with the moon,2
And every such backslider ;
We'll go as one for Harrison —
Log cabin and hard cider.
1 These were selected from Greeley's Log Cabin. This papet
was merged into the Tribune in September, 1841.
2 Calhoun, who had been acting with the Whigs several years
had now returned to the Democratic fold.
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1840 235
His cabin's fit and snug and neat,
And full and free his larder ;
And though his cider may be hard,
The times are vastly harder.
This one refers to the currency : —
A man there is in Washington
Yclept the arch magician ;
He holds the post of president,
The people's high commission.
He pledged himself to follow sure,
Although, it led to ruin,
His 'lustrious predecessor's path.
His name is Mat Van Buren.
Oh, Van Buren, the mighty President Van Buren !
That monster the Sub Treasury
He thrusts upon the nation.
Determined on his reckless course
In spite of lamentation.
Two currencies we now shall have
To add to our disasters ;
The officers will have the gold,
The people the shinplasters.
Oh, Oh, Van Buren,
You're an old humbug, Van Buren.
In imitation of Moore : —
There is not in this wide world a veteran so true
As he in the West, the brave Tippecanoe.
Oh, the last ray of feeling and life shall depart
Ere the deeds of his valor shall fade from my heart.
236 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
This was written for the sailors : —
See yon seaman approach with his face full of ire,
His long torn well loaded and ready to fire.
Just give him the wink and he'll soon take the cue
And tip up his glass for Old Tippecanoe,
And swear that he'll join with the rest of the crew,
To haul down the flag of Van Buren
And run up Old Tippecanoe.
Here's one that seems to aspire to poetic
fancy : —
Away in the West the fair river beside,
That waters North Bend in its beauty and pride,
And shows in its mirror the summer sky blue,
Oh, there dwells the farmer of Tippecanoe.
When the clear eastern sky in the morning's light beams,
And the hills of Ohio grow warm in its gleams,
When the fresh springing grass is bent low with the dew,
With his plough in the furrow stands Tippecanoe.
Hurrah for the farmer of Tippecanoe,
The honest old farmer of Tippecanoe.
With an arm that is strong and a heart that is true
The man of the people is Tippecanoe.
The following short one was used perhaps
more than any other : —
Farewell, old Van ;
You're a used up man.
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1840 2tf
To guard our ship
We'll try old Tip,
With Tip and Tyler
We'll burst Van's biler.
Where were the Democrats all this time ?
They were limping behind and doing the best
they could. They had meetings, too, but not
so large as those of the Whigs. They appealed
to reason and argument ; but the people re-
fused to argue ; they would not reason ; they
preferred to sing and shout. Old General
Jackson came forth from his Hermitage and
attempted to stay the rushing tide ; but noth-
ing could check the wild enthusiasm for
Harrison. The Democrats were left far be-
hind. When the election came Harrison swept
the country, carrying two-thirds of the south-
ern States and every northern State except
New Hampshire and Illinois.
Last Days of President Harrison
The joy of the Whigs at their victory was
unbounded ; and they little dreamed of the
disasters that awaited them in the near future.
The winter following the election was one
238 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
prolonged jollification. The newly elected
President, after a triumphal progress from
his western home, reached Washington in
February, on the sixty-eighth anniversary of
his birthday.1 He found the city swarming with
office-seekers. He was courted and caressed
from all sides, and little time was left him
for rest.
Inauguration day was dark and foreboding.
The new President rode on horseback in a
two-hour procession through the streets of the
city, after which he stood for another hour
exposed, without cloak or overcoat, to a keen,
chilling wind while delivering his inaugural
address. When night came he was very much
exhausted ; but he seemed to recover from the
effect of his exposure, and the new adminis-
tration was launched on a promising voyage,
with Daniel Webster at the helm as secretary
of state.
The President was besieged with office-
seekers, who gave him no rest day nor night.
So kindly was his disposition that he could
turn away none unheard. He rose at an early
1 Schouler, Vol. IV. p. 359.
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1840 239
hour in the morning, and took a long walk
before breakfast, after which he was busy
with his new duties till late at night. But
his strength was failing, and one morning dur-
ing his walk he took a chill which speedily
developed into pneumonia. On the 4th of
April, half an hour after midnight, Harrison
was dead, his last words being, " May the
principles of government be carried out."
The exultant joy of the Whigs was now
changed to mourning. No President had be-
fore died in office, and they had not taken
such a possibility into account. Tyler would
become President, it is true, but they were
not sure of Tyler. He had been a Democrat
until recent years, and their fears that he was
not in sympathy with the party that elected
him were soon realized.
The whole people, regardless of party fealty,
mourned the departed President. The funeral
can best be described in the words of one of
our leading historians: —
"The 7th of April was the day of the
funeral. The north portico of the mansion
was hung with unaccustomed black. They
240 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
who had hustled in its walls with headlong
zeal a few days before, trod gently and spoke
in whispers. The body, in its leaden casket,
was taken from the East Room, where it had
lain in state on a bier heaped with flowers ; it
was placed on an open funeral car, which
stood at the north portico, covered with black
velvet and drawn by six white horses, each
with its colored groom. A wailing of trum-
pets arose, inexpressibly mournful, and a beat-
ing of muffled drums, as the military escort
began its march down the avenue with arms
reversed. The sky was overcast, and only a
stray sunbeam from the clouds would shine
upon the sable car with its nodding plumes,
as the procession moved eastward in slow
array."1
The body of the dead President was finally
carried to his western home, where it was
laid to rest in a beautiful spot among the
trees, on the banks of the Ohio River.
1 Schouler, Vol. IV. p. 365.
CHAPTER XIII
Discovery of Gold in California
The event that furnishes the subject of this
chapter was but one of a train of events that
rendered the middle years of the nineteenth
century memorable in the history of America.
The discovery of the precious metal on the
Pacific slope was in itself a great event, and
it became the chief factor in determining the
early social conditions of the Great West, and
in peopling that region with a rapidity unpar-
alleled in the history of colonization. But this
discovery did more ; it became a powerful
weight in the political balance in which was
suspended the destiny of the American people.
At this time there was but one great political
issue before the American public — the one
that had disturbed the harmony between the
North and the South for many years — the
slavery question. The South was anxious
r 241
242 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
about the welfare of her peculiar institution,
and as a safeguard against unfavorable legis-
lation had managed, from early in the century,
to admit the new States in pairs, one in the
North and one in the South, so as to preserve
the balance of power in the United States
Senate.
The South began to view with alarm the
exhaustion of her territory, while that of the
North seemed inexhaustible. The Louisiana
Purchase was wedge-shaped, the larger end
being north of thirty-six-thirty, and the South
had used up her smaller end, beginning with
the admission of Louisiana in 1812, and ending
with the admission of Arkansas in 1836. No
more territory remained to the South, except
Florida and the Indian Territory until the ad-
mission of Texas ; and these were no match in
extent to the vast region of the Northwest
after the settlement of the Oregon boundary.
Hence came the Mexican War.
The Mexican War was ostensibly waged on
account of Texas ; but there was a deeper
cause. It was the South that furnished the
majority of the soldiers; it was the spirit of the
DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA 243
South that pushed the war to a finish, resulting
in the dismemberment of Mexico, and the add-
ing to our public domain the boundless wilder-
ness of the Southwest. The object was to
carve the California country into slave States,
and thus balance the future free States of the
North. Thus we see the great political signifi-
cance of California.
The treaty of Gaudaloupe Hidalgo, con-
cluded February 2, 1848, resulted, as every one
foresaw, in the cession by Mexico to the United
States of the unsettled wilderness in the South-
west. The Mexicans did not dream perhaps
of the fabulous wealth that lay hidden so near
the surface throughout a large portion of the
ceded territory ; and even if they had, the con-
ditions would not have been changed, for their
country lay helpless at the feet of the con-
querors from the North.
Suttees Sawmill
California was a wild country in 1848. The
inhabitants, who numbered but a few thousand,
were a strange mixture of Yankees from the
East, Mormons, Mexicans and wild Indians
244 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
with a sprinkling of Hawaiians, negroes,
and Europeans. They lived for the most part
in rude log huts or adobe houses, scattered
through the wilderness near the cattle ranches
or missions, or clustered here and there into
groups .that promised to grow into towns and
cities whenever civilization should penetrate
into that remote region.
Northeast from the rude village of San
Francisco lay the beautiful valley of the Sacra-
mento River. The most important personage
in this valley was the enterprising Swiss, John
A. Sutter. He had come into that country
nine years before, possessed himself of some
thousands of acres of land, and on the north
bank of the American River, near its junction
with the Sacramento, had built a fort, known
far and near as Sutter's Fort, and this became
the radiating point of all the settlements in the
Sacramento Valley.1
Sutter had several hundred men in his em-
ploy ; he owned twelve thousand cattle, fifteen
thousand sheep, and other property in like pro-
portion. He was truly a prince in the western
1H. H. Bancroft's Works, Vol. 23, p. 12.
DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA 245
wilds, and was monarch of all he surveyed. In
the employ of Sutter was a man named James
W. Marshall, a carpenter from New Jersey.
Sutter decided to build a sawmill, chose Mar-
shall to manage its construction, and made him
a partner in its ownership. Owing to its prox-
imity to the best timber land, a site was chosen
on the south fork of the American River, about
forty miles eastward from Sutter's. Fort, and
near the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
The place was called Coloma.
Here at the beginning of the year 1848 Mar-
shall, with a few Mormons and Indians, was
engaged in building the sawmill when he made
the discovery that was destined to move the
world. They had been digging a mill-race, and
to wash out the loose earth a current of water
was occasionally turned into it. On the after-
noon of the 24th of January as Marshall was
walking leisurely along the newly washed out
mill-race, he noticed in the sand numerous
yellow glittering particles that proved to be
gold !
Marshall, a few days later, after convincing
himself of the nature of his find, mounted a
246 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
horse and hastened to Sutter's Fort. Finding
Mr. Sutter alone, he exhibited his nuggets, and
the two men, applying every test within their
reach, were fully convinced that the shining
metal was gold. They then decided not to
reveal the secret at that time ; but such secrets
are hard to keep. In a very few weeks all the
settlers in the valley had heard of Marshall's
discovery, but the majority were slow to believe
that anything would come of it.1
More than three months passed before the
people throughout California were fully con-
vinced that a great discovery had been made.
But when, early in May, some of the miners
came to San Francisco laden with bottles, tin
cans, and buckskin bags filled with the precious
metal — when one Samuel Brannan, holding up
a bottle of the dust in one hand, and swinging
1 It is not true, as many believe, that a furor of excitement
was created at the first news of the discovery. The fact is, most
of the people beyond Sutter's community dismissed the subject
from their minds as of little importance, many refusing to be-
lieve the report. The two San Francisco weekly newspapers
scarcely mentioned the subject during the winter. Men wish-
ing to visit the alleged gold-fields, would pretend they had other
business in that part of the country.
DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA 247
his hat in the other, passed through the streets
shouting, " Gold ! gold ! gold from the Ameri-
can River! " — they could doubt no longer.
The conversion of San Francisco was com-
plete. The people were now ready to believe
every report from the mines, however exagger-
ated ; and immediately the rush began. Many
sold all their possessions and hastened to the
gold-fields. All other business came to a stand-
still. The two newspapers suspended publica-
tion for want of workmen. By the middle of
May three-fourths of the male population of
the town had gone to the mines. The prices
of shovels, pickaxes, blankets, and the like rose
in a few days to six times their former value.
The town council abandoned its sittings ; the
little church on the plaza was closed ; farms
were left tenantless, and waving fields of grain
let run to waste. The judge abandoned the
bench, and the doctor his patients.1 The ex-
citement spread down the coast to Monterey,
to Santa Barbara, to Los Angeles, and to San
Diego, and the result was the same. The
people were seized with a delirium, and the one
1 H. H. Bancroft, Vol. 23, p. 62.
248 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
universal cry along the coast, from the seashore
to the mountains, was gold ! gold !
The " Forty- Niners"
As the telegraph and the railway had not yet
penetrated the western wilderness, the news of
the wonderful discovery was slow to reach the
East. It was estimated that by midsummer
four thousand men were scattered through the
Sacramento Valley searching for the golden
treasure, and this number was considerably
augmented before the end of the year; but it
was not until the next year that the emigrants
from abroad began to arrive. Then they came
in crowds. Before the close of the year 1849,
seventy-five thousand had reached the golden
shores to seek for the hidden wealth. These
were called " Forty-Niners " ; and this name
was also applied to others who came later.
The sea was dotted with ships from every
clime headed for the Pacific coast. Great cara-
vans wound their way across the western plains
toward the setting sun. Men from every
corner of the Union, men of every religion,
every nationality, as if led by an unseen siren,
DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA 249
hastened to join the moving trains to the land
of gold.
But, lo ! a terrible visitor came that year — a
visitor that stalks from land to land, and leaves
desolation frightful and irreparable in his trail.
It was the cholera! The cholera seized these
west-bound trains, and many a weary traveller
never reached his Eldorado, but found a name-
less grave far from friends and home, upon the
vast and trackless regions West ! Other foes
there were — famine and exposure, the snows of
the Sierras, the wild beast, and the wild Indian.
Against these the hardy pilgrim could, in some
measure, fortify himself; but that dreadful
enemy, the cholera, found him unarmed — and
thousands yielded to its deadly embrace.
A long and wearisome journey it was, but
a great number braved its perils. Sometimes
the line of wagons was unbroken for miles,
and at night the gleaming camp-fires looked
like the lights of a distant city.1 Some took
their families with them ; but the great ma-
jority were unmarried, or left their families in
the East, intending to return. It was near
1 H. H. Bancroft, Vol. 23, p. 146.
250 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
midsummer when this stream of humanity be-
gan to pour into the Sacramento Valley —
some to realize the dream of fortune that
had lured them from their homes ; but more
to be disappointed, to return broken in spirit
and in health, or to find an unknown grave
in the wilderness.
Not only from beyond the mountains, but
also from the sea, the treasure seekers were
pouring into the land of promise. They came
from every corner of the globe — from the
far-off Orient, from the frozen North, and
from the sunny South. The news of the
golden discovery had been published in all
the leading newspapers throughout the world,
and the excitement created in foreign coun-
tries was scarcely less than in our own coun-
try. Ships were diverted from the channels
of commerce and headed for California, where
they began to arrive in the early spring of
1849; and during that year and the next
hundreds of vessels were left helpless at San
Francisco, their crews having caught the gold
fever and "deserted them.1
1 W. T. Sherman's Memoirs, Vol. I. p. 96.
DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA 25 1
The voyage around Cape Horn was long
and perilous, and many a weary voyager wept
for joy on coming in sight of the Golden
Gate. But a large number went by way of
Panama ; and, owing to the false promises of
the fraudulent agents of whom they had pur-
chased their tickets, and to the inability of
the vessels to return from San Francisco for
want of crews, thousands were forced to re-
main for weeks and even months on the
isthmus, where the deadly climate and the
cholera swept many into the grave.
A View of the Miners and the Mines
Within three years after the first discov-
ery by Marshall it was estimated that one
hundred thousand men were at work in the
California gold mines. This number was in-
creased but little in the years following, as
the new arrivals scarcely exceeded in number
the losses by death and the numbers leaving
for their homes.
Coloma, the site of the original discovery,
was for a time the centre of all mining opera-
tions; but, as the crowds came in, the field
252 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
was widened until it covered most of the Sac-
ramento Valley and the western slope of the
Sierra Nevada Mountains ; it was later ex-
tended southward through the San Joaquin
Valley. The mines in various places were
exceedingly rich in gold deposits, as much as
ten thousand dollars' worth of the metal being
frequently taken from a claim ten feet square.
Gold was found in grains, pellets, scales, and
in seams through quartz. Nuggets weighing
a pound or more were frequently found. The
largest nugget ever found in the California
mines was unearthed by five poor men in
November, 1854. It weighed one hundred
and sixty-one pounds, was about seven-eighths
pure, and yielded thirty-five thousand dollars.
The yield of gold throughout California
reached the sum of sixty-five million dollars
in one year (1853); and the entire output in
the first eight years was about five hundred
million dollars.
Such figures would seem to indicate that
every miner must have made a fortune; but
this is far from the truth. Some, it is true,
were wise enough, after a rich find, to aban-
DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA 253
don the field before spending or wasting what
they had gained ; others, honest, well-meaning
men who had left families in the East, worked
steadily with fair returns, until they had laid
by a competence, after which they returned
to their homes. But the majority of the
miners were as poor after several years' toil
as when they began.
Some of these were of the unlucky, ne'er-
do-well sort who fail at everything they at-
tempt;1 but a greater number were of the
1 Among these may be named Marshall, the original discov-
erer. He lacked the ability to compete with other miners.
In religion he was a spiritualist, and he flitted here and there
among the mines searching for some rich treasure in obedi-
ence to his supposed supernatural guides. Ill luck followed
him constantly, and he became petulant, morbid, and misan-
thropic. He died in poverty and obscurity, alone in his
cabin, in 1885. Two years later the California legislature ap-
propriated five thousand dollars for the erection of a monument
to the memory of Marshall. The monument was erected on
a hill near the place of the first discovery of gold. On the
monument stands the figure of a man with outstretched hand,
the finger pointing to the exact spot where Marshall picked up
the first shining nugget of gold.
Sutter was also among the unsuccessful. The discovery of
gold proved his ruin. It led to the destruction of his land and
cattle, and scattered his laborers far and wide. His vast pos-
sessions soon dwindled to nothing, and for sustenance he
254 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
profligate class, who, at the end of each week,
would hie to the drinking and gambling dens,
and there carouse till the week's earnings
were gone. And even the honest man was
often lured to his ruin by these glittering
dens.
The gambling shark was early on the
ground. He came not to work, but to lie in
wait for the sturdy miner returning to camp
with the fruit of his toil ; and too often the
silly fly allowed himself to be entrapped in
the spider's web. One man, after some weeks
of fruitless search, found a pocket of gold in
a river bank from which he gathered several
thousand dollars' worth in a few hours. But
prosperity was too much for him ; the gam-
blers had him in their power before night,
and by midnight he was drunk and penniless.
The dress of the miner consisted of a coarse
woollen or checked shirt, loose trousers tucked
into high, wrinkled boots, a broad-brimmed
slouch hat, and a belt round the waist, from
accepted donations from the State. He lacked the ability to
profit by the vast opportunities that had been thrown in his
way. — Bancroft, Vol. 23, p. 103.
DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA 255
which bristled his knife and pistols. The
average miner was honest, faithful to a friend,
quick to resent an injury, but forgiving, and
generous to a fault. He cultivated an air of
reckless daring, and looked with contempt on
all things effeminate. When too far from
camp to reach it at night, he slept in the
open air on a bed of leaves or wrapped in his
blanket. He lived so near to Nature's heart
that in a few years, if he remained, he lost
his hold on the refinements of civilization, and
became almost as much a child of the forest
as was the untamed Indian. The long hair
falling over his shoulders and the untrimmed
beard gave him a wild and shaggy appear-
ance, but the twinkle of good humor in his
eye soon dispelled any fears that his appear-
ance might awaken in the timid.
Camp-life among the miners had its joys
as well as its hardships. There was an air
of social freedom unknown in the other set-
tlements. Democracy reigned supreme, and
social caste was nowhere tolerated. A man
might vie with his neighbor in hunting gold,
or in feats of strength ; but if he attempted
256 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
to outdo him in dress, personal appearance,
or refinement of manner, he was instantly
marked as an object of ridicule.
Family life among the miners there was al-
most none. Here and there was a man whose
wife had accompanied him and shared his
wild life in the wilderness, but the vast major-
ity were unmarried, or had broken home ties,
and left their families in the East.
Many of the camps were entirely without
women, and here was illustrated most vividly
how Nature has made the sexes each indis-
pensable to the other. These horny-handed
pioneers would often walk ten miles and more
simply to see a woman, without expecting to
form her acquaintance. It often happened
in the towns, that a miner, meeting a little
girl in the street, would catch her up in his
arms, shower her face with kisses, and release
her only after dropping an ounce or more of
gold dust into her hand. Wild life in the
forest seemed to increase rather than dimin-
ish in these men's hearts the feeling of ten-
derness toward women and children. The
dearth of women on the Pacific coast was
DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA 257
felt for several years, and it left a lasting im-
pression on the community. For many years
afterward it was difficult to find a jury in
all California that would convict a woman for
any crime.
During the first few years following the
gold discovery, great numbers of people came
to California, not with the intention of return-
ing, but to make the Golden State their homes.
Towns sprang up in many places; law and
order gradually took the place of rowdyism
and disorder. The time was at hand for Cali-
fornia to enter the glorious galaxy of States
in which she was destined to become one of
the brightest stars.
California in National Politics
A presidential election following close upon
the Mexican War, one of the successful gene-
rals, Zachary Taylor, the hero of Buena Vista,
was chosen to the high office. General Win-
field Scott had won victories equal to those of
Taylor, but he did not receive equal honor to
that accorded Taylor; and the reason was
that his laurels were won at a later period.
258 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
when the American people had, in some meas*
ure, lost their interest in the struggle.
A great movement usually wins in popu-
larity as it shows its ability to succeed, but
the opposite was true in the case of the Mexi-
can War, notwithstanding the unbroken suc-
cess of the Americans. The reason for this
change of sentiments was, first, the people
began to feel a little ashamed of dealing so
harshly with a weak sister republic ; and,
second, the enthusiasm in the North was les-
sened by the fear that the lands about to be
acquired from Mexico would become slave
territory, while the people of the South expe-
rienced a similar change of heart from the
very opposite cause — a fear that those lands
would not become slave territory.
During the brief presidential term of Zachary
Taylor, the North and the South were at vari-
ance on this great question. The strife was
deep-seated, and the peace of the Union was
seriously threatened, when suddenly a new
and unforeseen element entered into the con-
test. This new element was furnished by the
application of California for statehood. Cali
DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA 259
fornia had been settled far more rapidly than
any other portion of our country, and before
the close of the year 1849 a convention met
at Monterey, framed a State constitution, and
made application for admission into the Union.
This constitution expressly forbade slavery
within the State. The miners were, with few
exceptions, men who did not own slaves,
though many had come from the South. The
slaveholders had, as a rule, found it inexpe-
dient to leave their homes, and go to the dis-
tant mines, and impossible to remove thither
with their slaves and be successful. It was,
therefore, the non-slaveholding class that made
up the population of the Pacific coast, and,
when the constitution was framed, the vote
was unanimous to exclude slavery forever
from the bounds of the new State.
This was a severe blow to the South. Cali-
fornia was the garden of the Pacific slope, the
very best portion of the newly acquired terri-
tory, and to see their darling institution forever
prohibited from it was more than the slave-
holders could bear. Moreover, if California
became a free State, the balance in the Senate
260 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
would be broken, and the preponderance of
political power would henceforth rest with the
North. The South, therefore, sternly resisted
the admission of the new State in that form,
and demanded that it be divided in the middle
and the southern half made a slave State.
A convention of leading southern statesmen
met at Nashville, Tennessee, and declared that
any State had a right to secede from the
Union. The whole South was threatening to
break up the Union if the North did not yield.
Such was the condition of affairs when that
memorable year, 1850, was ushered in — memo-
rable not so much for the death of the Presi-
dent and of the great Calhoun, as for the
excessive commotion of the people and for
the extraordinary working of Congress. Cali-
fornia was knocking loudly for admission ; the
South was hostile and threatening to destroy
the Union, while the people of the North were
in equal turmoil — about half preferring to yield
for the sake of peace, the other half declaring
frantically that slavery should encroach no far-
ther on free soil.
While this unrest of the people was at its
DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA 26 1
height, the Thirty-First Congress met. The
United States Senate was the ablest that ever
met in the nation's capital. There we find
for the last time the great triumvirate, Clay,
Webster, and Calhoun, and these were ably
seconded by William H. Seward, Stephen A.
Douglas.. Jefferson Davis, Thomas H. Benton,
Salmon P. Chase, and many lesser lights.
Early in the session Clay, the great com-
promiser, came forward with his last and
greatest compromise, known in history as the
Omnibus Bill, or the Compromise Measures
of 1850. This bill consisted of five meas-
ures, one of which was the admission of Cali-
fornia as a free State. It was debated for
several months, torn to pieces, and finally
passed piecemeal. Clay announced that on a
certain day in February he would speak on
the bill, and thousands of his admirers came, to
Washington from various sections of the Union
to hear this last and greatest speech of his
life. Three historic speeches by Calhoun, Web-
ster, and Seward followed in March. Thus the
battle of the giants continued during the spring
and summer ; but before any of the measures
262 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
of this famous bill became law, the country
was shocked by the death of President Taylor,
which occurred on the 9th of July, 1850. Tay-
lor was a southern man and a slaveholder, but
his patriotism rose high above his partisanship ;
his feelings were national and not sectional.
After the brief interruption occasioned by the
obsequies of the dead President and by the in-
stallation of his successor, Millard Fillmore of
New York, the discussion of the great meas-
ures was resumed, and early in September the
one with which we are dealing in this chapter,
the admission of California as a free State,
became a law. Thus the political balance in
the United States Senate was broken, never
to be restored. The South had long been in
the minority in the Lower House, and now the
loss of equal power in the Senate produced
the general belief throughout that section that,
as regards National legislation, the institution
of slavery would henceforth be at the mercy of
the North.
CHAPTER XIV
The Underground Railroad
The expression " Underground Railroad "
was used to designate the system of giving
aid to slaves escaping from their masters.
The historic interest in the subject rests, not
so much on what was done by its operation,
as on the index it furnishes to popular feel-
ing at the North on the slavery question.
Under this heading we shall also notice the
famous Fugitive Slave Law and its working.
It is difficult for us to realize in this genera-
tion how great was the agitation of the peo-
ple throughout the country on the slavery
question, during the decade immediately pre-
ceding the Civil War. The abolition senti-
ment at the North, led by Benjamin Lundy,
William Lloyd Garrison, E. P. Lovejoy, Joshua
R. Giddings, and others, had begun to make
itself felt away back in the thirties. The
263
264 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Liberty party made its appearance in national
politics in 1840. It cast but seven thousand
votes that year, but four years later its vote
exceeded sixty thousand ; and while the party,
as such, never played a great part in the
Nation's affairs, its steady growth and the prin-
ciples it infused in the greater political organ-
izations showed plainly the direction in which
the political wind was blowing. The South
became alarmed at the spread of abolition
feeling at the North. Calhoun, the great
champion of the slave power, foresaw the
threatened dangers, and he solemnly called
upon the North to suppress the spreading evil,
predicting the gravest consequences if this was
not done. But, with all his prophetic vision,
the great slavery champion made one serious
miscalculation. He was right when he said
that if the moral consciousness of a majority
of the people opposed slavery, slavery must
fall ; but he was wrong in believing that human
legislation can govern the conscience of the
people.
As stated in the last chapter the admission
of California as a free State offended the
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 265
South ; but there was another measure in that
famous mid-century legislation that met with
still greater opposition, and became a more
potent factor in bringing about a final crisis
that followed ten years later. This time it was
the North that was offended, and the law that
caused the offence is known as
The Fugitive Slave Law.
The first Fugitive Slave Law was passed in
1793. The Constitution of the United States
had, in Article IV., Section II., provided for
the delivering up of persons bound to service,
escaping from one State into another. The law
of 1793 was therefore constitutional, and it
remained in force and unchanged for more
than half a century, when it was supplanted
by the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. This law
of 1850 was, to say the least, a vicious meas-
ure ; the old law, hard as it was upon the
black man, was now changed for the worse.
The South as a whole cannot be said to have
been responsible for this inhuman law. It was
forced upon the country by a class of slave-
holders who were exasperated at the loss of
266 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
California, and who now demanded, as a par-
tial compensation, that the Fugitive Slave
Law be enacted and accepted by the North.
It was supported also by many of the milder
type of southern men, such as Henry Clay,
and by some from the North, not because
they believed it a good thing in itself, but
because they believed it necessary to yield
thus far to the demands of the South for the
sake of peace between the two great sections
of the country.
President Millard Fillmore, on September 18,
1850, signed the Fugitive Slave Law, and by
this act, more than by any other, he is remem-
bered in American history. By this act he
covered his name with dishonor, and no sub-
sequent show of patriotism could efface it.
The storm of protest that came from his own
section was fierce and uncontrollable, and the
name of Fillmore was inseparably linked with
the offensive law. In signing that bill, it has
been said, the President signed his own death-
warrant as a national statesman ; and yet it
is difficult to see how he could have avoided
doing what he did, without bringing on the
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 267
country a greater disaster, for the temper of
the South was such that a rejection of the
law would no doubt have resulted in the imme-
diate secession of some or all of the slave
States. And secession at that time would cer-
tainly have resulted in a dissolution of the
Union, as there was then no great political
party pledged to the maintenance of its
integrity.
The Fugitive Slave Law was inhuman and
unjust. This we say in all candor and without
partisan bias ; and there is every reason to
believe that any intelligent American citizen
of to-day, whether from the North or from
the South, will subscribe to the same thing.
The old Roman law gave the benefit of the
doubt to the slave,1 but our own law in this
nineteenth century took a step backward from
pagan Rome, and so arranged its provisions
that the ignorant black man had no means of
defending his own cause.
The act had scarcely become a law when
some parts of the North were overrun by man-
hunters. These were not usually the owners
1 Rhodes, Vol. I. p. 186.
268 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
of the alleged runaway slaves, but their agents,
often coarse, brutal men whose better instincts
had been smothered by years of slave-driving.
The law empowered these men, not only to
capture and bring to trial any negro they
might suspect of being the fugitive sought,
but also to call, through the aid of officers,
on any bystanders to assist in making the
capture, and imposed a penalty for refusing.
The trial of the negro was little more than
a farce. The agent took him before a com-
missioner, appointed for the purpose, and
made oath that he was the one sought. No
jury was required. The black man could not
testify in his own behalf. The law was against
him in every way ; even the commissioner
was bribed by it, for if he decided in favor
of the agent he received ten dollars as his
fee, and but half that sum if he discharged
the negro.
It was evident that such a law could do
little but irritate all true lovers of justice.
At the North it was received by the great
majority of the people with every demonstra-
tion of disapproval. Great meetings were held
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 269
in the cities throughout the North, and the
Fugitive Slave Law was denounced in un-
measured terms as a violation of the Consti-
tution of the United States and of the laws
of God. From thousands of pulpits the law
was denounced as an unjust and wicked
measure.1
On two grounds it was claimed that this
law was unconstitutional. First, it denied
trial by jury, while the seventh amendment
to the Constitution guarantees the right of
trial by jury "when the value in controversy
shall exceed twenty dollars." The slaveholder
evaded this by claiming that there was no
controversy between persons, since the slave
was only a piece of property, and had no
rights before the law. Second, it was an
ex post facto law, as applied to slaves who had
escaped before its passage, and all ex post facto
laws are forbidden by the Constitution.
There were some twenty thousand negroes in
the North who had escaped from bondage before
the law was passed, many of whom had lived
in the North for many years, had married and
1 Wilson's " Rise and Fall of the Slave Power," Vol. II. p. 305.
270 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
settled down to a quiet, industrious life. Ah
of these were subject to the Fugitive Slave
Law of 1850; if found by the owner or his
agent they could be seized, torn from their
families, and carried back to the South.
The most objectionable feature of this law
to the Northern mind was found in the clause
that made it compulsory on a citizen to aid
the slave-hunter in capturing his prey. Thou-
sands of people in the North believed that a
man held in bondage for no crime — simply
on account of the color of his skin and the
accident of his birth — had a right to escape,
if he could, and their impulse was to aid
him if in their power; but the command of
the law was that they must aid his pursuer,
regardless of feeling and conscience in the
matter. The burning question then arose in
the minds of many : Shall we obey the laws
of our country or the higher law of conscience ?
With a large number the decision was for the
latter ; they determined to resist the law with-
out regard to results. Any one can readily
see with what extreme difficulty a law can be
enforced when opposed by the moral conscious-
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 27 1
ness of a large portion of the people in the
midst of whom it is expected to operate.
The Fugitive Slave Law in Operation
There can be no better way of showing the
reader how the Fugitive Slave Law worked
than to cite a few examples of its practical
application.
One of the first instances to attract atten-
tion was the case of William Smith of Colum-
bia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Smith
was a colored man who had escaped from
slavery long before, and had lived quietly at
Columbia for several years with his wife and
children. One day, while working on the
street, he saw a skve-catcher approaching
him, and, attempting to escape, he was shot
dead.
Another instance, occurring in the same
county in 185 1, turned out differently and at-
tracted far wider attention. A man named
Gorsuch, from Baltimore County, Maryland,
with his son and several friends, came into
the county in search of two fugitives who had
escaped three years previously. The party,
2^2 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
all well armed, found their prey near the little
town of Christiana. The negroes had taken
refuge in an old house, where, with several
friends of their own color, they determined
to fight for their freedom, the fugitives de-
claring that they would rather die than go
back into slavery. A horn was blown as a
signal to the colored people of the neighbor-
hood, and in a short time a large number,
armed with guns, axes, and clubs, had col-
lected. Two white men also appeared, and
were called on by the officer in charge to
assist in making the arrest. This they indig-
nantly refused to do. They belonged to the
Society of Friends, and the Friends were ever
vigilant in assisting the slave when possible.
The Gorsuch party demanded the surrender
of the fugitives, and, on being refused, they
opened fire. The fire was returned ; Gorsuch
was killed and his son severely wounded.
President Fillmore soon afterward sent a large
body of officers to the scene to arrest the
offenders. Several men were brought to trial
for resisting the law, but the moral sentiment
in Pennsylvania rendered conviction extremely
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 273
difficult, and no punishments followed. The
two fugitives were never captured.
On numerous occasions fugitives were caught
and carried back to the South ; but the temper
of the northern people was such that it was
no easy task to enforce the law, and the fugi-
tive was usually able to evade the slave-hunter ;
this was sometimes accomplished by the aid
of men who defied the law and forcibly res-
cued the negro. This is well illustrated in
the case of the " Jerry rescue " at Syracuse,
New York. In October, 1851, a mulatto named
Jerry McHenry, an industrious mechanic of
Syracuse, being claimed by a man from Mis-
souri as his former slave, was captured and
imprisoned to await trial. Early in the even-
ing twenty or thirty men, led by Gerrit Smith,
a wealthy, great-hearted man, and the Rev.
Samuel May, a man of unwonted courage, de-
termined on the rc3cue of Jerry. With the
utmost coolness they proceeded to the police-
office, overpowered the officer, battered down
the door, rescued the prisoner, and placed
him in a carriage. After some days' conceal-
ment in the city, Jerry was sent to Canada,
T
274 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
where the laws of England made him a free
man.
The case of Anthony Burns of Boston at-
tracted national attention and became the most
famous of all the captures under the detested
law. Burns was a colored waiter in a Boston
hotel. He was a runaway from Virginia, and
was captured by the slave-hunters in May,
1854. In a short time the city was in an
uproar concerning Burns, who was confined
in the court-house, the laws of the State pro-
hibiting the use of the jail for such a pur-
pose. The New England sense of justice was
deeply offended, and the people acted on the
principle laid down by Sumner that they
would not permit a man who had lived peace-
ably among them for several years to be
dragged back into slavery.
An excited meeting was held at Faneuil Hall
and was addressed by Wendell Phillips and
Theodore Parker. Late at night this meeting
resolved itself into a mob, and the men that
composed it proceeded to the court-house deter-
mined to rescue Burns if in their power. Here
they found a crowd of colored men already
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 275
battering at the court-house doors. The militia
was called out and the mob driven back. One
man was killed. The prisoner was not rescued,
and the city remained like a seething ocean all
night. When Burns's trial came off, he was
awarded to the claimant. He was marched
through the streets of the city guarded by sev-
eral hundred armed soldiers. No further
attempt at his rescue was made, but the streets
were lined with an excited multitude, hissing
and jeering and threatening. The prisoner was
landed in a vessel waiting at the wharf, and it
was soon steaming away bearing him back to
the land of bondage.
Anthony Burns's experience had so pro-
foundly stirred public feeling in Massachusetts
that it was not difficult to raise a purse for his
purchase. This was done, and his owner being
induced to sell him, he was purchased, brought
back to the North, and sent to Oberlin College
in Ohio, where a few years later he died.
Working of the Underground Railroad
The system of giving aid and comfort to
runaway slaves had its origin in the early part
276 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
of the century, and later came to be known as
the Underground Railroad. The term was
first used in this sense at Columbia, Pennsyl-
vania. Most of the people of this town were
in sympathy with the slave, and when a fugitive
arrived here, he was hidden or spirited away
by them. The slave-hunters would track their
property as far as Columbia, when they lost all
trace or sign, and they declared that "there
must be an underground railroad somewhere."1
The system was for many years before the
Civil War carefully organized, had its regular
stations twenty miles or more apart, and did
most of its work in secret. A Vigilance Com-
mittee in Philadelphia, composed of the best
citizens, received the fugitives who came to
that city, and furnished hundreds of them with
free tickets to Canada.
Many of the slaves in the South were treated
with kindness by their masters and had little
desire for freedom ; others were content to
remain in bondage because of their gross igno-
rance. But with a large number — especially
those who had picked up the rudiments of an
1 Walton and Brumbaugh, "Stories of Pennsylvania," p. 271.
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 277
education — there was that longing for liberty
so natural to the human heart. Others were
driven to seek their liberty by cruel treatment,
and still others because of their fear of the
dreadful auction block. However humane the
slave owner might be, however foreign it was
from his intention to part with any of his
servants, his sudden death or business reverses
might at any time land them on the auction
block for the southern market ; and the most
dreadful thing that could happen to the slave
of the border States was to be "sold to
Georgia " or " sold down the river " to supply
the great plantations in the South. When once
a black was sold to " a trader," and carried to
the far South, he was seldom seen or heard of
again by his friends and kindred. Such a
separation of families and the system that pro-
duced it can be condoned only on the assump-
tion that the negro is devoid of those finer
feelings, those ties of consanguinity, so charac-
teristic of our own race. . -^
Thousands of slaves in whose bosoms burned
a longing for liberty were too timid or too
ignorant to make an attempt to escape. They
278 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
all knew that freedom lay in the direction of
the north star, but further than this the major-
ity knew nothing, except that the distance was
vast and that the way was fraught with
unknown perils. Nevertheless, for many years
before the war, an average of about a thousand
slaves each year escaped from their masters
into the free States. The fugitives for the
most part came from the border States, and
comprised usually the most intelligent of the
race.
Various methods were used by the slaves in
effecting their escape. Some came from the
far South, guided by the north star or by
the trend of a mountain range, secreting
themselves during the day. Some were
stowed away in steam-vessels, others rowed in
open skiffs for hundreds of miles, thus eluding
the keen-scented bloodhound and the more
dreaded slave-catcher. A few reached the
North in boxes, sent as common merchandise.
Women in male attire and men dressed in the
garb of women succeeded in reaching the land
of freedom. In a few instances a slave with a
fair skin and scarcely distinguishable from one
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD (279
of the dominant race would assume the habit
and importance of the master, and take the
ordinary mode of conveyance. The few exam-
ples that follow will give a fair knowledge of
the working of the Underground Railroad.1
'Anthony Blow was a Virginia slave, the
property of a widow, and, on her death, was
about to be transferred to her son-in-law, a
young lawyer. Anthony was quite black,
rather intelligent, and of a temperament that
would not submit to the yoke of slavery. He
had been shot on three occasions for refusing
to be flogged. His new master decided to
sell him to the traders as soon as he came in
possession of him, and he taunted Anthony
by frequently reminding him of this intention.
But when the day of the auction arrived the
negro was nowhere to be found, and the most
diligent search for him proved unavailing.
After concealing himself in the most unheard
of places, in which he suffered almost death, he
found an opportunity to escape to the North.
An employe on a steamship stowed him away
1See Still's "Underground Railroad," Preface. Most of th«
examples that follow are taken from this work.
280 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
in a narrow space directly over the boiler, where
the heat was intolerable. He thought, how-
ever, that he could endure it for the two days
required to reach Philadelphia. But the ship
encountered a storm, was partially disabled,
and eight days elapsed before she reached the
northern port. At the end of this time the
stowaway was more dead than alive ; but, pos-
sessing a powerful frame and the best of
health, and being used to suffering, he soon
recovered under the fostering care of the Vigi-
lance Committee.
The story of Alfred Thornton excited deep
interest, as related by himself after reaching
free soil. His master was a kind man and
Alfred was his constant companion ; the rela-
tion between the two was that of friends. No
slave in the South was more contented with his
lot than Alfred Thornton. But the master met
with serious business embarrassment. One day
as Alfred was at work he saw the constable
and a trader approaching him. He grew
anxious as they came up, and when they took
hold of him he understood all in an instant.
He leaped from their grasp and ran with all
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 28 1
the speed in his power to find his master The
trader fired two shots at him without effect
Finding his master, Alfred threw his arms
about his neck, and cried, " Oh ! Massa, have
you sold me?" "Yes," was the answer. "To
a trader?" "Yes." "Oh! Massa, Massa,
why did you not sell me to some of the neigh-
bors ? " " I don't know," was the dry answer.
Alfred, now seeing the constable and trader
approaching, released his hold and ran again.
After running about a mile he leaped into a
mill-pond, where he remained for two hours
holding his face above the water. While in
this position the thought first came to him that
he would strike for freedom ; and after many
weary days he succeeded in crossing Mason
and Dixon's Line.
In the spring of 1859 a southern lady of
wealth and refinement who stood high in
church and social circles was travelling in the
North with a slave woman called Cordelia.
She stopped at Philadelphia and took up lodg-
ing in a fashionable boarding-house, where she
received attentions from the ttite of the city.
Cordelia, a half-white woman of fifty-seven
282 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
years, neat and respectful, was her body-ser-
vant, and attended all her wants. The lady
professed to have no fear that her servant
would leave her, owing to kind treatment the
latter had always received. But no sooner did
a member of the committee inform the slave-
woman that under the laws of Pennsylvania she
was entitled to her freedom, than she eagerly
seized the opportunity. Her owner was aston-
ished that Cordelia was ready to leave so " kind
and indulgent a mistress," and she begged the
woman to remain with her. The answer to her
pleadings can best be given in Cordelia's own
eloquent words :
" I have attended you ever since you were
born ; I have dressed you and combed your
hair, put on your shoes and stockings, and
nursed you in sickness. I stood by your
mother in all her sickness and nursed her till
she died. I waited on your niece night and
day for months, till she died. I waited on
your husband in his sickness, and shrouded
him in death. What do I get for all this?
You sold all my four children. When my poor
child Nancy was too sick to work, you sent
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 283
her to the field and told the overseer to whip
her every day and make her work, or kill her.
When he sent her back and said, ' There's no
use to try, her health won't stand it,' you sold
her to a New Orleans trader. In selling my
poor children, you treated me as if I had been
a cow; and you've threatened to sell me on
the first insult. But you won't; I'm as free
now as you are."
In Pennsylvania there had been a law passed
that gave freedom to any slave who desired it,
if brought into the State by the owner. The
most notable case that came under this law
was that which brought freedom to Jane John-
son and her two children, and which brought
national fame to Passmore Williamson, a young
Philadelphia lawyer.
Jane Johnson and her two little boys, aged
seven and ten years, were the property of a
prominent gentleman of Washington, who was
appointed in 1855 to a government commis-
sion in Central America. While en route to
New York, where he was to take a steamer,
he stopped in Philadelphia. Mr. Williamson,
hearing that a slaveholder with his slaves was
284 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
on board the boat at the wharf in the Dela-
ware, proceeded with a few companions to
the boat, and informed the black woman that
she and her children were entitled to their
freedom, if they desired it. Before the woman
had time to answer, her owner informed Mr.
Williamson that "Jane did not wish to be
free, that he would give her her freedom at
some future time, and that she had children
in the South from whom she would refuse to
be separated." But Williamson addressed him-
self directly to the woman, and told her that
if she desired her freedom she could have it
that moment by rising and following him, and
this she did.
Williamson was soon afterward thrown into
prison, charged with " forcible abduction " and
contempt of court for refusing to disclose the
hiding-place of the rescued slave-woman. His
imprisonment, covering several months, at-
tracted widespread attention. Hosts of friends
visited his cell, and he received letters of sym-
pathy from all parts of the North.
The owner of Jane Johnson immediately be-
gan legal proceedings to get her back, declar-
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 285
ing that she had been forcibly taken from
him against her own will. But Jane set all
doubts at rest by swearing in open court that
no one forced her in the least, that she left the
boat of her own free will, and that she would
rather die than go back into slavery.
/A novel means of escaping from slavery is
illustrated in the example of Henry Brown.
Brown was an unhappy piece of property,
and, after contemplating long upon how he
might escape from bondage to a land of
liberty, he decided on the plan of having
himself boxed up and sent by express. He
accordingly made a strong box of wood three
feet long by two feet wide and three feet
eight inches high. In this box, lined with
baize and securely nailed up by his best
friend, the negro was stowed, his supplies con-
sisting of a few biscuits and a bladder of
water. The box was sent from Richmond,
Virginia, to the Vigilance Committee at Phila-
delphia. It was marked, "this side up with
care ; " but this did not avail with the different
expressmen, and part of the time it was upside*
down and the occupant rested on his head.
286 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
" Your case of goods is shipped, and will
arrive to-morrow morning," was the contents
of a telegram received by a member of the
Vigilance Committee on the day of the ship-
ping of Brown. To avert suspicion the com-
mittee secured the services of a prominent
merchant of the city to receive the goods
from the express office. The box was soon
landed in a private room of the committee,
and the door safely bolted. The members of
the committee were much agitated. They
could hardly believe that the colored man
would be alive after spending twenty-six hours
in such a condition. Great, therefore, was
their astonishment and delight, when one of
them rapped gently on the box and said, "All
right," and was instantly answered by .a faint
voice from within, "All right, sir ! "
In a few moments, with saw and hatchet, the
lid was removed, and Brown emerged as one
rising from the dead. From this time forth he
was called Henry " Box " Brown. After shak-
ing hands with his deliverers he informed them
that he had promised himself when leaving
Richmond that his arrival hymn, if he lived,
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 287
should be the fortieth Psalm. His small audi-
(
ence grew solemnly silent, and he sang slowly
and touchingly, in the hollow, musical voice
peculiar to his race, the Psalm beginning, " I
waited patiently for the Lord ; and he inclined
^unto me and heard my cry."
In almost every issue of the southern news-
papers during the period just preceding the
Civil War, advertisements of runaway slaves
appeared. The following, from a paper dated
October, 1857, is a fair sample : 2 —
" $2000 Reward. — Ran away from the sub-
scriber on Saturday night, the twenty-fourth
inst, fourteen head of negroes, viz : " (here
follows the name and description of each).
" I will give $ 1 000, if taken in the county,
$1500 if taken out of the county and in the
State, and $2000 if taken out of the State ; in
either case to be lodged in the jail, so that
I can get them again. Samuel P .
" P. S. Since writing the above, I have dis-
covered that my negro woman, Sarah Jane,
twenty-five years old, stout built and chestnut
color, has also run off. S. P."
1 See Still's " Underground Railroad," p. 101.
288 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
We close this chapter by relating one more
escape by means of the Underground Railroad
— one that appears more like a romance .than
an occurrence in real life. William Craft and
his wife, Ellen, were slaves on a Georgia plan-
tation. They longed for liberty ; but the dis-
tance to free soil was great, and the obstacles to
freedom seemed insurmountable. William was
of a chestnut color, while his wife was so fair
that she could pass for a white woman.
At length these two seized on a bold plan for
effecting their escape from bondage. Ellen
was to dress in man's attire and travel as a
young planter with William as the servant. A
fashionable suit of clothes was soon procured,
and the woman's hair was trimmed in the style
worn by the southern gentlemen. But there
were many precautions necessary. Ellen was
beardless, and to overcome this difficulty the
young planter's face was muffled up as if he
were suffering with neuralgia. In fact, it was
decided that the young man must seem very
much indisposed and journeying northward for
medical treatment. To obviate the necessity of
registering at hotels the right arm was placed
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 289
in a sling ; large green spectacles were worn to
hide the feminine eyes. To avoid making
acquaintances he was to be very hard of hear-
ing, and refer all questions to the servant.
They both played their parts most skilfully.
Ellen, when approached by any one, assumed
an air of bold superiority, and referred all ques-
tions to the servant, who was exceedingly active
and attentive to his young master. They
stopped at first-class hotels in Charleston and
in Richmond without creating suspicion ; but
a serious obstacle confronted them in Balti-
more. When William applied at the ticket-
office for tickets to Philadelphia, the agent in-
formed him that it was a rule of the office to
require bonds for all negroes applying for
tickets to go North, and none but gentlemen
of well-known responsibility could obtain them.
The servant assumed a very innocent air and
replied that he knew nothing about that, his
mastei was hastening to Philadelphia for medi-
cal treatment, and his health was so frail that it
was feared he would not hold out till he reached
that city. The agent, at last convinced of the
urgency of the case, threw out the tickets, and
u
29O SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
a few hours later the fugitives reached the City
of Brotherly Love. After remaining here for
some time it was thought prudent to seek a
home farther from the bounds of slavery, and
they went to Boston, where, the fame of their
marvellous escape having preceded them, they
were received with a royal welcome. Here
they lived, with no attempt at concealment, for
two years — until the Fugitive Slave Law was
passed — when it was learned that two slave-
hunters were prowling about the city in search
of them.
William and Ellen Craft had made many
friends in Boston, among whom were Theodore
Parker, the famous preacher, and William
Lloyd Garrison, editor of the Liberator. Their
friends avowed that on no pretext should they
be dragged back into bondage, that they would
defend the fugitives at all hazards. When,
however, it was found that warrants had been
issued for the arrest of the Crafts, when it
was seen that their freedom could be main-
tained in Boston only by the shedding of blood,
an easier method was devised, a purse was
raised for them, and they were sent rejoicing on
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 29 1
their way to England. The British public was
familiar with the romantic story of their escape,
and they were received in London with great
favor by all classes, including the nobility.
All fears of reenslavement were now removed,
and William and Ellen Craft lived happily in
London for many years, never ceasing as long
as they lived to be the objects of curious atten-
tion from the public.///
The constant aid rendered by northern
people to the runaway slaves irritated the
people of the South, and gave a local coloring
to the growing strife between the two great
sections, which found its culmination in the
National Legislature. This contention could
only increase until the cause was removed,
and this could be done only by a final appeal
to the arbitrament of the sword. While the
judgment of posterity is and must ever be
that slavery is wrong, and at variance with
the spirit of Christianity and the onward
march of civilization, it is unjust to blame the
people of the South for the existence of
slavery on their soil. The peculiar institution
had been inherited from our grandfathers'
292 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
days, and our grandfathers had miscalculated,
when they believed that it would ultimately
die and disappear of its own accord. " Least
of all could the North or England cast a stone
at the South, for each had a hand in the
establishing of negro slavery." 1
The South is to be congratulated on the
results of the Civil War. Since the removal
of that blighting institution, which weighed
like a nightmare on southern prosperity, no
section of our country has brighter prospects
than the sunny South, and every fair-minded
citizen of that region knows this to be true.
The writer has talked with many ex-slave-
holders on this subject, and, while some are
not reconciled to the "way in which it was
done," they all agree that the South is far
more prosperous since the curse of slavery
has been removed, and under no considera-
tion would they have their slaves back were
it in their power. The Civil War was a surgi-
cal operation, — severe indeed, but necessary,
— and by it the normal health of the Nation
has been restored. Since that war — since the
1 Rhodes, Vol. I. p. 379.
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 293
downfall of slavery — the North and the South
have come to feel a common brotherhood as
never before ; and so may it ever be ; may
there be one grand harmony increasing with
the years !
CHAPTER XV
The Kansas- Nebraska Bill
An act of Congress passed in 1854 and
known in history as the Kansas-Nebraska Bill
has been pronounced the most momentous
piece of legislation in the United States be-
fore the Civil War. It came as a shock upon
the country in time of unwonted stillness. For
more than ten years, beginning with the Texas
question and ending with the Compromise of
1850, there had been a succession of thunder-
bolts from the political sky, all bearing on the
one disturbing element, slavery. The people
had grown weary of the despised subject and
they longed for rest. With the acceptance,
in 1852, of the Compromise as a finality by
both political parties, it seemed at last that
(barring the local disturbance occasioned by
the Fugitive Slave Law) the longed-for haven
was at hand. But in the midst of the calm
294
THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL 295
there broke forth a political storm more fierce
than any before known to that generation. It
came in the form of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill,
the account of which will be preceded by a
brief review of the
Presidential Election of 1852.
The Whig party in 1852 was in a demoral-
ized condition, owing, principally, to the un-
popular Omnibus Bill, of which that party
was the father. The herculean efforts of the
leaders to bring about harmony proved fruit-
less. Before the Whig convention, which
met in Baltimore in June, were three candi-
dates, all well known to the American public.
First, President Fillmore, the choice of the
entire South. A Northern man, it is true,
was Fillmore ; but he had won the southern
heart by signing the Fugitive Slave Law, and
now he enjoyed the support of that entire
section. Second, Winfield Scott, the choice
of the northern wing of the party, led by
William H. Seward. Scott was a Virginian
by birth, but he was now known to be, not
a slave propagandist, but a sympathizer with
20 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
the free-soil sentiment of the North. The
third candidate was Daniel Webster. The
following of Webster was a personal follow-
ing and was much smaller than that of either
of the others. He was not seriously con-
sidered by either of the great wings of the
party, and the real contest lay between Scott
and Fillmore.
The southern delegates insisted on embody-
ing in the platform a final acceptance of the
Fugitive Slave Law. To this the northern
delegates demurred, but finally yielded, with a
kind of tacit understanding that they would
be allowed to name the candidate. Scott was
therefore nominated, but not until the fifty-
third ballot had been cast, so reluctantly did
the South accept him. This choice, however,
did not bring harmony to the party. The
South was not satisfied with Scott; because,
first, he refused to express himself on the
Fugitive Slave Law, and second, he was too
intimate with Seward, whom every slaveholder
hated. A written protest, signed by Alexander
H. Stephens, Robert Toombs, and other lead-
ing southern Whigs, utterly repudiated Scott,
THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL 2ty
and declared that the signers of it would not
support him. In this disorganized condition
the Whigs went before the country asking the
suffrages of the people, in 1852. Their only
consolation was that the Democrats were in
little better condition.
The Democrats, having also met in Balti-
more, the great convention city of this period,
had several leading candidates to choose from.
There was Cass, the stalwart and dignified
leader; but Cass was weakened by his defeat
of four years before at the hands of General
Taylor, and besides, he was growing old, and
some called him the old fogy. Next, Buchanan,
a leader among the politicians, but not widely
popular with the masses outside his own State.
The third candidate was a young man, brilliant,
dashing, and of extraordinary talents — Stephen
A. Douglas of Illinois. Douglas was but thirty-
eight years old, the youngest man ever seri-
ously proposed for President of the United
States, until the rise of Bryan in 1896. But
Douglas was too young and too dashing to
please the older members, and this constituted
his weakness before the convention. A fourth
298 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
candidate was ex-Governor Marcy of New York;
but, not having made his peace with his own
State, in which he had so lately been a faction
leader, how could he expect the support of
the Nation ?
Thus each prominent candidate disclosed a
weakness that prevented his nomination. The
convention balloted forty times without success,
when a " dark horse " began to loom into view.
It was a young man from New Hampshire,
named Franklin Pierce. Pierce was a man of
some note. He had been in both Houses of
Congress, had declined an invitation to a place
in Polk's cabinet, and had enlisted as a vol-
unteer in the Mexican War, where the Presi-
dent's favor soon made him a brigadier-general,
though he knew little of military affairs. His
father, a private soldier of the Revolution, had
risen to the governorship of New Hampshire.
These advantages, together with his fine ap-
pearance, his winning manners, and his jovial
nature, made Franklin Pierce a general favor-
ite ; but in no sense could he be ranked among
the leading statesmen of his time.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, an old friend and col-
THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL 299
lege classmate of Pierce, wrote his biography,
which received a wide circulation, and the
Democrats were soon united as one man for
their candidate — a thing that could not be
said of the Whigs. As the campaign pro-
gressed it was plain that Scott was losing
ground. This continued steadily until the elec-
tion, when Pierce was triumphantly elected,
Scott carrying but four States, two in the North
and two in the South.
This was the last National campaign of the
Whigs. The party was doomed and was totter-
ing to its fall, and ere another quadrennial
election came round the story of its life was
history.
The Democratic party seemed now to have
a powerful hold upon the country. None could
deny that the future seemed to insure for it
a long lease of power. Already the leading
spirits of the party were casting longing glances
toward the next presidential election, and never
before did the glittering prize seem more sure
to the one who should be so fortunate as to
win the nomination.
300 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Stephen A. Douglas
Among the aspirants to the great office was
the young and brilliant leader from Illinois,
and to him must be attributed the one ex-
traordinary act of Congress by which the
Pierce administration will be remembered in
American history. Douglas was a native of
Vermont ; he had migrated to the prairie State
as a penniless youth, had first worked at a
trade, then read law, and entered the field of
politics. So rapid was his rise that ere he had
reached his fortieth year he was an acknowl-
edged leader in the United States Senate. As
a popular leader representing the great West
there was none to dispute his sway.
But in those days it was necessary for an
aspirant to the presidency to bring forth fruits
to win the favor of the South, and this Douglas
had never done. While searching about for
some bold issue by which he could make
himself champion, Douglas decided upon the
all-important measure known as the Kansas-
Nebraska Bill.
Douglas was the chairman of the Committee
THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL 301
on Territories. There was a vast tract of wil-
derness called Nebraska, lying north and west
of Missouri, and comprising almost half a million
square miles. In January, 1854, Douglas
brought into the Senate a report of the com-
mittee providing for the division of Nebraska
into two Territories to be known as Kansas and
Nebraska. If that had been all it would have
attracted little attention ; but there was one
little clause in the report that caused all the
trouble, and that was that each Territory should
decide for itself whether slavery should exist
within its bounds. This may seem innocent
enough at first sight ; but it repealed the Mis-
souri Compromise of 1820. That compromise
had forbidden slavery forever in the Louisiana
Purchase north of thirty-six degrees and thirty
minutes, and both of these Territories lay north
of that line.
For a whole generation the Missouri Com-
promise had been looked upon as a solemn
compact as binding as a treaty between the
North and the South. It is true the Congress of
1820 had no power to bind its successors; but
the Missouri Compromise was more than an act
302 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
of Congress. It was a solemn agreement of
the people, and that agreement carried with
it a moral force that no subsequent Congress
had a moral right to disturb. Thousands of
people at the North, who were alarmed at the
growing power of slavery, had yet this one
consolation : It cannot come beyond the
forbidden line of thirty-six-thirty. But now
suddenly, unexpectedly, unasked by North or
South, Douglas sprung upon the country this
Kansas-Nebraska Bill, annulling the Missouri
Compromise, and enabling the slaveholder to
carry his human property into the Territories of
the Northwest.
Douglas had consulted with two persons
before taking the important step — President
Pierce and his secretary of war, Jefferson
Davis.1 These three had a long conference on
Sunday, January the 22d, and they agreed
that the Missouri Compromise should be re-
pealed. On the next day Douglas brought the
bill before the Senate. But Douglas did not
have smooth sailing. There were powerful
leaders in his own party whom he could not
1 Schouler, Vol. V. p. 282.
THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL 303
control. Before the close of January these had
published a vigorous protest in the form of an
" Appeal of the Independent Democrats in Con-
gress to the People of the United States." This
was written by Chase and signed by the
leading Free-soil Democrats in Congress ; and it
marked the beginning of the great revulsion of
political parties brought about in the following
years by the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
The news that such an act was about to be
thrust upon the country fell like a bomb in
every section of the North. The people were
first dumfounded at the audacity of Congress
in thrusting such a measure upon them without
making it an issue in any campaign. When
they recovered from their first astonishment
they made themselves heard. The newspapers,
with few exceptions, denounced the proposed
act with great vehemence ; various State legis-
latures raised their voices of protest. Excited
multitudes assembled in the cities and towns
throughout the North to protest against the
measure, and the moral indignation that pre-
vailed had never been equalled since the battle
of Lexington at the outbreak of the Revolution.1
1 Rhodes, Vol. I. p. 463.
304 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Let us take a view of the Senate. One man
there attracts the attention of the country. He
is rather short of stature and compactly built,
has a smooth-shaven face, raven-black hair,
keen, penetrating eyes, and deep, melodious
voice. It is Stephen A. Douglas, the " Little
Giant from the West." Douglas was the
acknowledged leader of the dominant party in
Congress, and as a parliamentary debater he
had no equal in the Nation. His extraordinary
powers lay, not in his extensive learning, for he
was not highly educated, but rather in his subtle
power of reasoning, his ability to becloud and
belittle the best argument of an opponent, to
throw the main points in the background, and
to bring forth some unimportant matter, and
make his hearers believe that it was the thing
after all. There was not a man in the Senate
who could evade his cunning or withstand him
in debate.
But the opposition must not be underrated.
There were Salmon P. Chase and Benjamin
Wade of Ohio, Sumner and Edward Everett of
Massachusetts, Seward of New York, Sam
Houston of Texas, the old hero of San Jacinto,
THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL 305
and others of lesser note. These made a strong
coalition against the proposed measure, and
they disputed the ground inch by inch ; but the
skill and genius of Douglas triumphed over
them all. The bill passed the Senate on the
fourth of March at five o'clock in the morning,
after Douglas had spoken all night.
This last speech of the Illinois senator on the
Kansas-Nebraska Bill was the greatest he ever
made. A short time before midnight he ap-
peared before the crowded chamber with the
conscious strength of a gladiator entering the
arena. His eyes were lit with the fire of genius.
Knowing that the country had already con-
demned him, and believing this to be his great
opportunity to vindicate himself, he now put
forth his best efforts ; and the skill and power
with which he advocated his measure won the
admiration even of his opponents.
When the bill passed the boom of cannon
from the navy-yard announced the victory to
the sleeping city. As Chase walked down the
Capitol steps in the gray dawn of that morning,
he exclaimed to his friend Sumner, "They
celebrate a present victory, but the echoes they
306 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
awake will never rest until slavery itself shall
die." Late in May the famous act passed thex
House, was signed by the President, and be-
came the law of the land.
Reception of the Bill at the North
""- Stephen A. Douglas was a lover of his
country, and, at heart, no doubt an honest man.
Had he foreseen what a storm of indignation his
favorite measure would create in the free States,
there is reason to believe that he never would
have brought it forth. In bidding for southern
favor he had sacrificed his popularity in his
own section. Next to Douglas the one who
reaped the greatest harvest of dishonor was
Franklin Pierce. He was the one man who
could have prevented the enactment of the
law, but, like most of the politicians of the
time, he was unable to rise above an obsequious
truckling to the Slavocracy. The anger of the
people was fierce and implacable. Douglas was
burned in effigy in many places, and was bit-
terly denounced throughout the free States.
Attempting to make a speech in his own city,
Chicago, he was hooted off the stage. He was
THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL 30)
called the Esau who sold his New England
birthright, the betrayer of his country, Judas
Iscariot, and the like; and a society of women
in Ohio reached the acme of contempt by send-
ing him thirty pieces of silver.
The leaders of the party in power had thus
enacted into law a measure the importance of
which can scarcely be overestimated ; but in so
doing they had made one fatal blunder — they"!
had not consulted the people ! The people are
the masters in this country, say what they will
of political bosses. The people may be disre-
garded and their rights trampled under foot for
a time, but they will eventually rise and assert
their power, and woe to the public man who
dares disregard them ! However popular, how-
ever powerful, a political leader may be, if he
set himself against and defy the masses of the
citizens who have raised him to power, he will
soon find himself crushed by the ponderous
weight of public opinion.
Douglas had failed to count the cost. Dash-
ing, brilliant leader that he was, only forty-one
years old, he had won the American heart as
few had ever done before ; but now he oversteps
308 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
the limit of public forbearance, and he finds
himself dashed to the ground like a broken
toy, and his presidential prospects forever
blasted.
Results of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill
There is no doubt that the Civil War was
hastened by this famous legislation of 1854.
Some even claim that there would have been
no war but for the repeal of the Missouri Com-
promise ; this is perhaps claiming too much.
But the bill had a wonderful effect in breaking
up old party lines at the North. Most of the
new States of the Northwest had been solidly
Democratic from the time of their admission
into the Union, but now they abandoned their
first love, and some have never since returned
to it. The same is true of several States in
the East. The Kansas-Nebraska law gave a
final blow to the expiring Whig party, and
opened the way for the formation of a new
party. The founding of the Republican party
within the same year must be named as an
indirect result of the passage of this law.
The Kansas-Nebraska bill caused the border
THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL 309
warfare in Kansas ; it rendered the Fugitive
Slave Law a dead letter throughout the North ;
it brought forth that other son of Illinois,
greater than the " Little Giant," into the arena
of national politics.1 It brought about the
great political revolution of i860; it marked
the beginning of the end of the more than a
half century of Democratic rule in the United
States.
1 Rhodes, Vol. I. p. 490.
CHAPTER XVI
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
The great political discussion known by the
above heading was, with reference to the high
character of the contestants and the importance
of the subjects discussed, the most significant
of its kind in American history. The contest
was certainly a battle of the giants, and the
impression it made on the country was deep
and lasting.
A View of the Two Men
The principals in this great duel, Stephen
A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, had much
in common. Both had risen from poverty and
obscurity — one, born among the New England
hills,1 had sought his fortune in the great West
while still a boy, had entered the political arena
in his early manhood, and had risen until he
1 See Chapter XV.
310
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 311
now held the most conspicuous position in the
highest legislative body in the United States;
the other, born in a slave State among the low-
liest of the lowly, had in early childhood crossed
the border, and was reared among the untu-
tored backwoodsmen, where he picked up a
meagre education as best he could, had en-
tered public life, and, after varying fortunes
for a quarter of a century, was now the ac-
knowledged leader of his party in his State.
Both had made the broad prairie of the West
their permanent home. They had served to-
gether in the Illinois legislature many years
before, and since then had been personal
friends. They had attended the same horse-
races, eaten at the same table, and, it is said,
had loved the same maiden. They were both
honest, fearless, able, and keenly ambitious to
rise in public life. Both were sanguine, jovial,
and companionable ; and each possessed the
rare quality of winning a large circle of friends.
These two political gladiators now stood upon
the same platform in the summer and autumn
of 1858, and addressed the same audience in
seven different Illinois towns, on the most
312 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
momentous question that ever disturbed the
harmony of the Republic ; two years later they
were to stand at the head of their respective
parties and ask the suffrages of their countrymen
for the highest office in their power to bestow.
But the points of difference between Lincoln
and Douglas are more marked than their points
of resemblance. Douglas was low in stature,
compactly built, and his voice was that of the
trained orator; Lincoln was tall and awkward
in appearance, his voice was rather high-pitched
and unpleasant. Douglas was bold and defiant
in style, fluent in speech, severe in denuncia-
tion; Lincoln possessed the power of putting
his thoughts in a terse, simple, epigrammatic
form, so logical that even his great opponent
with all his powers of casuistry could not escape
their force. Douglas had reached the zenith of
his power, and for four years past had held
his lofty position amid adverse political winds
only by his marvellous courage and fortitude ;
Lincoln was just emerging from comparative
obscurity, and was soon to surpass his antag-
onist and become the leading American' of his
time.
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 313
Both men were among the greatest public
characters that our free institutions have pro-
duced. The time, moreover, of their coming
together was portentous. It was a time when
the forces of slavery and freedom had grappled
in a deadly struggle for supremacy in the Gov-
ernment. Considering the standing of the rivals
about to engage in this debate, the time of their
meeting, and the universal interest in the sub-
ject to be discussed, there is no wonder that the
eyes of the whole country were turned for a
season toward the prairie State.
Preliminaries Vf^
Stephen A. Douglas had been for several
years the foremost leader of his party, and his
party had full control of the Government. His
popularity had suffered severe reverses through-
out the North, it is true, on account of the
Kansas-Nebraska Bill ; but he had largely re-
gained his former prestige by the brave stand
he took later on the affairs in Kansas.
The trouble in Kansas arose from an attempt
to put into operation the provisions of the
Kansas-Nebraska Act in that Territory. The
314 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
South was exceedingly anxious to gain another
slave State so as to restore its power in the
United States Senate, which had been broken
by the admission of California as a free State.
The slaveholders, therefore, determined to make
Kansas their prize, and the proslavery party
from Missouri poured into the Territory in
large numbers with the intent of carrying the
elections and making Kansas a slave State. But
the northern people were on the alert. Bands
of emigrants came from all sections of the
North, with an equal determination to make
Kansas a free State. The two parties came to-
gether, and there was fierce conflict resulting
in much bloodshed.
This border warfare, as it was called, con-
tinued for several years, and was the most
annoying of all public questions at the time
when Mr. Buchanan became President in 1857.
President Buchanan was very anxious to settle
the matter without offending either side; but
his sympathies were obviously with the South.
He prevailed on Mr. Robert J. Walker, of Mis-
sissippi, who had been a member of President
Polk's cabinet, to accept the governorship oi
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 315
Kansas, and pledged him the support of the
administration in securing justice for that much
disturbed Territory.
Mr. Walker was a slaveholder, and his sym-
pathies were with the South ; but he was an
honest man, and his sincere desire was to deal
justice to both sides. But scarcely had he
reached Kansas when he found that the pro-
slavery party was carrying things with a high
hand. A proslavery legislature, elected by
fraud,1 met at Lecompton and framed the
famous Lecompton Constitution, making Kansas
a slave State without honestly submitting the
matter to a vote of the people. The honest
soul of Governor Walker revolted against such
proceedings, and he openly opposed the work
of the legislature.
President Buchanan had promised to sustain
Walker ; but from some cause, probably the in-
fluence of certain members of his cabinet, he
now abandoned his friend, and decided to
1 Oxford, Johnson County, returned 1628 votes. It was found
to be a village of but six houses. The names had been copied
from a Cincinnati directory. Many precincts showed similar
false returns. See Nicolay and Hay, Vol. II. p. 105.
316 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
recommend the Lecompton Constitution to
Congress in his annual message in December
Walker was mortified and chagrined at this
action of the President, and, like his three un-
fortunate predecessors, he resigned the govern-
orship and retired to private life.
But President Buchanan had an obstacle to
encounter that was beyond his power to over-
come. He had a greater man than Governor
Walker to deal with, and that was Stephen A.
Douglas. A few days before the opening of
Congress, Douglas called on the President and
protested against his recommending the Le-
compton Constitution, without first submitting it
to a vote of the people of Kansas. Buchanan
warned Douglas not to interfere, nor to oppose
the administration, or he might soon find his
political career at an end. But Douglas with
great courage and with great power denounced
the fraudulent Lecompton Constitution in the
Senate ; and the result was the defeat of
the President, not in the Senate, but in the
House.
Thus Douglas regained a large part of his
lost popularity in the North, but in so doing he
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 317
sacrificed much of his newly won laurels in the
South, besides making a permanent political
enemy of President Buchanan.
The Republican newspapers praised him for
his bold stand for justice and fair play in
Kansas, while some of the Democratic papers
abused him without mercy.
Douglas's third senatorial term was drawing
to a close, and the election of the Illinois leg-
islature in the autumn of 1858 must determine
who should be his successor. Some of the
leading Republican papers, including the New
York Tribune, now advocated the reelection of
Douglas on the ground that he would continue
the fight with the administration and split the
Democratic party.
Horace Greeley of New York and Senator
Crittenden of Kentucky urged the Illinois Re-
publicans not to oppose the election of the
Democratic senator ; but with this request they
refused to comply. Many of the Republicans
of Illinois had been old line Whigs; Douglas
had been their chief opponent for a generation,
and now they found it impossible to overcome
their old prejudices and assist in sending him
318 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
back to the Senate, and hence they producec
their own candidate in the person of Abraham
Lincoln.
The Challenge
The Republican State convention met at
Springfield, Illinois, in June, 1858, and nomi-
nated Abraham Lincoln as their first and only
choice for United States senator. Lincoln was
then called for, and he rose to speak amid the
greatest enthusiasm. The speech that he now
made was one of the most logical ever delivered
on the all-important subject of slavery, and in it
he made the statement that afterward gave him
National fame.
"A house divided against itself," he' said,
" cannot stand. I believe this Government can-
not endure permanently half slave and half
free. I do not expect the Union to be dis-
solved, I do not expect the house to fall, but I
do expect it will cease to be divided. It will
become all one thing or all the other." This
expression was far in advance of public opinion
even in the newly founded Republican party.
Before delivering this speech Lincoln had read
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 319
it to the party managers, and they all save one
disapproved it, and urged that the above ex-
pression be omitted. Lincoln's heroic answer
was : " If it is decreed that I should go down
because of this speech, then let me go down
linked with the truth — let me die in the ad-
vocacy of what is just and right. ... I would
rather be defeated with this expression in the
speech, than be victorious without it." 1 _
In reference to the attempt of the eastern
Republicans to have Douglas sent back to the
Senate, Lincoln said in the same speech,
" They remind us that he is a great man and
that the largest of us are very small ones. Let
this be granted. . . . How can he oppose the
advance of slavery? He does not care any-
thing about it. His avowed mission is impress-
ing the public heart to care nothing about it.
. . . Our cause, then, must be intrusted to
and conducted by its own undoubted friends —
those whose hands are free, whose hearts are in
the work — who do care for the result.2 . . .
1 Rhodes, Vol. II. p. 315.
2 Douglas had said in the Senate that he did not care U
slavery in the Territories was voted down or voted up.
320 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
I wish not to misrepresent Judge Douglas's
position, question his motives, or do aught that
can be personally offensive to him. Whenever,
if ever, he and we can come together on princi-
ple, so that our cause may have assistance from
his great ability, I hope to have interposed no
adventitious obstacle. But clearly, he is not
with us — he does not pretend to be — he does
not promise ever to be."
Lincoln was not ignorant of the greatness of
the task he had undertaken. He well knew
that he was scarcely known beyond the bounds
of his own State, while his opponent enjoyed a
National fame not equalled by that of any other
man. He knew that the masses almost idolized
the Little Giant, as Douglas was called, but
that his own following was for the most part
yet to be won.
But Lincoln was nevertheless anxious to
arrange a series of joint debates in order that
the two might speak from the same platform.
This he thought would be the best way to bring
the issue squarely before the people ; he there-
fore decided to challenge Douglas to such a dis-
cussion. This was a bold move on the part of
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 32 1
Lincoln, for his opponent was the acknowl-
edged champion public speaker in the United
States. He had measured swords on the floor
of the Senate with Seward, Chase, Corwin,
Sumner, and many others, and had surpassed
them all. Lincoln's proposal therefore proved
not only that he had unbounded confidence in
the justice of his cause, but also in his ability
to present it.
On July the 24th he addressed a brief note
to the Democratic candidate asking if it would
be agreeable to him to arrange a series of joint
debates before the same audiences. Douglas
answered on the same day, stating that his
dates had already been fixed for almost the
entire campaign ; but in order to accommodate
his rival he was willing to arrange for one
joint meeting in each congressional district,
except the two in which they had both al-
ready spoken. It was agreed therefore that
they speak from the same platform in seven
different towns on dates beginning the 21st
of August and ending the 15th of October.1
1 The times and places of the seven debates are as follows :
Ottawa, August 21 ; Freeport, August 27; Jonesboro, Septembei
Y
322 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
v The announcement of this arrangement created
much interest, not only in Illinois, but through-
out the Union. Lincoln's party friends were
at first alarmed. They knew of Douglas's mar-
vellous power as an orator, his wonderful
hold on the masses, and his unbroken suc-
cesses from his youth up. But Lincoln had
a clear advantage over his antagonist in sev-
eral particulars. He represented a new and
enthusiastic political party. He stood for free-
dom as against human bondage. He repre-
sented a new and more enlightened civilization,
that was taking hold of the popular heart
with irresistible power, while Douglas was
obliged to defend the worn-out theories and
ideals of a by-gone age./ And, further, Lin-
coln's hands were unbound ; he had nothing
to lose. Douglas, on the other hand, was an
aspirant to the presidency ; and, while his
speeches were addressed to the people of Illi-
nois, he dared not forget that the whole South
was hearing every word and watching every
movement. The opposition which Lincoln had
15; Charleston, September 18; Galesburg, October 7; Quincy,
October 13; Alton, October 15. — Lincoln-Douglas Debates,
p. 66.
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 32 J
encountered from the leaders of his own party
in the East was more than balanced by the
hostility of the Buchanan administration to
Douglas. The two champions were, as before
stated, personal friends. Lincoln had paid
high tribute to the ability and success of his
opponent; Douglas, in his opening speech of
the campaign at Chicago, had referred to Lin-
coln as a "kind, genial, and honorable gen-
tleman." He afterward paid tribute to Lincoln's
ability by stating that in all his discussions at
Washington he had never met an opponent
who had given him so much trouble as Lincoln.
" I have been in Congress sixteen years," said
Douglas, " and there is not a man in the
Senate I would not rather encounter in de-
bate."1
It was agreed that the first speaker occupy
an hour, the second an hour and a half, after
which the first would close with half an hour,,
thus covering three hours in all. At their first
meeting, in Ottawa, Douglas had the opening
and closing. Lincoln had them at Freeport,
and so on alternately to the close. The excite
1 Lincoln-Douglas Debates, p. 340.
324 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
ment of the people rose to fever heat. The
meetings were held in the open air, as no hall
was large enough to hold the crowds that
gathered.
Extracts
We shall not attempt to give even an out-
line of the speeches in this great contest. A
few extracts will show the general trend of
the argument. There was but one important
subject treated by the contestants, and that
was the slavery question, or rather the par-
ticular phase of it arising from the Kansas-
Nebraska Bill and the Dred Scott Decision —
the advance of slavery into the Territories.
Douglas rang many changes on Lincoln's
Springfield utterance that " A house divided
against itself cannot stand," and its applica-
tion to slavery in the United States. This
doctrine, he claimed, instead of allaying the
strife between the North and the South, would
foster and encourage it until a war of sections
would result.
Lincoln disclaimed all intention of inviting
a war of sections ; but reiterated his belief that
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 325
one side or the other would eventually become
supreme throughout the country. "Is slavery
wrong ? " said Lincoln, " that is the real issue.
That is the issue that shall continue in this
country when these poor tongues of Judge
Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the
eternal struggle between two principles — right
and wrong — throughout the world. . . . The
one is the common right of humanity and the
other the divine right of kings. It is the
same principle in whatever shape it develops
itself. It is the same spirit that says : ' You
work and toil, and earn bread, and I'll eat it' "
Lincoln appealed again and again to that
clause in the Declaration of Independence,
"All men are created equal." "This," he in-
sisted, "meant all men, and not simply all
white men, — created equal," not in mental
endowments nor in worldly station, but in their
natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness. " I agree with Judge Douglas,"
said he, " that the negro is not my equal
in many respects . but in the right to eat
the bread, without the leave of anybody else,
which his own hand earns, he is my equal,
326 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the
equal of every living man." His most elo-
quent apostrophe to the Declaration of Inde-
pendence had been uttered early in August
at Beardstown. The speech closed with the
following words : —
" You may do anything with me you choose,
if you will but heed these sacred principles.
You may not only defeat me for the Senate,
but you may take me and put me to death.
While pretending no indifference to earthly
honors, I do claim to be actuated in this con-
test by something higher than an anxiety for
office. I charge you to drop every paltry and
insignificant thought for any man's success.
It is nothing; I am nothing; Judge Douglas
is nothing. But do not destroy that immor-
tal emblem of humanity — the Declaration of
American Independence."
To Douglas's frequent assertion that the
fathers who framed the Constitution were con-
tent to let slavery alone, but that Lincoln only
increased the agitation by taking the stand
he did, the latter replied, " There is no way of
putting an end to the slavery agitation amongst
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 327
us but to put it back upon the basis where our
fathers placed it, — no way but to keep it out
of our Territories — to restrict it forever to the
old States where it now exists. Then the
public mind will rest in the belief that it is
in the course of ultimate extinction."
Douglas lauded " Popular Sovereignty " as
embodied in his Kansas-Nebraska Bill. Lin-
coln quaintly answered that the logical mean-
ing of that was that " if one man chooses to
enslave another, no third man has a right to
object." The substance of Lincoln's argument
from first to last was that slavery is wrong,
and its spread should be arrested. He was
not an abolitionist, nor did he wish to inter-
fere with the institution in any State where it
existed ; but he held that, since slavery was
an evil in itself, and was constantly menacing
the peace of the country, it should be prohib-
ited by Congress from all the Territories, and
thus put in the way of ultimate extinction.
Douglas, on the other hand, professed to be en-
tirely indifferent on the subject of slavery. He
did not care if it was voted up or voted down.
If the Territories desired to have slavery, they
328 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
had a right to it, and Congress had no right
to interfere. This doctrine became popularly
known as " Squatter Sovereignty."
The Freeport Doctrine
Senator Douglas was a man of wonderful
resources. His capacity to rise above political
adversity was extraordinary. Many believed
that his fathering the Kansas-Nebraska Bill
would end his political life; but with remark-
able exuberance he rose above popular clamor,
and in a few years he had again become the
favorite idol. But it remained for this notable
debate with Lincoln to deal the Little Giant
a blow from which he could not recover.
At the first joint meeting, at Ottawa, Doug-
las propounded to Lincoln several important
questions bearing on the subject under dis-
cussion. This was a fatal mistake on the part
of Douglas, as he soon discovered. Mr. Lin-
coln evaded giving direct answers at the time,
saying, however, that he would do so on
condition that Douglas would answer an
equal number of interrogatories propounded
by him.
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 329
Six days later they met for their second
discussion, at Freeport. Lincoln, on rising to
speak, answered his opponent's questions seri-
atim. He then read a series of questions that
he had framed, and called upon Douglas to
make answer before the audience as he had
done. The second of these, as follows, was
the fatal one : " Can the people of a United
States Territory, in any lawful way, against
the wish of any citizen of the United States,
exclude slavery from its limits, prior to the
formation of a State constitution ? "
It is necessary to explain here that the
clause in the Kansas-Nebraska Bill which
dealt with this point was equivocal, and it
received a very different interpretation north
and south of Mason and Dixon's line.L )jn
the South it was interpreted to mean that, as
the Constitution recognized the right of prop-
erty in slaves, the Government was bound to
protect it, as any other property, in all public
lands, including the Territories. The Territory,
therefore, had no voice in the matter until it
became a State. It was like a child not yet
of age, the National Government being the
330 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
parent, and having full control until the former*
reached its majority, that is, statehood.
In the North the clause was held to mean
that a Territory had the power, at any time,
to exclude slavery from its bounds by a vote
of the people. The Dred Scott Decision
clearly favored the southern view. With this
explanation the depth of Lincoln's question
will readily be seen.
Douglas was thus placed in the most trying
position of his life. An avowed candidate for
the presidency, it was absolutely necessary
for him to retain or win the favor of both the
great sections of the country ; but now he is
forced to stand before a public audience (and
that audience included the whole United States)
and give his views on the one great question
on which the North and the South were at
that moment at variance. But there was no
escape. He had begun the catechising process ;
and to refuse to answer Lincoln's questions
now would have been cowardly, and would
have arrayed public feeling against him. It
was generally supposed that he would answer
the question in accordance with northern
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 33 1
sentiment The Republican leaders, who knew
of Lincoln's intention to put this question to
his opponent, greatly feared that Douglas
would answer according to northern feeling,
and thus win the senatorship. A number of
them, it is said, sought Lincoln at his hotel
late on the night before the Freeport meeting,
invaded his sleeping-room, and urged him not
to put the interrogatory to Douglas. But Lin-
coln persisted, and they cried out, " If you do,
you can never be senator." " Gentlemen,"
replied Lincoln, "I am after larger game ; if
Douglas answers as you say he will he can
never be President, and the battle of i860 is
worth a hundred of this."
The day came, and Douglas, after Lincoln's
opening speech, rose to make reply. His
answer to the all-important question was, as
was generally expected, in accordance with
the northern view. He explained that the
people of a Territory could introduce or ex-
clude slavery, as they pleased, for the reason
that the institution could not exist anywhere
for a day unless supported by local police
regulations — that if the people are opposed
332 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
to the institution they could prevent its intro-
duction by unfriendly legislation. The theory
thus put forth was not only at variance with
the doctrine held throughout the South, but
it openly contradicted the Dred Scott Deci-
sion, which permitted the slaveholder to carry
his human property into the Territories with-
out hindrance.
This opinion of Douglas soon became known
as the " Freeport Doctrine." It was taken up
and discussed by all the leading newspapers
in the United States. Many of them scored
the author without mercy. But the most
scathing criticism he received was from Lin-
coln, who in his subsequent speeches showed
with pitiless logic how inconsistent was this
opinion with the Dred Scott Decision, which
Douglas professed to accept as sound Demo-
cratic doctrine.
The Result
The immediate result of the Lincoln-Doug-
las debates was a victory for Douglas. He
was reelected to the Senate by a narrow ma-
jority, though the Republicans had a majority
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 333
of the popular vote. This apparent contra-
diction arose from the unfair apportionment
of the legislative districts, and from the fact
that of the twelve hold-over senators eight
were Democrats.
But the immediate result of the senatorial
election was of little importance compared
with the vaster results that soon followed. In
fact this great debate proved to be the turn-
ing-point in the political life of both the con-
testants. From this time forth their fortunes
moved rapidly, but, like Pharaoh's chief butler
and chief baker, in opposite directions. The
return of Douglas to the Senate seemed to
give him the victor's palm, but, in the light
of subsequent events, the world must render
a different verdict. This was the last victory
of Douglas. His Freeport Doctrine was
deeply offensive to the whole South and to
some of the leading men of his party at the
North. His Lecompton revolt was a venial
offence compared with this.1 He found him-
self wholly out of fellowship with a large
portion of his party, and all hope of a recon-
1 Nicolay and Hay, Vol. II. p. 163.
334 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
ciliation was at an end. Two years laterv
when the party met in national convention
to nominate a candidate for the presidency,
the naming of Douglas by the northern dele-
gates caused a revolt from those of the South,
who, naming their own candidate, thus ren-
dered the party an easy prey to its great and
newly formed antagonist.
The most important single result of this
joint debate was what it did for Abraham
Lincoln. The discussion at first attracted
National attention only because of Douglas's
connection with it — Douglas, the man with-
out a peer in the United States Senate, the
restless, ambitious soul who had stirred up
such strife four years before in the National
capital. But ere long the people saw that a
greater than Douglas was upon the scene ;
they beheld in the political firmament a still
brighter star rising from the prairied West !
Lincoln's reputation from this time was Na-
tional. His speeches, read from one end of
the land to the other, were found to be the
fullest, clearest, and most logical statement of
Republican doctrine to be found anywhere
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 335
He was henceforth acknowledged to be the
foremost man in his party, with the possible
exception of Seward of New York; and two
years later, at the National convention, when
it was found that the great New Yorker could
not be nominated, Lincoln became the logical
candidate for the presidency. With his suc-
cess at the polls, his subsequent success dur-
ing the greatest crisis through which our
country has passed, and with his greatness
as President of the United States, every reader
is familiar.
It remains to say a word about his defeated
opponent. Douglas bore his defeat in i860
most manfully ; and the contribution he made
toward preserving the Union in the great con-
flict that followed was neither trifling nor
small. If there was one man in the country,
in 1 86 1, who could have compassed the destruc-
tion of the Government, that man was Stephen
A. Douglas. The Republican party alone
could not have won in the gigantic struggle,
nor prevented the final dissolution of the
Union. Nearly a million northern Demo-
crats looked to Douglas as their political
y
336 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
oracle. His creed was their creed, his loyalty,
their loyalty. Douglas, knowing this, did not
hesitate to cast his lot on the side of the
Union. He called on President Lincoln soon
after the inauguration, and proffered his ser-
vices in any way in which he might be use-
ful. The report of this interview, published
throughout the North, had a powerful effect
in determining the attitude of Douglas's
followers. Lincoln was greatly pleased with
Douglas's action, and it is believed would have
appointed him to some high position of honor,
had his life been spared ; but in June of the
same year Douglas was called on to pay the
final debt of Nature, and he was gathered
unto his fathers.
CHAPTER XVII
History of Political Parties
A complete history of the political parties
that have existed and still exist in the United
States would be a history of the entire work-
ing of our Government from the beginning.
No such pretensions are made for this brief
chapter. We can only notice the general
tendencies of each party and the main points
of difference between them, citing an occa-
sional historical fact as an illustration. The
many minor political organizations which did
not get control of the Government must be
omitted. The period covered will be the same
as that from which the other chapters of this
volume have been drawn, closing with the
beginning of the Civil War.
In a government such as ours it is neces-
sary that the citizens be divided into two or
more political parties, as no party, however
z 337
338 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
pure its motives at first, will rule the country
long without becoming corrupt, unless it has
a rival of almost equal strength, scrutinizing
its acts and motives, and ready to snatch from
it the reins of Government.
In our more than a century of National
life there have been four political parties that
reached such magnitude and power as to get
control of the Government, namely, the Federal,
the Democratic, the Whig, and the Republican
parties. Of these, two have run their course
and passed into history, while the other two still
exist and constitute the great political forces
of the Nation, measuring their strength from
time to time with ever varying success. Of
these four great organizations three have
stood in a great measure for the same thing,
no two existing at the same time, one follow-
ing another as its natural heir and successor.
The fourth, on the other hand, has been the
natural and only formidable opponent of the
other three, has been contemporary with them
all, and has existed more than twice as long
as the next oldest. All of these parties have
stood for some great and noble principles in
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 339
human government, a fact that many zealous
partisans overlook. It is true that it is our
right, and not only our right, but our duty,
to criticise and oppose corruptions in politics.
The American public should ever be awake
to the doings of its lawmakers, and that
there is much to find fault with none will
deny ; but it is nevertheless true that in
criticising the corruptions in politics, we are
apt to overlook the abiding principles of right
which underlie our political life.
The Earliest Political Parties
During the colonial period there were no
political parties in America. There was some
difference, it is true, in political opinion, a
portion of the people adhering to the preroga-
tive of the King without questioning, while
others, with less reverence for their sovereign,
were ever vigilant in guarding their own
liberties. During the Revolutionary period
there were no organized political parties, but
the people were divided into two unorganized
masses known as Whigs and Tories, the former
comprising the fighting patriots, and the latter
340 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
the loyalists, who opposed the war. These
names, both borrowed from English politics,
were first used in America about 1770.
At the close of the war many of the loyalists
fled, some to England, others to Canada, while
still others remained in the country and be-
came reconciled to the new form of govern-
ment. The party names were dropped, and
for several years there was no special political
distinction among the people.
When the Constitution was framed and put
before the people for their approval, a large
portion of them opposed its adoption. A ma-
jority, however, favored it, and eventually
secured its ratification in all the States. *
Those who favored the Federal Government
as created by the new Constitution styled
themselves Federalists ; those opposing were
called Anti-Federalists. But the Anti-Federal-
ists were never an organized party, nor did they
acknowledge the name, which had been put
upon them by their enemies. After the
adoption of the Constitution this party, if such
it can be called, fell to pieces, while the
1 See Chapter II.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 34 1
Federal party took control of the Govern-
ment.
The Federal Party
The political party that came into control
of the Government in 1789 remained in power
for twelve years. It differed from all its suc-
cessors in being more centralizing and less in
sympathy with the masses of the people than
any other. Its leaders believed that the wealthy
and cultured classes should rule the country,
and they had little faith in the ability of the
masses to govern themselves. The tendency
of the party was to centralize the power into
the hands of a few, and to make the National
Government strong at the expense of the
States.1
But the people were jealous of their liberties ;
they had learned to love their respective States
while still colonies; but the National Govern-
ment was a new thing, and there was a general
fear that it would become tyrannical, as Eng-
land had been in the past. It was not long
after the first administration had begun when a
* See Chapter IV.
342 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
large portion of the people began to show signs
of discontent with the monarchial tendency of
the Government, as they called it, and the re-
sult was, an opposing political party came into
being. The leader of this movement was
Thomas Jefferson, President Washington's sec-
retary of state. This new movement first
assumed the dignity of a political party about
1 793 5 it steadily increased in popular favor
until the end of the century, when it gained
control of the Government.
The great leader of the Federal Party was
Alexander Hamilton, and as he and Jefferson
were both in the cabinet of Washington, their
constant wrangles made it very unpleasant for
the latter. Washington was supposed to be
above party lines, but it was known that his
sympathies were with Hamilton rather than
with Jefferson. The Jefferson party, however,
supported Washington for a second term, and
his second election was unanimous, as the first
had been. Washington's commanding presence
held party spirit in check during the eight years
of his presidency ; but on his retirement the
two opposing parties took the field for a royal
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 343
battle for supremacy. The presidential contest
in 1796 was a vigorous one, and John Adams
won the prize over Jefferson by the narrow
margin of three votes in the electoral college.
Four years later Jefferson defeated Adams by a
majority of eight. Thus fell the first great
political party in the United States, and it fell
to rise no more. After the great defeat of
1800, the Federal party grew weaker and
weaker until about 18 16, when it utterly dis-
appeared from American politics.
The Federal party, with all its aristocratic
tendencies, embodied much that is noble and
of permanent value in human government. It
did the country a great service, and was neces-
sary at the time to save the new-born republic
from anarchy. It had adopted the Constitu-
tion, had become the first pilot of the new
Ship of State, and had guided the ship success-
fully for twelve years. To President Washing-
ton we owe our attitude of non-interference in
European affairs, and the courage required to
take that stand was equal to that of the pa-
triots at Bunker Hill. The financial basis of
our Government to-day may be traced back unti'
344 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
its roots are found in the brain of the great
Federal leader, Alexander Hamilton. These
are the abiding monuments of the Federal
party.
But with all its excellences, the party was
never popular. Only once after the rise of
the Jefferson party did the Federalists com-
mand a majority in both Houses of Congress,
and that was occasioned by the stimulus of
impending war with France under John
Adams. It then committed the unpardonable
sin in passing the Alien and Sedition Laws,
and the sovereign people sat in judgment and
passed upon it the sentence of death. But it
was not the unpopular laws that caused its
overthrow ; these were but the occasion. The
true cause lay deeper. The vital defect in
the party was its distrust of popular govern-
ment— its want of confidence in the people.
As Henry Adams says, "The party repre-
sented the ideals of a bygone age." But a
new century had dawned, and brought with
it new ideals with which the old party was
unable to grapple, and its fall was inevitable.
But truth cannot die. The truth, therefore,
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 345
embodied in old Federal doctrine did not die.
Not only did the rival party that defeated the
Federalists gradually adopt their best princi-
ples, but every political party in America,
from that time to the present, has done the
same thing. The old Federal party, there-
fore, still lives in its successors — just as a
corn of wheat that falls into the ground and
dies lives again in the new plant that comes
forth — and it deserves and will deserve the
grateful remembrance of American citizens to
the latest generations.
The Democratic Party
Thomas Jefferson, in founding a new politi-
cal party, gave it the name of Republican, or
National Republican, and he continued to
designate the party by these names as long
as he lived. But his enemies often called his
followers Democrats in derision, after a little
party in France, held in disrepute at the time.
The name Democratic steadily gained in favor
until, in 1828, it was finally adopted as the
official party name. We shall employ the
term Democratic to designate the party of
346 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Jefferson, though it was not officially so used
during the lifetime of its founder.
The difference between the Federal and
Democratic parties lay chiefly in the fact that
the former was unfriendly to popular govern-
ment and believed in a loose construction of
the Constitution ; while the latter advocated
the largest possible share in the Government
by the common people, and believed in a strict
construction of the Constitution. By loose
construction is meant the tendency to construe
the Constitution, not always literally, but liber
ally, and thus give larger powers to Congress.
The strict constructionists, on the other hand,
would allow the National Government only
such powers as are expressly granted by the
Constitution, reserving all others to the States
or to the people. But the Democratic party,
after coming into full control, found it impos-
sible to carry out literally its ideas of strict
construction. When the opportunity to pur-
chase Louisiana offered, Jefferson entered into
the contract, though the Constitution gave no
such warrant. The party was forced, owing
to the strained ^relations with France and
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 347
England, to adopt from time to time the very
measures against which it had fought in old
Federal days. This did not necessarily indi-
cate a change of policy, but only a rising to
an emergency, an adjusting of its sails with
the veering of the wind. The Federal party,
lacking this ability to adjust itself to new
conditions, had found itself out of tune with
the times, and its downfall was the necessary
result.
When the Federal party ceased to be a fac-
tor in National politics, the Democrats had
their own way for a long period. At Jeffer-
son's second election there were but fourteen
electoral votes cast against him. The opposi-
tion to Madison was somewhat greater, and
in 1 8 16 there still remained a weak resistance
to Monroe's election ; but at the close of
Monroe's first term all opposition had died
out, and his second election was practically
unanimous.1
In 1824 there were no opposing political
organizations ; but the Democratic party was
divided into factions, each with its chosen
1See Chapter IX.
348 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
leader. Four candidates for the presidency
were early in the field — John Quincy Adams,
Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and William H.
Crawford. All of these belonged to the
Democratic party, and each had a following
that claimed to represent the true democracy.
Later in the campaign another star was added
to the constellation in the person of Andrew
Jackson ; but Calhoun soon dropped out, and
the number was again four.
When the electoral college met Calhoun
was elected Vice-President, but there was no
election of President, Jackson receiving the
highest number of votes, ninety-nine, Adams
coming next with eighty-four, while Crawford
received forty-one, and Clay thirty-seven. The
election was thus thrown into the House, where
Adams was elected on the first ballot. In 1828
Jackson and Adams were the candidates, the
former using the name Democratic, while the
Adams following retained the old Jeffersonian
name, National Republican.
Four years later, when Clay ran against
Jackson, the same party names were used. But
Clay, whose party policy was altogether unlike
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 349
that of Jackson, and having a large following,
both in Congress and among the masses, now
determined to break away from the old party
and to organize a new one. Hence the Whig
party was born, the name being first used in
1834. For twenty years from this date the
Democratic party had a great rival, strong
enough at times to take from it the control of
the Government.
When the Whig party disappeared in the
early fifties, the Democrats again had a monop-
oly of National affairs. Their powerful hold
on the country seemed to promise another long
lease of power ; but the passage of the Kansas-
Nebraska Bill and the series of disasters that
followed in its train brought about a political
revolution, and deprived the party of National
control for a quarter of a century. The wonder
is that it ever recovered. That the Democratic
party survived its decade of experience begin-
ning with 1854 is one of the marvels of the
century. The slaveholders were dominant in
the party's councils at the time when the spirit
of the age pointed so plainly to a new order of
things. This spirit they resisted to the last —
350 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
until utterly defeated by force of arms. It is
not true that the Democratic party as such
waged war on the Union in defence of slavery ;
but it is true that the slaveholders had practical
control of the party for some years before the
war. But the war over and slavery overthrown,
the party, with that wonderful capacity to
adapt itself to new conditions, as shown sixty
years before, accepted the results of the war,
and was soon a formidable rival of the dominant
Republican party.
The work of the Democratic party in making
our great country what it is can scarcely be
estimated. To it we are indebted for the acqui-
sition of every State and Territory beyond the
Mississippi River, and for Florida — more than
half of our National domain. To it we owe the
Independent Treasury, and the destruction of
the United States Bank, which, had it remained
to this day, would doubtless have eaten the
very vitals of our political system.
Many are the blunders this party has made
and numerous its errors ; but to assert that the
party does not rest on true and sound princi-
ples of government is to impute to a vast
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 35 1
number of American citizens during a century
of our history either unpardonable insincerity
or gross stupidity.
The Whig Party
When Henry Clay and his friends were
casting about for a party name, the old Revo-
lutionary name "Whig" was suggested and
adopted. The Whig party may be called the
posthumous child of the old Federal party,
and it stood for the same principles in a
somewhat modified degree. During the entire
twenty years of the life of the Whig party it
had but one rival, and that was the Demo-
cratic party, and it differed from the latter
in being more paternal and centralizing in its
tendencies.
The Whig party differed from the other
three in that it has not left us one great
legislative act to enrich our National life, nor
to embalm its name in American history.
The party was patriotic, but unfortunate; it
was rent by foes without and greater foes
within. It twice elected a President, but each
died in office before his term was half finished
352 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
During the whole period of the existence
of the Whig party it was beaten by the Demo-
crats in all its great measures.1 The first great
contest between the Whigs and Democrats was
that concerning the United States Bank. The
Whigs favored granting it a new charter and
perpetuating its existence indefinitely, while the
Democrats opposed this on the ground that so
great a monopoly, which had practical control
of the finances of the entire Nation, would
surely become corrupt, would control the elec-
tions, and subvert the liberties of the people.
The Democratic party appealed to the people
on this ground, were successful, and the bank
was destroyed.
The Whigs favored expending the surplus
in the treasury from time to time in internal
improvements, such as canals, turnpikes, and
National roads. The Democrats claimed that
such improvements could benefit only those
who lived near them, that each State should
make its own improvements, and that to tax the
whole people for the benefit of the few was
repugnant to the spirit of democracy. In this
1 Schouler, Vol. IV. p. 261.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 353
also the Whigs were defeated. So also with the
Independent Treasury. The Whigs opposed it
with all their power; but it became a law, and
the people came to see that it was a good thing.
The Whig party was therefore correspondingly
weakened for having opposed it. Thus it will
be seen the chief differences between these
two parties were similar to those that had
existed between the Federal and the Demo-
cratic parties forty years before.
The Whig party inflicted a suicidal blow
upon itself in passing the Omnibus Bill of
1850. The party might have survived this,
as the Democratic party afterward survived
still heavier blows, but for the fact that it
had been greatly weakened by the loss of all
its important and distinctive measures since its
organization. Every defeat now became an
open wound, through which the life-blood of
the party was ebbing. Two years later the
party received its final blow in the crushing
defeat of General Scott for the presidency,
and for the second and last time thus far in
American history a great political party passed
out of existence.
2A
354 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
The Republican Party
Even in quiet times it is not possible for a
country governed by the people to be long
without opposing political parties. Much less
possible would this be in such troublous times
as those just preceding the Civil War. The
monopoly in National affairs enjoyed by the
Democratic party could not long continue, espe-
cially after it had offended a large portion of
the people with the Kansas-Nebraska Bill.
Scarcely had the pending bill become known
to the public when the unrest of the people
began to manifest itself, and rumors were soon
afloat of the formation of a new national party.
There was much unorganized material with
which to form a party.
The Democratic party had, at the death of
the Federal party, absorbed almost the whole
people, but this was not true at the dissolu-
tion of the Whig party. The old line Whigs
for the most part refused to affiliate with the
Democrats. The same was true of the Ameri-
can or Know-Nothing party, which was now on
the verge of dissolution. To these must be
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 355
added the many thousands of anti-Nebraska
Democrats. These three elements found them-
selves on common ground in opposing the
future encroachment of the slave-power on
free soil; and they were not long in forming
a coalition to found a great political party.
There is a little town in Wisconsin, Ripon,
in Fond du Lac County, which claims to be the
birthplace of the new party. At a meeting of
the citizens held on March 20, 1854, a series of
resolutions were passed declaring that a new
national political party should be organized and
that its name should be " Republican." A full
report of the meeting, written by the chairman,
was published by Mr. Greeley in the New York
Tribune. This little meeting is perhaps the
remotest rivulet from which the great stream
of Republicanism took its rise. A similar
movement followed a few days later in Ver-
mont. A great meeting was held in Michigan
early in July, and the resolutions here adopted
were similar to those adopted in the Wisconsin
town. Ohio followed a week later in a similar
demonstration ; and the following year Chase
carried that State for governor on an anti-
356 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Nebraska ticket by a majority of seventy-five
thousand. Before the close of 1855 nearly all
the northern States had shown, through their
elections, their profound disapproval of the
policy of the Democratic party.
It was left for Pittsburg to become the offi-
cial birthplace of the Republican party. On
Washington's birthday, 1856, a meeting was
held in this city to lay the foundations of a new
national party. Every northern State was
represented except California. The name
adopted for the new party was " Republican."
The distinctive principle on which it was
founded was, No further advance of slavery on
free soil. This Pittsburg meeting called a Na-
tional convention to be held in Philadelphia the
following June for the purpose of naming can-
didates for the coming presidential election.
The convention was held in Philadelphia as
appointed, and John C. Fremont and William
L. Dayton were nominated for the presidency
and vice-presidency. The Republican candi-
dates were defeated at the polls, but they car-
ried all the northern States except four, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Illinois.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 357
This was a wonderful showing for the new
party, and four years later it swept the entire
North and gained control of the Government
through the greatest political revolution in our
history.
The Republican party was not at first an
abolition party. It became such only after the
issue was forced upon it through the exigencies
of war. Aside from the issues brought on by
the war and its causes, there was no great dif-
ference between the Republican and Demo-
cratic parties. The reduction of the tariff in
1857 was the joint action of both parties, and
the tariff did not become a prominent issue
between them until more than twenty years
later.
As was the case with the Whig party, the
Republican party is somewhat more centraliz-
ing and paternal in its tendencies than the
Democratic party, but these features were
scarcely noticeable before the war. If the Whig
party was the child, the Republican party may
be called the grandchild, of the old Federal
party. The difference, however, between the
original Democrats and the Federalists was
358 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
much greater than between the present Demo-
crats and Republicans. Experience has taught
the Democrats to lay more stress on nationality,
and the opposition to become more democratic.
The movement of each has been toward the
other, resulting in a narrowing of the gap
between them.
Both parties at the beginning of the century
were idealists and extremists. One of them
committed suicide by refusing to discern the
signs of the times and to modify its policy as
necessity demanded ; the other, more wise and
more practical, modified its ideals as the
changing conditions required, and it has thus
preserved its organization down through the
century to the present time. The Whig Party
showed the same want of foresight and adap-
tability that had characterized its predecessor,
and the result was the same. But the Repub-
lican party has thus far shown itself capable of
grappling with all sorts of public questions, and
its outlook for permanent existence is not less
promising than that of its great rival.
The history of the Republican party covers,
for the most part, a period subsequent to that
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES 359
treated in this volume. The party has done
much that is of permanent value in our Gov-
ernment. Many of its acts will ever be re-
membered, one of which marks an era in our
history, and in the onward march of civiliza-
tion, one that will stand for all time as a
monument of unfading glory to the party
that achieved it, and that is the final and
permanent overthrow of human slavery in
America.
CHAPTER XVIII
Relation of the States to the Nation
In the United States every citizen has two
patriotisms, two loyalties — one to the United
States as a nation, the other to the State in
which he resides. He lives under two govern-
ments, or rather two complementary parts of
one great system, the National and the State,
and is subject to two sets of laws, blended,
however, into one whole. To us it is an easy
matter to adjust our twofold patriotism be-
tween the Nation and the State, because a
century of experience has settled the question
for us. We need only to fall in with the prev-
alent feeling of the masses, to join the great
current of American thought, and there is lit-
tle of personal effort left for us.
But a hundred years ago it was very differ-
ent. Then it was that there were constant
quarrels in Congress on the relation of the
States to the Union, that any State would
360
RELATION OF STATES TO NATION 36 1
threaten to secade for some real or imagined
wrong, that the wisest statesmen often solemnly
predicted that the Union would not stand
half a century. No wonder if the common
citizen found it difficult to arrange in his
own mind this twofold allegiance, while now
there is scarcely more conscious effort re-
quired than for a child to love both its
parents without partiality.
The union of our Nation with the States is
a wonderful combination. Nothing like it
ever before existed in ancient or modern times.
There are still some who belittle the States
and look upon the National Government as
everything ; there are others, a smaller num-
ber perhaps, who still pay homage to that old
mouldering corpse — State Sovereignty. Both
are equally in error. It is true, if we had to
choose between the two, we would give our
first allegiance to the Nation, and not to the
State. This is the normal condition of every
unbiassed American citizen. At the same time
let it not be forgotten that one of the great-
est bulwarks of our liberty is found in States'
Rights, as will be shown later.
362 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Our National Government and the separate
State governments have been blended in such
a way as to preserve the integrity of each,
so that National laws and State laws, however
much they intermingle, do not conflict, but
work in one grand harmony. Our States are
to the Nation, as Mr. Brice puts it, like smaller
wheels revolving within the circumference of a
greater wheel; each is supreme within its own
sphere, neither encroaching upon the domain
of the other.
Origin of the States and of the Union
In order to get a better view of this union
of States and Nation and their mutual rela-
tions, let us glance briefly at the origin of
both. In one sense the States (I speak of
the original thirteen only) are older than the
Nation. They had their origin as colonies,
under British rule, and the oldest had existed
nearly two centuries before the Union was
formed. The colonies were closely related —
same race for the most part, same language,
aims, history, literature ; but their only politi-
cal bond was through England. They were
RELATION OF STATES TO NATION 363
wholly separate and had nothing to do with
each other in matters of government. Indeed,
their governments were quite unlike, some
were royal colonies, some chartered, some
proprietary. No union whatever existed dur-
ing this period, except that of four New Eng-
land colonies for a brief period. But in
another sense the Union is older than the
States. This was shown with much force by
President Lincoln in his message to Congress
in 1 86 1, when arguing against the right of
secession. The colonies before the Revolu-
tion were not States, but simply parts of the
British Empire. It was not until 1776 that
the newly formed Union, acting through the
Continental Congress, declared the colonies
absolved from their British allegiance, and
erected them into States. Before this they
were dependent colonies, like children not
yet of age; now they became self-governing
States only by the action of the Union : hence
the Union is older than the States.
But priority of birth has little to do with
the subject before us. Since the right of seces-
sion has been decided in the negative by the
364 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
outcome of the Civil War, this is a matter of
speculation rather than of practical politics.
The kind of union to be formed was the great
question that troubled our forefathers ; for it
was plain to be seen that the Union hastily
formed at the beginning of the Revolution could
not be permanent. Accordingly, in 1781, near
the close of the war, the new-formed States
adopted a Constitution previously framed by
Congress, and known as " The Articles of Con-
federation." This constitution was very defec-
tive ; * the most serious defect was, perhaps,
that the General Government could act only on
a State and not upon the individual, and thus
Congress was rendered powerless to enforce
any National law, nor had it power to put into
operation its treaties with foreign nations. It
could only recommend to the States as States,
and if they chose to disregard its acts, as many
of them did, there was no power to force them.
A government that cannot enforce its own laws
is no government at all.
The Articles of the Confederation had been
in force but few years when the state of the
1 See Chapter II.
RELATION OF STATES TO NATION 365
country became most deplorable. The States
quarrelled with one another, laid tax on each
other's merchandise, and habitually disregarded
the laws of Congress. Yet the experience dur-
ing this period was wholesome, for it taught
the people, as nothing else could, that a strong
central government was absolutely necessary.
And a better government came. The Conven-
tion of 1787 at Philadelphia framed a Con-
stitution which, with the fifteen amendments
subsequently adopted, is still the supreme law
of the land. With these introductory state-
ments we proceed to our subject, the relation of
the Union formed by the Constitution to the
States that compose that Union.
The Three Kinds of Government
Governments may be divided for our present
purpose into three kinds, the Consolidated, the
Federal, and the Confederate. The Consoli-
dated Government may be compared to an
organism, a living body, in which every part is
essential to every other part. There is a
central life-giving power, the heart, from which
flows the life-blood to every member of the
366 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
body, and no part can live without a constant
supply from this fountain. So with a unified,
consolidated government; there is a central,
all-powerful authority from which proceeds the
entire governing force of the nation. All sub-
divisions of territory are but agents to carry out
the dictates of the central authority. All
public officials down to the village mayor and
the justice of the peace act under this same
authority. Such governments are usually
monarchies, but Republican France must be
numbered among them. Our own State gov-
ernments are also of this class. The counties,
townships, and city corporations are but agents
of the State and created by it. All county, city,
and township officers, though elected by the
people, hold their commissions by the authority
of the State constitution and legislature.
The second of these three classes is the
Federal government. This may be likened to
a large building with separate compartments,
each with its own industry — mercantile, manu-
facturing, and the like — but all under the same
roof and within the same walls. Such a gov-
ernment is composed of states, or cantons, each
RELATION OF STATES TO NATION 367
independent in its own sphere, but held to*
gether by the outer walls of the general govern-
ment. The most conspicuous example now. in
existence is our own country.
The Confederate government is like a cluster
of houses near together joined in a league for
mutual protection and benefit, but each still
independent and at liberty to withdraw from the
league at its pleasure.1 A Confederate govern-
ment has never yet been successful. One of
the most notable examples in history is our own
country after the Revolution and before the
adoption of our present Constitution. Switzer-
land was such a country until 1848.
Thus it will be seen that the character of
our Government was changed by the Consti-
tution. Its adoption wrought a political revo-
lution. Before that it was a confederate
government; since then a federal govern-
ment. Some of the framers of the Constitu-
tion were in favor of abolishing the States,
obliterating State lines, and forming one com-
pact, consolidated government. Others, and
1 These figures I have enlarged upon, receiving the sugges-
tion from Goldwin Smith.
368 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
a greater number, favored leaving all real
power with the States, and making the Gen-
eral Government simply an agent to take
charge of general matters, especially foreign
affairs. The result was a compromise be-
tween the two.
The Constitution is the bond that unites
the several States to the Nation, i.e. to the
people of all the States. In the people taken
collectively resides sovereignty, therefore the
Nation is sovereign, because composed of the
whole people. The States are not sovereign,
because some of the necessary prerogatives of
sovereignty are denied them.
National and State Laws
The people of the States, in thus surrender-
ing some of their powers to the General Gov-
ernment, by no means surrendered all, but
only those which affect the whole people or
the people of more than one State; all others
are reserved to the States or to the people.
Most of the powers of the General Govern-
ment are those which affect the whole people.
It has sole power to wage war, to coin money,
RELATION OF STATES TO NATION 369
and to make treaties with foreign nations. It
regulates commerce with foreign nations and
between the States, controls mail service, etc.
These powers are the highest prerogatives of
sovereignty, and no nation can be sovereign
that does not possess them.
But withal the Nation is far away from the
daily life of the citizen as compared with his
State. We deal with the United States when
we elect a President, or a member of Con-
gress, when we mail a letter, or come in con-
tact with the custom-house. We are reminded
of the General Government by the stamp on
a cigar-box or a beer-keg, and by the money
we use; but in fact National law touches the
common citizen in time of peace very slightly
indeed. Nearly all the ordinary laws under
which we live are State laws. All our laws
of marriage and divorce, of inheritance, of
partnerships and corporations, laws against
crime (with a few exceptions), all laws con-
cerning our social and business relations, are
State laws. Our public school systems, our civil
and religious rights, protection of our homes,
all depend on State authority, and the National
2B
370 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Government has nothing to do with them. As
President Garfield said, " The State Government
touches the citizen twenty times where the Na-
tional Government touches him once."
But the laws of the National Government,
though fewer in number, are of a higher order
than those of the State, and, like the nervous
system in the human body, which extends to
every point of the surface and centres in the
brain, so our National system of laws extends
over the entire country, penetrates to the re-
motest corners of the Union and they act on
every citizen without regard to his allegiance
to his State. These two sets of laws, the
Federal and the State, form one vast dual
system. They often intermingle, and overlap
at many points, and, where they conflict, the
State law must always give way. But in
practice they seldom come in conflict, and the
principal reason is this : Every State consti-
tution ratifies the Federal Constitution and
makes that instrument a part of itself, and
the State officials, governor, legislators, judges,
and county officers must take an oath to sup-
port and defend the National Constitution.
RELATION OF STATES TO NATION 37 1
They are, therefore, in a remoter sense, United
State officers as well as State officers, and under
equal obligations to support both. Thus we
readily see how the two sets of laws work in
harmony, since they are executed in part by the
same officials. While it is true a State is not
sovereign, it is supreme within its own sphere
even more so than the Federal Government.
National and State Authority
The governments of the Nation and of the
State differ in two important respects. 1. The
powers of the Nation are delegated powers, and
did not exist before the Union was formed in
1789; while the powers of the State are inher-
ent and date back to colonial times. 2. The
Federal Government has no power beyond that
which is given it in the Constitution, that which
affects the whole people; while a State has
absolute power over its own people and its
own Territory, except, of course, that which is
delegated to the Nation. It is true a State is
forbidden a few things by the Federal Constitu-
tion, such as granting titles of nobility, passing
ex post facto laws, adopting other than a repub-
372 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
lican form of government, denying a man the
right to vote on account of race or color, and
the like ; but aside from these and a few others
a State has absolute control over its own af-
fairs. If Pennsylvania, e.g., chose to obliter-
ate county and township lines, to abolish city
charters and the public school system, to dis-
franchise a man on any ground whatever ex-
cept race or color, or, indeed, to become a
veritable tyrant, there is no power in the Gen-
eral Government to prevent it. The Nation
could not interfere without violating its own
Constitution. The State is absolute master
of its own affairs. When we say that the
States are subordinate to the Nation, we do
not mean that they can be commanded by it,
but simply that they are less national in their
functions. States' Rights are as sacred and
inviolable as National rights; and the Nation
has no more authority to overthrow the State
governments or to encroach upon States'
Rights, beyond that granted by the Constitu-
tion, than the States have to overthrow its au-
thority. In either case it would be revolution.
A State, therefore, is independent of the
RELATION OF STATES TO NATION 373
Federal Government in its own domain, nor
does it derive its powers from the latter; but
the moment it gets beyond its own boundary
its authority ceases, and it comes in contact
with Federal authority. In fact, a State has
no power whatever beyond its own bounds.
It cannot even pursue and bring back an es-
caped criminal from another State without
National authority ; it cannot deny to citizens
from another State the privileges and immuni-*
ties extended to its own citizens ; it cannot
lay the smallest tax, or tariff of any kind,
upon the imports from another State. While
the States, as we have noticed, enjoy domestic
independence, they have no foreign relations
whatever, not even with one another. Indeed,
in practice, aside from demanding and giving
up fugitives from justice, the States have little
to do with each other. They are almost as
far apart in their political relations as they
were in colonial times, the chief difference
being that now their governments are far
more uniform and their common allegiance
has been transferred from the British Crown
to a Union of their own making.
374 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
The relation of the Nation to the States
has been compared to that of a parent to the
child; but the comparison is ill-chosen. The
parent has an original, inherent right to train
and command the child in every honorable
way ; but the Nation has no such power over
the States, and what power it has is not in-
herent and not original. A better comparison
would be with the relation between a teacher
and pupil. A teacher has real authority over
the pupil ; she directs his studies, teaches him
good manners, and has power to command him
in many ways ; but her authority is limited, is
delegated, and exists only by virtue of a con-
tract for a specified time. Outside of school
hours she has no power over the child, and
even during school hours her authority is
not absolute. She has no right to eat the
child's dinner, nor to rob him of anything
that is his. So with the General Government:
it has real authority over the whole people,
but that authority is limited, is delegated, and
exists only by the virtue of a written bond ;
but, unlike that of the teacher, it has no time
limit ; it is perpetual. As the teacher has no
RELATION OF STATES TO NATION 375
power over the pupil outside of school hours,
so the Nation has no right to command the
citizens in matters that concern the State
only. As the teacher has not absolute power
over the pupil even in the schoolroom, so the
Nation has not absolute power over any law-
abiding citizen. The President of the United
States has no more right to command you or
me in time of peace than we have to com-
mand him, nor could the unanimous vote of
both Houses of Congress confer such power
upon him.
We live under a vast dual system, the first
of its kind in human history, though since 1848
the Swiss government is very similar to our
own, and there are also some points of simi-
larity in the more recently formed German
Empire and in some other countries. Our
system is not an arbitrary arrangement; it is
a natural growth. The power of the States
comes down to us from colonial days, the State
constitutions being but modifications of the
royal charters, while the powers of the Fed-
eral Government, though conferred at a later
date, were nevertheless necessary. When the
376 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Constitution was framed it was impossible
and undesirable to obliterate State lines and
to create a consolidated government, while a
mere confederation of States, which they al-
ready had, was equally undesirable and could
not be permanent. Our federal system, there-
fore, was not only natural, but necessary.
Advantages of the Federal System
A question here is pertinent : What are the
advantages of the federal system ? and an-
other : Is it the best system for our American
government? To the first I would answer,
The advantages are many, a few of which we
notice. Our government is exceedingly com-
plex in its working. This is an advantage of
the greatest value. The simpler some things
are, the better, but not so with the government
of a great nation. It ought to be so complex
that no one man or small body of men can
grasp, or comprehend, or manage it. This
should be the work of the multitude, and so it
is in this country.
Let me quote a few words from Webster on
this point. "Nothing is more deceptive or
RELATION OF STATES TO NATION 377
more dangerous than the pretence of a desire
to simplify government. The simplest govern-
ments are despotisms ; the next simplest, lim-
ited monarchies. Every free government is
necessarily complicated. If we abolish the
distinction of branches and have but one
branch ; if we abolish jury trials and leave
all to the judge ; if we then ordain that the
legislator shall be himself that judge; if we
place the executive power in the same hands,
we may readily simplify government. We may
easily bring it to the simplest of all possible
forms, a pure despotism. But a separation
of departments, so far as practicable, and the
preservation of clear lines between them, is
the fundamental idea in the creation of all
our constitutions."
This complexity of government, this distri-
bution of power among all the people, is the
chief corner-stone of our federal system. It
not only secures the personal attention and
interest of the common citizen in the making
and enforcing of laws, thus educating him in
political wisdom, as Professor Macy puts it,
but it also provides better local laws. The
378 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
people of any neighborhood know better what
local laws they need, how to frame and execute
them, than does the far-away power of a cen-
tral government. And also where the people
have a hand in the making of their own laws
and carrying on their own government, patriot-
ism is everywhere fostered, for where a man's
treasure is, there will his heart be also.
In Russia the common people know and
care little or nothing about their government.
They only know that there is a great central
Power at St. Petersburg that pervades the
whole nation, from which emanates all law,
and they have nothing to do with the laws
except to obey them. They are like untutored
children or dumb driven cattle, in govern-
mental affairs ; and should anything occur to
destroy the central government they would
be helpless and wholly without ability to gov-
ern themselves ; while in America the humblest
citizen knows something about public affairs,
and, should such an emergency arise, there
is scarcely a county in any State but could
furnish men capable of being governor of the
State, and scarcely a State in the Union that
RELATION OF STATES TO NATION 379
could not furnish a score of men capable of
filling the presidential office with an ability
equal to that of the average President.
If our National Government should be over-
thrown, the self-governing States would pre-
serve the general equilibrium of power and
prevent universal anarchy. They would prob-
ably move steadily and serenely on until a new
Union could be formed. If Congress were to
disband, the President to resign, and our capi-
tal to fall into the hands of ruffians and anar-
chists, the people would be greatly agitated,
of course, but the Government as such would
not be annihilated, nor perhaps greatly dis-
turbed. Why ? Because our system is such
that each separate part takes care of itself.
If there is serious political disturbance in one
or more States, the General Government is not
threatened, and for the same reason. We have
compared a federal government to a great
building with separate compartments, each with
its own industry. Such is our government ;
and if one branch of industry becomes un-
settled or ruined, the rest need not be seri-
ously disturbed. Or if the outer walls be
380 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
demolished, the various compartments may be
preserved until the walls are rebuilt. How
impossible this would be in a consolidated
government, a living organism in which every
part is dependent for its life and existence on
the heart, the central life-giving fountain.
Another advantage of the federal system
is that the distribution of power among the
States simplifies the work of Congress, and
enables that body to confine itself to National
affairs. Our forty-five States require but little
more National legislation than did the original
thirteen. An English editor wholly misunder-
stood the situation when, commenting on the
recent admission into the Union of four new
States together, he said that it remained to
be seen whether the Government could bear
such a strain. Indeed, Congress was greatly
relieved with their admission into the Union.1
While in their territorial state Congress had
to govern them ; but on their admission into
the Union, they became of age and self-gov-
erning, and Congress has no more to do with
them now than with Ohio or New York. Our
1 Macy's " Our Government," p. 234.
RELATION OF STATES TO NATION 38 1
system is such that we can expand and add
new States almost indefinitely without endanger-
ing the General Government, or scarcely increas-
ing its burdens.
Now, the second question : Is the federal
system the best for our American govern-
ment ? My answer is, that it is not only the
best, but the only system that could possibly
be permanent. A confederation, a league of
the States loosely bound together, from which
any one has the right to withdraw, could not
endure. Such a government would certainly
fall apart from its own weight.
On the other hand, a unified, consolidated
government would be equally impossible. The
country is too vast, and the people too well
educated and too independent and jealous of
their liberties to submit to any central all-per-
vading authority, or to permit their local affairs
to be managed by other hands than their
own.
States' Rights
I have said that States' Rights constitute
one of our great bulwarks of liberty as a
382 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
nation. We know that the tendency of human
government is toward the monarchial. This
is not usually a natural or gradual tendency.
It goes by sudden bounds, and is caused by
the vast difference in the qualities of leader-
ship in men, and by man's universal thirst for
power. It is true, not because the people
desire it, but because they are led and driven
by some commanding genius. The most con-,
spicuous examples in history are those of Caesar,
who transformed the Roman Republic into a
monarchy, and of Napoleon, who, with his
transcendent powers of leadership, seized in his
fatal grasp the new-born Republic of France,
and became its absolute monarch within a few
years after the blood-bought liberties of the
people had been secured. And even to-day
the Republic of France is so solidified that a
second Napoleon, should one arise, would not
find it difficult to seize the reigns of govern-
ment and merge it into a monarchy and des-
potism.
But such a transformation would be impos-
sible in the United States, and one of the
greatest safeguards against it is found in
RELATION OF STATES TO NATION 383
States' Rights. Be it remembered that only
a part of the vast power of the people has
been delegated to the General Government.
The States are the residuaries of power. Sup-
pose one of our leaders in National politics to
be a Napoleon in ability and in selfish ambition.
Even suppose him to be President of the United
States (though it would be far more difficult
for such a man to reach that position than for
an ordinary statesman), and to conspire with
Congress and to secure their support in an
attempt to overthrow the Republic and set up
a monarchy with himself at its head. What
would be the result ? He would instantly come
into contact with forty-five powerful State gov-
ernments, — some of them more powerful than
the minor European monarchies, — and upon
this rock he would be dashed to pieces. It
would require a greater man than Caesar or
Napoleon to accomplish such an end, and a
man less wise than either would be too wise
to undertake so hopeless a task. Let me re-
peat, the States are the residuaries of power
is America, and States' Rights is the chief
corner-stone of our fabric of free government.
384 SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY
Let no true American belittle States' Rights.
It is true that before the war, for years, the
term was identified with State Sovereignty,
and in common parlance it referred to but
one supposed right of the States — the right
of secession. The term was abused and mis-
used until it almost became an offence to the
honest, patriotic citizen ; but that time is past,
the bone of contention is removed, and the
States have again resumed their normal posi-
tion in the great structure of the National Gov-
ernment. Every true-hearted American who
studies this intricate problem, the relation of
the States and the Nation, will plainly see that
the hand of Providence has been over it all,
and while he will rejoice in our grand and
glorious Union, he will take scarcely less
pride in States' Rights, the great palladium of
our liberty.
INDEX
Aaron I., see Burr, Aaron.
Aberdeen, Lord, 186.
Adams, Henry, quoted, 344.
Adams, John, debater in Con-
gress, n; seconds Lee's mo-
tion in Congress for indepen-
dence, 18 ; makes great speech
in Congress, 20; elected Vice-
President, 56 ; inauguration,
62; elected President, 68, 343.
Adams, John Quincy, possible
author of Monroe Doctrine,
173; sends ministers to Pan-
ama Congress, 174 ; entertains
Lafayette, 202; appoints Har-
rison minister to Colombia, 231,
348.
Adams, Samuel, early leader for
independence, 5 ; broad views
and pure motives of, 11; op-
posed petitions, 11; quotation
from, 18 ; won for Constitution,
5°-
Address, Washington's Farewell,
168.
African coast, capturing negroes
on, 154.
Alabama, Burr captured in, 134.
Albany, 94.
Alexandria, 58.
Alien and Sedition Laws, their
importance, 65 ; Alien Law two-
fold, 70; never enforced, 72;
Sedition Law, twofold, 71 ; its
provisions, 71; object, 72; in
operation, 72; object and re-
sult of Alien and Sedition
Laws, 76, 344.
Alleghany Mountains, 230.
Alliance, Holy, see Holy Alli-
ance.
Alston, Joseph, 120.
Alston, Mrs., see Theodosia
Burr.
Amendments to Constitution, 52.
American River, 245, 247.
Ames, Fisher, 158.
Anne, Queen, 151.
Anti-Federalists oppose Constitu-
tion, 49.
Anti-Mason party, 227.
Appalachian Mountains, 195.
Appeal of Independent Demo-
crats, 303.
Arkansas, 242.
Articles of Confederation, defects
in, 28; proposed in 1776, 28;
adopted, 29; 364.
Atlantic Ocean, 107.
Austria, in Holy Alliance, 169.
Balance of Power, 191, 192.
Baltimore, 139, 289.
Baltimore County, 271.
Bank, United States, 224, 352.
Barbadoes, 151.
Benton, Thomas H., 261.
Big Horn River, 115.
Blaine, James G., 178.
Blennerhassett, . Harman, island
2C
385
386
INDEX
home in the Ohio, 123; enters
Burr's conspiracy, 128 ; indicted
for misdemeanor in Ohio, 138.
Blennerhassett Island, 123, 128.
Blow, Anthony, 279.
Boston Port Bill, 6.
Brandywine, the, 207.
Brannan, Samuel, 246.
Britain, Great, British Govern-
ment, see England.
Brown, Henry, 285.
Buchanan, James, protests against
foreign occupation of Mexico,
182 ; 297, 314 ; encounters Doug-
las, 316.
Buena Vista, 259.
Bunker Hill, 4, 204. •
Bunker Hill monument, 204, 205.
Burns, Anthony, 274.
Burr, Aaron, his descent, 118 ; in
Revolution, 118; becomes law-
yer, senator, Vice-President,
119; challenges Hamilton to
duel, 120; misfortunes begin,
121 ; feeling against, 121 ; flees
South, 121; goes West, 122;
reaches Pittsburg, 122; Mari-
etta, 123 ; visits Blennerhassett's
Island, 124; Nashville, 125;
conspires against the Govern-
ment, 125 sq. ; returns to Wash-
ington, 127; his energy, 127;
to be Aaron I., 128 ; betrayed by
Wilkinson, 130 ; escapes in dis-
guise, 132; arrested, 134; at-
tempted escape, 135 ; tried and
acquitted at Richmond, 136^. ;
escapes from a mob, 139 ; goes
abroad, 139; returns, 141 ; later
life, 144 sq. ; generosity of, 145 ;
his character, 146; death, 147.
Cadmus, the, 196.
Caesar, Julius, 382.
Calhoun, John Caldwell, leadef
of school of Southern states-
men, 78, 176, 260; his mistake,
264; 348.
California, political significance
of, 243; miners reach, 250;
in National politics, 257; ad-
mitted as free State, 262; of-
fends the South, 264.
Canada, insurrection in; cause,
209; led by MacKenzie and
Papinau, 210; sympathizers in
United States, 210; put down
by Colborne, 211 ; fugitive
slaves sent to, 276.
Canning, 171.
Carleton, threatening to invade
New York, 17.
Car of Neptune, 94.
Caroline, the, engaged in illegal
trade, 212 ; destroyed by Brit-
ish, 214.
Carroll, Charles, 17.
Cascades, 109.
Cass, Lewis, 297.
Castle Garden, 198.
Central America, slavery in, 149.
Charleston, 289.
Chase, Salmon P., 261, 303, 355.
Chester, 58, 135.
Chicago, 305, 323.
Cholera, 249.
Christiana, 272.
Christianity, effect on slavery, 149.
Cincinnati, Burr reaches, 124,
129.
Civil War, 148, 154, 177, 184, 292,
and passim.
Clark, Captain, 206.
Clarke, Captain William, chosen
to explore Northwest, 97 ; nar-
rowly escapes death, 103; gen-
eral of militia, 111; governor
of Missouri in.
INDEX
3«7
Clarke River, 108.
Clatsop, Fort, no.
Clay, Henry, defends Aaron Burr,
129 ; 161 ; 174 ; protests against
French in Cuba, 180 ; a candi-
date for presidency, 226 ; set
aside by the politicians, 227;
introduces Omnibus Bill, 261 ;
266; 348.
Clayton, John M., 177.
Clayton-Bulwer treaty, 177, 178.
Clermont, the, on the Hudson, 92.
Cleveland, Grover, startling mes-
sage on Venezuelan boundary
question, 189.
Clinton, George, 62.
Colborne, Sir John, suppresses
Canadian rebellion, 211.
Coloma, site of gold discovery,
245. 251-
Colombia, United States of, 176.
Colonies, instructed delegates in
Congress against indepen-
dence, 4; three greatest, 15;
parts of British Empire, 363.
Colonists, their love for England,
3-5 ; most of them native born,
4 ; hope of reconciliation with
the King, 4; driven to seek
independence, 6 ; purchased
slaves, 151.
Colter, John, terrible experience
with Indians, in sq.
Colt Killed River, 109.
Columbia, 271; birth-place of
Underground Railroad, 276;
Columbia, the, 108.
Columbia River, 107, 109, no.
Columbus, 149.
Commerce, Congress has no
control over it under Articles
of Confederation, 31.
" Common Sense," written by
Paine, 10.
Compromises, of the Constitu-
tion, 42 sq.
Compromise Measures of 1850,
261.
Compromise, Missouri, see Mis-
souri Compromise.
Confederate government, 367.
Congress, United States, consists
of two houses, 43 ; counts
electoral votes, 56, and passim.
Connecticut, quarrels with New
York, 33 ; with Pennsylvania
over Wyoming Valley, 34.
Consolidated government, 365.
Constitution, framing of, 24 sq. ;
compromises of, 42 sq. ; fin-
ished, 47 ; before the people,
48 ; ratified by States, 49-52 ;
recognizes property in slaves,
156 ; leaves foreign slave-trade
open for twenty-one years, 156;
265 ; 269 ; construction of, 346 ;
wrought a political revolution,
367.
Constitutional Convention, met in
Philadelphia, 37 ; called an
assembly of demigods by Jeffer-
son, 37 ; personnel, 38 ; sessions
in secret, 40; adjournment, 47,
365-
Construction of Constitution, 346.
Continental Congress, met at
Philadelphia, 1 ; sent petition to
King, 7 ; answers King's proc-
lamation, 8 ; appoints com-
mittees to correspond with
foreign nations, 8 ; a view of,
14; some members of, 14;
delays passing declaration, 19 ;
passes it July 2, 21 ; weakness
under Articles of Confedera-
tion, 31 ; pronounces against
slave-trade, 152
Continental money, 32.
388
INDEX
Cooper, Thomas, 75.
Cordelia, 281.
Cornwallis, Lord, 194.
Corwin, Thomas, 233.
Cotton-gin, 157.
Council Bluffs, 100.
Craft, William and Ellen, 288.
Crawford, William H., 349.
Crittenden, John J., 221, 317.
Cuba, size, 179 ; faithful to Spain,
179.
Cumberland River, 126, 129.
Davis, Jefferson, 261.
Dayton, 233.
Dayton, Jonathan, conspires with
Burr, 125.
Dayton, William L., 356.
Dearborn River, 108.
Declaration of Independence,
moved by Lee in Congress, 18 ;
passed July 2, 21 ; read in
cities, to the army, etc., 23;
position on slavery, 152; Lin-
coln's appeal to, 325, 326.
Delaware, divided on indepen-
dence, 20 ; first State to adopt
Constitution, 49.
Delaware River, Fitch's steam-
boat on, 84.
Democratic party, founded by
Jefferson, stood for local self-
government, 66, 345; name
adopted, 345 ; differs from
Federal party, 346 ; factions of
in 1824, 347 ; wonderful vitality
of, 349 ; its achievements, 350.
Democrats, nominate Van Buren,
232, and passim.
De Soto, 96.
Dickinson, John, draws up peti-
tion to King, 7 ; writer, patriot,
opposes independence, 16;
answers Adams, 20.
"Doughfaces," 164.
Douglas, Stephen A., 261, 297-,
birth, 300; reports Kansas-
Nebraska Bill, 301 ; his powers,
304 ; burned in effigy, 306 ; rise
in public life, 312 ; pays tribute
to Lincoln, 323; his noble
stand in 1861, 335.
Dred Scott Decision, 324, 330.
Drew, Captain, destroys the
Caroline, 214.
East, belief that it would be sev-
ered from the West, 118 ; news
of gold discovery reaches, 248.
Eaton, General, apprises Jeffer-
son of Burr's plot, 128.
Elba, 134.
Embargo, 141.
England, responsible for slavery
in America, 150; profited by
slave-trade, 150 ; represented
in Verona conference, 170;
proposes tripartite agreement,
181, 182; refuses compromise
with Venezuela, 186; assumes
destruction of the Caroline, 220.
" Era of good feeling," 167.
Essequibo River, 186.
Europe, slavery in, 149.
Everett, Edward, 198, 304.
Falls of the Ohio, 124.
Faneuil Hall, 274.
Federal Government, 365-366 ;
advantages of, 376.
Federal Hall (New York), 62.
Federal party, stood for strong
government, 65, 341 ; folly of,
68 ; stoops to humble its ene-
mies, 70 ; history of, 341 sq. ;
general tendency of, 343 ; never
popular, vital defect, 344 ; truth
embodied in its doctrine, 345.
INDEX
389
Federalists, favor Constitution ,49.
Fifteenth Congress, 158.
Fillmore, Millard, 262 ; signs Fu-
gitive Slave Law, 266, 272, 295.
Fitch, John, tragical life, 83;
builds steamboat on Dela-
ware, 84; his poverty, 84;
death, 85.
Fleet, British, harassing southern
coast, 17.
Florida, 242.
Forsyth, John, 215.
" Forty-Niners," 248.
Fourth of July, National holiday,
3- 22-
Fox, English minister, 215.
France, designs on Cuba, 179;
proposes tripartite agreement,
181 ; attempts conquest of
Mexico, 183; motive for aid-
ing America in Revolution,
193-
Frankfort, 129.
Franklin, Benjamin, member of
Continental Congress, 14;
fame, 15 ; member of com-
mittee on Declaration of In-
dependence, 19; his plan of
union, 1754, 28; in Constitu-
tional Convention, 38 ; anec-
dote by, 48.
Freeport, 323.
Freeport Doctrine, 328 sq.
Free-soil Democrats, 303.
Fremont, John C, 356.
French fleet, appears off Cuba,
179.
French Government, 366, 382.
Friends, 151, 272.
Fugitive Slave Law, passed, 265 ;
its injustice, 267 ; denounced
at the North, 269; most objec-
tionable feature, 270 ; in opera-
tion, 271 sg.
Fulton, Robert, his predecessors,
82 ; descent, 85 ; early life, 85 ;
early inventions, 86; artist, 86 ;
in foreign lands, 87 sq. ; experi-
ments on Seine, 88 ; advan-
tages, 91 ; navigates the Hud-
son with Clermont, 92 ; builds
more boats, 94 ; appearance,
94; death, 95.
Gaines, Captain, 134.
Gallatin River, 108.
Garfield, James A., 177.
Garrison, William Lloyd, 263,
290.
George III., petition to, 6-7;
refuses to receive petition, 7;
proclamation, declares colo-
nists out of his protection, 8;
employs Hessians, 9; incites
Indians to murder, 9.
Georgia, makes war on Indians,
30; protests against prohibit-
ing African slave-trade, 45 ;
ratifies Constitution, 49 ; Burr
passes through, 135.
Gerry, Elbridge, member of old
Congress, 15; of Constitutional
Convention, 38 ; opposes Con-
stitution, 50.
Gold, discovery of in California,
by Marshall, 245.
Golden Gate, 251.
Gorsuch, 271.
Greeley, Horace, 226; founds
Log Cabin, 233; advocates re-
election of Douglas, 317 ; 355.
Grey, Captain, 108.
Greytown, 178.
Grey's Ferry, ^8.
Guadaloupe Hidalgo, treaty of,
243.
Guiana, British, 185, 190.
Gulf of Mexico, 107.
390
INDEX
" Hail Columbia," written, 69.
Hamilton, Alexander, career of,
member of Constitutional Con-
vention, 39 ; tendency as states-
man, 66 ; antagonist of Jeffer-
son, 67, 342; challenged by
Burr, 120; slain, 121.
Hancock, John, signs Declara-
tion of Independence, 22; op-
poses Constitution, 50.
Harnet, Cornelius, 12.
Harrisburg, 225.
Harrison, Benjamin, member
Continental Congress, 15 ;
friend of Washington, 15.
Harrison, William Henry, 219,
220, 223, 226 ; nominated for
presidency, 227; early record,
229; minister to Colombia,
231 ; recalled by Jackson, 231 ;
his ability, 231 ; great triumph
at election, 237; besieged with
office-seekers, 238 ; falls ill,
239 ; dies, 239.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 298.
Hayti, 174.
Henry, Patrick, speech before
Virginia convention, 11 ; op-
poses Constitutional Conven-
tion, 36.
Henry, William, 82.
Hinson, Colonel, 132.
Holy Alliance, 169, 171.
Hood, Mount, 109.
Hopkinson, Francis, 17.
Hopkinson, Joseph, wrote " Hail
Columbia," 69.
Horn, Cape, 251.
House of Commons, British, 209.
House of Representatives, based
on population, 43 ; disagrees
with Senate on Missouri Bill,
161, 164; agrees to compro-
mise, 164; receives Lafayette,
201 ; elects Adams President,
201 ; votes bonus to Lafayette,
202.
House and Slave Tax Laws, 70.
Houston, Sam, 304.
Howes, moving on New York,
17-
Hudson River, navigated by Ful-
ton, 92.
Independence, declared at Phila-
delphia, 1 ; causes that led to,
6; talked of openly, 8 ; progress
toward, 8.
Independent Treasury, 353.
Indian Story, in sq.
Indian Territory, 242.
Indiana Territory, 230.
Jackson, Andrew, conferred with
Burr, 126 ; visited by Lafayette,
200, 224; enters presidential
race, 348.
Jay, John, suggests petition to
King, 7; receives votes in
electoral college, 56.
Jefferson, Thomas, member of
Continental Congress, 14 ;
chosen chairman committee
on Declaration of Indepen-
dence, 19; writes Declaration,
22 ; founds Democratic or Na-
tional Republican party, 66;
antagonist of Hamilton, 67;
wrote Kentucky Resolutions,
76; his patriotism, 79; father
of Lewis and Clarke expedi-
tion, 96; slow to believe in
Burr's plot, 128 ; issues procla-
mation against Burr's con-
spiracy, 130; introduces ordi-
nance in Congress to prohibit
slavery, 153 ; congratulates
Congress, 156 ; visited by La-
INDEX
391
fayette, 200; founds Demo-
cratic party, 342.
Jefferson River, 108.
"Jerry Rescue," 273.
John Day River, 108.
Johnson, Jane, 283.
Johnson, Richard M., 232.
Kansas-Nebraska Bill, intro-
duced by Douglas, 302; pas-
sage of, 305 ; reception at the
North, 306; effect, 308, 324,
348.
Kentucky, emigrants from, 153.
Kentucky and Virginia Resolu-
tions, their authors, 76; con-
tents, 77 ; object, 78 ; question
opened by them, 78.
King, Rufus, in Constitutional
Convention, 39; opposes sla-
very in Missouri, 162.
Lafayette, Marquis de, motive in
aiding colonists, 193 ; in Aus-
trian prison, 194; invited to
visit America, 196 ; arrives,
196; visits Boston, 197; re-
ception in New York, 198; in
Philadelphia, 199; appearance,
199, 200; visits all the States,
200; at the capital, 200; re-
ceives bonus from Congress,
202; visits Mt. Vernon and
Bunker Hill, 203 sq, ; pays
homage to dust of Washing-
ton, 203 ; great reception at
Boston, 204; returns to his
native land, 207.
Lafayette, George Washington,
196.
Lancaster, 82.
Lancaster County, 271.
Lecompton Constitution, 315.
Lee, Richard Henry, member
of Continental Congress, 15;
moved Declaration of Inde-
pendence in . Congress, 18;
opposes Constitutional Con-
vention, 36; opposes it in
Congress, 49.
Lesseps, Ferdinand de, 177.
Levasseur, M., 203.
Lewis and Clarke expedition,
composition of party, 98;
ascends the Missouri, 99;
reaches Rocky Mountains,
103; overtaken by storm, 103;
reaches the Pacific, 109; returns
to the United States, in ; trav-
ersed 9000 miles in two and a
half years, in.
Lewis, Meriwether, appointed to
lead exploring party, 97 ;
chooses Captain Clarke as
second, 97; sends specimens
to Jefferson, 102; makes
friends with Shoshones, 106;
shoots an Indian, no ; gov-
ernor of Louisiana, in ; death,
in.
Lewis River, 108.
Liberator, the, 290.
Liberty and Union, 26.
Liberty party, 164.
Lincoln, Governor, 205.
Lincoln, Abraham, birth and boy-
hood, 311; appearance, 312;
nominated for Senate, 318 ;
challenges Douglas to joint
debate, 321 ; made conspicu-
ous by debate with Douglas,
334 ; his election to presidency,
335-
Lincoln-Douglas Debates, ex-
tracts, 324; results, 332.
Livingston, Robert R., member
of committee on Declaration,
19 ; pronounces oath of office
392
INDEX
to Washington, 63 ; partner of
Fulton, 88.
Lockport, 221.
Log Cabin and Hard Cider cam-
paign, 232 sg.
Lopez, Narcisco, 180.
Los Angeles, 247.
Lottery, prevalence of, 75.
Louisiana Purchase, 97, 157, 164,
242.
Louisville, 124.
Lovejoy, E. P., 263.
Lowndes, William, 161.
Lundy, Benjamin, 263.
Lutheran church, 225.
Lyon, Matthew, member of Con-
gress, 72 ; fights Griswold in
House, 73 ; imprisoned under
Sedition Law, 74 ; reelected to
Congress while in prison, 75.
MacKenzie, William Lyon, leads
revolt in Upper Canada, 210;
not successful, 212.
Madison, James, in Virginia con-
vention, 13; elected to Consti-
tutional Convention, 36 ; wrote
Virginia Resolutions, 76 ; 347.
Madison River, 108.
Mahas Indians, 101.
Maine, seeks admission into
Union, 162.
Marcy, William L., 298.
Marietta, 123, 124; boats built
at, 129.
Marquette, 96.
Marshal, John, presides at Burr's
trial, 137.
Marshall, James W., discovers
gold in California, 245 ; later
life and death; monument to,
253 (note).
Martin, Luther, defends Burr, 137.
Maryland, legislature of, instruc-
ted delegates in Congress, 4-,
makes compact with Virginia,
3°-
Mason and Dixon's line, 160, 281,
329-
Mason, George, 13.
Massachusetts one of the three
greatest colonies, 15 ; delega-
tion from, 15; attempts to re-
strict slave-trade, 150; first
free State, 152.
Maximilian, 183 ; shot in Mexico,
185.
May, Samuel, 273.
McKean, Thomas, 17.
McKinley, William, appoints
Nicaragua Canal Commission,
178.
McLeod, Alexander, foolish
boast of, 217 ; arrested, 217 ;
British Government demands
his release, 218 ; trial and ac-
quittal, 222.
Merry, English minister, 125.
Mexican War, 242, 258.
Mexico, proposed conquest by
Burr, 125, 127, 179; badly
governed, 182; dismembered,
243-
Milk River, 102.
Miners, 251 ; character of, 253 sq.
Mines, gold, 251 ; yield of, 252.
Mississippi River, 93, 132.
Mississippi Valley, 122; Burr's
designs on, 125 ; danger of
uprising in, 130, 195.
Missouri, applies for statehood,
157 ; admitted into the Union,
165.
Missouri Compromise, 149 ;
moved by Senator Thomas,
163 ; passed by both houses,
164; a victory for the South,
165 ; brought temporary peace,
INDEX
393
166; repealed by Kansas-
Nebraska Bill, 166, 301.
Missouri River, Lewis and Clarke
ascend, 99 ; Great Falls of, 103.
Monroe, James, signs Missouri
Compromise, 164; "last and
least of the great Virginians,"
167 ; unanimous election, 167 ;
issues Monroe Doctrine, 169.
Monroe Doctrine, how origi-
nated, 168 ; settled policy be-
fore declared, 168 ; contained
in President's message, 169;
contents, 171-172; in opera-
tion, 173 sq. ; in settling the
Oregon boundary, 175 ; Yuca-
tan, 175 ; Panama and Nica-
ragua, 177 ; Cuba and Mexico,
179 ; Venezuela, 187 ; remarks
on, 191.
Monterey, 259.
Morris, Gouverneur, member of
Constitutional Convention, 39.
Morris, Robert, member of Con-
tinental Congress, 16; in
debtor's prison, 16.
Mosquito Coast, 177.
Mount Vernon, Washington re-
tires to, 54 ; Thompson reaches,
57-
Mutiny Act, 6.
Naples, 170.
Napoleon I., 134, 169, 170, 382.
Napoleon III., 183.
Nashville, 124 ; Burr's reception
at, 125, 129; gives ball in honor
of Burr, 130.
Natchez, 132.
National Government, blended
with State governments, 362;
has no power beyond the Con-
stitution, 371 ; complexity of,
377 ; stability of, 379.
National laws, 368; higher than
State laws, 370.
National Republican party, see
Democratic party.
Naturalization Law, 70.
Navy Island, 213.
Nelson, Colonel, 14.
Newcomen, 82.
New England, took lead for in-
dependence, 14 ; colonies form
union in 1643, 28.
New Granada, 176.
New Hampshire, quarrels with
New York, 33 ; becomes free
State, 153.
New Jersey, legislature instructed
delegates in Congress, 4 ; quar-
rels with New York, 33 ; elects
delegates to Constitutional
Convention, 37; ratifies Con-
stitution, 49; had slaves till
1840, 153.
New Orleans, Burx reaches, 126.
New York, withholds instructions
for independence, 19 ; ratifies
Declaration, 22 ; refuses impost
tariff, 32; quarrels with New
Hampshire, 33 ; with New
Jersey and Connecticut, 33;
does not vote for first Presi-
dent, 56; welcomes Washing-
ton, 61 ; becomes free State,
153-
New York City, Washington in-
augurated in, 61 ; honors La-
fayette, 198.
Ney, Marshal, 134.
Niagara Falls, 214*
Nicaragua, 176.
Nicholas, George, yj.
North, contention with the. South
on slavery began, 148 ; grew
listless, 159 ; offended by Fugi-
tive Slave Law, 265; overrun
394
INDEX
by sJave-hunters, 267 ; protests
against the Kansas-Nebraska
Bill, 303 sq.
North Bend, 231.
North Carolina, first colony to
move for independence, 12;
remains out of Union, 52.
North star, guide to fugitive
slaves, 278.
Northern States, emancipate
slaves after Revolution, 152;
disapprove Democratic pol-
icy, 356.
Northwest Territory, government
of. 153.
Oberlin College, 275.
Ohio River, 98 ; its beauty, 123 ;
Harrison buried on its banks,
240.
Olney, Richard, 187.
Omnibus Bill, 261, 295, 353.
Oregon boundary, 242.
Ordinance of 1787, 153.
Ostend Manifesto, 181.
Otis, James, early leader for in-
dependence, 5.
Ottawa, 323, 328.
Otto Indians, 100.
Pacific Coast, colonized by Rus-
sia, 172, 248.
Pacific Ocean, first sighted by
Lewis and Clarke, 109.
Paine, Thomas, wrote " Common
Sense," 10.
Panama Canal, 176.
Panama Congress, 174.
Panic of 1837, 223, 224; causes,
224.
Papinau, Louis J., leads revolt in
Lower Canada, 210; not suc-
cessful, 212.
Parker, Theodore, 274, 290.
Parties, political, first formed, 49;
one hundred years ago, 65;
earliest, 339.
Patriotism, twofold in the United
States, 360.
Penn, Richard, carries petition to
King, 7.
Pennsylvania, legislature of, in-
structs delegates in Congress,
4 ; majority of delegates oppose
independence, 21 ; quarrels
with Connecticut over Wyom-
ing, 34 ; second State to adopt
Constitution, 49 ; attempts to
restrict increase of slaves, 150.
Pennsylvania Germans protest
against slavery, 151.
People, supreme in United
States, 307.
Perkins arrests Burr, 134.
Petition to King, 6 ; reception of,
7-
Philadelphia, independence de-
clared at, 1 ; honors Washing-
ton, 58 ; Burr reaches, 121 ;
honors Lafayette, 199 ; 356.
Phillips, Wendell, 274.
Pierce, Franklin, 298.
Pinckney, Charles, 161.
Pinckney, Charles C, 39.
Pinkney, William, 162.
Pittsburg, Burr reaches, 122,
230; birthplace of Republican
party, 356.
Platte River, 100.
Polk, James K., 175, 180.
Pope, Alexander, 40.
Popular Sovereignty, 327.
Population, House based on, 43.
President of United States, how
elected, 47 ; limits of his power,
375-
Proclamation of George III., 8.
Proclamation of Jefferson, 130.
INDEX
395
Proclamation of Neutrality, 168.
Prohibition of slave-trade, 156.
Prussia, 169.
Putnam, Rufus, " Father of Ohio,"
123.
Quakers, see Friends.
Quarrels of the States, 32.
Quincy, Josiah, 205.
Railroad, Underground, see Un-
derground Railroad.
Randolph, Edmond, in Constitu-
tional Convention, 38.
Randolph, John, 164.
Raritan, the, 94.
Republics, South American, see
South American Republics.
Republican, National, see Dem-
ocratic.
Republican party, remotest rivu-
let from which sprung, 355 ;
birth-place, 356 ; distinctive
principles, 356 ; not at first an
abolition party, 357 ; adapta-
bility of, 358 ; outlook, 358 ;
achievements, 359.
Revere, Paul, 17, 50.
Revolution, 1, 9.
Rhode Island instructs for inde-
pendence, 13; refuses impost
tax, 31 ; refuses to send dele-
gates to Constitutional Con-
vention, 37 ; ills of the country
blamed on it, 41 ; remains out
of Union, 52.
Ricaras Indians, 101.
Richmond, seat of Burr's trial,
136 ; 285 ; 289.
Rocky Mountains, reached by
Lewis and Clarke, 103.
Rocky Mountains, Gates of, 104.
Rodney, Caesar, his ride from
Delaware to Philadelphia, 17.
Royal African Company, 151.
Rumsey, James, 83.
Rush, Richard, 171.
Russell, Lord John, 209.
Russia, in Holy Alliance, 169;
colonizes Pacific coast, 172,
378.
Rutledge, John, 39.
Sacramento River, 244.
Sacramento Valley, 250, 252.
Salisbury, Lord, answers Olney,
188.
San Diego, 247.
San Francisco, 244, 246, 247,
250.
San Joaquin Valley, 252.
Santa Barbara, 247.
Schomburgk line, 186.
Scott, Winfield, sent north by
Van Buren, 211, 257; candi-
date of Whigs for President,
296 ; defeated, 353.
Second of July, National birth-
day, 21.
Sedition Law, see Alien and Sedi-
tion Laws.
Seine River, Fulton's experiments
on, 88.
Senate, United States, equal rep-
resentation in, 43 ; at variance
with House on Missouri ques-
tion, 158 sq.\ sends agents to
Panama Congress, 174; bal-
ance in, broken, 262.
Serfdom, 149.
Seward, William H., 221, 261,
295. 304.335.
Sherman, Roger, 16, 19.
Shoshone Indians, 105.
Sierra Nevada Mountains, 245,
252.
Sioux Indians, 101.
Sixteenth Congress, 161 sq.
396
INDEX
Slaves, three-fifths counted in
census, 44.
Slavery, during colonial period,
149 ; introduced into Europe,
Central, and South America,
149 ; under the Constitution,
155 sq. ; should be prohibited
in the Territories, 327.
Slave-trade, left open for twenty-
one years by Constitution, 46,
154.
Smith, Gerrit, 273.
Smith, John, senator from Ohio,
125.
Smith, William, 271.
Smuggling, 154.
Songs, campaign, of 1840, 234.
South, the, took lead for inde-
pendence, 14; favors counting
slaves in census, 44; claims that
slavery was necessary to their
prosperity, 155 ; exhaustion of
territory, 242; furnished sol-
diers in Mexican War, 242;
offended at free California,
259; in minority in Lower
House, 262; alarmed at abo-
lition sentiment in the North,
264; not responsible for Fugi-
tive Slave Law, 265 ; threatens
secession, 267; congratulated
on results of Civil War, 292;
offended by Douglas's Free-
port Doctrine, 333.
South America, slavery in, 149.
South American Republics, 169,
170; recognized by the United
States, 170; rejoice in Monroe
Doctrine, 173; are protected
by it, 173.
South Carolina, protests against
prohibiting African slave-trade,
45 ; attempts to restrict slave-
trade, 150 ; carries slavery into
Georgia, 151 ; re-opens slave,
trade, 156.
Southern States, prohibit slave-
trade, 156 ; and passim.
Spain, 169; reduced by Napo-
leon, 170 ; interferes in Mexico,
182.
Specie circular, 224.
Sprague, Charles, 198.
Stamp Act, 6.
States, the, relation of to the
Union, 360 sq. ; origin of, 362 ;
have no foreign relations, 373.
States' Rights, 361 ; our great
safeguard of liberty, 381.
State authority, 371.
State laws, 368.
State Sovereignty, 361.
Staten Island, 196.
States, Northern, see Northern
States.
States, Southern, see Southern
States.
St. Clair, 230.
Steam navigation, wrought a
revolution, 80; first attempted
by William Henry, 82.
Stephens, Alexander H., 296.
Stoddard, Fort, 134.
Sumner, Charles, 274, 304.
Sutter, John A., built fort, 244;
possessions of, 244; apprised
of gold discovery, 246 ; later
career of, 253 (note).
Swiss Government, 375.
Syracuse, 273.
Talmadge, James, 158, 159,161.
Tariff, left to Congress by Consti-
tution, 46; not a party issue,
357-
Taylor, John W., 158, 159, 161.
Taylor, Zachary, 257 ; death, 262,
Texas, 242.
INDEX
397
Thames, battle of the, 231.
Theodosia Burr, daughter of
Aaron Burr, 119; goes West
with him, 128; attends Burr's
trial, 138; devotion to her
father, 140; death, 143.
Thomas, senator from Illinois,
moves Missouri Compromise,
163.
Thompson, Charles, signs Decla-
ration of Independence, 22;
carries news of election to
Washington, 56.
Thornton, Alfred, 280.
Tippecanoe, 226.
Tompkins, Daniel D., receives
Lafayette, 196.
Toombs, Robert, 296,
Tories, 10; during Revolution,
339-
Trenton, honors Washington,
59-60.
Tribune, New York, advocates
reelection of Douglas to Sen-
ate, 317 ; 355.
Tyler, John, 161 ; nominated for
vice-presidency, 228; becomes
President, 239.
Underground Railroad, meaning
of term, 263; in operation,
275 sq.
Union, formed, 24 sq. ; with the
States, 361 ; origin of, 362.
United States, born July 2, 1776,
21; condition before adoption
of Constitution, 25^. ; declines
tripartite agreement, 181 ; in-
terferes in Venezuelan bound-
ary dispute, 187.
Van Buren, Martin, issues proc-
lamation against abetting Ca-
nadian rebels, 211; demands
redress for destruction of the
Caroline, 215 ; 223.
Venezuela, boundary dispute,
185; offers to compromise,
186.
Verona, 169.
Vigilance Committee, 276, 285.
Virginia, convention at Williams-
burg, 13 ; instructs delegates
to propose independence, 14;
makes compact with Maryland,
30; elects delegates to Consti-
tutional Convention, 36; slavery
introduced into, 149; attempts
to check slave-trade, 150;
carries slavery into North
Carolina, 151 ; came near
emancipating, 153.
Wade, Benjamin, 304.
Wakefield, 132.
Walla Walla Indians, no.
Walker, Robert J., 314 ; governor
of Kansas, 315.
War, Civil, see Civil War.
War of 1812, 157, 230.
War, Mexican, see Mexican
War.
Warren, Joseph, predicts free-
dom for America, 5.
Washington, Fort, 230.
Washington, George, writes letter
against independence, 5 ; at
head of army, 15 ; makes
peace between New York and
New Hampshire, 33; elected
to Constitutional Convention,
36 ; president of Constitutional
Convention, 40 ; elected Presi-
dent, 55 ; leaves Mount Vernon,
57 ; journey to New York, 57
sq. ; inauguration, 62; holds
first place in American heart,
64; opinion of Rumsey's
39«
INDEX
steamboat, 83; above party
lines, 342.
Watershed, 107.
Watt, James, 82.
Wayne, Anthony, 230.
Webster, Daniel, author of
" Supposed Speech of John
Adams," 20; 162; 233; secre-
tary of state under Harrison,
238 ; 261 ; candidate for Whig
nomination, 296.
Weed, Thurlow, 226; quoted,
376.
Wesley, John, 151.
West, the, a wilderness, 96;
would be severed from East
but for railroad and telegraph,
118; social conditions deter-
mined, 241.
Western Reserve, 34.
Westminster Review, 183.
Wetzel, Lewis, 98.
Whig party, demoralized condi-
tion in 185?. 295 ; tottering to
its fall, 299 ; posthumous child
of Federal party, 351 ; had but
one rival, 351; tendency, 351;
dissolution, 353.
Whigs, blame Democrats for
panic of 1837, 224; hold con-
vention at Harrisburg, 225;
make log cabin and hard
cider symbols of campaign,
233; during Revolution, 339.
Wilkinson, James, in Burr's
conspiracy, 126; 129; writes
Jefferson betraying Burr, 130.
Willet, Colonel, 197.
Williamson, Passmore, 283; res-
cues slave woman, imprisoned,
284.
Wilson, James, member of Con-
tinental Congress, 16; justice
of Supreme Court, 16; most
learned lawyer in America, 16;
anecdote, 40.
Wirt, William, 137.
Women, dearth of in California,
256; effect on community,
257-
Wyoming Valley, 34.
X, Y, Z Mission, 68-69.
Yeamans, Sir John, introduces
slavery into South Carolina,
I5i-
Yellowstone River, 102.
York River r 108.
Yucatan, appeals to United States,
England, and Spain for protec-
tion, 175, 176.
t
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