Meetings of the people in ancient Athens were opened with these words:
“May the gods doom to perdition that man, and all his race, who, on
this occasion, shall speak, act, or contrive anything against the
Commonwealth!” With such an imprecation all were summoned to the duties
of the citizen. But duties become urgent in proportion to perils. If
ever there were occasion for these solemn words, it is now, when the
country is in danger, when the national capital itself is menaced,
when all along the loyal border, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian
Territories west of the Mississippi, barbarian hordes, under some
Alaric of Slavery, are marshalling forces, and death is knocking at the
doors of so many happy homes. If ever there was occasion when country
might claim the best and most self-forgetful effort of all, it is now.
Each in his way must act. Each must do what he can: the youthful and
strong by giving themselves to the service; the weak, if in no other
way, by scraping lint. Such is the call of patriotism. The country must
be saved.
* * * * *
Among omens which I hail with gladness is the union now happily
prevailing among good men in support of the Government, whether State
or National,--forgetting that they were Democrats, forgetting that
they were Whigs, and disregarding old party names, to remember only the
duties of the citizen. Another sign, not less cheering, is the generous
devotion which all among us of foreign birth offer to their adopted
country. Germans fight as for fatherland, and Irishmen fight as for
loved Erin; nor can our cause be less dear to the latter, now that the
spirit of Grattan and O’Connell has entered into it.
* * * * *
Surely this is no time for the strife of party. Its jealousies
and antipathies are now more than ever irrational. Its clamors of
opposition are now more than ever unpatriotic. Unhappily, there are
some to whom its bitter, unforgiving temper has become so controlling,
that, even at this moment, they would rather enlist to put down
a political opponent than to put down the rebel enemy of their
country,--they would rather hang Henry Wilson or John A. Andrew than
hang Jefferson Davis or Robert Toombs. Such persons, with all their
sweltered venom, are found here in Massachusetts. Assuming the badge
of “No Party,” they are ready for any party, new or old, by which
their prejudices may be gratified,--thus verifying the pungent words
of Colonel Benton: “Wherever you will show me a man with the words ‘No
Party’ in his mouth, I will show you a man that figures at the head or
dangles at the tail of the most inveterate party that ever existed.” Of
course, such persons are not expected to take part in a meeting like
the present, which seeks to unite rather than divide, while it rallies
all to the support of the President, and to that policy of Freedom he
has proclaimed.
Thank God that I live to enjoy this day! Thank God that my eyes have
not closed without seeing this great salvation! The skies are brighter
and the air is purer now that Slavery is handed over to judgment.
By the proclamation of the President, all persons held as slaves
January 1, 1863, within any State or designated part of a State, the
people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States,
shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive
Government of the United States, including the military and naval
authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such
persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of
them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. Beyond
these most effective words, which do not go into operation before
the new year, are other words of immediate operation, constituting a
present edict of Emancipation. The President recites the recent Acts
of Congress applicable to this question, and calls upon all persons in
the military and naval service to observe, obey, and enforce them. But
these Acts provide that all slaves of Rebels, taking refuge within the
lines of our army, all slaves captured from Rebels or deserted by them,
and all slaves found within any place occupied by Rebel forces and
afterwards occupied by forces of the United States, shall be forever
free of servitude, and not again held as slaves; and these Acts further
provide, that no person in the military or naval service shall, under
any pretence whatever, assume to decide on the validity of any claim to
a slave, or surrender any such person to his claimant, on pain of being
dismissed from the service: so that by these Acts, now proclaimed by
the President, Freedom is practically secured to all who find shelter
within our lines, and the glorious flag of the Union, wherever it
floats, becomes the flag of Freedom.
* * * * *
Thank God for what is already done, and let us all take heart as
we go forward to uphold this great edict! For myself, I accept the
Proclamation without note or comment. It is enough for me, that, in
the exercise of the War Power, it strikes at the origin and mainspring
of this Rebellion; for I have never concealed the conviction that it
matters little where we strike Slavery, provided only that we strike
sincerely and in earnest. So is it all connected, that the whole must
suffer with every part, and the words of the poet will be verified,
that,--
“whatever link you strike,
Tenth or ten thousandth, breaks the chain alike.”
On this most interesting occasion, so proper for gratitude, it is
difficult to see anything but the cause; and yet, appearing before
you on the invitation of a Committee of the Commonwealth, I must not
forget that I owe this privilege to my public character as Senator of
Massachusetts. In this character I have often been invited before;
but now the invitation has more than accustomed significance; for, at
the close of a long period of public service, it brings me face to
face with my constituents. In a different condition of the country, I
could not decline the opportunity of reviewing the relations between
us,--of showing, at least, how you took me from private station, all
untried, and gave me one of your highest trusts, and how this trust was
enhanced by the generosity with which you sustained me against obloquy
and vindictive assault, especially by your unparalleled indulgence to
me throughout a protracted disability,--and perhaps, might I be so
bold, of presenting for your consideration some sketch of what I have
attempted, conscious, that, if not always successful, I have been at
all times faithful to cherished convictions, and faithful also to your
interests, sparing nothing of time or effort, and making up by industry
for any lack of ability, so that, during a service of more than eleven
years, I have never once visited home while Congress was in session,
or been absent for a single day, unless when suffering from that
disability to which I have referred, and during the session which has
just closed, filled with most laborious duties from beginning to end,
I was not out of my seat a single hour. But this is no time for such a
review. I have no heart for it, while my country is in danger. And yet
I shall not lose the occasion to challenge the scrutiny of all, even
here in this commercial metropolis, where the interests of business are
sometimes placed above all other interests. Frankly and fearlessly I
make my appeal. In all simplicity, I ask you to consider what I have
done as your servant, whether in the Senate or out of the Senate, in
matters of legislation or of business. If there is any one disposed
to criticize or complain, let him be heard. Let the whole record be
opened, and let any of the numerous visitors who have sought me on
business testify. I know too well the strength of my case to shrink
from any inquiry, even though stimulated by the animosity of political
warfare.[112]
But there are two accusations, often repeated, to which I reply on the
spot; and I do so with less hesitation, because the topics are germane
to this debate. The first is, that from my place in the Senate I early
proclaimed Slavery to be Barbarism. Never shall the cause of Freedom go
by default, if I can help it; and I rejoice, that, on that occasion,
in presence of the slaveholding conspirators vaunting the ennobling
character of Slavery, I used no soft words. It is true, that, in direct
reply to most offensive assumptions, I proclaimed Slavery barbarous in
origin, barbarous in law, barbarous in all its pretensions, barbarous
in the instruments it employs, barbarous in consequences, barbarous
in spirit, barbarous wherever it shows itself,--while it breeds
barbarians, and develops everywhere, alike in the individual and the
society to which he belongs, the essential elements of barbarism. It
is true, that, on the same occasion, I portrayed Slavery as founded in
violence and sustained only by violence, and declared that such a wrong
must, by sure law of compensation, blast the master as well as the
slave, blast the land on which they live, blast the community of which
they are part, blast the government which does not forbid the outrage,
and the longer it exists, and the more completely it prevails, must its
blasting influence penetrate the whole social system. Was I not right?
Since then the testimony is overwhelming. A committee of the Senate
has made a report, extensively circulated, on the barbarities of this
Rebellion. You know the whole story to which each day testifies. It is
in some single incident that you see the low-water mark of social life;
and I know nothing in which the barbarism of Slavery is more completely
exhibited than in the fate of our brave soldiers, dug up from
honorable graves, where at last they had found rest, that their bones
might be carved into keepsakes and their skulls into drinking-cups to
gratify the malignant hate of Slave-Masters.
The other accusation is similar in character. It is said that I have
too often introduced the Slavery Question. At this moment, seeing
what Slavery has done, I doubt if you will not rather say that I have
introduced it too seldom. If, on this account, I neglected any single
interest of my constituents, if I was less strenuous whenever foreign
relations or manufactures or commerce or finances were involved, if I
failed to take my part in all that concerns the people of Massachusetts
and in all embraced within the manifold duties of a Senator, then,
indeed, I might be open to condemnation. But you will not regret that
your representative, faithful in all other things, was ever constant
and earnest against Slavery, and that he announced from the beginning
the magnitude of the question, and our duties with regard to it. Say
what you will, the slave is the humblest and the grandest figure of
our times. What humility! what grandeur! both alike illimitable! In
his presence all other questions are so petty, that for a public man
to be wrong with regard to him is to be wholly wrong. How, then, did
I err? The cause would have justified a better pertinacity than I can
boast. In the Senate of Rome, the elder Cato, convinced that peace
was possible only by the destruction of Carthage, concluded all his
speeches, on every matter of debate, by the well-known words: “But
whatever you may think of the question under consideration, this I
know, Carthage must be destroyed.” I have never read that the veteran
Senator was condemned for the constancy of his patriotic appeal. With
stronger reason far, I, too, might always have cried, “This I know,
Slavery must be destroyed,”--_Delenda est Servitudo_. But, while
seeking to limit and constrain Slavery, I never proposed anything
except in strictest conformity with the Constitution; for I always
recognized the Constitution as my guide, which I was bound in all
respects to follow.[113]
Such are accusations to which I briefly reply. Now that we are
all united in the policy of Emancipation, they become of little
consequence; for, even if I were once alone, I am no longer so. With me
are the loyal multitudes of the North, now arrayed by the side of the
President, where, indeed, I have ever been.
* * * * *
If you will bear with me yet longer in allusions which I make with
reluctance, I would quote, as my unanswerable defence, the words of
Edmund Burke, when addressing his constituents at Bristol.
“And now, Gentlemen, on this serious day, when I come, as it
were, to make up my account with you, let me take to myself
some degree of honest pride on the nature of the charges
that are against me. I do not here stand before you accused
of venality or of neglect of duty. It is not said, that, in
the long period of my service, I have in a single instance
sacrificed the slightest of your interests to my ambition or
to my fortune. It is not alleged, that, to gratify any anger
or revenge of my own or of my party, I have had a share in
wronging or oppressing any description of men, or any one man
in any description. No! the charges against me are all of one
kind,--that I have pushed the principles of general justice and
benevolence too far,--further than a cautious policy would
warrant, and further than the opinions of many would go along
with me. In every accident which may happen through life, in
pain, in sorrow, in depression, and distress, I will call to
mind this accusation, and be comforted.”[114]
Among the passages in eloquence which can never die, I know none
more beautiful or heroic. If I invoke its protection, it is with the
consciousness, that, however unlike in genius and fame, I am not unlike
its author in the accusations to which I have been exposed.
* * * * *
Fellow-citizens, a year has passed since I addressed you; but,
during this time, what events for warning and encouragement! Amidst
vicissitudes of war, the cause of Human Freedom has steadily and
grandly advanced,--not, perhaps, as you could desire, yet it is the
only cause which has not failed. Slavery and the Black Laws all
abolished in the national capital; Slavery interdicted in all the
national territory; Hayti and Liberia recognized as independent
republics in the family of nations; the slave-trade placed under the
ban of a new treaty with Great Britain; all persons in the military
and naval service prohibited from returning slaves, or sitting in
judgment on the claim of a master; the slaves of Rebels emancipated by
coming within our lines; a tender of compensation for the abolition of
Slavery: such are some of Freedom’s triumphs in the recent Congress.
Amidst all doubts and uncertainties of the present hour, let us think
of these things and be comforted. I cannot forget, that, when I last
spoke to you, I urged the liberation of the slaves of Rebels, and
especially that our officers should not be permitted to surrender back
to Slavery any human being seeking shelter within our lines; and I
further suggested, if need were, a Bridge of Gold for the retreating
Fiend. And now all that I then proposed is embodied in the legislation
of the country as the supreme law of the land.
* * * * *
It was as _a military necessity_ that I urged these measures; it is
as a military necessity that I now uphold them, and insist upon their
completest and most generous execution, so that they shall have the
largest scope and efficacy. Not as Abolitionist, not as Antislavery
man, not even as philanthropist,--if I may claim that honored name,--do
I now speak. I forget, for the moment, all the unutterable wrong of
Slavery, and all the transcendent blessings of Freedom; for they do
not belong to this argument. I think only of my country menaced by
rebellion, and ask how it shall be saved. But I have no policy, no
theory, no resolutions to support,--nothing which I will not gladly
abandon, if you will show me anything better.
“If you know better rules than these, be free,
Impart them; but if not, use these with me.”[115]
And now, what is the object of the war? This question is often asked,
and the answer is not always candid. It is sometimes said that it is
to abolish Slavery. Here is a mistake, or a misrepresentation. It is
sometimes said, in cant language, that the object is “the Constitution
as it is and the Union as it was.” Here is another mistake or
misrepresentation, which becomes more offensive when it is known that
by “the Constitution as it is” is meant simply the right to hold and
hunt slaves, and by “the Union as it was” is meant those halcyon days
of Proslavery Democracy, when the ballot-box was destroyed in Kansas,
when freedom of debate was menaced in the Senate, and when chains were
put upon the Boston Court-House. Not for any of these things is this
war waged. Not to abolish Slavery or to establish Slavery, but simply
to put down the Rebellion. And here the question occurs, How can this
object be best accomplished?
In discussing this question with proper frankness, I shall develop
and vindicate that policy of which the President’s Proclamation is
the herald, and to which his Administration is publicly pledged. The
Administration belongs to us, and we belong to the Administration. My
aim is to bring the Administration and the people nearer together,
by showing the ground on which they must meet, for the sake of the
Republic, and that it may not perish beneath felon blows.
* * * * *
I start, of course, with the assumption, in which you will all unite,
that this war must be brought to a close. It must not be allowed to
drag its slow length along, bloody, and fruitless except with death.
Lives enough have been sacrificed, graves enough have been filled,
homes enough have been emptied, patriot soldiers enough have been
sent back halt and maimed with one leg or one arm, tears enough have
been shed. Nor is this all; treasure enough has been expended. It is
common to think only of the national debt, now swelling to unnatural
proportions; but this will be small by the side of the fearful
sum-total of loss from destruction of property, derangement of
business, and change of productive to unproductive industry. Even if
we do not accept the conclusions of an ingenious calculator who places
this damage at ten thousand millions of dollars, we must confess that
it is an immensity, which, like the numbers representing sidereal
distances, the imagination refuses to grasp. To stop this infinity of
waste there must be peace; to stop this cruel slaughter there must be
peace. In the old wars between King and Parliament, which rent England,
the generous Falkland cried from his soul, “_Peace! peace!_” and
history gratefully records his words. Never did he utter this cry with
more earnestness than I do now. But how shall the blessing be secured?
* * * * *
I start with the further assumption, that there can be no separation
of these States. Foreign nations may predict what Rebels threaten, but
this result is now impossible. Pray, good Sirs, where will you run the
boundary line? Shall it be the cotton limit? Shall it embrace Virginia
in whole or part? How about Tennessee? Kentucky? Or shall it be the
most natural line of cleavage, the slave line? And how will you adjust
the navigation of the Mississippi, and the whole question of Slavery?
And what principles, commercial and political, shall be established
between the two Governments? But do not deceive yourselves into the
idea that peace founded on separation can be anything but a delusion
and a snare. Separation is interminable war, “never ending, still
beginning,”--worse than the forays which ravaged the Scottish border,
or the Tartar invasions which harassed China until its famous wall
was built, fifteen hundred miles long, and so thick that six horsemen
ride upon it abreast. War will be chronic, and we must all sleep on
our arms. Better that it be all at once, rather than diffused over a
generation. If blood must be shed, better for a year than for an age.
But if there be anything in the Monroe doctrine, if we could not
accommodate ourselves to the foothold of Europe upon this continent,
how can we recognize on our borders a malignant Slave empire, with
Slavery as its boasted corner-stone, constituting what Shakespeare
calls “an impudent nation,” embittered and enraged against us, without
law, without humanity, and without morals,--a mighty Blue-Beard’s
Chamber,--an enormous House of Ill-Fame? We would not allow the old
Kingdom of the Assassins to be revived at our side. But wherein are our
Rebels better?
* * * * *
Nor can you recognize such separation without delivering over this
cherished Union to chaos. If the Rebel States are allowed to go, what
can be retained? It is true, there can be no constitutional right to
break up the Constitution, but the precedent unhappily recognized would
unsettle this whole fabric of States. Therefore, fellow-citizens, there
can be no separation. But how to prevent it,--in other words, how to
hamstring the Rebellion and conquer a peace,--this is the question.
* * * * *
The Rebels are in arms, aroused, at home, on their own soil, and
resolved never to yield. Nothing less than independence will satisfy
them: if the war continues, I know not that they will be content
with this. Two policies are presented on our side,--one looking
primarily to Rebel conciliation, and the other looking primarily to
Rebel submission. Both have the same elements, although in diverse
order. The first begins with conciliation in order to end with Rebel
submission, which is cart before horse. The second begins with Rebel
submission in order to end with conciliation. The question is simply
this,--Whether conciliation shall precede or follow submission?
Conciliation is always proper, where possible; but, at this stage,
it is obviously impossible. If anybody believes that now any word or
act of conciliation, any forbearance on our part, any hesitation in
exercise of the sternest Rights of War, will help us to victory or
contribute to put down the Rebellion, let me not enter into that man’s
counsels, for they can end in nothing but shame and disaster. I find
that they who talk most against coercion of Rebels and coercion of
States are indifferent to the coercion of four million people, men,
women, and children, to work without wages under discipline of the
lash. Without hesitation I say that the Rebels must be subdued,--call
it coercion or subjugation, whichever you please: our war has this
direct object. With victory will come conciliation, clemency, amnesty.
But first victory.
To obtain victory, two things are needed: first, a precise
comprehension of the case, and, secondly, vigor of conduct. One will
not do without the other. It will not be enough to comprehend the case,
unless you are ready to treat it with corresponding vigor. And it
will not be enough to have vigor, unless you discern clearly how the
case shall be treated. To this end there must be statesmen as well as
generals.
* * * * *
The first duty of the good physician is to understand the condition
of his patient,--whether it is a case of medicine or surgery, of
cutaneous eruption or deep-seated cancer. This is called diagnosis. Of
course, if this fails, the whole treatment will be a failure. But the
statesman, in all the troubles of his country, has the same preliminary
duty. He, too, must see whether it is a case for medicine or surgery,
of cutaneous eruption or deep-seated cancer. And since all that he does
must be precisely according to his judgment of the case, error here
must be equally fatal.
* * * * *
Next to comprehension of the case is vigor in conduct, which is more
needful in proportion as the case becomes desperate. This must be not
only in the field, but also in council,--not only against the serried
front of the enemy, but against those more fatal influences that come
from lack of comprehension or lack of courage. The same vigor we
require in our generals must be required also in our statesmen,--the
same spirit must animate both. No folding of the hands, no putting off
till to-morrow what can be done to-day, no hesitation, no timidity, but
_action_, _action_, _action_, straightforward, manly, devoted action.
It is easy to see that this is required in the field; but it is no less
required in every sphere of the Government, from President to paymaster.
* * * * *
In war there are some who content themselves with triumphs of prudence
instead of triumphs of courage, and spend much time in trying how
not to be beaten, instead of how to beat. They are content to forego
victory, if they can escape defeat, forgetting that Fabius was only
a defender and not a conqueror, that a policy fit at one time may be
unfit at another, that a war waged in an enemy’s country cannot be
defensive, nor can it prevail by any procrastination. People at home,
on their own soil, can afford to wait. Every month, every week, every
day is an ally. But we cannot wait. No moment must be spared. Not in
this way battled those ancient commanders called “The Two Thunderbolts
of War.” Not in this way did Napoleon defeat the Austrian forces at
Marengo, and shatter the Prussian power on the field of Jena.
But there are “thunderbolts” of the cabinet as well as of the field.
The elder Pitt, who was only a civilian, infused his own conquering
soul into the British arms, making them irresistible; and the French
Carnot, while a member of the Committee of Public Safety, was said to
have organized victory. Such is the statesmanship now needed for us.
And there must be generals who will carry forward all that the most
courageous statesmanship directs.
* * * * *
Armies and men we have of rarest quality. Better never entered a field
or kept step to drum-beat. Intelligent and patriotic, they have left
pleasant homes, to offer themselves, if need be, for their country.
They are no common hirelings, mere food for powder, but generous
citizens, who have determined that their country shall be saved. Away
in camp, or battle, or hospital, let them not be forgotten. But,
better than gratitude even, we owe them the protection which comes
from good generals and courageous counsels. O God! let them not be led
to useless slaughter like sheep, nor be compelled to take the hazard
of death from climate and exposure, as well as from ball and bayonet,
without giving them at once all the allies which can be rallied to
their support. In the name of humanity, and for the sake of victory,
I make this appeal. But the loyal everywhere are allies. And does
loyalty depend upon color? Is it skin or heart that we consult? Do you
ask the color of a benefactor? As I listen to people higgling on the
question how to treat Africans coming to our rescue, I am reminded of
that famous incident, where the Emperor of Austria, driven back by the
Turks, three hundred thousand strong, and besieged in Vienna until at
the point of surrender, was suddenly saved by the gallant Sobieski of
Poland. The Emperor, big with imperial pride, thought chiefly of his
own supereminent rank,--as a Proslavery Democrat thinks of his,--and
hesitated how to receive his Polish benefactor, who was only an elected
king, when the Austrian commander said: “Sire, receive him as the
saviour of your empire.” The Emperor gave to his saviour hardly more
than a cold salute; and we are told to imitate this stolid ingratitude.
* * * * *
Wherever I turn in this war, I find the African ready to be our
saviour. If you ask for strategy, I know nothing better than that of
the slave, Robert Small, who brought the Rebel steamer Planter with
its armament out of Charleston, and surrendered it to our Commodore as
prize of war. If you ask for successful courage, I know nothing better
than that of the African, Tillman, who rose upon a Rebel prize-crew,
and, overcoming them, carried the ship into New York. If you ask for
heroism, you will find it in that nameless African on board the Pawnee,
who, while passing shell from the magazine, lost both his legs by a
ball, but, still holding a shell, cries out, “Pass up the shell,--never
mind me; my time is up.” If you ask for fidelity, you will find it in
that slave, also without a name, who pointed out the road of safety
to the harassed, retreating Army of the Potomac. And if you ask
for evidence of desire for freedom, you will find it in the little
slave-girl, journeying North, whom Banks took up on his cannon.
It is now as at earlier stages of our history. The African is
performing his patriotic part, so far as you will let him. At the
famous massacre, when the first blood of the Revolution reddened the
ice-clad pavements of Boston, Crispus Attucks, an African, once a
slave, was among the victims. At Bunker Hill, where our homely troops
first stood against British valor, Peter Salem, also an African once a
slave, was conspicuous for courage, to the cost of the royal officer
who scaled the rampart, so that History names him with honor, and Art
presents him in the fore-front of the battle. Trumbull has portrayed
the scene. So long as that picture endures, so long as that historic
battle haunts the memory, you cannot forget the African fellow-soldier
of Prescott and Warren. But there are others like him, ready now to do
the same service.
* * * * *
Not for the first time do I here make this appeal. Constantly I have
made it before the people and in the Senate, by speech and proposition.
I give an instance, being a resolution in the Senate, offered May 26th
of this year.
“_Resolved_, That, in the prosecution of the present war for
the suppression of a wicked Rebellion, the time has come for
the Government of the United States to appeal to the loyalty
of the whole people everywhere, but especially in the Rebel
districts, and to invite all, without distinction of color, to
make their loyalty manifest by ceasing to fight or labor for
the Rebels, and also by rendering every assistance in their
power to the cause of the Constitution and the Union, according
to their ability, whether by arms, or labor, or information,
or in any other way; and since protection and allegiance are
reciprocal duties, dependent upon each other, it is the further
duty of the Government of the United States to maintain all
such loyal people, without distinction of color, in their
rights as _men_, according to the principles of the Declaration
of Independence.”[116]
I need not stop to discuss this resolution. You know my opinions, and
how I have pressed them in debate. You may also be assured that I have
never failed to present them in that quarter where it was peculiarly
important they should prevail. On the 4th of July of the present year,
in a personal interview with the President, I said: “You need more men,
not only at the North, but at the South, in the rear of the Rebels:
you need the slaves. Say the word, and you can give to our armies this
invaluable alliance,--you can change the rear-guard of the Rebellion
into the advance-guard of the Union. It is now the 4th of July. You
can make this day more sacred and more historic, and do for it better
than the Continental Congress.” Had Emancipation been spoken at that
time, I cannot doubt that the salvation of our country would have begun
thus earlier. Of course, such a word would have been a blast from the
war-trumpet, justified as a military necessity, according to examples
of history and the heart of man. And such a blast the President has now
blown.
* * * * *
But it is said that all appeal to slaves is unconstitutional; and it
is openly assumed that rebels making war on the Constitution are not,
like other public enemies, beyond its protection. Why this peculiar
tenderness, whenever Slavery is in question? Battalions may be shot
down, and property taken without due process of law, but Slavery must
not be touched. The ancient Egyptians, when conquered, submitted easily
to loss of life and property; but when a Roman soldier happened to
kill a cat in the streets, they rose and tore him limb from limb with
such violent excitement that the generals overlooked the outrage for
fear of insurrection. Slavery is our sacred cat, not to be touched
without fear of insurrection. Sir, I am tired and disgusted at hearing
the Constitution perpetually invoked for Slavery. According to certain
authorities, the Constitution is all for Slavery and nothing for
Freedom. I am proud to own that with me just the reverse is the case.
There are people who keep apothecaries’ scales, in which they nicely
weigh everything done for Freedom. I have no such scales, where Freedom
is in question, nor do I hesitate to say that in a case of Freedom all
such nicety is unconstitutional. The Constitution is not mean, stingy,
and pettifogging, but open-handed, liberal, and just, inclining always
in favor of Freedom, and enabling the Government, in time of war, not
only to exercise any Rights of War, including liberation of slaves, but
also to confer any largess or bounty--it may be of money, or, better
still, of freedom--for services rendered. I do not dwell now on the
unanswerable argument by which John Quincy Adams has placed this power
beyond question.[117] Whatever the provisions of the Constitution
for protection of the citizen, they are inapplicable to what is done
against a public enemy. The law of an Italian city prohibited the
letting of blood under penalty of death; but this did not doom the
surgeon who opened a vein to save the life of a citizen. In war there
is no constitutional limit to the activity of the Executive, except
the emergency. The safety of the people is the highest law. There is
no blow the President can strike, there is nothing he can do against
the Rebellion, that is not constitutional. Only inaction can be
unconstitutional.
Some there are who would sacrifice the lives of our Northern
liberty-loving people, and, if this does not save the Union, then
strike Slavery. This again is putting cart before horse. Slavery should
be struck to save precious blood. The life of a single patriot is worth
more than all Slavery; ay, more, it has stronger securities in the
Constitution.
* * * * *
Search the writers on the Law of Nations, and you will find the appeal
to slaves justified. Search history, whether in ancient or modern
times, and you will find it justified by example. In our Revolution,
this appeal was made by three different British commanders,--Lord
Dunmore, Sir Henry Clinton, and Lord Cornwallis. I do not stop for
details. That their appeal was not unsuccessful is evident from
concurring testimony. Its propriety was admitted by Jefferson, while
describing his own individual losses from Cornwallis.
“He destroyed all my growing crops of corn and tobacco; he
burned all my barns, containing the same articles of the last
year, having first taken what corn he wanted; he used, _as was
to be expected_, all my stock of cattle, sheep, and hogs, for
the sustenance of his army, and carried off all the horses
capable of service.… _He carried off, also, about thirty
slaves. Had this been to give them freedom, he would have done
right.…_ From an estimate I made at that time, on the best
information I could collect, I supposed the State of Virginia
lost, under Lord Cornwallis’s hands, that year, about thirty
thousand slaves.”[118]
It would be difficult to imagine testimony stronger. Here was a
sufferer, justly indignant for himself and his State; but he does not
doubt that an enemy would do right in carrying off slaves to give them
freedom.
The enterprise of Lord Dunmore deserves more particular mention. His
proclamation was thus explicit:--
“And I do hereby further declare all indented servants, negroes
or others (appertaining to rebels), free, that are able and
willing to bear arms, they joining his Majesty’s troops as
soon as may be, for the more speedily reducing this colony
to a proper sense of their duty to his Majesty’s crown and
dignity.”[119]
Its effect is amply attested. Edmund Pendleton writes to Richard Henry
Lee: “Letters mention that slaves flock to him in abundance; but I
hope it is magnified.”[120] Lord Dunmore reports to his Government at
home: “I have been endeavoring to raise two regiments here,--one of
white people, the other of black. The former goes on very slowly, but
the latter very well.”[121] Nothing shows the consternation more than
a letter of Washington, who, after saying that “Lord Dunmore should be
instantly crushed, if it takes the force of the whole colony to do it,”
proceeds:--
“Otherwise, like a snow-ball in rolling, his army will get
size,--some through fear, some through promises, and some
through inclination joining his standard: but that which
renders the measure indispensably necessary is the negroes;
for, if he gets formidable, numbers of them will be tempted to
join who will be afraid to do it without.”[122]
To these authorities add the exclamation of Zubly, in the Continental
Congress from Georgia:--
“I look on the plan we heard of yesterday to be vile,
abominable, and infernal; but I am afraid it is
practicable.”[123]
Naturally the representative of slave-masters did not approve it. It is
enough that he thought it “practicable.”
Several years later, Lord Dunmore reiterated his sentiments and
vindicated his appeal. This was at Charleston, where he addressed a
communication to Sir Henry Clinton at New York, under date of February
2, 1782, in which he says:--
“Every one that I have conversed with think--and, I must own,
my own sentiments perfectly coincide with theirs--that the
most efficacious, expeditious, cheapest, and certain means of
reducing this country to a proper sense of their duty is in
employing the blacks, who are, in my opinion, not only better
fitted for service in this warm climate than white men, but
they are also better guides, may be got on much easier terms,
and are perfectly attached to our sovereign. And by employing
them, you cannot devise a means more effectual to distress
your foes, not only by depriving them of their property, but
by depriving them of their labor. You in reality deprive
them of their existence; for without their labor they cannot
subsist.”[124]
These examples, with all this testimony, vindicate our Proclamation.
There are other instances nearer our own day. During the last war with
England, Admiral Cochrane, commander-in-chief of the British squadron
on the American station, was openly charged with inviting slaves of
our planters to join the British standard, although the phraseology of
his proclamation was covert, offering “all those who might be disposed
to emigrate from the United States” service under his Majesty, or
encouragement as “free settlers” in the British possessions.[125]
Something similar has been anticipated by our own Government on the
coast of Florida, as appears from an official report.
“In the event of war with either of the great European powers
possessing colonies in the West Indies, there would be danger
of the Peninsula of Florida being occupied by blacks from the
islands. A proper regard to the security of our Southern States
requires that prompt and efficient measures be adopted to
prevent such a state of things.”[126]
Here is distinct recognition of danger from black soldiers, if employed
against us.
* * * * *
Admitting that an appeal to slaves is constitutional, and also
according to examples of history, it is said that it will be
unavailing, for the slaves will not hearken to it. Then why not try?
It can do no harm, and will at least give us a good name. But, if not
beyond learning from the enemy, we shall see that the generals most
hated on our side, and, like Adams and Hancock in the Revolution,
specially excepted from pardon, are Phelps and Hunter, plainly because
the ideas of these generals are more dreaded than any battery or
strategy. Of this be assured: the opponents of this appeal are not
anxious because it will fail; only because it may be successful do they
oppose it. They fear it will reach the slaves, rather than not reach
them.
Look at it candidly, and you cannot deny that it must produce an
effect. It is idle to say that its influence will be bounded by our
jurisdiction. When the mill-gates are lifted, all the water above, in
its most distant sources, starts on its way; and so will the slaves.
Remote kingdoms trembled at the Pope’s excommunication and interdict,
and an elegant historian has described the thunders of the Vatican
intermingling with the thunders of war. Christendom shook when Luther
nailed his theses on the church-door of Wittenberg. An appeal to our
slaves will be hardly less prevailing. Do you ask how it would be
known? The fall of Troy, long before our telegraph, was flashed by
beacon-fires from Mount Ida to Argos. The slave telegraph is not as
active as ours, but it is hardly less sure. It takes eight days for a
despatch from Fortress Monroe to the Gulf of Mexico. The glad tidings
of Freedom will travel with the wind, with the air, with the light,
quickening and inspiring the whole mass. Secret societies of slaves,
already formed, will be among the operators. That I do not speak
without authority, please listen to the words of John Adams, taken
from his Diary, under date of 24th September, 1775.
“These gentlemen [Georgia delegates] give a melancholy account
of the state of Georgia and South Carolina. They say, that,
if one thousand regular troops should land in Georgia, and
their commander be provided with arms and clothes enough, and
proclaim freedom to all the negroes who would join his camp,
twenty thousand negroes would join it from the two provinces in
a fortnight. The negroes have a wonderful art of communicating
intelligence among themselves: it will run several hundreds of
miles in a week or fortnight.”[127]
This is testimony. The destructive avalanche of the Alps is sometimes
started by the winding of a horn, and a structure so irrational as
Slavery will tremble at a sound.
* * * * *
From such appeal two things must ensue. First, the slaves will be
encouraged in loyalty; and, secondly, the masters will be discouraged
in disloyalty. Slave labor, which is the mainspring and nursery of
Rebel supplies, without which the Rebellion must starve, will be
disorganized, while a panic spreads among slave-masters absent from
their homes. The most audacious Rebels will lose their audacity, and,
instead of hurrying forward to deal parricidal blows at their country,
will hurry backward to defend their own firesides. The Rebellion will
lose its power. It will be hamstrung.
That such a panic would ensue is attested by the confession of the
South Carolina delegation in the old Continental Congress, as appears
by its Secret Journal, under date of 29th March, 1779, that this State
was “_unable_ to make any effectual efforts with militia, by reason of
the great proportion of citizens necessary to remain at home to prevent
insurrections among the negroes, and to prevent the desertion of them
to the enemy.”[128] It is attested, also, by the concurring testimony
of Southern men in other days, especially in those remarkable words of
John Randolph: “The night-bell never tolls for fire in Richmond that
the frightened mother does not hug her infant the more closely to her
bosom, not knowing what may have happened.”[129] It is attested also
by the actual condition of things when John Brown entered Virginia, as
pictured in familiar words:--
“He captured Harper’s Ferry
With his nineteen men so few,
And he frightened Old Virginny
Till she trembled through and through.”
Asserting the efficacy of this appeal, I ground myself on no visionary
theories or vain hopes, but on the nature of man and authentic
history. To doubt its efficacy is to doubt that man is man, with a
constant desire for liberty as for life, and it is also to doubt the
unquestionable instances in our own history where this desire has been
displayed by African slaves. That a government exposed to the assaults
of a merciless barbarian foe should so long reject this irresistible
alliance is among questions to excite the astonishment of future ages.
* * * * *
What, then, are the reasons alleged against this appeal? They all
resolve themselves into objections of fact. The President, by his
Proclamation, has already answered them practically; but I will take
them up in detail.
(1.) The first objection, and most often repeated, is one which it is
difficult to treat with patience. We are told that the appeal will
offend the Border States, and that, in this moment of trial, we must
do as they tell us. It is, of course, slave-masters who speak for
the Border States; and permit me to say, such persons, continuing to
swear by Slavery, are not competent witnesses. Believing in Slavery,
wedded to Slavery, they are as incompetent to testify as husband and
wife are incompetent to testify for each other. Just in proportion as
we follow them we are misled, and we shall continue to be misled so
long as we follow them. Their influence is perpetual paralysis. Nobody
can counsel safely at this moment who adheres to Slavery, or fails to
see Slavery as the origin and mainspring of the Rebellion. It is well
known that for a long time in England all efforts against Slavery,
led by Wilberforce and Clarkson, were discountenanced and opposed by
the slave-masters in the distant islands. Whatever the proposition,
whether to abridge, to mitigate, or ameliorate, there was always one
steady dissent. Put not your trust in slave-masters,--do not hearken to
their promises,--do not follow their counsels. Such is the plain lesson
of English history, of French history, of Dutch history, of every
country which has dealt with this question,--ay, of Russian history at
this very moment,--and such, also, is the positive caution of English
statesmen. On this point we have the concurring testimony of three
names, each of which is an authority. It is all embodied in a brief
passage of a speech by Lord Brougham.
“I entirely concur in the observation of Mr. Burke, repeated
and more happily expressed by Mr. Canning, that the masters
of slaves are not to be trusted with making laws upon
Slavery,--that nothing they do is ever found effectual,--and
that, if by some miracle they ever chance to enact a wholesome
regulation, it is always found to want what Mr. Burke calls
_the executory principle_,--it fails to execute itself.”[130]
These are emphatic words, and as often as I am reminded of the opinions
of Slave-Masters on our present duties, when Slavery is in question, I
think of them as a solemn warning, confirmed by all the teachings of
experience in our own country, early and late.
(2.) Another objection is, that officers in our army will fling down
their arms. Very well,--let the traitors fling down their arms: the
sooner, the better. They are unworthy to bear arms, and should be
delivered up to the hissing and execration of mankind. But I will not
dishonor officers with the commission of the United States by such
imputation on their loyalty and common sense. As officers they must
know their duty too well, and as intelligent men they must know that
the slaves are calculated to be their best and surest allies.
(3.) Another objection is, that Slavery is a “side issue,” not to be
touched until the war is ended. But these wise objectors forget that
it is precisely in order to end the war that Slavery is to be touched,
and that, when they oppose the effort, they make a “side issue” in its
behalf, calculated to weaken the national arm.
(4.) Another objection has its origin in pity, that the Rebels may
be saved from a slave insurrection. God forbid that I should fail in
any duty of humanity, or tenderness even; but I know no principle
of war or of reason by which our Rebels should be saved from the
natural consequences of their own conduct. When they rose against
a paternal Government, they set the example of insurrection which
has carried death to innumerable firesides. They cannot complain,
if their slaves, with better reason, follow it. According to an old
law, bloody inventions return to plague the inventor. But this whole
objection proceeds on a mistaken idea of the African slave. The
story of San Domingo, so often quoted against him, testifies to his
humanity. Only when Napoleon, in an evil hour, sought to reënslave
him, did those scenes of blood occur, which exhibit less the cruelty
of the slave than the atrocious purpose of the white man. The African
is not cruel, vindictive, or harsh, but gentle, forgiving, and kind.
Such is authentic history. Nor does it appear, when the slaves left
their masters, on the appeal of the British commanders, during our
Revolution, that they were guilty of any excess. It is true that labor
was disorganized, and the whole community weakened; and this is what we
seek to accomplish in the Rebel States.
(5.) And yet one more objection is sometimes advanced. It is said
that an appeal to the slaves will make them overflow into the North,
where they will compete with other labor. This ill-considered and
trivial objection subordinates the suppression of the Rebellion to a
question of labor, and, by a “side issue,” diverts attention from the
great object at heart. But it becomes absurd, when you consider, as
every candid observer must admit, that no such objection can arise.
There is no danger of any such overflow. It is precisely the pressure
of Slavery, and not the license of Freedom, that causes overflow.
If Slavery were removed, the Africans would flow back, instead of
overflowing here. The South is their natural home, and there they will
go when justice at last prevails.
Such are the objections of fact, so far as any exist within my
knowledge. If any other has been made, I do not know it. I ask you
frankly, have I not answered them?
* * * * *
But, fellow-citizens, I shall not leave the argument at this stage.
It is not enough to show that slaves can render important assistance,
by labor, by information, or by arms, and that there is no reasonable
objection to calling upon them, with other loyalists, in support of
the Union. The case is stronger still. _Without the aid of the slaves
this war cannot be ended successfully._ Their alliance is, therefore,
a necessity. In making this assertion I know well the responsibility
I assume, nor do I assume it lightly. But the time has come when the
truth must be told. Let me be understood. As war is proverbially
uncertain, I cannot doubt that fortune will again light upon our
arms. The force of the Rebellion may be broken even without appeal to
the slaves. But I am sure that with the slaves our victory will be
more prompt, while without them it can never be effectual completely
to crush out the Rebellion. It is not enough to beat armies. Rebel
communities, envenomed against the Union, must be restored, and a
wide-spread region quieted. This can be done only by removal of the
disturbing cause, and the consequent assimilation of the people, so
that no man shall call another master. If Slavery be regarded as a
disease, it must be extirpated by knife and cautery; for only in this
way can the healthful operations of national life be regained. If
regarded as a motive, it must be expelled from the system, that it may
no longer exercise its malign influence. So long as Slavery continues,
the States in which it exists will fly madly from the Union, but with
its destruction they will lose all such tendency. The Slave States, by
the influence of Slavery, are now _centrifugal_; but with Slavery out
of the system, they will be _centripetal_. Such is the law of their
being. And it should be our present policy to take advantage of this
law for the benefit of the Union. Nay, from the necessity of the case,
this must be done.
* * * * *
A united people cannot be conquered. Defeated on the battle-field, they
will remain sullen and revengeful, ready for another rebellion. This is
the lesson of history. Even Hannibal, after crushing in the field all
the armies of Rome, and ranging at will throughout Italy, was obliged
to confess the inadequacy of his triumphs, while he appealed for help
to the subjects of Rome, exciting them to insurrection, and arousing
them against the Roman power. To this long-cherished plan were directed
all the energies he could spare from battle, believing that in this
way his enemy could be brought under a double fire. But it is known
that the people of the Slave States are not wholly united, and that
among them are large numbers ready at call to uphold the Union. From
the beginning of the war, we have assumed, as an element of strength,
the presence there of large numbers devoted to the Union, ready at
the proper moment to coöperate with the national forces. Yet most of
these faithful Unionists are not white. The Unionists of the South are
black. Let these be rallied, and the Rebellion will be exposed not only
to a fire in front, but also to a fire in the rear. The two together
are necessary to the operations of war. The Union army thus far is like
a single blade of a pair of scissors, which, though of choicest steel
with sharpest edge, must be comparatively useless. Let the other blade
be conjoined, and the instrument will be perfect. The scissors of Fate
could not cut more surely.
* * * * *
Is not our duty clear? And is not the President completely vindicated?
By Emancipation we not only hasten the war to a close, but we give
it an effective _finality_, preventing it from breaking forth anew,
which can be obtained in no other way. The heads of the hydra will
be extirpated and the monster destroyed, never more to show itself.
Without Emancipation the whole contest is delivered over to present
uncertainty, while the future is left to glare with all the horrors of
civil strife unsuppressed. The last chapter of “Rasselas” is entitled
“The Conclusion, in which Nothing is Concluded”; and this will be
the proper title for the history of this war, if Slavery is allowed
to endure. If you would trample down the Rebellion, you must trample
down Slavery; and, believe me, it must be completely done. Among the
terrible pictures in the immortal poem of Dante, where crime on earth
is portrayed in so many fearful punishments, is that of Caiaphas,
high-priest of the Jews, who, as penalty for his sacrifice of the
Saviour, was stretched on the floor of Hell, where all who passed must
tread on him.
“Naked athwart this pathway he must lie,
Condemned, as thou perceiv’st, to undergo
The weight of every one who passes by.”[131]
Such should be the final fate of Slavery, naked and dishonored,
stretched where all may tread upon it. Never can the Rights of War be
employed more justly than to create this doom.
* * * * *
It was easy to see from the beginning that the Rebellion had its
origin in Slavery,--that without Slavery it never could have broken
forth,--that, when begun, it was continued only through Slavery,--that
Slavery was at once the curse that pursued, the principle that
governed, and the power that sustained,--and the Oligarchy of
slave-masters, three hundred and fifty thousand all told, were the
criminals through whom all this direful wickedness was organized and
waged. Such is the unquestionable diagnosis of the case, which history
will recognize, and a wise statesmanship must have seen promptly. Not
to see Slavery in this guilty character was a mistake, and grievously
have we answered for it. All are agreed now that Buchanan played into
Rebel hands, when, declaring that there can be no coercion of a State,
he refused to touch the Rebellion. Alas! alas! we, too, may play into
Rebel hands, when, out of strange and incomprehensible forbearance,
we refuse to touch Slavery, which is the very life of the Rebellion.
Pardon these allusions, made in no spirit of criticism, but simply that
I may accumulate new motives for that Proclamation which I rejoice to
welcome as herald of peace.
* * * * *
There are many generals already in the field,--upwards of thirty
major-generals, and two hundred brigadiers; but, meritorious and brave
as they may be, there is a general better than all, whom the President
now commissions,--I mean General Emancipation.
* * * * *
It is common to speak of God as on the side of the heavy battalions.
Whatever the truth of this saying, it does not contain the whole
truth. Heavy battalions are something, but they are not everything.
Even if prevailing on the battle-field, which is not always the case,
the victory they compel is not final. It is impotent to secure that
tranquillity essential to national life. Mind is above matter, right is
more than force, and it is vain to attempt conquest merely by matter
or by force. If this can be done in small affairs, it cannot in large;
for these yield only to moral influences. Napoleon was the great master
of war, and yet, from his utterances at St. Helena, the legacy of his
transcendent experience, comes this confession: “The more I study the
world, the more am I convinced of the inability of _brute force_ to
create anything durable.” And another Frenchman, of subtile thought
and perfect integrity, whose name is linked forever with American
institutions, De Tocqueville, has paid a similar tribute to truth.
“Force,” says he, “is never more than a transient element of success. A
government only able to crush its enemies on the field of battle would
very soon be destroyed.” In these authoritative words of the warrior
and the thinker there is warning not to put trust in batteries or
bayonets, while an unconquerable instinct makes us confess that might
cannot constitute right.
Let the war end on the battle-field alone, and it will be only in
appearance that it will end, not in reality. Time will be gained
for new efforts, and Slavery will coil itself to spring again. The
Rebellion may seem to be vanquished, and yet it will triumph. The
Union may seem to conquer, and yet it will succumb. The Republic may
seem to be saved, and yet it will be lost,--handed over a prey to that
injustice which, so long as it exists, must challenge the judgments of
a righteous God.
* * * * *
Thus, for the sake of peace, which we all desire, do I now plead for
Freedom, through which alone peace can be secured. Are you earnest for
peace? then must you be earnest for Freedom also. Would you uphold
the Union against treason? then must you uphold Freedom, without
which bloody treason will flourish over us. But Freedom is adopted by
Congress and proclaimed by the President as one of the agencies in the
prosecution of the war. Therefore it must be maintained with all our
souls and all our hearts and all our might. The hour of debate has
passed, the hour of action has sounded. In opposing solemn Acts of
Congress, which, according to the Constitution, are now the supreme
law of the land, passed for the national defence,--in opposing the
Proclamation of the President,--nay, in discouraging Freedom,--you
are as bad as if you discouraged enlistments. It is through Freedom,
as well as arms, that the war will be waged; and the same loyalty
that supports the one is now due to the other. The discouragement
of enlistments is recognized as seditious and traitorous; but the
discouragement of this new force, adopted by the Government for the
suppression of the Rebellion, is only another form of sedition and
treason, which an indignant patriotism will spurn. Emancipation is now
a war measure, to be sustained as you sustain an army in the field.
* * * * *
If the instincts of patriotism did not prompt this support, I
should find a sufficient motive in that duty which we all owe to
the Supreme Ruler, God Almighty, whose visitations upon our country
are now so fearful. Not rashly would I make myself the interpreter
of His will; and yet I am not blind. According to a venerable maxim
of jurisprudence, “Whoso would have equity must do equity”; and God
plainly requires equity at our hands. We cannot expect success while
setting at nought this requirement, proclaimed in His divine character,
in the dictates of reason, and in the examples of history,--proclaimed,
also, in the events of this protracted war. Terrible judgments have
fallen upon the country: plagues have been let loose, rivers have
been turned into blood, and there is a great cry throughout the land,
for there is not a house where there is not one dead; and at each
judgment we seem to hear that terrible voice which sounded in the ears
of Pharaoh: “Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people
go, that they may serve me.” I know not how others are touched, but
I cannot listen to the frequent tidings of calamity descending upon
our arms, of a noble soldier lost to his country, of bereavement at
the family hearth, of a youthful son brought home dead to his mother,
without catching the warning, “Let my people go!” Nay, every wound,
every sorrow, every hardship, all that we are compelled to bear in
taxation, in want, in derangement of business, has a voice crying,
“Let my people go!”
And now, thank God, the word is spoken!--greater word was seldom
spoken. Emancipation has begun, and our country is already elevated
and glorified. The war has not changed in _object_, but it has changed
in _character_. Its object now, as at the beginning, is simply to put
down the Rebellion; but its character is derived from the new force at
length enlisted, stamping itself upon all that is done, and absorbing
the whole war to itself. Vain will it be again to delude European
nations into foolish belief that Slavery has nothing to do with the
war, that it is a war for empire on one side and independence on the
other, and that all generous ideas are on the side of the Rebellion.
And vain, also, will be that other European cry,--whether from an
intemperate press or the cautious lips of statesmen,--that separation
is inevitable, and that our Government is doomed to witness the
dismemberment of the Republic. With this new alliance, such forebodings
will be falsified, the wishes of the fathers will be fulfilled, and
the rights of human nature, which were the declared object of our
Revolution, vindicated. Thus inspired, the sword of Washington--that
sword which, according to his last will and testament, was to be drawn
only in self-defence, or in defence of country and its rights--will
once more marshal our armies to victory, while the national flag,
wherever it floats, will give freedom to all beneath its folds, and the
proud inscription be at last triumphantly verified: “Liberty and Union,
now and forever, one and inseparable.”
* * * * *
But, fellow-citizens, the war we wage is not merely for ourselves, it
is for all mankind. Slavery yet lingers in Brazil, and beneath the
Spanish flag in those two golden possessions, Cuba and Porto Rico;
but nowhere can it survive extinction here. Therefore we conquer for
Liberty everywhere. In ending Slavery here we open its gates all over
the world, and let the oppressed go free. Nor is this all. In saving
the Republic we save Civilization. Man throughout his long pilgrimage
on earth has been compelled to suffer much, but Slavery is the heaviest
burden he has been called to bear: it is the only burden our country
has been called to bear. Let it drop, and this happy Republic, with
humanity in its train, all changed in raiment and in countenance, like
the Christian Pilgrim, will hurry upward to the celestial gate. If
thus far our example has failed, it is simply because of Slavery. Vain
to proclaim our unparalleled prosperity, the comfort diffused among
a numerous people, resources without stint, or even the education of
our children; the enemies of the Republic had but to say, “There is
Slavery,” and our example became powerless. But let Slavery disappear,
and the same example will be of irresistible might. Without firing a
gun or writing a despatch, it will revolutionize the world.
Therefore the battle we fight belongs to the grandest events of
history. It constitutes one of those epochs from which humanity will
date. It is one of the battles of the ages, as when the millions of
Persia were hurled back from Greece, or when the Mohammedans, victors
in Africa and Spain, were hurled back from France by Charles Martel,
and Western Europe was saved to Christianity. In such a cause no effort
too great, no faith too determined. To die for country is pleasant
and honorable. But all who die for country now die also for humanity.
Wherever they lie in bloody fields, they will be remembered as heroes
through whom the Republic was saved and civilization established
forever.
But there are duties elsewhere than in bloody conflict. Each of us, in
his place at home, by his best efforts, can do something, not only to
sustain the soldier in the field, but also to uphold that sublime edict
which will be to the soldier both sword and buckler, while it gives to
the conflict all the grandeur of a great idea. In this hour of trial
let none fail. Above all, let none go over to the enemy, even should
his tents for the moment be pitched in Faneuil Hall,[132] assured
that there can be but two parties: the party of our country, with the
President for its head, and Emancipation its glorious watchword; and
the party of Rebellion, with Jefferson Davis for its head, and no other
watchword than Slavery.