Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee, which then were in their incipient
condition of becoming States, but were not actually admitted, amounted
to 3,929,827. Of this number the Northern States had 1,997,899, and the
Southern 1,952,072, making a difference of only 45,827 in favor of the
former States.
The number of States, including Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee, were
sixteen; of which eight, including Vermont, belonged to the northern
section, and eight, including Kentucky and Tennessee, to the
southern,--making an equal division of the States between the two
sections, under the first census. There was a small preponderance in the
House of Representatives, and in the Electoral College, in favor of the
northern, owing to the fact that, according to the provisions of the
Constitution, in estimating federal numbers five slaves count but three;
but it was too small to affect sensibly the perfect equilibrium which,
with that exception, existed at the time. Such was the equality of
the two sections when the States composing them agreed to enter into a
Federal Union. Since then the equilibrium between them has been greatly
disturbed.
According to the last census the aggregate population of the United
States amounted to 17,063,357, of which the northern section contained
9,728,920, and the southern 7,334,437, making a difference in round
numbers, of 2,400,000. The number of States had increased from sixteen
to twenty-six, making an addition of ten States. In the meantime
the position of Delaware had become doubtful as to which section she
properly belonged. Considering her as neutral, the Northern States will
have thirteen and the Southern States twelve, making a difference in
the Senate of two senators in favor of the former. According to the
apportionment under the census of 1840, there were two hundred and
twenty-three members of the House of Representatives, of which the
North-ern States had one hundred and thirty-five, and the Southern
States (considering Delaware as neutral) eighty-seven, making a
difference in favor of the former in the House of Representatives of
forty-eight. The difference in the Senate of two members, added to this,
gives to the North in the Electoral College, a majority of fifty. Since
the census of 1840, four States have been added to the Union--Iowa,
Wisconsin, Florida, and Texas. They leave the difference in the Senate
as it was when the census was taken; but add two to the side of the
North in the House, making the present majority in the House in its
favor fifty, and in the Electoral College fifty-two.
The result of the whole is to give the northern section a predominance
in every department of the Government, and thereby concentrate in it
the two elements which constitute the Federal Government,--majority
of States, and a majority of their population, estimated in federal
numbers. Whatever section concentrates the two in itself possesses the
control of the entire Government.
But we are just at the close of the sixth decade, and the commencement
of the seventh. The census is to be taken this year, which must add
greatly to the decided preponderance of the North in the House of
Representatives and in the Electoral College. The prospect is, also,
that a great increase will be added to its present preponderance in the
Senate, during the period of the decade, by the addition of new States.
Two territories, Oregon and Minnesota, are already in progress, and
strenuous efforts are making to bring in three additional States' from
the territory recently conquered from Mexico; which, if successful, will
add three other States in a short time to the northern section, making
five States; and increasing the present number of its States from
fifteen to twenty, and of its senators from thirty to forty. On the
contrary, there is not a single territory in progress in the southern
section, and no certainty that any additional State will be added to it
during the decade. The prospect then is, that the two sections in the
senate, should the effort now made to exclude the South from the newly
acquired territories succeed, will stand before the end of the decade,
twenty Northern States to fourteen Southern (considering Delaware as
neutral), and forty Northern senators to twenty-eight Southern. This
great increase of senators, added to the great increase of members of
the House of Representatives and the Electoral College on the part of
the North, which must take place under the next decade, will effectually
and irretrievably destroy the equilibrium which existed when the
Government commenced.
Had this destruction been the operation of time, without the
interference of Government, the South would have had no reason to
complain; but such was not the fact. It was caused by the legislation
of this Government, which was appointed as the common agent of all, and
charged with the protection of the interests and security of all. The
legislation by which it has been effected may be classed under three
heads. The first is, that series of acts by which the South has been
excluded from the common territory belonging to all the States as
members of the Federal Union--which have had the effect of extending
vastly the portion allotted to the northern section, and restricting
within narrow limits the portion left the South. the next consists
in adopting a system of revenue and disbursements, by which an undue
proportion of the burden of taxation has been imposed upon the South,
and an undue proportion of its proceeds appropriated to the North;
and the last is a system of political measures, by which the original
character of the Government has been radically changed. I propose to
bestow upon each of these, in the order they stand, a few remarks, with
the view of showing that it is owing to the action of this Government
that the equilibrium between the two sections has been destroyed, and
the whole powers of the system centered in a sectional majority.
The first of the series of Acts by which the South was deprived of its
due share of the territories, originated with the confederacy which
preceded the existence of this Government. It is to be found in the
provision of the ordinance of 1787. Its effect was to exclude the South
entirely from that vast and fertile region which lies between the Ohio
and the Mississippi rivers, now embracing five States and one Territory.
The next of the series is the Missouri compromise, which excluded the
South from that large portion of Louisiana which lies north of 36° 30',
excepting what is included in the State of Missouri. The last of the
series excluded the South from the whole of Oregon Territory. All these,
in the slang of the day, were what are called slave territories,' and
not free soil; that is, territories belonging to slaveholding powers and
open to the emigration of masters with their slaves. By these
several Acts the South was excluded from one million two hundred and
thirty-eight thousand and twenty-five square miles--an extent of country
considerably exceeding the entire valley of the Mississippi. To the
South was left the portion of the Territory of Louisiana lying south of
36° 30', and the portion north of it included in the State of Missouri,
with the portion lying south of 36° 30' including the States of
Louisiana and Arkansas, and the territory lying west of the latter, and
south of 36° 30', called the Indian country. These, with the Territory
of Florida, now the State, make, in the whole, two hundred and
eighty-three thousand five hundred and three square miles. To this must
be added the territory acquired with Texas. If the whole should be added
to the southern section it would make an increase of three hundred and
twenty-five thousand five hundred and twenty, which would make the whole
left to the South six hundred and nine thousand and twenty-three. But a
large part of Texas is still in contest between the two sections, which
leaves it uncertain what will be the real extent of the proportion of
territory that may be left to the South.
I have not included the territory recently acquired by the treaty with
Mexico. The North is making the most strenuous efforts to appropriate
the whole to herself, by excluding the South from every foot of it. If
she should succeed, it will add to that from which the South has already
been excluded, 526,078 square miles, and would increase the whole which
the North has appropriated to herself, to 1,764,023, not including the
portion that she may succeed in excluding us from in Texas. To sum up
the whole, the United States, since they declared their independence,
have acquired 2,373,046 square miles of territory, from which the North
will have excluded the South, if she should succeed in monopolizing the
newly acquired territories, about three fourths of the whole, leaving to
the South but about one fourth.
Such is the first and great cause that has destroyed the equilibrium
between the two sections in the Government.
The next is the system of revenue and disbursements which has been
adopted by the Government. It is well known that the Government has
derived its revenue mainly from duties on imports. I shall not undertake
to show that such duties must necessarily fall mainly on the exporting
States, and that the South, as the great exporting portion of the Union,
has in reality paid vastly more than her due proportion of the revenue;
because I deem it unnecessary, as the subject has on so many occasions
been fully discussed. Nor shall I, for the same reason, undertake to
show that a far greater portion of the revenue has been disbursed at the
North, than its due share; and that the joint effect of these causes
has been, to transfer a vast amount from South to North, which, under an
equal system of revenue and disbursements, would not have been lost to
her. If to this be added, that many of the duties were imposed, not for
revenue, but for protection,--that is, intended to put money, not in
the treasury, but directly into the pockets of the manufacturers,--some
conception may be formed of the immense amount which, in the long course
of sixty years, has been transferred from South to North. There are no
data by which it can be estimated with any certainty; but it is safe to
say that it amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars. Under the most
moderate estimate, it would be sufficient to add greatly to the wealth
of the North, and thus greatly increase her population by attracting
emigration from all quarters to that section.
This, combined with the great primary cause, amply explains why the
North has acquired a preponderance in every department of the Government
by its disproportionate increase of population and States. The former,
as has been shown, has increased, in fifty years, 2,400,000 over that
of the South. This increase of population, during so long a period,
is satisfactorily accounted for, by the number of emigrants, and the
increase of their descendants, which have been attracted to the northern
section from Europe and the South, in consequence of the advantages
derived from the causes assigned. If they had not existed--if the South
had retained all the capital which had been extracted from her by the
fiscal action of the Government; and, if it had not been excluded by
the ordinance of 1787 and the Missouri compromise, from the region lying
between the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers, and between the Mississippi
and the Rocky Mountains north of 36° 30'--it scarcely admits of a
doubt, that it would have divided the emigration with the North, and
by retaining her own people, would have at least equalled the North in
population under the census of 1840, and probably under that about to
be taken. She would also, if she had retained her equal rights in those
territories, have maintained an equality in the number of States with
the North, and have preserved the equilibrium between the two sections
that existed at the commencement of the Government. The loss, then, of
the equilibrium is to be attributed to the action of this Government.
But while these measures were destroying the equilibrium between the two
sections, the action of the Government was leading to a radical change
in its character, by concentrating all the power of the system in
itself. The occasion will not permit me to trace the measures by which
this great change has been consummated. If it did, it would not be
difficult to show that the process commenced at an early period of the
Government; and that it proceeded, almost without interruption, step by
step, until it virtually absorbed its entire powers; but without
going through the whole process to establish the fact, it may be done
satisfactorily by a very short statement.
That the Government claims, and practically maintains, the right to
decide in the last resort, as to the extent of its powers, will scarcely
be denied by any one conversant with the political history of the
country. That it also claims the right to resort to force to maintain
whatever power it claims against all opposition is equally certain.
Indeed it is apparent, from what we daily hear, that this has become the
prevailing and fixed opinion of a great majority of the community.
Now, I ask, what limitation can possibly be placed upon the powers of a
government claiming and exercising such rights? And, if none can be,
how can the separate governments of the States maintain and protect
the powers reserved to them by the Constitution--or the people of the
several States maintain those which are reserved to them, and among
others, the sovereign powers by which they ordained and established, not
only their separate State Constitutions and Governments, but also the
Constitution and Government of the United States? But, if they have no
constitutional means of maintaining them against the right claimed by
this Government, it necessarily follows, that they hold them at its
pleasure and discretion, and that all the powers of the system are in
reality concentrated in it. It also follows, that the character of the
Government has been changed in consequence, from a federal republic, as
it originally came from the hands of its framers, into a great
national consolidated democracy. It has indeed, at present, all the
characteristics of the latter, and not of the former, although it still
retains its outward form.
The result of the whole of those causes combined is, that the North has
acquired a decided ascendency over every department of this Government,
and through it a control over all the powers of the system. A single
section governed by the will of the numerical majority, has now, in
fact, the control of the Government and the entire powers of the system.
What was once a constitutional federal republic, is now converted, in
reality, into one as absolute as that of the Autocrat of Russia, and as
despotic in its tendency as any absolute government that ever existed.
As, then, the North has the absolute control over the Government, it is
manifest that on all questions between it and the South, where there is
a diversity of interests, the interest of the latter will be sacrificed
to the former, however oppressive the effects may be; as the South
possesses no means by which it can resist, through the action of the
Government. But if there was no question of vital importance to the
South, in reference to which there was a diversity of views between the
two sections, this state of things might be endured without the hazard
of destruction to the South. But such is not the fact. There is a
question of vital importance to the southern section, in reference to
which the views and feelings of the two sections are as opposite and
hostile as they can possibly be.
I refer to the relation between the two races in the southern section,
which constitutes a vital portion of her social organization. Every
portion of the North entertains views and feelings more or less hostile
to it. Those most opposed and hostile, regard it as a sin, and consider
themselves under the most sacred obligation to use every effort to
destroy it. Indeed, to the extent that they conceive that they have
power, they regard themselves as implicated in the sin, and responsible
for not suppressing it by the use of all and every means. Those
less opposed and hostile, regarded it as a crime--an offence against
humanity, as they call it; and, although not so fanatical, feel
themselves bound to use all efforts to effect the same object; while
those who are least opposed and hostile, regard it as a blot and a
stain on the character of what they call the Nation, and feel themselves
accordingly bound to give it no countenance or support. On the contrary,
the southern section regards the relation as one which cannot be
destroyed without subjecting the two races to the greatest calamity, and
the section to poverty, desolation, and wretchedness; and accordingly
they feel bound, by every consideration of interest and safety, to
defend it.
This hostile feeling on the part of the North toward the social
organization of the South long lay dormant, and it only required some
cause to act on those who felt most intensely that they were responsible
for its continuance, to call it into action. The increasing power of
this Government, and of the control of the northern section over all its
departments, furnished the cause. It was this which made the impression
on the minds of many, that there was little or no restraint to prevent
the Government from doing whatever it might choose to do. This was
sufficient of itself to put the most fanatical portion of the North in
action, for the purpose of destroying the existing relation between the
two races in the South.
The first organized movement toward it commenced in 1835. Then, for the
first time, societies were organized, presses established, lecturers
sent forth to excite the people of the North, and incendiary
publications scattered over the whole South, through the mail. The South
was thoroughly aroused. Meetings were held everywhere, and resolutions
adopted, calling upon the North to apply a remedy to arrest the
threatened evil, and pledging themselves to adopt measures for their
own protection, if it was not arrested. At the meeting of Congress,
petitions poured in from the North, calling upon Congress to abolish
slavery in the District of Columbia, and to prohibit, what they called,
the internal slave trade between the States--announcing at the same
time, that their ultimate object was to abolish slavery, not only in the
District, but in the States and throughout the Union. At this period,
the number engaged in the agitation was small, and possessed little or
no personal influence.
Neither party in Congress had, at that time, any sympathy with them or
their cause. The members of each party presented their petitions with
great reluctance. Nevertheless, small, and contemptible as the party
then was, both of the great parties of the North dreaded them. They
felt, that though small, they were organized in reference to a subject
which had a great and commanding influence over the northern mind.
Each party, on that account, feared to oppose their petitions, lest
the opposite party should take advantage of the one who might do so, by
favoring them. The effect was, that both united in insisting that the
petitions should be received, and that Congress should take jurisdiction
over the subject. To justify their course, they took the extraordinary
ground, that Congress was bound to receive petitions on every subject,
however objectionable they might be, and whether they had, or had not,
jurisdiction over the subject. Those views prevailed in the House
of Representatives, and partially in the Senate; and thus the party
succeeded in their first movements, in gaining what they proposed--a
position in Congress, from which agitation could be extended over the
whole Union. This was the commencement of the agitation, which has ever
since continued, and which, as is now acknowledged, has endangered the
Union itself.
As for myself, I believed at that early period, if the party who got up
the petitions should succeed in getting Congress to take jurisdiction,
that agitation would follow, and that it would in the end, if not
arrested, destroy the Union. I then so expressed myself in debate, and
called upon both parties to take grounds against assuming jurisdiction;
but in vain. Had my voice been heeded, and had Congress refused to take
jurisdiction, by the united votes of all parties, the agitation which
followed would have been prevented, and the fanatical zeal that gave
impulse to the agitation, and which has brought us to our present
perilous condition, would have become extinguished, from the want of
fuel to feed the flame. That was the time for the North to have shown
her devotion to the Union; but, unfortunately, both of the great
parties of that section were so intent on obtaining or retaining party
ascendency, that all other considerations were overlooked or forgotten.
What has since followed are but natural consequences. With the success
of their first movement, this small fanatical party began to acquire
strength; and with that, to become an object of courtship to both the
great parties. The necessary consequence was, a further increase of
power, and a gradual tainting of the opinions of both the other parties
with their doctrines,until the infection has extended over both; and the
great mass of the population of the North, who, whatever may be their
opinion of the original abolition party, which still preserves its
distinctive organization, hardly ever fail, when it comes to acting,
to cooperate in carrying out their measures. With the increase of their
influence, they extended the sphere of their action. In a short time
after the commencement of their first movement, they had acquired
sufficient influence to induce the legislatures of most of the Northern
States to pass acts, which in effect abrogated the clause of the
Constitution that provides for the delivery up of fugitive slaves. Not
long after, petitions followed to abolish slavery in forts, magazines,
and dock-yards, and all other places where Congress had exclusive
power of legislation. This was followed by petitions and resolutions of
legislatures of the Northern States, and popular meetings, to exclude
the Southern States from all territories acquired, or to be acquired,
and to prevent the admission of any State hereafter into the Union,
which, by its constitution, does not prohibit slavery. And Congress is
invoked to do all this, expressly with the view of the final abolition
of slavery in the States. That has been avowed to be the ultimate object
from the beginning of the agitation until the present time; and yet the
great body of both parties of the North, with the full knowledge of the
fact, although disavowing the abolitionists, have co-operated with them
in almost all their measures.