The Presidency.
Of the fourteen presidential terms, now expired since the
formation of the government, eleven have been filled by
slaveholders, one by a "Northern man with Southern principles,"
and only two by Northern men. The present incumbent is a
slaveholder, sworn fully to do his utmost to uphold, and even
extend the abomination; and most terribly he is fulfilling his
vow, in the surrender of free territory in Oregon, and in a
war of conquest for slavery in Mexico, at a cost of millions
of dollars and thousands of lives. By holding the Presidency,
slavery controls the cabinet, the diplomacy, the army, and the
navy of the country. The power that controls the Presidency
controls the nation. No Northern President has been allowed to
serve more than one term.
The Vice Presidency.
The President exercises much of his power by and with the
Senate. The Vice President is, ex-officio, President of the
Senate. As such, he has the casting vote in all questions
before that body. For the last twenty years, with one
exception, _he has been a slaveholder_. From the adoption of
the Constitution up to June 1842, there were 76 elections, in
the Senate, of President pro. tem. Of these the slave States
had 60 and the free States 16. Most of the 16 were in the
earlier periods of the government. Mr. Southard was elected
in 1842. Previous to that, no Northern man had received
the appointment for _thirty_ years! so careful were the
slaveholders to watch their interests by securing the casting
vote.
Senate.
For a long series of years the Senate has been equally divided
between the free and the slave States. In this condition of
it, it was a great point with the slaveholders to secure the
casting vote of the Vice Presidency, and right carefully have
they done it. This vote is of less importance now, since, by
the admission of Texas, the balance of power is broken up, and
"The Valley of Rascals," on any tie vote, now rules the Senate
and the nation.
Department of State.
The Office of Secretary of State is the most important of any,
perhaps, in the cabinet of the President. As it is the duty
of this officer to direct the correspondence with foreign
courts, instruct our foreign ministers, negotiate treaties,
&c.; his station is second only, in importance, to that of
the Presidency itself. Of the 15, who had filled this office
up to 1845, the slave States have had 10; the free States 5.
The whole number of officers in this department at Washington,
in 1846, is 86. Of these Virginia has 6 and the District of
Columbia 45.
The War Department.
In 1846, there are, at Washington, 98 officers in this
department. Of these, the District of Columbia has 49--exactly
one half, and Virginia and Maryland have the balance.
The free States generally have furnished the seamen and the
soldiers; the men to do the fighting and endure the hard
knocks, _but slavery has taken care to furnish Southern men for
officers_. Thus, of 1054 naval officers, New England has only
172; of the 68 commanders, New England has only 11; of the 328
lieutenants, New England has only 59; of the 562 midshipmen,
New England has only 82; and New England owns nearly half the
tonnage of the country. Of all the officers in the navy in
1844, whether in service or waiting orders, Pennsylvania, with
a free population more than double that of Virginia, had but
177, while Virginia had 224. In 1842, under Mr. Upshur, of 191
naval appointments, the slave States had 117; the free States
only 73.
Post Office.
The greatest opposition to cheap postage is from the South. The
reason is obvious. As multitudes of their Post-routes do not
pay for themselves, they must be paid for, through a system of
high postage, by the North, or be given up. Thus in 1842, the
deficit in the Post Office department from the slave States
was $571,000, while the excess over the expenditures in the
free States was $600,000. This went of course to make up the
deficiency of the South. So that in 1842 alone the North paid
all its own postage, and $571,000 of postage for the South. Nor
was this all. The whole number of miles of mail transportation
for 1842, was 34,835,991, at an expense of $3,087,796. Of
these miles, the mail was carried 20,331,461, at a cost of
$1,508,413, in the free States; and 14,504,530 miles, at a cost
of $1,579,383 in the slave States; that is, it cost $70,970
more to carry the mail in the slave States than in the free,
while it ran 5,826,931 miles less. Under the new system, from
official returns, presenting a comparative view of the postage
received at forty-two offices, North and South, during the
third quarter of 1844 and 1845, it appears that while the
falling off at the offices in the free States has not been one
third, that at the offices in the slave States has been more
than one half.
Civil, Diplomatic and Consular Agencies.
That most of the "spoils" of office, in these departments go to
the slaveholders is well known. The following is the Diplomatic
Agency of 1846.
FULL MINISTERS. To _Great Britain_, Louis McLane; _France_,
William R. King; _Spain_, Romulus M. Saunders; _Turkey_,
Dabney S. Carr; _Mexico_, John Slidell; _Brazil_, Henry A.
Wise;--all from slave States; and _Russia_, R. I. Ingersoll
from Connecticut.
CHARGES. _Austria_, William A. Stiles; _Holland_, Auguste
Davezac; _Belgium_, Thomas G. Glenson; _The two Sicilies_,
William H. Polk; _Sardinia_, Robert Wickliffe; _Portugal_,
Abraham Rencher; _Venezuela_, Benjamin G. Shields; _Buenos
Ayres_, George Harris; _Chili_, William Crump, all from the
slave states, and from the free States only _Denmark_, William
W. Irwin; _Sweden_, H. W. Ellsworth; _Central America_, B. W.
Bidlack; and _Peru_, A. G. Jewett.
Thus, of the seven full ministers six are from the slave
States; and of the thirteen Charges, _nine_ are from the
same; and the four given to Northern men are among the most
insignificant governments in the world. And this favoritism of
the South has been the policy for years. The civil and consular
agencies are dispensed with a like injustice to the free
States. The following, prepared by Prof. Cleveland, gives the
number of persons employed in 1845, in these several agencies,
from a few States, with their salaries, and the number of free
white inhabitants in the same.
Free States. | Free Pop. | Persons | Salaries | Slave States | Free Pop. | Persons | Salaries |
---------------+------------+---------+----------+--------------+-----------+---------+----------+
New York, | 2,378,890 | 37 | $63,250 | Virginia, | 740,968 | 114 | $200,395
Pennsylvania, | 1,676,115 | 90 | 123,790 | Maryland, | 318,204 | 133 | 170,305
Massachusetts, | 729,030 | 43 | 86,215 | Dist. Colum.,| 30,657 | 99 | 77,455
Ohio, | 1,502,122 | 6 | 4,400 | Kentucky, | 590,253 | 7 | 34,150
Presidential Electors.
During the twenty years, ending in 1832, there were six
presidential elections. In these, the South cast 608 electoral
votes, but only 41 of them for Northern candidates. During the
twenty years, ending in 1835, there were five presidential
elections, in which the South cast 515 electoral votes, only 11
of which were for Northern candidates.
In the presidential election of 1844, _thirteen_ free States
had 161 electors, and gave 1,890,884 votes--_one_ elector to
11,739 votes; while _twelve_ slave States had 105 electors and
gave 798,848 votes--_one_ elector to 6,608 votes. In other
terms; _six_ slave State votes counted as much in choice of
President and Vice President as _eleven_ free State votes. In
the same election, Michigan had 5 electors and gave 56,222
votes, or _one_ elector to 11,244 votes; while Louisiana had
6 electors and gave 26,865 votes, or _one_ elector to 4,447
votes--that is, _four_ slaveholding Louisiana votes were equal
to _eleven_ free Michigan votes.
Federal Representation.
The present number of the House of Representatives, including
Texas is 228. Of these 21 represent slave property. In fixing
the ratio of representation, after the last census, the
House adopted that of 50,179. This would have given a House
of 306 members, and the free States a majority of 68. But
a small majority is more easily managed than a large. The
Senate rejected that ratio and sent back the bill with the
ratio of 70,680. This reduced the House to 223 and brought
down the majority of the free States to the more manageable
number of 47. The effect of the odd number, 680, was to
deprive the four great States of the north, Massachusetts,
New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, of one member each, with
no corresponding disadvantage to any slave State. Of this
proceeding, even the correspondent of the New York Herald
said,--"The Senate apportionment has robbed the North of at
least one quarter of its practical influence in the Union, when
regarded in its full extent; and the members of the free States
who voted for it, have thus surrendered the rights of their
constituents, and violated their trusts."
The House of Representatives.
The Speaker of the House has the appointment of all committees,
and of course exerts an immense influence in this, as well as
other ways, in the legislation of the country. During 31 of the
34 years, from 1811 to 1845, the speakers were all slaveholders.
Judiciary.
The Supreme Court of the United States is the court of
highest appeal in the nation. Its decision on all questions
coming before it is final. Of the 30 judges of this court,
the slave States have had 17; the free States 13. The
circuits and salaries are still more unequal and unjust.
Vermont, Connecticut, and New York, with 42 representatives
in Congress, and a free population of over _three millions_,
constitute but one circuit; while Alabama and Louisiana, with
but 11 representatives and a free population of but _half_
a _million_, constitute another. So of other circuits.
Louisiana, with a free population of 183,959, has one judge
at a salary of $3,000; Ohio, with a population of 1,519,461,
more than eight times as great as that of Louisiana, has only
one judge, at a salary of $1,000: that is, with eight times as
many people to do business for, he receives one-third as much
pay. Arkansas, with a free population of 77,639, has one judge
at a salary of $2,000; New Hampshire, with a population of
284,573, has but one judge, at a salary of $1,000. Mississippi,
with a free population of 180,440, has one judge, at a salary
of $2,500; Indiana, with a population of 685,863, has but one
judge, at a salary of $1,000--that is, two-fifths as much pay
for doing more than three times the work!
Surplus Revenue.
The Surplus Revenue, distributed by the Act of 1836, amounted
to 37,468,859 dollars. The slaveholders managed to have it
distributed, not, as it should have been, on the basis of
free population, but that of federal representation. Thereby
the South, with a free population of 3,823,289, received
$16,058,082,85, while the North, with a free population of
7,008,451, received but $21,410,777,12. So that for each
inhabitant of the _free_ North, there was received but $3,06;
while for each _free_ person in the South, there was received
$4,20; or $1,14 more for each free person in the South, than
for each free person in the North. The South, by this operation
alone, received for her slave representation in Congress,
$4,358,549!
Revolutionary War.
In this war,--New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania,--seven
States--furnished 172,436 troops and were paid for services,
$61,971,167. Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina,
South Carolina, and Georgia--six States--furnished 59,335
troops, and received $52,438,130. In other terms, the Northern
States furnished about three times the number of troops and
received less than one fifth more pay. In particular States the
inequality was far greater.
The War of 1812.
The Slaveholders envied the commercial prosperity of the
North, and, to crush it, decreed the war of 1812, under the
pretence of defending "free trade and sailor's rights;" and
one hundred and thirty-seven millions of dollars were wasted
in its prosecution, and $200,000,000 more were lost on sea
and land by Northern merchants and farmers, and then, leaving
"free trade and sailor's rights" where they were before, they
made peace, and demanded a National Bank and Protective Tariff.
And in the prosecution of the war, says ALVAN STEWART, Esq,
(Address to Abolitionists Aug. 1846)--"The South placed Major
General Smyth at Buffalo, a slaveholding lawyer of Virginia;
Major General Winder, a slaveholding lawyer of Maryland, at
Forty Mile Creek, on the side of Lake Ontario; Major General
Wilkinson, a Louisiana slaveholder, at the Cedars and Rapids
of the St. Lawrence; and Major General Wade Hampton, the great
sugar boiler of Louisiana, and the largest slaveholder in the
United States, (having over 5000 crushed human beings bowing to
this monster and tyrant), was located at Burlington, Vermont,
four slaveholding Generals with their four armies, were
stretched out on our northern frontier, not to _take_ Canada,
but to prevent its being taken, by the men of New England and
New York, in 1812, '13 and '14; lest we should make some six or
eight free States from Canada, if conquered. This was treason
against Northern interests, blood and honor. This horrid
revelation could have been proved by General John Armstrong,
then Secretary of War, after he and Mr. Madison quarreled."
Florida, Florida War, Removal of the Indians.
While Florida was in possession of Spain it furnished an
asylum for slaves escaping from the contiguous States. It was
therefore bought, at the dictation of the slaveholders, at an
expense of $5,000,000. For the same purpose, and at the same
dictation the late Florida War was waged, and the native Indian
exiled. Of this, the Hon. J. R. GIDDINGS, 1845, said,--"They
(the army) captured 460 negroes, who were adjudged slaves by
staff officers of the army, to whom the duty was assigned, and
who delivered them over to interminable bondage. [See House
Doc. 52, 3d Sess. 27th Congress.] We have no means by which
we can determine the number of lives sacrificed in that war;
but it may be safely asserted, that the capture of each slave
cost the lives of two white men, and at least $80,000 in cash,
the most of which was drawn from the pockets of the people of
the free States. The whole expense of the war is estimated at
$40,000,000. The moral guilt incurred, and the sacrifice of
national character cannot be estimated. Perhaps I ought to
add, on the authority of Gen. Jessup, that bloodhounds were
also purchased to act as auxiliaries to our army, and that
bloodhounds, and soldiers, and officers, marched together under
the star-spangled banner, in pursuit of the panting fugitives
who had fled from Southern oppression. [House Doc. 125, 3d
Sess. 25th Congress.] And blood hounds, and soldiers, and
officers were paid for from the avails of Northern industry;
while our people were not permitted to petition their servants
to be relieved from such degradation." One R. Fitzpatrick was
employed to get the blood hounds. He obtained thirty-three,
and the cost, including expenses of bringing to Florida, was
$5000. The removal of the Indians from the several slave States
was merely to make room for slavery; and it has cost at least
$50,000,000, and of all these millions the North has had to pay
the largest share.
Texas and the Mexican War.
Everybody knows that Texas was annexed and that the war is
waged to extend and strengthen Slavery. The cost of these
measures is yet to be ascertained. There is little doubt that
it will exceed rather than fall short of one hundred millions.
Bank, Tariff, Southern Bankruptcy, &c.
The South originated the Bank and the Tariff. When they ceased
to work for its interests, the South abolished both. The sums
filched from the North by these changes of national polity and
by Southern bankrupts, seem almost incredible. $27,000,000, of
the capital of the United States Bank was sunk at the South.
$500,000,000, it is estimated, would not more than meet the
losses of the North, in sixty years, from Southern bankruptcy.
In fine, there is no end to these burdens--this side-wise
plunder of the free, by those whose entire life is a wholesale
plunder of the Slave. How long will freemen bear it?
"We have a weapon firmer set
And better than the bayonet:--
A weapon that comes down, as still
As snow-flakes fall upon the sod,
But executes a freeman's will
As lightning does the will of God;
And from its force, nor doors nor locks
Can shield you:--tis THE BALLOT-BOX."