Subjugation of the Border States, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri.--
A Military Force invades Maryland and occupies Baltimore.--Martial
Law declared.--A Military Order.--Banishment from the State.--
Civil Government of the State suspended.--Unalienable Rights of the
Citizens invaded.--Arrests of Citizens commenced.--Number.--Case
of John Merryman.--Opinion of Chief-Justice Taney.--Newspapers
seized.--Houses searched for Arms.--Order of Commanding General to
Marshals to put Test to Voters.--The Governor appeals to the
President.--His Reply.--Voters imprisoned.--Statement of the
Governor.--Result of the Election.--State Constitutional
Convention.--Emancipation hardly carried.--First Open Measures in
Kentucky.--Interference at the State Election by the United States
Government.--Voters excluded.--Martial Law declared.--Soldiers
keeping the Polls.--The Vote.--Statement of the Governor.--Attempt
to enroll Able-bodied Negroes.--The Governor visits Washington.--
The Result.--Arrests, Imprisonment, and Exile of Citizens.--
Suspension of the Writ of _Habeas Corpus_ by President Lincoln.--
Interference with the State Election.--Order to the Sheriffs.--
Proclamation of the Governor.--Enlistment of Slaves.--Emancipation
by Constitutional Amendment.--Violent _Measures_ in Missouri.--The
Governor calls out the Militia.--His Words.--The Plea of the
Invader.--"The Authority of the United States is Paramount," said
President Lincoln.--Bravery of the Governor.--Words of the
Commanding General.--Troops poured into the State.--Proceedings of
the State Convention.--Numberless Usurpations.--Provisional
Governor.--Emancipation Ordinance passed.
If the State government is instituted with certain powers which
become "just powers" by the formal consent of the governed, for the
purpose of enforcing security to the unalienable rights of man, it
must be evident that any interference with those rights by which
their enjoyments diminished, endangered, or destroyed, is not only an
obstruction to the operation of the "just powers" of the State
government, but is subversive of the purpose which it was instituted
to effect.
In this manner the State government of Maryland was subjugated. A
military force, under the authority of the Government of the United
States, occupied the city of Baltimore at a time when no invasion of
the State was threatened, and when there had been no application of
the Legislature, or of the Executive, for protection against domestic
violence, which circumstances alone could give a constitutional
authority for this organized military force to occupy the State. The
commanding General, Schenck, soon issued an order, of which the
following is an extract:
"Martial law is declared and hereby established in the city and
county of Baltimore, and in all the counties of the Western Shore of
Maryland. The commanding General gives assurance that this suspension
of civil government within the limits defined shall not extend beyond
the necessities of the occasion. All the civil courts, tribunals, and
political functionaries of State, county, or city authority, are to
continue in the discharge of their duties as in times of peace, only
in no way interfering with the exercise of the predominant power
assumed and asserted by the military authority."
It will be noticed that this military force of the Government of the
United States had no constitutional permission to come into Maryland
and exercise authority; that the commanding General says that the
civil government of the State is suspended within certain limits;
that this suspension will be continued according to the necessities
of the occasion; that the courts and political functionaries may
discharge their duties, only in no way interfering with the exercise
of the predominant military power. Now, where were the "just powers"
of the State government at this time? They were suspended in a part
of the State, says the commanding General, and for so long a time as
the military authority may judge the necessities of the occasion to
require, and that the courts and political functionaries may
discharge their duties while recognizing the supremacy of the
military power. Thus was the State government subjugated.
A further subversion of the State government was now commenced by an
invasion and denial of some of the unalienable rights of the
citizens, for the security of which that government was instituted.
The Constitution of the United States says:
"No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law." [81]
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated." [82]
"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." [83]
"Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of
the press." [84]
The Declaration of Independence says:
"That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted
among men."
Immediately upon the issue of the order of the commanding General,
the arrests of citizens commenced by provost-marshals. The family
residence of a lady was forced open; she was seized, put on board of
a steamer, and sent to the Confederate States. A man was arrested for
being "disloyal" to the United States Government, and held for
examination. Another was charged with interfering with the
enrollment; he was held for further examination. Another, charged
with being "disloyal" to the United States Government, took the oath
of allegiance, and was released. A woman charged with the attempt to
resist the enrollment was arrested, and subsequently released. A man,
on a charge of "disloyalty," took the oath, and was released.
Another, charged with having given improper information to enrolling
officers, was released on furnishing the information. Another,
charged with having powder in his possession, was released on taking
the oath of allegiance. Two others, charged with abuse of the negroes
laboring on the fortifications, were held for examination. Another,
charged with rendering assistance to wounded Confederate soldiers,
and expressing treasonable sentiments, took the oath of allegiance
and was released. Another, charged with being a soldier in the
Confederate army and paroled, was ordered to be sent across the
lines. A man, charged with treasonable language, was ordered to be
sent across the lines. Two others, charged with aiding Confederate
soldiers, took the oath of allegiance and were discharged. Another,
charged with receiving letters from Confederates for the purpose of
delivery, took the oath of allegiance, and was discharged. Another,
charged with expressing treasonable sentiments, was held for
examination. Two, charged with cheering for Jefferson Davis, took the
oath and were released.
One case more most be stated. On May 25, 1861, John Merryman, a most
respectable citizen of the State, residing in Baltimore County, was
seized in his bed by an armed force, and imprisoned in Fort McHenry.
He petitioned the Chief-Justice of the United States that a writ of
_habeas corpus_ might be issued, which was granted. The officer upon
whom it was served declined to obey the writ. An attachment was
issued against the officer. The marshal was refused admittance to the
fort to serve it. Upon such return being made, the Chief-Justice said:
"I ordered the attachment yesterday, because upon the face of the
return the detention of the prisoner was unlawful upon two grounds:
"1. The President, under the Constitution and laws of the United
States, can not suspend the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_,
nor authorize any military officer to do so.
"2. A military officer has no right to arrest and detain a person not
subject to the rules and articles of war for an offense against the
laws of the United States, except in aid of the judicial authority
and subject to its control; and, if the party is arrested by the
military, it is the duty of the officer to deliver him over
immediately to the civil authority, to be dealt with according to law.
"Under the Constitution of the United States, these principles are
the fundamental law of the Union. In relation to the present return,
I propose to say that the marshal has legally the power to summon out
the _posse comitatus_ to seize and bring into court the party named
in the attachment; but it is apparent he will be resisted in the
discharge of that duty by a force notoriously superior to the _posse
comitatus_ and, such being the case, the Court has no power under the
law to order the necessary force to compel the appearance of the
party.
"I shall reduce to writing the reasons under which I have acted, and
which have led me to the conclusions expressed in my opinion, and
shall report them, with these proceedings, to the President of the
United States, and call upon him to perform his constitutional duty
to enforce the laws; in other words, to enforce the process of this
court."
During the month of July arrests were made of 361 persons, on charges
like the above mentioned, by the military authority. Of this number,
317 took the oath of allegiance to the Government of the United
States, and were released; 5 were sent to Fort McHenry, 3 to
Washington for the action of the authorities there, 11 to the North,
6 across the lines, and 19 were held for further examination.
On September 11, 1863, one of the city newspapers published the poem
entitled "The Southern Cross." The publishers and editor were
immediately arrested, not allowed communication with any person
whatever, and on the same day sent across the lines, with the
understanding that they should not return during the war. On July 2d
an order was issued which forbade the citizens of Baltimore City and
County to keep arms unless they were enrolled as volunteer companies.
The Fifty-first Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers was placed at
the disposal of General E. B. Tyler, assisted by the provost-marshal
and the chief of police. The soldiers, in concert with the police,
formed into parties of three or four, and were soon diligently
engaged in searching houses. Large wagons were provided, and muskets,
carbines, rifles, revolvers of all kinds, sabers, bayonets, swords,
and bird and ducking guns in considerable quantities were gathered.
The Constitution of the United States says:
"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be
infringed." [85]
A further subversion of the State government of Maryland was next
made by a direct interference with the elections. An election was to
be held in the State for members of the Legislature and members of
Congress on November 3, 1863. The commanding General, on October
27th, issued an order to all marshals and military officers to cause
their direct interference with the voters. The Governor (Bradford)
applied to the President of the United States to have the order
revoked, and protested against any person who offered to vote being
put to any test not found in the laws of Maryland. President Lincoln
declined to interfere with the order, except in one less important
point. The Governor issued a proclamation on the day preceding the
election, which the military commander endeavored to suppress, and
issued an order charging that the tendency of the proclamation was to
invite and suggest disturbance. One or more regiments of soldiers
were sent out and distributed among several of the counties to attend
the places of election, in defiance of the known laws of the State
prohibiting their presence. Military officers and provost-marshals
were ordered to arrest voters, guilty, in their opinion, of certain
offenses, and to menace judges of election with the power of the army
in case this order was not respected.
But, perhaps, the forcible language of the Governor to the
Legislature will furnish the most undeniable statement of the facts.
He says:
"On Monday evening preceding the election I issued a proclamation
giving the judges of election the assurance of the protection of the
State to the extent of its ability. Before the following morning,
orders were sent to the Eastern Shore, directing its circulation to
be suppressed; the public papers were forbidden to publish it, and an
embargo laid on all steamers in port trading with that part of the
State, lest they might carry it.
"The abuses commenced even before the opening of the polls. On the
day preceding the election, the officer in command of the regiment
which had been distributed among the counties of the Eastern Shore,
and who had himself landed in Kent County, commenced his operations
by arresting and sending across the bay some ten or more of the most
estimable and distinguished of its citizens, including several of the
most steadfast and most uncompromising loyalists of the Shore. The
jail of the county was entered, the jailer seized, imprisoned, and
afterward sent to Baltimore, and prisoners confined therein under
indictment set at liberty. The commanding officer gave the first clew
to the kind of disloyalty against which he considered himself as
particularly commissioned, by printing and publishing a proclamation
in which, referring to the election to take place on the next day, he
invited all the truly _loyal_ to avail themselves of that opportunity
and establish their _loyalty_, 'by giving a full and ardent support
to the whole Government ticket, upon the platform adopted by the
Union League Convention,' declaring that 'none other is recognized by
the Federal authorities as loyal or worthy of the support of any one
who desires the peace and restoration of the Union.'
"This Government ticket was in several, if not all, of those counties
designated by its color. It was a yellow ticket, and, armed with
that, a voter could safely run the gantlet of the sabers and carbines
that guarded the entrance to the polls, and known sympathizers with
the rebellion were allowed to vote unquestioned if they would vote
that ticket, while loyal and respected citizens, ready to take the
oath, were turned back by the officer in charge without even allowing
them to approach the polls. In one district the military officer took
his stand at the polls before they were opened, declaring that none
but the 'yellow ticket should be voted,' and excluded all others
throughout the day. In another district a similar officer caused
every ballot offered to be examined, and, unless it was the favored
one, the voter was required to take the oath, and not otherwise. In
another district, after one vote only had been given, the polls wore
closed, the judges were all arrested and sent out of the county, and
military occupation taken of the town. Other statements might be made.
"These abuses present a humiliating record, such as I had never
supposed we should be called upon to read in any State, still less in
a loyal one like this. Unless it be, indeed, a fallacy to suppose
that any rights whatever remain to such a State, or that any line
whatever marks the limit of Federal power, a bolder stride across
that line that power never made, even in a rebel State, than it did
in Maryland on the 3d of last November. A part of the army, which a
generous people had supplied for a very different purpose, was on
that day engaged in stifling the freedom of election in a faithful
State, intimidating its sworn officers, violating the constitutional
rights of its loyal citizens, and obstructing the usual channels of
communication between them and their Executive."
The result was the election of a majority of members of the
Legislature in favor of a State Constitutional Convention. The acts
necessary for this object were passed. At the election of delegates,
the military authority again interfered in order to secure a majority
in favor of immediate and unconditional emancipation. The so-called
Convention assembled and drafted a so-called Constitution, in which
the twenty-third article of the Bill of Rights prohibited the
existence of slavery in the State, and said, "All persons held to
service or labor as slaves are hereby declared free."
It was urged, in objection to the adoption of the so-called
Constitution by the Convention, that "the election by which the
Convention was called and its members elected was not free for the
legal voters of the State, but was held and conducted in clear
violation of the rights of voters, in consequence of which a majority
of the legal voters of the State were excluded from the polls." A
rigid article on the qualifications of voters at the State elections
was embodied in the Constitution, with the shameless provision that
it should be in force at the election for ratification or rejection
of the so-called Constitution which was to create the disabilities.
The instrument also authorized a poll to be opened in each company of
every Maryland regiment in the service of the United States at the
quarters of the commanding officer, and that the commissioned
officers of such company should act as the judges of election. The
aid of the President of the United States was also obtained to help
on the ratification of the new Constitution, and he concludes a
letter on the subject by saying, "I shall be gratified exceedingly if
the good people of the State shall, by their votes, ratify the new
Constitution."
Notwithstanding the aid of the President, of the soldiers' votes, and
a most stringent oath, and the exclusion of every person who had in
any manner, by word or act, aided the cause of the Confederacy, the
majority for the so-called Constitution was only 375. The total vote
was 59,973. In 1860 the vote of the State was 92,502. Thus was the
State government subjugated and made an instrument of destruction to
the people; thus were their rights ruthlessly violated, and property
millions of dollars in value annihilated.
The reader must have noticed, in all these proceedings which resulted
in the subjugation of the State governments, the cautious and
stealthy manner in which the Government of the United States
proceeded at the outset in each instance until it got a strong
foothold, that then the mask was thrown off, and both Governor and
people were made the unresisting victims of its unscrupulous and
lawless outrages.
In the State of Kentucky, the first open and direct measures taken by
the Government of the United States for the subjugation of the State
government and people, thereby to effect the emancipation of the
slaves, consisted in an interference with the voters at the State
election in August, 1863. This interference was by means of a
military force stationed at the polls to sustain and enforce the
action of some of the servants of the Government of the United
States, the object being to overawe the judges of election, secure
the administration of a rigid oath of allegiance, and thereby the
rejection of as many antagonistic votes as possible. Indeed, it was
intended that none but so-called "Union" men should vote--that is,
men who were willing to approve of every measure which the Government
of the United States might adopt to carry on the war and
revolutionize the State. At the same time, no man was allowed to be a
candidate or to receive any votes unless he was a well-known advocate
of the Government of the United States. It will be seen that these
measures excluded the largest portion of the former Democratic party,
although they might be practically "Union" men, and placed everything
in the hands of the Administration party, where, by the use of
similar machinery, it remained a great many years after the war
closed.
Meantime, on July 31, 1863, the commanding General of the Department
of the Ohio issued an order declaring the State under martial law,
and said, "It is for the purpose, only, of protecting, if necessary,
the rights of loyal citizens and the freedom of elections." He would
have more correctly said, "It is for the purpose of enforcing and
securing a majority for the candidates of my views." The General in
command in the western part of the State issued an order to regulate
the election in that quarter, and the colonels at every post did
likewise. In Louisville, on the day of election, there were ten
soldiers with muskets at each voting-place who, with crossed
bayonets, stood in the doors, preventing all access of voters to the
polls but by their permission, and who arrested and carried to the
military prison all whom they were told to arrest. Out of some eight
thousand voters in the city, less than five thousand votes were
taken. How many of the missing three thousand were deterred from
attempting to vote could not be ascertained, nor was it necessary,
for the intimidation of three thousand voters is no greater outrage
than the intimidation of only three hundred. The interpretation
generally put on the order of the commanding officer by the
opposition party was, that no man was to have the privilege of having
his right to vote tested by the judges of election if he was pointed
out to the guard by any one of the detectives as a proper person to
be arrested. As the commanding officer had not the semblance of legal
or rightful power to interfere with the election, the most sinister
suspicions were naturally aroused, and very many were said to have
been deterred from going to the polls through fear that they would be
made the victims to personal or party malice. Similar intimidation
was practiced in other parts of the State. The result was, that there
was not only direct military interference with the election, but it
was conducted in most of the State under the intimidation of the
bayonets of the Government of the United States. The total vote was
85,695. In 1860 the vote of the State was 146,216. The Governor-elect
in his message spoke, of such an unjust election, as follows:
"The recent elections clearly and unmistakably define the popular
will and public judgment of Kentucky. It is settled that Kentucky
will, with unwavering faith and unswerving purpose, stand by and
support the Government in every effort to suppress the rebellion and
maintain the Union."
The true sense of this language is, that the Government of the United
States had so far subverted the State government and destroyed the
sovereignty of the people that they could not withstand its further
aggressions.
The Government of the United States was now ready to move forward in
its design to destroy one of the most valuable institutions of the
State. Steps were taken by its officers to enroll all able-bodied
male negroes in the State between the ages of twenty and forty-five
years, that they might form a part of its forces. The effect of this
measure was to break up the labor system of the State, and meanwhile
the pseudo-philanthropists furnished food for powder, and indulged
their ideas of freedom at their neighbors' expense. The excitement
produced caused the Governor to visit Washington and effect
agreements by which all recruiting should cease when a county's quota
was full, all recruits should be removed from the State, and other
similar provisions. A year later, he said to the Legislature: "Had
these agreements been carried out, a very different state of feeling
would have existed in Kentucky. But, instead of carrying them out,
the most offensive and injurious modes were adopted to violate them."
The next step taken by the Government of the United States in the
subversion of the government of Kentucky was the destruction of the
unalienable right of personal liberty of the citizens, which the
State was in duty bound to protect. The Union Governor of the State,
whose election was aided by the United States military officers, as
above stated, is the witness for the facts. In his message to the
Legislature of January, 1865, he says:
"The gravest matter of military outrage has been, and yet is, the
arrest, imprisonment, and banishment of loyal citizens without a
hearing, and without even a knowledge of the charges against them.
There have been a number of this class of arrests, merely for
partisan political vengeance, and to force them to pay heavy sums to
purchase their liberation. How the spoils so infamously extorted are
divided, has not transpired to the public information. For partisan
political ends, General John B. Huston was arrested at midnight
preceding the election, and hurried off under circumstances of
shameful aggravation. He was, however, released in a few days; but
that does not atone for the criminality of his malicious arrest and
false imprisonment. The battle-scarred veteran, Colonel Frank
Wolford, whose name and loyal fame are part of his country's proudest
memories, and whose arrest for political vengeance should put a
nation's cheek to blush, is yet held in durance vile, without a
hearing and without an accusation, so far as he or his friends can
ascertain.
"Lieutenant-Governor Jacobs, whose yet unclosed wounds were received
in battle for his country, was made a victim to partisan and personal
enmity, and hurried without a hearing and without any known
accusation through the rebel lines into Virginia. The action in this
case is in defiance of Federal and State Constitutions and laws, in
defiance of the laws of humanity and liberty, dishonors the cause of
our country, and degrades the military rank to the infamous uses of
partisan and personal vengeance. Other cases might be mentioned, but
these are selected because they are known to the whole country; the
acts of these men are part of the glorious history of loyal heroism."
The next step in the progress of the subjugation of the State
government was taken by President Lincoln on July 5, 1864, when he
issued a proclamation establishing martial law throughout the State,
and the suspension of the writ of _habeas corpus_. Civil proceedings
were allowed to be continued, "which did not affect the military
operations or the constituted authorities of the Government of the
United States." Arrests of individuals by military force soon
commenced, and a large number of eminent Kentuckians of all
professions and pursuits were imprisoned. A group of persons,
consisting of judges, magistrates, wealthy merchants, and young
women, without having been allowed a hearing, or trial, or any
opportunity to vindicate themselves, were banished from the State. In
this destruction of the unalienable right of personal liberty, the
State government was passive; indeed, it was powerless to resist.
A State election was to be held on the first Monday of August for
local officers and a Judge of the High Court of Appeals from one
district. Chief-Justice Duvall was one of the two candidates. On July
29th an order was issued by the Major-General, commanding, to the
sheriffs of the counties concerned, as follows:
"You will not allow the name of Alvin Duvall to appear upon the
poll-books as a candidate for office at the coming election."
Another name was substituted. The election of a President of the
United States was to be held in November, but the Government of the
United States seems to have regarded the vote of the State as
unnecessary to secure the reelection of its officials, and refrained
from interference. Under these circumstances, the Governor of the
State took courage and issued a proclamation to the election
officers. It is of no importance except as showing their powers and
duties, and how grossly they had neglected them at previous
elections. He said:
"As no officer of any rank, from the President down, has any right or
authority to interfere with elections, no order to do so can legalize
the act. If there be sufficient power in the citizens present, at any
place where such interference may be attempted, to arrest the
offenders, and hold them over to answer to the violated laws, it will
be the duty of the sheriff to make the arrest in such case. He has
authority to require the aid of every citizen, and it should be
readily and promptly given, in defense of a common right--of a
blood-bought franchise. If the force employed to interfere with the
election be too great, at any place of voting, to be arrested, the
officers of election, in such case, should adjourn and not proceed
with the election. If you are unable to hold a free election, your
duty is to hold none at all."
By enlistment, over twenty-two thousand of the most valuable slaves
in the State had gone into the service of the United States, and on
March 3, 1865, its Congress passed an act declaring that the wives
and children of all such soldiers should be free. But the final
moment was near at hand when the annihilation of more than one
hundred millions of property and the destruction of one of the most
important institutions of the State was to take place by one of those
fictions so peculiar to this administration of the Government of the
United States. That was the pretended adoption of a constitutional
amendment, prohibiting the existence of slavery in the United States.
When a whole people suffers itself to be cajoled in this
unaccountable manner by its unscrupulous rulers, it argues as little
regard for the fundamental law of the Union as for the rights of the
States.
The subversion of the State government of Missouri by the Government
of the United States was more rapid and more desperate than in the
case of Kentucky. As previously stated, the Governor of the State, at
the commencement of the difficulties, proposed the most conciliatory
terms to the Government of the United States, which were rejected. He
then, like a Governor, sensible of his duty to protect the rights of
his people and of the sacred obligations of his official oath, issued
his proclamation calling into active service fifty thousand of the
State militia, "for the purpose of repelling invasion, and for the
protection of the lives, liberty, and property of the citizens." He
said:
"A series of unprovoked and unparalleled outrages have been inflicted
upon the peace and dignity of this Commonwealth and upon the rights
and liberties of its people, by wicked and unprincipled men,
professing to act under the authority of the Government of the United
States; solemn enactments of your Legislature have been nullified;
your volunteer soldiers have been taken prisoners; your commerce with
your sister States has been suspended; your trade with your own
fellow-citizens has been and is subjected to the harassing control of
an armed soldiery; peaceful citizens have been imprisoned without
warrant of law; unoffending and defenseless men, women, and children
have been ruthlessly shot down and murdered; and other unbearable
indignities have been heaped upon your State and yourselves."
The plea of the invader was contained in an order issued from
Washington to the commanding General in these words:
"The President observes with concern that, notwithstanding the pledge
of the State authorities to coöperate in preserving the peace of
Missouri, loyal citizens in great numbers continue to be driven from
their homes. It is immaterial whether the outrages continue from
inactivity or indisposition on the part of the State authorities to
prevent them. It is enough that they continue, and it will devolve on
you the duty of putting a stop to them summarily by the force under
your command, to be aided by such troops as you may require from
Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois. . . . The authority of the United States
is paramount, and, whenever it is apparent that a movement, whether
by order of State authority or not, is hostile, you will not hesitate
to put it down."
In this order the only pretext put forward is that of domestic
violence. But in that case the Constitution of the United States
gives no authority to the United States Government to interfere
except on the express conditions of an "application of the
Legislature, or of the Executive, when the Legislature can not be
convened." There had been no application of the Legislature or of the
Executive. On the contrary, the Governor of the State, like a brave
man, told the Executive of the United States to keep his hands off,
and to keep his military forces without the State, and he pledged
himself to preserve its peace and neutrality. But arguments or
pledges on the part of the victim have never yet stopped the progress
of the remorseless usurper. The subjugation of the State government
of Missouri to the will and designs of the Government at Washington
had been determined upon, and the sovereignty of the people was to be
crushed by troops from the sister States of Kansas, Iowa, and
Illinois.
But the bravery of the Governor and the determination of the
Legislature caused the Government of the United States to depart from
its usually stealthy progress in the invasion of the State government
and the sovereignty of the people, and to adopt bolder measures. The
Governor was charged with purposes of treason and secession, for his
attempt faithfully to discharge the duties of a conscientious
Governor to the citizens. Says the commander of the United States
forces, in his proclamation:
"The recent proclamation of Governor Jackson, by which he has set at
defiance the authorities of the United States and urged you to make
war upon them, is but a consummation of his treasonable purposes,
long indicated by his acts and expressed opinions, and now made
manifest."
These are fine words to come from the satrap of a usurper who invades
a State of the Union without lawful permission or authority, with the
design to subvert its government and overthrow the sovereignty of its
people, and to be applied by him to the only Governor in the Northern
States who strove defiantly to protect the unalienable rights and
sovereignty of his constituents!
Troops were now poured into the State by the Government of the United
States so rapidly as to render the successful opposition of the
lawful authorities impossible, and the control of a large portion of
the State was soon held by the military forces. The Governor, unable
to resist, retired to the southern part of the State. Meantime, the
State Convention, which had been called to consider the relations
between the Government of the United States and the State of
Missouri, and to adopt such measures for vindicating the sovereignty
of the State as were necessary, reassembled on the call of its
committee. Entirely forgetful of the objects for which the people had
called it together, it proceeded to declare the State offices vacant,
and to elect a provisional Governor and other officers entirely
subservient to the will and behests of the Administration at
Washington. The commanding General now declared martial law in the
State, and the emancipation of all slaves belonging to persons who
had taken an active part with us. This emancipation clause was soon
modified by the President as in advance of the times.
The attention of the reader is called to the numerous usurpations and
violations of constitutional principles and of laws, by the
Government of the United States and its champions, contained in the
few lines of the preceding paragraph, viz.: the invasion with
military force, the expulsion of the lawful State authorities, the
assumption by the State Convention of unlawful powers, the election
and introduction of persons to offices not vacant, the abandonment of
all protection of the unalienable rights of the people, the
declaration of martial law without any authority for it, and the
attempt to emancipate the slaves in violation of every law and
constitutional principle.
The severity of the Executive of the United States now began to be
felt by the citizens of the State. All disaffected persons were
silenced or arrested, prisoners of war were treated as criminals, and
every obstacle to complete subjugation to the will of the conqueror
sought to be removed. The State government was represented by a
provisional Governor; and a State Convention, that adjourned its
sessions from year to year, after dallying periodically with the
subject of the emancipation of the slaves, finally passed an
ordinance for that purpose, to take effect in 1870. This was not
immediate emancipation, so the disturbances were kept up in the State
until, at a session of the Legislature in February, 1864, a bill was
passed for a so-called State Convention to revise the State
Constitution, and the election of delegates in November. It is
remarkable how much the orders of the commanding General now
contained relative to disorderly persons. This was preparatory to the
occupation of the polls by the military force, and the exclusion of
all opposition voters. The delegates were elected, and the so-called
Convention assembled on January 6, 1865. An immediate emancipation
ordinance was passed, and the State organization was subjugated to do
the will of the usurper and to disregard the will of the sovereign
people.
[Footnote 81: Article V, amendment.]
[Footnote 82: Article IV, amendment.]
[Footnote 83: Article VIII, amendment.]
[Footnote 84: Article I, amendment.]
[Footnote 85: Article II, amendment.]