September 12, 1867, Tennessee, Delaware, Maryland, Missouri,
Kentucky, and the District of Columbia were fully represented
in what was called “the Border State Convention,” which
assembled in the Front Street Theatre, Baltimore. The object,
in the language of the call, was “to advance the cause of
manhood suffrage, and to demand of Congress the passage of the
Sumner-Wilson bill.” The following letter from Mr. Sumner was
read to the Convention.
BOSTON, September 8, 1867.
DEAR SIR,--I shall not be able to be with you at your Convention
in Baltimore, according to the invitation with which you have
honored me. I ask you to accept my best wishes.
Congress will leave undone what it ought to do, if it fails to
provide promptly for the establishment of Equal Rights, whether
political or civil, everywhere throughout the Union. This is a
solemn duty, not to be shirked or postponed.
The idea is intolerable, that any State, under any pretension
of State Rights, can set up _a political oligarchy_ within its
borders, and then call itself a republican government. I insist
with all my soul that such a government must be rejected,
as inconsistent with the requirements of the Declaration of
Independence.
Faithfully yours,