ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR, FILLMORE, PIERCE, AND BUCHANAN, 1849-1857.
Zachary Taylor--The "Irrepressible Conflict" in Congress--The Omnibus
Bill--Death of President Taylor--Millard Fillmore--Death of the Old
Leaders and Debut of the New--The Census of 1850--Surveys for a Railway
to the Pacific--Presidential Election of 1852--Franklin Pierce--Death of
Vice-President King--A Commercial Treaty Made with Japan--Filibustering
Expeditions--The Ostend Manifesto--The "Know Nothing" Party--The Kansas
Nebraska Bill and Repeal of the Missouri Compromise.
ZACHARY TAYLOR.
[Illustration: ZACHARY TAYLOR.
(1784-1850.) One partial term, 1849-1850.]
General Zachary Taylor, twelfth President of the United States, was born
at Orange Court-House, Virginia, September 24, 1784, but, while an
infant, his parents removed to Kentucky. His school education was
slight, but he possessed fine military instincts and developed into one
of the best of soldiers. His services in the war of 1812 and in that
with Mexico have been told in their proper place. His defense of Fort
Harrison, on the Wabash, during the last war with England, won him the
title of major by brevet, that being the first time the honor was
conferred in the American army.
No man could have been less a politician than "Old Rough and Ready," for
he had not cast a vote in forty years. Daniel Webster characterized him
as an "ignorant frontier colonel," and did not conceal his disgust over
his nomination by the great party of which the New England orator was
the leader. It was Taylor's brilliant services in Mexico, that made him
popular above all others with the masses, who are the ones that make
and unmake presidents. Besides, a great many felt that Taylor had not
been generously treated by the government, and this sentiment had much
to do with his nomination and election.
THE IRREPRESSIBLE CONFLICT.
The "irrepressible conflict" between slavery and freedom could not be
postponed, and when, on the 13th of February, 1850, the President sent
to Congress the petition of California for admission as a State, the
quarrel broke out afresh. The peculiar character of the problem has
already been stated. A part of California lay north and a part south of
36 deg. 30', the dividing line between slavery and freedom as defined by
the Missouri Compromise, thirty years, before. Congress, therefore, had
not the power to exclude slavery, and the question had to be decided by
the people themselves. They had already done so by inserting a clause in
the Constitution which prohibited slavery.
There were violent scenes on the floor of Congress. General Foote, of
Mississippi, was on the point of discharging a pistol at Colonel Benton,
of Missouri, when bystanders seized his arm and prevented. Weapons were
frequently drawn, and nearly every member went about armed and ready for
a deadly affray. The South threatened to secede from the Union, and we
stood on the brink of civil war.
THE COMPROMISE OF 1850.
It was at this fearful juncture that Henry Clay, now an old man,
submitted to the Senate his famous "Omnibus Bill," so called because of
its many features, which proposed a series of compromises as follows:
the admission of California as a State, with the Constitution adopted by
her people (which prohibited slavery); the establishment of territorial
governments over all the other newly acquired Territories, with no
reference to slavery; the abolishment of all traffic in slaves in the
District of Columbia, but declaring it inexpedient to abolish slavery
there without the consent of the inhabitants and also of Maryland; the
assumption of the debts of Texas; while all fugitive slaves in the free
States should be liable to arrest and return to slavery.
John C. Calhoun, the Southern leader, was earnestly opposed to the
compromise, but he was ill and within a few weeks of death, and his
argument was read in the Senate by Senator Mason. Daniel Webster
supported the measure with all his logic and eloquence, and it was his
aid extended to Clay that brought about the passage of the bill, all the
sections becoming laws in September, 1850, and California, conquered
from Mexico in 1846, took her place among the sisterhood of States.
Webster's support of the fugitive slave law lost him many friends in the
North, and, has been stated, rendered his election to the presidency
impossible.
On the 4th of July, 1850, the remains from Kosciusko's tomb were
deposited in the monument in Washington, and President Taylor was
present at the ceremonies. The heat was terrific and caused him great
distress. On his return home he drank large quantities of ice-water and
milk, though he was warned against the danger of doing so. A fatal
illness followed, and he died on the 9th of July. Vice-President
Fillmore was sworn into office on the following day.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
[Illustration: MILLARD FILLMORE.
(1800-1874.) One partial term, 1850-53.]
Millard Fillmore, the thirteenth President, was born at Summer Hill, New
York, February 7, 1800. He learned the fuller's trade, afterward taught
school, and, studying law, was admitted to the bar in Buffalo, where he
attained marked success. He was State comptroller for one term and
served in Congress for four terms. He died in Buffalo, March 7, 1874.
Fillmore was a man of good ability, but the inferior of many of those
who preceded him in the exalted office. He was a believer in the
compromise measures of Clay, and performed his duties conscientiously
and acceptably.
Fillmore's administration is notable for the fact that it saw the
passing away of the foremost leaders, Clay, Webster, and Calhoun, with
others of less prominence. They were succeeded in Congress by the
anti-slavery champions, William H. Seward, of New York; Charles Sumner,
of Massachusetts; and Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio. From the South, too,
came able men, in Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi; John Y. Mason, of
Louisiana; and others. The giants had departed and their mantles fell
upon shoulders that were not always able to wear them as fittingly as
their predecessors.
The slavery agitation produced its natural effect in driving many of the
Southern Whigs into the Democratic party, while a few Northern Democrats
united with the Whigs, who, however, were so disrupted that the
organization crumbled to pieces after the presidential election of
1852, and, for a time, no effective opposition to the Democratic party
seemed possible.
THE NEED OF A TRANS-CONTINENTAL RAILROAD.
The population of the United States in 1840 was 23,191,876. General
prosperity prevailed, but all felt the urgent need of a railroad
connecting Missouri and California. The Pacific coast had become a
leading part of the Union and its importance was growing every year. But
the building of such a railway, through thousands of miles of
wilderness, across lofty mountains and large rivers, was an undertaking
so gigantic and expensive as to be beyond the reach of private parties,
without congressional assistance. Still all felt that the road must be
built, and, in 1853, Congress ordered surveys to be made in order to
find the best route. The building of the railway, however, did not begin
until the War for the Union was well under way.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1852.
When the time arrived for presidential nominations, the Democratic
convention met in Baltimore, June 12, 1852. The most prominent
candidates were James Buchanan, Stephen A. Douglas, Lewis Cass, and
William L. Marcy. There was little variance in their strength for
thirty-five ballots, and everybody seemed to be at sea, when the
Virginia delegation, on the next ballot, presented the name of Franklin
Pierce of New Hampshire.
"Who is Franklin Pierce?" was the question that went round the hall,
but, on the forty-ninth ballot, he received 282 votes to 11 for all the
others, and the question was repeated throughout the United States.
Pierce's opponent was General Winfield Scott, the commander-in-chief in
the Mexican War, who had done fine service in the War of 1812, and ranks
among the foremost military leaders of our country. But, personally, he
was unpopular, overbearing in his manners, a martinet, and without any
personal magnetism. No doubt he regarded it as an act of impertinence
for Pierce, who had been his subordinate in Mexico, to presume to pit
himself against him in the political field. But the story told by the
November election was an astounding one and read as follows:
Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, Democrat, 254; Winfield Scott, of New
Jersey, Whig, 42; John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, Free Democrat, 0;
Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, Whig, 0. For Vice-President: William
R. King, of Alabama, Democrat, 254; William A. Graham, of North
Carolina, Whig, 42; George W. Julian, of Indiana, Free Democrat, 0.
The Whig convention which put Scott in nomination met also in Baltimore,
a few days after the Democratic convention. Webster was confident of
receiving the nomination, and it was the disappointment of his life
that he failed. The "Free Democrats," who placed candidates in
nomination, represented those who were dissatisfied with the various
compromise measures that had been adopted by Congress. The only States
carried by Scott were Vermont, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
FRANKLIN PIERCE.
[Illustration: FRANKLIN PIERCE.
(1804-1869.) One term, 1853-1857.]
Franklin Pierce, the fourteenth President, was born at Hillsborough, New
Hampshire, November 23, 1804. Upon his graduation from Bowdoin College,
he became a successful lawyer. He always showed a fondness for military
matters, though not to the extent of neglecting politics and his
profession. He was elected to his State Legislature and was a member of
Congress from 1833 to 1837, and, entering the Senate in 1839, he
remained until 1842, afterward declining a cabinet appointment from
President Polk. He volunteered in the Mexican War, commanded a brigade,
and showed great gallantry in several battles. He died October 8, 1869.
Mr. King, the Vice-President, was in such feeble health that he took the
oath of office in Cuba, and, returning to his native State, died April
18, 1853, being the first vice-president to die in office. One
remarkable fact should be stated regarding the administration of Pierce:
there was not a change in his cabinet throughout his whole term, the
only instance of the kind thus far in our history.
A TREATY WITH JAPAN.
It seems strange that until a few years, Japan was a closed nation to
the world. Its people refused to have anything to do with any other
country, and wished nothing from them except to be let alone. In 1854,
Commodore M.C. Perry visited Japan with an American fleet and induced
the government to make a commercial treaty with our own. This was the
beginning of the marvelous progress of that country in civilization and
education, which forms one of the most astonishing records in the
history of mankind. Japan's overwhelming defeat of China, whose
population is ten times as great as our own; her acceptance of the most
advanced ideas of civilization, and the wisdom of her rulers have
carried her in a few years to a rank among the leading powers and
justified the appellation of the "Yankees of the East," which is
sometimes applied to her people.
FILIBUSTERING.
Pierce's administration was marked by a number of filibustering
expeditions against Spanish possessions in the West Indies. None of them
succeeded, and a number of the leaders were shot by the Spanish
authorities. The American government offered to purchase Cuba of Spain,
but that country indignantly replied that the mints of the world had not
coined enough gold to buy it. Could she have foreseen the events of
1898, no doubt she would have sold out for a moderate price.
In August, 1854, President Pierce directed Mr. Buchanan, minister to
England, Mr. Mason, minister to France, and Mr. Soule, envoy to Spain,
to meet at some convenient place and discuss the question of obtaining
possession of Cuba. These distinguished gentlemen met at Ostend on the
9th of October, and adjourned to Aix-la-Chapelle, from which place they
issued, on the 18th of October, what is known as the "Ostend Manifesto
or Circular," in which they recommended the purchase of Cuba, declaring
that, if Spain refused to sell, the United States would be justified "by
every law, human and divine," in wresting it from her. This declaration,
for which there was no justification whatever, caused angry protest in
Europe and in the free States of our country, but was ardently applauded
in the South. Nothing came of it, and the country soon became so
absorbed in the slavery agitation that it was forgotten.
THE "KNOW NOTHINGS."
Patriotic men, who feared what was coming, did all in their power to
avert it. One of these attempts was the formation of the "Know Nothing"
party, which grew up like a mushroom and speedily acquired a power that
enabled it to carry many local elections in the various States. It was a
secret organization, the members of which were bound by oath to oppose
the election of foreign-born citizens to office. The salutation, when
one member met another, was, "Have you seen Sam?" If one of them was
questioned about the order, his reply was that he knew nothing, from
which the name was given to what was really the Native American party.
It soon ran its course, but has been succeeded in its cardinal
principles by the American Protective Association of the present day.
Meanwhile, the slavery question was busy at its work of disintegration.
The Democratic party was held together for a time by the Compromise of
1850, to the effect that the inhabitants of the new Territories of New
Mexico and Utah should be left to decide for themselves the question of
slavery. In a few years the settlements in Nebraska and Kansas made it
necessary to erect territorial governments there, and the question of
slavery was thus brought before Congress again. The Missouri Compromise
forbade slavery forever in those sections, for both of them lie to the
north parallel of 36 deg. 30'. Stephen A. Douglas, however, and a number
of other Democratic leaders in Congress claimed that the Compromise of
1850 nullified this agreement, and that the same freedom of choice should
be given to the citizens of Kansas and Nebraska as was given to those in
Utah and New Mexico. This policy was called "Squatter Sovereignty."
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE.
The bill was bitterly fought in Congress, but it passed the Senate by a
vote of thirty-seven to fourteen, and after another fierce struggle was
adopted in the House by a vote of 113 to 100. It received several
amendments, and the President signed it May 31, 1854. Thus the Missouri
Compromise was repealed and the first note of civil war sounded. The
question of slavery was opened anew, and could never be closed without
the shedding of blood to an extent that no one dreamed.
[Illustration: LUCRETIA MOTT.
The advance agent of emancipation. (1793-1880.)]
FORMATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
The enforcement of the fugitive slave law was resisted in the North and
numerous conflicts took place. During the attempted arrest of Anthony
Burns in Boston a deputy-sheriff was shot dead, and Federal troops from
Rhode Island had to be summoned before Burns could be returned to
slavery. Former political opponents began uniting in both sections. In
the North the opponents of slavery, comprising Democrats, Free-Soilers,
Know Nothings, Whigs, and Abolitionists, joined in the formation of the
"Anti-Nebraska Men," and under that name they elected, in 1854, a
majority of the House of Representatives for the next Congress. Soon
after the election, the new organization took the name of Republicans,
by which they are known to-day. Its members, with a few exceptions among
the Germans in Missouri and the Ohio settlers in western Virginia,
belonged wholly to the North.
CIVIL WAR IN KANSAS.
Kansas became for the time the battle-ground between slavery and
freedom. Societies in the North sent emigrants into Kansas, first
furnishing them with Bibles and rifles, while the pro-slavery men
swarmed thither from Missouri, and the two parties fought each other
like Apache Indians. In the midst of the civil war, a territorial
legislature was formed, and in many instances the majority of the
candidates elected was double that of the voting population in the
district. Governor A.H. Reeder, of Pennsylvania, had been appointed
governor of the Territory, and, finding himself powerless to check the
anarchy, went to Washington in April, 1855, to consult with the
government. While there he was nominated for Congress, and defeated by
the fraudulent votes of the pro-slavery men.
[Illustration: HENRY WARD BEECHER.
The Great Pulpit Orator and Anti-Slavery Agitator.]
Meanwhile, two State governments had been formed. The pro-slavery men
met at Lecompton, in March, and adopted a Constitution permitting
slavery. Their opponents assembled in Lawrence, August 15th, and elected
delegates, who came together in October and ratified the Topeka
Constitution, which forbade slavery. In January, 1856, the people held
an election under this Constitution. In the same month President Pierce
sent a message to Congress, in which he declared the formation of a free
State government in Kansas an act of rebellion, while that adopted at
Lecompton was the valid government. Governor Reeder was superseded by
William Shannon. A committee sent by Congress into the Territory to
investigate and report could not agree, and nothing came of it.
The civil war grew worse. A free State government, with General Joseph
Lane as its head and supported by a well-armed force, was formed at
Lawrence. The town was sacked and almost destroyed, May 20, 1856. On the
4th of July following, the free State Legislature was dispersed by
Federal troops, upon order of the national government.
John W. Geary now tried his hand as governor. His first step was to
call upon both parties to disarm, and neither paid any attention to
him. Finding he could not have the support of the President in the
vigorous policy he wished to adopt, Governor Geary resigned and was
succeeded by Robert J. Walker of Mississippi. He showed a disposition to
be fair to all concerned, but, before he could accomplish anything, he
was turned out to make room for J.W. Denver. He was soon disgusted and
gave way to Samuel Medary. Before long, it became evident that the
influx of northern settlers must overcome the pro-slavery men, and the
struggle was given up by the latter. A constitution prohibiting slavery
was ratified in 1859 and Charles Robinson elected governor.
VIOLENT SCENES IN CONGRESS.
Nebraska lies so far north that it was not disturbed. Acts of
disgraceful violence took place in Congress, challenges to duels being
exchanged, personal collisions occurring on the floor, while most of the
members went armed, not knowing what minute they would be assaulted. In
May, 1856, Senator Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts, for utterances made
in debate, was savagely assaulted by Preston S. Brooks, of South
Carolina, and received injuries from which he did not recover for
several years. Brooks was lionized in the South for his brutal act and
re-elected to Congress by an overwhelming majority.
The Republican party was growing rapidly in strength, and in 1856 it
placed its candidates in the field and astonished the rest of the
country by the vote it rolled up, as shown in the following statistics:
James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, Democrat, 174; John C. Fremont, of
California, Republican, 114; Millard Fillmore, of New York, Native
American, 8. For Vice-President, John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky,
Democrat, 174; William L. Dayton, of New Jersey, Republican, 114; A.J.
Donelson, of Tennessee, Native American, 8.
JAMES BUCHANAN.
[Illustration: JAMES BUCHANAN.
(1791-1868.) One term, 1857-1861.]
James Buchanan, fifteenth President, was born in Mercersburg,
Pennsylvania, April 23, 1791, and graduated from Dickinson College in
1809. He became a lawyer, was elected to the State Legislature and to
Congress in 1821. Thenceforward, he was almost continuously in office.
President Jackson appointed him minister to Russia in 1832, but, soon
returning home, he was elected to the United States Senate in 1834. He
left that body, in 1845, to become Polk's secretary of State. In 1853,
he was appointed minister to England, where he remained until his
election to the presidency in 1856. He died at his home in Lancaster,
June 1, 1868. The many honors conferred upon Buchanan prove his ability,
though he has been often accused of showing timidity during his term of
office, which was of the most trying nature. He was the only bachelor
among our Presidents.
STATES ADMITTED.
Minnesota was admitted to the Union in 1858. It was a part of the
Louisiana purchase. Troubles over the Indian titles delayed its
settlement until 1851, after which its growth was wonderfully rapid.
Oregon was admitted in 1859. The streams of emigration to California
overflowed into Oregon, where some of the precious metal was found. It
was learned, however, in time that Oregon's most valuable treasure mine
was in her wheat, which is exported to all parts of the world. Kansas,
of which we have given an account in the preceding pages, was quietly
admitted, directly after the seceding Senators abandoned their seats,
their votes having kept it out up to that time. The population of the
United States in 1860 was 31,443,321. Prosperity prevailed everywhere,
and, but for the darkening shadows of civil war, the condition of no
people could have been more happy and promising.
THE DRED SCOTT DECISION.
Dred Scott was the negro slave of Dr. Emerson, of Missouri, a surgeon in
the United States army. In the discharge of his duty, his owner took him
to military posts in Illinois and Minnesota. Scott married a negro woman
in Minnesota, and both were sold by Dr. Emerson upon his return to
Missouri. The negro brought suit for his freedom on the ground that he
had been taken into territory where slavery was forbidden. The case
passed through the various State courts, and, reaching the United States
Supreme Court, that body made its decision in March, 1857.
This decision was to the effect that negro slaves were not citizens, and
no means existed by which they could become such; they were simply
property like household goods and chattels, and their owner could take
them into any State in the Union without forfeiting his ownership in
them. It followed also from this important decision that the Missouri
Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850 were null and void, since
it was beyond the power of the contracting parties to make such
agreements. Six of the justices concurred in this decision and two
dissented.
[Illustration: LUCRETIA MOTT PROTECTING THE NEGRO DANGERFIELD FROM THE
MOB IN PHILADELPHIA.
When Daniel Dangerfield, a fugitive slave, was tried in Philadelphia,
Lucretia Mott sat during all his trial by the side of the prisoner. When
the trial was ended Dangerfield was set at liberty, and Mrs. Mott walked
out of the court-room and through the mob which threatened to lynch him,
her hand on the colored man's arm, and that little hand was a sure
protector, for no one dared to touch him.]
This decision was received with delight in the South and repudiated in
the North. The contention there was that the Constitution regarded
slaves as "persons held to labor" and not as property, and that they
were property only by State law.
JOHN BROWN'S RAID.
While the chasm between the North and South was rapidly growing wider, a
startling occurrence took place. John Brown was a fanatic who believed
Heaven had appointed him its agent for freeing the slaves in the South.
He was one of the most active partisans on the side of freedom in the
civil war in Kansas, and had been brooding over the subject for years,
until his belief in his mission became unshakable.
Brown's plan was simple, being that of invading Virginia with a small
armed force and calling upon the slaves to rise. He believed they would
flock around him, and he fixed upon Harper's Ferry as the point to begin
his crusade.
Secretly gathering a band of twenty men, in the month of October, 1859,
he held them ready on the Maryland shore. Late on Sunday night, the
16th, they crossed the railway bridge over the Potomac, seized the
Federal armory at Harper's Ferry, stopped all railroad trains, arrested
a number of citizens, set free such slaves as they came across, and held
complete possession of the town for twenty-four hours.
Brown acted with vigor. He threw out pickets, cut the telegraph wires,
and sent word to the slaves that their day of deliverance had come and
they were summoned to rise. By this time the citizens had themselves
risen, and, attacking the invaders, drove them into the armory, from
which they maintained fire until it became clear that they must succumb.
Several made a break, but were shot down. Brown retreated to an
engine-house with his wounded and prisoners and held his assailants at
bay all through Monday and the night following.
News having been sent to Washington, Colonel Robert E. Lee arrived
Tuesday morning with a force of marines and land troops. The local
militia of Virginia had also been called out. The situation of Brown was
hopeless, but he refused to surrender. Colonel Lee managed matters with
such skill that only one of his men was shot, while Brown was wounded
several times, his two sons killed, and others slain. The door of the
engine-house was battered in and the desperate men overpowered. The
enraged citizens would have rended them to pieces, had they been
allowed, but Colonel Lee protected and turned them over to the civil
authorities. Brown and his six companions were placed on trial, found
guilty of what was certainly an unpardonable crime, and hanged on the 2d
of December, 1859.
Many in the South believed that the act of Brown was planned and
supported by leading Republicans, but such was not the fact, and they
were as earnest in condemnation of the mad proceeding as the extreme
slavery men, but John Brown's raid served to fan the spark of civil war
that was already kindled and fast growing into a flame.
[Illustration: HARPER'S FERRY]
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1860.
The presidential campaigns that had been pressed heretofore with a
certain philosophic good nature, now assumed a tragic character. The
South saw the growing preponderance of the North. New States were
continually forming out of the enormous territory in the West, the
opposition to slavery was intensifying, and its overthrow was certain.
Senator Seward had announced the "irrepressible conflict" between
freedom and the institution, and the only remedy the South saw lay in
secession from the Union, for they loved that less than slavery. They
announced their unalterable intention of seceding in the event of the
election of a president of Republican principles. The Republicans placed
Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, in nomination. Jefferson Davis saw that
the only way of defeating him was by uniting all the opposing parties
into one. He urged such a union, but the elements would not fuse.
The Democratic convention assembled in Charleston in April, 1860, and
had hardly come together when the members began quarreling over slavery.
Some of the radicals insisted upon the adoption of a resolution favoring
the opening of the slave trade, in retaliation for the refusal of the
North to obey the fugitive slave law. This measure, however, was voted
down, and many were in favor of adopting compromises and making
concessions for the sake of the Union. Stephen A. Douglas was their
candidate, but no agreement could be made, and the convention split
apart. The extremists were not satisfied with "squatter sovereignty,"
and, determined to prevent the nomination of Douglas, they withdrew from
the convention. Those who remained, after balloting some time without
result, adjourned to Baltimore, where, on the 18th of June, they placed
Douglas in nomination, with Herschel V. Johnson as the nominee for
Vice-President. Their platform was the doctrine that the people of each
Territory should settle the question of slavery for themselves, but they
expressed a willingness to abide by the decision of the Supreme Court.
The seceding delegates adjourned to Richmond, and again to Baltimore,
where, June 28th, they nominated John C. Breckinridge for President and
Joseph Lane for Vice-President. Their platform declared unequivocally in
favor of slavery being protected in all parts of the Union, where the
owners chose to take their slaves.
The American party, which called themselves Constitutional Unionists,
had already met in Baltimore, and nominated John Bell for President and
Edward Everett for Vice-President. Their platform favored the
"Constitution, the Union, and the enforcement of the laws." This
platform was of the milk-and-water variety, appealing too weakly to the
friends and opponents of slavery to develop great strength. The question
of African slavery had become the burning one before the country, and
the people demanded that the political platforms should give out no
uncertain sound.
Amid uncontrollable excitement, the presidential election took place
with the following result:
Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, Republican, 180; Stephen A. Douglas, of
Illinois, Democrat, 12; John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, Democrat, 72;
John Bell, of Tennessee, Union, 39. For Vice-President: Hannibal Hamlin,
of Maine, Republican, 180; Herschel V. Johnson, of Georgia, Democrat,
12; Joseph Lane, of Oregon, Democrat, 72; Edward Everett, of
Massachusetts, Union, 39.
On the popular vote, Lincoln received 866,352; Douglas, 1,375,157;
Breckinridge, 845,763; Bell, 589,581. Lincoln had the electoral votes of
all the Northern States, except a part of New Jersey; Virginia,
Kentucky, and Tennessee supported Bell, while most of the Southern
States voted for Breckinridge. The Democratic party, which, with the
exception of the break in 1840 and 1848, had controlled the country for
sixty years, was now driven from the field.
SECESSION AND FORMATION OF THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY.
The hope was general that the South would not carry out her threat of
seceding from the Union, and, but for South Carolina, she would not have
done so; but that pugnacious State soon gave proof of her terrible
earnestness. Her Convention assembled in Charleston, and passed an
ordinance of secession, December 20, 1860, declaring "That the Union
heretofore existing between this State and the other States of North
America is dissolved." The other Southern States, although reluctant to
give up the Union, felt it their duty to stand by the pioneer in the
movement against it, and passed ordinances of secession, as follows:
Mississippi, January 9, 1861; Florida, January 10th; Alabama, January
11th; Georgia, January 19th; Louisiana, January 26th; and Texas,
February 23d.
In the hope of averting civil war numerous peace meetings were held in
the North, and Virginia called for a "peace conference," which assembled
in Washington, February 4th. The States represented included most of
those in the North, and Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina,
Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri. Ex-President Tyler, of Virginia, was
made president of the conference. The proposed terms of settlement were
rejected by the Virginia and North Carolina delegates and refused by
Congress, which, since the withdrawal of the Southern members, was
controlled by the Republicans.
The next step of the Southern conventions was to send delegates to
Montgomery, Alabama, where they formed "The Confederate States of
America," with Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, President, and Alexander
H. Stephens, of Georgia, Vice-President. A constitution and flag, both
resembling those of the United States, were adopted and all departments
of the government organized.
As the various States adopted ordinances of secession they seized the
government property within their limits. In most cases, the Southern
United States officers resigned and accepted commissions in the service
of the Confederacy. The only forts saved were those near Key West, Fort
Pickens at Pensacola, and Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor. The South
Carolina authorities began preparations to attack Sumter, and when the
steamer _Star of the West_ attempted to deliver supplies to the fort, it
was fired upon, January 9th, and driven off. Thus matters stood at the
close of Buchanan's administration, March 4, 1861.
[Illustration: THE BLUE AND THE GRAY.]