“The Judge has alluded to the Declaration of Independence, and
insisted that negroes are not included in that Declaration, and
that it is a slander upon the framers of that instrument to
suppose that negroes were meant therein; and he asks you, Is it
possible to believe that Mr. Jefferson, who penned the immortal
paper, could have supposed himself applying the language of
that instrument to the negro race, and yet held a portion of
that race in slavery? Would he not at once have freed them? I
only have to remark upon this part of the Judge’s speech, that
I believe the entire records of the world, from the date of the
Declaration of Independence up to within three years ago, may
be searched in vain for one single affirmation from one single
man, that the negro was not included in the Declaration. And I
will remind Judge Douglas and this audience, that, while Mr.
Jefferson was the owner of slaves, as undoubtedly he was, in
speaking upon this very subject, he used the strong language,
that ‘he trembled for his country when he remembered that God
was just.’”[200]
And at Alton, October 15th, he renewed this same testimony.
“I assert that Judge Douglas and all his friends may search
the whole records of the country, and it will be a matter of
great astonishment to me, if they shall be able to find that
one human being three years ago had ever uttered the astounding
sentiment that the term ‘all men’ in the Declaration did not
include the negro. Do not let me be misunderstood. I know that
more than three years ago there were men, who, finding this
assertion constantly in the way of their schemes to bring about
the ascendency and perpetuation of Slavery, denied the truth
of it. I know that Mr. Calhoun, and all the politicians of his
school, denied the truth of the Declaration. I know that it
ran along in the mouth of some Southern men for a period of
years, ending at last in that shameful, though rather forcible,
declaration of Pettit, of Indiana, upon the floor of the United
States Senate, that the Declaration of Independence was, in
that respect, ‘a self-evident lie,’ rather than a self-evident
truth. But I say, with a perfect knowledge of all this hawking
at the Declaration without directly attacking it, that three
years ago there never had lived a man who had ventured to
assail it in _the sneaking way of pretending to believe it, and
then asserting it did not include the negro_.”[201]
In another speech, during the same political contest, the champion
spoke immortal words. After setting forth the sublime opening of the
Declaration by our fathers, he said:--
“This was their majestic interpretation of the economy of the
universe. This was their lofty and wise and noble understanding
of the justice of the Creator to His creatures,--yes,
Gentlemen, to all His creatures, to the whole great family of
man.”
Then, lifted by his cause, he appealed to his fellow-countrymen in
tones of pathetic eloquence:--
“Think nothing of me, take no thought for the political fate
of any man whomsoever, but come back to the truths that are in
the Declaration of Independence. You may do anything with me
you choose, if you will but heed these sacred principles. You
may not only defeat me for the Senate, _but you may take me and
put me to death_. While pretending no indifference to earthly
honors, I do claim to be actuated in this contest by something
higher than an anxiety for office. I charge you to drop every
paltry and insignificant thought for any man’s success. It is
nothing. I am nothing. Judge Douglas is nothing. _But do not
destroy that immortal emblem of humanity, the Declaration of
American Independence_.”[202]
Thus, at that early day, before war had overshadowed the land, was he
ready for the sacrifice. “Take me and put me to death,” said he, “but
do not destroy that immortal emblem of humanity, the Declaration of
American Independence.” He has been put to death by the enemies of the
Declaration; but, though dead, he will continue to guard that great
title-deed of the human race.
The debate ended. An immense vote was cast. There were 126,084 votes
for the Republican candidates, 121,940 for the Douglas candidates, and
5,091 for the Lecompton candidates, another class of Democrats; but the
supporters of Mr. Douglas had a majority of eight on joint ballot in
the Legislature, and he was reëlected to the Senate.
Again returned to his profession, our champion cherished the
Declaration. To the Republicans of Boston, who had invited him to unite
with them in celebrating the birthday of Thomas Jefferson, he sent
an answer, under date of April 6, 1859, which is a gem in political
literature, and here also he asserts the supremacy of those truths
for which he had battled so well. In him the West spoke to the East,
pleading for Human Rights, as declared by our fathers.
“But, soberly, it is now no child’s play to save the principles
of Jefferson from total overthrow in this nation.
“One would state with great confidence that he could convince
any sane child that the simpler propositions of Euclid are
true; but, nevertheless, he would fail utterly with one who
should deny the definitions and axioms. The principles of
Jefferson are the definitions and axioms of free society, and
yet they are denied and evaded with no small show of success.
One dashingly calls them ‘glittering generalities’; another
bluntly calls them ‘self-evident lies’; and others insidiously
argue that they apply only to ‘superior races.’
“These expressions, differing in form, are identical in object
and effect,--the supplanting the principles of free government,
and restoring those of classification, caste, and legitimacy.
They would delight a convocation of crowned heads plotting
against the people. They are the vanguard, the miners and
sappers, of returning despotism. We must repulse them, or they
will subjugate us.
“This is a world of compensations; and he who would _be_ no
slave must consent to _have_ no slave. Those who deny freedom
to others deserve it not for themselves, and, under a just God,
cannot long retain it.
“All honor to Jefferson,--the man who, in the concrete pressure
of a struggle for national independence by a single people,
had the coolness, forecast, and capacity to introduce into a
merely revolutionary document _an abstract truth, applicable
to all men and all times_, and so to embalm it there, that
to-day, and in all coming days, it shall be a rebuke and a
stumbling-block to the very harbingers of reappearing tyranny
and oppression!”[203]
Next winter the Western champion appeared at New York, and in a
remarkable address at the Cooper Institute, February 27, 1860,
vindicated the policy of the Fathers and the principles of the
Republican party. Showing with curious skill and minuteness the
original understanding on the power of Congress over Slavery in the
Territories, he demonstrated that the Republican party was not in any
just sense sectional; and then exposed the perils from the pretensions
of slave-masters, who, not content with requiring that “we must arrest
and return their fugitive slaves with greedy pleasure,” insisted that
the Constitution must be so interpreted as to uphold the idea of
property in man. The whole address was subdued and argumentative, while
each sentence was like a driven nail, with a concluding rally that was
a bugle-call to the lovers of right. “Let us have faith,” said he,
“that _right makes might_, and in that faith let us to the end dare to
do our duty as we understand it.”
* * * * *
A few months later, this champion of the Right, who would not see the
colored man shut out from the promises of the Declaration, and insisted
upon the exclusion of Slavery from the Territories, after summoning
his countrymen to their duty, was nominated by a great political party
as candidate for President. Local considerations, securing to him the
support of certain States beyond any other candidate, exercised a final
influence in determining this selection; but it is easy to see how,
from position, character, and origin, he was at that moment especially
the representative of his country. The Unity of the Republic was
menaced: he was from that vast controlling Northwest which would never
renounce its communications with the sea, whether by the Mississippi
or by eastern avenues. The birthday Declaration of the Republic was
dishonored in the denial of its primal truths: he was already known as
a volunteer in its defence. Republican institutions were in jeopardy:
he was the child of humble life, through whom republican institutions
would stand confessed. These things, so obvious now in the light of
history, were less apparent then in the turmoil of party. But that
Providence in whose hands are the destinies of nations, which had found
out Washington to conduct his country through the War of Independence,
now found out Lincoln to wage the new battle for the Unity of the
Republic on the foundation of Human Rights.
The election took place. Of the popular votes, Abraham Lincoln received
1,866,452, carrying 180 electoral ballots; Stephen A. Douglas received
1,375,157, carrying 12 electoral ballots; John C. Breckinridge received
847,953, carrying 72 electoral ballots; and John Bell received 590,631,
carrying 39 electoral ballots. By this vote Abraham Lincoln became
President. The triumph at the ballot-box was flashed by telegraph
over the whole country, from north to south, from east to west. It
was answered by defiance from the Slave-Masters, speaking in the name
of State Rights and for the sake of Slavery. The declared will of the
American people, registered at the ballot-box, was set at nought.
The conspiracy of years blazed into day. The National Government,
which Alexander H. Stephens characterized as “the best and freest
government, the most equal in its rights, the most just in its
decisions, the most lenient in its measures, and the most aspiring in
its principles to elevate the race of men, that the sun of heaven ever
shone upon,”[204] and which Jefferson Davis himself pronounced “the
best government which has ever been instituted by man,”[205]--that
National Government, thus painted even by its enemies, was spurned.
South Carolina jumped forward first in crime; and before the elected
President turned his face from the beautiful Western prairies to enter
upon his dangerous duties, State after State had undertaken to abandon
its place in the Union, Senator after Senator had dropped from his
seat, fort after fort had been seized, and the mutterings of war had
begun to fill the air, while the actual President, besotted by Slavery,
tranquilly witnessed the gigantic treason, as he sat at ease in the
Executive Mansion, and did nothing.
* * * * *
It was time for another to come upon the scene. You cannot forget how
he left his village home, never to return, except under the escort
of Death. In words of farewell to neighbors thronging about him, he
dedicated himself to his country and solemnly invoked the aid of Divine
Providence. “I know not,” he said, “how soon I shall see you again”;
and then, with prophetic voice, announced that a duty devolved upon him
“greater than that which has devolved upon any other man since the days
of Washington,” and asked his friends to pray that he might receive
that Divine assistance, without which he could not succeed, but with
which success was certain. To power and fame others have gone forth
with gladness and with song: he went forth prayerfully, as to sacrifice.
Nor can you forget how at each resting-place on the road he renewed his
vows, and when at Independence Hall his soul broke forth in homage to
the vital truths there declared. Of all that he said on the journey to
the National Capital, after farewell to his neighbors, there is nothing
so prophetic as these unpremeditated words:--
“All the political sentiments I entertain have been drawn, so
far as I have been able to draw them, from the sentiments which
originated in, and were given to the world from, this Hall. I
have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from
the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence.…
Now, my friends, can this country be saved upon that basis? If
it can, I shall consider myself one of the happiest men in the
world, if I can help to save it. If it cannot be saved upon
that principle, it will be truly awful. But if this country
cannot be saved without giving up that principle, I was about
to say _I would rather be assassinated on this spot than
surrender it_.”[206]
Then, after adding that he had not expected to say a word, he repeated
the consecration of his life, exclaiming, “I have said nothing but what
I am willing to live by, _and, if it be the pleasure of Almighty God,
to die by_.”[207]
He was about to raise the national banner over the old Hall. But before
this service, he took up the strain he loved so well, saying: “It is
on such an occasion as this that we can reason together, _reaffirm
our devotion to the country and the principles of the Declaration of
Independence_.”[208]
Thus constantly did he bear testimony. Surely this grand fidelity will
be ever counted among his chief glories. I know nothing in history
more touching, especially when we consider that this devotion caused
his sacrifice. “Were there as many devils in Worms as there are tiles
upon the roofs, I would enter,”[209] said Luther. Our reformer was less
defiant, but hardly less determined. Three times had he announced that
for the great truths of the Declaration he was willing to die; three
times had he offered himself on that altar; three times had he vowed
himself to this martyrdom.
Slavery was already pursuing his life. An attempt was made to throw his
train from the track, while a secreted hand-grenade further betrayed
the diabolical purpose. Baltimore, directly on his way, was the seat of
a murderous plot. Avoiding the conspirators, he came from Philadelphia
to Washington unexpectedly in the night,--and thus, for the moment
cheating Assassination of its victim, entered the National Capital.
* * * * *
From this time forward his career broadens into the history of his
country and of the age. You all know it. Therefore a few glimpses will
be enough, that I may exhibit its moral rather than its story.
The Inaugural Address, the formation of his Cabinet, his earliest
acts, his daily conversation, all attested the spirit of moderation
with which he approached his perilous position. At the same time he
declared openly, that, in contemplation of universal law and of the
Constitution, the Union of these States is perpetual,--that no State,
upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union,--that
resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void,--that acts of
violence within any State are insurrectionary or revolutionary,--and
that, to the extent of his ability, he should take care, according to
express injunction of the Constitution, that the laws of the Union be
faithfully executed in all the States. While thus positive in upholding
the National Unity, he was resolved that on his part there should be
no act of offence,--that there should be no bloodshed or violence,
unless forced upon the country,--that it was his duty to hold, occupy,
and possess the property and places belonging to the Government,--but,
beyond what was necessary for this object, there should be no exercise
of force, and the people everywhere should be left in that perfect
security most favorable to calm thought and reflection.
But the madness of Slavery knew no bound. It was determined from the
beginning that the Union should be broken, and no moderation could
change this wicked purpose. A pretended power was organized, in the
form of a Confederacy, with Slavery as the declared corner-stone. You
know what ensued. Fort Sumter was attacked, and, after a fiery storm of
shot and shell for thirty-four hours, the national flag fell. This was
13th April, 1861. War had begun.
War is always a scourge. Never can it be regarded without sadness. It
is one of the mysteries of Providence, that such an evil is allowed to
vex mankind. Few deprecated it more than the President. From Quaker
blood and from reflection, he was essentially a man of peace. In one
of his speeches during his short service in Congress, he arraigned
military glory as “that rainbow that rises in showers of blood,--that
serpent’s eye that charms but to destroy”;[210] and when charged with
the terrible responsibility of Government, he was none the less earnest
for peace. He was not willing to see his beloved country torn by bloody
battle, with fellow-citizens striking at each other. But after the
criminal assault on Fort Sumter there was no alternative. The Republic
was in peril, and every man, from President to citizen, was summoned
to the defence. Nor was this all. An attempt was made to invest
Slavery with national independence, and the President, who disliked
both Slavery and War, described his own condition, when, addressing
a member of the Society of Friends, he said, “Your people have had,
and are having, very great trials. On principle and faith opposed to
both war and oppression, _they can only practically oppose oppression
by war_.”[211] In these few words the whole case is stated,--inasmuch
as, whatever might be the pretension of State Rights, the war became
necessary to overcome the baleful ambition of Slavery.
* * * * *
The Slave-Masters put in execution a conspiracy long contrived, for
which they had prepared the way,--first, by teaching that any State
might at its own will break from the Union, and, secondly, by teaching
that colored persons were so far inferior as not to be embraced in
the promises of the Declaration of Independence, but were justly held
as slaves. The Mephistopheles of Slavery, Mr. Calhoun, inculcated for
years both these pretensions. But the pretension of State Rights was a
cover for Slavery.
Therefore, in determining that the Slave-Masters should be
encountered, two things were resolved: first, that this Republic
is one and indivisible; and, secondly, that no hideous power, with
Slavery blazoned on its front, shall be created on our soil. Here was
affirmation and denial: first, _affirmation_ of the National Unity;
and, secondly, _denial_ of any independent foothold to Rebel Slavery.
Accepting the challenge at Fort Sumter, the President became the voice
of the Nation, which, with stern resolve, insisted that the Rebellion
should be overcome by war. The people were in earnest, and would not
brook hesitation. If ever in history war was necessary, if ever in
history war was holy, it was the war then and there begun for the
arrest and overthrow of Rebel Slavery.
The case between the two sides is stated first in the words of
Jefferson Davis, and then in the words of Abraham Lincoln.