Mr. Sumner's credentials as Senator were presented at the opening of
the 32d Congress, December 1, 1851, when he took the oath of office.
Among those who took the oath on the same day were Hon. Benjamin F.
Wade, of Ohio, Hon. Hamilton Fish, of New York, and Hon. Stephen R.
Mallory, of Florida, afterward Secretary of the Navy in the Rebel
Government. The seat of the last was contested, and the question on
his reception drew forth Mr. Clay, who was present for the last time
in the Senate. Though living till June, he never again appeared in
the Chamber. On the arrangement of the Committees, Mr. Sumner found
himself at the bottom of the Committee on Revolutionary Claims and the
Committee on Roads and Canals.
On the first day of the session a joint resolution was announced by Mr.
Foote, of Mississippi, providing for the reception and entertainment
of Louis Kossuth, the recent head of the revolutionary government in
Hungary. Governor Kossuth, having escaped from Hungary, had found
refuge in Turkey, where he was received on board one of our ships of
war. After an interesting visit in England, where he addressed large
public audiences with singular power and eloquence, he arrived in New
York. Interest in the cause which he so ably represented, and personal
sympathy with the exile, quickened by his genius, found universal
expression in the country; but there was a protracted debate in the
Senate before the vote was taken.
The debate proceeded on a resolution introduced by Mr. Seward, December
8th, as follows:--
"_Resolved, &c._, That the Congress of the United States, in the
name and behalf of the people of the United States, give to Louis
Kossuth a cordial welcome to the capital and to the country,
and that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to him by the
President of the United States."
On the same day, Mr. Shields, of Illinois, introduced a resolution in
the following terms:--
"_Resolved_, That a committee of three be appointed by the Chair to
wait on Louis Kossuth, Governor of Hungary, and introduce him to
the Senate."
December 9th, Mr. Berrien, of Georgia, addressed the Senate at length
in opposition to action by Congress, and, in closing his speech, moved
the following amendment:--
"_And be it further Resolved_, That the welcome thus afforded to
Louis Kossuth be extended to his associates who have landed on our
shores; but while welcoming these Hungarian patriots to an asylum
in our country, and to the protection which our laws do and always
will afford to them, it is due to candor to declare that it is
not the purpose of Congress to depart from the settled policy of
this Government, which forbids all interference with the domestic
concerns of other nations."
The final question was not reached till December 12th, when the
amendment of Mr. Berrien was rejected: yeas 15, nays 26. The question
then recurred on the resolution of Mr. Seward, which was adopted: yeas
33, nays 6. The resolution passed the House of Representatives, and was
signed by the President.
On the 10th of December Mr. Sumner spoke. It was his first speech in
the Senate. He rose to speak late in the afternoon of the day before,
but gave way to an adjournment, which was moved by Mr. Rusk, of Texas.
The next day, on motion of Mr. Seward, the Senate proceeded to the
consideration of the resolution, when Mr. Sumner took the floor.
The following characteristic letter from Mr. Choate, one of his
predecessors as Senator from Massachusetts, illustrates the reception
of the speech in the country, besides being a souvenir of friendly
relations amidst political differences.
"BOSTON, December 29, 1851.
"MY DEAR MR. SUMNER,--
"I thank you for the copy of your beautiful speech, and for the
making of it. All men say it was a successful one, parliamentarily
expressing it; and I am sure it is sound and safe, steering
skilfully between _cold-shoulderism_ and _inhospitality_, on the
one side, and the splendid folly and wickedness of coöperation, on
the other. Cover the Magyar with flowers, lave him with perfumes,
serenade him with eloquence, and let him go home _alone_,--if he
will not live here. Such is all that is permitted to wise states,
aspiring to the 'True Grandeur.'
"I wish to Heaven you would write me _de rebus Congressus_. How
does the Senate strike you? The best place this day on earth for
reasoned and thoughtful, yet stimulant public speech. Think of that.
"Most truly yours--_in the Union_,--
"RUFUS CHOATE."
MR. PRESIDENT,--Words are sometimes things; and I cannot
disguise from myself that the resolution in honor of Louis Kossuth
now pending before the Senate, when finally passed, will be an act of
no small significance in the history of our country. The Senator from
Georgia [Mr. BERRIEN] was right, when he said that it was no
unmeaning compliment. Beyond its immediate welcome to an illustrious
stranger, it will help to combine and direct the sentiments of our own
people everywhere; it will inspire all in other lands who are engaged
in the contest for freedom; it will challenge the disturbed attention
of despots; and will become a precedent, whose importance will grow, in
the thick-coming events of the future, with the growing might of the
Republic. Therefore it becomes us to consider well what we do, and to
understand the grounds of our conduct.
I am prepared to vote for it without amendment or condition of any
kind, and on reasons which seem to me at once obvious and conclusive.
In assigning these I shall be brief; and let me say, that, novice as
I am in this hall, and, indeed, in all legislative halls, nothing but
my strong interest in the question as now presented, and a hope to say
something directly upon it, could prompt me thus early to mingle in
these debates.
The case seems to require a statement, rather than an argument. As I
understand, the last Congress requested the President to authorize the
employment of a national vessel to receive and convey Louis Kossuth
to the United States. That honorable service was performed, under the
express direction of the President, and in pursuance of the vote
of Congress, by one of the best appointed ships of our navy,--the
steam-frigate Mississippi. Far away from our country, in foreign
waters, on the current of the Bosphorus, the Hungarian chief, passing
from his Turkish exile, first pressed the deck of this gallant vessel,
first came under the protection of our national flag, and for the
first time in his life rested beneath the ensign of an unquestioned
Republic. From that moment he became our guest. The Republic--which
thus far he had seen only in delighted dream or vision--was now his
host; and though this relation was interrupted for a few weeks by his
wise and brilliant visit to England, yet its duties and its pleasures,
as I confidently submit, are not yet ended. The liberated exile is now
at our gates. Sir, we cannot do things by halves; and the hospitality,
which, under the auspices of Congress, was thus begun, must, under
the auspices of Congress, be continued. The hearts of the people are
already open to receive him; Congress cannot turn its back upon him.
I would join in this welcome, not merely because it is essential to
complete and crown the work of the last Congress, but because our
guest deserves it. The distinction is great, I know; but it is not
so great as his deserts. He deserves it as the early, constant, and
incorruptible champion of the Liberal Cause in Hungary, who, while yet
young, with unconscious power, girded himself for the contest, and
by a series of masterly labors, with voice and pen, in parliamentary
debate and in the discussions of the press, breathed into his country
the breath of life. He deserves it by the great principles of true
democracy which he caused to be recognized,--representation of the
people without distinction of rank or birth, and _Equality before the
law_.[72] He deserves it by the trials he has undergone, in prison and
in exile. He deserves it by the precious truth he now so eloquently
proclaims, of the Fraternity of Nations.
[72] This important phrase is thus early introduced.
As I regard his course, I am filled with reverence and awe. I see in
him, more than in any other living man, the power which may be exerted
by a single, earnest, honest soul in a noble cause. In himself he is
more than a whole cabinet, more than a whole army. I watch him in
Hungary, while, like Carnot in France, he "organizes victory"; I follow
him in exile to distant Mahometan Turkey, and there find him, with only
a scanty band, in weakness and confinement, still the dread of despots;
I sympathize with him in his happy release; and now, as he comes more
within the sphere of immediate observation, amazement fills us all in
the contemplation of his career, while he proceeds from land to land,
from city to city, and, with words of matchless power, seems at times
the fiery sword of Freedom, and then the trumpet of resurrection to the
Nations,--
"Tuba mirum spargens sonum."[73]
I know not how others are impressed; but I call to mind no incident
in history, no event of peace or war,--certainly none of war,--more
strongly calculated, better adapted, to touch and exalt the imagination
and the heart than his recent visit to England. He landed on the
southern coast, not far from where William of Normandy, nearly eight
centuries ago, had landed,--not far from where, nineteen centuries
ago, Julius Cæsar had landed also; but William on the field of
Hastings, and Cæsar in his adventurous expedition, made no conquest
comparable in grandeur to that achieved by the unarmed and unattended
Hungarian. A multitudinous people, outnumbering far the armies of
those earlier times, was subdued by his wisdom and eloquence; and
this exile, proceeding from place to place, traversing the country,
at last, in the very heart of the Kingdom, threw down the gauntlet of
the Republic. Without equivocation, amidst the supporters of monarchy,
in the shadow of a lofty throne, he proclaimed himself a republican,
and proclaimed the republic as his cherished aspiration for Hungary.
And yet, amidst the excitements of this unparalleled scene, with that
discretion which I pray may ever attend him as a good angel,--the
ancient poet aptly tells us that no Divinity is absent where Prudence
is present,[74]--he forbore all suggestion of interference with the
institutions of the country whose guest he was, recognizing that vital
principle of self-government by which every state chooses for itself
the institutions and rulers it prefers.
[73] Dies Iræ, st. 3.
[74] "Nullum numen abest, si sit Prudentia."--JUVENAL, _Sat._ X.
365.
Such a character, thus grandly historic,--a living Wallace, a living
Tell, I had almost said a living Washington,--deserves our homage.
Nor am I tempted to ask if there be any precedent for the resolution
now under consideration. There is a time for all things; and the time
has come for us to make a precedent in harmony with his unprecedented
career. The occasion is fit; the hero is near; let us speak our
welcome. It is true, that, unlike Lafayette, he has never directly
served our country; but I cannot admit that on this account he is less
worthy. Like Lafayette, he perilled life and all; like Lafayette, he
did penance in an Austrian dungeon; like Lafayette, he served the cause
of Freedom; and whosoever serves this cause, wheresoever he may be, in
whatever land, is entitled, according to his works, to the gratitude of
every true American bosom, of every true lover of mankind.
The resolution before us commends itself by simplicity and
completeness. In this respect it seems preferable to that of the
Senator from Illinois [Mr. SHIELDS]; nor is it obnoxious to
objections urged against that of the Senator from Mississippi [Mr.
FOOTE]; and I do not see that it can give any just umbrage, in
our diplomatic relations, even to the sensitive representative of the
House of Austria. Though we have the high authority of the President,
in his Message, for styling our guest "Governor,"--a title which seems
to imply the _de facto_ independence of Hungary, when it is known that
our Government declined to acknowledge it,--the resolution avoids this
difficulty, and speaks of him without title of any kind,--simply as a
private citizen. As such, it offers him welcome to the capital and to
the country.
The Comity of Nations I respect. To the behests of the Law of Nations
I profoundly bow. In our domestic affairs all acts are brought to the
Constitution, as to a touchstone; so in our foreign affairs all acts
are brought to the touchstone of the Law of Nations,--that supreme law,
the world's collected will, which overarches the Grand Commonwealth
of Christian States. What that forbids I forbear to do. But no text
of this voluminous code, no commentary, no gloss, can be found, which
forbids us to welcome any exile of Freedom.
Looking at this resolution in its various lights, as a carrying out of
the act of the last Congress, as justly due to the exalted character
of our guest, and as proper in form and consistent with the Law of
Nations, it seems impossible to avoid the conclusion in its favor. On
its merits it would naturally be adopted. And here I might stop.
An appeal is made against the resolution on grounds which seem to me
extraneous and irrelevant. There is an attempt to involve it with the
critical question of intervention by our country in European affairs;
and recent speeches in England and New York are adduced to show that
such intervention is sought by our guest. It is sufficient to say,
in reply to this suggestion, introduced by the Senator from Georgia
[Mr. BERRIEN] with a skill which all might envy, and adopted
by the Senator from New Jersey [Mr. MILLER], _that no such
intervention is promised or implied by the resolution_. It does not
appear on the face of the resolution; it is not in any way suggested
by the resolution, directly or indirectly. It can be found only in
the imagination, the anxieties, or the fears of Senators. It is a
mere ghost, and not a reality. As such we may dismiss it. But I feel
strongly on this point, and desire to go further. Here, again, I shall
be brief; for the occasion allows me to give conclusions only, and not
details.
While thus warmly, with my heart in my hand, joining in this tribute,
I wish to be understood as in no respect encouraging any idea of
belligerent intervention in European affairs. Such a system would
have in it no element of just self-defence, and would open vials of
perplexities and ills which I trust our country will never be called
to affront. I inculcate no frigid isolation. God forbid that we should
ever close our ears to the cry of distress, or cease to swell with
indignation at the steps of tyranny! In the wisdom of Washington we
find perpetual counsel. Like Washington, in his eloquent words to the
Minister of the French Directory, I would offer sympathy and God-speed
to all, in every land, who struggle for Human Rights; but, sternly as
Washington on another occasion, against every pressure, against all
popular appeals, against all solicitations, against all blandishments,
I would uphold with steady hand the peaceful neutrality of the country.
Could I now approach our mighty guest, I would say to him, with the
respectful frankness of a friend: "Be content with the outgushing
sympathy which you now inspire everywhere throughout this wide-spread
land, and may it strengthen your soul! Trust in God, in the inspiration
of your cause, and in the Great Future, pregnant with freedom for all
mankind. But respect our ideas, as we respect yours. Do not seek to
reverse our traditional, established policy of peace. _Do not, under
the too plausible sophism of upholding non-intervention, provoke
American intervention on distant European soil._ Leave us to tread
where Washington points the way."
And yet, with these convictions, Mr. President, which I now
most sincerely express, I trust the Senator from Georgia [Mr.
BERRIEN] will pardon me when I say I cannot join in his
proposed amendment,--and for this specific reason. To an act of
courtesy and welcome it attaches a condition, which, however just as
an independent proposition, is most ungracious in such connection. It
is out of place, and everything out of place is to a certain extent
offensive. If adopted, it would impair, if not destroy, the value of
our act. A generous hospitality will not make terms or conditions with
a guest; and such hospitality I trust Congress will tender to Louis
Kossuth.
* * * * *