When Mr. Sumner entered the Senate, he found what were known as the
Compromise Measures already adopted, among which was the odious
Fugitive Slave Bill. These were maintained by the constant assumption
that Slavery was a national institution, entitled to the protection
of the Nation, while those who opposed them were denounced as
Sectionalists. These words were made to play a great part. Both the old
parties, Whig and Democrat, plumed themselves upon being _national_,
and one of their hardest hits at a political opponent was to charge
him with _sectionalism_. Mr. Sumner undertook, while showing the
unconstitutionality and offensive character of the Fugitive Slave Bill,
to turn these party words upon his opponents, insisting that Slavery
was Sectional and Freedom National. The title of the speech embodies
this fundamental idea, which was generally adopted by the opponents of
Slavery.
In making this effort Mr. Sumner had against him both the old parties,
fresh from their National Conventions. The Democrats had just nominated
Franklin Pierce for the Presidency, and the Whigs General Scott; but
the two parties concurred on the Slavery Question, and especially in
support of the Fugitive Slave Bill, which was named in both platforms.