LEADER OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN ILLINOIS
Few pages in our history present a darker picture than the ruffianism of
the friends of slavery in Kansas, and the retaliating spirit of its
opponents. Still, the gloom is illumined by patriotic politicians,
democratic slave holders and sympathizers, who sternly put duty before
party. There are few more glorious incidents in our political annals
than the unwavering fidelity of Robert J. Walker of Mississippi. As
Governor of Kansas he lived up to his public pledges, though the offer
of the Presidency of the United States was dangled before him.[333] Like
Washington, himself, Walker towered above temptation. If the Mississippi
statesman had held the place of Buchanan, slavery, instead of being
nursed by the palsied policy of the Northern statesman, would have been
startled by another Jackson, and the nation might have owed its
salvation to a Southern leader instead of to the prairie politician.
[333] Gilmore, 9-104.
In the fine language of Seward: "The ghosts on the banks of the Styx
constitute a cloud scarcely more dense than the spirits of the departed
Governors of Kansas, wandering in exile and sorrow for having certified
the truth against falsehood in regard to the elections between Freedom
and Slavery in Kansas."[334] The strange fact above all is that the
admission of Kansas as a slave state against the wishes of its people
was not asked for by the South. It was freely tendered to the slave
dynasty by a majority of northern democrats in the executive and
legislative branches of the Government.[335] And so again the North
shared with the South in the zeal for spreading slavery.
[334] Nicolay & Hay, 2, 118.
[335] Sheahan, 326.
The final scene in the drama was the Lecompton Constitution. Douglas
then saw the fatal result that Lincoln had foretold in his June speech
of 1857, when he declared that Douglas, since the famous Nebraska Bill,
saw himself superseded in a presidential nomination by one generally
endorsing his measure, but standing clear of the odium of its untimely
agitation and its violation of the national faith; that he saw his chief
aids in his own State, politically speaking, successfully tried,
convicted and executed for an offense not their own, but his, and that
now he saw his own case standing next on the docket for trial.[336]
[336] Lincoln's Speeches, 1, 231.
Northern Democrats refused to brook longer the crime in Kansas. To
refuse submission of the Constitution to that people made a mockery of
the popular sovereignty of Douglas. With desperate constancy he had
impressed that great principle, as he called it, on his constituency. It
was now so shorn of all dignity that even a child might see it. He
either had to lose Illinois or fight the policy of the administration.
Once having decided to differ he took a bold stand. No Abolitionist or
Republican used plainer or more impelling language: "But if this
Constitution is to be forced down our throats, in violation of the
fundamental principles of free government, under a mode of submission
that is a mockery and insult, I will resist it to the last. I have no
fear of any party associations being severed. I should regret any social
or political estrangement, even temporarily; but if it must be, if I
cannot act with you and preserve my faith and my honor, I will stand on
the great principle of popular sovereignty, which declares the right of
all people to be left perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic
institutions in their own way. I will follow that principle wherever its
logical consequences may take me, and I will endeavor to defend it
against assault from any and all quarters. No mortal man shall be
responsible for my action but myself."[337]
[337] Sheahan, 319.
The former distinction of Douglas as a slave advocate made his seeming
accession to the ranks of its opponents all the more marked. Stirring
stories were told of his peerless courage when Buchanan told him to
remember that no Democrat ever yet differed from an administration of
his own choice without being crushed, and to beware of the fate of
Tallmadge and Rives.
"Mr. President," retorted Douglas, "I wish you to remember that General
Jackson is dead."[338] Like an undaunted Abolitionist he flung aside all
compromise, refused to accede to the English bill that many
administration opponents welcomed as an exit from the dilemma of party
recusancy. Many began to believe that Douglas was about to turn into a
black Republican. He had stolen conferences with their leaders, inducing
them to believe that it was policy for him to conceal his present real
intention; that he would soon unmask himself and fight their battles. He
often said that he had checked all his baggage and taken a through
ticket.[339]
[338] Nicolay & Hay, 2, 120.
[339] Lamon, 390.
He convinced his foes that the Nebraska bill was a daring device in
behalf of freedom. One Republican said that the plan of Douglas for
destroying the Missouri line and thereby opening the way for the march
of freedom beyond the limits forever prohibited and conceded to belong
to the Slave States, and its march westward, from the British
possessions to Mexico, struck him "as the most magnificent scheme ever
conceived by the human mind." This kind of conversation made the deepest
impression upon his hearers, and often changed their opinion of the
man.[340]
[340] Lamon, 390-391.
In this way, Douglas triumphantly vindicated his policy of popular
sovereignty for which he protested he was willing to devote all his
talent and the remainder of his life. The very prospect of such a
convert dazzled the vision of even radicals like Greeley. So these
visionaries wandered in the dreamland of politics, and were eager to
enter into an unholy alliance. Even shrewd leaders in the party built
bridges for the entering of Douglas. It was rumored that Seward and
others were in the plot.[341]
[341] Herndon, 1, 395.
A letter from Herndon in 1858 vividly shows the political condition of
this time. Speaking of Greeley he said, "He evidently wants Douglas
sustained and sent back to the Senate. He did not say so in so many
words, yet his _feelings_ are with Douglas. I _know_ it from the spirit
and drift of his conversation. He talked bitterly--somewhat so--against
the papers in Illinois, and said they were fools. I asked him this
question, 'Greeley, do you want to see a third party organized, or do
you want Douglas to ride to power through the North, which he has so
much abused and betrayed?' and to which he replied, 'Let the future
alone; it will all come right. Douglas is a brave man. Forget the past
and sustain the righteous.' Good God, _righteous_, eh!... By-the-bye,
Greeley remarked to me this, 'The Republican standard is too high; we
want something practical.'... The Northern Men are cold to me--somewhat
repellant."[342]
[342] _Ibid._, 2, 63-64.
Douglas, after a heroic combat with the administration and after his
triumphant championship of the rights of the people of Kansas, returned
as a conqueror to Illinois. He was the ideal of the Democrats of his
state, save of a few office holders under Buchanan. With Lincoln it was
otherwise. Despite his brilliant and consecrated service to the
Republican principles, even in Illinois, in the home of his friends, all
was not yet serene; he was not yet to taste the sweetness of hero
worship. Too proud to resort to dramatic effects, slow to express his
resentment, he was almost jealous of the supremacy of his rival. A
veteran in the service of freedom, he hardly welcomed the possible
entrance of his old foe into the Republican arena. Mingled with personal
feeling, was his knowledge of the crafty career of his opponent. Lincoln
was not content that Douglas should gain the laurel of a triumphant
movement in the hour of victory.
Not alone did Lincoln fear dissension in his own state, but he was also
afraid that Douglas might be taken up by the Republican leaders of the
party. He grew restless and gloomy at the unjust attitude of Greeley, an
attitude that quite vanquished him. To Herndon he unburdened himself, "I
think Greeley is not doing me right. His conduct, I believe, savors a
little of injustice. I am a true Republican and have been tried already
in the hottest part of the anti-slavery fight, and yet I find him taking
up Douglas, a veritable dodger,--once a tool of the South, now its
enemy,--and pushing him to the front. He forgets that when he does that
he pulls me down at the same time. I fear Greeley's attitude will damage
me with Sumner, Seward, Wilson, Phillips and other friends in the
East."[343]
[343] Herndon, 2, 60.
He had slowly gained the confidence, more than he realized, of the rank
of his party. Though loyalty to him was less pretentious, it was not the
less sincere. The Republicans in Illinois did not trust Douglas; they
were not deceived by his marvelous strategy. Pursuant to a wide spread
sentiment, the Republican state convention, with unanimity adopted the
significant resolution: "That Hon. Abraham Lincoln is our first and only
choice for United States Senator to fill the vacancy about to be created
by the expiration of Mr. Douglas' term of office."[344]
[344] Herndon, 2, 65.
One incident shows the enthusiasm of the hour. Cook County brought a
banner into the convention inscribed, "Cook County for Abraham Lincoln."
A delegate from another county proposed to amend the banner by
substituting for "Cook County" the word "Illinois." "The Cook delegation
promptly accepted the amendment, and during a hurricane of hurrahs, the
banner was altered to express the sentiment of the whole Republican
party of the State."[345]
[345] Tarbell, 1, 305.