------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transcriber’s Note:
This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects.
Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as _italic_.
Footnotes have been moved to follow the paragraphs in which they are
referenced.
Please see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details
regarding the handling of any textual issues encountered during its
preparation.
[Illustration: JAMES BUCHANAN]
LIFE
OF
JAMES BUCHANAN
FIFTEENTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
BY
GEORGE TICKNOR CURTIS
_IN TWO VOLUMES_
VOL. II.
NEW YORK
HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE
1883
Copyright, 1883, by GEORGE TICKNOR CURTIS.
_All rights reserved._
_Stereotyped by Smith & McDougal._
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
1848-1852.
PAGE
Purchase of Wheatland—Nomination and Election of General 1
Taylor—His Death and the Accession of President
Fillmore—The Compromise Measures of 1850—Letters to Miss
Lane—Public Letters on Political Topics
CHAPTER II.
1852.
The Presidential Nominations of 1852—Election of General 34
Franklin Pierce to the Presidency—Buchanan’s Course in
regard to the Nomination and the Election—His Efforts to
defeat the Whig Candidate
CHAPTER III.
1852-1853.
Personal and Political Relations with the President—Elect 68
and with Mr. Marcy, his Secretary of State—Buchanan is
offered the Mission to England—His own Account of the
Offer, and his Reasons for accepting it—Parting with his
Friends and Neighbors in Lancaster—Correspondence with his
Niece
CHAPTER IV.
1853-1856.
Arrival in London—Presentation to the Queen at Osborne—The 99
Ministry of Lord Aberdeen—Mr. Marcy’s Circular about Court
Costumes, and the Dress Question at the English
Court—Letters to Miss Lane
CHAPTER V.
1853-1856.
Negotiations with Lord Clarendon—The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty 126
and Affairs in Central America—The Crimean War and the new
British Doctrine respecting the Property of Neutrals
CHAPTER VI.
1853-1856.
British Enlistments in the United States—Recall of the 134
English Minister at Washington—The Ostend Conference
CHAPTER VII.
1854-1855.
The Social Position of Mr. Buchanan and his Niece in England 142
CHAPTER VIII.
1856.
Return to America—Nomination and Election to the 169
Presidency—Significance of Mr. Buchanan’s Election in
respect to the Sectional Questions—Private Correspondence
CHAPTER IX.
1857-1858.
Inauguration as President—Selection of a Cabinet—The 187
Disturbances in Kansas—Mr. Buchanan’s Construction of the
Kansas-Nebraska Act, and of the “Platform” on which he was
elected—Final Admission of Kansas into the Union
CHAPTER X.
1857-1861.
Foreign Relations during Mr. Buchanan’s Administration 211
CHAPTER XI.
1858-1860.
Complimentary Gift from Prince Albert to Mr. Buchanan—Visit 228
of the Prince of Wales—Correspondence with the Queen—Minor
Incidents of the Administration—Traits of
Character—Letters to Miss Lane—Marriage of a young Friend
CHAPTER XII.
1860—March and June.
The so-called “Covode Investigation.” 246
CHAPTER XIII.
Summary of the Slavery Questions from 1787 to 1860—The 262
Anti-Slavery Agitation in the North—Growth and Political
Triumph of the Republican Party—Fatal Divisions among the
Democrats—Mr. Buchanan declines to be regarded as a
Candidate for a second Election
CHAPTER XIV.
1860—October.
General Scott’s “Views.” 297
CHAPTER XV.
1860—November.
Election of President Lincoln—The Secession of South 315
Carolina—Nature of the Doctrine of Secession—President
Buchanan prepares to encounter the Secession
Movement—Distinction between making War on a State and
enforcing the Laws of the United States
CHAPTER XVI.
1860—December.
The President’s Annual Message of December 3, 1860 330
CHAPTER XVII.
1860—December.
Reception of the President’s Message in the Cabinet, in 352
Congress, and in the Country—The firm Attitude and wise
Policy of Mr. Buchanan
CHAPTER XVIII.
1860—December.
General Scott again advises the President—Major Anderson’s 365
Removal from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter—Arrival of
Commissioners from South Carolina in Washington—Their
Interview and Communication with the President—The
supposed Pledge of the _Status Quo_—The “Cabinet Crisis”
of December 29th—Reply of the President to the South
Carolina Commissioners—The anonymous Diarist of the _North
American Review_ confuted
CHAPTER XIX.
December, 1860-January, 1861.
Resignation of General Cass from the Department of 396
State—Reconstruction of the Cabinet which followed after
the Resignations of Messrs. Cobb, Thompson, and Thomas
CHAPTER XX.
1860—December.
The Resignation of Secretary Floyd, and its Cause—Refutation 406
of the Story of his stealing the Arms of the United
States—General Scott’s Assertions disproved
CHAPTER XXI.
November, 1860-March, 1861.
The Action of Congress on the Recommendations of the 418
President’s Annual Message—The “Crittenden
Compromise”—Strange Course of the New York
_Tribune_—Special Message of January 8, 1861
[Illustration: WHEATLAND.]
LIFE OF JAMES BUCHANAN.
--------------
CHAPTER I.
1848-1852.
PURCHASE OF WHEATLAND—NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF GENERAL TAYLOR—HIS
DEATH AND THE ACCESSION OF PRESIDENT FILLMORE—THE COMPROMISE
MEASURES OF 1850—LETTERS TO MISS LANE—PUBLIC LETTERS ON POLITICAL
TOPICS.
At the distance of a little more than a mile from that part of the city
of Lancaster where Mr. Buchanan had lived for many years, and a little
beyond the corporate limits, there had long stood a substantial brick
mansion on a small estate of twenty-two acres known as Wheatland, and
sometimes called “The Wheatlands.” The house, although not imposing, or
indeed of any architectural beauty, was nevertheless a sort of _beau
ideal_ of a statesman’s abode, with ample room and verge for all the
wants of a moderate establishment. Without and within, the place has an
air of comfort, respectability, and repose. It had been for some years
owned and occupied as a summer residence by the Hon. Wm. M. Meredith of
Philadelphia, a very eminent lawyer, who became Secretary of the
Treasury in the administration of President Taylor. The house stands
about half way up a gently rising ground, and has a wide lawn stretching
down to the county road, shaded by oaks, elms, and larches, interspersed
with evergreens. The view from the front of the house, looking to the
west of north, ranges over a broad expanse of the county of Lancaster,
one of the richest of Pennsylvania’s lovely domains, spread out in a map
of highly cultivated farms, and dotted by the homesteads of a wealthy
agricultural population. Behind the house stands a noble wood, which is
reached through the gardens; and from the crown of the hill, in a
southerly direction, the eye ranges over another fine valley of smaller
extent. Coolness and peace pervade this attractive old place, and it is
not singular that a man of Mr. Buchanan’s habits and temperament, who
could not afford time and had no strong tastes for large pursuits of
agriculture, should have coveted this his neighbor’s dwelling.
But he did not break the commandment in seeking it. A treaty between two
persons for the purchase of an estate is not ordinarily a matter of much
interest. But this one was conducted in a manner so honorable to both
parties that a few words may be given to it. The buyer and the seller
had always been on opposite political sides; but they were friends, and
they were gentlemen. In the month of June, 1848, Mr. Buchanan, having
heard that Mr. Meredith wished to sell this property, addressed to him
the following letter:
[MR. BUCHANAN TO MR. MEREDITH.]
WASHINGTON, June 12, 1848.
MY DEAR SIR:
I have received an intimation from our friends Fordney and Reynolds
that you are willing to sell the Wheatlands, for the price which you
gave Mr. Potter for them. As I intend, in any event, to retire from
public life on the 4th of March next, I should be pleased to become
the purchaser. The terms of payment I could make agreeable to
yourself; and I should be glad if you would retain the possession
until the autumn. In making this offer, I desire to purchase from you
just what you purchased from Mr. Potter, and to pay you the same price
which you paid him. If I have been misinformed in regard to your
desire to sell, I know you will pardon this intrusion.
Yours, very respectfully,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
To this letter Mr. Meredith replied as follows:
[MR. MEREDITH TO MR. BUCHANAN.]
PHILADELPHIA, June 19, 1848.
MY DEAR SIR:—
On my return home a day or two since I had the pleasure of finding
your letter. A month ago, I should probably have accepted your offer,
as I had then an opportunity of securing a place in this neighborhood
that would have suited me better in point of proximity than Wheatland.
I have missed that, and it is now too late to make new arrangements
for my family for the summer. I should not like to occupy the place
after having sold it, for several reasons, and principally because the
certainty of leaving it would tend to render the children
uncomfortable through the season. These little people are imaginative
and live very much on the future, and it would scarcely do to destroy
all their little plans, and schemes, and expectations connected with
the place at the very commencement of their holidays. I will
therefore, with your permission, postpone the subject to the autumn,
when, if I should be disposed to part with the place, I will do myself
the pleasure of writing to you. Of course your offer does not stand
over; but I will certainly make no disposition of the property without
first offering it to you.
With great esteem, I am, sir, yours most respectfully,
W. M. MEREDITH.
In the autumn, Mr. Buchanan again wrote:
[MR. BUCHANAN TO MR. MEREDITH.]
WASHINGTON, September 25, 1848.
MY DEAR SIR:—
Upon my return to this city, on Saturday night, I found your letter to
Mr. Fordney kindly offering to dispose of Wheatland, including all
that you bought from Mr. Potter, to myself at the price you paid, and
the matting in the house at a valuation. I accept this proposition,
and you may consider the bargain closed.
Of the purchase-money I can conveniently pay $1750 at present, and the
remainder on or before the first of January. If, however, you should
need it sooner, I can procure it without much difficulty.
You can make the deed when you think proper, and the affair of the
matting may be arranged at any time.
With many thanks for your kindness,
I remain yours very respectfully,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
In the succeeding month of November, the following letters passed
between the two gentlemen:
[MR. BUCHANAN TO MR. MEREDITH.]
(Private.) LANCASTER, November 21, 1848.
MY DEAR SIR:—
I have seen Mr. Fordney since I came here, who read me a part of your
second letter. From this I infer that you regret you had parted with
Wheatland. Now, my dear sir, if you have the least inclination to
retain it, speak the word and our bargain shall be as if it never had
been. It will not put me to the least inconvenience, as I have an
excellent house in Lancaster. Indeed I feel a personal interest in
having you in the midst of our society; and if you should retain
Wheatland, I know that after you shall be satisfied with fame and
fortune, you will make this beautiful residence your place of
permanent abode.
Please to address me at Paradise P. O., Lancaster county, as I shall
be at my brother’s, near that place, to-morrow evening, where I shall
remain until Thursday evening.
From your friend, very respectfully,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
[MR. MEREDITH TO MR. BUCHANAN.]
PHILADELPHIA, November 23, 1848.
MY DEAR SIR:—
Your very kind letter was received yesterday, just as I was going to
court in the morning, where I was kept without dinner till near six. I
was then obliged to attend an evening engagement at seven. I mention
these details to excuse myself for the apparent want of promptness in
replying. I have in the first place to express to you my deep sense of
the courtesy and consideration which induced you to make me the offer
which your letter contains. I cannot accept it, because to do so would
be to take advantage of your friendly impulses, which I ought not and
cannot do. I have no doubt I shall find a place somewhere in the same
county, and hope to call neighbors with you yet. I need not say how
much I regret that Mr. Fordney should have been so indiscreet as to
communicate my letter to you.
My furniture, etc., is now removed, and I will deliver possession at
once, and I wish you heartily, my dear sir, many years of happiness
there.
I am, always your obliged friend and servant,
W. M. MEREDITH.
In December the purchase-money was paid and the deed of the property was
executed by Mr. Meredith. Mr. Buchanan soon afterwards transferred his
household goods to Wheatland, and from that time until his death it was
his permanent abode, when he did not occupy some official residence in
Washington or in London. He removed to Wheatland the furniture which he
had hitherto used in Washington and Lancaster, and made some new
purchases. The style of everything was solid, comfortable, and
dignified, without any show. The library was in the eastern wing of the
house, and was entered by a hall running transversely from the main
hall, which extended through the house from east and west, and was also
entered from the principal parlor. At the window of the library farthest
from the main hall was Mr. Buchanan’s accustomed seat. Long years of
honorable public service, however, and sore trials, are to be traced,
before we reach the period when he finally retired to the repose of this
peaceful retreat. He left office on the 4th of March, 1849, with a fixed
purpose not to re-enter public life. But although he held no public
position during the four years of General Taylor’s and Mr. Fillmore’s
term, he could not avoid taking an active interest in public affairs;
and it will be seen that he was not at liberty to decline all public
service when his party in 1853 again came into power.
But it is now necessary to revert to the spring and summer of 1848, and
to the state of things consequent upon the treaty which had been
concluded with Mexico. The great acquisitions of territory made by the
annexation of Texas, and the cession of New Mexico and California to the
United States, had opened questions on which the Democratic and the Whig
parties occupied very different positions. The acquisition of these
countries was a Democratic measure; and had that party retained its
control of the Federal Government, it is probable that its Northern and
its Southern branches would have united upon some plan for disposing of
the question of slavery in these new regions. The Whigs, on the other
hand, although constituting the opposition, and as such acting against
the administration of Mr. Polk and its measures, were far from being
unanimous in their resistance to the treaty which Mr. Polk proposed to
make with Mexico. There were very eminent Whigs who were opposed to all
acquisitions of new territory, for various reasons, and especially
because of the tendency of such acquisitions to re-open questions about
slavery. There were other very prominent men in the Whig party who were
willing to have New Mexico and California added to the Union, and to
trust to the chances of a harmonious settlement of all questions that
might follow in regard to the organization of governments for those
extensive regions. It may not only now be seen, but it was apparent to
thoughtful observers at the time, that the true course for the Whig
party to pursue, was to adopt as its candidate for the Presidency some
one of its most eminent and experienced statesmen, who would represent a
definite policy on this whole subject, either by an application of the
so-called “Wilmot Proviso,” or what was far better, considering the
sectional feelings involved, by an extension to the Pacific Ocean of the
Missouri Compromise line of division between free and slave territory.
But there came about in the winter of 1848 one of those states of
popular feeling, in which the people of this country have sometimes
taken it for granted that military success, united with certain traits
of character, is a good ground for assuming fitness of an individual for
the highest civil station. Along with this somewhat hazardous assumption
there runs at such times the vague and scarcely expressed idea that the
Presidency of the United States is to be treated as a reward for
distinguished military services. After General Taylor’s return from his
Mexican campaign, in which a series of brilliant victories were gained,
on each occasion with a force numerically inferior to that of the enemy,
he became at once a sort of popular idol. There were a good many
elements in his personal character, which entitled him to strong esteem,
and some which easily account for his sudden popularity. He had a blunt
honesty and sincerity of purpose, which were backed by great strength of
will, and prodigious energy as a warrior. The appellation of “Old Rough
and Ready,” bestowed on him by his soldiers, went straight to the
popular heart. These indications of what has been called “availability”
in the political nomenclature which has acquired a peculiar
significance, were not lost upon that class of Whig politicians who were
most disposed to be on the lookout for such means of political success.
General Taylor, although never a politician, and although, from his
military life, he had rarely even voted at elections, was known to be a
Whig, but, as he described himself, not an “Ultra Whig.” He was at no
pains to seek a nomination for the Presidency, but it was pretty well
known that if it came to him unsought, he would accept it. At the same
time, with the modesty and sincerity that belonged to his honest nature,
he did not affect to conceal his own distrust of his fitness for the
office. It was, with him, a matter which the people of the country were
to decide. If they chose to call him to the office, he would discharge
its duties to the best of his ability. The sagacity of that portion of
the Whigs who expected to win a political victory with such a candidate,
was not at fault. When the Whig national convention, which was to make
the nomination, assembled at Philadelphia in June, (1848), it was found
that both Mr. Clay and Mr. Webster were to be disregarded; and on the
fourth ballotting General Taylor received 171 votes out of 279. It is a
remarkable fact, that although this nomination was made by a national
convention of all the Whigs, several attempts to have it declared by
resolution that it must be accepted as a “Whig” nomination, and to
declare what the principles of the Whig party were, were voted down. One
proposal was to have it declared that Whig principles were “no extension
of slavery—no acquisition of foreign territory—protection to American
industry, and opposition to executive usurpation.” But singularly
enough, these propositions were ruled to be out of order: and although
the nomination of Millard Fillmore of New York, as Vice President, might
seem to give the whole proceeding a Whig aspect, Mr. Fillmore’s name,
unconnected with any annunciation of a distinctive Whig policy, to be
upheld in the election, could do nothing more than to acquire for the
“ticket” such weight as his personal character, not then very
extensively known, could give to it. It was plain enough, therefore,
that the election of General Taylor as President, if it should occur,
would settle nothing in regard to the very serious questions that were
already resulting from the Mexican war.
It was this step on the part of the Whigs—nominating a candidate without
any declared policy—that entailed upon that party, at the beginning of
General Taylor’s administration, the most embarrassing questions, and
increased the danger of the formation of a third party, on the subject
of slavery, whose sphere of operations would be confined to the Northern
States, and which might, for the first time in our political history,
lead to a sectional division between the North and the South.
On the other hand, the Democratic party had to nominate a candidate for
the Presidency who, besides being of sufficient consideration throughout
the country to counteract the popular _furore_ about General Taylor,
would represent some distinctive policy in regard to the new territories
and the questions growing out of their acquisition. The friends of
General Cass, who, although he wore a military title, was not in the
category of military heroes, claimed that his party services and public
position entitled him to the nomination. Mr. Buchanan was by far the
fittest candidate whom the Democrats could have adopted; but he had made
it a rule not to press his claims upon the consideration of his party,
at the risk of impairing its harmony and efficiency. He had adhered to
this rule on more than one previous occasion, and he did not now depart
from it. General Cass was nominated by the Democratic Convention, and
along with the candidate for the Vice-Presidency, W. O. Butler of
Kentucky, he was vigorously supported in the canvass by Mr. Buchanan.[1]
But the Whig candidates, Taylor and Fillmore, received one hundred and
sixty-three electoral votes, being seventeen more than were necessary to
a choice. General Taylor was inaugurated as President on the 4th of
March, 1849. Although he was a citizen of Louisiana and a slaveholder,
he had received the electoral votes of the free States of Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania. These, with the votes of Delaware, Maryland, North
Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Florida, had
elected him. All the other States had been obtained for the Democratic
candidates; for although the Northern Whigs who were dissatisfied with
such a candidate as General Taylor, and who had begun to call themselves
“Conscience Whigs,” together with a faction of the Northern Democracy
known as “barn-burners” had put in nomination Ex-President Van Buren of
New York and Mr. Charles Francis Adams of Massachusetts, this singularly
combined party did not obtain the electoral vote of a single State.
Footnote 1:
The “platform” of the Democratic party contained the following
resolution: “That Congress has no power, under the Constitution, to
interfere with, or control the domestic institutions of the several
States; and that such States are the sole and proper judges of
everything pertaining to their own affairs, not prohibited by the
Constitution; that all efforts, by abolitionists or others, made to
induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery, or to take
incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the
most alarming and dangerous consequences, and that all such efforts
have an inevitable tendency to diminish the happiness of the people
and endanger the stability and permanency of the Union, and ought not
to be countenanced by any friend to our political institutions.”
Excepting in an indirect manner, this resolution did not enunciate any
specific policy in regard to the newly acquired territories.
While General Taylor, therefore, entered upon the administration of the
Government under circumstances which indicated much popular strength,
the situation of the country, and his want of the higher qualities of
statesmanship and civil experience, were not favorable to his success as
a President of the United States. His cabinet, moreover, was not,
comparatively speaking, a strong one. The Secretary of State, the Hon.
John M. Clayton of Delaware, was scarcely the equal of Mr. Calhoun and
Mr. Buchanan, his immediate predecessors; and his negotiation of the
Clayton-Bulwer treaty was one of the most unfortunate occurrences in our
diplomatic history. The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Meredith, was
simply an accomplished lawyer and a most estimable gentleman. The
Attorney-General, the Hon. Reverdy Johnson of Baltimore, was a very
eminent advocate in the Supreme Court of the United States, but not a
wise and far-seeing statesman. The ablest man in the cabinet,
intellectually, was the Hon. Thomas Ewing of Ohio. The other Secretaries
were not men of much renown or force. When this administration took
charge of the executive department of the Government, a session of
Congress was not to commence until December, 1849. At that session,
California, which had adopted a State constitution and one that
prohibited slavery, demanded admission into the Union as a free State.
New Mexico and Utah required the organization of territorial
governments. The whole South was in a state of sensitiveness in regard
to these matters, and also in regard to the escape of slaves into free
territory and to the growing unwillingness of many of the people of the
Northern States to have executed that provision of the Constitution
which required the surrender of fugitives from service. General Taylor’s
policy on these dangerous subjects was not a statesman-like or a
practicable one. In his annual message (December, 1849), he recommended
the admission of California as a State; but he proposed that the other
Territories should be left as they were until they had formed State
governments and had applied for admission into the Union. Practically,
this would have involved the necessity for governing those regions
largely by military power; for the peace must be kept between the
inhabitants of Texas and the inhabitants of New Mexico, and between the
United States and Texas, in reference to her boundaries. In the opposite
sections of the Union popular feeling was rising to a point of great
excitement. In the North, the “Wilmot Proviso” was most insisted upon.
In the South, this was resented as an indignity. By the end of January,
1850, the angry discussion of these subjects in Congress had obstructed
almost all public business, and this excitement pervaded the legislative
bodies of the States and the whole press of both sections. It seemed as
if harmony and judicious legislation were impossible.
It was at this extraordinary juncture that Mr. Clay came forward in the
Senate with his celebrated propositions which became known as the
“Compromise Measures of 1850.”[2] The discussion of these measures went
on until the 9th of July (1850), on which day General Taylor died, after
a short illness. His policy was characterized by Mr. Webster as marked
by the foresight of a soldier, but not by the foresight of a statesman.
It was attended with the danger of a collision between the United States
and Texas, which might have led to a civil war. Mr. Fillmore, however,
who as Vice-President succeeded to General Taylor, and who was sworn
into office as President on the 10th of July, was a civilian and was not
without experience as a public man, although not hitherto very
conspicuous. Mr. Webster, Mr. Clay and Mr. Calhoun[3] had all
strenuously advocated the Compromise Measures. A particular description
of this great settlement must be deferred to a future chapter. But in
order that these measures might receive their consummation, a
reconstruction of the cabinet became necessary. All of the Secretaries
appointed by General Taylor resigned. The State Department was offered
to and accepted by Mr. Webster. Thomas Corwin of Ohio became Secretary
of the Treasury; Charles M. Conrad of Louisiana, Secretary of War;
William A. Graham of North Carolina, Secretary of the Navy; Nathan K.
Hall of New York, Postmaster-General; John J. Crittenden of Kentucky,
Attorney-General; and Alexander H. H. Stuart of Virginia, Secretary of
the Interior. Thus a new Whig administration, pledged to the
pacification of the country by a policy very different from that of
General Taylor, came into the Executive Department. The Compromise
Measures became laws before the adjournment of Congress, which occurred
on the 30th of September; and then came the question whether they were
to be efficacious in quieting the sectional controversies about slavery,
and were to be acquiesced in by the North and the South. Mr. Buchanan,
although not in official life, in common with many other patriotic men
of both the principal parties, lent all his influence to the support of
this great settlement. In November, 1850, he had to address a letter to
a public meeting in Philadelphia, called to sustain the Compromise
Measures, in which he said:
Footnote 2:
Introduced in the Senate, January 29th, 1850.
Footnote 3:
Mr. Calhoun died at Washington on the last day of March, 1850, at the
age of 68.
[LETTER TO A PUBLIC MEETING.]
“WHEATLAND, near LANCASTER, Nov. 19, 1850.
. . . . . . . .
I now say that the platform of our blessed Union is strong enough and
broad enough to sustain all true-hearted Americans. It is an
elevated—it is a glorious platform on which the down-trodden nations
of the earth gaze with hope and desire, with admiration and
astonishment. Our Union is the star of the West, whose genial and
steadily increasing influence will at last, should we remain an united
people, dispel the gloom of despotism from the ancient nations of the
world. Its moral power will prove to be more potent than millions of
armed mercenaries. And shall this glorious star set in darkness before
it has accomplished half its mission? Heaven forbid! Let us all
exclaim with the heroic Jackson, ‘The Union must and shall be
preserved.’
And what a Union has this been! The history of the human race presents
no parallel to it. The bit of striped bunting which was to be swept
from the ocean by a British navy, according to the predictions of a
British statesman, previous to the war of 1812, is now displayed on
every sea, and in every port of the habitable globe. Our glorious
stars and stripes, the flag of our country, now protects Americans in
every clime. ‘I am a Roman citizen!’ was once the proud exclamation
which everywhere shielded an ancient Roman from insult and injustice.
‘I am an American citizen!’ is now an exclamation of almost equal
potency throughout the civilized world. This is a tribute due to the
power and resources of these thirty-one United States. In a just
cause, we may defy the world in arms. We have lately presented a
spectacle which has astonished the greatest captain of the age. At the
call of their country, an irresistible host of armed men, and men,
too, skilled in the use of arms, sprang up like the soldiers of
Cadmus, from the mountains and valleys of our confederacy. The
struggle among them was not who should remain at home, but who should
enjoy the privilege of enduring the dangers and privations of a
foreign war, in defence of their country’s rights. Heaven forbid that
the question of slavery should ever prove to be the stone thrown into
their midst by Cadmus, to make them turn their arms against each
other, and die in mutual conflict.
. . . . . . . .
The common sufferings and common glories of the past, the prosperity
of the present, and the brilliant hopes of the future, must impress
every patriotic heart with deep love and devotion for the Union. Who
that is now a citizen of this vast Republic, extending from the St.
Lawrence to the Rio Grande, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, does
not shudder at the idea of being transformed into a citizen of one of
its broken, jealous and hostile fragments? What patriot had not rather
shed the last drop of his blood, than see the thirty-one brilliant
stars, which now float proudly upon our country’s flag, rudely torn
from the national banner, and scattered in confusion over the face of
the earth?
Rest assured that all the patriotic emotions of every true-hearted
Pennsylvanian, in favor of the Union and Constitution, are shared by
Southern people. What battle-field has not been illustrated by their
gallant deeds; and when in our history have they ever shrunk from
sacrifices and sufferings in the cause of their country? What, then,
means the muttering thunder which we hear from the South? The signs of
the times are truly portentous. Whilst many in the South openly
advocate the cause of secession and union, a large majority, as I
firmly believe, still fondly cling to the Union, awaiting with deep
anxiety the action of the North on the compromise lately effected in
Congress. Should this be disregarded and nullified by the citizens of
the North, the Southern people may become united, and then farewell, a
long farewell, to our blessed Union. I am no alarmist; but a brave and
wise man looks danger steadily in the face. This is the best means of
avoiding it. I am deeply impressed with the conviction that the North
neither sufficiently understands nor appreciates the danger. For my
own part, I have been steadily watching its progress for the last
fifteen years. During that period I have often sounded the alarm; but
my feeble warnings have been disregarded. I now solemnly declare, as
the deliberate conviction of my judgment, that two things are
necessary to preserve this Union from danger:
‘1. Agitation in the North on the subject of Southern slavery must be
rebuked and put down by a strong and enlightened public opinion.
‘2. The Fugitive Slave Law must be enforced in its spirit.’
On each of these points I shall offer a few observations.
Those are greatly mistaken who suppose that the tempest that is now
raging in the South has been raised solely by the acts or omissions of
the present Congress. The minds of the Southern people have been
gradually prepared for this explosion by the events of the last
fifteen years. Much and devotedly as they love the Union, many of them
are now taught to believe that the peace of their own firesides, and
the security of their families, cannot be preserved without separation
from us. The crusade of the Abolitionists against their domestic peace
and security commenced in 1835. General Jackson, in his annual message
to Congress, in December of that year, speaks of it in the following
emphatic language: ‘I must also invite your attention to the painful
excitement produced in the South by attempts to circulate through the
mails inflammatory appeals, addressed to the passions of the slaves,
in prints and various sorts of publications, calculated to stimulate
them to insurrection, and produce all the horrors of a servile war.‘
From that period the agitation in the North against Southern slavery
has been incessant, by means of the press, of State Legislatures, of
State and County conventions, Abolition lectures, and every other
method which fanatics and demagogues could devise. The time of
Congress has been wasted in violent harangues on the subject of
slavery. Inflammatory appeals have been sent forth from this central
point throughout the country, the inevitable effect of which has been
to create geographical parties, so much dreaded by the Father of his
Country, and to estrange the northern and southern divisions of the
Union from each other.
Before the Wilmot proviso was interposed, the abolition of slavery in
the District of Columbia had been the chief theme of agitation.
Petitions for this purpose, by thousands, poured into Congress,
session after session. The rights and the wishes of the owners of
slaves within the District were boldly disregarded. Slavery was
denounced as a national disgrace, which the laws of God and the laws
of men ought to abolish, cost what it might. It mattered not to the
fanatics that the abolition of slavery in the District would convert
it into a citadel, in the midst of two slaveholding States, from which
the Abolitionist could securely scatter arrows, firebrands and death
all around. It mattered not with them that the abolition of slavery in
the District would be a violation of the spirit of the Constitution
and of the implied faith pledged to Maryland and Virginia, because the
whole world knows that those States would never have ceded it to the
Union, had they imagined it could ever be converted by Congress into a
place from which their domestic peace and security might be assailed
by fanatics and Abolitionists. Nay, the Abolitionists went even still
further. They agitated for the purpose of abolishing slavery in the
forts, arsenals and navy-yards which the Southern States had ceded to
the Union, under the Constitution, for the protection and defence of
the country.
Thus stood the question when the Wilmot proviso was interposed, to add
fuel to the flame, and to excite the Southern people to madness.
. . . . . . . .
It would be the extreme of dangerous infatuation to suppose that the
Union was not then in serious danger. Had the Wilmot proviso become a
law, or had slavery been abolished in the District of Columbia,
nothing short of a special interposition of Divine Providence could
have prevented the secession of most, if not all, the slaveholding
States.
It was from this great and glorious old Commonwealth, rightly
denominated the ‘Keystone of the Arch,‘ that the first ray of light
emanated to dispel the gloom. She stands now as the days-man, between
the North and the South, and can lay her hand on either party, and
say, thus far shalt thou go, and no farther. The wisdom, moderation
and firmness of her people qualify her eminently to act as the just
and equitable umpire between the extremes.
It was the vote in our State House of Representatives, refusing to
consider the instructing resolution in favor of the Wilmot Proviso,
which first cheered the heart of every patriot in the land. This was
speedily followed by a vote of the House of Representatives at
Washington, nailing the Wilmot Proviso itself to the table. And here I
ought not to forget the great meeting held in Philadelphia on the
birthday of the Father of his Country, in favor of the Union, which
gave a happy and irresistible impulse to public opinion throughout the
State, and I may add throughout the Union.
The honor of the South has been saved by the Compromise. The Wilmot
Proviso is forever dead, and slavery will never be abolished in the
District of Columbia whilst it continues to exist in Maryland. The
receding storm in the South still continues to dash with violence, but
it will gradually subside, should agitation cease in the North. All
that is necessary for us to do ‘is to execute the Fugitive Slave Law,‘
and to let the Southern people alone, suffering them to manage their
own domestic concerns in their own way......
2. I shall proceed to present to you some views upon the subject of
the much misrepresented Fugitive Slave Law. It is now evident, from
all the signs of the times, that this is destined to become the
principal subject of agitation at the present session of Congress, and
to take the place of the Wilmot Proviso. Its total repeal or its
material modification will henceforward be the battle cry of the
agitators of the North.
And what is the character of this law? It was passed to carry into
execution a plain, clear, and mandatory provision of the Constitution,
requiring that fugitive slaves, who fly from service in one State to
another, shall be delivered up to their masters. The provision is so
explicit that he who runs may read. No commentary can present it in a
stronger light than the plain words of the Constitution. It is a
well-known historical fact, that without this provision, the
Constitution could never have existed. How could this have been
otherwise? Is it possible for a moment to believe that the slave
States would have formed a union with the free States, if under it
their slaves, by simply escaping across the boundary which separates
them, would acquire all the rights of freemen? This would have been to
offer an irresistible temptation to all the slaves of the South to
precipitate themselves upon the North. The Federal Constitution,
therefore, recognizes in the clearest and most emphatic terms, the
property in slaves, and protects this property by prohibiting any
State into which a slave might escape, from discharging him from
slavery, and by requiring that he shall be delivered up to his master.
. . . . . . . .
The two principal objections urged against the Fugitive Slave law are,
that it will promote kidnapping, and that it does not provide a trial
by jury for the fugitive in the State to which he has escaped.
The very same reasons may be urged, with equal force, against the act
of 1793; and yet it existed for more than half a century without
encountering any such objections.
In regard to kidnapping, the fears of the agitators are altogether
groundless. The law requires that the fugitive shall be taken before
the judge or commissioner. They must there prove, to the satisfaction
of the magistrate, the identity of the fugitive, that he is the
master’s property, and has escaped from his service. Now, I ask, would
a kidnapper ever undertake such a task? Would he suborn witnesses to
commit perjury, and expose himself to detection before a judge or
commissioner, and in the presence of the argus eyes of a
non-slaveholding community, whose feelings will always be in favor of
the slave? No, never. The kidnapper seizes his victim in the silence
of the night, or in a remote and obscure place, and hurries him away.
He does not expose himself to the public gaze. He will never bring the
unfortunate object of his rapacity before a commissioner or a judge.
Indeed, I have no recollection of having heard or read of a case in
which a free man was kidnapped under the forms of law, during the
whole period of more than half a century, since the act of 1793 was
passed.
. . . . . . . .
The Union cannot long endure, if it be bound together only by paper
bonds. It can be firmly cemented alone by the affections of the people
of the different States for each other. Would to Heaven that the
spirit of mutual forbearance and brotherly love which presided at its
birth, could once more be restored to bless the land! Upon opening a
volume, a few days since, my eye caught a resolution of a Convention
of the counties of Maryland, assembled at Annapolis, in June, 1744, in
consequence of the passage by the British Parliament of the Boston
Port Bill, which provided for opening a subscription ‘in the several
counties of the Province, for an immediate collection for the relief
of the distressed inhabitants of Boston, now cruelly deprived of the
means of procuring subsistence for themselves and families by the
operation of the said act of blocking up their harbor.‘ Would that the
spirit of fraternal affection which dictated this noble resolution,
and which actuated all the conduct of our revolutionary fathers, might
return to bless and reanimate the bosoms of their descendants! This
would render our Union indissoluble. It would be the living soul
infusing itself into the Constitution and inspiring it with
irresistible energy.”
I select from the letters of Mr. Buchanan to his niece, written in the
years 1850, 1851, and 1852, some of those which indicate his constant
interest in her, and in their home circle of friends, amid the very busy
life which he led even when he was not in any official position:
[TO MISS LANE.]
BEDFORD SPRINGS, August 4, 1850.
MY DEAR HARRIET:—
I received your letter yesterday and was rejoiced to hear from home,
especially of Mr. ——’s visit to Miss Hetty, which, I know must have
rendered her very happy. I hope he will do better than Mr. —— or Mr.
——.
I have found Bedford very pleasant, as I always do; but we have very
few of the old set, and the new are not equal to them. I will not tell
you how many inquiries have been made for you, lest this might make
you vainer than you are, which to say the least is unnecessary.
I intend, God willing, to leave here to-morrow morning. Six of us have
taken an extra to Chambersburg: Mr. Wilmer and his daughter, Mrs. and
Miss Bridges, Mr. Reigart and myself. I shall leave them at Loudon, as
I proposed, and hope to be at home on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday
next, I know not which.
It was kind in you, and this I appreciate, to say a word to me about
Mrs. ——. Should Miss Hetty marry Mr. ——, I shall bring this matter to
a speedy conclusion one way or the other. I shall then want a
housekeeper, as you would not be fit to superintend: and whose society
would be so charming as that of Mrs. ——-?
Remember me affectionately to Mrs. Dunham and Miss Hetty, and believe
me to be yours “with the highest consideration.”
JAMES BUCHANAN.
[TO MISS LANE.]
WHEATLAND, October 12, 1850.
MY DEAR HARRIET:—
Mr. McIlvain of Philadelphia, with whom I had contracted to put up a
furnace and kitchen range this week, has disappointed me, and I cannot
leave home until this work shall be finished. He writes me that he
will certainly commence on Monday morning; and if so, I hope to be in
New York the beginning of the week after, say about the 22d instant.
You ask what about your staying at Mrs. Bancroft’s. With this I should
be very much pleased; but it seems from your letter that she did not
ask you to do so. She wished “to see a great deal” of you when you
came to New York, implying that you were not to stay with her all the
time. If she has since given you an invitation, accept it.
Could I have anticipated that you would not pass some time at Governor
Marcy’s, I should have arranged this matter by writing to Mrs.
Bancroft. It is now too late.
I may probably pass a few days at the Astor House in New York; but I
may have to see so many politicians, that I should have but little
time to devote to you. I desire very much to reach New York before the
departure of Mr. Slidell which will be on the 26th instant.
I shall be very glad, if Clementina Pleasanton should accompany you
home, though the leaves are beginning to change color and to fall.
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
Professor Muhlenbergh, having been appointed a professor in
Pennsylvania College (Gettysburg), has ceased to teach school, and
James Henry left for Princeton on Thursday last.
We have no local news, at least I know of none, that would interest
you. I think we shall have very agreeable neighbors in the Gonders at
Abbeville. Please to remember me very kindly to Mr. and Mrs. Robinson
and give my love to Rose.
Yours affectionately,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
[TO MISS LANE.]
WHEATLAND, January 17, 1851.
MY DEAR HARRIET:—
I have received yours of the 15th, and we are all happy to learn that
you have reached Washington so pleasantly. I hope that your visit may
prove agreeable; and that you may return home self-satisfied with all
that may transpire during your absence. Keep your eyes about you in
the gay scenes through which you are destined to pass, and take care
to do nothing and say nothing of which you may have cause to repent.
Above all be on your guard against flattery; and should you receive
it, “let it pass into one ear gracefully and out at the other.” Many a
clever girl has been spoiled for the useful purposes of life, and
rendered unhappy by a winter’s gaiety in Washington. I know, however,
that Mrs. Pleasanton will take good care of you and prevent you from
running into any extravagance. Still it is necessary that, with the
blessing of Providence, you should take care of yourself.
I attended the festival in Philadelphia, on the occasion of the
arrival of the steamer “City of Glasgow,” but did not see Lilly
Macalester. Her father thinks of taking her to the World’s Fair in
London. I saw Mrs. Plitt for a moment, who inquired kindly after you.
We are moving on here in the old way, and I have no news of any
interest to communicate to you. Eskridge was out here last night, and
said they were all well in town. I met Mrs. Baker yesterday on the
street with her inseparable companion. She was looking very well.
I have not yet determined whether I shall visit Washington during the
present session; but it is probable that I may, on or about the first
of February.
Give my love to Laura and Clementina, and remember me in the kindest
terms to Mr. and Mrs. Pleasanton.
Miss Hetty and James desire their love to you.
Yours affectionately,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
[TO MISS LANE.]
WHEATLAND near LANCASTER, April 7, 1851.
MY DEAR HARRIET:—
Supposing that you are now in Baltimore, I send you the enclosed
letter received yesterday. It was inadvertently opened by me; but the
moment I saw it was addressed to “My dear Harriet” it was closed. It
may contain love or treason for aught I know.
Eskridge was here yesterday; but he gave me no news, except that Mary
and he were at a party at Mr. McElrath’s on Wednesday evening last.
The place now begins to look beautiful, and we have concerts of the
birds every morning. Still I fear it will appear dull to you after
your winter’s gaiety. Lewis has gone, and we have a new coachman in
the person of Mr. Francis Quinn, who with his lady occupy the
gardener’s house. They have no children. Mr. C. Reigart will leave
here on Saturday next for the World’s Fair and a trip to the
continent. Your _ci-devant_ lover, Mr. ——, purposes to go likewise;
but many persons think he will not get off on account of the expense.
Mr. and Mrs. Gonder prove to be very agreeable neighbors. They are
furnishing their house and fitting up their grounds with much taste
and at considerable expense.
With my kindest regards for Mr. and Mrs. White and the young ladies, I
remain,
Yours affectionately,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
[TO MISS LANE.]
WHEATLAND, near LANCASTER, Nov. 4, 1851.
MY DEAR HARRIET:—
I have received your favor of the 29th ultimo, and would have answered
it sooner had I not been absent at Lebanon on its arrival. You appear
to have already got under full sail in Pittsburgh, and I hope your
voyage throughout may be prosperous and happy. If you have found the
place even blacker and dirtier than you anticipated, you will find the
people warm-hearted, generous, kind and agreeable. But do not for a
moment believe that any hearts will be broken, even if you should fail
to pay all the visits to families where you are invited. I know,
however, that you are not so romantic a girl as to take for gospel all
the pretty things which may be said to you.
My dinner to the bride and groom is to come off next Saturday, and I
intend to call upon Mrs. Baker to be mistress of ceremonies. I had to
send for her on Friday last to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Yost, whom I was
compelled to leave, by an engagement to be present at a Jubilee at
Lebanon.
Eskridge was here on Sunday, but brought no budget of news. Indeed, I
believe, there is nothing stirring which would interest you.
I have a friend in Pittsburgh, such as few men ever had, by name Major
David Lynch. He does not move in the first circle of fashionable
society, but he exercises more influence than any other Democrat in
that region. His devotion to me is unexampled. With one such man there
would be no difficulty in Lancaster county. I know that Dr. Speer
don’t like him; but when you visit Mrs. Collins, get Mr. McCandless to
request him to pay you a visit and treat him with the utmost kindness.
His wife is a lady of fine sense; but I presume you will not be asked
to visit her. If you should, make it a point to go.
Miss Hetty and myself are now alone, although I have many calls. For
the last two days, and a great part of the night I have been
constantly at work in answering the letters which have accumulated
during my absence at New York, the Harrisburg Fair and Lebanon.
Miss Hetty desires to be kindly remembered to you. Take care of
yourself. Be prudent and discreet among strangers. I hope you will not
remove the favorable impression you have made. Please to present my
kindest regards to Dr. and Mrs. Speer, Miss Lydia and the family, and
believe me to be,
Yours affectionately,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
P.S.—If I believed it necessary, I would advise you to be constant in
your devotions to your God. He is a friend who will never desert you.
Men are short-sighted and know not the consequences of their own
actions. The most brilliant prospects are often overcast; and those
who commence life under the fairest auspices, are often unfortunate.
Ask wisdom and discretion from above. ——, and ——, and —— married
unfortunately. I should like nothing better than to see you well
settled in life; but never think of marrying any man unless his moral
habits are good, and his business or his fortune will enable him to
support you comfortably. So now my postscript is like a woman’s; the
best the last.
[TO MISS LANE.]
Saturday Morning, Nov. 8, 1851.
MY DEAR HARRIET:—
Our excellent friend and neighbor, Mr. Gonder, died this morning, and
this event has covered us with gloom. Of course there will be no
dinner party to-day. We are all well and going on as usual.
Yours affectionately,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
[TO MISS LANE.]
WHEATLAND, near LANCASTER, Dec. 12, 1851.
MY DEAR HARRIET:—
I have received your letter of the 6th instant, and am happy to learn
you are still enjoying yourself at Pittsburgh. I have not any news of
interest to communicate, unless it be that Mary and Kate Reynolds went
to Philadelphia on Wednesday last, and James Henry is to be at home
next week. At Wheatland we are all moving on in the old way. My
correspondence is now so heavy as to occupy my whole time from early
morning until late at night, except when visitors are with me.
I still continue to be of the same opinion I was concerning the
Presidency; _but this is for yourself alone_.
My life is now one of great labor, but I am philosopher enough not to
be very anxious.
. . . . . . . .
With my kindest regards for Mrs. Collins and Sis,
I remain yours affectionately,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
[TO MISS LANE.]
WHEATLAND, near Lancaster, Feb. 24, 1852.
MY DEAR HARRIET:—
On my return home from Richmond and Washington, on the day before
yesterday, I received yours of the 9th instant. I am truly grateful
that you have enjoyed your visit to Pittsburgh so much. I have no
desire that you shall return home until it suits your own inclination.
All I apprehend is that you may wear out your welcome. It will be
impossible for me to visit Pittsburgh and escort you home.
. . . . . . . .
Senator Gwin misinformed me as to the value of Mr. Baker’s office. The
salary attached to it is $4000 per annum. He thinks that Mrs. Baker
ought by all means to go to California. I have not seen Eskridge since
my return.
I took Miss —— to Washington and left her there, and am truly glad to
be clear of her.
Whilst in Washington I saw very little of the fashionable society. My
time was almost constantly occupied with the politicians. Still I
partook of a family dinner with the Pleasantons, who all desired to be
kindly remembered to you. I never saw Clementina looking better than
she does, and they all appear to be cheerful. Still when an allusion
was made to her mother, she was overcome at the table and had to leave
it. Mr. Pleasanton is evidently in very delicate health, though he
goes to his office.
I called to see Mrs. Walker, who inquired very kindly for you, and so
did Col. King and others.
The mass of letters before me is “prodigious,” and I only write to
show that you are not forgotten.
Yours affectionately,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
[TO MISS LANE.]
WHEATLAND, near LANCASTER, March 13, 1852.
MY DEAR HARRIET:—
I have received yours of the 9th instant. It was difficult to persuade
you to visit Pittsburgh, but it seems to be still more difficult for
you to leave it. I am, however, not disappointed in this particular,
because I know the kindness and hospitality of the people. There is
not a better or more true-hearted man alive than John Anderson, and
his excellent wife well deserves such a husband. Make out your visit,
which, it is evident, you propose to continue until the middle of
April; but after your return I hope you will be content to remain at
home during the summer. The birds are now singing around the house,
and we are enjoying the luxury of a fine day in the opening spring.
Miss Hetty has just informed me that Mrs. Lane gave birth to a son a
few days ago, which they call John N. Lane. She heard it this morning
at market from Eskridge, whom I have not seen since last Sunday week.
I hope he will be here to-morrow.
The new Court House is to be erected on Newton Lightner’s corner. Its
location has caused much excitement in Lancaster. It enables your
sweetheart, Mr. Evans, Mr. Lightner and Mr. —— to sell their property
to advantage. We have no other news.
Yours affectionately,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
P.S.—Miss Harriet Lane to me; but Miss Harri_ette_ to the rest of man
and womankind.
[TO MISS LANE.]
SARATOGA SPRINGS, August 8, 1852.
MY DEAR HARRIET:—
I arrived at this place on Thursday evening last, and now on Sunday
morning before church am addressing you this note........ I find the
Springs very agreeable and the company very pleasant, yet there does
not appear to be so many of the “dashers” here as I have seen. The
crowd is very great, in fact it is quite a mob of fashionable folks.
Mrs. Plitt is very agreeable and quite popular. Mrs. Slidell is the
most gay, brilliant and fashionable lady at the Springs; and as I am
her admirer, and attached to her party, I am thus rendered a little
more conspicuous in the _beau monde_ than I could desire. Mrs. Rush
conducts herself very much like a lady, and is quite popular. She has
invited me to accompany her to Alboni’s concert to-morrow evening, and
I would rather go with her to any other place. Alboni is all the rage
here. I have seen and conversed with her, and am rather impressed in
her favor. She is short and thick, but has a very good, arch and
benevolent countenance. I shall, however, soon get tired of this
place, and do not expect to remain here longer than next Thursday. Not
having heard from you, I should have felt somewhat uneasy, had Mary
not written to Mrs. Plitt. I expect to be at home in two weeks from
the time I started. Mrs. Plitt desires me to send her love to you,
Mrs. Baker and Miss Hetty. Remember me affectionately to Mrs. Baker,
Miss Hetty and James Henry, and believe me to be
Yours affectionately,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
Numerous public letters written by Mr. Buchanan in these years, 1851 and
1852, find their appropriate place here. They exhibit fully all his
sentiments and opinions on the topics which then agitated the country.
[TO COL. GEORGE R. FALL.[4]]
WHEATLAND, near LANCASTER, Dec. 24th, 1851.
MY DEAR SIR:—
I am sorry I did not receive your letter sooner. I might then have
given it the “old-fashioned Democratic” answer which you desire. But I
am compelled to leave home immediately; and if I should not write at
the present moment, it will be too late for the 8th of January
Convention. I must therefore be brief.
My public life is before the country, and it is my pride never to have
evaded an important political question. The course of Democracy is
always straight ahead, and public men who determine to pursue it never
involve themselves in labyrinths, except when they turn to the right
or the left from the plain forward path. Madison’s Report and
Jefferson’s Kentucky Resolutions are the safest and surest guides to
conduct a Democratic administration of the Federal Government. It is
the true mission of Democracy to resist centralism and the absorption
of unconstitutional powers by the President and Congress. The
sovereignty of the States and a devotion to their reserved rights can
alone preserve and perpetuate our happy system of Government. The
exercise of doubtful and constructive powers on the part of Congress
has produced all the dangerous and exciting questions which have
imperilled the Union. The Federal Government, even confined within its
strict constitutional limits, must necessarily acquire more and more
influence through the increased and increasing expenditure of public
money, and hence the greater necessity for public economy and watchful
vigilance. Our Constitution, when it proceeded from the hands of its
framers, was a simple system; and the more free from complexity it
remains, the more powerfully, satisfactorily and beneficially will it
operate within its legitimate sphere.
It is centralization alone which has prevented the French people from
establishing a permanent republican government, and entailed upon them
so many misfortunes. Had the provinces of France been converted into
separate territorial provinces, like our State governments, Paris
would then no longer have been France, and a revolution at the capital
would not have destroyed the Federative Republic.
Had the principles I have enumerated been observed by the Federal
Government and by the people of the several States, we should have
avoided the alarming questions which have arisen out of the
institution of domestic slavery. The people of each State would then,
to employ a homely but expressive phrase, have attended to their own
business and not have interfered in the domestic concerns of their
sister States. But on this important subject I have so fully presented
my views in the enclosed letter to the great meeting in Philadelphia,
held in November, 1850, that it would be useless to repeat them, even
if time would permit.
From your friend, very respectfully,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
Footnote 4:
From the _Mississippian_ of January 9, 1852.
[TO THE CENTRAL SOUTHERN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION OF VIRGINIA.]
WHEATLAND, near LANCASTER, April 10, 1851.
MY DEAR SIR:—
I have received your kind letter of the 2d inst., with the resolutions
adopted by the Central Southern Rights Association of Virginia,
inviting me to address the Association at such time as may suit my
convenience, and to counsel with them “in regard to the best means to
be adopted in the present alarming crisis, for the maintenance of the
Constitution and the Union of these States in their original purity.”
I should esteem it both a high honor and a great privilege to comply
with this request, and therefore regret to say, that engagements,
which I need not specify, render it impossible for me to visit
Richmond during the present, or probably the next month.
The Association do me no more than justice, when attributing to me a
strong desire “for the maintenance of the Constitution, and the Union
of the States in their original purity.”
Whilst few men in this country would venture to avow a different
sentiment, yet the question still remains, by what means can this
all-important purpose be accomplished? I feel no hesitation in
answering, by returning to the old Virginia platform of State rights,
prescribed by the resolutions of 1798, and Mr. Madison’s report. The
powers conferred by the Constitution upon the General Government, must
be construed strictly, and Congress must abstain from the exercise of
all doubtful powers. But it is said these are mere unmeaning
abstractions—and so they are, unless honestly carried into practice.
Like the Christian faith, however, when it is genuine, good results
will inevitably flow from a sincere belief in such a strict
construction of the Constitution.
Were this old republican principle adopted in practice, we should no
longer witness unwarrantable and dangerous attempts in Congress to
interfere with the institution of domestic slavery, which belongs
exclusively to the States where it exists—there would be no efforts to
establish high protective tariffs—the public money would not be
squandered upon a general system of internal improvements—general in
name, but particular in its very nature, and corrupting in its
tendency, both to the Government and to the people; and we would
retrench our present extravagant expenditure, pay our national debt,
and return to the practice of a wise economy, so essential to public
and private prosperity. Were I permitted to address your Association,
these are the counsels I should give, and some of the topics I should
discuss, as the best means “for the maintenance both of the
Constitution and the Union of the States, in their original purity,”
and for the perpetuation of our great and glorious confederacy.
With sentiments of high regard, I remain yours, very respectfully,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
[TO SHELTON F. LEAKE, ESQ., AND OTHER GENTLEMEN.[5]]
Footnote 5:
From the _Lancaster Intelligencer_, February 24, 1852.
RICHMOND, February 12, 1852.
GENTLEMEN:—
On my arrival in this city last evening I received your very kind
letter, welcoming me to the metropolis of the Old Dominion and
tendering me the honor of a public dinner. I regret—deeply regret—that
my visit to Richmond will necessarily be so brief that I cannot enjoy
the pleasure and the privilege of meeting you all at the festive
board. Intending merely to pass a day with my valued friend, Judge
Mason, my previous arrangements are of such a character that I must
leave here to-morrow, or, at the latest, on Saturday morning.
But whilst I cannot accept the dinner, I shall ever esteem the
invitation from so many of Virginia’s most distinguished and estimable
sons as one of the proudest honors of my life. Your ancient and
renowned commonwealth has ever been the peculiar guardian of State
rights and the firm supporter of constitutional liberty, of law, and
of order. When, therefore, she endorses with her approbation any of my
poor efforts to serve the country, her commendation is a sure
guarantee that these have been devoted to a righteous cause.
You are pleased to refer in favorable terms to my recent conduct “at
home in defence of the Federal Constitution and laws.” This was an
easy and agreeable task, because the people of Pennsylvania have ever
been as loyal and faithful to the Constitution, the Union, the rights
of the sovereign States of which it is composed, as the people of the
ancient Dominion themselves. To have pursued a different course in my
native State would therefore, have been to resist the strong current
of enlightened public opinion.
I purposely refrain from discussing the original merit of the
Compromise, because I consider it, to employ the expressive language
of the day, as a “finality”—a fixed fact—a most important enactment of
law, the agitation or disturbance of which could do no possible good,
but might produce much positive evil. Our noble vessel of State,
freighted with the hope of mankind, both for the present and future
generations, has passed through the most dangerous breakers which she
has ever encountered, and has triumphantly ridden out the storm. Both
those who supported the measures of the Compromise as just and
necessary, and those who, regarding them in a different light, yet
acquiesce in them for the sake of the Union, have arrived at the same
conclusion—that it must and shall be executed. They have thus, for
every practical purpose, adopted the same platform, and have resolved
to sustain it against the common enemy.—Why, then, should they
wrangle, and divide and waste their energies, not respecting the main
question, which has already been definitely settled, but in regard to
the process which has brought them, though from different directions,
to the same conclusion? Above all, why should the strength of the
Democratic party of the country be impaired and its ascendency be
jeoparded for any such cause? We who believe that the triumph of
Democratic principles is essential not only to the prosperity of the
Union, but even to the preservation of the Constitution, ought
reciprocally to forget, and, if need be, to forgive the past, and
cordially unite with our political brethren in sustaining for the
future the good old cause of Democracy. It must be a source of deep
and lasting pleasure to every patriotic heart that our beloved country
has so happily passed through the late trying and dangerous crisis.
The volcano has been extinguished, I trust, forever; and the man who
would apply a firebrand, at the present moment, to the combustible
materials which still remain, may produce an eruption to overwhelm
both the Constitution and the Union.
With sentiments of high and grateful respect,
I remain your fellow citizen,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
[TO JOHN NELSON, WM. F. GILES, JOHN O. WHARTON, JOHN MORRIS, CARROLL
SPENCE, AND OTHER CITIZENS OF BALTIMORE.]
WHEATLAND, near LANCASTER, February 3, 1852.
GENTLEMEN:—
In returning home through your city on Saturday last, I had the
unexpected honor of receiving your kind invitation to partake of a
public dinner at such time as might best suit my own convenience. For
this distinguished and valuable token of your regard, please to accept
my most grateful acknowledgments; and, whilst regretting that
circumstances, which it would be too tedious to explain, will deprive
me of the pleasure of meeting you at the festive board, you may rest
assured that I shall ever highly prize the favorable opinion you
express of my poor public services.
To the city of Baltimore I have ever been attached by strong ties. In
early life I had selected it as the place where to practice my
profession; and nothing prevented me from carrying this purpose into
effect but my invincible reluctance, at the last moment, to leave my
native State. The feeling which prompted me in 1814, during the last
war with Great Britain, to march as a private to Baltimore, a
circumstance to which you kindly allude, resulted from a patriotism so
universal throughout Pennsylvania, that the honor which may fall to
the lot of any one of the thousands of my fellow-citizens who
volunteered their services on that trying occasion, scarcely deserves
to be mentioned.
If I rightly read “the signs of the times,” there has seldom been a
period when the Democratic party of the country, to which you and I
are warmly attached, was in greater danger of suffering a defeat than
at the present moment. In order to avert this catastrophe, we must
mutually forget and forgive past dissensions, suffer “bygones to be
bygones,” and commence a new career, keeping constantly in view the
ancient and long established landmarks of the party. Most, if not all
the great questions of policy which formerly divided us from our
political opponents, have been settled in our favor. No person, at
this day, thinks of re-establishing another national bank, or
repealing the Independent Treasury, or distributing the proceeds of
the public lands among the several States, or abolishing the veto
power. On these great and important questions, the Whigs, after a long
and violent struggle, have yielded; and, for the present, at least,
would seem to stand upon the Democratic platform. The compromise
measures are now a “finality”—those who opposed them honestly and
powerfully, and who still believe them to be wrong, having
patriotically determined to acquiesce in them for the sake of the
Union, provided they shall be faithfully carried into execution.
On what issues, then, can we go before the country and confidently
calculate upon the support of the American people at the approaching
Presidential election? I answer unhesitatingly that we must fall back,
as you suggest, upon those fundamental and time-honored principles
which have divided us from our political opponents since the
beginning, and which from the very nature of the Federal Constitution,
must continue to divide us from them until the end. We must inscribe
upon our banners a sacred regard for the reserved rights of the
States—a strict construction of the Constitution—a denial to Congress
of all powers not clearly granted by that instrument, and a rigid
economy in public expenditures.
These expenditures have now reached the enormous sum of fifty millions
of dollars per annum, and, unless arrested in their advance by the
strong arm of the Democracy of the country, may, in the course of a
few years, reach one hundred millions. The appropriation of money to
accomplish great national objects sanctioned by the Constitution,
ought to be on a scale commensurate with our power and resources as a
nation—but its expenditure ought to be conducted under the guidance of
enlightened economy and strict responsibility. I am convinced that our
expenses might be considerably reduced below the present standard, not
only without detriment, but with positive advantage both to the
government and the people.
An excessive and lavish expenditure of public money, though in itself
highly pernicious, is as nothing when compared with the disastrous
influence it may exert upon the character of our free institutions. A
strong tendency towards extravagance is the great political evil of
the present day; and this ought to be firmly resisted. Congress is now
incessantly importuned from every quarter to make appropriations for
all sorts of projects. Money, money from the National Treasury is
constantly demanded to enrich contractors, speculators, and agents;
and these projects are gilded over with every allurement which can be
imparted to them by ingenuity and talent. Claims which had been
condemned by former decisions and had become rusty with age have been
again revived, and have been paid, principal and interest. Indeed
there seems to be one general rush to obtain money from the Treasury
on any and every pretence.
What will be the inevitable consequence of such lavish expenditures?
Are they not calculated to disturb the nicely adjusted balance between
the Federal and State Governments, upon the preservation of which
depend the harmony and efficiency of our system? Greedy expectants
from the Federal Treasury will regard with indifference, if not with
contempt, the governments of the several States. The doctrine of State
rights will be laughed to scorn by such individuals, as an obsolete
abstraction unworthy of the enlightened spirit of the age. The
corrupting power of money will be felt throughout the length and
breadth of this land; and the Democracy, led on by the hero and sage
of the Hermitage, will have in vain put down the Bank of the United
States, if the same fatal influence for which it was condemned, shall
be exerted and fostered by means drawn from the Public Treasury.
To be liberal with their own money but sparing of that of the Republic
was the glory of distinguished public servants among the ancient
Romans. When this maxim was reversed, and the public money was
employed by artful and ambitious demagogues to secure their own
aggrandizement, genuine liberty soon expired. It is true that the
forms of the Republic continued for many years; but the animating and
inspiring soul had fled forever. I entertain no serious apprehensions
that we shall ever reach this point, yet we may still profit by their
example.
With sentiments of the highest respect, I remain your friend and
fellow-citizen,
JAMES BUCHANAN.
To these should be added an address made at a festival in Philadelphia
on the 11th of January, 1851, on the establishment of a line of
steamships between that city and Liverpool. The account is taken from
the journals of the time.
After Governor Johnston had concluded, Morton McMichael came forward,
and said that he had been instructed by the Committee of Arrangements
to propose the health of an eminent Pennsylvanian who was then
present—one who had represented his State in the National legislative
councils, and had occupied a chief place in the administration of the
National Government, and in regard to whom, however political
differences might exist, all agreed that his high talents, his
unsullied integrity, and his distinguished public services had justly
placed him in the foremost rank, not only of Pennsylvanians, but of
all Americans. He therefore gave
The health of the Hon. James Buchanan.
When Mr. Buchanan rose to reply, there was a whirlwind of cheers and
applause. In the midst of it the band struck up a favorite and
complimentary air, at the end of which the cheering was renewed, and
several minutes elapsed before he could be heard.
Mr. Buchanan, after making his acknowledgments to the company for the
kind manner in which he had been received, proceeded to speak as
follows:—
What a spectacle does this meeting present! It must be a source of
pride and gratification to every true-hearted Pennsylvanian. Here are
assembled the executive and legislative authorities of the
commonwealth, several members from the State to the present Congress,
as well as those elected to the next, and the Board of Canal
Commissioners, enjoying the magnificent hospitality of the city and
the incorporated districts adjacent—all of which, in fact, constitute
but one great city of Philadelphia.
What important event in the history of Philadelphia is this meeting
intended to celebrate? Not a victory achieved by our arms over a
foreign foe. Not the advent amongst us of a great military captain
fresh from the bloody fields of his glory; but the arrival here of a
peaceful commercial steamer from the other side of the Atlantic. This
welcome stranger is destined, as we all trust, to be the harbinger of
a rapidly increasing foreign trade between our own city and the great
commercial city of Liverpool. All hail to Captain Matthews and his
gallant crew! Peace, as well as war, has its triumphs; and these,
although they may not be so brilliant, are far more enduring and
useful to mankind.
The establishment of a regular line of steamers between these two
ports will prove of vast importance both to the city of Philadelphia
and the State at large. And here, let me observe, that the interests
of the city and the State are identical—inseparable. Like man and
wife, when a well-assorted couple, they are mutually dependent. The
welfare and prosperity of the one are the welfare and prosperity of
the other. “Those whom Heaven has joined together, let not man put
asunder.” If any jealousies, founded or unfounded, have heretofore
existed between them, let them be banished from this day forward and
forever. Let them be in the “deep bosom of the ocean buried.”
The great Central Railroad will furnish the means of frequent and
rapid intercommunication between the city and the State. In the course
of another year, Philadelphia will be brought within twelve or
fourteen hours of our Great Iron City of the West—a city of as much
energy and enterprise for the number of inhabitants, as any on the
face of the earth; and, I might add, of as warm and generous
hospitality. I invite you all, in the name of the people of the
interior, to visit us oftener than you have done heretofore. You shall
receive a hearty welcome. Let us become better acquainted, and we
shall esteem each other more.
But will this great undertaking to extend the foreign commerce of
Philadelphia with Europe, by means of regular lines of steamers, prove
successful? To doubt this is to doubt whether the capital,
intelligence, and perseverance, which have assured signal success to
Philadelphia in every other industrial pursuit, shall fail when
applied to steam navigation on the ocean. But after to-night there can
be “no such word as fail” in our vocabulary. We have put our hand to
the plough, and we must go ahead. We dare not, because we cannot, look
back without disgrace; whilst success in foreign commerce will be the
capsheaf—the crowning glory of Philadelphia.
The distance of Philadelphia from the ocean, and the consequent length
of river navigation, have hitherto constituted an obstacle to her
success in foreign trade. Thanks to the genius of Fulton, this
obstacle has been removed, and the noble Delaware, for every purpose
of foreign commerce, is as if it were an arm of the sea. We learn from
the highest authority, that of the pioneer who was an officer in one
of the first steamers which ever crossed the Atlantic, and who has
successfully completed his ninety-ninth voyage, that the difference in
time from Liverpool between New York and Philadelphia is only about
twenty hours. This is comparatively of no importance, and cannot have
the slightest effect on the success of the enterprise.
Fulton was a native citizen of Pennsylvania. He was born in the county
where I reside. And shall not the metropolis of the native State of
that extraordinary man who, first of the human race, successfully
applied steam power to navigation, enjoy the benefits of this
momentous discovery which has changed the whole face of the civilized
world? Philadelphia, in her future career, will gloriously answer this
question.
Philadelphia enjoys many advantages for the successful pursuit of
foreign commerce. Her population now exceeds 400,000; and it is a
population of which we may be justly proud. It is of no mushroom
growth; but has advanced steadily onward. Her immense capital is the
result of long years of successful industry and enterprise. Strength
and durability characterize all her undertakings. She has already
achieved distinguished success in manufactures, in the mechanic arts,
in domestic commerce, and in every other industrial pursuit, and in
the natural progress of events, she has now determined to devote her
energies to foreign commerce.
And where is there a city in the world, whose ship-yards produce finer
vessels? Whether for beauty of model, rapidity of sailing, or
durability, Philadelphia built vessels have long enjoyed the highest
character. Long as I have been in the public councils, I have never
known a vessel of war built in this city, not fully equal to any of
her class afloat on the waters of the world. A few weeks since I had
the pleasure of examining the steamer Susquehanna, and I venture to
say, that a nobler vessel can nowhere be found. She will bear the
stars and the stripes triumphantly amid the battle and the breeze. May
we not hope that Philadelphia steamers will, ere long, be found
bearing her trade and her name on every sea, and into every great
commercial port on the face of this earth?
The vast resources of the State which will be poured into the lap of
Philadelphia, will furnish the materials of an extensive foreign
commerce. And here, in the presence of this domestic family
Pennsylvania circle, may we not indulge in a little self-gratulation,
and may we not be pardoned, if nobody else will praise us, for
praising ourselves. We have every reason to be proud of our State; and
perhaps we ought to cherish a little more State pride than we possess.
This, when not carried to excess, when it scorns to depreciate a
rival, is a noble and useful principle of action. It is the parent of
generous emulation in the pursuit of all that is excellent, all that
is calculated to adorn and bless mankind. It enkindles the desire in
us to stand as high as the highest among our sister States, in the
councils of our country, in the pursuit of agriculture and
manufactures and every useful art. This honorable feeling of State
pride, particularly when the Pennsylvanian is abroad, out of his
native land, will make his heart swell with exultation, if he finds
that Philadelphia has become a great commercial city, her flag waving
over every sea, her steamers to be seen in every port—an elevated
position in which Philadelphia, if she but wills it, can undoubtedly
be placed.
The great and good founder of our State, whose precept and whose
practice was “peace on earth, and good will to man,” immediately after
he had obtained the royal charter, in the spirit of prophetic
enthusiasm declared, “God will bless, and make it the seed of a
nation. I shall have a tender care of the government that it be well
laid at first.”
How gloriously this prediction has been verified! God has blessed it,
and the seed which the founder sowed has borne the richest fruit. We
are indeed a nation, confederated with thirty other sovereign nations
or States by the most sacred political instrument in the annals of
mankind, called the Constitution of the United States. Besides, we are
truly the keystone of this vast confederacy, and our character and
position eminently qualify us to act as a mediator between opposing
extremes. Placed in the centre, between the North and the South, with
a population distinguished for patriotism and steady good sense, and a
devoted love to the Union, we stand as the days man, between the
extremes, and can declare with the voice of power to both, hitherto
shalt thou go, and no further. May this Union endure forever, the
source of innumerable blessings to those who live under its beneficent
sway, and the star of hope to millions of down-trodden men throughout
the world!
Bigotry has never sacrificed its victims at the shrine of intolerance
in this our favored State. When they were burning witches in
Massachusetts, honestly believing at the time they were doing God’s
service, William Penn, in 1684, presided at the trial of a witch.
Under his direction, the verdict was: “The prisoner is guilty of the
common fame of being a witch; but not guilty as she stands indicted.”
And “in Penn’s domain, from that day to this,” says the gifted
historian, “neither demon nor hag ever rode through the air on goat or
broomstick.”
From the first settlement of the province until the present moment,
the freedom of conscience established by the founder, has been
perfect. Religion has always been a question exclusively between man
and his Creator, and every human being has been free to worship his
Maker according to the dictates of his own conscience.
Bigotry, madly assuming to itself an attribute belonging to the
Almighty, has never attempted to punish any one of his creatures for
not adapting his belief to its own standard of faith. We have great
cause to be proud of the early history of Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania, more than any other State of the Union, has been settled
by emigrants from all the European nations. Our population now exceeds
two millions and a quarter; but we cannot say that it is composed of
the pure Anglo-Saxon race. The English, the Germans, the Scotch Irish,
the Irish, the Welsh, the French, and emigrants from every other
European country have all intermingled upon our happy soil. We are
truly a mixed race. And is not this a cause for self-gratulation?
Providence, as if to designate his will that families and nations
should cultivate extended intercourse with each other, has decreed
that intermarriage in the same family shall eventually produce a
miserable and puny race, both in body and in mind; whilst
intermarriages among entire strangers have been signally blessed. May
it then not be probable that the intermixture of the natives of the
different nations is calculated to produce a race superior to any one
of the elements of which it is composed. Let us hope that we possess
the good qualities of all, without a large share of the evil qualities
of either. Certain it is that in Pennsylvania we can boast of a
population which for energy, for patient industry, and for strict
morality, are unsurpassed by the people of any other country.
And what is her condition at present? Heaven has blessed us with a
climate which, notwithstanding its variations, is equal to almost any
other on the face of the earth, and a soil capable of furnishing all
the agricultural products of the temperate zone. And how have we
improved these advantages? In agriculture we have excelled. I have
myself been over a good portion of the best cultivated parts of the
world; but never anywhere, in any country, have I witnessed such
evidences of real substantial comfort and prosperity, such farm-houses
and barns, as are to be found in Pennsylvania. It is true we cannot
boast of baronial castles, and of extensive parks and pleasure
grounds, and of all the other appendages of wealth and aristocracy
which beautify and adorn the scenery of other countries. These can
only exist in countries where the soil is monopolized by wealthy
proprietors and where the farms are consequently occupied by a
dependent tenantry. Thank Heaven! in this country, every man of
industry and economy, with the blessings of Providence upon his honest
labor, can acquire a freehold for himself, and sit under his own vine
and his own fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.
Then in regard to our mineral wealth. We have vast masses of coal and
iron scattered with a profuse hand under the surface of our soil.
These are far more valuable than the golden sands and golden ore of
California. The patient labor necessary to extract these treasures
from the earth, and bring them to market, strengthens the sinews of
the laborer, makes him self-reliant and dependent upon his own
exertions, infuses courage into the heart, and produces a race capable
of maintaining their liberties at home and of defending their country
against any and every foreign foe. Look at your neighboring town of
Richmond. There three millions of tons of coal are annually brought to
market, and the domestic tonnage employed for sending it abroad
exceeds the whole foreign tonnage of the city of New York. All these
vast productions of our agriculture and our mines are the natural
aliments of foreign commerce for the city of Philadelphia.
But this is not all. Our Central Railroad will soon be completed; and
when this is finished, it will furnish the avenue by which the
productions of the great West will seek a market in Philadelphia. It
will connect with a chain of numerous other railroads, penetrating the
vast valley of the Mississippi in different directions, which will
bring the productions of that extended region to seek a market in
Philadelphia.
And with these unexampled materials for foreign commerce, is it
possible that the city of Philadelphia will hold back? Will she not
employ her capital in a vigorous effort to turn to her own advantage
all these elements of wealth which Providence has placed within her
reach? What is the smallest share of foreign commerce to which she is
legitimately entitled? It is at least to import into Philadelphia all
the foreign goods necessary for the supply of Pennsylvania and the far
West, which seek her markets for their productions. She is bound, by
every principle of interest and duty, to bring to her own wharves this
amount of foreign trade, and never as a Pennsylvanian shall I rest
satisfied until she shall have attained this measure of success. Shall
she then tamely look on and suffer her great rival city, of which
every American ought to be proud, to monopolize the profit and
advantages to which she is justly and fairly entitled? Shall New York
continue to be the importing city for Philadelphia? Shall she any
longer be taunted with the imputation that so far as foreign trade is
concerned, she is a mere provincial and dependent city? She can, if
she but energetically wills it, change this course of trade so
disadvantageous to her character and her interests; and the
proceedings of this meeting afford abundant assurances that from this
day forth she is destined to enter upon a new and glorious career. She
must be prepared to encounter and to overcome serious competition. She
must therefore nerve her arm for the struggle. The struggle is worthy
of her most determined efforts.