BIRTH OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
"Resolved, That of all outrages hitherto perpetrated or attempted upon
the North and freedom by the slave leaders, and their natural allies,
not one compares in bold and impudent audacity, treachery and meanness
with this, the Nebraska Bill, as to the sum of all its villainies it
adds the repudiation of a solemn compact, held as sacred as the
Constitution itself for a period of thirty-four years."
_Adopted at First Meeting, Ripon, Wis._, _February_ 28, 1854.
The new Fugitive Slave Law (passed as a part of the Compromise) was
unreasonable and extremely harsh in its terms, and did more than
anything else to continue the bitterness between the North and the
South. Opposition to it appeared in the North almost immediately after
its passage, and it was clear that, because of its terms, it would prove
to be more of a dead letter than the original law of 1793. The fact of
the matter was that the South forced its passage in the harshest terms
conceivable, with the sinister plan of compelling the North to violate
it so that bad faith could be charged; and the North did not hesitate to
violate a law so repugnant to constitutional and natural rights and
human sympathy. Personal Liberty Laws were passed in many Northern
States, practically nullifying the Act; and as a result of it, the
Underground Railroad, which had been organized about 1839 by the
Quakers, did its most effective work. This mysterious organization had a
chain of stations, leading from the slave across the free States into
Canada, to assist in the escape of fugitive slaves. Mrs. Stowe, moved by
the wrongs and sufferings of the fugitives, published "Uncle Tom's
Cabin" in the summer of 1852, and it had a telling effect in creating
and solidifying the anti-slavery sentiment in the North.
The campaign of 1852 found the Democrats united; but the Whigs had no
promising candidate, and were sorely disorganized, with a stronger
anti-slavery element than ever before in its midst. The Democrats
nominated Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, for President, and their
platform contained the following emphatic promise: "The Democratic Party
will resist all attempts at renewing in Congress, or out of it, the
agitation of the slavery question in whatever shape or color the attempt
may be made." The Whig Party nominated General Winfield Scott, of
Virginia, for President, and their platform also contained a resolution
pledging the party to the Compromise Measures as a settlement in
principle and substance of the slavery question. The Free-Soil Party,
though it had received little support at the polls, still retained a
strong organization, and nominated John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, for
President, and George W. Julian, of Indiana, for Vice-President, and
denounced both the Whig and Democratic Parties as "hopelessly corrupt
and utterly unworthy of confidence." The electoral vote gave Pierce 254
and Scott only 42, but the popular vote was much closer: Pierce,
1,601,474; Scott, 1,386,580; Hale, 156,667.
President Pierce's first message went to Congress December 5, 1853, and
he congratulated the country on the settlement of the slavery question;
but in the following month, notwithstanding the express promises made in
both the party platforms of the preceding election, the event came that
stunned the North, and as the realization of its enormity grew, aroused
her to the wildest excitement and the most bitter denunciation, finally
resulting in direct and emphatic political action in the organization of
the Republican Party.
On January 4, 1854, Senator Douglas introduced a Bill organizing the
Territory of Nebraska. Twelve days later Senator Dixon, of Kentucky,
gave notice that he would move an Amendment, repealing the Missouri
Compromise, thereby permitting slavery in the new Territory. Senator
Douglas then reported (January 23d) a new Bill, making two territories
out of the same territory of the first Bill, the southern part to be
called Kansas and the northern part to be called Nebraska, and the
Missouri Compromise, "being inconsistent with the principle of
non-intervention by Congress with slavery in the States and Territories,
as recognized by the legislation of 1850, commonly called Compromise
Measures, is hereby declared inoperative and void; it being the true
intent and meaning of the Act not to legislate slavery into any
Territory or State, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people
thereof free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their
own way." The Bill passed the Senate March 3d, but the South was not
certain of its success in the House, and final action was postponed
until May 24th, and this iniquity became a law on May 30, 1854. While
setting forth the doctrine of non-intervention and popular sovereignty
the Bill was in effect the forcing of slavery into the Territories, and
that this was the plan became practically assured when it was discovered
that throughout the summer and fall of 1853 the people of western
Missouri had been deliberately planning to settle in the territory west
of them (now called Kansas) and to make it slave soil. The whole plot,
as revealed by the legislation to which Douglas gave his support, was to
force Kansas into the Union as a slave State, thereby counterbalancing
the admission of California, which had destroyed the equilibrium between
the two sections.
A storm of indignation swept over the North in the opening months of
1854, gaining in intensity and fury as the baseness of the new scheme of
the Slave Power was fully realized. Thousands of letters poured in on
Congressmen protesting against the passage of the Act, and hundreds of
memorials and petitions were presented to the Senate and the House. The
newspapers all over the North, beginning late in January, contained
constant articles calling on the people to hold meetings and protest
against the Nebraska outrage, and hundreds of these meetings were held
in churches, schoolhouses and public halls, and the anti-Nebraska
sentiment dominated everything. Douglas received the brunt of all this
opprobrium, and was compared to Benedict Arnold. The foreign element was
the strongest in opposition to the Nebraska measure, and the German
newspapers and the Germans, North and South, were the most emphatic in
their denunciation, and the success which the new political party was to
have must be attributed largely to them. The Western States, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa, were the leaders in the
anti-Nebraska movement, and also in the organization of political
opposition. The election of 1852 had badly demoralized the Whig Party,
and now the Kansas-Nebraska measures swept it away almost entirely in
the Western States, but the Eastern States, while condemning the Douglas
Bill and adopting resolutions similar to the Republican platforms of the
West, were loath to give up their party organization, and the Whig Party
continued in several of them until after the election of 1856. During
the period between 1852 and 1854 it probably occurred to many in the
North, who watched and analyzed the popular sentiment and vote, that the
Whig Party would soon be swept away, and that the dissatisfied masses of
Abolitionists, Free-Soilers, Anti-Nebraska Whigs, Anti-Nebraska
Democrats and Know-Nothings must and would unite into a party under a
new name with a platform acceptable to the anti-slavery elements in
politics. The Douglas Bill demanded political action in the North, but
how was a new party to be formed? Who would lead it, and what would be
the success of the new movement?
We come now to the organization and first meetings of the Republican
Party. Alvan E. Bovay was the founder of the Republican Party. Not only
were the name and early principles of the party clearly outlined and
decided on in his mind, and talked about by him long before any action
was taken by any other person, but he took the first practical steps
looking to the dissolution of existing parties, and with patience and
much difficult work brought about the first meeting and pointed out
clearly and unanswerably the course to be taken.
[Illustration: Alvan E. Bovay, Founder of the Republican Party.]
Mr. Bovay was born in July, 1818, at Adams, New York; graduated from
Norwich University, Vermont, and was Professor in several eastern
schools and colleges, and later was admitted to the New York bar. In
October, 1850, he went West with his family, and settled at Ripon, Fond
du Lac County, Wisconsin, and soon became the recognized leader of the
Whig Party. He studied the political situation carefully, and with his
liberal education and the principles of freedom taught by life in the
West, he imbibed a hatred for the institution of Slavery, and saw
clearly that, at least, its extension must be opposed to the utmost. He
remained with the Whig Party, "following its banners, fighting its
battles faithfully, at the same time praying for its death," as he
expressed it in later years. He was fortunate in numbering among his
close friends Horace Greeley, the editor of the _New York Tribune_, the
greatest exponent of the northern views of slavery. The _Tribune_ in
1854 had a circulation of about 150,000 per week, and therefore wielded
a vast influence on public sentiment in the North. In 1852, while the
Whig Convention was in session, Mr. Bovay dined with Mr. Greeley in New
York City, and the conversation turned to the prospects of General
Scott, the Whig nominee. Mr. Bovay predicted his overwhelming defeat,
and that the Whig Party would be utterly demoralized in the North, and
that it would become necessary to organize a new party out of the
debris. He there suggested to Greeley the name "Republican" for the new
party, but Greeley received the proposition with little enthusiasm
because he not only believed that Scott would be elected but that the
Whig Party should not be dissolved. Mr. Bovay says that he advocated the
name Republican because it expressed equality--representing the
principle of the good of all the people; that it would be attractive to
the strong foreign element in the country because of their familiarity
with the name in their native lands, and that in addition the name
possessed charm and magnetism. After the defeat of General Scott, Mr.
Bovay corresponded with Mr. Greeley often in regard to the political
situation. He was fully determined to do his utmost to organize a new
party and call it Republican, and he talked over the matter persistently
with all his neighbors in the little village of Ripon, and waited for
the time to act. That time came with the violent agitation caused by the
Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and Mr. Bovay achieved the result he had planned
so long. After talking over the matter with two friends, Jehdeiah Bowen,
a Free-Soil Democrat, and Amos Loper, a call was issued for a mass
meeting to be held in the Congregational church in Ripon, February 28,
1854, with the object of ascertaining the public sentiment. This little
frontier village had a small population, and the country around it was
sparsely settled, but so earnest was the political thought of the time
that the meeting was a great success, and the church was crowded with
men and women, and even some children, who were attracted by the
seriousness of their elders. Deacon William Dunham, of the church, acted
as Chairman of this meeting, and there was a full and free discussion of
the situation and the best action to be taken. Mr. Bovay pointed out
that the only hope of defeating the extension of slavery was to disband
the old parties and unite under a new name. Before the meeting had
progressed very far the sentiment was practically unanimous. Those who
hesitated were overcome by the enthusiasm and logical arguments of the
speakers. The name Republican was suggested at this meeting, but no
action was taken on it for the reason that this was looked upon as
merely a preliminary meeting to be followed by a later one. As the
Kansas-Nebraska Bill had not yet passed the Senate nothing further could
be done at this meeting, and after adopting the following well-worded
and prophetic resolutions, the meeting adjourned to await the action of
Congress:
"WHEREAS, The Senate of the United States is entertaining, and from
present indications is likely to pass, Bills organizing governments for
the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, in which is embodied a clause
repealing the Missouri Compromise Act, and so admit into these
Territories the slave system with all its evils, and
"WHEREAS, We deem that compact repealable as the Constitution itself;
therefore
"_Resolved_, That of all outrages hitherto perpetrated or attempted upon
the North and freedom by the slave leaders and their natural allies, not
one compares in bold and impudent audacity, treachery and meanness with
this, the Nebraska Bill, as to the sum of all its other villainies it
adds the repudiation of a solemn compact, held as sacred as the
Constitution itself for a period of thirty-four years;
"_Resolved_, That the northern man who can aid and abet in the
commission of so stupendous a crime is none too good to become an
accomplice in renewing the African slave trade, the services which,
doubtless, will next be required of him by his Southern masters, should
the Nebraska treason succeed;
"_Resolved_, That the attempt to withdraw the Missouri Compromise,
whether successful or not, admonishes the North to adopt the maxim for
all time to come, 'No more Compromises with Slavery';
"_Resolved_, That the passage of this Bill, if pass it should, will be a
call to arms of a great Northern Party, such an one as the country has
not hitherto seen, composed of Whigs, Democrats and Free-Soilers, every
man with a heart in him united under the single banner cry of 'Repeal!
Repeal!'
"_Resolved_, That the small but compact phalanx of true men who oppose
the mad scheme upon the broadest principle of humanity, as well as their
unflinching efforts to uphold the public faith, deserve not only our
applause but our profound esteem;
"_Resolved_, That the heroic attitude of General Houston, amidst a host
of degenerate men in the United States Senate, is worthy of honor and
applause."
The Senate, as we have already seen, passed the Kansas-Nebraska Bill on
March 3d. Mr. Bovay and his co-workers lost no time in signing and
publishing the following call for a second meeting:
"A Bill expressly intended to extend and strengthen the institution of
Slavery has passed the Senate by a large majority, many Northern
Senators voting for it, and many more sitting in their seats and not
voting at all, and it is evidently destined to pass the House and become
a law unless its progress is arrested by a general uprising of the North
against it;
"Therefore, we, the undersigned, believing the community to be nearly
unanimous in opposition to the nefarious scheme, would call a public
meeting of the citizens of all parties to be held in the schoolhouse at
Ripon, on Monday evening, March 20th, at 6:30 o'clock, to resolve, to
petition and to organize against it."
Through the efforts of Mr. Bovay, the meeting on the night of March 20th
was largely attended, and the little schoolhouse on the prairie was
filled with men, all voters. "We went in," wrote Mr. Bovay, "Whigs,
Free-Soilers and Democrats; we came out Republicans, and we were the
first Republicans in the Union." It is true, however, that this meeting
did not formally adopt the name Republican, but it was discussed, as it
had been for months in the village, and was practically agreed upon, but
the meeting felt that it would be better not to use the name until a
more pretentious movement of a national character was made. The meeting
lasted well into the night, and the "cold March wind blew around the
little building and the tallow candles burned low" as these pioneers in
this frontier town made history. A motion was duly made and carried that
the Town Committees of Whigs, Free-Soilers and Democrats be dissolved
and a new Committee to represent the new party be appointed. The first
Republican Committee was composed of Alvan E. Bovay, Jehdeiah Bowen,
Amos A. Loper, Jacob Woodruff and Abraham Thomas, all courageous,
outspoken and fearless men of the West, whose very names seem towers of
strength, speaking the unalterable purpose of the new party.
These preliminary meetings of the new party having been held and a plan
of action outlined, Mr. Bovay directed all his efforts toward having
some National recognition of the name of the party. Two days before the
first meeting at Ripon he wrote Mr. Greeley a strong letter, urging him
to publish an editorial and adopt the name. Mr. Greeley gave the matter
but little attention, and several months went by before he took any
notice of the suggestion, and then it was only taken up in a
half-hearted way, but what he said was enough to settle the matter. In
the _Tribune_ of June 24, 1854, appeared an article expressing
indifference as to what name should be chosen to represent the
Anti-Nebraska sentiment in the North, but the article concluded, "We
think some simple name like Republican would more fitly designate those
who have united to restore the Union to its true mission, the champion
and promulgator of liberty rather than the propagandist of slavery."
Another event had occurred to strengthen the adoption of the name
Republican for the new party. On the morning after the final passage of
the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, a meeting of the Anti-Nebraska members of
Congress was held in Washington, and the general political situation and
its hopelessness was fully discussed. At this meeting the feasibility of
the new party was talked over, and the members present decided to lend
their aid to such a movement, and the name Republican was discussed and
adopted.
In point of time, Michigan has the honor of being the first State to
hold a Convention and formally adopt a platform containing the
principles of the new party and using the name Republican. Late in May,
and throughout June, 1854, a call was published and copies circulated
for signing among the voters of Michigan, in which all citizens,
"without reference to former political association," were called to
assemble in Mass Convention on Thursday, July 6th, at 1 p. m., at
Jackson, Michigan, "there to take such measures as shall be thought best
to concentrate the popular sentiment in this State against the
aggressions of the Slave Power." The meeting was overflowing in numbers
and most enthusiastic and earnest in sentiment. A long and outspoken
platform was unanimously adopted, setting forth something of the history
of slavery, and denouncing it as a great moral, social and political
wrong. The platform condemned the repeal of the Missouri Compromise;
pledged the party to opposition to slavery extension; demanded the
repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law, and demanded an Act to abolish slavery
in the District of Columbia; spoke words of cheer to those who might
settle in Kansas, and concluded:
"_Resolved_, That, in view of the necessity of battling for the first
principles of Republican Government and against the schemes of
aristocracy, the most revolting and oppressive with which the earth was
ever cursed or man debased, we will co-operate and be known as
Republicans until the contest be terminated."
The State Central Committee was chosen and the first Republican State
Ticket in the United States was nominated, headed by Kinsley S. Bingham
for Governor. One week later, on July 13th, chosen as the anniversary of
the day on which the Ordinance of 1787 was adopted, State Conventions of
the Anti-Nebraska members of all parties were held in Ohio, Wisconsin,
Indiana and Vermont. In Wisconsin and Vermont the name Republican was
distinctly adopted, and in these two States, as well as in the others
mentioned, platforms similar in sentiment to that of Michigan were
agreed on. In Massachusetts the Convention met on July 20th and adopted
the name Republican and an Anti-Nebraska platform, and nominated Henry
Wilson for Governor, but the peculiar political situation in this State
led to the election of the Know-Nothing candidates, but as far as
opposition to slavery was concerned, the Know-Nothings in Massachusetts
were Republican in sentiment, for they selected Henry Wilson for United
States Senator.
Ohio was the first State to suggest a State Convention of the
Anti-Nebraska sentiment; a preliminary meeting was held at Columbus
March 22d, and was attended by Whigs, Free-Soilers and Democrats. The
political situation was thoroughly discussed, and afterwards, as the
passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill became assured, a call was issued
for a State Convention to be held on July 13th. At this Convention the
name Republican was not formally adopted, but throughout the State in
the Congressional Districts that name was common. In New York the Whigs
refused to give up their party organization, but an Anti-Nebraska
platform was adopted and the Whig candidate was elected on it. New York
joined the Republican party in 1855, and Mr. Seward took his place as a
leader of the party in that State. Maine was engrossed with local
issues, and did not adopt the Republican organization in 1854, but
returned Anti-Nebraska Congressmen. Pennsylvania also held to her old
organizations, but returned Anti-Nebraska Congressmen, and the same
situation occurred in Illinois. In Iowa the situation was peculiar, but
nevertheless emphatic for the new organization. The Whigs held their
Convention in that State on February 22d, before the Nebraska Bill had
passed the Senate, and before the sentiment in the North had reached an
acute stage. But before the election in August the Whig candidate, John
W. Grimes, declared himself in favor of the Republican platform and
name, and he was practically elected as a Republican Governor, the first
in the United States. The South, of course, was solid for the Democratic
Party, and no attempt at a Republican organization was made in the
Southern States. In the other Northern States not already mentioned the
sentiment gradually, but with some slowness, solidified in favor of the
new party.
The presence of the American, or Know-Nothing Party, which had come into
politics in 1852 as a secret organization, with the prevailing principle
of "America for Americans," and which obtained its popular name of
"Know-Nothing" because of the invariable answer of its members that they
"knew nothing" of the organization, confused the political situation in
1854 and 1855, and makes it difficult to correctly analyze and state the
political situation.
It is seen that the Republican Party was strong in the States which had
been organized out of the Northwest Territory, but that the East and New
England, while fully endorsing the platforms of the new party, entered
reluctantly into the movement to adopt its name and organization. In the
East there were four distinct parties, the Whigs, Democrats,
Know-Nothings and Republicans, but in the West there were but two, the
Democratic and Republican. There can be no question, however, that the
sentiment of the Know-Nothing Party, which controlled many of the
elections in the East during 1854 and 1855, was strongly Anti-Nebraska,
and the success of that party in the North may safely be counted as
expressing the sentiment of the new party.
The close of 1855 found the Republican Party well organized in Michigan,
Ohio, Wisconsin, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Iowa, Maine,
Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York and Indiana. In the several other
States not mentioned it was rapidly gaining strength, and the prospects
for the presidential campaign of 1856 looked fairly bright, and if the
remnants of the Whig Party would retire from the field, and if the
Anti-Nebraska Know-Nothings would vote with the new party, the chances
for victory were exceedingly good. The struggle in Kansas between the
free settlers from the North and the pro-slavery citizens from Missouri
was now growing in bitterness, and reports of violence and blood-shed,
which came from the scene of the conflict, set the North on fire with
indignation and tended materially to solidify sentiment in favor of the
Republican Party.
[Illustration: Schoolhouse at Ripon, Wisconsin, where the Republican Party
was born.]
The Thirty-fourth Congress, which had been elected the preceding year,
convened December 3, 1855, and the extent of the great political
revolution which had taken place in the North was seen more clearly. The
proud Democratic majority of 89 in the preceding House had been swept
away, and the Thirty-fourth Congress, as near as it could be classified,
which was indeed difficult, was made up of one hundred and seventeen
Anti-Nebraska members, seventy-nine Democrats, and thirty-seven
Pro-Slavery Whigs and Know-Nothings. After a contest of nine weeks,
Nathaniel P. Banks, of Massachusetts, was chosen Speaker over the
Southern candidate, and although during this first session of the
Thirty-fourth Congress the opponents of slavery were without a party
name or organization, the election of Banks was clearly a victory for
the young party. Altogether the progress of the party in a period of
less than two years had been most satisfactory, and if a strong
presidential candidate could be obtained, and if great party leaders
would appear, it was evident that the new party would stand an even
chance of succeeding in the presidential election of 1856, and early
preparations were made for the first great national political contest
over the slavery question; a contest certain to be exciting and bitter
in its events and portentous in results.