“I thank God that we have a man in the Senate bold enough
and capable enough to point the nation the road back to the
foundation principles of the Government.”
E. W. Stewart, originally of the Liberty party, wrote from
North Evans, New York:--
“Having read your truly noble plea for the ‘great guaranty’
of personal and political rights under the Constitution,
in the Senate, I write to thank you with my whole heart.
It is the right word spoken at the right time and in the
right place, and it will reach the hearts of the people
and produce there a deep conviction, if it does not in
Congress.… The positions in your speech are unanswerable.”
Dr. Henry A. Hartt, a radical Abolitionist, wrote from New
York:--
“I must tell you how proud I feel, as a man and as an
American citizen, on account of the position you have
taken. When the Amendment of the Committee was proposed, I
felt chagrined and mortified beyond expression, and I did
fervently pray that we might be saved from the intolerable
infamy of putting into our Constitution a sanction,
even by implication, of the right of a State to deny or
abridge the franchise in consequence of race or color.
You may, then, imagine my joy, when I saw you break loose
from all considerations of policy and party, and place
yourself immovably upon the elevated platform of a just and
righteous statesmanship.
“I have read the report of your speech in the extra of the
_Tribune_, and I am sure that history will confirm the
verdict which I give, when I say that it was equal to the
great occasion.”
Edward Cary, editor of the Brooklyn _Daily Union_, wrote from
that place:--
“The loyal people in Brooklyn have felt very keenly the
outrage and insult you have suffered at the hands of Mr.
Johnson. They honor and trust you, and will uphold you. The
mention of your name by Mr. Garrison, on Tuesday evening,
drew from the large audience rounds of applause, which died
away only to be renewed, until it was the most prolonged I
ever heard.”
William Silvey, of New Jersey, earnest in patriotism and
Antislavery, wrote from Alexandria, Virginia:--
“How all the hearts of the true lovers of their country,
even in this rebellious city, are thrilling with gratitude
and thankfulness for your uniform noble efforts, which
have opened and will continue to open the eyes of the
citizens of our country and the whole world as to the true
significance or meaning of what constitutes a republican
government, which has been so sadly perverted by our
practice as a nation!”