proposition for fusion, I shall go home once more with a sad
heart--but I shall not go home to sulk in my tent--to rail and
fret at the folly of men; I shall go home, sir, with a resolved
spirit and iron will, determined to hope on and to struggle on,
until I see the lovers of universal and impartial freedom banded
together in one organization--moved by one impulse. For seven
years I have labored to break up old organizations, and to make
new combinations, all tending to the organization of that great
party of the future, which is to relieve the government from the
iron dominion of the Black Power.
"Sir, gentlemen may defeat this proposed fusion here to-day, but
they cannot control the action of the people. A fusion movement
will be made under the lead of gentlemen of the Whig, Democratic
and Free-soil parties, of talents and character. The movement will
be in harmony with the people's movements in the North. Sir, such
a movement will put a majority of the men, who voted with you last
autumn, in a false position before the country, or drive them from
your ranks. I cannot speak for others, but I tell you frankly,
that I cannot be placed in a false position--I cannot, even for
one moment, consent to stand arrayed against the hosts of freedom
now preparing for the contest of 1856. I tell you frankly that
whenever I see a formation in position to strike effective blows
for freedom, I shall be with it in the conflict--whenever I see an
organization in position antagonistic to freedom, my arm shall aid
in smiting it down."
The proposition for a union of the people was lost by a small vote,
and the twenty-one years' amendment adopted by a small majority.
Against the twenty-one years proposition, General Wilson said:
"Sir, the American movement is not based upon bigotry, intolerance
or proscription. If there is anything of bigotry, intolerance or
proscription in the American movement--if there is any disposition
to oppress or degrade the Briton, the Scot, the Celt, the German
or any one of another clime or race, or to deny to them the
fullest protection of just and equal laws, it is time such
criminal fanaticism was sternly rebuked by the intelligent
patriotism of the State and country. I deeply deplore, sir, the
adoption of the twenty-one years amendment. It will weaken the
American movement at home and in other States, especially in the
West, and tend to defeat any modification whatever of the
naturalization laws. I warn gentlemen, who desire the correction
of the evils growing out of the abuses of the naturalization laws,
against the adoption of extreme opinions; I tell you, gentlemen of
the council, that this intense nativism kills--yes, sir, it kills
and is killing us, and unless it is speedily abandoned, will
defeat all the needed reforms the movement was inaugurated to
secure, and overwhelm us all in dishonor. Every attempt, by
whomsoever made, to interpolate into the American movement,
anything inconsistent with the theory of our democratic
institutions--anything inconsistent with the idea that 'all men
are created equal'--anything contrary to the commands of God's
Holy Word that 'the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto
you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as
thyself,'--is doing that which will baffle the wise policy which
tries to reform existing evils and to guard against future
abuses."
General Wilson engaged with his accustomed industry and energy in the
practical business, and in the exciting debates of the memorable
session of 1855-6. In February, he made a speech on the affairs of
Kansas, replete with facts not then familiar to the country. This
speech went through three editions, and nearly 200,000 copies were
circulated through the free States. In April, General Wilson made a
speech in favor of receiving the petition of the Topeka Legislature
for admission into the Union, and on this occasion in reply to the
taunts of Mr. Douglas about "Amalgamationists," he said:
"Mr. President, the senator from Illinois tells us, with an air of
proud assurance, that the State he represents does not believe the
negro the equal of the white man; that she is opposed to placing
that degraded race upon terms of equality; that she had a right to
enact her black laws; and that if we of Massachusetts do not like
those acts, she does not care. Illinois, he tells us, does not
wish the blood of the white race to mingle with the blood of the
inferior race--Massachusetts can do otherwise if she chooses. Let
me tell the honorable senator from Illinois, that these taunts, so
often flung out about the equality of races, about amalgamation,
and the mingling of blood, are the emanations of low and vulgar
minds. These taunts usually come from men with the odor of
amalgamation upon them. Sir, I am proud to live in a commonwealth
where every man, black or white, of every clime and race, is
recognized as a man, standing upon terms of perfect and absolute
equality before the laws. Yes, sir, I live in a commonwealth that
recognizes the sublime creed embodied in the Declaration of
Independence--a commonwealth that throws over the poor, the weak,
the lowly, upon whom misfortune has laid its iron hand, the
protection of just and equal laws. Sir, the people of
Massachusetts may not believe that the African race,
"Outcast to insolence and scorn,"
is the equal to this Anglo-Saxon race of ours in intellectual
power; but they know no reason why a man, made in the image of
God, should be degraded by unjust laws, because his Creator has
given him a weak body or a feeble mind. Sir, the philanthropist,
the Christian, the true Democratic statesman, will see in the fact
that a man is weak, ignorant, and poor, the reason why the State
should throw over him the panoply of just and equal laws."
In the latter part of May, 1856, Mr. Sumner was assailed in his seat
in the Senate chamber by Mr. Brooks of South Carolina, and beaten over
the head with a cane until he fell unconscious upon the floor, covered
with blood. When the assault was made, General Wilson was in the room
of Speaker Banks engaged in conversation with several members of the
House. Returning to the Senate Chamber, he found his friend and
colleague almost unconscious in the hands of his friends. He aided in
the sad task of bearing him to his chamber and placing him on his
couch of pain. That night the Republican members met at the house of
Mr. Seward, and commissioned General Wilson to call the attention of
the Senate to the assault upon his colleague, which duty he performed
next day in a few very appropriate words. On motion of Mr. Seward, a
committee was appointed, and on the morning of the 27th, Mr. Slidell,
Mr. Toombs, Mr. Douglas and others rose to make some personal
explanations concerning the statement made to the committee by Mr.
Sumner. The floor and galleries were crowded, and every word was
listened to with the most intense interest. General Wilson rose to
defend his absent colleague, who was confined to his room, as he
declared, from the effects "of _a brutal, murderous, and cowardly
assault_." He was instantly interrupted by an exclamation from Mr.
Butler, and cries of order increased the intense excitement which
prevailed in the crowded chamber. Threats of personal violence were
made by Mr. Brooks' friends, and several members of both houses
assured General Wilson that they would stand by him in any emergency.
That evening, after the adjournment of Congress, he was compelled to
leave Washington for Trenton, to address the Republican State
convention of New Jersey. On his return, on the morning of the 29th,
he was called upon by General Lane, of Oregon, and a challenge from
Mr. Brooks placed in his hands. General Wilson promptly responded by
placing in the hands of General Lane, through his friend, Mr.
Buffinton, the following note:
WASHINGTON, _May 29, 10-1/2 o'clock_.
"HON. P. S. BROOKS,
"SIR: Your note of the 27th inst. was placed in my hands by your
friend General Lane, at twenty minutes past ten o'clock to-day.
"I characterized, on the floor of the Senate, the assault upon my
colleague as 'brutal, murderous, and cowardly.' I thought so then,
I think so now. I have no qualifications whatever to make in
regard to those words.
"I have never entertained or expressed in the Senate or elsewhere,
the idea of personal responsibility in the sense of the duellist.
"I have always regarded duelling as the lingering relic of a
barbarous civilization, which the law of the country has branded
as a crime. While, therefore, I religiously believe in the right
of self-defence in its broadest sense, the law of my country and
the matured convictions of my whole life alike forbid me to meet
you for the purpose indicated in your letter.
"Your obedient servant,
"HENRY WILSON."
This prompt and emphatic response, declining to fight a duel, but at
the same time avowing his readiness to maintain the right of
self-defence, was most enthusiastically approved and applauded by the
people and presses of the North, and he received many letters, from
men of the highest character, warmly commending his noble and
dignified course.
On the 13th of June, General Wilson made a full and elaborate reply to
Mr. Butler, and in defence of Mr. Sumner. This speech and his speeches
on the bill to admit Kansas, his speech in defence of the acts of Col.
Fremont, and against using the army to enforce the acts of the
territorial legislature of Kansas, were largely circulated through the
country.
On the adjournment of Congress, General Wilson entered into the
Presidential campaign, and gave all his energies to secure the triumph
of the Republican cause.
During the sessions of 1856-7-8 and 1858-9, General Wilson was in
constant attendance upon Congress, and his duties, owing to the
prolonged absence of his colleague, were very arduous and pressing. In
those sessions he took his full share of labor in the committee rooms,
on the floor of the Senate, and on matters of legislative action. He
took part in the debates during these sessions, upon all questions of
importance, and on most of the questions before the Senate, he
delivered elaborate speeches. Those upon the affairs of Kansas exhibit
an amount of information, concerning that territory, surpassed by no
other member of either House of Congress, and his speeches on the
Treasury Note bill, the expenses of the Government, the revenue
collection appropriations, the tariff, the President's Message, and
the Pacific Railroad, are remarkable for fullness and accuracy of
facts, and clearness and force of statement. His speech in March,
1850, in reply to Mr. Hammond of South Carolina, is one of the most
effective speeches ever delivered in Congress, in defence of free
labor. It is full of facts and points of great power, and few speeches
ever made in Congress have had a wider circulation, or received warmer
approval, in the free States.
Mr. Hammond characterized the manual laborers as "slaves"--the
"mud-sills" of society. This extract is quoted from General Wilson's
reply:
"Mr. President, the senator from South Carolina tells us that 'all
the powers of the world cannot abolish' 'the thing' he calls
slavery. 'God only can do it when he repeals the fiat, "the poor
ye have always with you;" for the man who lives by daily labor,
and your whole class of hireling manual laborers and operatives,
are essentially slaves! Our slaves are black; happy, content,
unaspiring; yours are white, and they feel galled by their
degradation. Our slaves do not vote; yours do vote, and, being the
majority, they are the depositaries of all your political power;
and if they knew the tremendous secret, that the ballot-box is
stronger than an army with banners, and could combine, your
society would be reconstructed, your government overthrown, and
your property divided.'
"'The poor ye have always with you!' This fiat of Almighty God,
which Christian men of all ages and lands have accepted as the
imperative injunction of the common Father of all, to care for the
children of misfortune and sorrow, the senator from South Carolina
accepts as the foundation-stone, the eternal law, of slavery,
which 'all the powers of earth cannot abolish.' These precious
words of our Heavenly Father, 'the poor ye have always with you,'
are perpetually sounding in the ears of mankind, ever reminding
them of their dependence and their duties. These words appeal
alike to the conscience and the heart of mankind. To men blessed
in their basket and their store, they say 'property has its duties
as well as its rights!' To men clothed with authority to shape the
policy or to administer the laws of the State, they say, 'lighten
by wise, humane, and equal laws, the burdens of the toiling and
dependent children of men!' To men of every age and every clime
they appeal, by the Divine promise that 'he that giveth to the
poor lendeth to the Lord!' Sir, I thank God that I live in a
commonwealth which sees no warrant in these words of inspiration
to oppress the sons and daughters of toil and poverty. Over the
poor and lowly she casts the broad shield of equal, just, and
humane legislation. The poorest man that treads her soil, no
matter what blood may run in his veins, is protected in his rights
and incited to labor by no other force than the assurance that the
fruits of his toil belong to himself, to the wife of his bosom,
and the children of his love.
"The senator from South Carolina exclaims, 'The man who lives by
daily labor, your whole class of manual laborers, are essentially
slaves'--'they feel galled by their degradation!' What a sentiment
is this to hear uttered in the councils of this democratic
Republic! The senator's political associates who listen to these
words which brand hundreds of thousands of the men they represent
in the free States, and hundreds of their neighbors and personal
friends as 'slaves,' have found no words to repel or rebuke this
language. This language of scorn and contempt is addressed to
senators who were not nursed by a slave; whose lot it was to toil
with their own hands--to eat bread earned, not by the sweat of
another's brow, but by their own. Sir, I am the son of a 'hireling
manual laborer' who, with the frosts of seventy winters on his
brow, 'lives by daily labor.' I, too, have 'lived by daily labor.'
I, too, have been a 'hireling manual laborer.' Poverty cast its
dark and chilling shadow over the home of my childhood, and want
was there sometimes--an unbidden guest. At the age of ten
years--to aid him who gave me being, in keeping the gaunt spectre
from the hearth of the mother who bore me--I left the home of my
boyhood, and went to earn my bread by 'daily labor.' Many a weary
mile have I travelled
"'To beg a brother of the earth
To give me leave to toil.'
"Sir, I have toiled as a 'hireling manual laborer' in the field
and in the workshop; and I tell the senator from South Carolina
that I never 'felt galled by my degradation.' No, sir--never!
Perhaps the senator who represents that 'other class which leads
progress, civilization, and refinement,' will ascribe this to
obtuseness of intellect and blunted sensibilities of the heart.
Sir, I was conscious of my manhood; I was the peer of my employer;
I knew that the laws and institutions of my native and adopted
States threw over him and over me alike the panoply of equality; I
knew, too, that the world was before me, that its wealth, its
garnered treasures of knowledge, its honors, the coveted prizes of
life, were within the grasp of a brave heart and a tireless hand,
and I accepted the responsibilities of my position all unconscious
that I was a 'slave.' I have employed others, hundreds of
'hireling manual laborers.' Some of them then possessed, and now
possess, more property than I ever owned; some of them were better
educated than myself--yes, sir, better educated, and better read,
too, than some senators on this floor; and many of them, in moral
excellence and purity of character, I could not but feel, were my
superiors. I have occupied, Mr. President, for more than thirty
years, the relation of employer and employed; and while I never
felt 'galled by my degradation' in the one case, in the other I
was never conscious that my 'hireling laborers' were my inferiors.
That man is a 'snob' who boasts of being a 'hireling laborer,' or
who is ashamed of being a 'hireling laborer;' that man is a 'snob'
who feels any inferiority to any man because he is a 'hireling
laborer,' or who assumes any superiority over others because he is
an employer. Honest labor is honorable; and the man who is ashamed
that he is or was a 'hireling laborer' has not manhood enough to
'feel galled by his degradation.'
"Having occupied, Mr. President, the relation of either employed
or employer for a third of a century; having lived in a
commonwealth where the 'hireling class of manual laborers' are
'the depositaries of political power;' having associated with this
class in all the relations of life; I tell the senator from South
Carolina, and the class he represents, that he libels, grossly
libels them, when he declares that they are 'essentially slaves!'
There can be found nowhere in America, a class of men more proudly
conscious or tenacious of their rights. Friends and foes have ever
found them
'A stubborn race, fearing and flattering none.'
"Ours are the institutions of freedom; and they flourish best in
the storms and agitations of inquiry and free discussion. We are
conscious that our social and political institutions have not
attained perfection, and we invoke the examination and the
criticism of the genius and learning of all Christendom. Should
the senator and his agitators and lecturers come to Massachusetts
on a mission to teach our 'hireling class of manual laborers,' our
'mud-sills,' our 'slaves,' the 'tremendous secret of the
ballot-box,' and to help 'combine and lead them,' these
stigmatized 'hirelings' would reply to the senator and his
associates, 'We are freemen; we are the peers of the gifted and
the wealthy; we know the "tremendous secret of the ballot-box;"
and we mold and fashion these institutions that bless and adorn
our proud and free Commonwealth! These public schools are ours,
for the education of our children; these libraries, with their
accumulated treasures, are ours; these multitudinous and varied
pursuits of life, where intelligence and skill find their reward,
are ours. Labor is here honored and respected, and great examples
incite us to action. All around us in the professions, in the
marts of commerce, on the exchange, where merchant-princes and
capitalists do congregate; in these manufactories and workshops,
where the products of every clime are fashioned into a thousand
forms of utility and beauty; on these smiling farms, fertilized by
the sweat of free labor; in every position of private and of
public life, are our associates, who were but yesterday "hireling
laborers," "mud-sills," "slaves." In every department of human
effort are noble men who sprang from our ranks--men whose good
deeds will be felt and will live in the grateful memories of men
when the stones reared by the hands of affection to their honored
names shall crumble into dust. Our eyes glisten and our hearts
throb over the bright, glowing and radiant pages of our history
that records the deeds of patriotism of the sons of New England
who sprang from our ranks and wore the badges of toil. While the
names of Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Nathaniel Greene and
Paul Revere live on the brightest pages of our history, the
mechanics of Massachusetts and New England will never want
illustrious examples to incite us to noble aspirations and noble
deeds. Go home, say to your privileged class, which, you
vauntingly say, "leads progress, civilization and refinement,"
that it is the opinion of the "hireling laborers" of
Massachusetts, if you have no sympathy for your African bondmen,
in whose veins flows so much of your own blood, you should at
least sympathize with the millions of your own race, whose labor
you have dishonored and degraded by slavery! You should teach your
millions of poor and ignorant white men, so long oppressed by your
policy, the "tremendous secret that the ballot-box is stronger
than an army with banners!" You should combine and lead them to
the adoption of a policy which shall secure their own emancipation
from a degrading thralldom!'"
Early in January, 1859, Gen. Wilson was reelected United States
Senator for six years from March 3, 1859. He had in the Senate 35 to 5
votes, and in the House of Representatives 199 to 36 votes. Before the
people and in the legislature, he was without a competitor in the
ranks of his own party; and the unity of sentiment in favor of his
reelection was a noble tribute of which any public man might justly be
proud.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
Jefferson Davis is a native of Kentucky. His father took him, when he
was an infant, to Mississippi Territory, about the year 1806. His
father was moderately wealthy and gave his son an excellent education.
He had the ordinary course at the schools, and then entered
Transylvania University College, Kentucky. There he remained till his
father removed him to West Point as a cadet. This was in 1822, and in
1828 he left it with honor as brevet second lieutenant, and was at
once placed in active service. He served in the Indian war of the
times so ably as to gain almost immediately a first lieutenant's
commission. The famous Indian chief, "Black Hawk," became his
prisoner, and a strong friendship was struck up between the lieutenant
and his prisoner, which lasted till the death of the latter.
In 1835, Mr. Davis, sickened of military life without the excitement
of actual engagement with an enemy, and retired from the service,
settling down upon a cotton plantation in Mississippi. For nearly ten
years he remained on his plantation in quiet, cultivating cotton and
his intellect at the same time, for he was during all these years of
rural life a great student and reader. He was contentedly preparing
himself for the future occasion which should call for his services. In
1843, he took the stump for Mr. Polk, and such was his ability before
the people that they sent him to Congress in 1845. When he had been in
Washington but a few months, the war with Mexico broke out, and his
constituents raised a regiment of volunteers, who elected Mr. Davis as
their colonel. He immediately resigned his seat in Congress, and went
with his regiment to join General Taylor in Mexico. The history of
Col. Davis' career in Mexico is full of interest, but we cannot stay
to elaborate it. At Buena Vista he won laurels of glory, in the
parlance of the soldier. Says a friend of his:
"His men--though volunteers--showed a steadiness which equalled
anything that might have been expected of veteran troops; and they
were handled in so masterly a way, that, if the glory of that day
were to be assigned to any one corps rather than any other, they
would probably bear away the palm. Every one remembers the proud
appeal of Colonel Davis to another regiment of volunteers, who
were finding the fire rather warm, to 'Stay and re-form behind
that wall'--pointing to his Mississippians. Throughout the war, he
and his brave riflemen loom up at intervals whenever the fire
grows hot or the emergency grave, and never without good effect.
They were armed with a peculiar rifle, now best known as the
Mississippi rifle, chosen by their colonel himself; it was
scarcely less deadly than the Minie. Their colonel set the example
of intrepidity and recklessness of personal injury: at Buena Vista
he was badly wounded at an early part of the action; but he sat
his horse steadily till the day was won, and refused even to
delegate a portion of his duties to his subordinate officers."
The term of service for which his regiment was enlisted having
expired, his medical advisers insisted upon his going home and curing
himself of his wounds. He did not stay long, however; for that very
year--in the late autumn--he was appointed United States Senator
by the Governor of Mississippi to fill a vacancy, and when the
legislature of the State came together, it elected him to the same
high office for the ensuing six years.