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THE 
 
 WAR IN AMERICA: 
 
 SEIKO AN 
 
 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL ACCOUNT 
 
 SOUTHEEN AND NOETHEEN STATES: 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND CAUSE OF THE PRESENT 
 SECESSION WAR. 
 
 ♦- 
 
 WITH A LARCE MAP OF THE UNITED STATES. ENCRAVED ON STEEL. 
 
 BY 
 
 TAL. P. SHAFFNER, LL.D., 
 
 KRNTUCKY. 
 
 Member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States of America. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 THE LONDON PRINTING AND PUBLISHING COMPANY, LIMITED, 
 
 97, 98, 99, & 100, ST. JOHN STREET, LONDON ; 
 
 AND 55, DEY STREET, NEW YORK. 
 
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1862, by 
 TALIAFERRO P. SHAFFNER, 
 
 the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District 
 of New York. 
 
S515Y 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 In the preparation of this volume, we have had in view 
 the collection of facts bearing immediately or mediately 
 upon the present civil war in America ; and we con- 
 fidently believe that the reader will find herein many most 
 singular and interesting historical details. 
 
 We have not been very moderate in exposing the 
 evil theories of American political abolitionism ; nor have 
 we failed to denounce the political integrity of those 
 who have produced secession. The former is the cause, 
 and the latter is the effect. We desire to warn the reader 
 from supposing that abolitionism in America is the same 
 as it is in England. There is a wide difference between 
 the two. A high and commendable sense of honour is re- 
 cognised in the English system. If we understand it 
 correctly, it contemplates an equitable compensation to 
 the owner for the slave. The American abolitionist does 
 not propose any scheme calculated to relieve the loss to 
 the owner, nor to ameliorate the condition of the slave. 
 
 The “ irrepressible conflict” between free and slave labour 
 has been waged, not for the good of the slave, but for 
 political power, and to effect a protective tariff. The white 
 labour of the north has required a tariff ; the slave labour 
 of the south, free trade. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Iti the chapters upon the slave and free negro codes 
 of the northern and southern states, much interesting 
 information will be found. They contain developments 
 that may prove to be “two-edged swords” to our sectional 
 partisans. 
 
 Although we have endeavoured to be impartial in the 
 presentation of facts, yet we are sure neither the “ fanatics” 
 of the north, nor the “ fire-eaters” of the south, will be 
 pleased with the expositions we have made. He who does 
 not sustain their respective destructive policies is censured ; 
 and such, no doubt, will be our inevitable fate. We are 
 a native of Virginia. In youth our play-grounds were 
 upon the banks of Bull-Bun: and as we loved our country 
 then, so we do now ; and we shall continue to cherish the 
 hope for its common weal. We trust that a new govern- 
 ment will be framed — one that will prevent the success of 
 sectionalism, whether in the north or in the south. 
 
 The civil war commenced by the secession of South 
 Carolina ; and in the south it is maintained, by an almost 
 unanimous resolve of the people to defend the lives of those 
 who encircle their firesides. In the North it commenced 
 by a patriotic desire of the people to sustain the Federal 
 Union. 
 
 The south ought not to, and cannot, be subjugated by the 
 cannon. A twig from the olive-branch, ever full of 
 eloquence, is the only thing that can conquer it. 
 
 49, Weymouth Street, Portland Place, (W.) 
 
 London, February 22nd, 1862. 
 
CONTE N T S. 
 
 CHAPTER I. page 
 
 Discovery and Settlement of America ; the Colonies and the 
 United States ......... l 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The New States and Territories of the Union .... GO 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Climate of the United States, and Longevity of the White 
 and Negro Races ........ 116 
 
 CHAPTER IY. 
 
 The Revolutionary Period of the American Colonics . .126 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 The State Constitutional Governments . . . . .131 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Confederation of the United States of 1781 . . . 151 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Adoption of the Constitutional Government of the 
 United States of 1789 ......... 162 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Departments of 
 the Government ........ 183 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The President and his Cabinet ...... 191 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Apportionment System . . . . . . .196 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 National and State Elections ....... 205 
 
 344708 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 vi 
 
 CHAPTER XII. page 
 
 Rebellions of the United States ..... 220 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 History of the Secessionary Acts of the States . . . 231 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 Opposition to Slavery in the Colonies 242 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 African and Domestic Slave-Trade — North and South . . 258 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Slavery as it is in the Southern States 280 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Slavery in 1789; and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793, and 
 of 1850 .......... 305 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Nullification of the Fugitive Slave Laws by the Northern 
 
 States .......... 320 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Free Negroes in the Northern and Southern States . . 331 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The Missouri Restriction, and its Repeal — Dred Scott 
 
 Decision .......... 345 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 Political Parties, from 1789 to 1860 ..... 356 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Legality and Illegality of Secession 389 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 The Secession, and the Commencement of the Civil War . 407 
 
 Decennial Census of the United States . . . . .415 
 
AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Discovery and Settlement of America ; the United States, tlieir 
 Organisations, Topography, Products, and Governments. 
 
 The history of North America, from the period of its 
 discovery to the present time, is replete with interest and 
 instruction. Emerging, as it were, from the chaos of un- 
 recorded ages, that vast continent, destined to become the 
 birthplace of a mighty nation, had no sooner offered its 
 shores as a*i asylum for the persecuted and oppressed of 
 the Old World, than grateful and energetic bands of noble- 
 minded men hastened to avail themselves of the new 
 sphere of action so providentially opened before them, and 
 at once established a basis upon which to erect a com- 
 monwealth that should thereafter rival, in magnitude and 
 importance, the greatest of the monarchies of Europe. 
 Springing, therefore, from such an origin, the people of 
 North America have not affected to trace their early his- 
 tory through the mists of romance, nor to surround the 
 founders of their states with the surreptitious halo of 
 mythological tradition. It has sufficed for them, that, 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 descending from those representatives of a brave and pru- 
 dent race, who sought and found, amidst the prairies and 
 forests of the far west, the civil and religious liberty they 
 were denied the enjoj^ment of in the land of their birth, 
 they have imbibed the perseverance, the fortitude, and the 
 prudence of their ancestors; and now deservedly enjoy the 
 triumphs won by sacrifices and self-denial, in the world- 
 wide recognition of their independence and their might. 
 
 Discovery of America. 
 
 The Scandinavians discovered America, a.d. 1000. This 
 remarkable race of people extended their explorations to 
 the most remote regions of the northern hemisphere. 
 Scotland, the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Faroe Isles, were, 
 at an early date, familiar to their navigators. Iceland 
 was discovered by them in the year 863. The Norwegian 
 Ingolf began to colonise the island in the year 874; and, 
 from his efforts, sprang the ultimately organised Iceland 
 Republic, with its representative assembly at Thingvalla. 
 The carefully preserved history of Iceland abounds with 
 incidents most interesting. In the year 983, Ertk the 
 Red sailed from Iceland, to explore the land previously 
 seen, in 877, by Gunnbtorn ; and he succeeded in find- 
 ing a country, which he called Greenland. In the year 
 986, he made another voyage, carrying with him emi- 
 grants, and settled upon the south-west coast. On a 
 voyage from Iceland to Greenland, in this year (986), 
 Biarne was driven out to sea, towards the south-west, 
 and, for the first time, beheld the American coast. This 
 discovery was made known in Greenland on the arrival of 
 
DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 
 
 3 
 
 Biarne; and Leif the Fortunate, son of Erik the Red, 
 undertook a voyage of discovery thither in the year 1000. 
 He was successful ; and he named the countries visited, 
 Helluland (Newfoundland), Markland (Nova Scotia), 
 and Vinland (New England). Other explorations were 
 made by various expeditions ; and it is supposed their 
 observations extended to the coast of Florida. The records 
 of these discoveries have been preserved in the Icelandic 
 historic annals ; and through the efforts of the distin- 
 guished Rafn, of Copenhagen, they have been brought 
 to light, with incontestable evidence of their correctness. 
 The Society of Northern Antiquaries has published trans- 
 lations from the Icelandic histories, with respect to the 
 discovery of America by the Scandinavians; and it would 
 seem that their explorations were probably communicated 
 to Columbus, when he visited Iceland in 1477 ; and we 
 have no doubt but that the information then obtained, 
 operated as one of the causes which inspired the mind of 
 that great man with that zeal which bade defiance to 
 every difficulty, and enabled him to effect the re-discovery 
 of the New World in 1492, under circumstances that 
 ultimately led to its colonisation, and the formation of 
 one of the greatest nations known in the career of man. 
 
 Columbus pursued the object of his ambition without 
 cessation. He met failure after failure with a great degree 
 of philosophy — evidencing that he ivas a man possessing 
 powers commensurate with the grandeur of the thought. 
 He finally succeeded in getting aid from Spain; and, on 
 the 3rd of August, 1492, he sailed from Palos, upon the 
 memorable voyage that has produced the most wonderful 
 
 b 2 
 
4 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 results. On the 11th of October, 1492, he discovered 
 land, and named it San Salvador. He erected the Cross ; 
 and thus, with a heart full of gratitude to God for the 
 success of his mission, dedicated the New World to Chris- 
 tianity. Iu the year 1497, John Cabot, and his son 
 Sebastian, who were Venetians, made a voyage of dis- 
 covery to America, under the patronage of Henry VII. 
 of England. On the 24th of June they discovered land, 
 which, it is supposed, was Newfoundland. They explored 
 the coast of Labrador, and southward to Florida. In 
 1524, an expedition, under the patronage of France, com- 
 manded by Verrazzani, a Florentine, explored the coast of 
 New York ; and another French expedition sailed in 1534, 
 under the command of Cartier. This expedition ascended 
 the St. Lawrence; and the name of New France was 
 given to the country. In 1539, De Soto started on his 
 extraordinary expedition overland. He sailed from Havana 
 with nine vessels, 900 men, over 200 horses, and a large 
 number of swine — lauded on the coast of Florida, and 
 travelled northward, striking the Mississippi river, in the 
 Chickasaw country. De Soto was the discoverer of the 
 Mississippi river ; and near its banks he died : his body 
 was buried in its waters by the light of the myriads of 
 stars that shone from the firmament. 
 
 In 1562, the Huguenots from France attempted to 
 settle within the present limits of South Carolina ; but 
 they were unsuccessful. In 1564, the Spaniards settled 
 at St. Augustine, Florida ; but their progress was arrested 
 by a conflict with the French. In 1584, Queen Eliza- 
 beth gave a patent to Sir Walter Raleigh, to discover and 
 
SETTLEMENT OF AMERICA. 
 
 5 
 
 occupy lands in America. An expedition sailed that year, 
 and landed on the Roanoke, where formal possession was 
 taken, and the country named Virginia, in honour of the 
 virgin Queen, then on the throne of Eugland. Various 
 other expeditions were projected, and, to some extent, 
 executed. 
 
 Settlement of America. 
 
 The object of this work is twofold — to revive the memo- 
 ries of the past — to record the incidents of the present ; as 
 both are connected with the Secession War, now hastening 
 the destruction of the American Union. Thus, while due 
 regard is accorded to the enterprise, the zeal, and the 
 heroism of those pioneers of civilisation and of empire, 
 who, in the early part of the 17 th century, braved the 
 dangers of an unknown sea in search of freedom and a 
 home ; converted the haunts of savages into the abodes of 
 civilised man, and superseded the rude and barbarous 
 habits of the forest and the swamp, by the mild and ele- 
 vating influences of Christianity ; the chief aim of the 
 following work will be, to trace the circumstances that 
 gradually have led to the present attitude of a people who 
 are great and prosperous. 
 
 The earlier settlers upon the North American continent 
 brought with them the lights which intellect and experience 
 had, through progressive ages, diffused over the western 
 world. The happiness of the daring few, who had ex- 
 changed persecution for liberty, allured emigrants from 
 every portion of central and western Europe, until, in 
 time, the few scattered bands grew into a vast and mighty 
 
6 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 people; who, bearing for awhile the yoke of foreign domi- 
 nation, at length became impatient of misrule, and burst- 
 ing their fetters, asserted and conquered a right to be 
 admitted into the brotherhood of nations. 
 
 But long ere this result had been obtained, a gradual 
 tendency to cohesion of the separated members of the 
 great Transatlantic family, encouraged aspirations for 
 liberty that penal laws were powerless to suppress, and 
 coercion fanned into an unquenchable flame of patriotism. 
 We shall proceed, however, in the first place, to trace the 
 geographical divisions of the country, and then follow the 
 progressive growth of territory under the monarchical and 
 republican governments — taking the several provinces or 
 states in the order of their original settlement. 
 
 The continent of America, situated between the 16th 
 degree of north latitude and the Arctic Ocean, by which 
 it is bounded on its northern side, is enclosed on the east 
 by the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico; on the south by 
 the same gulf and Central America ; and on the west by 
 the Pacific Ocean. The coast- line being deeply indented 
 with gulfs, bays, and inlets, gives a length, from Hudson’s 
 Bay to the Florida channel, of about 4,800 miles ; and 
 from thence to Panama, about 4,500 more. On the Pacific 
 side, the whole length, including the coasts of the Gulf 
 of California, has been computed at 10,500 miles ; but of 
 the extent of the northern and eastern shores no conjec- 
 ture has yet been hazarded. Taking it, however, at a pro- 
 bable length of about 3,000 miles, a coast-line is given of 
 some 22,800 miles. Any estimate of the area of a region 
 so irregularly shaped, must be exceedingly conjectural; 
 
SETTLEMENT OF AMERICA. 
 
 7 
 
 but it is generally computed to comprise, in round num- 
 bers, about 8,500,000 square miles. De Bow, late super- 
 intendent of the Census Bureau at Washington, has given 
 the entire area as embracing 8,373,648 square miles ; of 
 which, 3,306,865 belong to the United States : the re- 
 mainder being divided as follows :-*=-Brit'sh America, 
 3,050,398; Mexico, 1,038,834 ; Russian America, 394,000 ; 
 Danish America, 384,000 ; and Central America, 203,551. 
 As the object of this work is necessarily confined to the 
 portion of this vast territory known as the United States 
 of America, it is not necessary to refer further to the 
 other divisions mentioned as constituting the aggregate 
 of the great northern continent. 
 
 The nucleus of civilisation, which at first appeared only 
 as a bright speck on the western horizon, was encompassed 
 by all the magnificent wildness of nature, and all the 
 untameable ferocity of savage life. This nucleus, however, 
 progressively expanded over the vast area around it. The 
 dense forests have yielded to the axe of civilisation ; the 
 ploughshare has upturned the beautiful and wide-spread 
 prairies; the mighty rivers teem with floating palaces, 
 laden with the fruits of the land, and the people in motion; 
 the railways and telegraphs traverse and girdle the states ; 
 the tomahawk, the scalping-knife, and the war-club, have 
 become but relics of a past savage age ; the symbols of 
 Christianity, and the temples of learning, are now scattered 
 over that vast country. To the free and unlimited exercise 
 of religious faith, and the general diffusion of knowledge 
 without price, is to be ascribed the prosperity of the 
 American nation. 
 
8 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 We shall proceed at once to give a brief notice of the 
 whole domain of the United States, as it now exists, 
 including the states and territories. 
 
 Virginia. 
 
 The province of Virginia, one of the southern states of 
 the American Confederacy, was first discovered in 1584, 
 although not colonised until 1607. The first discoveries 
 were made in that part now within the state of North 
 Carolina, adjacent to the Ocracock inlet. The first settle- 
 ment was formed in May, 1607, and called James Town, 
 upon the banks of the James river — called by the Indians, 
 Powhatan River. At this time there were no limits to 
 Virginia; but, subsequently, charters narrowed its ter- 
 ritory: so that, at the beginning of the war of 1775, it 
 only contained the territory of the state as now held, and 
 the state of Kentucky, formerly called Fincastle County. 
 
 Prior to the declaration of independence, in 1776, the 
 colonies formed armies, and defended themselves against 
 every invading foe. Even after the formation of the 
 united army, under Washington, Virginia organised an 
 independent home service, for the especial protection of 
 its frontiers. General George Rogers Clarke had command 
 of the western division ; and his successes north of the 
 Ohio river, at Fort Vincent, Kaskaskia, and Cahokia, 
 gave to Virginia, at the close of the war, by the treaty of 
 peace in 1783, the whole north-west territory, now known 
 as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and a part 
 of Minnesota. This vast region was held by conquest ; 
 and, at the treaty of 1783, it was conceded — solely, 
 
THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 9 
 
 however, through the resolute and determined course of 
 Mr. Adams, one of the American commissioners. In 1784, 
 Virginia ceded the north-west territory to the Confedera- 
 tion, formed as a perpetual union in 1778;. and, in this 
 chauge of jurisdiction, among the conditions was one, that 
 not more than five states should be formed out of the ceded 
 domain; and another, that “there shall be neither slavery 
 nor involuntary servitude in the said territory ;” and “ pro- 
 vided always, that any person escaping into the same, from 
 whom labour or service is lawfully claimed in any one of 
 the original states, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed, 
 and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labour or 
 service as aforesaid.” 
 
 On the 1st of June, 1792, the state of Kentucky was 
 admitted into the Union by the consent of Virginia, passed 
 in 1789. By these relinquishments, the domain of Vir- 
 ginia was reduced to its present boundaries. Its area is 
 estimated at 61,352 square miles. The area ceded was 
 about 280,000 square miles. 
 
 Virginia is celebrated for the grandeur of its scenery, 
 variety of soil, climate, and extent of mountain ranges. 
 The oceanic section of the state consists of flat lands ; and 
 it has a very mild climate: cotton may be cultivated suc- 
 cessfully; but the principal product is hay, Indian corn, 
 wheat, and other varieties of grain. Middle Virginia is 
 more elevated and mountainous. The lands are very pro- 
 ductive and valuable for grazing. The hilly ranges project 
 from the Appalachian chain, many miles as spurs into the 
 plains : such, for example, as the Sugar-Loaf and the Rattle- 
 Snake mountains, near the noted Bull Run battle-field. The 
 
10 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Blue Ridge traverses the state ; and, with the other ranges, 
 separates the Atlantic slope from the Ohio valley. There 
 are valleys and narrow gorges dividing them, affording 
 easy gradients for rail and McAdam roads. An average 
 plantation, on the eastern slope, contains about 300 acres; 
 but, in the mountains, the wild lands (commonwealth 
 domain) are used in common for timber and grazing, so 
 that the cultivated area is the whole of the lauded property 
 of the farm. Sheep and cattle graze on the ridges ; and 
 the swine fatten upon the acorns, hickory, and other kinds 
 of nuts. Reptiles are common, consisting of the rattle, 
 black, garter, viper snakes, &c. ; but they are not dan- 
 gerous. The most poisonous always retreats, and only 
 defends. 
 
 Between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghany Mountains 
 is an extensive valley ; and that country through which 
 flows the Shenandoah, is called the “Valley.” Westward 
 of all the mountains is the Ohio slope, consisting of farms, 
 woodlands, and grazing lands. In this part of Virginia 
 the climate is quite mild, compared with the mountain 
 regions. The snows are deep, and frosts are severe upon 
 the Appalachian summits. There are railway communica- 
 tions, diverging north and southward from different parts 
 of the Atlantic zone; and, with a few additions, there will 
 be three lines of railways to the more southern states — the 
 one near the coast, another more central, and the third 
 through the valleys of the mountains. Ii’on, coal, and salt 
 are produced in great quantities. 
 
 The gaps in the mountain ranges afford passes for com- 
 munication between the western and eastern Virginias. 
 
THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 11 
 
 These gaps — and by that name they are called — have been 
 produced by “ the wear and tear” of nature — the washing 
 of the waters. The valley of Virginia was at one time, 
 far in the past, a vast lake; and the fertile soil of the farms 
 in that section of the state, is but the alluvial deposit upon 
 the bottom of the lake. The water passed from this 
 inland sea, at Harper’s Ferry, and from thence pursued its 
 course to the ocean. It is possible that the water wore 
 away the earth and rocks of the mountain, until the gap 
 was brought to a level with the basin of the lake in the 
 rear. At Cumberland, Maryland, there is a gap in the 
 Wills* mountain, like that at Harper’s Ferry — further 
 evidencing the correctness of these views. In the future, 
 the area of Lake Erie will be dry land, except a passage 
 for a river, running from Lake Huron to Lake Ontario; 
 and forest trees will grow where there is now water 
 several hundred feet in depth. There will be no more 
 falls of Niagara, as the rocks over which the mighty tor- 
 rent now flows will have been washed or worn away ; 
 and Lake Erie will have passed and gone, as has been the 
 case with the great lake that was once held bound in the 
 Appalachian Mountains — now the valley of Virginia. 
 
 In these mountain passes or gaps, inferior fortifications 
 can prevent the progress of a vast army. Harper’s Ferry 
 may be referred to as an example. The town is situated 
 on the tongue of land at the forks of the Potomac and 
 Shenandoah rivers : a few hundred yards to the right, and 
 to the left, are the high cliffs of the Blue Ridge. Manassa 
 Gap is another pass, through which the railway has been 
 constructed, connecting the valley with the ocean slope. 
 
12 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 The gap at Harper’s Ferry is the most remarkable and 
 stupendous scene in nature. Jefferson thus described it : — 
 “You stand on a very high point of land; on your right 
 comes down the Shenandoah, some 300 feet wide, having 
 ranged along the foot of the mountain 100 miles to seek 
 a vent; on your left approaches the Potomac, some 400 
 feet wide, in quest of a passage also : in the moment of 
 their junction they rush together against the mountain, 
 rend it asunder, and pass off to the sea. The first glance 
 of this scene hurries our senses into the opinion, that this 
 earth has been created in time ; that the mountains were 
 formed first ; that the rivers began to flow afterwards ; 
 that, in this place particularly, they have been dammed up 
 by the blue ridge of mountains, and have formed an 
 ocean which filled up the whole valley ; that, continuing 
 to rise, they have at length broken over at this spot, and 
 have torn the mountain down from its summit to its base. 
 The piles of rock on each hand, but particularly on the 
 Shenandoah — the evident marks of their disrupture and 
 avulsion from their beds by the most powerful agents of 
 nature, corroborate the impression. But the distant finish- 
 ing which nature has given to the picture, is of a very 
 different character ; it is a true contrast to the fore- 
 ground; it is as placid and delightful as the other is wild 
 and tremendous; for the mountain being cloven asunder, 
 she presents to your eye, through the cleft, a small catch of 
 smooth blue horizon, at an infinite distance in the plain 
 country — inviting you, as it were, from the riot and tumult 
 roaring around, to pass through the breach, and partici- 
 pate of the calm below. There the eye ultimately com- 
 
THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 13 
 
 poses itself; and that way, too, the road happens actually 
 to lead. You cross the Potomac above the junction ; pass 
 along its side through the base of the mountain for three 
 miles, its terrible precipices banging in fragments over 
 you ; and, within about twenty miles, reach Frederick - 
 town, and the fine country round it. This scene is 
 worth a voyage across the Atlantic ; yet here, as in the 
 neighbourhood of the Natural Bridge, are people who have 
 passed their lives within half-a-dozen miles, and have never 
 been to survey these monuments of a war between rivers 
 and mountains, which must have shaken the earth itself 
 to its centre/’ 
 
 The products of the soil are wheat, Indian corn, rye, 
 oats, buck-wheat, flax, hemp, &c. The timbers are — white 
 and black oaks, hickory, locust, poplar, pine, chestnut, 
 cherry, walnut, &c. Fruits of all kinds grow in great 
 abundance; many of them wild, such as apples, pears, 
 plums, cherries, mulberries, &c. The whortleberries, straw- 
 berries, raspberries, grapes, &c., grow wild and in great 
 abundance. The farms are under a high state of cultiva- 
 tion, and the people are comparatively wealthy. 
 
 Virginia is called the mother of presidents ; having 
 furnished, of her native sons, Washington, Jefferson, Madi- 
 son, Monroe, Harrison, Tyler, and Taylor. Upou its 
 escutcheon are inscribed the most brilliant orators and 
 statesmen of America. 
 
 In the preceding we have briefly described the early 
 history of Virginia, its topographical features, and its pro- 
 ductions. We will cow add a few remarks respecting its 
 government. Virginia was the first republic of the world. 
 
14 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 “ It was composed of separate boroughs, diffused over an 
 extensive surface, where the government was organised on 
 the principles of universal suffrage. All freemen, without 
 exception, were entitled to vote.” It continued, how- 
 ever, loyal to the British crown, until the people felt 
 oppressed hy severe legislation. This colony was among 
 the foremost to rebel and resist British authority, and was 
 the first state that organised an independent sovereignty 
 — a constitutional government. 
 
 On the 12th of June, 1776, a convention of delegates 
 adopted a constitution, organising a government which 
 was, and has been, a model for the othqy and succeeding 
 states. In 1829, and again in 1850, conventions assembled 
 to revise the organic instrument of the state ; the first re- 
 adopted it, but the latter added to it a few alterations. 
 The first part of the instrument contains a declaration of 
 rights, such as — “ That all power is vested in, and conse- 
 quently derived from, the people; that magistrates are 
 their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to 
 them.” The preamble recites the causes that impelled 
 Virginia to separate from the British dominion. The 
 powers of government are to be exercised by three depart- 
 ments — the legislative, executive, and judiciary. Every 
 white male citizen, over twenty-one years of age, is a 
 voter ; the legislature is called the General Assembly, and 
 is divided into two branches — the senate and house of 
 delegates; the former consisting of fifty members, and 
 the latter of 152, elected hy the people biennially, each 
 from a given district apportioned according to population. 
 The general assembly meets once in every two years, 
 
THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 
 
 15 
 
 and can continue in session ninety days, but not longer, 
 without the concurrence of three-fifths of all the members 
 elected to each house. 
 
 The chief executive power of the state is vested in a 
 governor, whose term of office is four years. He is elected 
 by the people. A lieutenant-governor is elected at the 
 same time, who is the president of the senate; and in case 
 of death, or removal of the governor, the duties of the 
 executive devolve upon him. The judiciary department 
 consists of a Supreme Court of Appeals, district courts, and 
 circuit courts; and the state is divided into twenty-one 
 judicial circuits, .ten districts, and five sections. In each 
 circuit a judge is elected, for the term of eight years, b^ 
 the voters thereof. A circuit court is held, at least twice a 
 year, by the judge of each circuit; and a district court is 
 held, at least once a year, in every district, by the judges 
 of the circuits constituting the section, and the judge of the 
 Supreme Court of Appeals for the section of which the 
 district forms a part ; any three of whom may hold a court. 
 The Court of Appeals is composed of five judges, one for 
 each section, elected by the voters of the respective sec- 
 tions. The term of the supreme judges is twelve years. 
 This court has appellate jurisdiction only, except in cases 
 of habeas corpus, mandamus, and prohibition. 
 
 New York. 
 
 Verrazzani, the Florentine navigator, it is believed, 
 landed upon tbe American coast, within the present 
 state of New York, in the year 1524. In 1609, the 
 English navigator, Henry Hudson, in the service of 
 
16 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 the Dutch, entered the harbour of New York; and he 
 ascended the beautiful river that bears his name, as far up 
 as where Albany is situated. Some four years subse- 
 quently, a trading station and a fort were established at 
 Fort Orange, on the banks of the Hudson, where Albany 
 is situated. About the same time, New Amsterdam (now 
 New York) was established on the south-west point of 
 Manhattan Island. A fort and trading station were 
 erected; and the fur business was carried on under a 
 patent, procured from the Dutch states-general. These 
 settlements were considered as forming a colony, and was 
 styled New Netherlands. In 1625, Peter Minuet was 
 created the first governor of New Netherlands. At that 
 time successful efforts were made to extend the settlements 
 by emigration. In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant arrived at Fort 
 Amsterdam, as governor. The present New York was 
 then called New Amsterdam. Stuyvesant was a man well 
 fitted for the station to which he had been appointed. 
 He had much experience as an executive, and his ad- 
 ministration was efficient. He laid claim to all the lands 
 between Cape Henlopen and Cape Cod. The right of the 
 Dutch to these lands was subsequently disputed by the 
 English; and, through an arbitration, considerably re- 
 duced in extent. Charles II., king of England, disre- 
 garded the claims of the Dutch to New Netherlands; and, 
 in 1664, granted to his brother, the Duke of York and 
 Albany, all the mainland of New England, from the 
 St. Croix to the Connecticut and Hudson rivers, “together 
 with the said river, called Hudson River; and all the 
 lands from the west side of Connecticut River to the east 
 
THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 
 
 17 
 
 side of Delaware Bay.” This grant included all of the 
 present state of New Jersey. At this time, the settlement 
 on Manhattan Island was changed, in name, from New 
 Amsterdam to New York, in honour of the Duke of York. 
 There were about 3,000 inhabitants : many' of them, on 
 account of the change in proprietorship, returned to 
 Holland. Colonel Nichols was the deputy-governor; and, 
 through his efforts, many English emigrants were induced 
 to join the new colony. Difficulties then arose between 
 the Dutch and the English, and they continued for some 
 years; but they were ultimately settled by the Dutch 
 separating themselves, and fixing their homes at other 
 places upon the Hudson river. The English, a more com- 
 mercial people, held to New York. About 1678, the pro- 
 vince of New York contained twenty-four towns, villages, 
 and parishes. The annals of New York, as a province, 
 abound with incidents of great interest : it increased in 
 wealth and inhabitants to an extraordinary degree; and it 
 soon became imperial as to population and wealth. 
 
 During the century preceding the war of 1775, New 
 York had to contend with great difficulties. The French 
 and Indian wars required her fullest energies of defence. 
 Besides these, the government was in a continual contest 
 with respect to her boundaries. The present state of 
 Vermont was claimed by New York and New Hampshire; 
 and both states pressed their titles to the same domain. 
 The question was finally settled by the organisation of a 
 new state in 1791. The territory between the Hudson 
 river and the Delaware bay, became the state of New 
 Jersey. After the relinquishment of its title to Vermont, 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 by legislative enactment in 1790, the area of the state of 
 New York was reduced to the present boundaries, esti- 
 mated at 47,000 square miles. 
 
 The soil of New York was early saturated with the 
 blood of the white man ; and the struggles that arose from 
 the conflicting claims of the Dutch and English settlers, 
 perpetuated the evils generated by the hostility of the 
 original possessors of the territory. During the wars 
 waged between France and England, in 1690, 1701, and 
 1702, the province suffered greatly from outrages perpe- 
 trated by the Indians, who readily lent their aid to harass 
 the English settlers. In 1690, Schenectady was burnt by 
 the savages, and many of its inhabitants ruthlessly massa- 
 cred ; and the memory of the destruction of the garrison 
 at Fort William Henry, by the Indians in 1757, will long 
 be preserved among the darker pages of the provincial 
 annals. Of its share in the war with Great Britain, which 
 resulted in the establishment of the independence of the 
 country, we shall hereafter have to speak. 
 
 The south-eastern section of this state is mountainous, 
 being traversed by several ridges from New Jersey, one of 
 which crosses the Hudson river at the Highlands. The 
 Catskill Mountains, in the counties of Ulster, Green, 
 Albany, and Scoharie, are the highest in the state; the 
 Round Top — the principal summit — being 3,804 feet above 
 the level of the sea. The country on Lake Champlain is 
 hilly, and becomes mountainous as you approach the High- 
 lands, which divide the waters of this lake from those which 
 fall into the St. Lawrence. West of these Highlands, a 
 fine country, at first hilly, then level and fertile, extends 
 
THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 
 
 19 
 
 to the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario. That part of the 
 state bordering upon Pennsylvania is hilly and moun- 
 tainous. From Genesee River, near its mouth, to Lewis- 
 town, on the Niagara river, there is a remarkable ridge, 
 running almost the whole distance, which is seventy-eight 
 miles in a direction from east to west. Its general altitude 
 above the neighbouring land is thirty feet; and its width, 
 in some places, is not more than forty yards. Its elevation 
 is about 160 feet above the level of Lake Ontario, to which 
 it descends by a gradual slope ; and its distance from that 
 water is between six and ten miles. There is every reason 
 to believe that this ridge was once the margin of Lake 
 Ontario. About twenty miles south of this ridge, and 
 parallel with it, there is another, which runs from Genesee 
 River to Black Rock. The country between the ridges is 
 called the Tonnewanta Valley; and there is some reason to 
 believe that it was once covered by the waters of Lake 
 Erie. Since the explorations of the Rocky Mountain 
 valleys, we have additional evidence, substantiating the 
 supposition that lakes have existed in different parts 
 of the country, where there are now cultivated farms, or 
 gigantic forests. On the shores of the “ dry lakes , ” as 
 they are termed, which have been found in the newlv- 
 explored regions of the Rocky Mountains, the water-line 
 is to be seen; and the basin has the appearance of having 
 been but recently covered with water. 
 
 The Falls of Niagara — grand and wonderful in the works 
 of nature — is situated about half-way between Lake Erie 
 and Lake Ontario. Beyond doubt they were, at one time, 
 on the verge of the latter lake ; but they are now within 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 fourteen miles of the former. The immense volume of 
 water, passing from Erie onward to the ocean, rushes over 
 a precipice, and falls perpendicularly to the depth of 176 
 feet. The roar of the water can sometimes be heard at the 
 distance of forty miles. In this state there are various 
 other falls, though of lesser importance — such as the 
 Genesee, at Rochester, and those of the Mohawk river; 
 all of which are of more than ordinary beauty and romantic 
 circumstance. It was over the former that Sam. Patch 
 made his last leap, in the presence of the assembled 
 thousands. 
 
 The soil of New York is but of an average quality, 
 though it is well cultivated, with the appliances of mecha- 
 nical arts and the chemical sciences. The products are 
 wheat, rye, oats, barley, Irish potatoes, buck- wheat, fruits, 
 hay, butter, cheese, hops, maple sugar, &c. The trees are 
 oak, pine, spruce, larch, walnut, chestnut, sugar maple, 
 tamarack, ash, elm, beech, butter-nut, sycamore, locust, 
 sassafras, poplar, cherry, &c. An immense amount of 
 capital is invested in manufacturing establishments. The 
 flouring mills are numerous, and nearly all kinds of fabrics 
 are woven in this state. The minerals of New York are the 
 iron, lead, zinc, copper, arsenic, cerium, silver, cobalt, &c. 
 The people are energetic, enterprising, and comparatively 
 wealthy. 
 
 The government of New York, like all the other states, 
 is constitutional. The last revise of that instrument took 
 place in 1846. The powers are divided between the legis- 
 lative, executive, and judiciary. The governor and lieu- 
 tenant-governor are elected for a term of two years. The 
 
THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 
 
 21 
 
 legislature of the state is vested iu a senate and assembly. 
 The former consists of thirty-two member’s, chosen for 
 two years. The latter consists of 128 members, elected 
 annually. The legislature assembles once every year. 
 Every male citizen, of the age of twenty-one years, who 
 shall have been a citizen of the state, with a certain local 
 residence, is a voter; but no man of colour, unless he shall 
 have been for three years a citizen of the state, and, for 
 one year next preceding any election, shall have been seised 
 and possessed of a freehold estate of the value of 250 
 dollars, over and above all debts and incumbrances charged 
 thereon, and shall have been actually rated and paid a tax 
 thereon, shall be entitled to vote at such election. The 
 elections are by ballot. The state is divided into judicial 
 districts ; and the tribunals are organised, so as to afford 
 the greatest facilities in the administration of justice. New 
 York state has given to the nation one president — Martin 
 Yan Buren; and her statesmen have added to its glory 
 and renown. The public and internal improvements, such 
 as the railways, canals, telegraphs, &c., have placed the 
 whole nation in rapid communication with the commercial 
 and manufacturing enterprise of the state. The city of 
 New York is the commercial metropolis of the nation; 
 and, if its progress continue during the next century as 
 it has been during the past, it will be the greatest city 
 ever planted by the Creator upon the face of the earth. 
 A united nation only could accomplish for it such an 
 exaltation. 
 
22 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 The original settlers in this state were a body of Puritan 
 emigrants, who, having fled from persecution in England, 
 had found an asylum in Holland in the year 1608, and 
 selected the town of Leyden as their temporary home. 
 After a few years’ residence in Holland, circumstances 
 occurred to render their abode at that place distasteful 
 to them ; and they resolved to seek a resting-place on 
 the American continent, to which they proceeded in the 
 ship Mayflovier, chartered for the purpose. On the 
 21st of November, 1620, the voyagers dropped anchor in 
 the harbour of Cape Cod; and, after a careful examination 
 of the coast by parties dispatched for that purpose, on the 
 22nd of December, 1620, they landed upon a place which, 
 in memory of the last spot in England their feet had 
 pressed, they called Plymouth. Thus originally settled, 
 Massachusetts was for a long period almost exclusively 
 occupied by people of nearly unmixed English descent. 
 This exclusiveness has, of course, been long broken in 
 upon; but whatever may be the origin of the present 
 generation of their successors, there is no question that the 
 citizens of Massachusetts, in point of morals, education, 
 and intellectual culture and development, are not to be 
 surpassed by the inhabitants of any other portion of the 
 vast Union to which they belong. This state has given 
 birth to a great number of eminent authors, inventor^, and 
 statesmen. 
 
 The original charters of Massachusetts embraced the 
 territory of New Hampshire. In 1679, a separate charter 
 
THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 23 
 
 was given to tlie latter, under which a new government 
 was organised. The present state of Maine was a part of 
 Massachusetts until the year 1819, when the legislature 
 relinquished all authority over the district of Maine, upon 
 certain conditions. The state of Massachusetts was then 
 reduced within its present defined boundaries, having a 
 connected domain ; and the district of Maine was organised 
 into a state, and admitted into the Union, in 1820, as one 
 of the national sovereignties. 
 
 The area of this state is 7,800 square miles; the middle, 
 eastern, and north-eastern portions are hilly and broken ; 
 the south-eastern, level and sandy ; and the western 
 portion, although slightly mountainous, is but incon- 
 siderably elevated above the sea; Saddle Mountain, in the 
 north-west extremity, 3,505 feet in altitude, being the 
 highest land in the state. The next eminences of any 
 consequence are — Wachusett Mountain, near the centre 
 of the territory, having an elevation of 2,018 feet; Mount 
 Tour, on the west of the Connecticut, of 1,200; and 
 Holyoke, on the east side, of 910 feet. Saddle Mountain is 
 a peak of the Green Mountain range, which enters the state 
 from Vermont, and passes through it into Connecticut. 
 
 The water-power of Massachusetts is abundant; and 
 it is employed to the fullest extent. Manufactories are 
 scattered all over the state, giving employment to thousands 
 who could not otherwise obtain a subsistence. The soil is 
 sterile, and its products are stunted or dwarfish. The 
 Indian corn grows to the height of five to six feet; in 
 Virginia, and other central states, it grows to the height of 
 nine and ten feet. The commerce of Massachusetts is 
 
24 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 * 
 
 very extensive, and its ships are to be found throughout 
 all the seas. This state has ever beeu foremost in learning, 
 aud its scholars have doue much for the diffusion of know- 
 ledge throughout the whole country. 
 
 The first constitution of the state of Massachusetts was 
 framed in March, 1780. Sundry alterations and amend- 
 ments have been from time to time adopted ; but the 
 principles of government remain the same as organised by 
 the constitution of 1780. It declares, ‘‘that all power 
 residing originally in the people, and being derived from 
 them, the several magistrates and officers of government, 
 vested with authority, whether legislative, executive, or 
 judicial, are their substitutes and agents, and are, at all 
 times, accountable to them.” 
 
 The government is composed of three departments — the 
 legislative, executive, aud judiciary. The legislative power 
 is vested in a general court, composed of a senate and 
 House of Representatives, the members of which are 
 elected by the people. The former, according to the con- 
 stitution, is composed of forty members, and the latter of 
 240. The governor, or executive of the commonwealth, is 
 elected annually. He has, to aid him, a council, consist- 
 ing of eight persons, annually chosen from among the 
 people at large, by the inhabitants of the state who are 
 qualified to vote. Every male citizen, of twenty-one years 
 of age and upwards, is a voter. The organic law, how- 
 ever, declares, that “ no person shall have the right to 
 vote, or be eligible to office under the constitution of this 
 commonwealth, who shall not be able to read the constitu- 
 tion in the English language, and write his name.” 
 
THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
 
 25 
 
 The state is divided iuto judicial districts. It has au 
 appellate court; also other tribunals for the administra- 
 tiou of justice in the larger cities, with especial juris- 
 dictions. 
 
 Massachusetts has given to the nation two presidents ; 
 John Adams, and his son, John Quincy Adams. 
 
 New Hampshire. 
 
 In 1621, Captain John Mason was granted, by the 
 council of Plymouth, authority over certain lands lying 
 between the river of Naumkeag and the river Merrimac; 
 these were called the district of Mariana. In 1622, 
 another grant was given to Sir Ferdinaudo Gorges and 
 Captain Mason, jointly, for all the lands lying between 
 the Merrimac and the Sagadahoc rivers, and extending 
 back to Canada. This tract of land was called Laconia: 
 it included a part of the Mariana grant. In 1629, Laco- 
 nia was divided. The region east of the Piscataqua was 
 given to Gorges, and named Maine ; the west tract was 
 given to Mason, and named New Hampshire, in honour 
 of Hampshire county, England. 
 
 In 1641, a large number of the inhabitants came under 
 the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. For some years there 
 was a conflict of jurisdiction between many of the people 
 of New Hampshire and the government of Massachusetts ; 
 and, for a long time, the same governor presided over both 
 colonies, but with distinct commissions. In 1737, com- 
 missioners were appointed by the crown to adjust the long- 
 subsisting controversy; and Anally, the whole was, by agree- 
 ment, submitted to the king for his decision. George II. 
 
26 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 decided in favour of New Hampshire. After this ad- 
 justment, the question of its western boundary arose; and, 
 for a long time, New York and New Hampshire claimed 
 the territory now known as Vermont. Both states issued 
 land grants, and the dispute was conducted with much 
 resolve and passion. The contest was quieted on the com- 
 mencement of the revolutionary conflict with the mother 
 country : the claimants having entered into that struggle, 
 forgot, for a time at least, all other considerations. After 
 the war, and in 1791, by common consent, the disputed 
 territory became the state of Vermont. 
 
 The area of the state is about 9,280 square miles ; and 
 it is of a mountainous, hilly, and broken character ; and, 
 with one exception, it contains the most elevated land east 
 of the Mississippi ; Mount Washington, the loftiest peak of 
 the White Mountains, rising 6,428 feet above the sea-level. 
 
 The products of the state are Indian corn, oats, wheat, 
 rye, &c. The timbers are oak, chestnut, pine, walnut, 
 sugar-tree, &c. The soil is sterile, but repays careful 
 culture by abundant harvests. 
 
 Tlie constitution of New Hampshire was framed in 
 1792, and was amended in 1852. The powers of govern- 
 ment are vested in legislative, executive, and judiciary 
 departments. The first consists of a senate and House 
 of Representatives; and, as a department, is styled the 
 “ General Court.’ 5 It assembles annually. The senate 
 has but twelve members ; and, in the house, the number 
 of members depends upon the voting population : thus, 
 one member for each 150 ratable male polls, of twenty- 
 one years of age. The governor is chosen annually, by 
 
THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY. 
 
 27 
 
 the voters of tlie whole state. There are five councillors, 
 one of which is elected by the people every year; each 
 serving a term of five years. The councillors advise the 
 governor in the executive department of the government. 
 The state is divided into judicial districts, and the judges are 
 appointed by the governor and council ; they hold their 
 offices during good behaviour. 
 
 Every male inhabitant of each town, of twenty-one 
 years of age, is a voter, excepting paupers, and persons 
 excused from paying taxes at their own request. The 
 privileges of the Roman catholic religion are restricted. 
 The constitution recognises the protestant faith as the 
 legitimate religion, to he authorised by legislative authority 
 to be promulgated to the people. Nevertheless, the Ro- 
 man church is not prohibited. 
 
 New Hampshire has given to the nation one president, 
 Franklin Pierce. It has enrolled upon its annals the 
 names of mauy illustrious statesmen. 
 
 New Jersey. 
 
 This state lies between the Hudson and the Delaware 
 rivers, and has an area of 8,320 square miles. The first 
 settlement was made on the Hudson river, opposite the 
 upper part of the present city of New York, by the Danes, 
 who accompanied the Dutch colonists under authorisation 
 of the Dutch republic, in 1618. In 1623, a settlement was 
 made, by the Swedes and Finns, on the Delaware river, 
 below Camden — which was called Fort Nassau. In 1627, 
 another was made on the western bank of the Delaware, 
 near Christiana Creek. .About 1640, the English began a 
 
28 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION AVAR. 
 
 settlement on the eastern bank ; and, shortly after, there 
 arose a conflict between the Swedes and the English with 
 respect to titles. The former united with the Dutch, and 
 drove the English from the country. The Swedes then 
 erected a fort on the spot that had been held by the 
 English, which commanded the river. They claimed and 
 exercised authority over all vessels that entered, including 
 those of the Dutch. Until 1655, the Swedes held both 
 sides of the Delaware; solely, however, under the right of 
 occupancy. At this time, Stuyvesant, the governor of 
 New Netherlands, by the aid of forces sent to him from 
 Holland, compelled the Swedes on the Delaware to 
 surrender; and the officers and principal people ivere 
 taken to New Amsterdam as prisoners. The Dutch then 
 held the whole territory, now comprising the states of 
 New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. The English, 
 however, continued to claim the country, under the title 
 of discovery; and an expedition was sent to New Amster- 
 dam in 1664, which demanded from Governor Stuyvesant 
 a surrender of the country; and, being in a defenceless 
 condition, he yielded. The expedition then went to the 
 Delaware, and effected a submission of the people, which 
 completed the English title of occupancy. The grant of 
 Charles II., in 1664, to the Duke of York, embraced the 
 whole territory from Nova Scotia to the east side of the 
 Delaware bay. In the same year, the Duke of York sold 
 and conveyed to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, 
 all the land lying between the Hudson and Delaware 
 rivers, under the name of New Cesaria. The name New 
 Jersey was subsequently given to it in compliment to 
 
THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY. 
 
 29 
 
 Carteret, who had defended the island of Jersey, during 
 the civil war, against the Long Parliament. Emigration 
 was encouraged, and the proprietors granted a constitu- 
 tion, securing to the people liberty of conscience and equal 
 rights. In 1673, the Dutch invaded the English pro- 
 vinces ; and Captain Manning, then in authority, surren- 
 dered New York without making any defence. Subse- 
 quently, he was tried by a court-martial, and found guilty 
 upon his own confession. The sentence was — “ Though 
 he deserved death, yet, because he had, since the surren- 
 der, been in England, and had seen the king and the 
 duke, it was adjudged that his sword should be broken 
 over his head in public.” In the year 1674, the English 
 retook the possessions from the Dutch. The proprietors 
 of New Jersey, about this time, divided their interests; 
 and West New Jersey came under the management of the 
 Quakers, who divided the lands between purchasers. 
 East New Jersey had about 5,000 inhabitants in 1680; 
 and its government was located at Elizabeth Town. In 
 1702, the two provinces, East and West New Jersey, 
 were, as to government, surrendered to Queen Anne; and 
 from thence they were united. The queen appointed a 
 governor for New York and New Jersey, jointly, in 1703. 
 The two provinces, New York and New Jersey, continued 
 under the one governorship, but with separate assemblies, 
 until 1738, when the queen appointed a governor for each. 
 At the commencement of the revolutionary period, New 
 Jersey was among the foremost to resist the British op- 
 pression ; and during that memorable struggle, the state 
 performed her part well. 
 
30 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 The northern part of New Jersey is mountainous ; but 
 upon the sea coast, quite level. The central section con- 
 sists of plains, with a few small hills. The railways 
 and canals traverse the state in different directions. 
 The gradients of the former are but nominal ; and the 
 latter require but few locks and dams. The products of 
 the state are wheat, rye, oats, hay, Indian corn, barley, a 
 great variety of fruits, and garden products. The people 
 of this state have facilities for carrying the yield of the 
 land, every hour of the day, to Philadelphia and New York 
 markets. It has but little timber, except in the mountains, 
 or northern section. 
 
 The first constitution of this state was adopted on the 
 2nd of July, 1776, by “the representatives of the colony 
 of New Jersey, having been elected by all the counties in 
 the freest manner, and in Congress assembled.” And it 
 was conditioned in that instrument thus : — “ It is the true 
 intent and meaning of this Congress, that, if a reconcilia- 
 tion between Great Britain and these colonies should take 
 place, and the latter be again taken under protection and 
 government of Great Britain, this charter shall be null 
 and void, otherwise to remain firm and inviolable.” This 
 assemblage of delegates of the state was called a “Con- 
 gress.” Two days after the formation of the constitution, 
 the Congress of the United States, some twenty miles 
 distant, at Philadelphia, adopted the declaration of inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 In 1844, a convention of this state revised the constitu- 
 tion of 1776. The powers of the government are divided 
 into three distinct departments — the legislative, executive, 
 
THE STATE OF DELAWARE. 
 
 31 
 
 and judicial. The first is vested in a senate and gen- 
 eral assembly. The senate is composed of twenty-one 
 members, being one senator from each county in the 
 state ; elected for a term of three years, one-third of whom 
 retire each year. The general assembly is composed of 
 representatives based upon apportionment, though the 
 number cannot exceed sixty. The governor is elected for 
 a term of three years. The judicial powers are vested in a 
 Court of Errors and Appeals ; a court for the trial of im- 
 peachments; a Court of Chancery; a Prerogative Court ; a 
 Supreme Court ; circuit and such inferior courts as may be 
 authorised by the legislature. Every white male citizen 
 of the United States, of the age of twenty-one, and resident 
 of the state one year, is a voter. 
 
 Delaware. 
 
 In 1610, Lord De La War, governor of Virginia, entered 
 the Delaware bay. In 1637, a colony of Swedes and 
 Finns came to America, and settled at Cape Henlopen, 
 which they called “ Paradise Point.” They bought from 
 the natives the lands desired, and called the country 
 “ New Sweden.” They located, principally, at the mouth 
 of Christiana Creek, near Wilmington. These people had 
 many difficulties with the Dutch and English, both of 
 whom claimed the right of government. In 1674, Charles 
 II. granted to his brother, the Duke of York, the country 
 called New Netherlands, which included the lands occu- 
 pied by the Swedes. In 1683, the duke sold to William 
 Penn the whole of the Delaware country; and it was 
 called the “Three Lower Countries.” These “countries” 
 
32 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 were governed as a part of Pennsylvania, until 1703, when 
 they became independent by consent, and formed a sepa- 
 rate assembly, though under the Penn proprietorship. 
 In 1776, Delaware was organised into a state, and there- 
 after shared in the revolutionary contest. The area of the 
 state is 2,120 square miles, and, next to Rhode Island, is 
 the smallest of the Union, comprehending about one-third 
 of the surface of the north-eastern portion of the peninsula 
 which lies to the east of Chesapeake Bay. The coast is 
 low and sandy, and has no natural harbour, except at the 
 northern extremity, along the banks of the river from 
 which the state derives it name. In order to form a ser- 
 viceable harbour, a breakwater was constructed by the 
 Federal government, opposite the village of Lewistown, 
 and above Cape Henlopen, at a cost of nearly 3,000,000 
 of dollars. 
 
 The state of Delaware is comparatively level. The soil, 
 in the northern and central sections, is good, and profitably 
 cultivated ; near the sea it is sandy, and, to a very great 
 extent, subject to tidal overflow. The products are Indian 
 corn, wheat, rye, oats, &c. The fruits of this state are 
 greatly in demand. There are but few woodlands. The 
 railways and canals traverse the state, affording the fullest 
 required facility for commercial transit. 
 
 The constitution of Delaware was formed in 1792, and 
 amended in 1831. The powers of government are vested 
 in the legislative, executive, and judicial departments. 
 The first is styled the “ General Assembly/’ and con- 
 sists of a senate and House of Representatives. The legis- 
 lature meets biennially. The senate is composed of nine 
 
THE STATE OF MARYLAND. 
 
 33 
 
 members — three from each county — elected for a term of 
 four years. The house is composed of twenty-one mem- 
 bers, elected for a term of two years. The governor is 
 elected by the people, for a term of four years. The judicial 
 power is vested in a Court of Errors and Appeals, a Superior 
 Court, a Court of Chancery, an Orphans’ Court, a court of 
 oyer and terminer, a court of general sessions of the 
 peace and gaol delivery, a registers’ court, justices of the 
 peace, and such other tribunals as the legislature, by a 
 vote of two-thirds of each house, may establish. The right 
 of suffrage is granted to every white male citizen, of the 
 age of twenty-one years or upwards. 
 
 Maryland. 
 
 This colony was founded in the year 1622, by Cecil, 
 Lord Baltimore, an Irish nobleman, w'hose father had been 
 secretary of state to James I. ; and was one of the original 
 associates of the Virginia Company. In the year men- 
 tioned, this nobleman visited America, for the purpose of 
 ascertaining whether or not some portion of the tei’ritory 
 of Virginia, or New England, might not be rendered pro- 
 motive of the interests of his family, and at the same time 
 afford a safe retreat for the persecuted professors of the 
 Homan catholic faith, to which he had become a convert. 
 A portion of the territory of Virginia was selected by him; 
 and he had influence to obtain from King Charles I. a 
 grant of sufficient land for his purpose : but before he 
 could carry the plan of colonisation into effect, his lordship 
 died, leaving to his son the task of consummating his 
 design. To the latter, therefore, in 1632, a charter was 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 granted, by which the territory was separated from 
 Virginia, and erected into an independent colony by 
 the name of Maryland — a designation it received as a 
 mark of respect to the queen of the royal donor. The first 
 settlers in the colony were brought to it in 1634, by 
 Leonard Calvert, the brother of the founder; and one of 
 the earliest acts of the colonists allowed religious liberty, 
 which contrasted generously with the conduct of the people 
 through whose over-rigid zeal they had been compelled to 
 abandon the homes of their fathers, that they might 
 worship God according to their consciences, in the wilds 
 of a far- distant country. And again, in 1649, the legis- 
 lature of Maryland passed an act granting perfect religious 
 toleration to people of all sects and creeds. By this liberal 
 concession to religious principle the new colony speedily 
 became strong in point of numbers, as well as in intelli- 
 gence. In twenty-six years from its foundation, the popu- 
 lation of the district amounted to 12,000 persons; and, in 
 1671, it had increased to 20,000. The first legislature 
 assembled in 1639, and passed many useful laws. When 
 the civil war in England took place, the government of 
 Maryland was much disturbed, as, under Cromwell, a new 
 governor was appointed, who was adverse to the interests 
 of the proprietors. The first settlement was made at 
 St. Mary's ; and this place continued the capital of the 
 province until 1691, when it was removed to Providence, 
 now known as Annapolis, the present capital of the state. 
 In 1688, the government of Maryland was assumed by [ 
 King William ; and, in 1691, Sir Leonel Copely was ! 
 appointed governor. In 1715, the government was 
 
THE STATE OF MARYLAND. 
 
 35 
 
 restored to the proprietors, who continued to exercise 
 their authority until the American revolution commenced, 
 when an effort was made by the people to establish an 
 independent government. In 1776, an election took place 
 for members of the legislature, under the constitution ; 
 and they met, February 5th, 1777. Thomas Johnson was 
 the first governor. 
 
 The boundary line between Maryland and Pennsylvania, 
 for more than a century, has been of discussional interest. 
 The heirs of Lord Baltimore and of Penn were, for many 
 years, contesting the location of the line between their 
 respective grants. It was finally determined to have the 
 line permanently fixed upon certain agreed stipulations; 
 and to that end, on the 4th of August, 1763, Charles 
 Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, “two mathematicians and 
 surveyors/ 5 were appointed, in London, to establish the 
 boundary. They arrived in Philadelphia, November 15th, 
 1763, and immediately proceeded in the discharge of their 
 duties. At the end of every mile a stone post was set up, 
 with the letter P, and the arms of Penn engraved on the 
 north side; and the letter M, with the arms of Lord 
 Baltimore, on the south side. These gentlemen nearly 
 completed the survey, and were honourably discharged on 
 the 26th of December, 1767. The Indians prevented the 
 completion of the undertaking at that time; but, in 1784, 
 the residue, some twenty-two miles, was surveyed by others. 
 
 Mason and Dixon’s line is often referred to in American 
 discussions, because it is a line between the slave and the 
 non-slaveholding states. At the present time, the whole 
 of the states south of the line are slaveholding states, and 
 
 d 2 
 
36 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 all to the north are non-slaveholding. Upon the north is 
 the state of Pennsylvania, extending from the Delaware to 
 the Ohio river and Lake Erie ; to the south are the states 
 of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. 
 
 The soil of Maryland is rich, and yields excellent crops 
 of grain, including wheat, rye, oats, Indian corn, hay, &c. 
 The timbers are oaks, chestnut, walnut, sycamore, poplar, 
 locust, &c. The section lying east of the Chesapeake bay, 
 is called the eastern shore. The lands are very level, and 
 well cultivated. West of the bay, the country is rolling 
 or undulating, the soil rich, and well cultivated. The 
 western end, Alleghany County, is mountainous ; and it 
 abounds with iron ore, and the richest bituminous coal. 
 The greatest width of the state is about 120 miles; but at 
 Hancock it is but scarce four miles. At this place the 
 mountain ranges commence, and extend some 100 miles 
 westward. The great national road, running across the 
 Appalachian chain of mountains, passes through this part 
 of the state, from east to west. The constitutionality of 
 making this and other roads, as internal improvements, in 
 connection with the establishment of a national bank, 
 were the leading causes that created the great whig party, 
 headed by Henry Clay. President Jackson was against 
 those measures, and Senator Clay was in favour of them. 
 The Jackson party succeeded in 1836, but in 1840 it was 
 most signally defeated by the whigs. 
 
 On the 14th day of August, 1776, the first constitution 
 of Maryland was adopted “ by a convention of the dele- 
 gates of the freemen.” Subsequent to that date divers 
 amendments were adopted; but in 1851 the whole 
 
THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 37 
 
 constitution was reframed by a convention. The powers of 
 government are vested in the legislative, executive, and 
 judicial departments. The legislative is composed of a 
 senate and a house of delegates, jointly styled “the 
 General Assembly.” The senate consists of twenty-two 
 members, each elected for a term of four years. The 
 house of delegates cannot exceed eighty, or be less than 
 sixty-five — depending upon population — each elected for a 
 term of two years. The general assembly meets bien- 
 nially. The executive, or governor of the state, is elected 
 by the voters of the whole state for a term of four years. 
 The judicial power of the state is vested in a Court of 
 Appeals, circuit courts, courts for the city of Baltimore, 
 established by law, and in justices of the peace. The 
 judges are all elected. Every free white male person, of 
 twenty-one years of age or upwards, resident as to time 
 according to law, is a voter. 
 
 The railway and canal facilities for transportation are 
 very complete. Its shipping interest is very large ; the 
 people are energetic and enterprising. 
 
 Connecticut. 
 
 In 1633, William Holmes, of Plymouth, erected a house,, 
 and fortified it, at Windsor, on the Connecticut river ; 
 and, during the two subsequent years, many people from 
 Massachusetts emigrated to Connecticut. Prior to this 
 date, however, the Dutch had established a fort where 
 Hartford is now situated. In 1638, the inhabitants of 
 this new province formed an independent commonwealth ; 
 and, in 1643, the colonies of Massachusetts and Connec- 
 
38 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 ticut formed an alliance, under the name of the “ United 
 Colonies of New England.” Their united strength was 
 formidable, and they were able to repel the invasions of 
 the Dutch and Indians. After Charles II. ascended the 
 throne of England, Governor Winthrop was sent to the 
 king to obtain a royal charter for Connecticut ; and on 
 the 20th of April, 1662, it was granted. James II., in 
 1685, attempted to assume the government of the pro- 
 vince, by cancelling the charter ; and to that end, in 1687, 
 Sir Edmund Andros, governor-general of New England, 
 proceeded to Hartford, the capital of Connecticut. He 
 arrived there during the session of the assembly, and de- 
 manded the charter. It was secretly taken by the people, 
 and hid in the hollow of an oak tree. The new governor, 
 however, took possession of the province. After the death 
 of James II., the provincial government resumed the ex- 
 ercise of its chartered rights. 
 
 The people of Connecticut had to contend against the 
 Indians and their sovereign. They fought well, and were 
 able defenders of their homes : their laws were strict ; 
 hut they were faithfully obeyed. The inhabitants of Con- 
 necticut have ever been remarkable for bravery and 
 fidelity. 
 
 The area of the state is about 4,674 square miles. The 
 surface of the country is generally uneven ; but there are 
 no isolated mountains of great altitude in Connecticut — 
 the chief ranges of high ground being merely continu- 
 ations of the Massachusetts mountain chain, which runs 
 from north to south, in the direction of the Housatonic 
 and the Connecticut, the two principal rivers of the state. 
 
THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
 
 39 
 
 The Green Mountain range terminates two miles north- 
 west of New Haven. The soil of this state is very good 
 and productive, especially upon the Connecticut river. 
 There are many hills in the state, though not of very great 
 altitude ; the highest being the Blue Hills, about 1,000 feet. 
 This is a manufacturing state. The Connecticut clock is 
 known throughout the world, even in the snow-huts of 
 the Esquimaux, for its correctness in indicating the 
 “ march of time.” 
 
 The first constitution of Connecticut was formed in 1818, 
 and since then sundry amendments have been adopted. In 
 its general model, the constitution was but a continuation 
 of the charter granted to the old Connecticut colony, by 
 Charles II., in 1662. The powers of the government are 
 vested in the legislative, executive, and judicial departments. 
 The legislative is composed of two branches, the senate and 
 the House of Representatives. It meets annually. The 
 senate consists of not less than eighteen, nor more than 
 twenty-four members, as may be apportioned by the legisla- 
 ture from time to time. The House of Representatives is 
 composed of 215 members. The governor and lieutenant- 
 governor are elected annually; the latter presides over 
 the senate. The judicial powers of the state are vested 
 in a Supreme Court of Errors, a superior court, and such 
 inferior courts as may be established by the general 
 assembly. The judges are elected bv the legislature. 
 Every white male citizen of the United States, who shall 
 have attained the age of twenty-one, with a residency, is a 
 qualified voter, provided “ he be able to read any article 
 of the constitution, or any section of the statute laws.” 
 
40 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Rhode Island. 
 
 The first white settler on Rhode Island was Roger 
 Williams, whose liberal opinions in matters of faith, and 
 eccentricities of manner, banished him from England, and 
 at length rendered him obnoxious to the colonists of 
 Massachusetts, with whom he had emigrated, that, with 
 them, he might enjoy liberty of conscience, but among 
 whom he strove to inculcate principles of toleration far in 
 advance of their ideas of religious liberty. The result was, 
 his expulsion, in January, 1636, from the colony of Mas- 
 sachusetts, by the voice of the whole community, which 
 required that he should be forthwith transported to 
 England. A ship was then ready to sail from Boston to 
 Europe; and a pinnace was dispatched to Salem, where 
 he resided, for the purpose of conveying him to Boston, 
 where he was to embark; but, having received notice of 
 the project for transporting him, he fled from his perse- 
 cutors. “ Eor fourteen weeks he was sorely tossed in a 
 bitter season, not knowing what bread or bed did mean.” 
 In his wanderings he approached Narraganset Bay; and 
 at Mooshansie, an Indian village, he met with some 
 natives, whose language he had acquired a knowledge of, 
 and was received by them with kindness. In June of the 
 same year, with five companions who had accompanied 
 him, he founded a little settlement at the mouth of the 
 Seakouk river — naming the place Providence, “as an 
 acknowledgment of God’s merciful providence to me in 
 my distress ; and I desire it may be for ever a shelter for 
 persons distressed for conscience’ sake.” The land sur- 
 
THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND. 
 
 41 
 
 rounding his settlement was purchased fairly by him, from 
 the chiefs of the Narraganset tribe, to whom it belonged; 
 and who, on the 24th of March, 1638, made over to him 
 a large domain, which he designated Providence Planta- 
 tion. Williams then organised a body politic, and the 
 public affairs were conducted upon the most liberal prin- 
 ciples. This new colony, however, was much annoyed by 
 the Plymouth government claiming the territorial juris- 
 diction, and right of property. 
 
 In 1644, Williams went to England, and obtained a 
 patent from the Plymouth Company for the territory he 
 had occupied, and the right of self-government. In 1647, 
 a legislative tribunal was organised, and a code of laws 
 established. Sixteen years subsequently, Charles II. 
 granted a royal charter, creating a provincial government, 
 under the name of “ The Governor and Company of the 
 English colony of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- 
 tions, in New England, of America.” After the govern- 
 ment was organised, the assembly granted to all Christian 
 sects, excepting Roman catholics, the right of voting. 
 
 The largest portion of the state of Rhode Island lies to 
 the west and north-west of Narraganset Bay, and compre- 
 hends about 900 square miles. A further portion is 
 situated eastward of the same bay ; and the rest is com- 
 posed of various islands, of which the one giving name to 
 the state is the largest, and is also the most fertile and 
 best populated. Near Rhode Island is another, named 
 Canonicut Island, seven miles long, and one broad, much 
 frequented for the beauty of its scenery. Prudence 
 Island, lying partly between Rhode and Canonicut islands. 
 
42 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 is of smaller dimensions than the last-named ; and Block 
 Island, situated about twelve miles south-west from Point 
 Judith, on the mainland (about eight miles long, by two 
 to four miles broad), is chiefly inhabited by fishermen. 
 On Canonicut Island are the ruins of a circular fort, 
 which, crowning an eminence at the entrance of the bay, 
 present the remains of an early period. This circular fort 
 is supposed to have been constructed by the Northmen 
 during their settlement of the country, between the 10th 
 and the 14th centuries. The tower is precisely like those 
 constructed at many places on the continent of Europe, by 
 Romans, and now to be seen as ruins. The celebrated 
 Digliton rock, with runic inscriptions, found upon the 
 Taunton river, evidences the settlement of the country by 
 the Scandinavians in the year 1007. 
 
 The state of Rhode Island is comparatively level, with 
 sandy plains. There are many hills; none exceeding 
 300 feet high above the level of the sea. The soil is not 
 very fertile, but it is well cultivated. Wheat, rye, oats, 
 beans, barley, buck-wheat, Indian corn, &c., are among 
 the products of the state. The grazing lands are exten- 
 sive ; and the cattle, sheep, and horses, raised by the 
 farmers, are very superior. The woollen and cotton 
 fabrics of this state are of the best quality. The first cotton 
 mill in the United States was erected in Rhode Island. 
 
 Until 1842, the people of the state of Rhode Island 
 continued their government under the charter, commenc- 
 ing thus : — “ Charles the Second, by the grace of God/’ &c. 
 This charter restricted the right of suffrage; but, in 1842, 
 the popular excitement, created by the Dorr rebellion, 
 
 
CHE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 43 
 
 produced the formation of a more democratic government. 
 The constitution, adopted in 1842, forms the government 
 into three departments — the legislative, executive, and 
 judicial. The first is composed of two branches, the 
 senate and House of Representatives. The senate consists 
 of the lieutenant-governor, and of one senator from each 
 town or city in the state ; at present thirty-two. The 
 house cannot exceed seventy-two members. The gov- 
 ernor, lieutenant-governor, senators, and representatives 
 are elected annually. The legislature meets annually; 
 the May session is held at Newport; the October session, 
 biennially, at South Kingstown ; and biennially, alternately 
 at Bristol and East Greenwich; and an adjourned October 
 session, annually, at Providence. 
 
 The judicial power of the state is vested in one Supreme 
 Court, and such other inferior courts as the legislature may 
 ordain from time to time. Every male citizen of the 
 United States, of the age of twenty-one years, is a quali- 
 fied voter, provided he has been a resident in the state 
 one year, holding property to the amount of 134 dollars, 
 over and above all debts, or property producing a rent not 
 less than seven dollars per annum, and shall have paid a 
 poll-tax of one dollar. 
 
 North Carolina. 
 
 This state was originally included in the grant given by 
 Queen Elizabeth to Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584, for the 
 territory named Virginia. Attempts were made to settle 
 the country in 1585, and again in 1589; but the efforts 
 were unsuccessful. In 1650, some Virginians fled to this 
 
44 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 territory to enjoy religious toleration, which they had not 
 been able to realise in Virginia. They settled near Albe- 
 marle Sound, and declared they would not acknowledge 
 any superior on earth, nor obey any laws but those of God 
 and nature. In 1661, a few people from Massachusetts 
 settled on the shores of Cape Fear River; and, in 1666, 
 there were about 800 inhabitants. Charles II. granted a 
 patent to Lord Clarendon, and others, for all the territory 
 between 30° and 36° N. lat., extending from the Atlantic 
 to the South Sea (Mississippi River), or Pacific Ocean. 
 Emigration was encouraged, and they were promised 
 religious liberty, and the right to be governed by an 
 assembly. A settlement was made at Charleston (South 
 Carolina) ; and being very successful, it proved to be a 
 rival to the one on Albemarle Sound. It was owing to 
 this circumstance that the terms “North” and “South” 
 Carolina originated, and ultimately a division of the 
 territory. A despotic governor reduced North Carolina 
 to half its population, which only numbered, in 1694, 
 787. 
 
 In 1707, some Huguenots, or French protestants, located 
 themselves on the river Trent, and conducted their affairs 
 with prudence, effecting prosperity. In 1710, a large 
 number of Palatines came from Germany, and settled in 
 North Carolina; but the most of them, and many of the 
 other inhabitants, were massacred by the Indians in 1712. 
 After this, North Carolina came under the government of 
 South Carolina, until about 1729, when it was transferred 
 to tbe king by the proprietors. Subsequently, another 
 government was established under the crown. The early 
 
THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 45 
 
 annals of this portion of the American continent are 
 written in blood, through the fierce and implacable hosti- 
 lity of the Indians, who on several occasions devastated 
 the settlement, and massacred the unprotected inhabitants. 
 The people of this state took an early and active part in 
 the most stirring events of the revolution, and many 
 sanguinary conflicts with the royal forces took place within 
 her borders. The Mechlenberg Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence was made on the 31st of May, 1775 ; and North 
 Carolina therefore claims the honour of being the first of 
 the colonies to demand a separation from the parent 
 country. 
 
 The area of North Carolina is 50,704 square miles ; and 
 at the commencement of the revolution in 1775, included 
 Tennessee. In 1790, it ceded the territory of Tennessee 
 (then called Franklin) to the United States; which was, 
 in 1796, admitted into the Union as a state. 
 
 The face of the country comprehended within the limits 
 of this state, is, on the south-east and east sides, level and 
 sandy, interspersed with shallow lakes and marshes. A 
 chain of low islands or sand-banks lines the whole extent 
 of the coast, cutting off a number of shallow lakes or 
 lagoons, which are difficult to navigate. The tract known 
 as the Great Dismal Swamp, partly in the north-east of 
 this state and partly in Virginia, is a soft spongy mass, 
 supposed to be higher than the surrounding country, and 
 to hold the water by capillary attraction. No state has a 
 greater variety of soil than North Carolina. The dwarf 
 palms and the live oak grow around the mouth of Cape 
 Fear River; whilst, in the western sections, the forest 
 
46 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 marks a climate of much lower temperature. In the south- 
 western part of the state, and in most of the seaward zone, 
 cotton is the staple production. In the west, almost every 
 species of grain, except rice, is cultivated. Figs, apples, 
 peaches, and the greatest variety of fruits are produced in 
 abundance. Wheat, rye, barley, oats, flax, and Indian 
 corn are the crops of the state. Cotton is raised in very 
 considerable quantities. North Carolina abounds in iron 
 ore. Its gold mines have been very profitable. The mines 
 found upon the Yadkin and its branches, extend over a 
 district comprising about 1,000 square miles. Manufac- 
 turing is carried on to a considerable extent. 
 
 The prefix to the present organic instrument reads 
 thus : — “ The constitution, or form of government, agreed to 
 aud resolved upon by the representatives of the freemen 
 of the state of North Carolina, elected and chosen for that 
 particular purpose, in Congress assembled at Halifax, 
 December 18th, 1776/’ The government is vested in the 
 legislative, executive, and judiciary departments. The 
 legislative consists of two branches — the senate and the 
 House of Commons. The senate is composed of fifty 
 members, elected biennially. The House of Commons is 
 composed of 120 members, biennially chosen by the people. 
 The general assembly meets biennially. The governor of 
 ihe state is elected by the people for a term of two years. 
 The legislature elects the judges, and ordains the judicial 
 system of the state. The judges of the supreme and 
 superior courts are elected by joint ballot of both houses 
 of the general assembly : and they hold office during good 
 behaviour. Every freeman, of the age of twenty-one years, 
 
THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
 47 
 
 resident of the state for one year, and possessed of a free- 
 hold of fifty acres of land, is a qualified voter; but "no 
 free negro, free mulatto, or free person of mixed blood, 
 descended from negro ancestors to the fourth generation 
 inclusive, shall vote for members of the senate and House 
 of Commons.” 
 
 The constitution further declares, that “ no person who 
 shall deny the being of God, or the truth of the Christian 
 religion, or the divine authority of the Old or New Testa- 
 ment ; or who shall hold religious principles incompatible 
 with the freedom or safety of the state, shall be capable of 
 holding any office or place of trust in the civil department 
 within this state.” 
 
 South Carolina. 
 
 The early history of the settlement of this state is 
 associated with the persecutions and sufferings of the 
 Huguenots; a party of whom, under the auspices of 
 Admiral Coligny, and the immediate leadership of Ribault 
 (an officer of great spirit and enterprise), emigrated from 
 France in 1562, with the intention of forming a protestant 
 colony in Florida. This effort, by the mismanagement of 
 the authorities, resulted in a failure, and the colonists 
 returned to France. A second attempt, under the same 
 leader, was equally unsuccessful ; and, for a time, the 
 colonisation of this portion of the American continent was 
 abandoned. 
 
 The next enterprise in this direction was undertaken 
 in 1584, by Sir Walter Raleigh, who, having obtained a 
 grant of the territory from Queen Elizabeth, chartered 
 
48 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 two vessels with emigrants for the American coast; and, 
 landing, gave to the whole country the name of Virginia, 
 from which the two states of North and South Carolina 
 were subsequently formed. The first effort of Raleigh, 
 like that of Ribault, was a disastrous failure ; and the 
 emigrants, worn out by disappointment, fatigue, and 
 hunger, returned to England. Undeterred by the dis- 
 couragements which had been fatal to the first expedition, 
 Raleigh, in 1587, equipped another company of adven- 
 turers, who endeavoured to establish themselves at Roanoke* 
 near Cape Hatteras, where they had landed on the 22nd 
 of J uly. This effort, like the first, was unsuccessful : the 
 colonists were either starved or destroyed by the Indians ; 
 and, during a space of twenty years, no further attempt 
 was made to plant an English colony in America. 
 
 Omitting further reference here to the establishment of 
 European colonies upon the vast continent, we arrive at 
 the period when Carolina was first named as a separate 
 state ; namely, in the year 1638, when Charles I. granted 
 to Sir Robert Heath, then attorney-general, a range of 
 territory on the North American continent, stretching to 
 the southward of Virginia, from the 36th degree of north 
 latitude, by the name of Carolina. Little was done 
 towards forming a settlement under this grant; but, 
 between the years 1640 and 1650, many persons, suffering 
 from religious intolerance in Virginia, fled beyond her 
 limits, and occupied a portion of North Carolina, north of 
 Albemarle Sound. In 1670, the settlement had assumed 
 a permanent character at Port Royal, on the right bank 
 of the Rappahannock river, twenty-two miles below the 
 
 
THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
 49 
 
 site of the present town of Fredericsburg. A constitution 
 was drawn up for the colonists by John Locke, in 1665, 
 ■which was found too Utopian in its principles to be reduced 
 to practice. The distinctive appellations of North and 
 South Carolina came into use about the same time. South 
 Carolina continued to be a proprietary government until 
 1719, when it became a royal colony. Subsequently, it 
 joined in the resistance to British rule, and formed its own 
 independent and sovereign government. This state has 
 an area of about 29,885 square miles. 
 
 South Carolina is naturally divided into three zones. 
 The maritime zone rises by a very gentle acclivity from 
 the ocean ; the rivers are shallow near their mouths, and 
 much of the surface is flooded by the tides and land floods. 
 This outer belt is followed, about the lower falls of the 
 rivers, by a still more sandy zone, which is in turn suc- 
 ceeded by the hilly tract between the head of tides and 
 the mountains. The third, or mountain tract, with the 
 exception of the mountain ridges and a still increased 
 elevation, differs in no essential respect from the middle 
 or hilly zone. Both the latter sections of South Carolina 
 partake of the general diversity of surface, salubritv of 
 climate, and fertility of soil, which distinguishes the verge 
 of the Appalachian system in all its length. The extreme 
 north-western part of South Carolina is on the great 
 table-land from which the sources of the Tennessee flow 
 north and north-west; those of the Chatahooche, from 
 south-west; and those of the Savannah and Santee, south- 
 east. 
 
 The soil of South Carolina is divided into six classes : — 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 1. Tide swamp. 2. Inland swamp. 3. High river swamp ; 
 or low grounds, distinguished by the name of second low 
 grounds. 4. Salt marsh. 5. Oak and hickory high land. . 
 6. Pine barren. The first two classes are peculiarly 
 adapted to the culture of rice and hemp; the third is 
 most favourable to the growth of hemp, corn, and indigo. 
 The oak and hickory land is remarkably fertile, and well 
 adapted to the culture of corn, as well as indigo and cot- 
 ton. The pine barren, though the least productive, is so 
 much more salubrious than the other soils in the low 
 country, that a proportion of it is an appendage indis- 
 pensable to every swamp plantation. The staple com- 
 modities of this state are cotton and rice, of which great 
 quantities are annually exported. These articles have so 
 engrossed the attention of planters, that the culture of 
 wheat, barley, oats, and other crops equally useful, but 
 less profitable, has been neglected. Cotton was not raised 
 in any considerable quantities till so late as 1795; and 
 before that period indigo was, next to rice, the most im- 
 portant article of produce ; hut it is now neglected. 
 Tobacco thrives well. The fruits which flourish best are 
 pears, pomegranates, and water-melons : the latter, in par- 
 ticular, grow to an enormous size, and are superior, per- 
 haps, to any in the world. Other fruits are figs, apricots, 
 nectarines, apples, peaches, olives, almonds, and oranges. 
 
 The period of vegetation comprehends, in favourable 
 years, from seven to eight months, commencing in Jan- 
 uary or February, and terminating in October or Novem- 
 ber. The frosts general!}', in the months of November, 
 December, January, and February, are too severe for the 
 
THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
 51 
 
 delicate production of more southern latitudes. The low 
 country is seldom covered with snow, but the mountains 
 near the western boundary often are. Frost sometimes 
 occurs, but seldom penetrates deeper than two inches, or 
 lasts longer than three or four days. At some seasons, 
 and particularly in February, the weather is very variable. 
 The temperature has been known to vary 46° in one day. 
 In Charleston, for seven years, the thermometer was not 
 known to rise above 93°, or to fall below 17° above 0. 
 The number of extremely hot days in Charleston is seldom 
 more than thirty in one year. The low country is infested 
 with all the diseases which spring from a warm, moist, and 
 unelastic atmosphere. The districts of the upper country 
 enjoy as salubrious a climate as any part of the United 
 States. 
 
 The present constitution of the state of South Carolina 
 was framed in June, 1790. It was amended in 1808, and 
 again in 1816. The powers of government are vested in the 
 legislative, executive, and judiciary departments. The 
 legislative is called a general assembly, meets annually, 
 and consists of a senate and House of Representatives. 
 The former is composed of forty-six members, elected for 
 a term of four years; and the latter of 124 members, 
 elected for a term of two years. Every free white man, 
 of the age of twenty-one years (paupers and non-com- 
 missioned officers, and private soldiers of the army of the 
 United States, excepted), being a citizen of the state, and 
 possessing a freehold of fifty acres of land, or a town lot, 
 is a qualified voter. The state is divided into judicial 
 districts. The Court of Appeals is composed of a chief 
 
 e 2 
 
52 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 justice, and two associate justices. The governor is elected 
 by the senate and House of Representatives jointly, for a 
 term of two years. 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 At an early period in the settlement of America, the 
 territory of Pennsylvania was claimed by the Dutch, upon 
 the grounds of first occupancy on the Delaware river. The 
 Swedes, in 1631, contested the right; and, in 1640, the 
 English, from New Haven, alleged a claim under the law 
 of discovery. Governor Stuyvesant, of the Dutch at New 
 Amsterdam (now New York), in 1655, took forcible pos- 
 session of the Swedish settlements on the west bank of 
 the Delaware, claiming the whole as within the jurisdic- 
 tion of New Netherlands. The patent given to the Duke 
 of York, in 1664, by Charles II., embraced the territory 
 claimed by the Dutch on the Hudson and the Delaware 
 rivers. In 1675, the western part of Pennsylvania was 
 sold to Edward Bylinge, of the Society of Friends, for 
 whom William Penn became trustee ; and, in 1681, the 
 king gave to William Penn a patent for the eastern lands, 
 which were named Pennsylvania. Penn proceeded imme- 
 diately to encourage emigration, and peace with the 
 Indians. He devised a system of government, and a code 
 of laws. The lands on the south side of the Delaware, 
 embraced within the patent of the Duke of York, were 
 purchased by Penn ; and, in August, 1682, with 2,000 
 emigrants, he sailed for America. After his arrival, he 
 made a treaty with the Indians, and organised his colony 
 upon equitable principles. An assembly was formed, and 
 
THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 53 
 
 the people exercised the right of legislation, securing to 
 themselves the right of religious and political freedom. 
 The Delawai’e territory had a separate assembly, but the 
 same governor presided over both legislatures. The popu- 
 lation rapidly increased, principally on account of the in- 
 tolerant acts of the English government with respect to 
 religion. The Quakers found no peace at home; and for 
 the privilege of worshipping God according to the dictates 
 of their own consciences, they abandoned their birthplaces, 
 and took up their homes in the wilds of the New World. 
 In 1753, the Indians were at war in the western part of 
 Pennsylvania, on account of land titles among the differ- 
 ent tribes. The whites took part in the contest — the 
 English on one side, and the French, then at the head of 
 Ohio river, on the other side. Braddock, with his fine 
 English army, was defeated and routed near Pittsburg (then 
 Fort Duquesne), on the banks of the Monongahela. 
 Colonel George Washington had command of the Virginia 
 forces in this war, and proved himself to be a brave soldier. 
 The French abandoned the contest, and the Indians ulti- 
 mately yielded. The government of Pennsylvania re- 
 mained under the influence of the heirs of Penn until the 
 first part of the revolutionary war of 1775, when the people 
 purchased the titles to their lands, which, up to that time, 
 had been held in fee. The entire state embraces an area 
 of 46,000 square miles ; more than half the surface being 
 covered by the Alleghany or Appalachian chain of moun- 
 tains, the ridges of which run S.S.W. and N.N.E.; the 
 width along the southern boundary line of the state being 
 near a hundred miles. 
 
54 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Pennsylvania is advantageously situated as regards navi- 
 gable rivers ; amongst which, the Delaware on the east, 
 the Susquehanna iu the centre, and the Ohio on the west, 
 claim precedence. The first named is navigable by large 
 ships to Philadelphia, and by sloops to Trenton, 130 miles 
 from its mouth. The Susquehanna rises in two branches 
 on the table-lauds of Pennsylvania and New York, more 
 than 200 miles from each other. The entire course of the 
 river is rather less than 450 miles. Some of its affluents 
 are navigable for small boats during the greater part of 
 the year. The Ohio, formed by the junction of the 
 Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, runs westward, for 
 about forty miles through this state. 
 
 It may be doubted whether a more widely diversified 
 region exists on the face of the earth than Pennsylvania, 
 or one of similar area on which the vegetable and mineral 
 productions are more numerous. In a state of nature, the 
 streams of this state flowed through a dense forest. No 
 part of Pennsylvania is level ; and, in respect to surface, it 
 is divisible into three natural sections : first, a small but 
 important hilly tract between the marine alluvium and the 
 lower ridges of the Appalachian system ; second, the 
 mountainous, or middle section ; and third, the western 
 hilly. 
 
 The difference of level in Pennsylvania, if the mountain 
 plateaus are included, is about 1,200 feet, or an equivalent 
 to three degrees of latitude; so that extremes of tempera- 
 ture over the state extend to about five degrees. Penn- 
 sylvania is emphatically a country congenial to wheat, 
 meadow grass, and the apple; but it admits a wide 
 
THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 55 
 
 diversity of other vegetable productions. Except rice, it 
 embraces the whole list of cerealia cultivated in the United 
 States ; and amongst fruits, besides the apple, peaches, 
 pears, and plums abound. Of indigenous forest trees, this 
 state yields as great a variety as is to be found on the 
 globe in a zone two degrees and one-third wide, and not 
 quite six degrees in length. The terebinthine forests are 
 in great part confined to the mountains, and the deciduous 
 trees to the eastern and western sections. In the latter 
 the sugar-maple becomes plentiful. The productive soil 
 is, in a remarkable manner, equally distributed ; and some 
 of the most fertile bottoms in the state are included in the 
 mountain section. 
 
 Pennsylvania affords marble of a beautiful variety and 
 excellent texture. Iron and anthracite coal follow marble, 
 and exist in quantities which defy exhaustion. Iron 
 abounds over the whole state; and where the anthracite 
 coal ceases, the bituminous commences, and seems to 
 underlie great part of the western, and some of the central 
 portions of it. In the region of bituminous coal, wherever 
 the earth has been penetrated to any great depth, salt 
 water has been found; and salt works, on a large scale, 
 exist on the Conemaugh, and in some other parts of the 
 western section. 
 
 The first constitution of the state of Pennsylvania was 
 adopted September 28th, 1776. It was revised in 1838, and 
 amended in 1850. The government is vested in the legisla- 
 tive, executive, and judicial departments; the first con- 
 sisting of a senate, at present with thirty-three members, 
 and House of Representatives, with a hundred members. 
 
56 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 The number of senators cannot be less than one-fourth, 
 nor more than one-third of the number of representatives; 
 and they are elected for a term of three years : members 
 of the house cannot exceed one hundred, nor be less than 
 sixty, elected for a term of one year ; the precise number 
 of members is regulated, from time to time, by the 
 legislative apportionment. The general assembly meets 
 annually. The executive, or governor, is elected by the 
 people for a term of three years. The judicial power of 
 the commonwealth is vested in a Supreme Court, courts 
 of oyer and terminer, and general gaol delivery, a Court 
 of Common Pleas, Orphans’ Court, Register’s Court, and 
 a Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace for each county ; 
 justices of the peace, and such other tribunals as shall 
 be ordained by the legislature. The judges are elected by 
 the people. Every white freeman, of the age of twenty-one 
 years, with a residency, is a legal voter. 
 
 Georgia. 
 
 1 
 
 In 1732, George II. granted a patent to a philanthropic 
 company to settle the province of Georgia. The territory 
 was embraced in the original charter of Carolina. The 
 river Savannah separated the two colonies, and Georgia 
 extended westward to the Mississippi. The poor and 
 indigent families of Great Britain and Ireland were 
 encouraged to settle in Georgia; and many humane and 
 opulent persons aided the colonisation by the contribution 
 of money. The first settlement was made in 1733, under 
 the direction of James Oglethorpe, one of the trustees of 
 the Georgia Company, on the banks of the Savannah. In 
 
THE STATE OF GEORGIA. 
 
 57 
 
 1752, a royal government was formed ; after which popu- 
 lation rapidly increased in numbers and wealth. Although 
 the younger of the North American colonies at the out- 
 break of the revolution, Georgia was prompt to join its 
 elder sisters in denouncing the attempted oppressions of 
 the British government, in resisting arbitrary laws, and in 
 declaring its independence; but its juvenile strength was 
 not proportioned to its will ; and being forced to succumb 
 to royal authority, it continued in prolonged and weari- 
 some subjection to British rule during the war. 
 
 The territory comprehended under the name of Georgia, 
 embracing an area of 58,000 square miles, is naturally 
 divided into three zones, each of which is very distinctly 
 marked. The lowest, and what may be called the tropical 
 zone, rises by a very slow acclivity from the Atlantic Ocean, 
 commencing in a series of islands. This is, in its oceanic 
 margin, a recent alluvion ; and is followed by the second, 
 a sandy tract of little more elevation, but reaching to the 
 falls of the rivers. The third, or hilly, and, finally, moun- 
 tainous section, is the most extensive, fertile, and salu- 
 brious. Prom the level of the Atlantic islands to the 
 mountain vales of Chatahooche and Etowah rivers, must be 
 an elevation of 1,200 or 1,500 feet ; at the lowest, an equi- 
 valent to 3° of latitude ; which, added to 4° 38', gives a 
 difference of 7° 38' in temperature. The mountainous 
 northern extremity rises into an elevation favourable to 
 apples and the grasses ; while the southern extremity, on 
 the Appalachicola, Suwanne, St. Mary’s, Santilla, and Ala- 
 tamaha, has a temperature suitable to the sugar-cane, 
 orange, olive, date, and lemon. Between those extremes 
 
58 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 vegetable production has an extensive range. To those 
 already named, may be added cotton, rice, tobacco, and 
 indigo; of fruits, the peach, fig, pomegranate, plum, &c. 
 The sea border is a region of palms, and has a mean tem- 
 perature at least two degrees above that of equal latitudes 
 in the basin of Mississippi. In summer the Atlantic 
 border is a real tropical climate; whilst towards North 
 Carolina and Tennessee, the mountain vales smile under a 
 mitigated sun. Cotton, rice, and sugar, may be regarded 
 as its staples. The former has, however, so far predomi- 
 nated — the Atlantic islands producing a peculiar kind of 
 superior value — that it may be considered the exclusive 
 staple of the state. The sweet orange and sugar-cane can 
 be cultivated with success along the whole ocean border, 
 and for some distance inland. 
 
 The constitution of Georgia was framed in 1777 ; revised 
 in 1798 ; and amended in 1839. The powers of government 
 are vested in the legislative, executive, and judicial depart- 1 
 meuts. The legislative is composed of two branches — the 
 senate and House of Representatives. The former consists 
 of a member from each county — at present 135 ; and the; 
 house consists of at least one member, and not more than 
 four, from each county, determined according to appoint- 
 ment from time to time; and, at present, 175. The mem-j 
 hers of both branches are elected biennially, and the 
 legislature meets biennially. The governor is elected by! 
 the people, for a term of two years. The judicial powers 
 are vested in a superior court, and such other courts as 
 shall be ordained by the general assembly from time t( 
 time. The judges are elected by the legislature, for a tern 
 
THE REPUBLIC OF 1789. 
 
 59 
 
 of six years. The state is divided into sixteen circuits, 
 with a judge for each. Every resident white male citizen, 
 of twenty-one years of age, having paid the legislative 
 taxes, is a qualified voter. 
 
 In the preceding pages we have hastily noticed each of 
 the original thirteen colonial states. It has not been pos- 
 sible for us to give details of political history ; nor could we 
 do more than simply refer, laconically, to some of the 
 most important incidents, developments, and peculiar 
 characteristics of the respective political divisions. These 
 were the thirteen independent and sovereign powers that 
 formed the great American Republic of 1789, which has 
 progressed with a degree of prosperity theretofore unknown 
 in national annals. Its career has been brilliant, and of 
 singular renown. But, at the present time, a fratricidal 
 struggle is effacing its well-earned glory from its hereto- 
 fore fair escutcheon. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Admission of new States — their History, Topography, and Gov- 
 ernments; the Territories of the Union, and the District of I 
 Columbia. 
 
 Admission of New States into the Union. 
 
 The constitution of the United States formed a govern - 1 
 ment composed of the thirteen colonial states, with all 
 their territories. Provision was made, in that instrument , 1 
 for the admission of new states into the Union ; viz. — 
 
 “ New states may be admitted by Congress into the Union ; but 
 no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any! 
 other state, nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more 
 states, or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of : 
 the states concerned, as well as of Congress.” 
 
 The word “ may” has been interpreted, by some poli- 
 ticians, to mean permissive; and that Congress could 
 admit or reject the application : but statesmen have con- 
 tended, that Congress had no power to refuse the ad- 
 mission of a state properly organised. The expression 
 of the constitution is vague and irregular. The clause 
 was written for special cases — particularly to gratify the 
 state of New York, with respect to the district of 
 Vermont, at that time assumed by its people to be a 
 state; while, on the other hand, New York claimed 
 Vermont as a part of its territory. Another clause of the 
 constitution has been interpreted, by politicians, to bear upon! 
 
ADMISSION OF NEW STATES. 
 
 61 
 
 the consideration of propositions for the admission of new 
 states ; namely — 
 
 “ The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union 
 a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
 against invasion; and, on application of the legislature or the 
 executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against domes- 
 tic violence.” 
 
 Many politicians have coupled the two quoted clauses 
 together, and have asserted, that Congress must examine 
 the constitution of the proposed state applying for ad- 
 mission into the Union, and determine whether or not 
 . the form of government recognised in it be republican or 
 not. Northern politicians have been wonderfully fastidious 
 on the subject of constitutional mention of the negro race, 
 on the admission of new slaveholding states; and the 
 slightest restriction of their immunities, has been sufficient 
 : to incur their indignity and unceasing opposition; but 
 in cases where the state is non-slaveholding, the restric- 
 tions upon free negroes, it would seem, has not been a 
 question of conscience with them. To prove the pre- 
 ceding, we would refer to the great northern struggle, on 
 . the admission of Missouri, in the years 1818, 1819, and 
 1820 ; and then to the tranquillity of the republican party, 
 m the admission of Oregon, in 1858. On the Missouri 
 question, the northern states objected to the clause in the 
 .'institution permitting the legislature to pass laws pro- 
 iibiting free negroes from emigrating into that state. 
 The clause had to be practically expunged from the con- 
 titution, before Missouri could be admitted. In 1858, 
 Oregon was admitted, with a constitutional clause more 
 evere against the free negroes than was proposed by the 
 
62 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Missourians in 1820. The admission of Oregon was 
 advantageous to the north ; it increased the power of the 
 republican party in Congress. 
 
 We are pained to make these admissions of the in- 
 consistencies of our country’s public men. It is but just . 
 to mention, however, that the pro-slavery party has been 
 equally anxious to obtain an increase of power; as an 
 evidence of which, we need but refer to tbeir efforts in 
 favour of the admission of Kansas, as a slave state, in 
 1857. As proof that the constitutional question created 
 on the recent applications for the admission of new states 
 into the Union, has been but a mere party strategy, we 
 need but refer to the Congressional proceedings on the 
 applications for the admission of the states of Missouri,! 
 Kansas, and Oregon ; and then compare them with the 
 proceedings of Congress admitting the states of Vermont, 
 Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. 
 
 Vermont was the first new state admitted after the 
 adoption of the federal constitution. On the 9th of 
 February, 1791, President Washington laid before Com 
 gress documents received from the governor of Vermont 
 expressing the consent of the legislature of New York 
 and of the territory of Vermont, that the said territory 
 should be admitted to be a distinct member of the Union 
 On the 18th of the same month, an act of Congress was 
 approved for the admission of Vermont into the Union 
 No formality was observed respecting the contents of it; 
 constitution. The act of Congress says — “ Vermont having u t 
 petitioned Congress, &c., on the 4th day of March, &c. 
 shall be received into this Union, as a new and entinj (j 
 
ADMISSION OF NEW STATES. 
 
 63 
 
 member of the United States of America/’ There was no 
 constitution either submitted to, or required by, Congress : 
 nor are there any traces of a constitution of that new 
 state to be found previous to the 9th of July, 1793. 
 
 Kentucky was the next state admitted into the Union. 
 On the 18th of December, 1 789, shortly after the national 
 convention adopted the federal constitution, the Virginia 
 legislature resolved in favour of authorising Kentucky to 
 organise an independent state. On the 4th of February, 
 1791, Congress passed an act of consent, that Kentucky 
 should become a separate state, and be admitted into the 
 Union on the 1st day of June, 1792. On the 19th of 
 April, 1792, the state formed its constitution, and or- 
 ganised a state government. On the first day of the next 
 session of Congress (November 5th, 1792), the senators 
 from Kentucky took their seats. The constitution of the 
 state had not been, nor has it ever been, submitted to 
 
 - Congress. The formalities observed in the admission of the 
 states of Vermont and Kentucky, during the first years of 
 the government, and during the administration of Wash- 
 
 - ington as president (and who had been the president of 
 : the convention that framed the federal constitution), con- 
 : clusively prove, that the submission of a constitution was 
 
 - not necessary, as a precedent, to the admission of the new 
 ' i; $tate making the application to become a member of the 
 :I I Union. 
 
 Tennessee was the next state admitted. Its constitu- 
 
 I ion had been formed on the 6th of February, 1796; and 
 in the application for its admission, a member from South 
 Carolina objected to its constitution, because “it contained 
 
64 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 a clause repugnant to the constitution of the United 
 States.” A member from Georgia considered that the 
 objectionable clause was of no particular import; and said, • 
 “if repugnant to the constitution of the United States, it 
 was a nullity, because the constitution of the United States 
 was paramount.” The state was admitted, even with the 
 objectionable clause, without further discussion. 
 
 Ohio was the fourth state admitted. On the 30th of 
 April, 1802, Congress passed a law, authorising the people 
 of the territory of Ohio to form a state government. On 
 the 29th of November, 1802, a constitution was framed; j 
 and, on the 7th of January, 1803, it was laid before the 
 senate : it was referred to a committee, and was never 
 reported upon. At the close of Congress, it was filed 
 in the archives of the senate as “ dead matter.” On 
 the 19th of February, 1803, Congress passed an act, 
 in which was declared, that, by the law of Congress, 
 approved April 30th, 1802, the people of the territory of 
 Ohio, having been authorised to form a constitution and 
 state government, therefore the said state of Ohio had 
 become one of the United States of America. Louisiana 
 was the first state admitted through formality — not, how-, 
 ever, on the question of slavery, but on a pecuniary 
 consideration with the older states. On the 20th of R 
 February, 1811, Congress passed an act authorising the si 
 people of Louisiana to form a constitution and state It 
 government, which was complied with by the adoption of w 
 a constitution on the 28th of January, 1812. On the 8th p 
 of April, 1812, the state was admitted into the Union by ml 
 formal act of Congress ; but conditional : namely — it was 
 
ADMISSION OF NEW STATES. 
 
 65 
 
 | stipulated that the free navigation of the Mississippi, and 
 other rivers of Louisiana, should be secured for ever to all 
 the older states, free from “any tax, duty, impost, or toll.” 
 The Mississippi river traverses the state, and the older 
 . (then existing) members of the Union made it a condition 
 of the admission of the state of Louisiana, that the 
 . free navigation of that great river should be secured to all 
 the old states of the Union. There was a good reason 
 for the enactment of this stipulatorv law. The state of 
 New York, at that very day, like the old feudal knights 
 of the Rhine, exacted as a toll, one dollar from every pas- 
 senger that travelled in the steam-boats navigating the 
 Hudson river. It thereby derived an immense revenue 
 from the tax levied upon one of the navigable streams of 
 the Union. The state of New York required the people 
 of Louisiana to pay a toll of one dollar for permission to 
 travel upon the Hudson river steam-boats; but on the ad- 
 : mission of Louisiana into the Union, it was conditioned that 
 the people of New York were to travel free from tax upon 
 the Mississippi river, running within the state of Louisiana ! 
 It was right to secure the free navigation of that great river, 
 
 , not only to the older, but to all the states of the Union. 
 
 We cannot, in this work, fully discuss the important 
 J issues which have originated on the admission of new 
 
 ( states into the Union. The preceding cases are sufficient 
 to prove, that the subsequent policy pursued by the 
 northern states has been politically sectional, without re- 
 ! gard to the spirit of the national compact, as practically 
 interpreted by Washington and the other framers of the 
 federal constitution. 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Vermont. 
 
 This state was the first admitted into the Union, after 
 the formation of the United States’ government of 1789. 
 The territory of Vermont, consisting of an area of 10,212 
 square miles, was claimed by the states of New York and 
 New Hampshire. The latter alleged that its domain, 
 under the royal charter, extended as far west as the 
 territory of Massachusetts. This allegation was resolutely 
 denied by New York. The people of Vermont were 
 opposed to both claimants, and declared themselves an 
 independent colony. New York exhibited a resolution to 
 maintain its title by force and occupancy : on the other 
 hand, the people of Vermont were determined to resist 
 all attempts at coercion ; and their hardy lives had fitted 
 them to enforce their will. The revolutionary war put at 
 rest, for the time being, the domestic conflict between the 
 people of Vermont and the state of New York; each 
 abandoned the home quarrel, and united against a common 
 and foreign foe. After the close of the war the whole 
 country required tranquillity. The long struggle had 
 produced a general desire for peace with all the world, and 
 especially between the colonies. They had conquered 
 their independence at a great cost; and the responsibility 
 of maintaining it was fully appreciated. The people of 
 Vermont were resolute, fearless, and brave. They felt that 
 they had done their part in the achievement of the national 
 glory; and that glory they were determined to enjoy as a 
 sovereignty. Great Britain was anxious to retain Vermont 
 within her American possessions. The states had formed 
 
THE STATE OF VERMONT. 
 
 67 
 
 the confederation government, and were in the full enjoy- 
 ment of peace. Vermont applied for admission as a state; 
 hut New York objected, alleging a claim to the territory. 
 In 1787, application was made to be admitted into the 
 constitutional government as a sovereign state; but New 
 York defeated the effort. It was feared that Vermont, 
 rather than submit to coercion, would join the British 
 possessions; and, in 1789, New York was induced to 
 withdraw its opposition. By an act of Congress, passed 
 March 4tn, 1791, Vermont became a member of the 
 constitutional government of the United States. 
 
 The face of the country is hilly or mountainous. East 
 of Lake Champlain, its western boundary, the lands, for 
 about five miles, are uneven and fertile. The chain of 
 Green Mountains traverses the state ; and, near the centre, 
 it divides — one range extending northward, consisting of 
 broken sections, with the highest peaks; the other range 
 runs north-east, in an unbroken chain. This immense 
 ; mountain barrier has a valley through it, possessing grand 
 and beautiful scenery. Among the highest of the moun- 
 tain peaks is the Killiugton, 3,675 feet above the level of 
 the sea; also the CameFs Rump, on the south side of 
 Onion Rivei’, 4,188 feet; and the Mansfield, on the north 
 ' side of the Onion, 4,279 feet. The land lying east of the 
 mountain ridge, is more hilly than that on the western 
 side. The birch, beech, maple, ash, elm, and bitter-nut, 
 
 . *row to the east; and the oak, pine, and evergreens grow 
 : ;o the west of the mountains. In the valleys the lands 
 - ire rich, generally moist, and very fertile. The hilly lands 
 : ire sterile and difficult to cultivate, on account of rocks. 
 
 f 2 
 
68 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 The products of the state are barley, rye, oats, peas, flax, 
 potatoes, Indian corn, and sugar. Apples are abundant; 
 and horses, mules, sheep, swine, and cattle are extensively 
 raised. 
 
 The constitution of Vermont was framed July 4th, 1793, 
 and amended in June, 1828. The first article declares — 
 
 “That all men are born equally free and independent, and have 
 certain natural, inherent, and unalienable rights : amongst which 
 are the enjoying and defending life and liberty ; acquiring, pos- 
 sessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining 
 happiness and safety ; therefore no male person, born in this 
 country, or brought from over the sea, ought to be liolden by law 
 to serve any person as a servant, slave, or apprentice, after he 
 arrives to the age of twenty-one years, nor female in like manner, 
 after she arrives to the age of eighteen years, unless they are bound 
 by their own consent after they arrive to such age, or bound by the 
 law for the payment of debts, damages, fines, costs, or the like.” 
 
 The commonwealth of Vermont is governed by the 
 supreme legislative power, vested in a senate, and House 
 of Representatives of the freemen of the state, styled the 
 “ General Assembly the supreme executive power is 
 vested in a governor, and the judicial power is given to 
 such courts of justice as may be ordained from time to 
 time by the legislature. The senate is composed of thirty 
 members annually elected by the people: the house has 
 230 members. The governor is elected annually ; also a 
 lieutenant-governor, who presides over the senate. The 
 Supreme Court consists of six judges, annually elected by 
 the general assembly. There are various other courts 
 organised for the administration of justice throughout the 
 state. The constitution declares, that — 
 
 “Every man of the full age of twenty-one years, having resided 
 in this state for the space of one whole year next before the election 
 
THE STATE OF KENTUCKY. 
 
 69 
 
 of representatives, and is of a quiet and peaceable behaviour, and 
 will take the following oath or affirmation, shall be entitled to all the 
 privileges of a freeman of this state. 
 
 “You solemnly swear (or affirm), that whenever you give your 
 vote of suffrage, touching any matter that concerns the state of 
 Vermont, you will do it so as in your conscience you shall judge 
 will most conduce to the best good of the same, as established by 
 the constitution, without fear or favour of any man.” 
 
 Kentucky. 
 
 This state was originally Fincastle County, Virginia; 
 and by consent of Congress and Virginia, it was admitted 
 into the Union, June 1st, 179.2. Kentucky has an area of 
 37,680 square miles. Indian tradition teaches, that it was 
 a hunting-ground for the tribes living north and south. It 
 was a vast wilderness, where the wild beasts had roamed 
 at will. Though the Indians considered it their hunting- 
 ground, yet the disagreements between the northern and 
 southern tribes prevented its constant occupancy by either. 
 Occasionally, however, they met in large masses, each 
 determined to exterminate the other. For centuries the 
 wars continued ; and the country being noted as the great 
 battle-field, it was called Kentucky, which means, “the 
 dark and bloody ground.” Findley, Boone, Harrod, Bullitt, 
 Floyd, and others, who emigrated to Kentucky a few years 
 before, and soon after the revolution, had to contend with 
 the Indians for every foot of soil; and many were the 
 bloody scenes of those eventful times. The Ohio river 
 forms its northern, the Mississippi river runs along its 
 western, and the Cumberland Mountains forms its eastern 
 boundaiy. The Tennessee and Cumberland rivers traverse 
 the southern section of the state, entering from the state 
 
70 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 of Tennessee, anil emptying into the Ohio river. The 
 Green river rises in Kentucky, and is navigable to Bowling 
 Green, in the central section ; and more northern is the 
 Kentucky river, navigable to Frankfort, the capital of the 
 state. The Big Sandy, which forms a part of its eastern 
 boundary, empties into the Ohio river, and is navigable 
 for small steam-boats about fifty miles. The navigation of 
 the rivers in Kentucky has been improved by the slack- 
 water system — the construction of locks and dams. The 
 face of the country in the eastern section of the state is 
 mountainous ; more westward the lands are hilly ; the 
 more central, embracing the Lexington district, is still 
 less hilly. The country east and west of Green River is 
 very hilly, though the Hopkinsville district is quite level. 
 Between the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers there are 
 hilly ranges; and, westward of the latter, the lands are 
 very level, and comparatively sterile. The soil of the 
 central section of the state is the most productive. On 
 the head-waters of Green River, and bordering upon 
 Tennessee, are the “ Barrens,” consisting of hilly ranges, 
 covered with stunted trees, commonly called post-oak and 
 black-jack. The white and black oaks, walnut, black and 
 honey-locusts, sycamore, sassafras, cedar, poplar, maple, 
 and all kind of fruit trees, grow thriftily throughout the 
 state. The products are hemp, flax, wheat, rye, Indian 
 corn, potatoes, tobacco, buck-wheat, barley, &c. Horses, 
 mules, cattle, sheep, and swine, are extensively raised, and 
 exported to other states. 
 
 The most wonderful natural curiosity in the world is 
 the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. It extends, in a direct 
 
THE STATE OF KENTUCKY. 
 
 71 
 
 line, some tea miles; and the various branches, estimated 
 at about 200, probably make an aggregate of fifty miles 
 of subterranean chambers. This natural wonder has been 
 thus briefly described: — “A narrow passage leads to the 
 great vestibule and oval ball, 200 by 150 feet, and fifty 
 feet high. Two passages, of 100 feet width, open into it ; 
 and the whole is supported without a single column. This 
 chamber was used, it is said, by the races of yore as a 
 cemetery ; and bones of gigantic size have been found in 
 it. A hundred feet above your head, you catch a fitful 
 glimpse of a dark gray ceiling, rolling dimly away like a 
 cloud : heavy buttresses project from the shadowy wall. 
 The scene is vast, solemn, and awful. In the silence that 
 pervades, you can hear the throbbing of your heart. In 
 Andubon Avenue, is a deep well of pure spring water, 
 surrounded by stalagmite columns from the floor to the 
 ceiling. The ‘ Little Bat Room’ contains a pit of 280 
 feet deep, and is the resort of myriads of bats ; the ‘ Grand 
 Gallery' is a vast tunnel, many miles long, some fifty 
 feet high, and as wide. The ‘ Kentucky Cliffs/ and the 
 ‘ Church/ about 100 feet in diameter, and sixty-three feet 
 high, are places of great interest. A natural pulpit aud 
 an organ-loft are to be seen ; and here religious ser- 
 vices have often been performed. The ‘ Gothic Avenue/ 
 reached by a flight of stairs, is forty feet wide, fifteen feet 
 high, aud two miles long; and in this chamber, some years 
 ago, several mummies were found. The ‘ Yulcan Furnace’ 
 is remarkably curious — the forge, cinders, and the fittings 
 of the smith’s shop are all to be seen. The ‘ Star-Cham- 
 ber’ is a vast avenue, with a ceiling resembling the firma- 
 
72 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 roent, studded with stars ; and afar off is a comet, with a 
 bright tail. The ‘Temple 5 is an immense vault, covering 
 an area of two acres, with a single dome of solid rock, 
 120 feet high. In the middle is a large mound of rocks, 
 forming what is called the ‘ Rocky Mountains. 5 The 
 ‘River-Hall 5 descends like the slope of a mountain ; the 
 ceiling stretches away before you, vast and grand as the 
 firmament at night. 55 The illumination of the “ Snowball 
 Chamber 55 and “ Charlotte’s Grotto, 55 are the most sub- 
 lime scenes ever witnessed by man. The latter is some 
 ten miles from the entrance, beyond rivers and valleys. 
 
 The first constitution of the commonwealth of Kentucky 
 was framed in 1792; revised in 1799, and again in 1850. 
 The powers of government are vested in the legislative 5 
 executive, and judicial departments. The legislature con- 
 sists of a senate and House of Representatives, jointly styled 
 the “ General Assembly. 55 The senate is composed of 
 thirty-eight members, each elected for a term of four 
 years ; one-half of the members retire every two years. 
 The house has 100 members, elected for a term of two 
 years. The legislature meets biennially. The executive 
 or governor, and a lieutenant-governor, are elected for a 
 term of four years. The latter presides over the senate. 
 The judicial powers are vested in a Court of Appeals, circuit 
 county courts, and such other courts as may be ordained 
 by the legislature. The judges of the Court of Appeals 
 are elected by the people, for a term of eight years; and 
 the judges of the circuit courts, for a term of six years. 
 
 Every white male citizen of the age of twenty-one 
 years, and a resident of the state, is a qualified voter. 
 
THE STATE OF TENNESSEE. 
 
 73 
 
 Tennessee. 
 
 The domain of this state was originally a part of North 
 Carolina. Tennessee was admitted into the Union, June 
 1st, 1796, with an area of 45,600 square miles.' Its lands 
 were, as those of Kentucky, hunting-grounds for the 
 Indians. These vast regions, comprising nearly 100,000 
 square miles, were, beyond doubt, the wildest in the 
 world; and, even at this day, portions of them retain a 
 grandeur beyond the power of the pen to describe. The 
 Chickasaw, Chocktaw, and Shawnee Indians claimed this 
 territory ; and, in the effort to expand the boundaries of 
 civilisation, many hardy pioneers became victims of the 
 tomahawk. 
 
 Tennessee is divided into three sections — namely, the 
 eastern, middle, and western. The eastern is traversed 
 by ranges of the Cumberland Mountains, in which rise 
 the Holston, Clinch, Tennessee, and Cumberland rivers. 
 The two latter empty into the Ohio river, and are navi- 
 gable for steam-boats throughout the year. The principal 
 city is Knoxville. Middle Tennessee is hilly, and under a 
 high state of cultivation. Its principal city is Nashville, 
 the capital of the state. The western division lies upon 
 the Mississippi river, and is more level than the other sec- 
 tions. Its principal city is Memphis. The lands of this 
 state are generally very fertile, producing cotton, tobacco, 
 wheat, rye, Indian corn, barley, oats, buck-wheat, hemp, 
 flax, sugar, &c. Horses, mules, cattle, swine, and sheep 
 are extensively raised and exported. In the mountain 
 ranges there are immense quantities of red and white 
 
74 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 cedars, which are cut, and floated in rafts down the rivers 
 to the Ohio, and then carried by steam-boats to other 
 states, where they are principally used as railway ties. 
 The white and black oaks, black and honey-locusts, black 
 and white walnuts, poplar, hickory, sycamore, sassafras, 
 post-oak, red oak, cedars, &c., grow in this state. The 
 commercial transit is very complete, through the facilities 
 of the navigable rivers and railways. The state abounds 
 with coal and iron ore. The pig, bloom, and bar iron is 
 exported to other states in great quantities. The marble, 
 which is found in great varieties, can be highly polished, and 
 is shipped to other parts of the Union, for use in the con- 
 struction of houses. Copperas, alum, nitre, and lead are found 
 in small quantities. Saltpetre forms an article of commerce. 
 
 The first constitution of the state of Tennessee was 
 framed in 1796, and revised in 1834. The powers of the 
 government are vested in the legislative, executive, and 
 judicial departments. The legislature consists of a senate 
 and House of Representatives. The senate is composed of 
 twenty-five members, elected for the term of two years. 
 The house is composed of seventy-five members, elected 
 for the term of two years. The legistature meets bien- 
 nially. The executive is elected for a term of two years. 
 The judicial powers are vested in a Supreme Court, courts 
 of chancery, circuit courts, and such as shall be ordained 
 by the general assembly. The judges of all the courts 
 are elected by the people, for a term of eight years. The 
 constitution declares, that — 
 
 ‘ ‘ Every free white man, of the age of twenty-one years, being a 
 citizen of the United States, and a citizen of the country wherein 
 
THE STATE OF OHIO. 
 
 75 
 
 lie may offer his vote six months next preceding the day of the 
 election, shall be entitled to vote for members of the general 
 assembly, and other civil officers for the county or district in which 
 he resides ; provided, that no person shall be disqualified from 
 voting in any election on account of colour, who is now, by the 
 laws of this state, a competent witness in a court of justice against a 
 white man. All free men of colour shall be exempt from military 
 duty in time of peace, and also from paying a fee poll-tax. ” 
 
 Ohio. 
 
 This great state was a part of the north-west territory; 
 and at the dose of the revolutionary war, was held by 
 mixed titles, all of which were cancelled by cessions to 
 the United States’ government. By the ordinance of 
 1787, Virginia concurring, slavery was for ever prohibited 
 in the north-west territory. In 180.2, Ohio was admitted 
 into the Union, with an area of 39,961 square miles. The 
 state is bounded on the north by Lake Erie, and on the 
 south and east by the Ohio river. The lands bordering 
 upon the lake are very level; those in the centre are 
 sloping hills and elevated plains; and those upon the 
 Ohio are hilly, though not mountainous. The soil is very 
 rich and productive, especially in the valley sections bor- 
 dering upon the rivers. Before the state was settled, there 
 were extensive prairies ; but they have become cultivated 
 farms. The state is traversed by the Scioto, Muskingum, 
 anil Great Miami rivers, and by an extensive system of 
 railways, affording greater facilities for commercial transit 
 than are enjoyed by auy other state. The products are 
 principally wheat, rye, Indian corn, barley, oats, buck- 
 wheat, hemp, flax, tobacco, &c. Horses, mules, cattle, 
 and swine are extensively raised, and exported. The 
 
76 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 white and black oaks, locusts, cedars, sycamore, buckeye, 
 pawpaw, cherry, poplar, hickory, and the various fruit trees 
 grow in great abundance. This state has been one of the 
 most prosperous in the Union. Not only has it attained 
 greatness by the products of the soil, but also by the 
 handiwork of the people. 
 
 Among the curious remains found in America, of races 
 long since past and gone, are the ancient mounds in the 
 west; some of which are in Ohio, near Marietta, on the 
 banks of the Ohio and of the Muskingum. On an elevated 
 plain, are old walls and mounds of earth in direct lines, 
 in squares and circular forms, evidently the remains of 
 forts. The largest contained about forty acres, encom- 
 passed by a wall of earth, from six to ten feet high; on 
 each side were openings or gateways. Besides these, 
 many others have been found, some of which are upon 
 the high hills, constructed in times so far distant, that 
 the stately oak has grown over them to gigantic propor- 
 tions. 
 
 The constitution of Ohio was framed in 1802, and re- 
 vised in 1851. The government is vested in the legisla- 
 tive, executive, and judicial departments. The legislature 
 consists of a senate and House of Representatives, and 
 meets biennially. The senate is composed of thirty-five 
 members; and the house of 100. The members of both 
 houses are elected for a term of two years. The governor 
 and a lieutenant-governor are elected for a term of two 
 years; the latter presides over the senate. The judicial 
 powers are vested in a Supreme Court, Court of Common 
 Pleas, &c. The judges are elected by the people, for a 
 
THE STATE OF LOUISIANA. 
 
 77 
 
 term of five years. Every white male citizen of the United 
 States, of the age of twenty-one years, with a residency, is 
 a qualified voter. 
 
 Louisiana. 
 
 This state was settled, at a very early date, by the 
 Spaniards. In 1800, Spain conveyed the province of 
 Louisiana to France; and, in 1803, Bonaparte sold the 
 territory to the United States for fifteen millions of 
 dollars. A territorial government was then organised, 
 under the laws of Congress. In 1812, the state of Loui- 
 siana was admitted into the Union, with an area of 41,255 
 square miles. The whole surface of this state consists of 
 low lands, with a few hills in the west. It is estimated, 
 that at least 4,000 square miles are subject to overflow. 
 The Mississippi is prevented from extending the inunda- 
 tions, by levees, or artificial embankments, on the margin 
 of the river. On the east side the levee commences sixty 
 miles above New Orleans, and extends 130 miles below 
 the city. On the west side of the river it commences 172 
 miles above New Orleans. Occasionally, the great floods 
 of the river break through the embankments, and overflow 
 the plantations for mauy miles above and below the 
 crevasse. The lands on the sides of the river, called “ the 
 Coast/’ are very rich, having been formed by the annual 
 deposit of the river, which has always a muddy appear- 
 ance, on account of the great quantity of alluvial soil held 
 in suspension by the water. The south-western part of 
 the state consists of swamps on the margin of the gulf; 
 but more interior are prairies, many of which are in a fine 
 
78 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 state of cultivation. The rivers, or streams, emptying into 
 the Mississippi from the interior, are connected with 
 bayous and lakes in great numbers. Many of the swamps 
 and marshes have to be drained, and levees constructed 
 around them, to prevent inundation. The great floods of 
 the Mississippi often produce overflows, many miles inte- 
 rior, by “back-water,” filling the lakes, swamps, and 
 bayous. The principal products of Louisiana are sugar, 
 cotton, rice, Indian corn, potatoes, oats, rye, hay, &c. 
 Horses, mules, cattle, sheep, and swine are raised. In 
 the bottom lands grow the cotton-wood, willow, honey- 
 locust, pawpaw, buckeye; and, on the uplands, the 
 hickory, elm, ash, mulberry, walnut, sassafras, magnolia, 
 poplar, &c. Fruit trees are thrifty. 
 
 The constitution of Louisiana Avas framed in January, 
 1812, and revised in 1852. The government is vested in 
 the legislative, executive, and judicial departments. The 
 legislature consists of a senate and a House of Representa- 
 tives, jointly styled “ the General Assembly.” The senate is 
 composed of thirty-two members, elected for a term of 
 four years ; and the house of eighty-eight members, elected 
 for a term of two years. The legislature meets annually. 
 The governor is elected for a term of four years. The 
 judiciary is composed of a supreme and district courts. 
 The chief justice, and four associate justices of the Supreme 
 Court, are elected by the people, for a term of ten years. 
 Every free white male citizen, of the age of twenty-one 
 years, with a residency, is a voter. 
 
THE STATE OF INDIANA. 
 
 79 
 
 Indiana. 
 
 This state was originally a part of “New France/’ and, 
 after the revolution, was embraced in the “north-west 
 territory.” Fort Vincent, on the Wabash river, was taken 
 by General Clarke, commander of the Virginia forces in 
 the west, in 1778; and it was held, by conquest, as the 
 property of Virginia. In 1800, Congress organised the 
 territory of Indiana, which embraced tjie present states of 
 Illinois and Indiana. Vincennes was the capital, where 
 the territorial legislature assembled. The state of Indiana 
 was admitted into the Union in 1816, with an area of 
 33,809 square miles. The face of the country is composed 
 of hills, plains, and bottoms, the highest elevations being 
 but a few hundred feet. The Ohio river forms its southern 
 boundary; the Wabash its western; and Lake Michigan a 
 part of its northern boundary. These navigable waters, in 
 connection with the various lines of railways and canals 
 traversing the state, afford means of carrying from and to 
 all parts of the country. There are no mountains in 
 Indiana, though there are a few ranges of hills bordering 
 upon the Ohio and other rivers. Along most of the 
 streams there are strips of rich bottom lands; and, more 
 remote, commence the hills, and then the level plains, 
 formerly prairies, though now well-cultivated lands, or full- 
 grown woodlands. Next to Lake Michigan there are 
 sandy hills, some 200 feet high, resembling the sand 
 hillocks of Jutland. In the north-west part of the state 
 there are many swamps, small lakes, water-prairies, and 
 sluices. The products of the state are wheat, rye, oats, 
 
80 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 tobacco, Indian corn, barley, buck-wheat, hemp, flax, 
 sugar, fruits, &c. Horses, mules, cattle, swine, and sheep 
 are exported in 'large quantities. Timber is abundant — of 
 white and black oaks, walnuts, locusts, post-oak, black- 
 jack, sassafras, poplar, sycamore, red-bud, pawpaw, cotton- 
 wood, hickory, mulberry, buckeye, &c. Pecans, plums, 
 and crab-apples are indigenous. The cannel coal-fields, on 
 the Ohio river, are very productive. 
 
 The constitution of the state of Indiana was framed in 
 June, 1829, and revised in 1851. The powers of govern- 
 ment are vested in the legislative, executive, and judicial de- 
 partments. The legislature consists of a senate and House 
 of Representatives. The senate is composed of fifty members, 
 elected for a term of four years ; and the house, of 100 
 members, elected for a term of two years. The legislature 
 meets biennially. The executive, or governor, is elected 
 for a term of four years. A lieutenaut-goveruor and 
 president of the senate is elected at the same time, for a 
 like term. The judicial powers are vested in a Supreme 
 Court, circuit courts, aud such inferior courts as may be 
 established by the legislature. The judges of the Supreme 
 Court and circuit courts are elected by the people, for a 
 term of six years. Every white male citizen of the United 
 States, of the age of twenty-one and upwards, is a qualified 
 voter. “No negro or mulatto can have the right of 
 suffrage.” Soldiers and seamen of the United States’ 
 army or navy cannot vote. 
 
 Mississippi. 
 
 This state originally formed a part of the chartered 
 
THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 81 
 
 territories of South Carolina and Georgia, and was admitted 
 into the Union in 1817, with an area of 47,156 square 
 miles. De Soto, with his expedition, in search of gold, 
 traversed this country in 1540; and La Salle descended 
 the Mississippi in 1681, visiting the country bordering 
 upon the river. The first settlement was made about 
 1698; and, after that date, various other efforts were made 
 by the French to erect and maintain forts. They con- 
 quered the “illustrious and brave Natchez Indians,” and 
 sent them to St. Domingo as slaves. The Chocktaws, 
 Chickasaws, and other tribes, were driven to the interior, 
 and ultimately quieted by the purchase of their titles. 
 There is a great diversity of soil in this state. Adjacent 
 to the Gulf of Mexico, the country is level, covered with 
 pine forests, cypress swamps, prairies, water-marshes, and 
 small lakes : more northerly, the lands are undulating, and 
 well cultivated, producing cotton, Indian corn, indigo, 
 sugar-cane, and all kinds of fruit. The central part of the 
 state is more elevated and hilly, with a rich soil, producing 
 the articles just mentioned. The northern part is very 
 hilly, and many of the ranges are covered with pine. The 
 magnolia, pine, cypress, cotton-wood, poplar, oaks, hickory, 
 walnut, sugar-maple, sassafras, and a variety of other trees 
 are to he found in this state. The Yazoo, Pascagoula, Big 
 Black, Pearl, and other navigable waters, together with 
 the railways, facilitate the carrying of products to the 
 markets. Horses, mules, cattle, sheep, and swine, are 
 raised in quantities more than sufficient for domestic 
 necessities. 
 
 The constitution of the state of Mississippi was framed 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 in 1817, organising a government, with legislative, execu- 
 tive, and judicial departments. The first consists of a 
 senate and House of Representatives. The former is com- 
 posed of thirty-three members, elected for a term of four 
 years. In the house, there are one hundred members, 
 elected for a term of two years. The legislature assembles 
 biennially. The governor is elected for a term of two 
 years. The judiciary department is composed of a high 
 court of errors and appeals, circuit courts, and such inferior 
 courts as may be ordained by the legislature. The judges 
 are elected by the people. Every free white male citizen 
 of the United States, with a residency, is a qualified voter. 
 
 “ No property qualification for eligibility to office, or for 
 the right of suffrage, can ever be required by law in this 
 state.” 
 
 Illinois. 
 
 The name of this state signifies “ real men;” and it 
 applied to the character of the Indians, who dwelt upon 
 the banks of the river bearing that name. The first set- ) 
 tlements of the state were made by the Erench. The 
 domain of Illinois was embraced in the organised Indiana 
 territory, and was a part of the north-west territory, ceded 
 by Virginia to the United States’ government in 1784. 
 Illinois was admitted into the Union in 1818, with an 
 area of 55,405 square miles. The Mississippi river forms 
 its western boundary; the Wabash and Ohio rivers its 
 eastern ; and upon its northern is Lake Michigan. Be- 
 sides these, navigable waters traverse the state, north, east, 
 and west ; and along them are extensive bottom lands ot 
 alluvial soil, heavily timbered, of various widths, sometimes 
 
THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 83 
 
 extending ten or more miles from the rivers. Beyond the 
 bottoms, there are, generally, ranges of hills sparsely 
 covered with timber; and then commences the prairies. 
 These vast plains are slightly undulating — covered with 
 grass, and a great variety of wild flowers. Bordering 
 upon the prairies are the hazel-nuts, in great abundance. 
 These beautiful wild lands are fast becoming cultivated 
 farms. Iu early times, it was the custom to burn the 
 prairies ; and the fire would spread with the fleetness of 
 the deer — even extending into the woods, consuming the 
 small growth and decayed trees. It was owing to this 
 circumstance that there is but little undergrowth in the 
 wild forests of the great west. Since the country has 
 become more settled, the woodlands have extended ; and, 
 in another quarter of a century, the prairies will only be 
 known in story. Iu the northern part of Illinois, the 
 lands are comparatively sterile ; but upon the Wabash in 
 the east, the Mississippi in the west, and the prairies in 
 the centre, are extremely fertile. The products of Illinois 
 are wheat, Indian corn, rye, oats, barley, potatoes, to- 
 bacco, sugar, buck-wheat, hay, flax, hemp, &c. Hoi'ses, 
 mules, cattle, swine, and sheep are raised in large quanti- 
 ties, and exported. The state is traversed by railways, 
 and the means of commercial transit are complete. The 
 principal city is Chicago; and with respect to the export 
 of grain, it will, in a few years, outrival Odessa. 
 
 The coal-fields of Illinois are vast and productive. The 
 lead mines of Galena are known throughout the world as 
 the most profitable in yield. The lead is of superior com- 
 mercial value. It has been estimated, that the Galena 
 
 g 2 
 
84 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 mines can produce at least 150,000,000 lbs. annually for 
 centuries to come ! ' 
 
 The constitution of the state of Illinois was framed 
 at Kaskaskia, August, 1818, and revised at Springfield, 
 August, 1847. The departments of the government are 
 the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The 
 first consists of a senate and House of Representatives, 
 and they assemble biennially. The senate is composed of 
 twenty-five members, elected for a term of four years ; and 
 the house of seventy-five members, elected for a term ot 
 two years. The governor is elected for a term of four 
 years. The judicial powers are vested in a Supreme Court, 
 circuit courts, and such other tribunals as shall be ordained 
 by the legislature. The judges are elected by the people. 
 Every white male citizen of the United States, with a 
 residency, is a qualified voter. 
 
 Alabama. 
 
 This state has its southern boundary upon the Gulf of 
 Mexico. De Soto travelled over much of this country in 
 1540, in search of gold. After the expedition of De Soto, 
 no Europeans visited the country for about 150 years. 
 The first settlement was made by the governor of Loui- 
 siana, in 1702, at the mouth of Dog River, entering 
 Mobile Bay. In 1763, the Erench gave up their territory 
 in America. The western bank of the Mississippi river 
 passed into the hands of Spain, and Great Britain acquired 
 the lands lying east of the Mississippi, including the whole 
 of Florida. The territory of Alabama, as a part of the 
 British possessions, was known under the names of West 
 
THE STATE OF ALABAMA. 
 
 85 
 
 Florida and Illinois ; the lands being divided between * 
 them, in nearly equal divisions. In due time, Georgia 
 asserted its claim to the territory of Alabama, as its 
 chartered domain “ extended to the Mississippi river, or 
 South Sea and grants of lands were made by the 
 Georgia government, and located in Alabama/ These 
 conflicting claims were ultimately set aside ; and, in 1817, 
 the whole country between Georgia and the Mississippi 
 river was purchased by the United States, and erected 
 into the “ Mississippi Territory.” The state of Alabama 
 was taken from this territory, and admitted into the 
 Union in 1819, with an area of 50,722 square miles. That 
 part of the state bordering on the Gulf of Mexico is low 
 and level, covered with pine and cypress. Beyond these 
 flats, some fifty miles from the Gulf, the country is hilly, 
 with an occasional prairie plateau. In the north there are 
 mountain ranges. In the southern part of the state the 
 soil is sandy, and, to a considerable extent, unproductive. 
 The middle and northern sections are well cultivated. 
 The state produces a great variety of timber, including 
 post-oak, white and black oak, poplar, hickory, cedar, 
 chestnut, pine, mulberry, locust, magnolia, &c. The pro- 
 ducts of the soil are wheat, rye, tobacco, sugar, oats, rice, 
 barley, potatoes, Indian corn, cotton, &c. Fruits grow in 
 great abundance. There is a large surplus of horses, 
 mules, cattle, swine, and sheep raised in this state. The 
 navigable waters and the railway afford extensive means 
 of commercial transit ; and when these facilities are com- 
 pleted, as at present projected, Alabama will greatly in- 
 crease its exports of the products of the soil. The whole 
 
86 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 * central region of the state is underlaid with iron ore, and 
 many of the vast beds are being profitably worked. The 
 bituminous coal-fields are large, and fast being brought 
 under commercial consideration. 
 
 The constitution of the state of Alabama was framed in 
 1819. The government is vested in the legislative, execu- 
 tive, and judicial departments. The first consists of 
 a senate and House of Representatives. The former is 
 composed of thirty-three members, each elected for a 
 term of four years; the house of 100 members, each 
 elected for a term of two years. The legislature meets 
 biennially. The governor is elected for a term of two 
 years. The judicial department is composed of a Supreme 
 Court, circuit courts, and such inferior courts as may be 
 established by the legislature. The judges of the Supreme 
 Court, and chancellors, are elected by a joint vote of the 
 two houses of the legislature, for a term of six years. The 
 circuit judges are elected by the people, for a term of six 
 years. Every white male citizen of the United States, 
 with a residency, is a voter. 
 
 Maine. 
 
 This is the most eastern state of the Union; and origi- 
 nally belonged to Massachusetts, under royal charter. 
 With respect to its early history, we deem it only neces- 
 sary to refer to the progress of Massachusetts; though 
 efforts were made to settle this part of America in 1607, 
 being anterior to the landing of the pilgrims in 1620. 
 Lord John Popham (chief-justice of England), and others, 
 dispatched about a hundred emigrants, who landed on the 
 
THE STATE OF MAINE. 
 
 87 
 
 Keunebec river. A few cabius were erected and fortified ; 
 and the place was called Fort George, and, subsequently ^ 
 Popham’s Fort. These people had been accustomed to 
 the mild climate of England ; aud being inexperienced 
 with respect to cold regions, they did not make the neces- 
 sary preparations for winter ; aud, during the cold season, 
 their sufferings were very great. They provoked the In- 
 dians, and their lives were in continual jeopardy ; and, 
 during the winter, a fire consumed many of their stores. 
 In 1608 Popham died, which had the effect of producing 
 an abandonment of the settlement, aud the return of the 
 emigrants to England. In 1623, another effort was made 
 to settle these lauds, locating at Saco, though explora- 
 tions thereabout had been made some six years previous. 
 The lands were held in fee — the occupant paying nominal 
 sums; such as “ two days’ work, five shillings, and one 
 fat goose yearly.” In 1630, the Plymouth council granted 
 a patent for Lygouia, embracing about 160 square miles, 
 and induced emigrants to settle there; but these pioneers 
 became dissatisfied — abandoned it the next year, and re- 
 turned to Massachusetts. About the same time other 
 patents were granted, and emigration encouraged; but as 
 the winters proved to be so very severe, the settlers made 
 but little progress : and besides these physical hindrances, 
 the Indians were very troublesome and dangerous. 
 
 The affairs of Maine were administered as independent 
 until 1652, when the principal part of the people united 
 under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. Many difficulties 
 transpired with respect to the administration of the public 
 affairs in that district prior to 1691, when the people were 
 
88 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 quieted by the charter from William aud Mary, incorpo- 
 rating, as one jurisdiction, the territories of Maine and 
 Massachusetts. They continued united until March 15tli, 
 1820, when Maine was admitted into the Union, with an 
 area of 31,766 square miles. The face of the country is 
 hilly, aud, to some extent, mountainous. The Ivatadin 
 mountain is the most elevated in the state, and is about 
 5,335 feet high. A chain of high lands extends from the 
 sources of the Connecticut, which divides the water-fall ; 
 and, on the east, the water runs into the Bay of Fundy. 
 The coast is rather elevated, sterile, and subjected to but 
 little tidal overflow. Between the Penobscot and the 
 Kennebec rivers the laud is very fertile ; but, east of the 
 Penobscot, they are sterile, except in the low lands near 
 the streams. There is much fertile soil scattered through- 
 out the state; and, to a considerable extent, are produced, 
 Indian corn, rye, oats, peas, potatoes, turnips, onions, and 
 some hemp and flax. Maine produces enormous quanti- 
 ties of lumber, consisting of pine, spruce, maple, beech, 
 white and grey oak, yellow birch, &c. Apple, pear, plum, 
 and cherry trees flourish. Horses, mules, cattle, sheep, 
 and swine are raised in quantities sufficient for domestic 
 purposes. Its commercial facilities are very great : be- 
 sides the railways traversing the state, there are many 
 navigable rivers, bays, aud inlets. There are also many 
 lakes and ponds in the interior. The natural wealth of this 
 state has not yet been developed. An enormous number 
 of sea vessels are constructed in Maine — an assortment > 
 always being on hand, awaiting purchasers. 
 
 The constitution of the state of Maine was framed in 
 
THE STATE OF MISSOURI. 
 
 89 
 
 October, 1819, and subsequently amended by tbe popular 
 vote adding certain sections. The government is vested 
 in the legislative, executive, aud judicial departments. The 
 legislative consists of a senate and House of Representa- 
 tives : the former is composed of thirty-one members, each 
 elected for a term of one year; aud the house of 151 
 members, elected for a like term. The legislature meets 
 annually. The executive department is vested in a gov- 
 ernor, elected for a term of one year. A council, consist- 
 ing of seven persons, is organised, to advise the governor 
 in the executive part of the government. These coun- 
 sellors are elected, for a term of one year, by the legisla- 
 ture, on joint ballot, in convention of senators and repre- 
 sentatives. The judicial powers of the state are vested in 
 a supreme judicial court, and such other courts as the 
 legislature shall, from time to time, establish. The judges 
 are elected by the legislature. Every male citizen of the 
 United States, with a residency, is a voter; excepting 
 paupers, persons under guardianship, and Indians not taxed. 
 
 Missouri. 
 
 This state was admitted into the Union in 1821, and has 
 an area of 67,380 square miles. It was settled by the 
 French missionaries from Canada, about 1673. In 1682, 
 La Salle explored the Mississippi river, and the whole 
 . country adjacent, as territory of France. A line of 
 ’ortilications was subsequently constructed, to protect the 
 )ossessions from Spanish invasions aud Indian depreda- 
 ions. Missouri was gradually settled, commencing with 
 he working of its lead mines in 1720. Ste Genevieve, 
 
 
90 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 situated ou the Mississippi river, was founded in 1755 ; and 
 St. Louis in 1764. Other settlements were made, about 
 the same time, near the junction of the Mississippi and 
 Missouri rivers ; among which was St. Charles — now a 
 small town, situated on the Missouri — once a rival of 
 St. Louis. The soil of the state of Missouri is very pro- 
 ductive. The lands of this state, between the Upper 
 Mississippi and Missouri rivers, are bottoms and undu-i 
 lating prairies. In the bottoms, the soil is sometimes as 
 much as twenty feet deep; that is to say, remove nineteen 
 feet of earth from the surface, and the next foot of earth 
 will be as productive of wheat, corn, &c., as can be found 
 in any part of the world. The prairies are very extensive; 
 frequently twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty miles in width, and 
 one or two hundred in length. The bottom lands are; 
 heavily timbered with sycamore, walnut, beech, hickory 
 elm, honey-locusts, cotton-wood, pecan, white oak, red 
 oak, pawpaw, ash, &c. The range of ridges or hills, 
 between the bottoms and the prairies, is also heavilj 
 wooded, consisting of red and white hickory, post-oak 
 black-jack, white and black oak, sassafras, black locust 
 dog-wood, poplar, mulberry, plum, &c. Above the junc- 
 tion of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, there is a vast' i 
 water-prairie. During high floods it is covered wit! 1 
 water. In dry seasons it is a marsh, with many lakes anc 1 
 sluices. Millions of wild geese, ducks, and other water 1 
 fowls, collect here in the summer months. South of thi ti 
 Missouri river the lands are not very fertile, except neai ti 
 St. Louis, and in the south-western part of the state « 
 Near the Gasconade and Osage rivers there are hillj i 
 
 
THE STATE OF MISSOURI. 
 
 91 
 
 ranges, called the Ozark Mountains, extending southward 
 into Arkansas. The region east of the Ozarks is com- 
 posed of hills and valleys, thinly covered with post-oak, 
 black-jack, and other upland timbers. There is much 
 rock near the surface ; and, generally, the soil is very 
 thin. The Pilot Knob and Iron Mountains, about sixty 
 miles south-west of St. Louis, are vast elevations of iron 
 ore; and, beyond doubt, either of these two mountains 
 could produce iron enough for the uses of the world for 
 the next thousand years. There are several productive 
 lead mines; and the coal-fields in the west are beginning 
 to be of commercial importance. The products of the 
 state are hemp, flax, wheat, Indian corn, rye, oats, barley, 
 buck-wheat, tobacco, castor-oil bean, &c. Horses, mules, 
 
 : cattle, sheep, and swine are exported in large quantities. 
 The facilities for transit are very great, by river and by 
 railway. The Missouri river traverses the state, emptying 
 its muddy waters into the clear Mississippi, above St. 
 Louis. It is about one mile wide, with an ever-changing 
 current, difficult to navigate, and dangerous on account of 
 snags and sawyers. 
 
 ; The constitution of the state of Missouri was framed in 
 1820, and revised in 1847. The government is vested iu the 
 legislative, executive, and judicial departments. The legis- 
 lative consists of a senate and House of Representatives. 
 The former is composed of thirty-three members, each elected 
 for a term of four years; and the house of 100 members, 
 elected for a term of two years. The legislature meets 
 
 biennially. The governor is elected for a term of four years : 
 a lieutenant-governor (the president of the senate) is elected 
 
 ears : 
 
92 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 for a like terra. The judicial powers are vested iu a 
 Supreme Court, circuit courts, and such others as may 
 be organised by the legislature from time to time. The 
 judges of the supreme aud circuit courts are elected by 
 the people, for a term of six years. Every free white male 
 citizen of the United States, with a residency, is a voter. 
 
 Arkansas. 
 
 This state was admitted into the Union iu 1836, with an 
 area of 52,198 square miles. Its territory was originally a 
 part of the French possessions, called Louisiana; and, in 
 1803, the United States purchased it from Napoleon. 
 De Soto traversed it in 1541, with his expedition, in search 
 of gold; he died in this country, and was buried in the 
 Mississippi river — “thus meeting, in all his travels, with 
 nothing so remarkable as his burial-place/ 5 Father 
 Marquette, with other catholics, came from Canada in 
 1673, and visited different parts of this country. The 
 first settlements were made about 1685, by the French. 
 On the formation of the Missouri territorial government, 
 the domain of this state was included within its bounds; 
 but on the organisation of Missouri as a state, in 1821, the 
 Arkansas territorial government was formed. The uplands I 
 of Arkansas are, generally, very fertile; but there is much i 
 that is sterile. The bottom lauds, adjacent to the Missis- t 
 sippi river, are subject to overflow, and form an extensive, 
 swampy, and marshy region, with many lakes ; the swamps » 
 are heavily timbered with oak and cypress. The central 
 part of Arkansas is undulating; the Ozark Mountains 
 cross its north-west ; the Black Hills rise north of the 
 
* 
 
 THE STATES OF ARKANSAS AND MICHIGAN 
 
 93 
 
 Arkansas river; and the Washita Hills north of Washita 
 River. The products are wheat, rye, Indian corn, buck- 
 wheat, oats, tobacco, cotton, hemp, &c. Horses, mules, 
 cattle, swine, &c., are I’aised for exportation. The bitumi- 
 nous, cannel, and anthracite coal-fields, in the west, are 
 extensive ; the minerals are iron, lead, zinc, gypsum, and 
 salt. Marble is found in great abundance, and of many 
 varieties. The Mississippi, Ai’kansas, White, Washita, 
 and Red rivers, afford available means of transportation; 
 and, with the railways in progress, the carrying facilities of 
 Arkansas will be complete. 
 
 The constitution of the state of Arkansas was framed in 
 1836, and amended in 1846. The government is vested 
 in the legislative, executive, and judicial departments. 
 The legislative consists of a senate and House of Repre- 
 : sentatives ; the former is composed of twenty-five members, 
 elected for a term of four years ; and the latter of seventy- 
 five members, elected for a term of two years. The legis- 
 lature meets biennially. The governor is elected for a term 
 }f four years. The judicial powers are vested in a 
 Supreme Court, circuit courts, and such other tribunals as 
 she legislature may establish. The judges of the Supreme 
 Hourt are elected by the legislature, by a joint vote of 
 loth houses, for a term of eight years. The judges of the 
 lircuit courts are elected by the people, for a term of four 
 rears. Every white male citizen of the United States, 
 vith a residency, is a voter. 
 
 Michigan 
 
 This state was settled by the French fur- traders, a little 
 
94 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 prior to 1632. In 1784, the territory of Michigan, as a 
 part of the north-west territory, was ceded to the United 
 States by Virginia; and the state was admitted into the 
 Union in 1837, with an area of land amounting to 56,243 
 square miles ; and of water, about 36,324 square miles : 
 total jurisdictional area, 92,567 square miles. The territory 
 of the state of Michigan is divided into two sections, 
 commonly called the northern and southern peninsula. 
 The former consists of mountains, lakes, plains, rivers, and 
 forests. The natural developments comprise scenery, 
 considered to be picturesque and sublime. The soil in 
 the northern district is not so good as it is in the southern ; 
 but its mineral products are considerable. Its copper 
 mines are the richest in the world. The southern penin- 
 sula consists principally of vast plains. The shores of 
 Lake Michigan are remarkable for the shifting sand-hills, 
 resembling those in Jutland, Denmark, and in some of 
 tlie steppes of Russia. The most fertile soil is to be found 
 in the central part of the state, upon the table-lands. 
 Michigan is nearly surrounded with lakes — namely, the 
 Huron, Superior, Michigan, Erie, and St. Clair: the first 
 four contain the largest collections of fresh water on the 
 globe. These lakes are connected by the straits of > 
 Detroit, St. Clair, Michilimackinac, and Ste Mary. The 
 products of this state are wheat, Indian corn, barley, oats, 
 rye, buck-wheat, bops, potatoes, hay, hemp, flax, tobacco, 
 sugar, butter, and fruits. The raising of horses, cattle, 
 sheep, swine, and mules, is very profitable. The water 
 communication is remarkably complete; and, with its rail- 
 ways, Michigan is peculiarly blessed with means of transit, ij 
 
THE STATE OF FLORIDA. 
 
 95 
 
 The constitution of the state of Michigan was framed in 
 1835, and revised by a convention in 1850. The gov- 
 ernment is vested in the legislative, executive, and judicial 
 departments. The legislative consists of a senate and 
 House of Representatives : the former is composed of 
 thirty-two members, elected for a term of two years; and 
 the latter of eighty- one, elected for a term of two years. 
 The legislature meets biennially. The governor, and a 
 lieutenant-governor, are elected for a term of two years. 
 The latter is president of the senate. The judicial de- 
 partment is composed of a Supreme Court, circuit courts, 
 and such others as may be established by law. The 
 judges of the Supreme Court are elected by the people 
 for a term of eight years. The judges o f the circuit 
 courts are elected for a term of six years, by the voters of 
 the respective circuits. Every white male citizen of the 
 tlnited States, with a residency, is a qualified voter. 
 
 Florida. 
 
 This state was admitted into the Union in 1845, with 
 an area of 59,268 square miles. Sebastian Cabot, sailing 
 under the English flag, discovered this land in 1497. 
 Ponce de Leon explored the country about 1512; and, in 
 1528, Navarez, a Spaniard, having obtained a grant from 
 Charles V., for “all the lands lying from the river Palms 
 to the Cape of Florida,” sailed from Cuba, with several 
 ships and some 400 men, to take possession of the country ; 
 but the expedition was unfortunate — nearly the whole were 
 lost. In 1539, De Soto, who had served under the intrepid 
 Pizarro, sailed from Cuba, of which he ivas then governor, 
 
96 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 on his memorable expedition in search of gold, and landed 
 upon the western shore of Florida. In 1763, Florida was 
 ceded to Great Britain, in exchange for Havana; and, by 
 the treaty of Paris (1783), it was surrendered to Spain. 
 The territory of Florida was considered as indispensable 
 property for the United States; and, in 1819, a treaty of 
 cession was signed between Spain and the United States, 
 the latter giving the former a consideration of five millions 
 of dollars, which were to be distributed among the citizens 
 of the United States, as an indemnity due from Spain for 
 spoliation on American commerce. The surface of Florida 
 is generally level. The southern part is called the Ever- 
 glades, and is principally covered with water. A great 
 part of the state consists of swamps, pine, barrens, and 
 sandy plains, with very poor soil. Some of the barrens, 
 however, are covered with grass suitable for grazing. 
 There is much pine, hickory, live oak, and other timbers* 
 of great commercial value; and, besides, there are the 
 magnolia, cedar, chestnut, and cypress trees. The fig, 
 pomegranate, orange, and date, are fruits of this state. 
 Cotton is the principal product. The carrying is by steam- 
 boats and sailing-vessels. The railways will soon unite all 
 parts of the state, and give an increased impetus to trade 
 and commerce. 
 
 The constitution of Florida was framed in 1838. The 
 government consists of the legislative, executive, and 
 judicial departments. The first consists of a senate 
 and House of Representatives : the senate, at present, is 
 composed of nineteen members, elected for a term of two 
 years ; and the house of forty members, elected for a 
 
THE STATE OF TEXAS. 
 
 97 
 
 term of one year. The legislature meets biennially. The 
 governor is elected for a term of four years. The judicial 
 powers are vested in a Supreme Court, circuit courts, and 
 such others as may be organised by law. The judges of 
 the supreme and circuit courts are elected by the people, 
 for a term of six years. Every free white male, of the age 
 of twenty-one, and upwards, a citizen of the United States, 
 with a residency, is a qualified voter; soldiers and marines 
 of the army and navy excepted. 
 
 Texas. 
 
 This state was admitted into the Union in 1845, with 
 an area of 237,505 square miles. La Salle was the first 
 to explore the country, in 1685, by entering the Matagorda 
 bay. He then made a long journey interior, intending to 
 reach the Mississippi river; and, ultimately, the Illinois 
 country; but in this he failed. In 1689, Spain sent an 
 expedition, under the command of De Leon, who took 
 possession of the country in the name of his sovereign. 
 The right of territory was, for a long time, disputed 
 between Spain and France. In 1762, France ceded 
 Louisiana to Spain, which perfected the Spanish title to 
 Texas. In 1800, Spain retroceded Louisiana to France. 
 In 1803, the same territory was sold to the United 
 States; and, subsequently, the river Sabine was estab- 
 ished as the western boundary. Prior to this purchase, 
 ;he western boundary of the United States was the Mis- 
 dssippi river. The Louisiana territory was the whole 
 :ountry west of the Mississippi, from the Gulf of Mexico 
 ;o the British possessions, with an undefined western 
 
 H 
 
 I 
 
98 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 boundary. In 1812, an attempt was made to establish an 
 independent republican government for the territory 
 between the Sabine and the llio Grande; but the effort 
 was unsuccessful. There were several other attempts to 
 establish a republican government ; but tbe Mexican forces 
 were too powerful, and defeated the revolutionists. In 
 1835, the people of Texas declared themselves independent, 
 and prepared for the issue. Santa Anna was president of 
 Mexico, and he hastened with his army to the scene ol 
 revolt. He succeeded in conquering several hundred of 
 the Texan forces, all of whom were massacred ; but, in the 
 battle of San Jacint6, which was fought on the 21st of 
 April, 1836, General Houston, commander of the Texans, 
 was successful : this triumph secured the independence of 
 Texas, though the contest continued for several years 
 afterwards. Tbe republic of Texas was still prosperous, 
 under the administration of brave and practical men as 
 presidents. Its glory continued untarnished; and, in 
 1845, by concurrent acts of the Congress of the United, 
 States and of Texas, the state was admitted into the; 
 Union ; and the lone star, full of brilliancy, was added tc 
 the American galaxy. Mexico was provoked at this act 
 as it perpetuated the separation of Texas from its vasf 
 domain. The Mexican army invaded Texas as an act o. 
 war against the United States. The American forces, ir 
 that war, won many battles, and succeeded in penetrating 
 to the capital of Mexico. A treaty of peace was then made 
 which secured to the United States the perfect title to al 
 California, and the intermediate territory lying west of th< 
 Louisiana purchase of 1803. The face of the country o 
 
THE STATE OF TEXAS. 
 
 99 
 
 Texas is very level, and is considered to be a slope from 
 the interior mountains to the Gulf coast. It is watered 
 by several rivers. The lands lying within about one 
 hundred miles of the coast are very rich alluvial, and 
 susceptible of productive cultivation. Woodlands are 
 heavy near to the rivers, though there are but few swamps. 
 More interior there are upland prairies, with occasional 
 groves of timber, commonly called “islands of timber.” 
 This land is used for grazing; and it produces cotton, 
 tobacco, wheat, Indian corn, rye, rice, and all kinds of 
 grain. The mountain regions are traversed by the most 
 desperate, treacherous, and bloodthirsty savages. The 
 vast prairies, with the occasional woodlands, have been 
 considered the most beautiful and cheerful scenery in the 
 New World. 
 
 The constitution of the state of Texas was framed in 
 1845. The government is vested in the legislative, exe- 
 cutive, and judicial departments. The first consists of 
 a senate and House of Representatives. The senate is 
 composed of not less than nineteen, nor more than thirty- 
 three members, as may be determined by the legislature — 
 each elected for a term of four years ; and the house is 
 composed of not less than forty-five, nor more than ninety 
 members, as maybe determined by the legislature from 
 time to time — each elected for a term of two years. The 
 ■ legislature meets biennially. The governor is elected for 
 a term of two years. The judicial powers are vested in a 
 Supreme Court, district courts, and such other courts as 
 may be established by law. The judges of the supreme 
 and district courts are elected by the people for a term of 
 
 h 2 
 
100 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 six years. Every free male citizen of the United States, 
 who shall have attained the age of twenty-one, with a 
 residency, is a qualified voter ; excepting Indians not 
 taxed; Africans, and descendants of Africans. 
 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 The name of this state means, the “ gathering of the 
 waters.’’ It was a part of the north-west territory; and 
 was embraced within the early French settlements. In 
 1848, Wisconsin was admitted into the Union, with an 
 area of 53,924 square miles. The fur-traders visited it in 
 1659, from Quebec, accompanied with some 300 Algon- 
 quins. The Roman catholic missionaries proceeded at 
 once to teach the Indians civilisation and religious ideas : 
 the sufferings of these Jesuits were very great, many of 
 whom untimely perished. The most extensive explorer 
 of these regions was Father Marquette, who, with Joliet, 
 discovered the Upper Mississippi, and descended it as far 
 as the mouth of the Arkansas. In 1763, at the treaty of 
 Paris, the territory of the state of Wisconsin, then called 
 New France, was ceded to Great Britain. At the treaty 
 of peace, in 1783, it was claiiped by the United States on 
 account of the conquests of General Clarke, the commander 
 of the Virginia foi’ces in the west. In 1784, Virginia 
 ceded it, as a part of the north-west territory, to the 
 United States; and, in 1787, the north-west territorial 
 government was organised, embracing Wisconsin within 
 its jurisdiction. As a territorial government it continued — 
 but under different names, and within different boundaries, 
 until the organisation of the state in 1845. The face of 
 
THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. 
 
 101 
 
 the country is level : there are rolling prairies, with a 
 dividing ridge, which causes the waters, on the one side, to 
 flow into the lakes, and, on the other, into the Mississippi 
 river. The prairies are small, and are divided by strips of 
 woodlands. The soil is generally very rich and productive. 
 The northern sections produce great quantities of pine. 
 The staples are wheat, Indian corn, oats, potatoes, and 
 live-stock. Copper, lead, zinc, and iron ore, are found in 
 different parts of the state ; and it is believed that its 
 greatest wealth lies beneath the surface. Lake Michigan, 
 upon the east, and Lake Superior upon the north, afford 
 facilities of shipping to the eastern states. 
 
 The constitution of Wisconsin was framed in 1848. It 
 organises a government, consisting of legislative, executive, 
 and judicial departments. The first consists of two 
 branches — the senate and House of Representatives. The 
 senate is composed of thirty members, elected for two 
 years; and the house of niuety-seven members, elected 
 annually. Tbe legislature meets annually. The governor 
 is elected for a term of two years. The judicial power of 
 the state, as to matters of law and equity, are vested in a 
 Supreme Court, circuit courts, county courts, and justices 
 of the peace. The judges of the supreme and circuit 
 courts are elected by the people for a term of six years. 
 Justices of the peace are elected for a term of two years. 
 
 “ Every male person, of the age of twenty-one years or upwards, 
 belonging to either of the following classes, who shall have resided 
 in the state for one year next preceding any election, shall be 
 deemed a qualified elector at such election : — 1st. White citizens 
 of the United States. 2nd. White persons of foreign birth, who 
 shall have declared their intention to become citizens, conformably 
 to the laws of the United States on the subject of naturalisation. 
 
102 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 3rd. Persons of Indian blood, who have once been declared by law 
 of Congress to be citizens of the United States, any subsequent law 
 of Congress to the contrary notwithstanding. 4th. Civilised persons 
 of Indian descent, not members of any tribe. Provided, that the 
 legislature may, at any time, extend by law the right of suffrage to 
 persons not herein enumerated ; but no such law shall be enforced 
 until the same shall have been submitted to a vote of the people at 
 a general election, and approved by a majority of all the. votes cast 
 at such election.” 
 
 Iowa. 
 
 This state was admitted into the Union in 1846, with, 
 an area of 50,914 square miles. It lies north of the 
 state of Missouri, and west of the Mississippi river, 
 and was originally a part of the French province of 
 Louisiana. The Indian titles were purchased by the 
 United States; and, about 1832, hardy and enterprising 
 pioneers began to settle the territory. The face of the 
 country is undulating or rolling — mostly prairies skirted 
 with woodlands. A slight elevation, extending through 
 the middle of the state, divides the water-fall between the 
 Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. Near the rivers and 
 creeks are the bottom lauds, with heavy timber; but 
 beyond are the prairies, extending many miles, covered 
 with thrifty grass and wild flowers. Occasionally groves 
 of trees are seen in the far distance ; which, to the tra- 
 veller, are as cheering as the sight of the distant isle is to 
 the mariner at sea. In summer, the prairies are most 
 beautiful ; but in winter they are the most desolate 
 regions of the American continent. Covered with snow, 
 there is nothing to be seen but the vast and boundless 
 plains mantled in white. In the Russian steppes, there 
 are occasionally groves of pines, which give some indica- 
 
THE STATE OF IOWA. 
 
 103 
 
 tions of life; and iu Iceland, the desolate plains are 
 relieved by the mountains of lava : but, in America, the 
 prairies are so level and so extensive, that sometimes, in 
 winter, there is nothing to be seen but the glittering snow ; 
 and, iu the stillness of night, the stoutest heart yields to 
 reflection on the general solitude. 
 
 The products of Iowa are wheat, Indian corn, rye, oats, 
 barley, potatoes, hemp, flax, hay, &c. Horses, cattle, 
 mules, swine, and sheep are raised for exportation. The 
 timbers are walnut, white oak, black oak, sycamore, post- 
 oak, black-jack, hickory, elm, & c. The minerals are lead, 
 iron, zinc, copper, and coal. 
 
 The constitution of Iowa was framed prior to the admis- 
 sion of the state into the Union in 1846, and revised in 
 1857. The government is vested in the legislative, execu- 
 tive, and judicial departments. The legislative consists of 
 two branches — the senate and House of Representatives. 
 The members of the senate cannot exceed fifty, and are 
 elected for a term of four years. The members of the 
 house cannot exceed one hundred, and are elected for a 
 term of two years. The legislature meets biennially. The 
 governor and lieutenant-governor are elected for a term of 
 two years. The judicial powers are vested in a Supreme 
 Court, district courts, and such other courts as may be 
 established by law. Judges of the Supreme Court are 
 elected for a term of six years. District court judges are 
 elected for a term of four years. Every white male citizen 
 of the United States, with a residency, is a qualified voter. 
 In 1857, the popular vote was cast against striking out the 
 word “ white," with respect to the qualification of voters. 
 
104 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 California. 
 
 This state was admitted into the Union in 1850, with an 
 area of 188,981 square miles. It was discovered in 1548^ 
 by Cabrillo, a Spanish navigator. The Roman catholics 
 extended their missions over the country at an early date ; 
 but their policy discouraged emigration. At the treaty of 
 peace between the United States and Mexico, in 1848, at 
 Guadalupe Hidalgo, the whole of the California and 
 Mexican possessions, north of the Gila river, became the 
 property of the United States. The pen cannot describe 
 the physical developments of this country. The moun- 
 tains are stupendous, and the valleys are of great depth; 
 the principal of the former is the Sierra Nevada, or Snowy 
 Mountain. “The Sierra Nevada is a part of the great 
 mountain range, which, under different names, extends 
 from the peninsula of California to Russian America. 
 There are many peaks, rising, like pyramids, from heavily 
 timbered plateaux, to the height of 14,000 and 17,000 
 feet above the ocean, and covered with perpetual snow.” 
 West of the mountains, are the inhabited regions in the 
 iertile valleys. East of Sierra Nevada the climate is very 
 cold, and nearly the whole country is barren. From the 
 margin of the Pacific Ocean, there is a slope to the base 
 of a mountain range. Eastward of this mountain there is 
 a great valley ; and then, further eastward, is another 
 range of mountains, but more stupendous than the former. 
 There are two seasons in California — the rainy and the 
 dry; the former extending from the 1st of April to the 
 1st of November. During the rainy season, there are 
 
THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 105 
 
 intervals of fine weather, when farmers have opportunities 
 to cultivate the soil. “ The mining interests of California 
 are vast and inexhaustible. The state abounds in mineral 
 wealth, in great varieties ; and there is no knowing to 
 what extent these riches may be developed. From 1849 
 to 1860, it has been estimated, that gold, to the value of 
 six hundred million dollars, has been taken from the mines 
 of California.” The valleys are very productive; though, 
 in many parts, irrigation is necessary. Labour is prin- 
 cipally devoted to mining ; but the number of persons 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits is rapidly increasing ; 
 and it is confidently believed that California will produce 
 all the grain and live-stock necessary for its future wants. 
 Various species of timber grow in California. In the 
 Sierra Nevada mountain, there is a grove of very large 
 trees — each of gigantic proportions. They occupy a level 
 plateau 4,500 feet above the sea. These trees are ever- 
 green, and the foliage is of a deep hue. The bark is 
 porous ; and on some of them it is two feet thick. Many 
 of these trees are estimated to be at least 6,400 years old. 
 One of them was felled in 1853, which measured some 
 seven feet above the earth, thirty feet in diameter, and 
 ninety feet in circumference. One of the natural wonders 
 of this state is the Yo-hamite, a vast gorge or canon in the 
 Sierra; through which flows the Merced, which rises 
 high up in the mountains. This canon has a perpen- 
 dicular wall of granite, nearly 5,000 feet high. It is 
 a chasm, not quite teu miles long — less than a mile 
 wide, and narrowing at either end, with walls of naked 
 and perpendicular white granite. The bottom is covered 
 
106 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAlt. 
 
 with grass. There is a stream of water which falls over 
 the ledge, 1,800 feet at one plunge ; then taking a second ; 
 plunge, 400 feet; and then another, 600 feet — making an : 
 aggregate of 2,800 feet descent. The Merced river flows | 
 through the canon, with its banks covered with evergreen 
 and wild flowers. “ With the two points of egress ■ 
 guarded, no human being, once placed within its rocky 
 mountain walls, could ever escape.” It is an Almannagja, I 
 more stupendous than those produced by the volcanic i 
 burstings of the earth’s crust in Iceland. 
 
 The constitution of California was adopted on the ad- : 
 mission of the state into the Union in 1850, organising a | 
 government, with legislative, executive, and judicial de- > 
 partments. The legislative consists of two branches — the 
 senate and assembly. The senate is to be composed of 
 not less than ten, nor more thau forty members; to be 
 regulated, from time to time, according to population. 
 The assembly is to contain not less than thirty, nor more 
 than eighty members. The senators are elected for two | 
 years ; and members of the assembly for one year. The 
 legislature meets annually. The governor is elected for a 
 term of two years. The judicial powers are vested in a 
 Supreme Court, district courts, and such other tribunals i 
 as may be established by law. The judges of the Supreme 
 Court, and district courts, are elected by the people, for j 
 a term of six years. Every white male citizen of the 
 United States, of the age of twenty-one, with a residency, i 
 is a qualified voter. 
 
THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 107 
 
 Minnesota. 
 
 This state was admitted into the Uniou in 1858, with 
 an area of 95,274 square miles. The meaning of the word 
 Minnesota, is “ sky-tinted water.” In 1679, Father 
 Hennepin, a friar, explored a part of the country, and 
 was the first white man who ascended the Mississippi 
 river, above the Falls of St. Anthony. In 1689, Perrot 
 and others took formal possession of Minnesota, in the 
 name of the French king, and built a fort on the west 
 shore of Lake Pepin. Le Suer, in 1695, constructed 
 a second fort on an island below the St. Croix. During 
 the next century the country was visited by the French 
 fur- traders; and, later, 'by the British. The lauds lying 
 east of the Mississippi river, in Minnesota, were included 
 in the Indiana territory of 1800 ; and those lying west of 
 the river were embraced in the Louisiana purchase of 
 1803. The first settlements were made by Swiss emigrants 
 from the colony of Lord Selkirk, in the valley of the Red 
 river; who, in the years 1837 and 1838, opened farms on 
 the site of St. Paul. The state occupies an elevated 
 plateau ; and in it rises the three great rivers of the 
 continent. There is a central ridge running through 
 the state; and the waters flow on the one side to the 
 Mississippi river; and on the other, to the Red river, 
 and Lake Superior. The state is traversed by several 
 navigable rivers. The products are hemp, wheat, rye, 
 oats, Indian corn, barley, potatoes, hay, &c. Horses, 
 mules, cattle, and swine are raised at a nominal expense, 
 equal to the wants of the state. The minerals of 
 
108 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Minnesota are iron and copper; the latter is found ir 
 massive purity. 
 
 The constitution of Minnesota was adopted prior tc 
 its admission into the Union in 1858. The government 
 is vested in legislative, executive, and judicial depart- 
 ments ; the first consists of a senate and • House of 
 Representatives. The senate is composed of twenty-one 
 members, elected for a term of two years; and the house] 
 of forty-two members, elected for a term of one year. 
 The legislature meets annually. The governor and lieu- 
 tenant-governor are elected for a term of two years. The 
 judicial powers are vested in a Supreme Court, district 
 courts, courts of probate, justices of the peace, and such 
 others as may be organised by law. The judges of the 
 Supreme Court and ^district courts are elected by the 
 people, for a term of seven years. Judges of probate 
 courts, and justices of the peace, are elected for a term 
 of two years. The constitution declares, that — 
 
 “ Every male person, of the age of twenty-one years or upwards, 
 belonging to either of the following classes,” with a residency, are 
 qualified voters ; namely — “ 1st. White citizens of the United States. 
 2nd. White persons, of foreign birth, who shall have declared their 
 intention to become citizens, conformably to the laws of the United 
 States upon the subject of naturalisation. 3rd. Persons of mixed,' 
 white, and Indian blood, who have adopted the customs and habits 
 of civilisation. 4tli. Persons of Indian blood, residing in this state, 
 who have adopted the language, customs, and habits of civilisation, 
 after an examination before any district court of the state, in such 
 manner as may be provided by law, and shall have been pronounced 
 by said court capable of enjoying the rights of citizenship within 
 the state.” 
 
THE STATE OF OREGON. 
 
 109 
 
 Oregon. 
 
 This state was admitted into the Union in 1859, with 
 an area of 102,606 square miles. The Pacific Ocean lies 
 upon its east, California upon its south, and Washington 
 tei'ritory upon its north. The settlements in Oregon are 
 but recent, only extending back to the beginning of the 
 present century ; the first being on Lewis River, a branch 
 of the Columbia. Oregon territory was organised in 
 1848, including the present territory of Washington, with 
 an aggregate of some 250,000 square miles. 
 
 The Sierra Nevada range of mountains extends through 
 Oregon : though north of California, it is called the 
 Cascade range of mountains. Between this range and the 
 Pacific, there is a strip of land about 120 miles wide, which 
 is very fertile. Along the streams there is hut little 
 timber. The bottoms are covered with a very rich loam, 
 producing indigenous grasses and flower-plants. In some 
 parts of the country there are marshes and water-prairies : 
 the waters are frequently connected by sluices or bayous. 
 In West Oregon, wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, and domes- 
 tic animals thrive. The timbers are pine, cedar, spruce, 
 fir, and hemlock. The oak and ash are rare. The giant 
 pines of Oregon are often found to measure twenty feet 
 in diameter some ten feet above the earth. There are 
 gold mines along the Pacific coast, and in Rogue Yalley. 
 The wealth of Oregon remains to be developed in the future. 
 
 The constitution of the state of Oregon was adopted 
 prior to its admission into the Union in 1859. Its gov- 
 ernment is vested in legislative, executive, and judicial 
 
110 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 departments. Tlie legislative consists of two branches — 
 the senate and House of Representatives. The senate is 
 composed of sixteen members, elected for a term of four 
 years ; and the house of thirty-four members, elected for a 
 term of two years. The legislature meets biennially. 
 The governor is elected for a term of four years. The 
 judicial powers are vested in a Supreme Court, circuit 
 courts, probate courts, and such others as may be estab- 
 lished by law. The same judges preside over the supreme 
 and circuit courts ; and are elected by the people, for a 
 term of six years. Every white male citizen of the Unitedi 
 States, with a residency, and twenty-one years of age, is a ? 
 qualified voter. “No negro, Chinaman, or mulatto, can 
 have the right of suffrage.” 
 
 Kansas. 
 
 This state was admitted into the Union in 1861, with ! 
 an area of 78,418 square miles. It lies west of the 
 Missouri river, and was included within the limits of the \ 
 “ Indian Territory” prior to 1854. The organisation of I 
 the Kansas territorial government, and the efforts to 
 establish a state, produced among the people of the whole j 
 Union a great sensation. It was a question of extension j 
 or non-extension of slave territory. The contest was not 
 only in the Houses of Congress, hut it was with the whole 
 nation, and particularly within the borders of Kansas. 
 Unauthorised bodies of men, bearing arms, endeavoured 
 to enforce their peculiar doctrines of government — each 
 calling the other “border ruffians.” There were frequent 
 deadly conflicts ; and each accused the other of staining 
 
THE STATE OF KANSAS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 the early annals of Kansas by the commission of murder 
 and rapine. On the admission of the state of Missouri 
 into the Union, it was agreed, in Congress, that there 
 should never be any more slave territory north of 
 lat. 36° 30'. Kansas was north of that compromise line; 
 and the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, that passed Congress in 
 1854, abolished the limitation, and left the question of 
 slavery to be decided by the people residing in the ter- 
 ritory at the time of admission into the Union. On the 
 adoption of the constitution, the people decided against 
 slavery; and Kansas was admitted into the Union as a 
 free state. Its domain is remarkably fertile, and easily 
 cultivated. It consists of rolling prairies; and there is 
 but little timber. Along the streams there is some cotton- 
 wood, sycamore, and willow. On the ridges, post-oak and 
 black-jack are common, though of stunted growth, on 
 account of prairie fires. All kinds of grain can be pro- 
 duced in abundance ; and horses, mules, and cattle raised 
 with but little expense. 
 
 The constitution of Kansas was adopted prior to its ad- 
 mission iuto the Union in 1861. The powers of govern- 
 ment are vested in legislative, executive, and judicial de- 
 partments. The legislative is divided into two branches 
 — the senate and House of Representatives. The number 
 of senators and representatives depends upon population. 
 The governor and all the officers of the state are elected 
 by the people. 
 
 Territories. 
 
 The territories of the United States’ domain cover vast, 
 
112 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 and, to a considerable extent, unexplored regions. We 
 cannot do more, at the present time, than very briefly 
 notice them. Washington Territory lies north, on the 
 Pacific Ocean ; and its topography is very much like that 
 of Oregon : its area is about 176,141 square miles. Utah 
 Territory lies within the Uockv Mountain range, and has 
 an area of 128,835 square miles. New Mexico Territory 
 lies south of Utah, and has an area of 243,063 square 
 miles. Nevada Territory lies west of Utah, and has an 
 area of about 45,812 square miles. Arizona lies south of 
 New Mexico, and north of Mexico, and has an area of 
 about 31,000 square miles. Indian Territory, occupied 
 by civilised Indian tribes, lies west of Arkansas, and has 
 an area of 71,127 square miles. Nebraska Territory lies 
 west of Iowa, and has about 122,007 square miles. Colorado 
 Territory lies west of Kansas, and has an area of 105,818 
 square miles. Dacotah Territory lies west of Minnesota, 
 and has an area of 318,128 square miles. The aggregate 
 area of these nine territories is about 1,241,931 square 
 miles. The topography of the land is of every variety. 
 There are perpetually ice-clad mountains, green valleys, 
 prairies, river bottoms, desert plains, forests, marshes, &c. 
 Portions of these territories remain unexplored by civilised 
 man, though the savage tribes roam over nearly the whole 
 of them. The natural wonders of this immense region 
 cannot be described in this work ; the sublimity of many 
 of them can only be appreciated by actual observation; the 
 pen cannot do them justice. Explorers have found, between 
 the Rocky Mountains and California, numerous fissures 
 in the rock-crust of the earth. Some of them have 
 
TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENTS. 
 
 113 
 
 perpendicular sides several hundred feet deep, and but a few 
 feet wide. Some are entirely inaccessible, having neither 
 outlet nor inlet; deep, gloomy cracks descending into the 
 bowels of the earth to an unfathomable depth, even below 
 the bed of the Pacific Ocean. The bottoms are beyond 
 sight; and the echo from the falling stone, fades away 
 before it reaches the ear. In others, the meandering 
 streams are seen thousands of feet below. The canon of 
 Rio Colorado has been ascertained to be 11,000 feet deep ! 
 
 The “ government” of a territory is created by an act of 
 Congress ; and is subordinate to the federal government. 
 As the population of the United States has expanded, new 
 territories have been formed; and then, within a few years 
 after, a new, independent, and sovereign state is admitted 
 into the Union. We will illustrate the case by taking Kansas 
 and Nebraska as examples. In 1854, the Congress of the 
 United States passed a law, permitting the settlement and 
 organisation of these territories, which, up to that time, 
 were occupied by the Indians. The president, immedi- 
 ately thereafter, appointed the governor, secretary, judges, 
 and marshal for each of them. The people rapidly settled on 
 the lands, and established towns. A territorial legislature 
 xvas organised in each, for the enactment of local laws, 
 conformably to the acts of Congress. When the popula- 
 tion of Kansas equalled in number the congressional ap- 
 portionment (93,423), the people applied to Congress for 
 admission of that territory into the Union as a sovereign 
 and independent state. It was agreed to by Congress 
 (1861); then the new state was organised under its constitu- 
 tion, and elected its national senators and representatives. 
 
 i 
 
114 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 While under a territorial government, Kansas had a 
 delegate in Congress, through courtesy; but he had not 
 the privilege of voting. He could speak, and take part in 
 all other proceedings. Nebraska, organised at the same 
 time (1854), continues under a territorial government, 
 the same as New Mexico, Washington, Utah, &c. There 
 is no minimum population required by law, to entitle a 
 territory to be admitted into the Union; nor for the 
 organisation of a territorial government. The necessities 
 of the inhabitants, and the public good, are the considera- 
 tions with Congress. Oregon was admitted in 1859, with 
 but 52,464. New Mexico has 93,541, and Utah has 
 40,295 inhabitants; both of which are under territorial 
 governments, and each has a delegate in Congress. 
 When a new state is admitted into the Union, the presi- 
 dent’s power over that jurisdiction ceases ; his governor, 
 judges, and other officers retire, and new officials are 
 elected by the people. Like the youth, in minority he is 
 under his guardian ; but on arriving at his majority, he 
 becomes the master of his own destiny. 
 
 The Indian territory is under the government of Indian 
 tribes. They have their own legislature; enact all needful 
 municipal laws, and enforce them through their own 
 administrative officials. Their laws are monuments of i 
 enlightenment, humanity, and philanthropy. 
 
 District of Columbia. 
 
 This district is situated on the north bank of the 
 Potomac river, and is under the jurisdiction of Congress. 
 The constitution authorises Congress to exercise legislation 
 
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 
 
 115 
 
 over a district of territory not exceeding ten miles square. 
 When it was determined to locate, permanently, the seat 
 of government on the banks of the Potomac, the states of 
 Maryland and Virginia authorised a cession of territory 
 for the purposes of the federal government. In 1788, the 
 state of Maryland passed an act to cede to the government 
 a district of land, ten miles square. In 1789, the state of 
 Virginia passed a similar act. In 1790, Congress accepted 
 of these cessions, and a district was laid out, taking about 
 half from Maryland and about half from Virginia — the lines 
 crossing the Potomac river, so as to include Alexandria 
 in the district. The seat of government was named after 
 Washington; and the territory, the District of Co- 
 lumbia. 
 
 The government of the District of Columbia is vested in 
 the Congress of the United States. The charter for the 
 city of Washington permits municipal administration ; 
 but Congress is the sole legislative tribunal for the dis- 
 trict: the president is the executive; and the judiciary 
 powers are vested in courts established by Congress. The 
 Supreme Court of the United States sits in Washington; 
 but, for the district, there are distinct courts for the trial of 
 all cases of common law and equity; and besides, there is 
 a district federal court. The judges of all these courts are 
 appointed by the president. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Climate of the States; Sleets in the Mississippi Valley ; Tor- : 
 
 nadoes and Hurricanes ; Health in the Southern States ; Lon- 1 
 
 gevity of the White and Negro Races. 
 
 In the United States there is a greater variety of climate' 
 than is to be found in any other equal divisional area of the 
 earth’s surface. In general it is salubrious, though at 
 times of extreme heat or cold. The states occupy a wide 
 belt between the torrid zone and the Arctic regions — suffi- 
 ciently distant from each, however, as not to be within the 
 oppressive heat of the former, and the frosts of the latter. 
 The climate of this great belt between the Atlantic and 
 Pacific, is varied; that is to say, on any given line of 
 latitude — for example, 36° 30' — between the oceans, the j 
 degrees of heat and cold are not the same. On the 
 Atlantic coast there is one variety; within the Appala- 
 chian mountain range, it is much colder; in the Missis- 
 sippi valley it is more mild ; directly east of the Rocky 
 Mountains, the degree of frost is greater ; between the 
 Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, the winters are 
 very severe; and upon the Pacific coast, there is less cold 
 than occurs in either of the other divisions. These different 
 climatical zones differ one from the other. This line of 
 latitude traverses regions, some of continual green, and 
 others of perpetual snow. 
 
 In the states north and east of the Hudson river, the 
 
CLIMATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 117 
 
 winters are severe; and in summer there are days of 
 excessive heat. In Boston, and in other parts of the New 
 England states, the thermometer, in winter, frequently 
 ranges between 30° and 40° below zero; and, in summer, 
 between 90° and 100° above zero, in the shade. Some- 
 times the changes are very sudden, especially upon the 
 coast. The snow’s are frequent; occasionally the fall 
 reaches twenty inches per day; and when with wind, the 
 drifting is very great, filling up the valleys, railway cuts, 
 and ordinary highways; many times interrupting travel 
 for two and three days. The frost commences early in 
 the autumn, and continues until late in spring. On 
 account of the shortness of summer, and the general 
 sterility of the soil, the northern states produce but 
 limited quantities of agricultural commodities, though the 
 farming in those states is conducted upon the most econo- 
 mical principles. The larger proportion of the inhabitants 
 is engaged in manufactures ; and the surplus population, 
 which cannot find employment in any of the industrial 
 pursuits common to those states, migrate to the great 
 west ; and hence the decennial ceusus does not show the 
 natural increase of their inhabitants. Along the coast, 
 the east winds are very cold and damp, producing 
 pneumonia and other pulmonary diseases. The people are 
 exceedingly industi’ious, and their longevity is frequently 
 determined by the degree of their physical exertion. 
 The ice forms upon the lakes and rivers, some twenty 
 inches thick; and it has become a commercial commodity. 
 New England lies in the same latitudes as Spain and Italy, 
 and yet there is a greater degree of cold in these American 
 
118 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 states, on an average, than occurs at Julianshaab, South 
 Greenland, or at Reikiavik, in Iceland. 
 
 The states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylva- 
 nia, have two kinds of climate. Near to the sea it is 
 milder than in the interior, within the mountain ranges. : 
 The gulf stream has an influence in tempering the air of 
 those parts of the state lying near the sea; though, at 
 times, there are days of excessive cold, even in New York 
 city, when the mercury descends to some 38° below zero. ; ■ 
 In the mountains, the snows are frequent, and very deep, 
 often interrupting the railway communication with the 
 great mails. The states of Delaware and Maryland have 
 a still more moderate climate; and even in that part of 
 Maryland lying within the Alleghany Mountains, the cold 
 is not so great as in New England. Upon these Alpine- 
 like summits, the snows are frequent, and the winter’s blast 
 most terrible ; yet, as to cold, they are more than equalled 
 on the plains of the northern states. In summer, there 
 are times, of several consecutive days, when the heat is 
 so great, that the pavements are too hot to be borne by 
 the naked feet of those who prefer to dispense with shoes. 
 
 In the latitude of Maryland and Virginia, westward of 
 the Appalachian chain of mountains, the summers are very 
 hot, and the droughts are greater than occur within the 
 limits of the coast states. Very often, for several con- 
 secutive days, the thermometer remains between 90° and 
 100° in the shade; and the only covering required in bed, 
 at night, is a linen sheet. The winters are not very 
 severe, compared with the climate of the northern states. 
 The snow lies upon the ground but a few days, and there 
 
CLIMATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 119 
 
 are many winters that do not afford the necessary ice for 
 domestic consumption; and that commodity has to be im- 
 ported from the northern states. The Ohio river, however, 
 occasionally freezes at Pittsburg; and there are seasons — 
 perhaps once in a quarter of a century — when the river 
 at Cincinnati freezes over. At Louisville, a thin ice-crust 
 has sometimes formed across the river; but these are the 
 incidents of severe and uncommon winters. In the regions 
 of Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and South Missouri, 
 the snows are less frequent, and the climate is much milder 
 than that of the north-western states. In Tennessee and 
 South Arkansas the grass is green during the whole 
 winter. In these states the snow lies upon the ground 
 but a few hours; it is dissolved either by the sun or the 
 warm rains. Sleets are common in Tennessee, Kentucky, 
 South Missouri, North Arkansas, and the southern parts 
 of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The rain is precipitated 
 from the warmer stratas of air above ; and, falling upon 
 the trees and the earth, where the air is colder, ice is 
 formed around every twig and blade of grass; and the 
 earth is crusted with a coating of ice, averaging from a 
 quarter to half an inch in thickness. A woodland thus 
 covered with sleet, in the sunshine, is a most beautiful 
 sight. All nature appears to be clad with diamonds ! The 
 countless icy prisms reflect the sun’s rays, and scatter 
 their rainbow hues in every direction, enrobing nature 
 with a mantle of the most singular beauty. Some foreign 
 writers have stated, that the cold is “so severe at 
 St. Louis, that the Mississippi river is sometimes capable 
 of being crossed on the ice for eight weeks together,” 
 
120 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 with waggons heavily laden. They fail to explain hov i 
 the river becomes bridged with ice. Strictly speaking 11 
 the river at St. Louis was never frozen over; nor is i * 
 possible ; for the degree of cold is not sufficient to freeze * 
 over that most rapid and turbulent of all rivers. The 
 confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers is some 
 twenty miles above St. Louis; and the latter river, par- 
 ticularly, brings down from its tributaries immense quan- 
 tities of ice in “ cakes,” each some five or ten feet across 
 and some from ten to twenty inches thick. Sometimes 
 these detached pieces freeze together, and descend in 
 cakes, an acre in size. The floating ice is often so thick 
 that the water of the river cannot be seen. During warm 
 days it softens, and becomes, as technically called, “ rotten ;” 
 and the pieces, crushing one against the other, break into 
 small fragments. Three or four days of cold weather will 
 harden the floating ice. At narrow places of the river it 
 “jams” together, and forms what is called a “gorge.” 
 Below the “gorge” the river soon becomes free of floating 
 ice; and, above it, the cakes pack together for many miles.: 
 Thus lying together, the cold soon unites them. As the 
 cakes descend with the rapid current, they strike against 
 the “ gorge,” and are either forced upon or beneath the 
 stationary ice: those running under are caught by sub-' 
 tending pieces; and, in a few days, the bridge of ice is 
 some five or more feet elevated above the water-level : it 
 becomes buoyed by the under-cakes. In this manner 
 “gorges,” and the bridges at St. Louis, are formed. The 
 axemen then proceed to level the ice, by cutting off the 
 projecting edges of the cakes, crushed to perpendicular 
 
CLIMATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 121 
 
 ; positions. When thus prepared, the highway is opened, 
 and the largest waggons, containing twenty tons burden, 
 or even more, and drawn by the largest horses, cross and 
 recross with perfect safety, for several consecutive weeks. 
 
 Within the regions of the junction of the Ohio and the 
 Mississippi rivers, there are, occasionally, tornadoes, which 
 are very destructive to the houses and farms. They de- 
 molish the most substantial buildings, and twist from the 
 earth the largest trees — not sparing the stately oak, though 
 it be two or three feet in diameter at base. These torna- 
 does are composed of a series of whirlwinds. The hurri- 
 cane is not so destructive, as the wind blows in a right 
 line. The tornado lifts a house from its base, and scat- 
 ters its fragments in every direction; some of which we 
 have seen carried at least seven miles : but the hurricane 
 i levels it to the earth, as though it had been pushed over. 
 It has been stated, that, “ although the summers over the 
 Mississippi valley must be admitted to be hot, yet the 
 exemptions of the country from mountains and other 
 
 I mpediments to the free course of the winds, and the cir- 
 cumstance that the greater proportion of the country has 
 i surface bare of forests, together, probably, with other 
 mexplained atmospheric agents, concur to create, during 
 lie sultry months, almost a constant breeze : it then hap- 
 pens that the air on the wide prairies is rendered fresh, 
 md the heats are tempered in the same manner as is felt 
 >n the ocean.” The thunder-storms of the valley are 
 he most remarkable natural phenomena of the country, 
 iven those persons who fear the lightning, are forced to 
 .dmire the sublimity of this electric manifestation. 
 
122 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 During some niglits, the heavens are brilliantly illumi- 
 nated by flash after flash, extending from the horizon 
 to the zenith. On the lower Mississippi there are 
 many lakes, bayous and swamps. The summers are very 
 hot, and the winters are mild : the ground is seldom 
 covered with snow; and whenever the white fleecy flakes 
 happen to reach the earth, they disappear within a few 
 hours. In the south-western states vegetation grows very 
 rapidly, and Indian corn attains a height of eight feet, 
 within ninety days from sprouting. Two crops of hay are 
 frequently gathered within the same season. 
 
 The climate of the states of Virginia and North Carolina, i 
 is the most uniform of all the United States; and it is 
 neither excessively hot nor cold. The mountains are covered 
 with deep snows; and their white-crested peaks present an 
 Alpine appearance; but, in the valleys and outlie coast 
 plains, there is verdure throughout the winter. Those states 
 lying upon the Gulf of Mexico have a much greater degree j 
 of heat in the sun ; but at night, the cool breeze from the 
 sea, with its dews, refreshes all nature. Festoons of long 
 moss hang from the trees; thus nature, with a mantle of 
 singular growth, darkens the forest. These long grey 
 tresses, like the weeping willow, create in the heart sad 
 and lonely thoughts. The palmetto, however, gives to the 
 low alluvial grounds a grand and striking verdure. The ! 
 laurel trees, upon the mouutain sides, retain their green 
 foliage through the winter. Snow is to be seen only as 
 falling flakes, and the streams are never frozen. Ice, for 
 domestic consumption, is brought from New England. 
 The peach trees are in blossom and foliage early in Feb- 
 
CLIMATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 123 
 
 ruary; and the bloom of the magnolia scents the air with 
 sweet perfumes, early in spring. In April, the wild rose 
 and other flowers beautify the fence-sides and the mar- 
 gins of the many little streams, and scatter their fragrance 
 with every breeze. At night the dews are heavy, pene- 
 trating into every pore of vegetation. If a cloth be hung 
 out at night, in the morning the water will be seen 
 dripping from it. The heat of the day is not greater than 
 is common in the Mississippi valley; but the verdure of 
 the country is greater, owing to the heavy dews, and its 
 proximity to the sea. The gulf stream sweeps along the 
 coast, and the winds carry off its immense evaporation to 
 land. During the night, the cold winds from the moun- 
 tain ranges, cause the particles of water held in suspen- 
 sion by the air, to be precipitated in the form of dew; or, 
 in other words, a slow penetrating shower of rain, irri- 
 gating the land, and nourishing vegetation. These dews 
 produce the superior quality of cotton grown in the gulf 
 states; and the southern planters are firm in the faith, 
 :hat a like quality of that product cannot be cultivated 
 elsewhere. It is true there is only one gulf stream; and it 
 vould seem that nature has given to these regions advan- 
 tages that cannot be realised in any other part of the 
 vorld for the production of that most essential fibre. 
 With respect to the health of the southern seaboard states, 
 ve deem it only necessary to say, that, with like precau- 
 ions, they are as favourable as the other sections of the 
 ountry. Each division of the United States has some 
 >eculiar disease, more common than others; but the 
 nedical practitioner can administer the antidote. Fevers 
 
124 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 are common, especially with persons not acclimated, 
 Until the system becomes accustomed to the various' 
 conditions of the climate, there is considerable danger oi 
 being attacked by fevers, some of which are very malig- 
 nant. Persons reared in the northern states are liable 
 to these fevers, if they live in the gulf states a few 
 weeks. The chills, or ague fevers, prevail throughout the, 
 southern and south-western states. The malignant and 
 fatal typhoid and typhus fevers are frequently the sequence 
 of the ordinary chills. Some writers have assumed that 
 the white race cannot live in the southern or gulf states, 
 and enjoy the same degree of health as experienced by the 
 negro. We think this is an error. Acclimatisation is 
 necessary, whether in the north, south, east, or west, for 
 both races; and whatever difference there maybe in the 
 southern states, with respect to longevity of the white and 
 black races, in favour of the latter; it is, in our opinion, 
 owing to the greater uniformity of habits and diet, and of 
 the more moderate employment of mental and physical 
 energy. 
 
 The slave, or negro-man, lives a quiet life. His mind 
 and body are not over-tasked. His future, in this world, 
 concerns him not, for his owner must provide for him, 
 whether in health or sickness. If he become lame, halt, 
 or blind, his food and raiment must be supplied to him by 
 his master. If the blast of winter, or the drought of 
 summer, lay waste the grain-field, although he may 
 regret his master's loss, yet his mind is not taxed for the 
 future. He is not overworked, because the owner cannot 
 afford to hazard the health and life of his property. For 
 
CLIMATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 125 
 
 these reasons the negro, seemingly at least, realises better 
 health, and a greater longevity, in the seaboard states, 
 than fall to the lot of the white race. 
 
 On the Pacific the climate is mild and healthy, espe- 
 cially between the Coast mountains and the Sierra Nevada. 
 In some of the valleys near the sea-coast, frosts and snows 
 have never been known; and, generally, the climate has 
 been represented to be mild, dry, breezy, and healthy — 
 better than that of Italy; as there the sultry, scorching 
 blasts from the African deserts have no counterpart. 
 Save in the higher mountains, or in the extreme north- 
 east, snow never lies, the earth never freezes, and winter 
 is but a mild, green, and long spring, throughout which 
 cattle pick up their own living far more easily and safely 
 than in summer. Sea-breezes from the south-west in 
 winter, from the north-west in summer, maintain an 
 equilibrium of temperature. 
 
 We have thus briefly described the climate of the settled 
 regions of the United States. Considered, in connection 
 with the commercial commodities of the different states, 
 ir divisions of the country, a fair idea may be formed of 
 heir respective productive forces. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Causes that produced the Revolution ; Colonial Territories and: j 
 Population before and after the War. 
 
 The Causes that produced the Revolution of 1776. 
 
 The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first cause of the revolu- 
 tionary war of 1776, that resulted in the separation of the 
 colonies from the British crown. The efforts of the king 
 to enforce the Stamp Act, and the law of 1767, levying a; 
 duty on paper, glass, tea, &c., gave birth to an enmity against 
 the sovereign British power, that, to this day, among a class 
 of Americans, has never ceased to exist. The causes that 
 produced the war — commenced by the skirmish at Lex- j 
 ington, on the 19th of April, 1775, and, more officially^, by 1 
 the battle of Bunker Hill, on the 17th of June, 1775 — 
 were set forth in the Declaration of Independence of 1776. 
 The colonies had formed resolves of resistance after 1765, 
 which led them, step by step, to direct hostilities — a 
 rebellion of the greatest proportions — and their formal 
 separation from the British empire. While in the midst 
 of these revolts, the different colonies sent delegates to ai 
 convention (commonly known as the Congress), to advise 
 one with the other, and to agree upon plans for the common 
 good of the country. On the 4th of July, 1776, the 
 
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 127 
 
 Declaration of Independence was adopted. That docu- 
 aent declared the following as their grievances ; viz. — 
 
 l Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America, 
 in Congress assembled. 
 
 When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for 
 ne people to dissolve the political bands which have . connected 
 bem with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, 
 he separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of 
 ature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of man- 
 ual requires that they should declare the causes which impel them 
 d the separation. 
 
 We hold these truths to be self-evident — that all men are created 
 qual ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalien- 
 ble rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
 appiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are ins ti- 
 nted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of 
 he governed ; that, whenever any form of government becomes 
 .estructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to 
 bolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation 
 n such principles, and organising its powers in such form, as to 
 hem shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness, 
 ’rudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established 
 hould not be changed for light and transient causes ; and, accord- 
 hgly, all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed 
 5 suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by 
 bolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a 
 mg train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same 
 bject, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, 
 
 ; is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and 
 ,) provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the 
 atient sufferance of these colonies, and such is now the necessity 
 inch constrains them to alter their former systems of government, 
 'he history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of 
 I epeated injuries and usurpations, all having, in direct object, the 
 vtablishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove 
 lis, let facts be submitted to a candid world : — 
 
 He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and neces- 
 iry for the public good. 
 
 He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and 
 
128 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till h 
 assent should be obtained; and, when so suspended, he has utter) 
 neglected to attend to them. 
 
 He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of larg 
 districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right ( 
 representation in the legislature ; a right inestimable to them, an 
 formidable to tyrants only. 
 
 He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, ui 
 comfortable, and distant from the depository of their public record: * 
 for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with h 
 measures. 
 
 He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing 
 with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. I 
 
 He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to caus 
 others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable c 
 annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise 
 the state remaining, in the meantime, exposed to all the danger c 
 invasion from without, and convulsions within. 
 
 He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these states ; fo d 
 that purpose, obstructing the laws for neutralisation of foreigners . 
 refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, an: 
 raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. 
 
 He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing hi: 
 assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 
 
 He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure o 
 their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. 
 
 He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hithei 
 swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their sub 
 stance. 
 
 He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies with- 
 out the consent of our legislature. 
 
 He has affected to render the military independent of, and supe-, 
 rior to, the civil power. 
 
 He has combined, with others, to subject us to a jurisdiction 
 foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving 
 his assent to their acts of pretended legislation : 
 
 For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us : 
 
 For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment, for anyj 
 murders which they should commit on the inhaoitants of these 
 states : 
 
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 129 
 
 For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world : 
 
 For imposing taxes on us without our consent : 
 
 For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury : 
 
 For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended 
 offences : 
 
 For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighbouring 
 province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and en- 
 larging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and 
 fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these 
 colonies : 
 
 For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, 
 and altering, fundamentally, the powers of our governments : 
 
 For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves 
 invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 
 
 He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his 
 protection, and waging war against us. 
 
 He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, 
 and destroyed the lives of our people. 
 
 He is, at tins time, transporting large armies of foreign mer- 
 cenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, 
 already begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely 
 paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the 
 head of a civilised nation. 
 
 He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high 
 seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners 
 of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. 
 
 He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has en- 
 deavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless 
 Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished 
 destruction, of all ages, sexes, and conditions. 
 
 In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for 
 ■edress, in the most humble terms ; our repeated petitions have 
 >een answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character 
 s thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to 
 -ie the ruler of a free people. 
 
 In or have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. 
 Ve have warned them, from time to time, of attempts made by 
 heir legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. 
 Ve have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration 
 nd settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 magnanimity ; and we have conjured them, by the ties of our com- 
 mon kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably 
 interrupt our connections and correspondence. They, too, have 
 been deaf to the voice of justice and consanguinity. We must, 
 therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, 
 and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war ; in 
 peace, friends. 
 
 We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, 
 in general Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of 
 the World for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and 
 by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly 
 publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of right 
 ought to be, free and independent states ; that they are absolved 
 from all allegiance to the British crown ; and that all political con- 
 nexion between them and the state of Great Britain, is, and ought 
 to be, totally dissolved; and that, as free and independent states, I 
 they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, 
 establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which 
 independent states may of right do. And, for the support of this 
 declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Provi- 
 dence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, 
 and our sacred honour. 
 
 The Colonial Territories. 
 
 The war between the colonies and the British govern- J 
 ment continued until the treaty of 1783. The bloody 
 incidents of that struggle need not be discussed in this 
 work ; but we deem it proper to consider the political pro- 
 gress of the colonial governments tending towards the 
 formation of the thirteen separate and distinct republics — 
 and the American nation. The great republic came into 
 existence after an arduous and long-sustained effort of 
 combined wisdom, valour, and perseverance. Of the ac- 
 cessions of territory since made — which progressively have 
 enlarged the elastic boundaries of the nation, to dimen- 
 sions compared with which, the monarchical territories of 
 
COLONIAL TERRITORIES. 
 
 131 
 
 Europe are but as secondary provinces — we have referred, 
 heretofore, in the order in which they successively oc- 
 curred. We deem it necessary, however, to recapitulate, 
 briefly, the extent of the territorial occupancy at the be- 
 ginning- of the war, and what it was on the signing of the 
 treaty of peace in 1783. In 1775, the British possessions 
 embraced all the lands lying east of the Mississippi river, 
 from its most northern source to its mouth, excepting the 
 island of Orleans. All the territory west of the Missis- 
 sippi belonged to Spain. The colonial charters and 
 patents extended from the Atlantic coast to the Missis- 
 sippi — sometimes known as the South Sea — and the Ohio 
 rivers, and to the lakes north and west of New York. The 
 territory lying west of the Ohio river was British; but it 
 was not embraced within the thirteen colonial charters or 
 patents. Of this immense domain, Massachusetts pos- 
 sessed, including Maine, 39,566 square miles; New Hamp- 
 shire, 9,280; Vermont, with an area of 10,212 square 
 miles, was a territory claimed by New Hampshire and 
 New York; Bhode Island had 1,306 square miles; Con- 
 necticut, 4,674; New York, 47,000; New Jersey, 8,320; 
 Pennsylvania, 46,000 : total, in the seven states above 
 mentioned, 166,358 square miles. Delaware, 2,120; 
 Maryland, 11,184. Virginia included the district of Ken- 
 tucky, and had an area of 99,032 ; North Carolina, 96,304; 
 South Carolina, 29,885 ; and Georgia, extending to the 
 Mississippi, or South Sea, had an area of about 159,878: 
 ;otal, iu the six latter states, 389,403. Total area, before 
 he war, was about 555,761 square miles. At the close of 
 he war, in 1783, the territories of the states were as 
 
 k 2 
 
132 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 before given, excepting Virginia. This state, through its 
 own independent western army, had conquered the north- 
 west territory, being all the lands lying between the Mis- 
 sissippi and the Ohio rivers, and the lakes Erie, Huron, 
 Michigan, Superior, and Lake of the "Woods. This im- 
 mense region enlarged the domaiu of Virginia .to some 
 341,352 square miles — an aggregate more than double the 
 domain of all the seven states north of Mason and Dixon’s 
 line ; 50,981 square miles more than all the other states 
 south of the line; and nearly the seventh of the whole 
 territory of the United States. The total territory of the 
 united colonies, relinquished by the king by the treaty of 
 1783, according to the foregoing, was about 798,081 
 square miles. The only state that had acquired additional 
 domain was Virginia, which amounted to about 242,320 
 square miles. Such was the territorial area of the thirteen 
 republics of 1783. Some of the northern states alleged 
 claims to small sections of lands west of the Ohio ; but their 
 titles were but imaginary. 
 
 Population of the Colonies, before and after 
 the Revolutionary War. 
 
 The population of the colonial territories at the com- 
 mencement of the revolution, was about 2,450,000; of which, 
 about 400,000 were slaves, and about 55,000 free negroes. 
 At the close of the war, in 1783, the population was about 
 3,000,000; and, in 1790, when the first authentic census 
 was taken, it was 3,929,827. This rapid increase was 
 owing to the emigration from Europe, and the increased 
 domestic affiliation between the sexes, after the disbanding 
 
COLONIAL POPULATION. 
 
 133 
 
 of the American army. The following table shows the 
 distribution of the people, according to the census of 
 1790 :— 
 
 Population of the United States on the l.rf of August , 1790. 
 
 States 
 
 and Districts/ 
 
 White 
 Males of 
 lb and 
 upwards. 
 
 White 
 Males 
 under 16. 
 
 White 
 
 Females. 
 
 Free 
 
 Negroes. 
 
 Slaves. 
 
 Total. 
 
 New Hampshire. . 
 
 36.089 
 
 34.851 
 
 70.171 
 
 630 
 
 158 
 
 141.899 
 
 Massachusetts . . . 
 
 95.383 
 
 87,289 
 
 190,582 
 
 5.463 
 
 — 
 
 378.717 
 
 Rhode Island . . . 
 
 16.033 
 
 15,811 
 
 32.845 
 
 3,469 
 
 952 
 
 69 110 
 
 Connecticut . . . 
 
 60.527 
 
 54,592 
 
 117.562 
 
 2,801 
 
 2.759 
 
 238.141 
 
 New York .... 
 
 83.700 
 
 78.122 
 
 152.320 
 
 4,654 
 
 21,324 
 
 340.120 
 
 New Jersey . . . 
 
 45.251 
 
 41,416 
 
 83.287 
 
 2.762 
 
 11.423 
 
 184.139 
 
 Pennsylvania . . . 
 
 110,788 
 
 106,948 
 
 206.363 
 
 6,537 
 
 3.737 
 
 434 373 
 
 Delaware .... 
 
 11.783 
 
 12,143 
 
 22,384 
 
 3,899 
 
 8 887 
 
 59 096 
 
 Maryland .... 
 
 55.915 
 
 51.339 
 
 101.395 
 
 8.043 
 
 103,036 
 
 319.728 
 
 Virginia 
 
 110.934 
 
 116 135 
 
 215 046 
 
 12,766 
 
 293.427 
 
 748.308 
 
 North Carolina . . 
 
 69.998 
 
 77,506 
 
 140,710 
 
 4,975 
 
 100,572 
 
 393.751 
 
 South Carolina . . 
 
 35.576 
 
 37.722 
 
 66.888 
 
 1,801 
 
 107,094 
 
 249.073 
 
 Georgia 
 
 13.103 
 
 14.044 
 
 25,739 
 
 398 
 
 29,264 
 
 82.548 
 
 District of Maine . 
 
 24.384 
 
 24.748 
 
 46.870 
 
 538 
 
 — 
 
 96,540 
 
 ,, Vermont 
 
 22.419 
 
 22.327 
 
 40,398 
 
 255 
 
 17 
 
 85,416 
 
 ,, Kentucky 
 
 15.154 
 
 17.057 
 
 28.922 
 
 114 
 
 11.830 
 
 73.077 
 
 „ Tennessee 
 
 6.271 
 
 10,377 
 
 15,365 
 
 361 
 
 3,417 
 
 35,791 
 
 Total . . . 
 
 813,308 
 
 812,427 
 
 1,556,847 
 
 59,466 
 
 697,897 
 
 3,929,827 
 
 AA’e are not informed whether or not the census in- 
 cluded the sparsely settled pioneers in the wild forests 
 west of Georgia proper. It did not include the people 
 living in the north-west territory, though there were but a 
 few hundred in that extensive region, the most of whom 
 were French. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Sovereignty of the States, and the Treaty of 1783 ; Virginia 
 Constitutional Government ; the Legislative, Executive, and 
 Judiciary Departments ; Organisation of Counties ; Adoption and 
 Revision of .a Constitution ; the Source a of State’s Sovereignty ; < 
 
 Federal Government constructs Forts by permission of the State ; 
 Grades of Territorial Governments. 
 
 The organisation of a state government is in conformity 
 with a constitutional code, in the nature of a compact 
 between the people, in whom, according to the theory of 
 American republicanism, “all power is vested/’ and to 
 whom are amenable all administrative agents, whether 
 executive, legislative, or judicial. Before proceeding to 
 explain the mode or manner of forming a state govern- 
 ment, we deem it necessary, as preliminary, to refer to the 
 earlier political condition of the colonies. 
 
 The Sovereignty of the States, and the Treaty 
 of 1783. 
 
 The colonial governments were organised, by authority 
 from the crown of Great Britain, under certain stipulations, 
 specified in their respective royal patents. The sovereignty 
 of the soil was with the crown; and the right of govern- | 
 ment, according to the royal interpretation, was, in part, 
 but delegated to the people. At the commencement of 
 the revolutionary war, each colony formally revolted, and 
 declared itself free and independent, and that all powers 
 of government were vested in the people. There were 
 
SOVEREIGNTY OF THE STATES. 
 
 135 
 
 thirteen colonies; and, by their acts, severing all alle- 
 giance to the British crown, they became thirteen inde- 
 pendent republics ; though, until recognised by the British 
 government, they were but belligerent powers. The treaty 
 of 1783 acknowledged their independence; each of the 
 states being named in tbe treaty, and therein recognised 
 as distinct sovereignties. 
 
 The said treaty contains the following: — 
 
 “Art. 1. His Britannic majesty acknowledges the said United 
 States, viz., New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island 
 and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, 
 Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, 
 South Carolina, and Georgia, to be free, sovereign, and independent 
 states ; that he treats with them as such ; and for himself, his heirs 
 and successors, relinquishes all claims to the government, property, 
 and territorial rights of the same, and every part thereof.” 
 
 It was stipulated that creditors, on either side, should 
 meet with no lawful impediment to the recovery of the 
 full value of all the debts theretofore contracted. Congress 
 was to recommend to the states to provide for the restitu- 
 tion of confiscated estates. Congress was also to recommend 
 to the states a reconsideration of their law's concerning 
 confiscation; and persons having an interest in confiscated 
 lands, were not to meet with any lawful impediment in 
 the prosecution of their just rights. The peace was to be 
 firm and perpetual; prisoners were to be released; and 
 the negroes were not to be carried away. These were 
 among the conditions of the treaty of 1783, which was 
 made with the thirteen states, and not with the confedera- 
 tion then in existence, under the articles of 1778. But 
 the American commissioners were appointed under the 
 act of Congress, and the treaty was confirmed by the 
 
136 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 confederation, and not by the respective states. It would 
 seem, from these circumstances, that the confederation 
 and its officials were but the mere agents for the states — 
 a grand executive committee. 
 
 Virginia Constitutional Government. 
 
 Immediately after the breaking out of hostilities between 
 the colonies and the government of George III., each of 
 the states exercised an independent sovereignty, and pro- \ 
 ceeded to form an organic code, grouping together the ! 
 principles of the government desired by the people, to j 
 take the place of the former regal structure. It was deter- ‘ 
 mined to maintain a republic; and to that end, the states, 
 one after the other, and each for itself, excepting Rhode 
 Island and Connecticut, proceeded to frame a constitu- i i. 
 tion. Virginia was the first of the states, or colonies, to 
 adopt a constitutional organisation of a permanent cha- 
 racter. In January, 1776, a provincial Congress, composed 
 of representatives from the towns of New Hampshire, 
 assembled, and adopted a provisional government, con- 
 sisting of a “ House of Representatives/’ or an “assembly,” 
 of the colony. This body elected twelve persons to form a 
 council ; and it was agreed that all acts should pass both of 
 these assemblies before they should become laws. This 
 form of government continued until 1790, when a consti- 
 tution was framed and adopted. 
 
 Early in the year 1776, South Carolina, in provincial 
 assembty, resolved itself into a “ general assembly,” and 
 elected a legislative council from its own members. These 
 two bodies, on joint ballot, elected a president (who was 
 
VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 
 
 137 
 
 also commander-in-chief of the state), and a vice-president. 
 The president was the executive ; and the judiciary, elected 
 by the legislative assemblies, were commissioned by the 
 president. This form of government continued in force 
 until the adoption of the constitutional government in 
 1790. A convention of delegates, elected by the people 
 of Virginia, assembled on the 15th of May, 1776; and, on 
 the 12th of June, the first constitution for the formation 
 of the first American republic was unanimously adopted. 
 This constitution had prefixed to it the following “Bill of 
 Bights;” viz. — 
 
 A Declaration of Bights made by the Representatives of the good 
 
 People of Virginia, assembled in full and free Convention ; which 
 : rights do pertain to them and their Posterity, as the basis av,d 
 
 foundation of Government. Unanimously adopted Pune 12th, 1776. 
 
 1. That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and 
 have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state 
 of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their 
 posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the 
 means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and 
 obtaining happiness and safety. 
 
 2. That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, 
 the people ; that magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at 
 ill times amenable to them. 
 
 3. That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common 
 benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation, or com- 
 nunity. Of all the various modes and forms of government, that is 
 ■he best which is capable of producing the greatest degree of 
 lappiness and safety, and is most effectually secured against the 
 langer of maladministration ; and that, when any government shall 
 >e found inadequate, or contrary to these purposes, a majority of 
 he community hath an indubitable, unalienable, and indefeasible 
 ight to reform, alter, or abolish it, in such manner as shall be 
 udged most conducive to the public weal. 
 
 4. That no man, or set of men, are entitled to exclusive or 
 
138 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 separate emoluments or privileges from the community, but in 
 consideration of public services ; which not being descendible, neither 
 ought the offices of magistrate, legislator, or judge, to be hereditary, j 
 
 5. That the legislative and executive powers of the state should 
 be separate and distinct from the judiciary ; and that the members 
 of the first two may be restrained from oppression, by feeling and 
 participating the burthens of the people, they should, at fixed 
 periods, be reduced to a private station, return into, that body 
 from which they were originally taken, and the vacancies be 
 supplied by frequent, certain, and regular elections, in which all, i 
 or any part of the former members, to be again eligible, or in- 
 eligible, as the laws shall direct. 
 
 fi. That elections of members to serve as representatives of the 
 people, in assembly, ought to be free ; and that all men, having 
 sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and at- 
 tachment to, the community, have the right of suffrage, and 
 cannot be taxed or deprived of their property for public uses, j 
 without their own consent, or that of their representatives so 
 elected, nor bound by any law to which they have not, in like i 
 manner, assented, for the public good. 
 
 7. That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, 
 by any authority, without the consent of the representatives of 
 the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be ex- 
 ercised. 
 
 8. That, in all capital or criminal prosecutions, a man hath a 
 right to demand the cause and nature of his accusation, to be 
 confronted with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence in 
 his favour, and to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of his j 
 vicinage, without whose unanimous consent, he cannot be found 
 guilty ; nor can he be compelled to give evidence against himself : ! 
 that no man be deprived of his liberty except by the law of the land, 
 or the judgment of his peers. 
 
 9. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive 
 fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 
 
 10. That general warrants, whereby an officer or messenger may 
 be commanded to search suspected places, without evidence of aj 
 fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, or 
 whose offence is not particularly described and supported by evi- 
 dence, are grievous and oppressive, and ought not to be granted. 
 
 11. That in controversies respecting property, and in suits between 
 
VIRGINIA CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 139 
 
 man and man, the ancient trial by jury is preferable to any other, 
 and ought to be held sacred. 
 
 12. That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks 
 of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic government. 
 
 13. That a well-regulated militia, composed of a body of the 
 people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defence of 
 a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace', should be 
 avoided, as dangerous to liberty ; and that, in all cases, the 
 military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, 
 the civil power. 
 
 14. That the people have a right to uniform government ; and, 
 therefore, that no government separated from, or independent of, 
 the government of Virginia, ought to be erected or established 
 within the limits thereof. 
 
 15. That no free government, or the blessing of liberty, can be 
 preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, modera- 
 tion, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence 
 to fundamental principles. 
 
 16. That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and 
 the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and 
 conviction, not by force or violence ; and, therefore, all men are 
 equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the 
 dictates of conscience ; and that it is the mutual duty of all to 
 practise Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each 
 'Other. 
 
 The constitution was framed to conform to the prin- 
 ciples declared in the preceding. Bills of Rights have been 
 prefixed to the constitutions of all the states then and 
 since organised. In principle, they are all nearly the same. 
 The Declaration of Rights is considered more sacred than 
 the constitutional provisions for the government. The 
 form of the constitution may be changed ; but the political 
 rights of man, as scheduled in the bill, are considered to 
 oe too sacred to be altered. All governmental decrees, 
 vhether constitutional or statutory, must conform to the 
 mnciples set forth in the Bill of Rights. 
 
140 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 The Virginia constitutional government of 1776, vested 
 all powers in three departments; namely, the legislative, 
 executive, and judicial : each distinct from the other, yet 
 co-operative in the administration of affairs promotive of 
 the common weal. About the same time, the other colo- 
 nies were adopting constitutional governments. The 
 following were the dates: — New Jersey, on the 2nd of 
 July, 1776; Maryland, on the 14ih of August, 1776; 
 Delaware, on the 20th of September, 1776; North Caro- 
 lina, on the 18th of December, 1776; New York in April, 
 1777; and Georgia in 1789. — These constitutions have 
 been amended or revised from time to time; but with 
 respect to the general principles of government, they 
 remain the same. Rhode Island continued its charter 
 government until 1842, when it adopted a constitution. 
 
 There were, at the formation of the United States’ gov- 
 ernment of 1789, thirteen states; and, since then, there 
 have been added to the Union twenty-one, eleven of which 
 have been formed out of the territory held under the 
 treaty of peace with Great Britain, of 1783. The other 
 states have been formed out of the territories purchased or 
 annexed by treaties. All of the new states have adopted 
 constitutions, organising governments upon the same prin- 
 ciples; viz., the legislative, executive, and judicial depart- 
 ments. Each of these branchesj as common in most of the 
 constitutions, we will briefly explain. 
 
 The Legislative Department. 
 
 The people, through the constitutional compact, stipu- 
 late, that the power of enacting laws shall be vested in the 
 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 
 
 141 
 
 legislative department of the government. This branch is 
 composed of two separate assemblies, usually styled the 
 “ Senate” and “ House of Representatives ;” and unitedly, 
 the “General Assembly,” or the “Legislature.” The 
 senate is considered to be the most conservative, and con- 
 sists of a less number of members than the House of 
 Representatives — seldom more than one-third of that body. 
 The senators are elected for a longer term than the repre- 
 sentatives. The former are elected for two or more 
 ses>ions; but the latter are never elected for more than 
 one session. The representatives are nearer to the people, 
 and more local than the senators, although both are 
 elected by the people. A state is divided into counties or 
 parishes ; and each of these is divided into districts, pre- 
 cincts, towns, or townships. In some states, each county 
 is entitled to one representative; in others, where popula- 
 tion is the sole basis of representation, several counties, 
 unitedly, can send but one member; in others, having a 
 large population, they elect several representatives. Sup- 
 pose a state has one hundred counties, and each con- 
 tained a population of 10,000, and each was entitled to a 
 representative in the lower branch of the legislature; the 
 House of Representatives would, in such a state, consist 
 of one hundred members. If the senate consisted of but 
 twenty-five members, the state would be divided into 
 twenty-five senatorial districts, each having a population 
 of 4.000. Under such an organisation, the four counties 
 would each elect a representative, and unitedly elect a 
 senator. If, however, one county had 4,000 inhabitants, 
 t would elect a senator ; but if there were ten counties. 
 
142 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 having only the 4,000, then, in that case, the senatorial 
 district would be composed of ten counties. 
 
 All bills must pass both houses; and, in many of the 
 states, they must be signed by the executive before they can 
 become laws. Except on the raising of revenue, bills can 
 originate in either house. The formalities of passing bills 
 are much the same as those observed in the Congress of 
 the United States, and in the parliament of Great Britain. 
 
 The Executive Department. 
 
 The governor of the state exercises the functions of the 
 executive department of the government. He signs the 
 laws, and executes them in behalf of the people. He 
 issues all commissions, and watches over the whole official 
 business of the state. He has power to convene the legisla- 
 ture, but not to prorogue it. In some states he has a veto 
 power; but, in such cases, the legislature can make the 
 bill a law by a two-third vote; and, if thus passed, the 
 governor must sign it. 
 
 The governor is elected by the people of the whole state; j 
 and usually for a term of years ; the longest being four years, 
 
 The following clause from the constitution of New 
 Hampshire, explains the powers of the governor with 
 respect to the military. A similar clause is in the consti- 
 tution of every state : — 
 
 “The governor of this state for the time being, shall be com- 
 mander-in-chief of the army and navy, and all the military forces olj i 
 this state, by sea and land ; and shall have full power, by himself , 1 
 or by any chief commander, or other officer or officers, from timej 
 to time, to train, instruct, exercise, and govern the militia and navy: 
 and, for the special defence and safety of this state, to assemble ; 
 
EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIAL DEPARTMENTS. 
 
 143 
 
 in martial array, and put in warlike posture, the inhabitants 
 thereof ; and to lead and conduct them, and with them encounter, 
 repulse, repel, resist, and pursue, by force of arms, as well by sea 
 as by land, within and without the limits of this state ; and also to 
 kill, slay, destroy if necessary, and conquer, by all fitting ways, 
 enterprise, and means, all and every such person and persons, as 
 shall at any time hereafter, in a hostile manner, attempt the 
 destruction, invasion, detriment, or annoyance of this state; and to 
 use and exercise over the army and navy, and over the militia in 
 actual service, the law martial in time of war, invasion, and also in 
 rebellion, declared by the legislature to exist, as occasion shall neces- 
 sarily require. And surprise, by all ways and means whatsoever, all 
 and every such person or persons, with their ships, arms, ammunition, 
 and other goods, as shall in a hostile manner, invade, or attempt 
 the invading, conquering, or annoying this state. And, in fine, the 
 governor is hereby entrusted with all other powers incident to the 
 office of captain-general and commander-in-chief, and admiral, to 
 be exercised agreeably to the rules and regulations of the constitu- 
 tion and the laws of the land.” 
 
 The governor has not the power to transport any person out 
 of the state, nor to march the inhabitants out of New Hamp- 
 shire, without their consent, or the consent of the legislature. 
 
 The Judicial Department. 
 
 The interpretation of the constitution and the statutes 
 s confided to the judicial tribunals. The legislature 
 enacts the laws ; the governor executes them ; and the 
 udiciary defines them. The courts are organised in every 
 :ounty. The Supreme Court usually sits at the capital of 
 he state. The costs for civil suits are moderate : a case in- 
 olving a million sterling, with like proceedings, is no more 
 xpensive than a suit involving but one hundred sterling, 
 die filing of the papers, bringing the suit, the issuing and 
 erving of the writs, the trial by jury, and final judgment, 
 n an average, may be considered at some ten pounds 
 
144 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 sterling. If, however, the suit be prolonged for manj 
 years, and there be a large number of witnesses, of 
 depositions taken, the costs may be several hundred 
 pounds sterling. The state is divided into judicial circuits' 
 districts, and local jurisdictions. The judges, in nearly all 
 the states, are elected for a term of years, generally 
 between five and ten. These officers were formerly np.' 
 pointed by the governor, during good behaviour; anc ! 
 could only be removed by the legislature, which was 
 always very difficult. In order to effect the removal 
 without the tedious and dangerous attempt by trial, the 
 legislature would sometimes pass a law, changing the 1 
 number of the judicial districts. The law would declare 
 that “ district number one” should be in the western 1 
 part of the state, instead of being, as theretofore, in the 
 eastern section of the state. The judge would thus fine! 
 his court several hundred miles distant; and he woulc 1 
 either have to resign, or remove to his new jurisdiction 
 Some judges take the hint, and resign ; but others prefer 
 to accept of the change of residence. 
 
 The Organisation of Counties. ||i 
 
 A county is created by an act of the legislature. Ir : 
 many of the states, new counties are continually being 
 formed. For example, in 1850, Virginia contained 137 
 counties; and in 1860, it had 148: in 1850, Texas had ■ 
 78; and in 1860, it had 154. These new counties were, : 
 taken from older ones. The legislature has the power * 
 to reduce, enlarge, or abolish a county. The area anc * 
 the boundaries of a county, especially iu the new states 
 
REVISION OF STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 145 
 
 ;e continually varying; and new towns, villages, and 
 ties, every year, come into existence. A map of England 
 of use for many years; but a map of the United States 
 imperfect except for the date of its issue. Towns and 
 ties are incorporated by the legislature ; and, like couu- 
 es, they have only delegated powers. They are but the 
 ■eatures of the state government. A town in most of 
 le states is a collection of houses, and is governed by a 
 lairman and a board of trustees, annually elected by the 
 3ople. A city charter is granted to large towus, usually 
 ’ five, ten, or more thousands of inhabitants. The gov- 
 •nment of the city is delegated to a mayor and council 
 ected by the people. In several cities, the council is 
 imposed of two branches ; and all municipal regulations 
 ive to pass both bodies. In some states, a county is 
 vided into sections, called towns ; in others, townships ; in 
 hers, precincts, or districts, &c. The cities are divided into 
 wards/’ as in New York; or into “municipalities,” as in 
 ew Orleans. The officials of a county, are the magn- 
 ates, county judges, sheriffs, constables, tax assessors, 
 x collectors, gaoler, militia officers, &c., &c. ; all of whom, 
 
 : most of the states, are elected by the people ; in others 
 ,ey are appointed by the governor. 
 
 Adoption and Revision of the Constitution. 
 
 When a new state is proposed to be organised, the people 
 (2ct delegates to a convention, for the purpose of framing 
 : constitution. After that instrument has been adopted 
 : convention, it is submitted to the vote of the people ; 
 nd, on ballot, they declare, “for the constitution,” or 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 “ against the constitution.'” If the affirmative receive 
 majority of the votes, it is adopted ; if the majority vol 
 for the negative, the constitution is rejected. Whenevt 
 the people desire it, another convention is called. In tli 
 old states, it is difficult to effect a revision of that instri 
 ment. It is usual for the legislature to pass a law to tab 
 the vote of the people, whether or not a convention sha 
 be authorised to meet, for the purpose of revising th 
 constitution. The people ballot directly upon the ques 
 tion — “for a convention;” “against a convention.” ] 
 carried in the affirmative, the next session of the legis 
 lature passes a law, authorising a convention to be con 
 vened, and its members to be elected. The delegates ar 
 then elected, and the convention assembles according t| 
 law, and proceeds to revise the constitution. This bod; 
 sometimes continues in session several weeks. When tin 
 revised instrument has been completed, the conventiot ' 
 orders its submission to the vote of the people, and thei 
 adjourns. The people cast their ballots, either “for th( 
 constitution,” or “ against the constitution.” If adopted 
 a new government is organised ; but, if rejected, and tb( 
 effort to change the government has failed, the old const! 
 tution is continued in force. These proceedings — namely, 
 the passing of the bill by the legislature, and the taking o: 
 the vote of the people, whether or not a convention shall 
 be convened ; the passing of the bill for the election of the 
 delegates ; and the other formalities alluded to, occupy 
 some four or five years. These several considerations 
 given to the important subject by the legislature and by 
 the people, afford time for reflection, and prevent the 
 
SOURCE OF A STATE’S SOVEREIGNTY. 
 
 147 
 
 annulment of the organic law of the state by any tem- 
 porary, exciting influence. Some of the states, such as 
 Georgia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, &c., amend their 
 constitutions by and through legislative enactments. The 
 subject of the proposed alteration is discussed before the 
 people; and candidates for the legislature advocate or 
 oppose the amendment. If the candidates favouring it 
 oe elected, then, at the next session of the legislature, a 
 aw is passed, submitting the proposed amendment to the 
 :onsideration or ballot of the people; and, if they approve 
 :f the proposed change, it becomes a constitutional clause, 
 n Massachusetts, the amendment must pass two separate 
 essions of the legislature, before it can be submitted to 
 he vote of the people. 
 
 Iu all the states there is a disinclination among the 
 eople to change their constitutions. They prefer per- 
 lanency of government. 
 
 The Source of a State’s Sovereignty.. 
 
 The sovereign power of a state is derived from the 
 cople; and, as explanatory of this republican theory, we 
 erein insert the following state constitutional declara- 
 ons. 
 
 The Massachusetts and New Hampshire constitutions 
 •sert — 
 
 “ The people of this commonwealth have the sole and exclusive 
 'ht of governing themselves as a free, sovereign, and independent 
 ;ite; and do, and for ever hereafter shall, exercise and enjoy 
 iiery power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not, or may not, here- 
 ; ;er be by them expressly delegated to the United States of America 
 i Congress assembled.” 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 The Connecticut, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and 
 Texas constitutions declare — 
 
 “ That all political power is inherent in the people, and all free 
 governments are founded on their authority, and instituted foi 
 their benefit ; and that they have at all times an undeniable and 
 indefeasible right to alter their form of government in such mannei 
 as they may think expedient.” 
 
 The Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Ar- 
 kansas, Oregon, and (in substance) Maiue constitutions 
 declare — 
 
 “ That all power is inherent in the people, and all free government: 
 are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, i 
 safety, and happiness : for the advancement of these ends, thej i 
 have, at all times, an unalienable and indefeasible right to alter, 
 reform, or abolish their government, in such manner as they maj 
 think proper.” 
 
 The Maryland constitution declares — 
 
 ‘ ‘ That all government of right originates from the people, is ■ 
 founded in compact only, and instituted solely for the good of the 
 whole ; and they have at all times, according to the mode prescribed: 
 in this constitution, the unalienable right to alter, reform, 01 
 abolish their forms of government, in such manner as they maj 
 deem expedient.” 
 
 The Virginia constitution of 1851 declares — 
 
 ‘ ‘ That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the commor 
 benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation, or com- 
 munity : of all the various modes and forms of government, that is 
 best which is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness 
 and safety, and is most effectually secured against the danger ol 
 maladministration ; and that when any government shall be found 
 inadequate, or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the com- 
 munity hath an indubitable, unalienable, and indefeasible right tc 
 reform, alter, or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged , 
 most conducive to the public weal.” 
 
 The Missouri coustitution declares — 
 
 “That the people of this state have the inherent, sole, and exclu- 
 sive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof, 
 
FEDERAL PROPERTY IN THE STATES. 
 
 149 
 
 md of altering and abolishing their constitution and form of 
 government, whenever it may be necessary to their safety and 
 lappiness.” 
 
 The Iowa, California, New Jersey, Minnesota, and 
 3hio constitutions declare — 
 
 “All political power is inherent in the people. Government is 
 nstituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people ; 
 md they have the right, at all times, to alter or reform the same 
 rhenever the public good may require it. ” 
 
 The South Carolina and Illinois constitutions declare — 
 “All power is originally vested in the people ; and all free govem- 
 nents are founded on their authority, and are instituted for their 
 >eace, safety, and happiness.” 
 
 Federal Forts are constructed by permission of the 
 States. 
 
 A state, in the exercise of its sovereignty, permits the 
 Jnited States’ government to purchase and hold lands 
 vithin its jurisdiction, for national purposes; such as for 
 ost-houses, custom offices, federal court-houses, arsenals, 
 irts, navy and army depots, &c. This permission is given 
 y an act of the legislature of the state, as shown by 
 he following statute passed by the Kentucky legislature, 
 lecember 20th, 1803. 
 
 “Be it enacted by the general assembly of the commonwealth of 
 Kentucky, That the purchase made by the United States, of five 
 ;res and six square poles of land in the town of Newport, and 
 rnnty of Campbell, for the purpose of erecting an arsenal and 
 her public buildings thereon, shall, and the same is hereby ratified 
 id confirmed, vesting in the United States the power to exercise 
 ie exclusive jurisdiction therein, saving to this commonwealth the 
 ght to demand and receive from the officer or other person who 
 ay have the command or direction thereof, any person charged 
 .th crimes committed in any other part of this state, or such 
 
150 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 other person or persons as shall move there to evade the executioi I 
 of the laws of this state.” 
 
 Grades of Territorial Governments. 
 
 Before closing this chapter, we will recapitulate tin 
 epochs of government common to any given territoria 
 domain, as practised in our past history. 
 
 1st. The period when the people inhabiting the territory 
 had no voice whatever in the government; a governo. 
 and judges appointed by the president, adopted laws from 
 the codes of the states, and executed them. 
 
 2nd. The next period was when the inhabitants weri 
 permitted to share in the government, by giving then 
 a council composed of their own citizens (appointed by thtl 
 president), to act with the judges in adopting law's. 
 
 3rd. The period, still later, when the inhabitants were 
 permitted a territorial legislature, consisting of a House t 
 of Representatives, elected by themselves; a council ap- 
 pointed by the president ; and liberty to originate laws 
 but all their acts, as in those of the two other grades 
 were subject to the approbation of Congress. At this 
 epoch, the people of the territory were permitted, through 
 courtesy, to elect a delegate to the lower house of Congress, 
 
 4th. The period when the inhabitants of the territory’ 
 were permitted to frame a constitution, and organise s | 
 state government. 
 
 Until the organisation of the state government, the 
 Congress of the United States exercised full and complete 
 authority over the territories; but after that transition, 
 the sovereignty irrevocably passed to the new state. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The United States’ Confederation of 1781 ; Articles of Confederation 
 proposed by the Congress ; ratified by the Colonies, and the Gov- 
 ernment organised. 
 
 The United States’ Confederation of 1781. 
 
 In order to effect a common and united defence, during 
 the revolutionary war, the colonies deemed it necessary to 
 form an alliance, in the nature of a league and perpetual 
 union. The Congress was composed of representatives 
 from the respective colonies. It was but a convention of 
 delegates, assembled together in one body, to consult upon 
 the affairs of the country, and recommend all needful 
 measures to their constituencies. The convention could 
 only act in such matters as might have been previously 
 permitted by the states. During the first years of the 
 war, the colonists were engaged in the formation of state 
 constitutional governments, and the Congress was to some 
 extent neglected. In order to accomplish the indepen- 
 dence of the country, the united action of the people, 
 directed towards the fulfilment of the same measures, was 
 found to be indispensably necessary. To attain this great 
 desideratum, the Congress of 1777 recommended to the 
 different states, for adoption, the following organic instru- 
 ment; viz. — 
 
 Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. 
 
 To all to whom these presents shall come, we the undersigned delegates 
 )f the states affixed to our names, send greeting . — Wliereas the dele- 
 
152 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 gates of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, did, 
 on the 15th day of November, in the year of our Lord 1777, and in 
 the second year of the independence of America, agree to certain 
 articles of confederation and perpetual union between the states of 
 New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence 
 Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
 Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and 
 Georgia, in the words following ; viz. — 
 
 A Hides of Confederation and Perpetual Union between the States of 
 New Hampshire , Massachusetts Bay , Rhode Island and Providence i 
 Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
 Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
 and Georgia. 
 
 Article I. — The style of this confederacy shall bp “The United 
 States of America.” 
 
 Article II. — Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and 
 independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right which is not 
 by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States in 
 Congress assembled. 
 
 Article III.— The said states hereby severally enter into a firm 
 league of friendship with each other, for their common defence, the 
 security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, 
 binding themselves to assist each other against all force offered to, or 
 attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, 
 sovereignty, trade, or any other pretence whatever. 
 
 Article IV. — The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friend- 
 ship and intercourse among the people of the different states in this 
 Union, the free inhabitants of each of these states — paupers, vaga- 
 bonds, and fugitives from justice excepted— shall be entitled to all 
 privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several states ; and 
 the people of each state shall have free ingress and regress to and 
 from any other state, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade 
 and commerce, subject to the same duties, impositions, and restric- 
 tions as the inhabitants thereof respectively, provided that such 
 restriction shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of pro- 
 perty imported into any state, to any other state of which the owner 
 is an inhabitant; provided also that no imposition, duties, or restriction 
 shall be laid by any state on the property of the United States, or 
 either of them. 
 
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 
 
 153 
 
 If any person guilty of, or charged with treason, felony, or other 
 high misdemeanour in any state shall flee from justice, and be found 
 in any of the United States, he shall, upon demand of the governor 
 or executive power of the state from which he fled, be delivered up 
 and removed to the state having jurisdiction of his offence. 
 
 Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these states to the 
 records, acts, and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates 
 of every other state. 
 
 Article V. — For the more convenient management of the general 
 interest of the United States, delegates shall be annually appointed, 
 in such manner as the legislature of each state shall direct, to meet 
 in Congress on the first Monday in November, in every year, with a 
 power reserved to each state to recall its delegates, or any of them, at 
 any time within the year, and to send others in their stead, for the 
 remainder of the year. 
 
 No state shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor by 
 more than seven members ; and no person shall be capable of being 
 a delegate for more than three years in any term of six years ; nor 
 shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office 
 under the United States, for which he, or another for his benefit, 
 receives any salary, fees, or emolument of any kind. 
 
 Each state shall maintain its own delegates in any meeting of the 
 states, and while they act as members of the committee of the states. 
 
 In determining questions in the United States, in Congress assem- 
 bled, each state shall have one vote. 
 
 Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached 
 or questioned in any court or place out of Congress ; and the mem- 
 bers of Congress shall be protected in their persons from arrests and 
 imprisonments, during the time of their going to and from, and 
 attendance on Congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the 
 ■peace. 
 
 Article VI. — No state, without the consent of the United States 
 in Congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any 
 embassy from, or enter into any conference, agreement, alliance, or 
 treaty with any king, prince, or state ; nor shall any person holding 
 any office of profit or trust under the United States, or any of them, 
 accept of any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind what- 
 ever from any king, prince, or foreign state ; nor shall the United 
 States in Congress assembled, or any of them, grant any title of 
 nobility. 
 
154 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 No two or more states shall enter into any treaty, confederation, 
 or alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the United 
 States in Congress assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for 
 which the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall continue. 
 
 No state shall lay any impost or duties, which may interfere with 
 any stipulations in treaties, entered into by the United States in 
 Congress assembled, with any king, prince, or state, in pursuance of 
 any treaties already proposed by Congress, to the courts of France 
 and Spain. 
 
 No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any state, 
 except such number only as shall be deemed necessary by the United 
 States in Congress assembled, for the defence of such state, or its 
 trade ; nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any state, in time; 
 of peace, except such number only, as in the judgment of the United 
 States, in Congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison 
 the forts necessary for the defence of such state ; but every state 
 shall always keep up a well-regulated and disciplined militia, suffi- 
 ciently armed and accoutred, and shall provide and have constantly 
 ready for use, in public stores, a due number of field -pieces and tents, 
 and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition, and camp equipage. 
 
 No state shall engage in any war without the consent of the United' 
 States in Congress assembled, unless such state be actually invaded 
 by enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a resolution 
 being formed by some nation of Indians to invade such state, and' 
 the danger is so imminent as not to admit of a delay, till the United 
 States, in Congress assembled, can be consulted : nor shall any 
 state grant commissions to any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of 
 marque or reprisal, except it be after a declaration of war by the 
 United States in Congress assembled, and then only against the 
 kingdom or state, and the subjects thereof, against which war has 
 been so declared, and under such regulations as shall be established 
 by the United States in Congress assembled, unless such state be 
 infested by pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fittted out 
 for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall continue, or 
 till the United States, in Congress assembled, shall determine 
 otherwise. 
 
 Article YII. — When land forces are raised by any state for the 
 common defence, all officers of or under the rank of colonel, shall 
 be appointed by the legislature of each state respectively by whom 
 such forces shall be raised, or in such manner as such state shall 
 
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 
 
 155 
 
 direct, and all vacancies shall be filled up by the state which first 
 made the appointment. 
 
 Article Till. — All charges of war, and all other expenses that 
 shall be incurred for the common defence or general welfare, and 
 allowed by the United States, in Congress assembled, shall be de- 
 frayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the 
 several states, in proportion to the value of all land within such 
 state, granted to or surveyed for any person, as such land and the 
 buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated according to 
 such mode as the United States, in Congress assembled, shall, from 
 time to time, direct and appoint. The taxes for paying that pro- 
 portion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of 
 the legislatures of the several states within the time agreed upon by 
 the United States in Congress assembled. 
 
 Article IX. — The United States, in Congress assembled, shall 
 have the sole and exclusive right and power of determining on peace 
 and war, except in the cases mentioned in the 6tli article — of sending 
 and receiving ambassadors — entering into treaties and alliances, 
 provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made whereby the 
 legislative power of the respective states shall be restrained from 
 imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners, as their own people 
 are subjected to, or from prohibiting the exportation or importation 
 of any species of goods or commodities whatsoever — of establishing 
 rules for deciding in all cases, what captures on land or water shall 
 be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by land or naval forces 
 in the service of the United States shall be divided or appropriated 
 — of granting letters of marque, and reprisal in times of peace — 
 appointing courts for the trial of piracies and felonies committed on 
 the high seas, and establishing courts for receiving and determining 
 finally appeals in all cases of captures, provided that no member of 
 Congress shall be appointed a judge of any of the said courts. 
 
 The United States, in Congress assembled, shall also be the last 
 resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now' subsisting or 
 that hereafter may arise between two or more states concerning 
 boundary, jurisdiction, or any other cause whatever; which authority 
 shall always be exercised in the manner following. Whenever the 
 legislative or executive authority, cr lawful agent of any state in 
 controversy with another shall present a petition to Congress, stating 
 the matter in question and praying for a hearing, notice thereof 
 shall be given by order of Congress to the legislative or executive 
 
156 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 authority of the other state in controversy, and a day assigned 
 for the appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who shall 
 then be directed to apoint by joint consent, commissioners or judges 
 to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in 
 question : or, if they cannot agree, Congress shall name three persons 
 out of each of the United States, and from the list of such persons 
 each party shall alternately strike out one, the petitioners beginning, 
 until the number shall be reduced to thirteen ; and from that number 
 not less than seven, nor more than nine names as Congress shall 
 direct, shall in the presence of Congress be drawn out by lot, and 
 the persons whose names shall be so drawn, or any five of them, shall 
 be commissioners or judges, to hear and finally determine the con- 
 troversy, so always as a major part of the judges who shall hear the 
 cause shall agree in the determination : and if either party shall 
 neglect to attend at the day appointed, without showing reasons, 
 which Congress shall judge sufficient, or being present shall refuse to 
 strike, the Congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out of 
 each state, and the secretary of Congress shall strike in behalf of 
 such party absent or refusing; and the judgment and sentence of 
 the court to be appointed, in the manner before prescribed, shall be 
 final and conclusive ; and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit 
 to the authority of such court, or to appear or defend their claim or 
 cause, the court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence, or 
 judgment, which shall in like manner be final and decisive, the 
 judgment or sentence aud other proceedings being in either case 
 transmitted to Congress, and lodged among the acts of Congress for 
 the security of the parties concerned : provided that every com- 
 missioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take an oath to be 
 administered.by one of the j udges of the supreme or superior court 
 of the state, where the cause shall be tried, “well and truly to hear 
 and determine the matter in question, according to the best of his 
 judgment, without favour, affection, or hope of reward provided 
 also that no state shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the 
 United States. 
 
 All controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed under 
 different grants of two or more states, whose jurisdictions as they 
 may respect such lands, and the states which passed such grants 
 are adjusted, the said grants, or either of them, being at the same 
 time claimed to have originated antecedent to such settlement of 
 jurisdiction, shall on the petition of either party to the Congress of 
 
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 
 
 157 
 
 the United States, be finally determined as near as may be in the 
 same manner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting 
 territorial jurisdiction between different states. 
 
 The United States, in Congress assembled, shall also have the 
 sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value 
 of coin struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective 
 states — fixing the standard of weights and measures throughout the 
 United States — regulating the trade, and managing all affairs with 
 the Indians, not members of any of the states, provided that the 
 legislative right of any state within its own limits be not infringed 
 or violated — establishing or regulating post-offices from one state to 
 another, throughout all the United States, and exacting such 
 postage on the papers passing through the same as may be requisite 
 to defray the expenses of the said office — appointing all officers of 
 the land forces, in the service of the United States, excepting regi- 
 mental officers — appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and 
 commissioning all officers whatever in the service of the United 
 States — making rules for the government and regulation of the said 
 land and naval forces, and directing their operations. 
 
 The United States, in Congress assembled, shall have authority 
 to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of Congress, to be 
 denominated “ A Committee of the States,” and to consist of one 
 delegate from each state ; and to appoint such other committees and 
 civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of 
 the United States under their direction — to appoint one of their 
 number to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in 
 the office of president more than one year in any term of three 
 years ; to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be raised for the 
 service of the United States, and to appropriate and apply the same 
 for defraying the public expenses — to borrow money, or emit bills 
 on the credit of the United States, transmitting every half-year to 
 the respective states an account of the sums of money so borrowed 
 or emitted — to build and equip a navy — to agree upon the number 
 of land forces, and to make requisitions from each state for its 
 quota, in proportion to the number of white inhabitants in such 
 state ; which requisition shall be binding, and thereupon the legis- 
 lature of each state shall appoint the regimental officers, raise the 
 men, and clothe, arm, and equip them, in a soldier-like manner, at 
 the expense of the United States ; and the officers and men so 
 clothed, armed, and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, 
 
158 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 and within the time agreed on by the United States in Congress i 
 assembled : but if the United States in Congress assembled shall, 
 on consideration of circumstances, judge proper that any state 
 should not raise men, or should raise a smaller number than 
 its quota, and that any other state should raise a greater number of 
 men than the quota thereof, such extra number shall be raised, 
 officered, clothed, armed , and : equipped in the same manner as the 
 quota of such state, unless the legislature of such state shall judge j 
 that such extra number cannot be safely spared out of the same, in 
 which case they shall raise, officer, clothe, arm, and equip as many 
 of such extra number as they judge can be safely spared. And the 
 officers and men so clothed, armed, and equipped, shall march to 
 the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United 
 States in Congress assembled. 
 
 The United States, in Congress assembled, shall never engage in 
 a war, nor grant letters of marque and reprisal in time of peace, j 
 nor enter into any treaties or alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate 
 the value thereof, nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary 1 | 
 for the defence and welfare of the United States, or any of them, 
 nor emit bills, nor borrow money on the credit of the United States, i 
 nor appropriate money, nor agree upon the number of vessels of 
 war to be built or purchased, or the number of land or sea forces ! 
 to be raised, nor appoint a commander-in-chief of the army or 
 navy, unless nine states assent to the same : nor shall a question on 
 any other point, except for adjourning from day to day, be deter- 
 mined, unless by the votes of a majority of the United States in 
 Congress assembled. 
 
 The Congress of the United States shall have power to adjourn 
 to any time within the year, and to any place within the United 
 States, so that no period of adjournment be for a longer duration 
 than the space of six months, and shall publish the journal of their 
 proceedings monthly, except such parts thereof relating to treaties, 
 alliances, or military operations, as in their judgment require 
 secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the delegates of each state on 
 any question shall be entered on the journal, when it is desired by 
 any delegate ; and the delegates of a state, or any of them, at his 
 or their request, shall be furnished with a transcript of the said 
 journal, except such parts as are above excepted, to lay before the 
 legislatures of the several states. 
 
 Article X. — The committee of the states, or any nine of them, 
 
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 
 
 159 
 
 shall be authorised to execute, in the recess of Congress, such of the 
 powers of Congress as the United States in Congress assembled, by 
 the consent of nine states, shall from time to time think expedient 
 to rest them with ; provided that no power be delegated to the said 
 committee, for the exercise of which, by the articles of confederation, 
 the voice of nine states in the Congress of the United States as- 
 sembled, is requisite. 
 
 Article XI. — Canada acceding to this confederation, and joining 
 in the measures of the United States, shall be admitted into, and 
 entitled to all the advantages of this Union : but no other colony 
 shall be admitted into the same, unless such admission be agreed to 
 by nine states. 
 
 Article XII. — All bills of credit emitted, monies borrowed, and 
 debts contracted 'by, or under the authority of Congress, before 
 the assembling of the United States, in pursuance of the present 
 confederation, shall be deemed and considered as a charge against 
 the United States, for payment and satisfaction whereof, the said 
 United States and the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged. 
 
 Article XIII. — Every state shall abide by the determinations of 
 the United States in Congress assembled, on all questions which by 
 this confederation is submitted to them. And the articles of this 
 confederation shall be inviolably observed by every state, and the 
 Union shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time 
 hereafter be made in any of them ; unless such alteration be agreed 
 to in a Congress of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed 
 by the legislatures of every state. 
 
 And Whereas it hath pleased the Great Governor of the World 
 to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in 
 Congress, to approve of, and to authorise us to ratify the said 
 articles of confederation and perpetual union. Know Ye that we 
 -the undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and authority to 
 us given for that purpose, do by these presents, in the name and in 
 behalf of our respective constituents, fully and entirely ratify 
 and confirm each and every of the said articles of confederation 
 and perpetual union, and all and singular the matters and 
 things therein contained : and we do further solemnly plight and 
 engage the faith of our respective constituents, that they shall abide 
 by the determinations of the United States in Congress assembled, 
 on all questions which by the said confederation are submitted to 
 them. And that the articles thereof shall be inviolably observed by 
 
160 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 the states we respectively represent, and that the Union shall be 
 perpetual. In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in 
 Congress. — Done at Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania, the 
 9th day of July, in the year of our Lord 1778, and in the third year 
 of the independence of America. 
 
 The Articles Ratified, and the Government 
 Organised. 
 
 These articles were ratified by the respective states, in 
 time, as follows: — On the 9th of July, 1778, they w ere 
 signed by the delegates from the states of New Hampshire, 
 Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, 
 Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina. On the 
 21st of July they were ratified by North Carolina: on 
 the 24th of the same month, by Georgia : on the 26th of 
 November, by New Jersey: on the 5th of May, 1779, by 
 Delaware; and, on the 1st of March, 1781, by Maryland. 
 The first Congress of the confederation government met 
 on the 2nd of March, 1781, the day after Maryland 
 had ratified the articles for its formation. From this date 
 commenced the “ Confederation of the United States” — an 
 important step towards the establishment of a nation ! 
 It will be observed, that each of the states retained “its 
 sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, 
 jurisdiction, and right, which was not, by the articles of 
 confederation, expressly delegated to the United States in 
 Congress assembled.” It was to be “a firm league of 
 friendship,” “a perpetual union,” for their common 
 defence and mutual welfare. It was to enable the whole 
 to resist all attacks made upon them, or any one of them. 
 Such was the solemn obligation entered into by the 
 
FEDERAL EPOCHS. 
 
 161 
 
 respective colonies, one with the other. It was not to be 
 an agreement for the time being; but it was to continue 
 for ever: it was irrevocable; and no state reserved the « 
 right to withdraw from the new government. The articles 
 formed a compact; and each of the thirteen colonies signed 
 that perpetual league, and thereafter sent delegates to the 
 national Congress. The organisation of the confederation 
 was made complete in conformity with the stipulations 
 contained in the articles. Notwithstanding the solemnity 
 of the compact, and the pledge of permanency, before ten 
 years had passed, eleven of the thirteen states seceded 
 from the confederation, and formed a new government. 
 
 We will now recapitulate the epochs of the national 
 government. 
 
 1st. The thirteen separate colonial charter or patent 
 governments, exercising power derived from the throne of 
 Great Britain. 
 
 2nd. The rebellion epoch, which ended on the Declara- 
 tion of Independence, July 4th, 1776. 
 
 3rd. The revolutionary period, dating from July 4th, 
 L776, from which time the common interests of the colonies 
 ,vere managed by a Congress, or a convention, composed 
 >f delegates from the respective colonial governments in 
 evolt, until 1781. 
 
 4th. The confederation of the United States, organised as 
 . “perpetual union,” and intended to be a national govern- 
 ment, March 2nd, 1781 ; and, subsequent to this, was — 
 
 5th. The constitutional government of the United States 
 f America, perfected by the inauguration of General 
 Washington, April 30th, 1789. 
 
 M 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Failure of the Confederation of 1781 ; adoption of the Constitutor 
 of 1787; Ratification of the Constitution by the States; Organ! 
 sation of the United States’ Government. 
 
 Failure of the Confederation of 1781. 
 
 After the close of the revolutionary war, in 1783, tin 
 national government, organised in conformity with thf 
 “Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union,” was 
 found to be impracticable. The states were indifferent 
 about carrying out the recommendations of the confedera- 
 tion Congress. The cessation of the long war had pro- 
 duced a singular disposition among the people to let 
 things glide along with as little concern as possible 
 Congress assessed the states for the necessary moneys tc 
 sustain the government, and for the payment of the 
 national debt. Some of them promptly paid the levy 
 but others disregarded or neglected the appeals. It was 
 difficult to collect the assessments from the people. The 
 war had ceased, and the necessity for a governmenl 
 revenue could not be appreciated by many of the people 
 called upon for the payment of taxes. The confederatior 
 government was soon found to be inoperative, and a com 
 plete failure; it was but a mere agency, and had not the 
 power to enforce its own decrees. 
 
 With a view to consummate the greatest good for the 
 
FAILURE OF CONFEDERATION. 
 
 163 
 
 greatest number, it was proposed in the Congress, that the 
 respective states should appoint commissioners to meet in 
 convention at Annapolis, Maryland, in September, 1786, 
 for the purpose of agreeing upon some amendments to the 
 articles of confederation — to effect a firm and a practicable 
 government. There were present at this convention, repre- 
 sentatives from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
 Delaware, and Virginia. The commissioners appointed 
 by the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode 
 Island, and North Carolina, did not attend. The states 
 of Connecticut, Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia, 
 did not appoint commissioners. The convention could 
 not do anything; but it proposed to the Congress, the 
 convening of another, to meet in 1787, at Philadelphia. 
 In February, 1787, Congress adopted a resolution, 
 requesting the states to appoint commissioner’s, to meet 
 at Philadelphia in the succeeding May, “ for the sole and 
 express purpose of revising the articles of confederation, 
 and reporting to Congress and the several legislatures, 
 such alterations and provisions therein, as shall, when 
 agreed to in Congress, and confirmed by the states, render 
 the federal constitution adequate to the exigencies of 
 government, and the preservation of the Union.” 
 
 In conformity with, this resolution, all the states, 
 except Rhode Island, appointed delegates to meet in 
 the proposed convention. This state declined to take 
 any part in the affair. It was a component part of 
 the confederation; and it was not inclined to disturb 
 that national compact. On the 29th of May, 1787, the 
 convention assembled in Philadelphia : George Washington, 
 
 m 2 
 
164 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 a delegate from Virginia, was elected president. The 
 object of meeting was fully declared in the resolution 
 passed by Congress, and repeated in the respective letters 
 of appointment. It was, “ to revise and amend the articles 
 of confederation/’ Early after the assembling of the 
 delegates, the idea of revising the articles was abandoned, 
 and the convention proceeded to frame a constitution for 
 the organisation of a new government, and the estab- 
 lishment of a consolidated nation. The confederation had 
 proved to be a failure ; and the articles forming it could 
 not be amended so as to make it effective. All seemed to 
 admit the necessity of a constitutional government, with 
 powers and means to maintain itself, and not to be depen- 
 dent upon the respective states for the ratification of its 
 own enactments. How to effect this desideratum was a 
 question most difficult to solve. The convention, how- 
 ever, was composed of men who were patriots and states- 
 men — men wbo could see the wants of the people, the 
 necessit}' of protecting and permanently establishing the 
 liberty achieved by the hard-fought battles of the revolu- 
 tion, and that the prosperity of all the colonies or states 
 depended upon their unity of interests, action, affection, 
 and glory. How to attain the great end desired — namely, . 
 a nation — an American nation — engaged the serious 
 thoughts of every delegate. Confident that their consti- 
 tuencies would appreciate the result of their labours, they 
 determined to deviate from their instructions, and frame a 
 government, which, in their opinion, would be more con- 
 ducive to the welfare of each and of the whole. The 
 states were sovereign and independent, except so far as 
 
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 165 
 
 they had delegated authority to the confederation ; and 
 whether or not they would ever consent to surrender or 
 delegate further power to a general government, was a 
 question that could only be determined upon its submis- 
 sion to the popular consideration. The delegates had 
 faith in the wisdom and discretion of the people, and that 
 they would be willing to surrender or delegate to the 
 national government all needful powers to effect its suc- 
 cessful continuance and permanency, not only for and 
 during their own natural lives, but for their posterity — 
 not for an era or for a century only, but for all time — not 
 for the then existing people only, but for generations 
 unborn. It w r as not to be a confederation, as of the 
 cantons of Switzerland, or as that of the duchies and 
 sovereignties' of Germany; but they contemplated the 
 formation of a nation, to be united, prosperous, and happy. 
 They wished to establish a temple of freedom — as complete 
 f a republican structure as was possible to come from the 
 genius of man. 
 
 Adoption of the Constitution of 1787. 
 
 The convention continued in session four months ; and, 
 on the 17th day of September, 1787, the following organic 
 national instrument w r as adopted : — 
 
 Constitution of the United States of America. 
 
 We the people of the United States, in order to form a more 
 perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquillity, provide 
 for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure 
 the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and 
 establish this constitution for the United States of America. 
 
 Article I. — Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall 
 
166 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of 
 a Senate and House of Representatives. 
 
 Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of 
 members chosen every second year by the people of the several 
 states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requi- 
 site for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature. 
 
 No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained 
 to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the 
 United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of 
 that state in which he shall be chosen. 
 
 Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the 
 several states which may be included within this Union, according to 
 their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to 
 the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service 
 for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of 
 all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within 
 three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United 
 States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such 
 manner as they shall by law direct. The number of representatives 
 shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each state shall 
 have at least one representative ; and until such enumeration shall 
 be made, the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose 
 three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 
 one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania' 
 eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, 
 South Carolina five, and Georgia three. 
 
 When vacancies happen in the representation from any state, the 
 executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such 
 vacancies. 
 
 The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other 
 officers ; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 
 
 Section 3. The senate of the United States shall be composed of 
 two senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for 
 six years ; and each senator shall have one vote. 
 
 Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the 
 first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three 
 classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated 
 at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expi- 
 ration of the fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of 
 the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year ; 
 
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 167 
 
 and if vacancies happen, by resignation or otherwise, during the 
 recess of the legislature of any state, the executive thereof may make 
 temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, 
 which shall then fill such vacancies. 
 
 No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the 
 age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United 
 States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that 
 state for which he shall be chosen. 
 
 The vice-president of the United States shall be president of the 
 senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 
 
 The senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president 
 \ pro tempore, in the absence of the vice-president, or when he shall 
 exercise the office of president of the United States. 
 
 The senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. 
 When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. 
 When the president of the United States is tried, the chief justice 
 shall preside. And no person shall be convicted without the concur- 
 rence of two-thirds of the members present. 
 
 Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than 
 to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any 
 office of honour, trust, or profit under the United States ; but the 
 party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indict- 
 ment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. 
 
 Section 4. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for 
 senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the 
 legislature thereof ; but the Congress may at any time, by law, make 
 or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. 
 
 The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such 
 meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall 
 by law appoint a different day. 
 
 Section 5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, 
 and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall 
 constitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may 
 adjourn from day to day, and may be authorised to compel the 
 attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such 
 penalties as each house may provide. 
 
 Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its 
 members for disorderly behaviour, and, with the concurrence of 
 two-thirds, expel a member. 
 
 Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time 
 
168 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their 
 judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of 
 either house on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those 
 present, be entered on the journal. 
 
 Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the 
 consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any 
 other place than that in which the two' houses shall be sitting. 
 
 Section 6. The senators and representatives shall receive a com- 
 pensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of 
 the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except 
 treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest 
 during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, I 
 and in going to and returning from the same ; and for any speech or de- 
 bate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 
 
 No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he 
 was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of 
 the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments 
 whereof shall have been increased, during such time ; and no person 
 holding any office under the United States shall be a member of 
 either house during his continuance in office. 
 
 Section 7. — All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 
 House of Representatives ; but the senate may propose or concur 
 with amendments as on other bills. 
 
 Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives 
 and the senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the 
 president of the United States ; if he approve he shall sign it, but 
 if not he shall return it, with his objections to that house in which 
 it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on 
 their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such recon- 
 sideration two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it 
 shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by 
 which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds 
 of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes 
 of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names 
 of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the 
 journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned 
 by the president within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have 
 been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if 
 he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent 
 its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 
 
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 169 
 
 Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the 
 senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a 
 question of adjournment) shall be presented to the president of the 
 United States ; and before the same shall take effect, shall be ap- 
 proved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by 
 two-tlxirds of the senate and House of Representatives, according to 
 the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. ' 
 i Section 8. — The Congress shall have power 
 
 To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the 
 debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the 
 United States ; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform 
 throughout the United States ; 
 
 To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; 
 
 To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
 states, and with the Indian tribes ; 
 
 To establish an uniform rule of naturalisation, and uniform laws 
 Dn the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States ; 
 
 To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, 
 md fix the standard of weights and measures ; 
 
 To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and 
 :urrent coin of the United States ; 
 
 To establish post-offices and post roads ; 
 
 To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing 
 or limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their 
 ■espective writings and disgoveries ; 
 
 To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ; 
 
 To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high 
 eas, and offences against the law of nations ; 
 
 To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make 
 ules concerning captures on land and water ; 
 
 To raise and support armies ; but no appropriation of money to 
 hat use shall be for a longer term than two years ; 
 
 To provide and maintain a navy ; 
 
 To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and 
 aval forces ; 
 
 To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the 
 'Jnion, suppress insurrections and repel invasions ; 
 
 To provide for organising, arming, and disciplining the militia, 
 nd for governing such part of them as may be employed in the 
 srvice of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the 
 
170 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 appointment of tlie officers, and tlie authority of training the militia 
 according to the discipline prescribed by Congress ; 
 
 To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such 
 district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of 
 particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of 
 the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority 
 over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the 
 state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, 
 arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings ; — and 
 
 To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying 
 into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by 
 this constitution in the government of the United States, or in anyj 
 department or officer thereof. 
 
 Section 9. — The migration or importation of such persons as any 
 of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not bej 
 prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such 
 importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 
 
 The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
 unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may, 
 require it. 
 
 No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 
 
 No capitation, or other direct tax, shall be laid, unless in propor- 
 tion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken. 
 
 No tax or duty shall be laid on articles, exported from any state. 
 
 No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce oij 
 revenue to the ports of one state over those of another : nor shal 
 vessels bound to, or from, one state, be obliged to enter, clear, oi 
 pay duties in another. 
 
 No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence o: 
 appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account 
 of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be pub- 
 lished from time to time. 
 
 No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States : and nc 
 person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, with 
 out the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument] 
 office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, o: 
 foreign state. 
 
 Section 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or con: 
 federation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money 
 
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 171 
 
 mit bills of credit ; mate anything but gold and silver coin a tender 
 1 payment of debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or 
 .w impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 
 No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any 
 nposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be abso- 
 ltely necessary for executing its inspection laws : and the net 
 roduce of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports or 
 xports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States ; 
 ad all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the 
 ongress. 
 
 No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of 
 mnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into 
 ny agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign 
 ower, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such im- 
 linent danger as will not admit of delay. 
 
 Article II. — Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a 
 resident of the United States of America. He shall hold his office 
 uring the term of four years, and, together with the vice-president, 
 aosen for the same term, be elected, as follows : — 
 i Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof 
 Lay direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of 
 mators and representatives to which the state may be entitled in 
 tie Congress ; but no senator or representative, or person holding 
 n office of trust or profit, under the United States, shall be ap- 
 ointed an elector. 
 
 The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, 
 nd the day on which they shall give their votes ; which day shall 
 e the same throughout the United States. 
 
 No person, except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the 
 nited States, at the time of the adoption of this constitution, 
 lall be eligible to the office of president ; neither shall any person 
 e eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of 
 lirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the 
 nited States. 
 
 In case of the removal of the president from office, or of his 
 eath, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties 
 : the said office, the same shall devolve on the vice-president ; 
 id the Congress may, by law, provide for the case of removal, 
 jath, resignation, or inability, both of the president and vice- 
 resident, declaring what officer shall then act as president, and 
 
172 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, c 
 a president shall be elected. 
 
 The president shall, at stated times, receive for his services ! 
 compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminishe 
 during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he sha 
 not receive within that period any other emolument from the Unite 
 States, or any of them. 
 
 Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take tl 
 following oath or affirmation : — 
 
 “ I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execui 
 the office of president of the United States, and will, to the best < 
 my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of tl 
 United States.” 
 
 Section 2. The president shall be commander-in-chief of the arm, , 
 and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the sever 
 states, when called into the actual service of the United States ; 1 
 may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in eac 
 of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to tl 
 duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grai 
 reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, exce] 
 in cases of impeachment. 
 
 He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent j o 
 the senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senato 
 present concur ; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advi- 
 and consent of the senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other pub! 
 ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all oth 
 officers of the United States, whose appointments are not here 
 otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law ; bi 
 the Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of such inferi 
 officers, as they think proper, in the president alone, in the cour! 
 of law, or in the heads of departments. 
 
 The president shall have power to fill up all vacancies that mi 
 happen during the recess of the senate, by granting commissioi 
 wliich shall expire at the end of their next session. 
 
 Section 3. He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress ij ) 
 formation of the state of the Union, and recommend to their co 
 sideration, such measures as he shall judge necessary and exp 
 client ; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both house 
 or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, wi 
 respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to su( 
 
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 173 
 
 Ime as he shall think proper ; he shall receive ambassadors and 
 ther public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully 
 xecuted, and shall commission all the officers of the United States. 
 Section 4. The president, vice-president, and all civil officers of the 
 fnited States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and 
 onviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 
 Article III. — Section 1. The judicial power of the United States 
 ball be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as 
 re Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The 
 idges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their 
 (Sees during good behaviour, and shall, at stated times, receive 
 >r their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished 
 uring their continuance in office. 
 
 Section 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and 
 piity, arising under this constitution, the laws of the United 
 tates, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their 
 jthority ; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, 
 nd consuls ; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; to 
 ontroversies to which the United States shall be a party ; to con- 
 •oversies between two or more states ; between a state and citizens 
 : another state ; between citizens of different states, between citi- 
 »ns of the same state claiming lands under grants of different 
 ates, and between a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign 
 ates, citizens, or subjects. 
 
 In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and 
 >nsuls, and those in which a state shall be party, the Supreme 
 ourt shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before- 
 ,entioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, 
 oth as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regu- 
 .tions as the Congress shall make. 
 
 -The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be 
 ■/ jury ; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said 
 imes shall have been committed ; but when not committed within 
 ly state, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress 
 ay, by law, have directed. 
 
 Section 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only 
 ■ levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving 
 era aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason 
 dess on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or 
 i confession in open court. 
 
174 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Tlie Congress shall have power to declare the punishment 
 treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of bio’ 
 or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted. 
 
 Article IV . — Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given 
 each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings 
 every other state. And the Congress may, by general laws, prescri 
 the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings, shall 
 proved, and the effect thereof. 
 
 Section 2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to 
 privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states. 
 
 A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or otli 
 ci’ime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another stal 
 shall, on demand of the executive authority of the state from wh . 
 he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurist ■ 
 tion of the crime. 
 
 No person held to service or labour in one state, under the las 
 thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law h 
 regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labour, lj; 
 shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service 1 : t 
 labour may be due. 
 
 Section 3. New states may be admitted by the Congress into t 
 Union ; but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jui 
 diction of any other state; nor any state be formed by the junct.i 
 of two or more states, or parts of states, without the consent f 
 the legislatures of tlie states concerned as well as of the Congress 
 
 The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all need! 
 rules and regulations respecting the territory or other propef 
 belonging to the United States; and nothing in this constituti 
 shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United Stall 
 or of any particular state. 
 
 Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in ts 
 Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each! 
 them against invasion ; and on application of the legislature, oi f 
 the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) agait 
 domestic violence. 
 
 Article V. — The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both horns 
 shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this constii- 
 tion, or, on the application of the legislatures of two-tliirds of e 
 several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendmeii, 
 which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes)? 
 
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 175 
 
 part of this constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three- 
 fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three-fourths 
 thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed 
 by the Congress ; provided that no amendment which may be made 
 prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any 
 manner afl’ect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the 
 first article ; and that no state, without its consent, shall.be deprived 
 of its equal suffrage in the senate. 
 
 Article VI. — All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, 
 before the adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the 
 United States under this constitution, as under the confederation. 
 
 This constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall 
 be made in pursuance thereof ; and all treaties made, or which shall 
 be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the 
 supreme law of the land ; and the judges in every state shall be 
 bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state 
 to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 The senators and representatives before-mentioned, and the 
 members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and 
 judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, 
 shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this constitution ; 
 but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any 
 •office or public trust under the United States. 
 
 Article VII. — The ratification of the conventions of nine states, 
 shall be sufficient for the establishment of this constitution between 
 die states so ratifying the same. 
 
 Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present, 
 h the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one 
 thousand seven hundred and eighty seven, and of the inde- 
 pendence of the United States of America, the twelfth. In 
 . witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names. 
 
 George Washington, 
 President and Deputy from Virginia. 
 
 Imendments proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of 
 • the several States, pursuant to the Fifth Article of the original Con- 
 ■ i stitution. 
 
 Article I. — Congress shall make no law respecting an establish- 
 } ;oent of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging 
 he freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the people 
 
176 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 peaceably to assemble, and to petition tbe government for a redress 
 of grievances. 
 
 Article II. — A well-regnlated militia being necessary to tbe secu- 
 rity of a free state, tbe right of the people to keep and bear arms 
 shall not be infringed. 
 
 Article III. — No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in 
 any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, bui 
 in a manner to be prescribed by law. 
 
 Article IV. — The right of the people to be secure in then 
 persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches 
 and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, bul 
 upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particu 
 larly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things 
 to be seized. 
 
 Article V. — No person shall be held to answer for a capital, os 
 otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment o. 
 a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, oi|J 
 in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or publii i 
 danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to b< : 
 twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled h ' 
 any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived I 
 of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall 
 private property be taken for public use, without just compen, | 
 sation. 
 
 Article VI. — In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoj 
 the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the ; 
 
 state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed,! 1 
 which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and tc ij 
 be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be con- 
 fronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process J 
 for obtaining witnesses in his favour, and to have the assistance of 
 counsel for his defence. 
 
 Article VII. — In suits at common law, where the value in con- 
 troversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall i 
 be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re- 1 
 examined in any court of the United States, than according to thfj ■. 
 rules of the common law. 
 
 Article VIII. — Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessiv* 
 fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 
 
 Article IX. — The enumeration in the constitution of certain 
 
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 177 
 
 rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained 
 by the people. 
 
 Article X. — The powers not delegated to the United States by 
 the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to 
 the states respectively, or to the people. 
 
 Article XT . — The judicial power of the United States shall not 
 be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or 
 prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another 
 state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. 
 
 Article XII. — The electors shall meet in their respective states, 
 and vote by ballot for president and vice-president, one of whom, at 
 least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves ; 
 they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as president, 
 and in distinct ballots the person voted for as vice-president, 
 and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as 
 president, and of all persons voted for as vice-president, and 
 of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and 
 certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the 
 United States, directed to the president of the senate. The president 
 if the senate shall, in presence of the senate and House of Repre- 
 sentatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be 
 :ounted. The person having the greatest number of votes for pre- 
 ident, shall be the president, if such number be a majority of the 
 vliole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such 
 Qajority, then from the persons having the highest numbers, not 
 xceeding three, on the list of those voted for as president, the 
 louse of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the 
 resident. But in choosing the president, the votes shall be taken 
 y states, the representation from each state having one vote ; a 
 uoruni for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from 
 wo-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be 
 ecessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall 
 ot choose a president whenever the right of choice shall devolve 
 pon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the 
 : .ce-president shall act as president, as in the case of the death or 
 her constitutional disability of the president. The person having 
 ie greatest number of votes as vice-president, shall be the vice- 
 resident, if such number be a majority of the whole number of 
 ectors appointed ; and if no person have a majority, then from the 
 ro highest numbers on the list, the senate shall choose the vice- 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 president ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of 
 the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole number 
 shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally 
 ineligible to the office of president shall be eligible to that of vice- 
 president of the United States. 
 
 This constitution was reported to the Congress ; and, 
 from that body, was sent to the respective states for ratifi- 
 cation, in accordance with the following proceedings of the 
 convention, the letter from General Washington, and the 
 resolve passed by Congress. 
 
 In Convention , Monday, September 17, 1787- — Present : The State; 
 of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Mr. Hamiltoi 
 from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland. 
 Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 
 
 
 Resolved, That the preceding constitution be laid before the Unite; 
 States in Congress assembled, and that it is the opinion of this cod 
 vention that it should afterwards be submitted to a convention o 
 delegates, chosen in each state by the people thereof, under th 
 recommendation of its legislature, for their assent and ratification 
 and that each convention, assenting to and ratifying the same, shoul 
 give notice thereof to the United States in Congress assembled. 
 
 Resolved, That it is the opinion of this convention, that as soon 
 the conventions of nine states shall have ratified this constitutioi 
 the United States, in Congress assembled, should fix a day on whic 
 electors should be appointed by the states which shall have ratifie 
 the same, and a day on which the electors should assemble to voi 
 for the president, and the time and place for commencing proceed 
 ings under this constitution. That after such publication, tl 
 electors should be appointed, and the senators and representativ 
 
 elected ; that the electors should meet on the day fixed for tl 
 
 election of the president, and should transmit their votes certifies i 
 
 signed, sealed, and directed, as the constitution requires, to t) 
 
 secretary of the United States in Congress assembled; that tl 
 
 senators and representatives should convene at the time and pla 
 
 
 - 
 
 llli 
 
 Bill 
 
 
 assigned ; that the senators should appoint a president of the senaf | 
 for the sole purpose of receiving, opening, and counting the votes 
 president ; and that, after he shall be chosen, the Congress, togetL 
 
 : : 
 
 ‘itilj 
 
Washington’s letter on the constitution. 179 
 
 with the president, should without delay proceed to execute this 
 constitution. 
 
 By the unanimous order of the Convention. 
 
 George Washington, President. 
 
 William Jackson, Secretary. 
 
 In Convention, September 17,' 1787. — Sir, — We have now the honour 
 to submit to the consideration of the United States in Congress assem- 
 bled, that constitution which has appeared to us the most advisable. 
 
 The friends of our country have long seen and desired that the 
 bower of making war, peace, and treaties, that of levying money and 
 ■egulating commerce, and the correspondent executive and judicial 
 mthorities, should be fully and effectually vested in the general 
 government of the Union ; but the impropriety of delegating such 
 xtensive trust to one body of men is evident : hence results the 
 lecessity of a different organisation. 
 
 It is obviously impracticable, in the federal government of these 
 tates, to secure all rights of independent sovereignty to each, and 
 et provide for the interest and safety of all. Individuals entering 
 ato society must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest, 
 ’he magnitude of the sacrifice must depend as well on situation and 
 ircumstance as on the object to be obtained. It is at all times diffi- 
 ult to draw with precision the line between those rights which must 
 e surrendered and those which may be reserved ; and on the present 
 bcasion this difficulty was increased by a difference among the 
 iveral states as to their situation, extent, habits, and particular 
 iterests. 
 
 ( In all our deliberations on this subject, we kept steadily in our 
 lew that which appears to us the greatest interest of every true 
 merican — the consolidation of our Union— in which is involved our 
 •osperity, felicity, safety, perhaps our national existence. This 
 iportant consideration, seriously and deeply impressed on our 
 inds, led each state in the convention to be less rigid on points of 
 ' ferior magnitude than might have been otherwise expected ; and 
 us the constitution which we now present is the result of a spirit 
 amity, and of that mutual deference and concession which the 
 iculiarity of our political situation rendered indispensable. 
 
 That it will meet the full and entire approbation of every state, 
 not, perhaps, to be expected ; but each will doubtless consider, 
 
 : 'at had her interest been alone consulted, the consequences might 
 
 N 2 
 
180 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 have been particularly disagreeable or injurious to others ; that it 
 is liable to as few exceptions as could reasonably have been ex- 
 pected, we hope and believe ; that it may promote the lasting 
 welfare of that country so dear to us all, and secure her freedom 
 and happiness, is our most ardent wish. 
 
 With great respect, we have the honour to be, sir, your excel- 
 lency’s most obedient humble servants. 
 
 By unanimous order of the Convention. 
 
 George Washington, President. 
 
 His Excellency the President of Congress. 
 
 Whereupon Congress passed the following resolution : — 
 
 Friday, September 28th, 1787- — Present: New Hampsliii’e, Massa- 
 chusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania 
 Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, ani 
 Maryland. 
 
 Congress having received the report of the convention lateh 
 assembled in Philadelphia — 
 
 Resolved, unanimously, That the said report, with the resolution 
 and letter accompanying the same, be transmitted to the severa 
 legislatures, in order to be submitted to a convention of delegate 
 chosen in each state by the people thereof, in conformity to th 
 resolves of the convention made and provided in that case. 
 
 I 
 
 Ratification of the Constitution by the States. 4 
 The constitution thus formally came before the stat s | 
 legislatures. In some of the states, it was promptly adopted 
 in some others it was ratified, after much opposition t# 
 and, in others, it was rejected. It was not submitted tjltfi 
 the popular vote in all the states; but it was considered i ;:|| 
 the legislatures and in conventions, composed of delegate I 
 elected for that purpose. In ten of the states it w; j 
 ratified, on and before the 26th of June, 1788. Thes aiit 
 ten states were then organised under the new constiti I a- 
 tion ; leaving the three others — viz., New York, Rhoc si 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 181 
 
 Island, and North Carolina, as remnants of the confedera- 
 tion organised in 1781, as a “ perpetual union.” 
 
 Organisation of the United States’ Government. 
 
 On the first Wednesday in January, 1789, ten states 
 ippointed electors to vote for president of the new gov- 
 •rnment. On the first Wednesday in February thereafter, 
 he electors for eacli state met at their respective capitals, 
 .nd voted for the first president, and Washington was 
 lected. In the meantime, the state of New York re- 
 :ealed its conditional ratification of the constitution, and 
 greed to join the new government, hoping to secure 
 ertain changes of the constitution in the future : but 
 hese proceedings of New York took place after the time 
 xed for the appointment of presidential electors; and 
 ence that state did not vote for president. Congress 
 as ordered to convene on the 4th of March, 1789, in the 
 ity of New York ; but there was not a quorum present, 
 ad it was adjourned, to meet again on the 1st of April, on 
 hich day the first Congress under the constitution as- 
 ;mbled. On the 30th of April, 1789, George Washington 
 as inaugurated as the first president. Thus commenced 
 ve constitutional government, composed of eleven states, 
 1 of which seceded from the confederation of 1781, leaving 
 it two members in that “ perpetual union.” These were 
 hode Island and North Carolina. As the Union had 
 :en dissolved by the secession of eleven states, the whole 
 ' :ructure fell; and, on the 1st of April, 1789, on the 
 iganisation of the constitutional government, there were 
 iree independent republics, resulting from the political 
 
182 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 revolution of that era: one composed of the eleven states; 
 another of Rhode Island; and the third of North Caro- 
 lina. Every possible effort was made to induce the two 
 independent sovereign states to join the new government; 
 and, for a time, they seemed to be determined never to 
 ratify the constitution. North Carolina yielded, and 
 joined the new confederacy on the 21st of November, 
 1789; but Rhode Island continued inexorable. There 
 was a powerful opposition among the people to the ratifi-; i 
 cation of the constitution ; and that state maintained its 
 independence until the 29th of May, 1790, being nearly . 
 two years after the constitutional government had heeii n 
 adopted by the ten seceding states. The Union, finally 
 with the independent republic of Rhode Island, completed i 
 the organisation of the thirteen United States, and estab- 
 lished the great American nation — the wonder of the : 
 most wonder-teeming age. 
 
 We have thus briefly traced the formation of the nev 
 government of the United States, under the constitution 'll 
 framed in 1787. It is only left for us to remark, that thii » 
 great organic code of the Union was never adopted by ill 
 vote of the people. The conventions of the states ratified j sts 
 it ; but we are unable to find that a single state enterec hi: 
 the Union by a vote of the people. 
 
CHAPTER Till. 
 
 The Government of the United States ; Legislative, Executive, and 
 Judiciary Departments. 
 
 Lv the preceding chapter we have given a hurried history 
 the constitution of the United States, and a copy of that 
 organic instrument. We now propose to explain a few 
 formalities observed in its execution. In some respects 
 obis federal constitution was modelled after the prior- 
 jxisting government of Virginia, and some of the other 
 :olonial states. It creates three distinct divisions — the 
 egislative, executive, and judiciary. 
 
 The Legislative Department. 
 
 This body is called the Congress, and is composed of 
 wo branches — the senate and House of Representatives, 
 t has two regular sessions, and exists for a term of two 
 'ears, dating from the 4th of March, biennially. The first 
 qssion begins on the first Monday in December suc- 
 eeding a presidential inauguration, and is called the “ long 
 ession,” because it generally continues from six to eight 
 mnths; and it legally exists until the first Monday of 
 he next December, on which day the “ second session” 
 ommences. This latter is called the “ short session,” 
 ecause it terminates, by law, on the succeeding 3rd of 
 larch. At the close of the short session, every member 
 
184 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 of the House of Representatives, and one-third of the 
 senators, retire. 
 
 The senate is the upper branch of Congress, and 
 consists of two members from each state, who are called 
 “ senators.” They are elected by the legislatures of their 
 respective states, for a term of six years. One-third of the 
 senators retire every two years, as may have been decided 
 by lot; but the terms of the senators of any one state do 
 not expire at the same time. They are elected on joiut 
 ballot, by the senate and House of Representatives of the 
 state. Thus, if the state senate consist of twenty-five 
 members, and the house of a hundred members, the eon- 
 gressional senatorial candidate to be elected, must receive 
 the vote of at least thirteen senators, and fifty-one repre- 
 sentatives of the respective houses of the state legislature. 
 Some states elect by a joint session of the two houses, 
 The United States* senate, as thus organised, is composed 
 of representatives from the states as sovereignties; and 
 all the states, large and small, have the same powers, and 
 equal representation. The state of Delaware, with its 
 59,096 population in 1790, had the same number oi 
 senators in Congress, as the great state of Virginia had witl 
 its 748,308 population. Rhode Island, with its 69,1 IQ 
 had the same number of senators as South Carolina, witl 
 its 249,073. At this time (1862), Oregon, with its 52,464 
 population, has two senators in Congress; the same that 
 Virginia has, with its 1,596,083; the same that New York 
 has, with its 3,887,543 people. Kansas, with its 107,110 
 has the same number of senators as Kentucky, with its 
 1,155,713; and Florida, with but 140,439 inhabitants, ha; 
 
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 185 
 
 the same power, in the senate, as Pennsylvania has with its 
 2,906,370. With respect to territory, the states are con- 
 sidered as but equals. Thus Rhode Island, with an area of 
 1,306 square miles, had the same vote in the United 
 States’ senate, in 1790, as Virginia had with its 99,032 
 square miles; and the same, at the present time, as Texas, 
 with its immense domain of 237,504 square miles. The 
 senators, therefore, are the representatives immediately of 
 the state sovereignty, and mediately of the people. At the 
 present time there are thirty- four states forming the 
 Union; and there are sixty-eight senators composing the 
 senatorial branch of Congress. The vice-president of the 
 United States presides over this body. 
 
 The House of Representatives is called the “lower 
 house” of Congress, and is composed of representatives 
 iirect or immediately from the people. They are elected 
 for a Congress — a term of two years. The representation 
 in this branch of the Congress is based upon population; 
 ;he present ratio being 126,844. Every state is entitled to 
 at least one representative, whether it possesses the ratio of 
 lopulation or not. Thus Oregon, with but 52,464 people, 
 las one member in the lower house of Congress; and, at 
 he same time, the state of Kentucky has an unrepresented 
 surplus over the ratio for its eight members, of 50,765; 
 md Vermont has 61,428 surplus over its two members, 
 ^rom these figures it will be seen that the lower house of 
 Congress is not solely a representative assembly of the 
 ieople, as common to the whole nation; but that the 
 overeignty of the state, the great corporate commonwealth, 
 i therein represented. The members of this branch of 
 
186 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Congress, therefore, are the representatives immediately of 
 the people, and mediately of the state sovereignty. The 
 state of Delaware, with its 112,218 inhabitants, has the 
 right to cast the same vote for president of the United 
 States, as the state of New York, with its 3,887,542, 
 in case the people should fail to elect a president, as was 
 the case in 1824. Oregon, Florida, Delaware, and Rhode 
 Island, as states, are entitled to one representative each, 
 although neither of them has the ratio of inhabitants. The 
 lower house, therefore, consists of a mixed representation. 
 
 The members of the House of Representatives are 
 elected by the people, in each respective congressional dis- 
 trict. Formerly they were elected by the aggregate vote 
 of the state; but now they are elected by districts, which 
 are formed by the legislature from time to time. Thus, 
 suppose a state has a population of 1,268,440, it would be 
 entitled to ten members upon the present ratio of 126,844. « 
 The state would, in this case, be divided into ten districts, |b 
 each of which would elect a representative of the lower lit 
 branch of Congress. L 
 
 The house consists of 233 members, plus the repre- L 
 sentatives from the states admitted between the decennial j 
 apportionments; and the delegates from the organised 
 territories. The delegates from the territories, however, k| 
 have a right to speak through courtesy; but they in 
 cannot vote when the ayes and noes are called. In the I 
 preceding we have explained how the members of the two L 
 branches of Congress are elected. It remains for us to h 
 state, that these two divisions of the Congress are co- ; 
 operative, and constitutionally co-ordinate: practically,) 
 
 
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 187 
 
 however, the senate is of pre-eminent rank in every respect, 
 when compared with the house. Bills can originate in 
 either house, excepting for the raising of revenue, as 
 specified in the constitution. But no bill can become a 
 law until passed by both houses, in conformity with their 
 respective rules. The senate can be convened during the 
 recess of the houses, for the purpose of ratifying treaties, 
 and confirming presidential appointments; such as minis- 
 ters to foreign courts, &c. 
 
 The Executive Department. 
 
 The executive functions of the government of the United 
 States, are performed by a president elected for a term of 
 four years — not by the people immediately, but by electors 
 issembled in state electoral colleges. The people never 
 voted for a president ; nor is it possible for them to do 
 so under the present constitution. Washington’s electors 
 were chosen, in nearly all the states, by the legislatures. 
 The people never voted for him ; and in South Carolina, the 
 people never have voted for a presidential candidate, either 
 direct or indirect. In each state except South Carolina, at 
 ;he present time, the people ballot for their own state elec- 
 :ors ; and these electors elect the president and vice-presi- 
 lent. A state is entitled to appoint as many electors as it 
 las representatives in the two houses of Congress : thus, if 
 t have ten members in the lower house, they, with the two 
 senators, make twelve — the number of presidential electors 
 he state is entitled to elect. Therefore, the number of 
 electors for the whole United States, is equal to the 
 mmerical representation in Congress — at present, 233 
 
188 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 members of the lower house, and. 68 of the senate; 
 making a total of 301 electoral votes. The president and 
 vice-president are elected by a majority of these repre- 
 sentatives of the sovereignties of the states. They do not 
 assemble together from all parts of the Union; but the 
 electors of each state meet at their own capital, and 
 formally and publicly organise. Each member of this 
 body can vote for whom he pleases. The majority in this 
 assembly does not determine the choice of the state; but 
 each elector is independent of the other. The record of 
 the ballot thus cast, viva voce, is sealed and transmitted to 
 Washington, where, on the second Wednesday in February 
 succeeding, it is opened by the vice-president of the 
 United States, in the presence of the two houses of 
 Congress assembled together. On this occasion takes 
 place the election for the president and vice-president. 
 The election by the people for the presidential electors, 
 takes place in the respective states on the first Wednesday 
 in November: the electors meet in their respective states 
 on the first Wednesday in December; and on the second 
 Wednesday in February, the ballots are opened by the 
 vice-president, before the two houses of Congress assembled 
 together. 
 
 The president is vested with certain powers, as prescribed 
 in the constitution, and as may be delegated to him from 
 time to time by Congress. The vice-president presides 
 over the senate; and, in case of the death of the president, 
 he succeeds to that office. 
 
JUDICIARY DEPARTMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 189 
 
 The Judiciary Department. 
 
 The Supreme Court of the United States, with appellate 
 jurisdiction, sits annually iu Washington city. There are 
 nine judges, one of whom is styled the chief justice. 
 These judges preside over certain federal judicial circuits, 
 one of which may comprise several states. In each state 
 there is a federal district judge. There is, therefore, a 
 federal or United States’ court in each state, over which 
 presides the United States’ circuit and district judges for 
 the state, and the former as chief. There is but a nominal 
 difference between the sittings of this tribunal as a 
 “district” or as a “circuit” court. If the federal judicial 
 theory were practically carried out, there would be thirty- 
 four district courts — being one for each state; and thirty- 
 four district judges. There would, also, be nine United 
 States’ circuits — being one circuit for each of the judges of 
 the Supreme Court at Washington; and each of these 
 judges should preside at a court in each state once or 
 twice each year. But this is not the case. The country 
 has expanded beyond the judicial organisation, and several 
 of the states never have the presence of circuit judges. 
 
 The federal courts have jurisdiction only in national 
 affairs — cases originating under the constitution, or the 
 laws of Congress, such as patent and copyrights, &c. The 
 judges are appointed by the president, and confirmed by 
 the senate; and they continue in office during good 
 behaviour. The function of the judicial departments of 
 the government is to interpret the laws, and to define their 
 meaning. The legislature enacts the laws; the judiciary 
 
190 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 interprets them ; and it is the sworn duty of the president 
 to execute them as thus enacted and defined. 
 
 We have, in the preceding remarks, briefly explained the 
 practical organisation of the government of the United 
 States, under the constitution of 1787. That great charter 
 was adopted by the delegates from eleven, of the thirteen 
 states; and subsequently to the organisation of the govern- 
 ment, in 1789, it was ratified by the states of North Caro- 
 lina and Rhode Island, which consummated a uuion of the 
 whole of the thirteen colonial members of the confedera- 
 tion. These independent sovereign republics delegated to 
 the United States’ government the powers incorporated in 
 the constitution. In this manner they gave birth To a 
 new republic ! Its career has been rapid, prosperous, and 
 full of import : the civilised world has appreciated its 
 greatness : nations have admired the splendour of its 
 escutcheon. It remains with the people of that great 
 republic to determine whether or not they will continue as 
 one nation, united in affection ; and the excelsior in noble 
 deeds, having in view the general amelioration of the con- 
 dition of man. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The President and Cabinet of the United States’ Government. 
 
 The President and his Cabinet. 
 
 The executive department of the United States’ govern- 
 ment is vested in the president. He is the sole responsible 
 agent of the nation respecting administrative affairs. He 
 appoints the heads of the respective departments, foreign 
 ministers, and consuls; all the postmasters throughout 
 the country, custom officers, land and Indian agents, 
 territorial officers, district marshals and attorneys — all of 
 whom he can dismiss at pleasure, without accountability 
 to any person or branch of the government. Many of the 
 appointments have to be confirmed by the senate; but the 
 removal of any of the above officers is within the power of 
 the president. Nearly all of the deputy-postmasters are 
 nominated by the postmaster-general. The office of the 
 president, or executive, is created by the constitution ; 
 but all the foregoing officers are authorised by congres- 
 sional law. He also appoints the judges of the federal 
 courts, but he cannot remove them. The constitution 
 provides for their removal by impeachment. 
 
 The cabinet is an unauthorised assembly, and is com- 
 posed of the president, and the heads of the respective 
 iepartments — namely, the secretaries of state; navy, war, 
 treasury, interior; postmaster- general, and the attorney- 
 
192 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 general : in all, numbering eiglit. On a given day of the 
 week these different officers meet together at the presi- 
 dent’s house, and assemble around a table, the president 
 acting as chairman. There is no special ceremony 
 observed — no more than at the assembling of a board of 
 directors of a railway company. The president presents 
 to the meeting such questions as he may deem important, 
 upon which he wishes the opinions of the subordinates 
 there assembled. Each, in turn, discusses the subject 
 presented; and sometimes a vote is taken upon the ques- 
 tion, the president voting as but one of the eight. At 
 other times he requests the opinions of those present, and 
 does not take a vote upon the affair, but acts upon the 
 information obtained, according to his own judgment. 
 After the president has nothing further to present for the 
 consideration of the meeting, the members of the cabinet, 
 in turn, submit such questions as pertain to their respective 
 departments, upon which advice may be desired. The 
 president and others discuss the measure submitted ; and 
 a vote may or may not be taken, as preferred by the 
 member proposing the subject for consideration. Not- 
 withstanding all this formality, the president can say tc 
 any and all of his cabinet officers to do as he directs. He, 
 can wholly disregard their advice, as is sometimes the case 
 and if they fail to comply with his directions, he remove; 
 them, and appoints others who will be obedient. Prioi 
 to 1829, the postmaster-general had been looked upon a; 
 the head of a bureau — the same as the commissioner o 
 patents at the present time : but President Jacksoi 
 invited Mr. Barry to a seat in his cabinet meetings ; sine 
 
CABINET MEETINGS. 
 
 193 
 
 which time the head of the post-office department has 
 been considered a regular member of the cabinet. During 
 Washington’s administrations there were only three prin- 
 cipal departments — the state, treasury, and the war and 
 navy. Since that period. Congress has increased the 
 number of departments, commensurate with the necessities 
 of the government. It was the practice of Washington to 
 send for any one of the heads of the departments, to 
 consult with, singly, about questions pertaining to their 
 especial branch of the service ; but it was not usual for 
 him to consult with the whole of them assembled together. 
 We have no evidence that he held what is, at the present 
 lay, styled cabinet meetings, though he occasionally assem- 
 bled the three secretaries together as a council ; but these 
 :onsultations had not the formality nor the force common 
 o the cabinet meetings at the present time. The secre- 
 aries of the departments were looked upon merely as 
 issistants to the president ; and they were held to be of very 
 ubordinate importance as compared to the position now 
 ccorded to those officials. Jefferson, who was a member of 
 Vashington’s cabinet, was of opinion that neither branch 
 f Congress had a right to call upon the heads of the depart- 
 lents for information or papers, except through the presi- 
 ent. But this formalityfaded away; and the settled practice, 
 >r many years past, is to call upon them for information 
 ad papers, by a mere resolve of either branch of Congress ; 
 ad a failure to comply would be considered an indignity. 
 During the first presidential terms. Congress occa- 
 onally requested the presence of the heads of the de- 
 irtments, to explain verbally some especial question ; but 
 
 o 
 
194 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 this custom has long since been abandoned ; and all 
 communication between the houses of Congress and the 
 departments, is by correspondence. It was the practice of 
 Washington and Adams, to deliver their messages in 
 person to the two houses of Congress in joint session; 
 hut during the administration of Mr. Jefferson, in 1801, 
 the rule was changed, on account of the inconvenience of 
 assembling the two branches of Congress together in the 
 same room. Since that date the president has never 
 delivered his annual message in person. 
 
 Thus it was, step by step, that the executive department 
 of the government drifted into the present mode of action 
 The House of Commons of the British parliament may pass 
 a vote of a want of confidence in the heads of the 
 departments of the government : when this takes place 
 the ministry resign, and the sovereign appoints anothei 
 ministry, or heads of the departments, who are known t( 
 be of opinions in harmony with the majority in the Housi 
 of Commons. This produces a change of government; am 
 may take place every year, or oftener. There is no sucl 
 proceeding known in the system of the United States 
 government. If Congress were to pass a vote of wan 
 of confidence in the president or his cabinet, in whole o 
 in part, it would be an exercise of excessive authority 
 and, practically, in violation of the constitution. There ar 
 times when the president and his whole cabinet do nc 
 command the confidence of either branch of Congress 
 but there is no remedy for such a misfortune. Within si 
 months after Mr. Tyler became president, in 1841, a vot 
 of want of confidence could have been passed, almo. 1 
 
CABINET MEETINGS. 
 
 195 
 
 unanimously, by both houses of Congress ; and, in fact, 
 during the whole of his presidential term, neither the 
 president or his cabinet had the confidence of either 
 branch of Congress; hence the administrative term of 
 Mr. Tyler has been vulgarly called a parenthesis in the 
 governmental annals. 
 
 If Congress were resolved upon the removal of either of 
 the heads of the departments, it could be done by enacting 
 a law abolishing the office, and merging the duties into 
 another ; or by the establishment of a new organisation. 
 In that case the president might re-nominatethe objection- 
 able man ; but the senate could refuse to confirm the ap- 
 aointment ; and then the president would have to continue 
 laminating, until the senate agreed to the person proposed. 
 
 From the preceding facts, the reader will observe that 
 ‘the cabinet” is unknown to the constitution and laws of 
 he United States; that it is an informal meeting of the 
 resident and his secretaries; that the action of the 
 neeting is not binding upon either of those present ; and 
 hat the president can act in the administrative affairs of 
 he government conformably to the opinions of his secre- 
 aries, or he can totally disregard them ; and further, he 
 an, if he wish, require the secretaries to conduct their 
 espective departments according to his ow r n directions : 
 nd if they should refuse, as was the case with Mr. Duane, 
 1 1833, the president has only to say, “Your services, Mr. 
 ecretarv, are no further required by the government;” 
 ad the successor takes possession of the department 
 amediately; or perhaps he may be the bearer of the 
 ismissal letter of his predecessor. 
 
 o 2 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 History of tlie Apportionment System for Representation in tlie 
 House of Representatives. 
 
 History of the Apportionment System. 
 
 The representation of the people in the lower house of 
 Congress, is, and has ever been, regarded with the most 
 anxious sectional solicitude. In the confederation Con- 
 gress, the representation was to consist of not less than 
 two, nor more than seven, members from each state. All 
 voting was done by states, each being equal to the other. 
 We learn from Curtis on the Constitution, that when the 
 articles of confederation were framed and adopted in 
 Congress, a valuation of land, and the other property 
 enumerated in the states, as the rule of proportion of 
 taxation, was adopted instead of numbers of inhabitants, 
 in consequence of the impossibility of harmonising the 
 different ideas of the northern and southern states, as tc 
 the rate at which slaves should be counted; the northern 
 states, of course, wishing to have them counted in a neai 
 ratio to the value of white labour; and the southern states 
 wishing to diminish that ratio. If the slaves had beer 
 counted in full, the tax upon the southern states woulc 
 have been very heavy compared with the ratio of whites 
 To reduce their taxes, the southern states opposed thf 
 counting of the slaves as the equals of white labour. Thost 
 
APPORTIONMENT SYSTEM. 
 
 197 
 
 states would have preferred a numerical ratio, instead of a 
 valuation of lands and other property, if they had been 
 allowed to count the slave as but equal to half a white. 
 But the eastern states were opposed to this rule of reduc- 
 tion; and if the slaves had been reckoned as equals to the 
 whites, the taxes would have been less in the northern 
 states. In 1783, when it was proposed to change the rule 
 of proportion of taxation from land to numbers, the first 
 compromise, suggested by a delegate from Connecticut, 
 was to include only suck slaves as were between the ages 
 of sixteen and sixty. This was found to be impracticable, 
 because, in many cases, the ages could not be established ; 
 though the proportion would have been satisfactory to the 
 south, as the number under sixteen would have been about 
 me-half of the 440,000 slaves then supposed to be in the 
 south. It was finally agreed, on all sides, that instead of 
 settling the proportion by ages, it would be better to fix it 
 n absolute numbers, and that the rate should be three-fifths. 
 The southern states agreed to the proposition, to pay into 
 he national treasury a tax levied upon them according to 
 he white population, and three-fifths of the slaves ; that is 
 o say, if Virginia had, as was supposed, 280,000 slaves, 
 ,ud 252,000 whites, Congress could have levied a tax upon 
 he state for the 252,000 whites, and 168,000 of the slaves 
 —being three-fifths of the 280,000. If the tax were one 
 ollar per head, Virginia would have been debtor to the 
 ational government the sum of 420,000 dollars. 
 
 In 1781, Congress levied a tax upon the thirteen colo- 
 ial states, amounting to 8,000,000 dollars, which was 
 ^portioned among the colonies; of which Pennsylvania 
 
198 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 paid 1, 120,794 dollars; and Virginia, 1,307,594. The white 
 population of the former was about 340,000, and of the 
 latter about 220,000. The greater value of the lands of 
 Virginia, gave to that state the larger proportion. Three- 
 fifths of the slaves, at that time, amounted to 130,000; 
 making the total population in Virginia, upon the three- 
 fifths basis, about 350,000. The taxable ratio would have 
 been nearly the same in the two states; yet Virginia had to 
 pay 186,800 dollars more than Pennsylvania’s assessment. 
 Experience soon proved that it was difficult to carry out 
 the rule to tax the lands by congressional assessment 
 upon the states; and in 1783, Congress recommended, 
 in conformity with the powers it possessed under the 
 articles of confederation, that the quota should be ac- 
 cording to the number of free people, including three- fifthsi 
 of those bound to servitude — excluding Indians not taxed. 
 This, however, was not carried into effect, though eleven of 
 the thirteen states adopted it. The proportion, as a repre- 
 sentative basis, was subsequently adopted by the con- 
 stitutional convention. 
 
 In 1787, when the convention was framing the consti- 
 tution of the United States, the interest of the eastern . 
 and southern states occupied reversed positions. The 
 convention determined to adopt a representation, in the 
 lower house of Congress, according to population, without; 
 regard to l^nd taxation. With this rule, the power of the 
 south would have been increased by counting the slave a; 
 the equal of the white. 
 
 As the constitution was being framed, the soutlj 
 expressed a readiness to have representation and taxatioi 
 
APPORTIONMENT SYSTEM. 
 
 199 
 
 regulated by the same rule, and to count the slaves as taxable 
 at the same rate as the whites ; but, in that event, repre- 
 sentation must be upon the same basis as the taxation. 
 The northern states, on the other hand, resisted the direct 
 introduction of the slaves into the apportionment as persons. 
 Here was an issue between the north and the south 
 that seemed to be beyond reconciliation. The south in- 
 sisted upon recognising the slaves as persons ; and the 
 north opposed it, and refused to consider them except 
 as property. A solution of these complications, however, 
 was attained by compromise; and as Mr. Curtis interprets 
 the proceedings of that memorable assembly, it was 
 founded on mutual conciliation, and a desire to be just. 
 The two objects to be accomplished were, to avoid the 
 offence that might be given to the northern states, by 
 making the slaves, in direct terms, an ingredient in the 
 rule of representation; and, on the other hand, to concede 
 to the southern states the right to have their representa- 
 tion enhanced by the same enumeration of their slaves 
 that might be adopted for the purpose of apportioning direct 
 taxation. These objects were effected by an arrangement 
 proposed by a delegate from Pennsylvania. It consisted, 
 first, in affirming the maxim, that representation ought to 
 be in proportion to direct taxation ; and then by directing 
 a periodical census of the free inhabitants, and three-fifths 
 if all other persons (slaves), to be taken by authority of 
 ;he United States ; and that the direct taxation should be 
 ipportioned among the states according to this census of 
 lersons. Thus the rule was proposed, by the delegate 
 rom Pennsylvania, that the slaves should only be counted 
 
200 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 as three-fifths. The vote on this was as follows : — Con- 
 necticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, 
 and Georgia — ayes, 6 : New Jersey, Delaware — uoes, 2. 
 Massachusetts and South Carolina were divided. In these 
 early discussions, the eight states north of Mason and 
 Dixon's line were considered as non-slaveholding ; 
 those south of it were called slaveholding states ; and 
 legislation, at that early day, had thus assumed a sectional 
 beariug. The eight northern states had an estimated 
 population of 1,495,000 ; and the southern states had 
 766,000 whites and free negroes, and 520,000 slaves— 
 three-fifths of which would be 312,000; making a repre- 
 sentative basis of 1,078,000, and a total population of 
 1,286,000. 
 
 Table A . — Representation in the House of Representatives, according\ 
 to the Constitution of 1789, and of the Census of 1790. 
 
 States. 
 
 Repre- 
 senta- 
 tion by 
 Consti- 
 tution — 
 1789. 
 
 Repre- 
 senta- 
 tion by 
 Census : 
 1790. 
 
 States. 
 
 Repre- 
 senta- 
 tion by 
 Consti- 
 tution- 
 1789. 
 
 Repre- 
 senta- 
 tion by 
 Census : 
 1790. 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 Delaware 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 8 
 
 14 
 
 Maryland 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 Virginia 
 
 10 
 
 19 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 North Carolina ... 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 New York 
 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 South Carolina . . . 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 Georgia 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 8 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 Total representatives in 1789, 65 ; total according to census oi 
 1790, excluding fractional and the population of the districts oi 
 Maine, Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee, 97. 
 
APPORTIONMENT SYSTEM. 
 
 201 
 
 Table B. — Decennial Congressional Apportionments and Represen- 
 tative Population (including the Inhabitants of Maine, Vermont, 
 Kentucky, and Tennessee, for 1790) for the Lower House of 
 Congress, from 1790 to 1860, inclusive. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Ratio of 
 Representatives. 
 
 Representative 
 
 Population. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Ratio of 
 Representatives. 
 
 Representative 
 ■ Population. 
 
 1790 
 
 33,000 
 
 3,650,669 
 
 1830 
 
 47,700 
 
 12,019,698 
 
 1800 
 
 33,000 
 
 4,935,926 
 
 1840 
 
 70,680 
 
 16,026,537 
 
 1810 
 
 35,000 
 
 6,841,403 
 
 1850 
 
 93,423 
 
 21,767,673 
 
 1820 
 
 35,000 
 
 8,992,737 
 
 1860 
 
 126,844 
 
 29,487,179 
 
 Table C . — Apportionment and Census of the Non-Slaveholding 
 States, for 1860. 
 
 States. 
 
 Population. 
 
 No. of 
 Representa- 
 tives. 
 
 Fraction over. 
 
 Maine 
 
 628,276 
 
 326,072 
 
 315,116 
 
 1,231,065 
 
 5 
 
 *120,900 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 3 
 
 *72^384 
 
 61,428 
 
 V ermont 
 
 2 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 10 
 
 *89,469 
 
 47,777 
 
 *79,619 
 
 *72,222 
 
 37,811 
 
 *115,802 
 
 56,443 
 
 Rhode Is] and 
 
 '174; 621 
 460,151 
 
 1 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 4 
 
 New York 
 
 3,887^542 
 
 672,031 
 
 2,906,370 
 
 31 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 5 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 23 
 
 )hio 
 
 2' 339' 599 
 
 18 
 
 Indiana 
 
 l' 350' 479 
 1,711,753 
 749,112 
 775,873 
 674,948 
 162,022 
 
 11 
 
 *82*039 
 
 *62,781 
 
 Uinois 
 
 14 
 
 dichi wan 
 
 6 
 
 *114' 892 
 
 Visconsin 
 
 6 
 
 14* 809 
 40,728 
 35,178 
 
 owa 
 
 5 
 
 linnesota 
 
 1 
 
 Kansas 
 
 107' 110 
 
 380,015 
 
 1 
 
 California 
 
 3 
 
 *126,327 
 
 
 
 Totals 
 
 18,852,155 
 
 149 
 
 1,230,609 
 
 
202 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Table D . — Apportionment and Census of the Slaveholdhuj States, 
 for 1860 . 
 
 States. 
 
 Free Po- 
 pulation. 
 
 Slave Po- 
 pulation. 
 
 Total Po- 
 pulation. 
 
 Federal 
 Representa- 
 tive Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Number 
 of Repre- 
 senta- 
 tives. 
 
 Fraction 
 
 over. 
 
 Delaware . . 
 
 
 110,420 
 
 1,798 
 
 112,218 
 
 111,499 
 
 i 
 
 _ 
 
 Maryland . 
 
 
 599,846 
 
 87,188 
 
 687,034 
 
 652,158 
 
 5 
 
 17,938 
 
 Virginia . . 
 
 
 1,105,196 
 
 490,887 
 
 1,596,083 
 
 1,384,532 
 
 n 
 
 *116,092 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 
 661,586 
 
 331,081 
 
 992,067 
 
 860,234 
 
 7. 
 
 *99,170 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 
 301,271 
 
 402,541 
 
 703,812 
 
 542,795 
 
 4 
 
 35,419 
 
 Georgia . . . 
 
 
 595,097 
 
 462,230 
 
 1,057,327 
 
 872,435 
 
 7 
 
 *111,371 
 
 Alabama . . 
 
 
 529,164 
 
 435,132 
 
 964,296 
 
 790,243 
 
 6 
 
 29,179 
 
 Florida . . . 
 
 
 78,686 
 
 61,753 
 
 140,439 
 
 115,737 
 
 1 
 
 jl 
 
 Louisiana . . 
 
 
 376,913 
 
 332,520 
 
 709,433 
 
 576,425 
 
 5 
 
 *69,049 
 
 Texas . . . 
 
 
 420,651 
 
 180,388 
 
 601,039 
 
 528,883 
 
 4 
 
 21,507 
 
 Mississippi . . 
 
 
 354,699 
 
 436,696 
 
 791,395 
 
 616,716 
 
 5 
 
 *109,340 
 
 Tennessee . . 
 
 
 834,063 
 
 275,784 
 
 1,109,847 
 
 999,533 
 
 8 
 
 *111,625 
 
 Kentucky . . 
 
 
 930,223 
 
 225,490 
 
 1,155,713 
 
 1,065,517 
 
 8 
 
 50,765 
 
 Arkansas . . 
 
 
 324,323 
 
 111,104 
 
 435,427 
 
 390,985 
 
 3 
 
 10,453 
 
 Missouri . . 
 
 
 1,058,352 
 
 114,965 
 
 1,173,317 
 
 1,127,331 
 
 9 
 
 *112,579 
 
 Total . . 
 
 
 8,280,490 
 
 3,949,557 
 
 12,230,047 
 
 10,635,023 
 
 84 
 
 894,487 
 
 The estimates for the northern states, in Table A, include 
 the slaves, numbering about 50,000, because their eman- 
 cipation was considered as certain within a few years there-' 
 after. The ratio of representative population was ultimately 
 fixed at 33,000 ; and, until a census could be taken, each o! 
 the states was allotted a given number of delegates. Table f 
 exhibits the decennial apportionments and representation foi 
 the lower house of Congress. Table C shows the represen. 
 tative population of the northern or uon-slaveholding states 
 The total population of the United States, according t( 
 the census of 1860, was 31,429,891. Deducting from thi 
 number the population of the “ Territories,” of the distric 
 of Columbia, and two-fifths of the slaves, then we hav^ 
 what is called the representative population, amounting, ii 
 the northern states, to 18,852,155; and, in the souther] 
 states, 10,635,023 : total, 29,487,178. In order to ascer 
 tain the number of representatives each state is entitle! 
 
APPORTIONMENT SYSTEM. 
 
 203 
 
 to, 233 (the number of members composing the lower 
 house of Congress) is made the common divisor, and the 
 quotient is the state representation. According to Table 
 C, there are 139 members produced by the divisor, leaving 
 a total of 1,230,609 as the fractioual remainder. Dividing 
 the representative population of the southern states 
 (Table D) by the common divisor, 233, the quotient will 
 be 77 ; leaving a fractional remainder, 894,487. Adding 
 together the two quotients, we only have 216 ; leaving a 
 deficiency of 17. This deficit is supplied by taking from 
 the fractional remainders, the seventeen highest numbers, 
 to each of which we have added a star. In the column of 
 the number of representatives we have added the plus 
 members. 
 
 On examining the slave population, it will be seen, that 
 of the 3,949,557, there are two-fifths, or 1,579,823, not 
 represented in Congress. Here, then, is a very large 
 number of people excluded from representation : if counted, 
 die south would be entitled to six more members. The 
 rorthern states would have 143 instead of 149 repre- 
 sentatives, as under the present apportionment. But, 
 iccordiug to the constitution, the entire slaves cannot be 
 •epresented ; and we are unable to find any evidence to 
 wove, that either the north or the south has sought for a 
 epresentation of those disfranchised slaves. It seems to 
 is, however, that all the slaves of the south are as much 
 •ntitled to be represented as many thousands of other 
 lersous who are, both in the north and in the south. 
 
 The reader may doubt the propriety of counting the 
 laves as persons, while they cannot, by the laws of the 
 
204 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 slaveholding states, enjoy the right of suffrage. The 
 question may be answered by reference to the constitu- 
 tional sanction for the representation of three-fifths of 
 the slaves, who have no suffrage : and we need but refer 
 to the fact, that, of the thirty-four states of the Union, 
 there are only five of them that permit free negroes to 
 vote; and some of the five require special qualifications. 
 In all the other northern states they have no suffrage. 
 Besides the free negroes, there are a large number oi 
 white paupers, released felons, and others, disfranchised: 
 yet, in the apportionment, every man, woman, and child is 
 counted, whether white or black ; and no class of people 
 is excluded, except the two-fifths of the slaves. But this 
 was the contract when the constitution was adopted : the 
 south, however, has never proposed any change in the 
 premises. 
 
 It will be observed, that the constitutional provision 
 authorising three-fifths of the slaves to be counted in the 
 representative apportionment of a state, does not limit the 
 slaves to any particular place of habitation. If all the 
 slaves were taken from Virginia, and located in Texas, the 
 representation of Virginia would be less, and that of Texa: 
 would be more. The 3,949,557 slaves are in the fifteei 
 southern states. If other slaveholding states were addee 
 to the Union, the slave representation in Congress woule 
 be precisely the same as it is at the present time. Tlx 
 southern states would not gaiu a single member of Con 
 gress, nor would the northern states lose one. 
 
CHAPTER XT. 
 
 Presidential, Congressional, and State Elections ; the Effects of the 
 General Election System in the States of the Union ; the Popular 
 Elections of the Ancient Republics. 
 
 Presidential Elections. 
 
 We propose, in this chapter, to describe the formalities 
 observed in the national and state elections. We have 
 dready shown that the United States’ government is not 
 i republic of the people ; but that it is mixed — composed 
 if state sovereignties in part, and of the people in part. 
 Che sovereignties elect the president and the senate ; the 
 leople elect the lower branch of Congress ; the judiciary 
 s appointed by the president, and confirmed by the senate. 
 The only officers, therefore, of the United States’ govern- 
 aent elected by the people, are the members of the House 
 •f Representatives — a branch of one of the three divisions 
 f the government. The framers of the constitution 
 dselv placed the selection of all the officials of the govern- 
 lent, except the representatives, beyond the people. The 
 lectors were, in nearly all the states, originally chosen 
 y the legislatures. In November, 1788, the legislature 
 f Virginia divided the state into electoral districts, and 
 ach division elected its own presidential elector. From 
 me to time the other states placed the selection of the 
 ectors with the people, either by districts or by the 
 
206 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 aggregate vote of the state; South Carolina being the only 
 exception at the present time. 
 
 The existing practice affords an opportunity for the 
 people to vote for the president in imagination ; and with 
 many thousands the deception is complete. It is usual for 
 the respective political parties to nominate their electors, 
 who, in each state, are equal in number to the represen- 
 tatives sent to both branches of Congress by the state. For 
 example, let us take the state of Delaware, which has two 
 senators, and one representative in Congress; it would 
 have three presidential lectors. The democratic, whig, 
 Union, republican, or other parties, each through a con- 
 vention, nominate three candidates; or three persons may 
 announce themselves as independent candidates, only pro- 
 mising to vote for president as they may in their wisdom 
 consider best. The party electoral candidates are con- 
 sidered as pledged to vote for the presidential candidate of 
 those nominating them. These nominations are some- 
 times made six months before the election, which takes 
 place in November. A national convention of delegates 
 from each state assembles at some convenient place, and 
 nominates the candidates for president and vice-president 
 and the convention announce a code of principles, which is 
 called a “platform.” The state conventions nominate 
 the electoral candidates, generally before the presidentia 
 candidates are selected; but it is understood that the 
 electors will vote for the presidential nominee of the 
 national convention. In the meantime the electoral can 
 didates travel over the state, and discuss the nationa 
 issues, advocating their respective party doctrines. Thes 
 
NATIONAL AND STATE ELECTIONS. 
 
 207 
 
 are exciting times. Whisky is an important auxiliary. 
 In some sections the parties have regular places where 
 they have whisky free to their own voters. A man 
 enters the saloon, announces his intention to vote for a 
 certain party, and he is invited to drink. Now there are 
 many thousands to whom the grog is an object; and the 
 return of the presidential election is anxiously looked for 
 is a jubilee time. We must admit that this is a species 
 of corruption, and one of the most serious character. Had 
 the legislatures retained the election of the electors, the 
 cation might not have been in its present disruptive con- 
 dition. It is proper to state, however, that the whisky 
 system is not universal : for example, in some of the eastern 
 states, where the Maine liquor law has been enforced, not 
 ;ven the quiet citizen can purchase liquor without an order 
 rom a physician. 
 
 In some of the states the balloting is very formal. In 
 Virginia and Kentucky the vote is taken viva voce. In 
 Maryland, and many other states, it is by an open ticket, 
 rhich may be folded, so as to prevent the judges from 
 eeing the names voted for. In Massachusetts, the ballots 
 re inclosed in envelopes furnished by the state, in order 
 o secure a system of secret voting ; but, according to our 
 bservation in this state, the system has proved, prac- 
 ically, a farce. The opponents of secret voting cry aloud 
 aat it is cowardly to cast a secret ballot, and no man 
 ishes to be ashamed of his choice. If he did not tell 
 ho he voted for, he would be subjected to the insinuation 
 lat he was not a freeman; and that is a delicate question 
 ith an American! In 1840, the Whig party swept the 
 
208 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 democracy from power by the most overwhelming vote that 
 had ever been given by the nation. Those who abandoned 
 the democratic party were called “ straight-outs ;” and in 
 some states, they voted with a peculiarly printed ticket. 
 Some were yellow pasteboard, about two inches wide, and 
 three, four, or more inches long; on which was printed, at the 
 top, a raccoon, with a long bushy tail ; and, on the tail, was 
 printed, “hard cider.” Some had an engraving of a log- 
 cabin, with “ the latch-string out.” For the young man who 
 was to give his “ maiden vote” a beautiful ticket was got up, 
 with the figure of a maid printed on it. At that election, 
 all the diversified mechanical and agricultural symbols orna- 
 mented the tickets cast by voters occupied in those respec- 
 tive pursuits. The elections of 1840 and 1844 were the 
 most exciting that have ever taken place in the United 
 States. Then the parties were about six months in contest. 
 Mass conventions of the people were held in different parts 
 of the Union. One of the most remarkable of these assem- 
 blies was held at Baltimore, in May, 1840. Thousands o 
 delegates, from all the states, gathered at that city. A log 
 cabin, full-size, was carried on a waggon some 400 mile: 
 from the west, and across the mountains to Baltimore. Ii 
 the cabin was a variety of raccoons — the principal symbo 
 of the party. In the towns, throughout the whole Union 
 the people met nearly every night, and heard speeches 
 Glee-clubs were formed to sing the party songs at thi 
 different gatherings. Processions, with flags, bands o 
 music, and songsters, marched and counter-marched ; and 
 in the small towns, women of the first respectability formei 
 a part of them. 
 
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. 
 
 209 
 
 The abolitionists, in 1844, adopted pictures, representing 
 the slaves in chains; some were being whipped with a 
 cat-o'-nine-tails, &c. Besides these useless devices, the 
 tickets had printed upon thenr some leading political prin- 
 ciple. In the southern states, the words “free trade” 
 >vere generally employed by the democratic party. In the 
 lorthern, the Whigs used “protective tariff,” “national 
 >ank,” &c., as their watchwords. Below these mottoes were 
 uinted the words — “for presidential electors;” and then 
 ollowed the names of the candidates. At the polls 
 he tickets are taken by the judge of the election, and 
 eposited in the ballot-box. In Kentucky, the judges 
 sk the question, “Who do you vote for?” and the voter 
 nnounces the names of the candidates ; or he may say he 
 otes for the democratic or the republican ticket ; and his 
 hoice is understood. His name is recorded as voting for 
 ie persons nominated by the political party mentioned, 
 he results of the elections are sent by the county officials 
 ) the governor of the state, who notifies to the successful 
 mdidates that they have been chosen; and that they must 
 jpear at the capital of the state on the first Wednesday in 
 ecember, to give their votes for a president and vice- 
 •esident of the United States. They attend on that day, 
 id vote for whom they please, either for the party can- 
 dates, or for any other persons. 
 
 South Carolina is the only state that has adhered to the 
 'iginal mode of selecting the electors — namely, by the 
 gislature. The people of that state have never voted for 
 octors; and there never has been an imaginary election 
 < the president by the people of South Carolina, as prac- 
 
 p 
 
210 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 tised in the other states. Even so late as 1824, the 
 states of Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, Ver- 
 mont, and South Carolina (being one-fourth of the Union), 
 selected the electors by their respective legislatures. In 
 that year there was no choice of president by the electors ; 
 and the selection of that officer was determined by the 
 House of Representatives, as prescribed by the constitu- 
 tion. Each state was entitled to one vote, which carries 
 out the idea that the president is not elected by the people 
 but by the sovereignty of states. 
 
 The imaginary election of the president by the people 
 of the nation is but a farce, consider it in whatever diree 
 tion the reader may desire. We admit, however, tha 
 he is elected through the influence of a plurality of the 
 votes of the people as states. Mr. Lincoln was fairly am 
 constitutionally elected president, yet he failed to get , 
 majority of the popular vote. His electors receive' 
 1,857,610 votes of the people; and against these were cas 
 2,804,560 votes; making a majority against him of 946, 95( 
 The vote of California was, for Lincoln electors, 39,173 
 Douglas electors, 38,516 ; Breckenridge electors, 34,334 
 and Bell electors, 6,817 : total against Lincoln elector 
 79,6 67, or a majority opposed to Lincoln, 40,554. No 
 withstanding these figures he was fairly elected, inasmuc 
 as he stood at the head of the poll, and had, as it is callei 
 a plurality. 
 
 In the American system we consider the plurality vote j 
 the choice of the people at all elections ; but it can easily 1 
 shown, that in case of there being only two candidates, tl 
 one receiving the highest number of votes can be defeate 
 
CONGRESSIONAL AND STATE ELECTIONS. 
 
 211 
 
 Suppose Mr. Lincoln had received the whole votes of 
 Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, 
 Michigan, and Wisconsin, amounting tp 2,662,956 — a 
 majority of all the votes cast in the Union — yet he would 
 have been signally defeated by the candidate receiving but 
 a plurality of the votes of the other states. His electoral 
 vote would have been 133 ; and against him, 170. It 
 may be said that such a result will never occur; but it 
 must be remembered that the like did take place in 1860. 
 Mr. Breckenridge carried, by plurality, nine states of the 
 south, in which Mr. Lincoln did not receive a single vote. 
 And, further, we might add to the proposition a vote in 
 the other states, amounting to 1,000,000, making a total 
 if 3,662,956 ; and yet he would have been defeated by his 
 opponent, with a vote of but 999,214. With such results, 
 ,vho can believe that the president is elected by the popular 
 suffrage ? 
 
 Congressional and State Elections. 
 
 The members of the lower house of Congress are elected 
 )y the people. The state is divided by the legislature 
 nto congressional districts, and the voters of each elect 
 heir own representative. Formerly the members of Con- 
 gress were voted for by the people of the whole state. 
 4ius, if a state were entitled to ten members, and there 
 /ere some twenty or more candidates, the voters cast their 
 allots for ten of them ; and the ten having the greatest 
 umber of votes were elected. The district system places 
 ae candidate nearer to the people of a locality, practi- 
 ally centralising his responsibility. Each of the parties 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 nominates a candidate for Congress; and, though there 
 may be a dozen, only one can be elected. 
 
 We will now refer to the state election, which takes 
 place at different times. Not more than three of the thirty- 
 four states hold elections in the same month in which the 
 presidential electors are chosen. 
 
 The governors of the states are elected hv the popular 
 •votes. The candidates are nominated by the political 
 parties, or they announce themselves independently; and 
 the people of the whole state vote for the respective candi- 
 dates, according to their choice. In nearly all the states, the 
 candidate receiving the highest number of votes is elected. 
 
 The senators, representatives of the legislature, judges, 
 and other officers, are elected by the votes of their re- 
 spective districts. In most of the states, the judges are 
 elected by the people for a term of years, and re-eligible. 
 Formerly they were appointed by the governor, and con- 
 firmed by the senate. The change has been generally 
 made within the past twenty-five years. 
 
 The Effects of the General Elective System. 
 
 A careful observation of the working of the present elec- 
 tive system in the different states, has taught us to regret 
 that it has been so generally extended. Whenever we 
 have seen candidates for judicial offices travelling a cir- 
 cuit, making public speeches in their own behalf, estab- 
 lishing free drinking-places, and adopting all the other 
 proceedings of candidates for political offices, we have felt 
 a deep solicitude for the permanency of our institutions. 
 We have been unable to perceive that any advantage has 
 
THE GENERAL ELECTIVE SYSTEM. 
 
 213 
 
 been derived from the policy; but, on the contrary, we 
 have seen issuing from the bench, the most derelict ruling 
 to conform to popular resolve. If the people of the United 
 States could have adhered to the mode and manner of 
 conducting the affairs of the general and state governments, 
 as inaugurated by Washington and his coadjutors, the 
 nation, at this moment, might have been engaged in peace- 
 ful pursuits, and in the realisation of the happiest results. 
 
 Political writers have doubted the propriety of the long 
 time that elapses between the election of the president 
 and the time of his inauguration, which is about four 
 months. When the government was devised in 1787, 
 the framers of the constitution did not contemplate an 
 election by the people ; and the electoral ballot took place 
 in January. It required weeks to carry the post between 
 places where it is now conveyed within two days. There 
 were no railways and telegraphs at that time. The con- 
 stitution, however, can be adapted to a sliding-scale, to 
 meet the progress of the age, as the time for holding the 
 elections is within legislative enactment. We think the 
 interval is not too long. The new president needs some 
 two or three months to arrange his private affairs, before 
 entering upon his new duties. The retiring executive 
 cannot do any special injury to the country in the mean*- 
 time, even were he disposed ; and it is but fair to consider 
 him to be an honest man. Reference may be made to 
 the late administration, to prove that the retiring presi- 
 dent did, by omission at least, embarrass the incoming 
 executive; but it must be remembered, that the laches 
 vere with the Congress, then in session. The president 
 
214 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 appealed to that braDch of the government for action, to 
 preserve the Union; but the lower house was within the 
 control of the republican party; the senate was democratic, 
 and the alarm given by the president was not heeded by 
 either of them. Without the support of Congress he was 
 powerless ; and had he exceeded his authority, his impeach- 
 ment would have been an inevitable consequence. 
 
 In latter years there is less disposition among the 
 people to vote for presidential electors than formerly. 
 Many have become discouraged and disgusted with the 
 inferior value of their own ballot. The vote of the 
 greatest statesman is equalled by that of the man who can 
 neither read nor write. But this is not all; nor can we, 
 in the short space allowed us in this work, tell the whole 
 of the objectionable features of our political practice. We 
 may startle the reader; but we can tell him, that we do 
 not believe there was a single voter in New York, Penn- 
 sylvania, and some of the other larger states, that could 
 have told the presidential candidates of his own state at 
 the election of 1860 ! This may seem to be an extrava- 
 gant expression, but it is too true. 
 
 Many of the best men of the nation will not go to the 
 polls, as we have just above stated; but in a republican 
 government, the man who is entitled to a vote, and does 
 not exercise it, is unworthy of having the right : he sacri- 
 fices his country’s weal by his own dereliction. 
 
 Popular Elections of the Ancient Republics. 
 
 “ Thirty centuries look down upon us \” said Napoleon 
 to his army before the pyramids of Egypt. The whole 
 
STABILITY OF REPUBLICS. 
 
 215 
 
 civilised world is now anxiously looking upon the deeds of 
 self-destruction, which are at the present time being perpe- 
 trated by the people inhabiting the vast regions of our once 
 prosperous and happy Union. Anti-republicans are prone 
 to attribute the causes of this mighty struggle to a sup- 
 posed natural and inevitable instability of a popular govern- 
 ment. The Roman republic flourished for a time; and 
 now its history is written as the rise and fall of the empire. 
 A like fate for the United States has been often predicted 
 by statesmen, orators, and authors. Had the Union been 
 a republic of the people, and not a mixed government, 
 between thirty-four petty sovereignties and the people of 
 each, it might have been, at the present time, a united 
 people in affection and common interest. We have 
 already shown that the election of the people for president 
 is hut an imagination — a farce — deceptive to our own 
 people and the rest of the world. Organised as our nation 
 was by the sovereign states, it would have been better to 
 have adhered to the mode generally pursued in the 
 election of the earlier presidents, and not have submitted 
 the question to the people in any form. It would also have 
 been better to have abandoned all state sovereignties, and 
 to have made the states the creatures of the general gov- 
 ernment — each holding and enjoying delegated, instead of 
 vested powers ; but the states would never have agreed to 
 :he creation of such a consolidated nation. In that case 
 ;he people might have voted direct for the president. 
 
 We are pained to admit, that the continuation of the 
 LTnited States’ government, under the existing constitu- 
 ion, is beyond probability : we have the hope, however. 
 
216 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 that reason will be restored to our people; and that they 
 will, as they did in 1787, meet together, and frame another 
 governmental charter, better suited to the age and the 
 especial wants of the nation. If, however, the states can 
 no longer remain united, and the people, as the Jews, can 
 only exist as scattered fragments, without even a nominal 
 government, they will only be like other nations that have 
 come and gone, many of which can be found on the his- 
 toric pages of the dim past. Republics and monar- 
 chies have sprung into existence, and, like comets, bril- 
 liantly illuminating the canopy of nations — then fading 
 away; leaving their pathway darker than before their 
 appearance. 
 
 Let us scan the past, and see if the Roman republic fell 
 by the hands of the people. And, we would ask, what era 
 of its career was the most noted for progress — the most 
 glorious in arms — the most celebrated in letters — the 
 fnost renowned in arts — the most happy in the condition 
 of the people? We answer, it was when the people 
 voted directly for the executive. And, as the statesman 
 Benton said, take the history of that commonwealth, 
 which yet shines as the leading star in the firmament of 
 nations. Of the twenty-five centuries that the Roman 
 state has existed, to what period do we look for the 
 generals and statesmen, the poets and orators, the philo- 
 sophers and historians ; the sculptors, painters, and archi- 
 tects, whose immortal works have fixed upon their country 
 the admiring eyes of all succeeding ages? Is it to the 
 reign of the seven first kings? — to the reign of the 
 emperors, proclaimed by the praetorian bands? — to the 
 
STABILITY OF REPUBLICS. 
 
 217 
 
 reign of the sovereign pontiffs, chosen by a select body 
 of electors, in a conclave of most holy cardinals? No — 
 we look to none of these, but to that short interval of four 
 centuries and a-half, which lies between the expulsion of 
 the Tarquins, and the re-establishment of monarchy in 
 the person of Octavius Caesar. It is to this short period, 
 during which the consuls, tribunes, and prietors were 
 annually elected by a direct vote of the people. During 
 the whole period of the 450 annual elections, the people 
 never once preferred a citizen to the consulship who 
 did not carry the prosperity and glory of the republic 
 to a point beyond that at which he had found it. The 
 old republic has gone — nothing of it left, unless we except 
 San Marino as the only remaining fragment. The Gre- 
 cian republics were prosperous so long as they were 
 administered by the people. Thirty centuries have elapsed 
 since they were founded ; yet it is to an ephemeral period 
 of 150 years only — the period of the popular elections, 
 >vhieh intervened between the dispersion of a cloud of 
 oetty tyrants, and the coming of a great one in the person 
 )f Philip, king of Macedon — that we are to look for that 
 ;alaxy of names which shed so much lustre upon their 
 :ountry, and in which we are to find the first cause of 
 hat intense sympathy which, at all times, burns within 
 >ur bosoms at the name of Greece. 
 
 These short and brilliant periods exhibit the great 
 riumph of popular elections — often tumultuary, often 
 tained with blood ; but always ending gloriously for the 
 ountry. In those days the right of suffrage was enjoyed; 
 he sovereignty of the people was no fiction, as it has been 
 
218 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 in the United States. Then a sublime spectacle was seen, 
 when the Roman citizens advanced to the polls, and 
 proclaimed, “ I vote for Cato to be Consul the Athenian, 
 “I vote for Aristides to be Archon;” the Theban, “I 
 vote for Pelopidas to be Boeotarch •” the Lacedemonian, 
 “ I vote for Leonidas to be first of the Ephori.” But no 
 one of the people, as such, of the United States, has ever 
 been able to say, “I vote for George Washington to be 
 President.” Heretofore the people have voted for a list of 
 electors, selected by partisans who, in most cases, have 
 been ambitious politicians. If the Union be for ever 
 destroyed, the world must attribute the fall of the nation 
 to the machinations of political bacchanalian demagogues, 
 who, for the consummation of their own sinister aims, have 
 revelled in the low dens of pollution, for the purpose of 
 securing the votes of sots and practitioners of corruption, 
 whose numerical influence has driven from the polls, in 
 disgust, the pure patriots. The rush to the polls, at 
 some elections, is very great ; and, in order to get a vote 
 early in the day, it is necessary to form in a line, 
 which we have seen extending from the ballot-box, 200 
 yards in the street. The negro, the scavenger, the 
 drunkard, the merchant, the lawyer, the governor, the 
 senator, the judge, and the people of all pursuits are 
 there, standing in a line — slowly marching to give a vote 
 for a list of electors, whose names, perhaps, not one of all 
 the voters could repeat without the aid of the printed 
 list. Many of the better class of people seldom, if ever, 
 come to vote, influenced by a feeling of disgust for the gen- 
 eral degradation at the present time controlling the ballot 
 
POPULAR SUFFRAGE. 
 
 219 
 
 throughout the states ; but the republican system knows 
 do respecter of persons ; and, as we have hereinbefore 
 stated, the man that is entitled to a vote, and fails, by 
 omission, to exercise it, is unworthy of having the right of 
 suffrage. The freeman thus guilty of neglecting to per- 
 form his political rights is not a true patriot : he boasts of 
 the nation's glory, and its flag ; and yet be is too proud 
 and haughty to cast his vote side by side with those who, 
 according to our republican theory, are by nature created 
 equal. It is now some fourteen years since we have cast a 
 ballot ; and we admit it — not with credit, but with shame ! 
 
 In the large cities, the elective system has been too 
 much controlled by corrupt influences ; but, in the rural 
 districts, the yeomanry have appreciated the sacredness of 
 their rights, and never fail to exercise the elective fran- 
 chise with a dignity and solemnity commensurate with a 
 freeman’s privilege and responsibility. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Rebellions of the United States; Shay’s, in 1786; Whisky, in 1791; 
 
 Dorr’s, in 1842. 
 
 Shay’s Rebellion in 1786. 
 
 After the revolutionary war, the finances of the United 
 States as a government, of each state, and of the people, 
 were in a shattered condition. There was distress every- 
 where. The states passed the necessary tax and excise 
 laws, but they could not be collected. There was dis- 
 content in nearly every state, and particularly in New 
 England. In 1786, the legislature of Massachusetts voted 
 customs and excise duties for the payment of the interest 
 on the state debt. Taxes had to be levied to meet the 
 principal of the debt and the quotas required by Congress. 
 The people had been burdened with taxes; and there was 
 a disposition to resist further collections. The farmers 
 were then a year in arrears, and were continually harassed 
 by the courts. They felt that their liberties had been 
 dearly purchased, and that the oppression of the tax col- 
 lector was as obnoxious under the new government as it 
 had been under King George III. The legislature passed 
 laws to lessen the burden of costs in the collection of 
 debts, and for other purposes calculated to restore con- 
 fidence in the government. Mobs assembled, however, 
 and interrupted the execution of the laws. At this time 
 
WHISKY REBELLION OF 1791. 221 
 
 Daniel Shay, late an officer in the American revolutionary 
 army, assumed the command of the insurrectionists, and 
 prevented the meeting of the legislature at Worcester. 
 Shay's forces numbered some 2,000, and were divided into 
 three divisions. He marched them to Springfield, and 
 attempted to take the arsenal; but it was defended by a 
 small body of western militia, under the command of 
 General Shepherd. Shay’s army approached, and de- 
 manded a surrender. Shepherd refused, and fired his 
 cannon over the heads of the insurgents ; but they con- 
 tinued to advance, and were not to be intimidated by such 
 explosions of powder. Shepherd then ordered the cannons 
 to be fired upon the rebels, killing three men, and wounding 
 another. Finding that the government forces were deter- 
 mined to fight, Shay’s men broke, and fled in confusion, 
 crying murder. Many of them were eventually arrested, 
 tried, and convicted. Some were sentenced to death, and 
 others were disfranchised for a term of three years. None 
 were executed. The popular opinion was in favour of the 
 insurgents ; in consequence of which the government was 
 compelled to be lenient ; and it could only inflict the mildest 
 penalties. The effect of this outbreak was beneficial 
 throughout the United States. It proved the necessity of 
 a stronger national government than the one then existing 
 under the articles of confederation. 
 
 The Whisky Rebellion of 1791. 
 
 In 1791 the Congress of the United States passed a 
 revenue law, which, in its enforcement, produced a formi- 
 lable rebellion in the western counties of Pennsylvania. 
 
222 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 While the question was pending in Congress, the legisla- 
 tures of Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, and 
 Maryland, passed resolutions against the proposed excise 
 tax. The subject occupied The attention of Congress for 
 several days; and in January, 1791, the bill passed and 
 became a law. This act imposed a duty on all imported 
 spirits, according to strength — a duty of from twenty to 
 forty cents per gallon. On domestic spirits was levied a 
 tax of from nine to twenty-five cents per gallon, if distilled 
 from grain ; and a tax of from eleven to thirty cents, when 
 manufactured from molasses, or any imported product. The 
 enactment of this law produced a rebellion in the western 
 part of Pennsylvania, which cost the government, in its 
 suppression, over one million of dollars ; and besides, there 
 was a loss of many lives. The people living within the 
 insurrectionary district had settled there when the country 
 was a wild forest; and they had successfully, though at a 
 great loss, defended themselves against the savage tribes. 
 Distilling was not only considered respectable, but a 
 necessity, and a blessing to the people. The insurgents 
 defended their course upon the grounds that rye was their 
 principal product, and it “was too bulky to transport 
 across the mountains ; therefore, having no market for it, 
 they were obliged to convert it into the more easily trans- 
 ported article of whisky, which was the principal item 
 which they had to barter for salt, sugar, and iron. They had 
 cultivated their lands for years, at the peril of their lives, 
 with but little or no protection from the federal govern- 
 ment ; and when, at last, they were enabled to raise a 
 little surplus grain, to meet their expenses of living, they 
 
WHISKY REBELLION OF 1791. 223 
 
 were met by a law which forbade their doing as they 
 pleased with the fruits of their labour.” It is proper to 
 state, however, that in the passing of the excise tax, Con- 
 gress did not suppose it would oppress the manufacturers ; 
 but it was intended to increase the cost of liquor to the 
 consumers ; and with them, it was supposed, would lie the 
 burden of the excise. The law was passed in the belief 
 that the people would have the liquor at any price, 
 although an unnecessary luxury ; and thus, as a member 
 of Congress stated, “ the people would actually drink 
 down the government debt !” 
 
 According to the act of Congress, each state was made 
 a tax district, and was under the direction of a supervisor. 
 The state was subdivided ; and each local section was under 
 the supervision of an inspector. Distillers were compelled 
 to render a full account of all liquors they manufactured ; 
 and, besides, a detailed description of all their houses and 
 fixtures. Their establishments were subject to examina- 
 tion by the inspectors from time to time. In the state of 
 Pennsylvania there were some 5,000 distilleries; and the 
 law was considered, in that state, to be unjustifiably severe 
 and oppressive. The people were nearly unanimous 
 against the collection of the taxes in the western counties 
 of Pennsylvania ; and the existence of an opposition to the 
 law in Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland, inspired 
 the rebels with confidence of success in preventing the 
 collection of the taxes. Their fighting-men numbered 
 about 16,000; though it has been estimated that there 
 were only some 7,000 of the insurgents under military 
 irganisation as an army. 
 
224 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 The insurrection was not intended to overthrow the 
 government, but only to prevent the enforcement of the 
 particular obnoxious law. Like the Shay rebellion of 
 Massachusetts, in 1786, the people wanted relief ; the tax : 
 burden was too heavy ; it seemed to them as though i 
 Caesar was not content with one-tenth of their annual 
 gains, but that he wanted all the income from their toil. 
 President Washington, as the executive of the nation, pro- 
 ceeded to carry out the offensive excise measure ; and was 
 determined to enforce it until the law was legally repealed 
 by Congress. Judicial proceedings, in the form of indict- 
 ments, were commenced against several of the distillers, i 
 because they had failed to enter their stills. In the exe- 
 cution of warrants against those guilty of this neglect, the 
 inspector, and the supervisor, General Neville, were met 
 by a body of armed men, and fired upon; but they 
 escaped. On the next day the insurgents attacked the 
 general’s house, in Pittsburg ; but they were repulsed by 
 the latter and his armed negroes, who defended them- 
 selves heroically; wounding some six of the assailants. 
 The next day the insurgents reappeared, 500 strong. 
 Neville escaped; but in the attack, several were killed and 
 wounded. The house was taken, and then set on fire; 
 which forced the garrison adjoining to surrender. All the 
 buildings were consumed. The insurgents continued in 
 their work of destruction throughout that section of the 
 state, and many lives were lost. No one dared to utter a 
 word against the reign of the infuriated mob : all were com-i 
 pelled to join in the nullification of the law, in order to 
 protect their property, and to save their lives. Many of the| 
 
WHISKY REBELLION OF 1791. 225 
 
 people could only save their lives and their property by 
 open and direct treason against the government. 
 
 During this great and frightful outbreak against the 
 national authority, various secret political associations 
 were found to exist in different states; and President 
 Washington feared that some mischievous ulterior con- 
 sequences might occur, uuless the insurrection in Penn- 
 sylvania was immediately suppressed. The governor of 
 that state was not energetic in measures to suppress it; 
 and the president resolved upon a prompt and decisive 
 course. One of the judges of the United States’ courts 
 gave a certificate to the president, that the laws of Con- 
 gress could not be enforced in the western counties of 
 Pennsylvania, on account of an armed rebellion. This 
 was conformable to law ; and then the president was consti- 
 tutionally empowered to enforce obedience to the national 
 edict — namely, the collection of the excise on distilled 
 liquors. In the meantime the governor of Pennsylvania 
 called out the militia to quell the insurrection, and to 
 hasten the consummation of a peaceful execution of the 
 laws of Congress. The legislature of that state denounced 
 the acts of the insurgents; authorised the governor to 
 receive volunteers ; and, in order that there should not be 
 a failure in the raising of the required forces, a bounty 
 was authorised to be given to each soldier. The govern- 
 ment of the state was resolute in the determination to 
 put down the rebellion, and to aid the president in the 
 enforcement of the national laws. A proclamation was 
 issued by the president, warning the insurgents, and 
 requiring them to cease in their opposition to the govern - 
 
 Q 
 
226 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 meat : he also forwarded to the governors of Pennsylvania, 
 New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, an application for 
 some 15,000 men, to aid in quelling the rebellion. The 
 soldiers demanded were promptly furnished by those 
 states. In order, however, to prevent the shedding of 
 blood, the president dispatched three commissioners to meet 
 and consult with the insurgents. They were instructed 
 to use their best efforts towards the peaceful settlement of 
 the outbreak ; to explain to them the necessity of the 
 tax, and to give them assurances of future protection. 
 The commissioners visited the rebellious counties ; and a 
 committee, composed of sixty members, was appointed by 
 a convention of the insurgents, which was then in session 
 (August, 1794), around a banner, bearing the inscription, 
 “ Liberty, and no excise ! — No asylum for cowards and 
 traitors !” The United States’ commissioners met the 
 committee, and demanded a cessation of their resistance; 
 and they promised the people engaged in the insurrection 
 a general pardon. At the same time, unofficial assurances 
 were given them, that the excise law would, at the next 
 Congress, be modified to equalise the national taxes ; having 
 in view, however, the raising of the necessary moneys to 
 meet the maturing debts of the United States’ govern- 
 ment; and that after those debts were paid, the excise 
 should be repealed. These assurances, however, were 
 unofficial, but they had a very great influence. The efforts 
 of the commissioners were not altogether successful ; but 
 the question of submission was agreed, by the insurgents 
 to be submitted to the vote of the people. The elections 
 were, in many places, disturbed, and no decision was 
 
WHISKY REBELLION OF 1791. 227 
 
 attained. The commissioners returned to Philadelphia in 
 September, and reported their non-success ; and then the 
 president ordered the army to advance to the insurrec- 
 tionary district. In the meantime the principal rebels 
 were very active, and the disaffection of the people again 
 rapidly spread, extending into the north-western counties 
 of Virginia and Maryland. Bands of insurgents patrolled 
 the country, and destroyed the houses and property of all 
 persons favouring the government. Governor Lee, of 
 Virginia, was appointed, by Washington, commander-in- 
 chief of the United States* forces; and he proceeded at 
 once to the fulfilment of the very delicate and responsible 
 duties confided to him. One wing of the army marched 
 through Carlisle, Bedford, and thence across the mountains. 
 The left wing, composed of the Virginia and Maryland 
 troops, met at Cumberland, and then marched westward 
 by the Brad dock road. These divisions arrived at Union- 
 town in the month of October, and then proceeded to the 
 different parts of the insurrectionary counties. General 
 Lee issued a proclamation of amnesty to those who were 
 entitled to it ; and, at the same time, required all the 
 people to take the oath of allegiance to the United States* 
 government. The insurgents made no resistance; but, on 
 the contrary, they readily yielded. The principal rebels 
 fled to the frontiers, and escaped the legal consequences 
 that might follow their arrest. Many were arrested and 
 tried ; but, for want of evidence, and technical formality, 
 were released. In fact, the government was satisfied. 
 The law had been sustained, and there was no disposition 
 to enforce the high penalties for the tieasonable acts. 
 
 q 2 
 
228 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Two only were convicted of capital offences; but they were 
 pardoned by the president. Thus ended the “whisky 
 rebellion of 1791.” The government had maintained its 
 constitutional power ; the people throughout the whole 
 country were happy; and from thence they had increased 
 confidence in the strength and permauency of the Union. 
 After the quelling of that rebellion, they had the fullest 
 faith in the stability and perpetuity of the American 
 political and religious institutions. Their whole confidence 
 in the realisation of prosperity, seemed to be united in 
 the actual existence of a consolidated nation. 
 
 The Dorr Rebellion of 1842. 
 
 The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 
 received its charter from Charles II., in the fourteenth 
 year of his reign ; and the state continued under that 
 charter (excepting the formality of using the king’s name) 
 until November, 1842. This charter was considered by 
 the democratic party, in the early part of 1842, as insuffi- 
 cient to meet the wants of the people. The state was 
 under the control of the whig party. The elective fran- 
 chise was limited to the holders of a certain amount of 
 real property, and to their eldest sons. Under the law of 
 this property qualification, not more than one-third of the 
 citizens 'were qualified voters ; and, besides, the represen- 
 tative apportionment was fixed without respect to popula- 
 tion. Thomas Wilson Dorr, a politician of Providence, 
 for some five years endeavoured to get the state to adopt 
 a constitution. In the legislature he only obtained seven 
 out of seventy votes in favour of the proposition. He 
 
THE DORR REBELLION. 
 
 229 
 
 found that the change could not be effected through the 
 legislature, and he then resorted to popular agitation. 
 Meetings were held in different parts of the state, and the 
 people manifested the greatest zeal for the measure. The 
 citizens, unqualified under the royal charter to vote, were 
 quite anxious to have themselves placed upon an equal 
 footing with the property citizens at the elections. The 
 advocates of the constitution were called the “ suffrage 
 party,” and the opponents the “charter party.” The 
 suffrage party succeeded in gathering large conventions, 
 and a popular resolve in favour of the new organic gov- 
 ernment. Ultimately elections were held, by authority of 
 the popular but illegal assemblies, for delegates to a con- 
 vention to frame a constitution. These delegates met, 
 and after preparing their suffrage constitution, submitted 
 it to the popular vote. It was ratified by 14,000 votes, 
 which was a majority of the citizens of the state. The 
 charter party condemned the proceedings, and denounced 
 them as treasonable and highly seditious. The state gov- 
 ernment proceeded with great energy to arrest the agita- 
 tion and the illegal government. It declared the trans- 
 actions of the suffrage party to he not only illegal, but 
 fraudulent; and that the popular vote alleged was princi- 
 pally made up by the conspirators. In the meantime 
 Dorr was elected governor by the suffrage party, and he 
 claimed to be at the head of the legal government. An 
 election for representatives of the suffrage party, to meet 
 in Providence in May, 1842, took place, at which some 
 7,300 votes were cast. About the same time the 
 charter party held an election, polling some 5,700 
 
230 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 votes. Samuel W. King was governor under the 
 charter. The two governments met on the same day — 
 the suffrage party at Providence, and the charter party 
 at Newport. Dorr attempted to seize the archives of the 
 government, and to dispossess the charter authorities. 
 The excitement throughout the state was intense, and 
 both parties appealed to arms. The national government 
 considered the charter party as the legitimate power, and 
 the suffrage men were declared to be rebels. Governor 
 King declared martial law, and called out the militia. 
 The greater part of the state forces belonged to the suffrage 
 party, and the governor’s forces were not sufficient to main- 
 tain his power. After adopting these measures, he appealed 
 to the president of the United States to aid him in the 
 suppression of the insurrection. The constitution of the 
 United States made it obligatory upon the president to 
 grant the aid. Both of the parties in Rhode Island were 
 active in organising military forces, though the suffrage 
 party was deficient in arms. Governor King marched to 
 meet the rebels; but they dispersed, and thus prevented a 
 serious collision. Dorr attempted to seize the arsenal, but 
 was unsuccessful. He assembled his men at other places; 
 but on the approach of the charter forces, they dispersed. 
 Before the end of May, 1842, the contest was over. The 
 charter party triumphed, and Dorr took refuge in Con- 
 necticut. A reward of 4,000 dollars was offered for his 
 apprehension by the state of Rhode Island. Dorr returned 
 to the state — was arrested, tried, and found guilty of high 
 treason. He was sentenced to the penitentiary for life ; but 
 was pardoned in 1847, and restored to his civil rights. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Secessionary Acts of the States ; the Hartford Convention ; the 
 Nullification of South Carolina; and other National Excitements. 
 
 The Hartford Convention of 1814. 
 
 In June, 1812, war was declared against Great Britain by 
 the United States. Never did a country enter a like 
 struggle with as little popular desire, and as feebly pre- 
 pared. In the New England states it was energetically 
 opposed, because, principally, they believed it would prove 
 destructive to their commerce. Popular meetings were 
 held in the different northern states, and the war was 
 denounced. The legislatures assembled, and bitter were 
 their denunciations. Massachusetts seemed to have led 
 several of the northern states in what was then considered 
 the “ abominable treason/’ The committee appointed by 
 the legislature of that state, in February, 1814, upon the 
 “national question,” reported — 
 
 “We believe that this war, so fertile in calamities, and so 
 threatening in its consequences, has been waged with the worst 
 possible views, and carried on in the worst possible manner ; form- 
 ing a union of wickedness and weakness which defies, for a parallel, 
 the annals of the world. We believe, also, that its worst effects are 
 yet to come ; that loan upon loan, tax upon tax, and exaction upon 
 exaction, must be imposed, until the comforts of the present, and 
 the hopes of the rising generation are destroyed. An impoverished 
 people will be an enslaved people. An army of 60,000 men, be- 
 come veteran by the time the war is ended, may become the instru- 
 ment, as in former times, of destroying even the forms of liberty. 
 
232 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION ‘WAR. 
 
 It will be as easy to establish a president for life by their arms, as a 
 president for four years by intrigue. We tremble for the liberties 
 of our country. We think it the duty of the present generation to 
 stand between the next and despotism.” 
 
 The committee had no doubt of the unwarrantable 
 conduct of the administration, and of the right of the 
 state to resist the enforcement of the unconstitutional 
 laws. They said — 
 
 “The power to regulate commerce is abused when employed to 
 destroy it, and a voluntary abuse of power sanctions the right of 
 resistance as much as a direct and palpable usurpation. The sove- 
 reignty of the states was reserved to protect the citizens from acts 
 of violence by the United States, as well as for purposes of domestic 
 regulation. We spurn the idea, that the free, sovereign, and inde- 
 pendent state of Massachusetts is reduced to a mere municipal cor- 
 poration, without power to protect its people, or to defend them 
 from oppression, from whatever quarter it comes. Whenever the 
 national compact is violated, and the citizens of this state oppressed 
 by cruel and unauthorised enactments, this legislature is bound to 
 interpose its power, and to wrest from the oppressor his victim. 
 This is the spirit of our Union ; and thus has it been explained by 
 the very man who now sets at defiance all the principles of his early 
 political life. The question, then, is not a question of power or 
 right, but of time and expediency.” 
 
 It was proposed that the legislature should appoint dele- 
 gates to meet others from the New England states, in 
 convention, to determine upon the course best to he 
 pursued by the states dissenting from the national policy. 
 It was to be “a conference between those states, the 
 affinity of whose interests is closest, and whose habits of 
 intercourse, from local and other causes, are most frequent ; 
 to the end that, by a comparison of their sentiments and 
 views, some mode of defence might be adopted, suited to 
 the exigencies of those states.” The legislature of Con- 
 necticut was equally severe upon the national government. 
 
THE HARTFORD CONVENTION. 
 
 233 
 
 On a resolution, contemplating resistance to the United 
 States 5 laws, the vote in the popular branch, or house, was 
 200 for it, and 39 against it. President Madison was 
 much alarmed at these proceedings. A dissolution of the 
 Union was feared, as the resolves of the Massachusetts 
 and Connecticut legislatures indicated a secession, and 
 the formation of another republic, with a people “the 
 affinity of whose interest is closest, and whose habits of 
 intercourse, from local and other causes,” were in common. 
 The Massachusetts legislature appropriated a million of 
 dollars to support a state army of 10,000 men. These 
 and other acts alarmed the whole nation. 
 
 The convention met at Hartford, Connecticut, on the 
 15th of December, 1814, and was composed of delegates 
 from the legislatures of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and 
 Rhode Island. There were, also, delegates from counties 
 in Vermont and New Hampshire. It continued in session 
 iwenty days, but did nothing more than adopt a report 
 ipon the state of the country. The convention did not 
 ipenly propose secession, nor any ultra or incendiary 
 icts : compared with the resolves of the legislatures it 
 vas mild and conservative. It recited various grievances 
 ■esulting from the policy of the United States 5 govern- 
 nent, all of which were considered, and declared to be 
 mconstitutional. The convention was of the opinion, 
 hat — 
 
 “ Though acts of Congress, in violation of the constitution, were 
 lerely void, yet it did not seem to consist with the respect and 
 rrbearance due from a confederated state toward the general gov- 
 mment, to fly at once, upon every infraction, to open resistance, 
 he mode and energy of opposition ought rather to conform to the 
 
234 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 nature of the violation, the intention of its authors, the extent of 
 the injury inflicted by it, the determination manifested to persist in 
 it, and the danger of delay. Yet, in cases of deliberate, dangerous, 
 and palpable infractions of the constitution, affecting the sovereignty 
 of a state and the liberties of the people, it was not only the right, 
 but the duty, also, of the state to interpose its authority for their 
 protection. When emergencies occur, either beyond the reach of 
 the judicial tribunals, or too pressing to admit of the delay inci- 
 dent to their forms, states which have no common umpire must be 
 their own judges, and execute their own decisions. ” 
 
 These and other state-rights sentiments were popular 
 at that time in the New England states. The legislatures 
 and the people continued to encourage resistance to the 
 national government; but, fortunately for the country, 
 the news of the treaty of peace, signed at Ghent in 
 December, 1814 — received in America in the following 
 February — quieted the people, and restored friendly rela- 
 tions between the states and their people. Thus ended 
 the “ Hartford Convention” era. It was a near approach 
 to secession — a powerful rebellion ! 
 
 South Carolina Nullification in 1832. 
 
 After the passage of the Tariff Bill, in 1832, by the 
 Congress of the United States, the state of South Carolina 
 resolved to secede from the confederacy. The legislature 
 was called together; and it authorised the convening of ai 
 convention of the people of the state, by a vote in thei 
 senate, of 30 against 13; and, in the House of Represen-j 
 tatives, by a vote of 96 to 26. The convention assembled 
 on the second Monday in November, 1832, and passed an 
 ordinance, declaring — 
 
 “ That the several acts and parts of acts of the Congress of the] 
 United States, purporting to be laws for the imposing of duties and 
 
SOUTH CAROLINA NULLIFICATION. 
 
 235 
 
 imposts on the importation of foreign commodities, and now being 
 in actual operation and effect within the United States, * * * are 
 unauthorised by the constitution of the United States, and violate 
 the true meaning and intent thereof, and are null and void, and no 
 law, nor binding on the citizens of the state of South Carolina.” 
 
 The said ordinance declared it to be unlawful for any 
 of the constituted authorities of the state, or of the United 
 States, to enforce the payment of the duties imposed by 
 the said acts within the state of South Carolina ; and that 
 t was the duty of the legislature to pass such laws as 
 vould be necessary to give full effect to the said ordinance. 
 It further 
 
 “ Ordained, that no case of law or equity shall be decided in the 
 ;ourts of said state, wherein shall be drawn in question the vali- 
 lity of the said ordinance, or of the acts of the legislature that may 
 >e passed to give it effect.” 
 
 No appeal was to be permitted to the Supreme Court of 
 he United States; and if any person should attempt to 
 tppeal to the said tribunal, he was to be punished. It 
 urther declared — 
 
 “ That the people of South Carolina will maintain the said ordi- 
 ance at every hazard ; and that they will consider the passage of 
 ny act by Congress, abolishing or closing the ports of the said state, 
 r otherwise obstructing the free ingress or egress of vessels to and 
 .'ran the said ports, or any other act of the federal government to 
 lerce the state, shut up her ports, destroy or harass her commerce, 
 r to enforce the said acts otherwise than through the civil tribunals 
 l the country, as inconsistent with the longer continuance of 
 outh Carolina in the Union ; and that the people of the said state 
 ill thenceforth hold themselves absolved from all further obligation 
 > maintain or preserve their political connection with the people 
 ' the other states, and will forthwith proceed to organise a sepa- 
 ,te government, and do all other acts and things which sovereign 
 id independent states may of right do.” 
 
 This ordinance passed the convention by a vote of 136 
 
236 
 
 AMERICA AN1) THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 against 26. The legislature again met on the 24th of 
 November, and passed the necessary laws to carry out the 
 plan for the new government. The people of South 
 Carolina were energetic, and determined to maintain their 
 doctrine of state rights ; to secede from the Union when- 
 ever the administration of the general government was 
 oppressive, and in violation of the constitution, as inter- 
 preted by the state — the only power that could decide upon 
 the question. In December Congress met; and, on the 
 4<th, the president transmitted his annual message to that 
 body; in which he stated, that, “in one quarter of the 
 United States, opposition to the revenue laws” had arisen; 
 but that he hoped the difficulties would be peaceably over- 
 come. The state of South Carolina proceeded to prepare 
 for war, by the increase of its military forces, and the 
 necessary munitions. At the same time, however, there 
 were many people opposed to the nullification, and thej 
 were energetic for the Union. The proceedings of the 
 state authorities were popular among politicians, but no) 
 with the yeomanry. There was a Union sentiment among 
 the patriots of the state ; but it was well that the presiden) 
 did not attempt coercion. On the 10th of December, the 
 president issued a proclamation to the people of South 
 Carolina, and argued against the constitutionality ol 
 secession or nullification. He contended that the Unior 
 was perpetual, and that it was not possible for any state 
 to secede from the national government. The proclaim 
 tion was argumentative, and kindly worded. He urgec 
 the people of South Carolina to ponder well over wha 
 they were doing, and not to incur the consequences o 
 
SOUTH CAROLINA NULLIFICATION. 237 
 
 carrying out their schemes of secession. He stated that 
 it was his duty — 
 
 “ To warn the citizens of South Carolina, who have been deluded 
 into an opposition to the laws, of the danger they will incur by the 
 obedience to the illegal and disorganising ordinance of the conven- 
 tion ; to exhort those who have refused to support it to persevere in 
 their determination to uphold the constitution and the laws of their 
 country ; and to point out to all, the perilous situation into which 
 the good people of that state have been led ; and that the course 
 they are urged to pursue is one of ruin and disgrace to the very 
 state whose right they affect to support. ” 
 
 On the 16th of December, the president transmitted to 
 Congress a message upon the nullification of South Caro- 
 ina, and urged the passage of such laws as might he 
 accessary to enable him to maintain the Union. Upon 
 he message being read in the senate, Mr. Calhoun, the 
 senator from South Carolina, repelled the statements 
 nade by the president. He asserted that the state 
 luthorities had looked only to the judiciary tribunals to 
 effect their protection from the oppressive tariff laws, until 
 he collection of United States’ troops within its territory; 
 nd that then they were compelled to make provision to 
 efend themselves. The judiciary committee of the 
 enate, to whom the message was referred, reported a bill, 
 esting full and complete power in the president to carry 
 ito effect the revenue laws of the United States, and to 
 rnploy the army and navy, if he deemed it necessary, to 
 aforce them. 
 
 In the meantime the legislatures of the respective states 
 ere convened, and the nullification of South Carolina 
 as considered by each of them. Massachusetts, Connec- 
 cut, New York, Delaware, Tennessee, Indiana, and 
 
238 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Missouri, disclaimed the doctrine of nullification. North 
 Carolina and Alabama opposed it, but passed resolutions 
 declaring the tariff unconstitutional and inexpedient. 
 Georgia, by a vote of 102 to 51 in the house, con- 
 sidered nullification unconstitutional, and by a more 
 decisive vote denounced the tariff. This state proposed a 
 convention of the states of Virginia, North Carolina, 
 South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mis- 
 sissippi, to devise measures to obtain relief from the tariff. 
 Virginia held to the state-rights doctrine, but requested 
 South Carolina to desist in its course ; and a commissionei 
 was sent to that state to urge a reconciliation between 
 the state and the general government. New Hampshire 
 resolved in favour of a modification of the tariff. Mas- 
 sachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Penn- 
 sylvania were opposed to making any alteration of the 
 law. Other states passed resolutions in favour of a modi- 
 fication, and against the right of nullification. 
 
 While the different state legislatures were thus express- 
 ing opinions upon the tariff, Congress was engaged ir 
 the consideration of bills proposing a reduction, so as nol 
 only to restore peace in South Carolina, but to conform tc 
 the popular opinion entertained in the different states. 
 Mr. Clay, senator, from Kentucky, introduced a bill “tc 
 preserve the protective tariff for a length of time, and tc 
 restore good feelings and tranquillity among the people. 5 
 Mr. Calhoun favoured the passage of the bill. It passed 
 in the senate: ayes, 29; noes, 16. In the house: ayes 
 119; noes, 85. It was signed by the president, auc 
 became a law on the 2nd of March, 1833. The leading 
 
NATIONAL EXCITEMENTS. 
 
 239 
 
 provisions were as follows : — A periodical annual reduction 
 of one-tenth of the duties for seven years ; after which, all 
 the remaining duty above twenty per centum on the value, 
 should be equally divided into two parts ; one part to be 
 struck off at the end of one year thereafter, and the other 
 half at the end of another year; so that, at the end of nine 
 years, all duties should be reduced to twenty per centum 
 on the value, with a list of free articles, and no more 
 revenue to be raised than was necessary for the economical 
 support of the government ; and the act was to be perma- 
 nent. The passage of this Compromise Bill restored peace 
 to the country. The convention of South Carolina was 
 then called together by the governor. It met on the 11th 
 of March, and declared the compromise tariff as satisfac- 
 tory ; and it then repealed the ordinance nullifying the 
 United States’ revenue laws, and annulled the enforcing 
 laws. Thus ended the contest. The state-rights men 
 claimed a victory ; but, on the other hand, the opponents 
 of nullification considered that they had purchased a peace 
 without the sacrifice of principle. 
 
 National Excitements. 
 
 Before closing this chapter, we will refer to a few im- 
 portant occurrences in the history of the United States. 
 
 In 1783, was formed the noted army plot against the 
 ;eneral government, on account of the reduction of pay. 
 t was happily settled through the influence of Wash- 
 ogton, before any outbreak took place. 
 
 In 1790, the country was much disturbed about the 
 octional location of the capital ; and there were serious 
 

 240 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 apprehensions of a dissolution of the Union on that ac- 
 count during the first term, of Washington. 
 
 In 1798, the “alien and sedition laws” were fiercely 
 assailed by partisans, and they produced great excite- 
 ment throughout the country. 
 
 The “ Burr conspiracy” of 1806-’7, was an incident in 
 American political history, that remains partly veiled in 
 doubt. The popular opinion was, that he aimed at the 
 separation of the western or south-western states from 
 the Union, and the organisation of an independent gov- 
 ernment, of which he was to be the head. His schemes 
 were timely crushed by the United States’ government. 
 
 The admission of Missouri into the Union, in 1821, 
 produced the greatest excitement; and a dissolution of 
 the Union was feared by the people throughout the whole 
 country. It was a struggle for and against the extension 
 of slave territory. Happily for the nation, it was settled 
 by Mr. Clay’s Compromise Bill, which declared that 
 slavery should never exist north of lat. 36° 30'. 
 
 In 1844, it was proposed that Texas should be annexed 
 to the United States, and the democratic party favoured 
 the measure. The Whig party opposed it. The contest 
 was exciting; and the legislature of Massachusetts de-: 
 dared that the annexation of Texas “ was a virtual disso- 
 lution of the Union !” The democratic party succeeded 
 in the election of its candidate for the presidency; the 
 republic of Texas was annexed to the United States; and 
 the war with Mexico followed, which produced a perfect 
 cessation of political warfare for the time being. 
 
 In 1850, the Union was again on the verge of ? 
 
PACIFIC TERMINATION OF POPULAR OUTBREAKS. 241 
 
 dissolution ; but the political elements were calmed by a 
 Compromise Bill, proposed by Mr. Clay, which passed the 
 Congress. 
 
 Again, in 1854, the nation was aroused on the subject 
 of slavery, by the virtual repeal of the Missouri compro- 
 mise of 1821, on the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. 
 
 In 1858, the Mormon war was the cause of serious 
 apprehension to the nation; but an efficient army was dis- 
 patched, and the rebellion quieted without the shedding 
 of blood. 
 
 In the foregoing, we have briefly noticed the different 
 “ eras of trouble,” with respect to the internal workings of 
 the United States’ government. Several times the nation 
 has been upon the verge of destruction; but at each, a 
 patriot seemed to be at hand to propose a pacific remedy, 
 in which the people confided. 
 
 On the occurrence of disruptive excitements heretofore 
 n the United States, the policy observed by the presi- 
 lents has been conciliatory. They have appointed com- 
 nissioners, or adopted other means, to explain to the 
 >eople the error of their ways, and to propose measures to 
 elieve them from oppression. The Whisky rebellion was 
 aade comparatively bloodless, because Washington induced 
 he people to believe that the excise tax would be modi- 
 ed. Jackson terminated the South Carolina nullifica- 
 on of 1832 by pacific measures ; and among them was 
 le modification of the oppressive tariff. So it has been 
 ith all our turbulent eras : relief has been promised to 
 le excited and oppressed people ; and thus, by kind words 
 id acts, the Union has been' preserved. 
 
 R 
 
CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 Virginia Colony opposed to the Importation of Slaves; Somerset 
 Decision in England; Slavery in the Colonies, before and after 
 the Revolution; Abolition of Slavery in the Northern States; 
 Retardation of Emancipation produced by the Abolitionists. 
 
 Virginia Colony opposed to Slavery. 
 
 On the 12th of June, 1776, the people of Virginia unani- 
 mously adopted, in their constitution, a schedule of com- 
 plaints against the sovereign of England, in justification of 
 their course for severing their allegiance ; amongst which 
 was the grave and serious charge, viz., “of prompting our 
 negroes to rise in arms among us — those very negroes whom, 
 by an inhuman use of his negative, he had refused us per- 
 mission to exclude, by law,” from our territory. When 
 the constitution was revised in 1830,. the Virginians again 
 proclaimed to the world that slavery was forced upon 
 them by their mother country. In 1850, when the con- 
 stitution was again revised, they reasserted the charge; 
 and future generations, for all time, will do the same. 
 All the colonies, north and south, were opposed to the 
 extension of slavery, or the further introduction of slaves 
 into their respective jurisdictions. They passed laws 
 prior to the revolution, to prevent further importations 
 under heavy penalties ; but those resolves were defeatec 
 by the crown, as the ministry had instructed the colonia 
 
SLAVERY IN VIRGINIA. 
 
 243 
 
 governors to withhold their assents to all such enactments. 
 This opposition to the system, in the southern and other 
 colonies, existed long before the revolutionary war, and 
 the people had employed every legal means to stop the 
 importation of the African slaves. Sadly for those noble 
 and loyal pioneers, their anti-slavery decrees were nega- 
 tived by their royal sovereign. We do not refer to the 
 declarations of the American colonists for the purpose of 
 reflecting disrespect upon the British crown ; but we do 
 so in order to prove that the further importation of slaves 
 was seriously and resolutely opposed before the revolution. 
 In justice to the Virginians, it is proper to state, that they 
 were faithful in their opposition to the slave traffic ; and 
 no one was more so than Mr. Jefferson, of that state, 
 is evidenced by his then, and subsequent career. He 
 Irafted the Declaration of Independence of 1776; and 
 n the original submitted by him, among the complaints 
 igainst the king, was the following : — 
 
 ‘ ‘ He has waged a cruel war against human nature itself, violating 
 is most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant 
 eople who never offended him ; capturing and carrying them into 
 iavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their 
 •ansportation thither. This piratical warfare — the opprobrium of 
 ifidel powers — is the warfare of the Christian king of Great 
 ritain. Determined to keep open a market where men should be 
 'night and sold, he has prostituted his negative for suppressing 
 'ery legislative attempt to prohibit or restrain this execrable com- 
 erce. And that this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of 
 stinguished die, he is now exciting those very people to rise in 
 ms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he has de- 
 ived them, by murdering the people on whom he also obtruded 
 em ; thus paying off former crimes committed against the liberties 
 one people, with crimes w r hich he urges them to commit against 
 '3 lives of another. ” 
 
 R 2 
 
244 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 This clause was withdrawn by Mr. Jefferson, in order 
 to conform to fact. For example, South Carolina and 
 Georgia had not passed laws prohibiting the importation 
 of slaves; and hence the declaration, as written by Mr. 
 Jefferson, would have been false, so far as those states 
 were concerned. Again, the northern states were entitled 
 to equal condemnation with the king, because their people 
 had realised fortunes from the trade sanctioned by the 
 British crown ; and they were equally guilty. The king 
 permitted the continuation of the slave-trade, and the 
 northern people had carried on that trade, and gathered 
 the golden profits. It is not for us to say with whom lay 
 the most sin. As explanatory for striking out the clause, 
 Mr. Jefferson has written — “ Our northern brethren, I 
 believe, felt a little tender under those censures; for, 
 though their people have very few slaves themselves, yet 
 they had been pretty considerable carriers of them to 
 others.” 
 
 Somerset Decision in England, in 1772. 
 
 Having, through necessity, referred to the proceedings 
 of the British government respecting the introduction o 
 slavery into America, we deem it but just to insert the 
 report of the following decrees, rendered by the Euglisl 
 judiciary. 
 
 “ In the first recorded ease, involving the legality of slavery ii 
 England, it was held (1677) that negroes, ‘being usually bought am 
 sold among merchants as merchandise, and also being infidels, therj 
 might be a property in them sufficient to maintain trover.’ Bu 
 this was overruled by Chief Justice Holt, from the King’s Bend 
 (1697), ruling, that ‘so soon as a negro lands in England, he i| 
 
lord Mansfield’s decision on slavery. 245 
 
 free and again (1702), that ‘there is no such thing as a slave by 
 the law of England.’ This judgment proving exceedingly trouble- 
 some to planters and merchants from slaveholding colonies, visiting 
 the mother country with their servants, the merchants concerned in 
 the American slave-trade, in 1729, procured from Yorke and Talbot, 
 the attorney- general and solicitor-general of the crown, a written 
 opinion, that negroes, legally enslaved elsewhere, might be held as 
 slaves in England ; and that even baptism was no bar to the 
 master’s claim. This opinion was held to be sound law in 1749, by 
 Yorke (Lord Hardwicke) sitting as judge ; on the ground, that if the 
 contrary ruling of Lord Holt were upheld, it would abolish slavery 
 in Jamaica or Virginia, as well as in England ; British law being 
 paramount in each. Thus the law stood until reversed by Lord 
 Mansfield in the Somerset case, in June, 1772. ' The plaintiff in 
 this case was James Somerset, a native of Africa, carried to Vir- 
 • ginia, and sold there as a slave ; taken from thence by his master 
 to England, and there induced to resist the claim of his master 
 to his services, and assert his right to liberty. Lord Mansfield 
 rendered the following judgment : — 
 
 “ ‘ We cannot direct the law; the law must direct us. * * * * 
 The state of slavery is of such a nature, that it is incapable of 
 being introduced on any reasons, moral or political, but only by 
 positive law, which preserves its force long after the reasons, 
 occasion, and time of itself whence it was created, is erased from 
 the memory. It is so odious, that nothing can be sufficient to 
 support it but positive law. Whatever inconvenience, therefore, 
 may follow from the decision, I cannot say that this case is allowed 
 or approved by the law of England, and therefore the black must 
 be discharged.’ ” 
 
 This important decision was construed to apply only to 
 England, and not to her American colonies. Had it been 
 general throughout the British dominions, it could not have 
 been applied in America. The revolutionary war soon 
 allowed, which placed beyond enforcement any judicial 
 decrees, except those rendered by the colonial tribunals. 
 This decision admits the right of property in man, when 
 upported by positive law. 
 
246 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 In the American states, the pro-slavery advocates con- 
 tend, that the right of property in slaves is derived from 
 the English common law. But we are unable to find any 
 act of parliament creating that species of chattel. No acts 
 of the state legislatures can be found creating slave pro- 
 perty, though there are laws that sanction it permissively, i 
 by affording protection to the owner of a right of property 
 in the African race. On the other hand, the opponents oi 
 slavery assert, that though the right of property in the 
 negro race has not been created by constitutional and 
 statutory laws, yet both of those codes recognise and 
 protect the white race in the use of that species oli 
 property in the southern states ; and, therefore, its exis- 
 tence as a chattel does not rest upon the common law ol 
 England, but upon the constitutional and legislative 
 decrees of the slaveholding states; and that those laws 
 are contrary to the spirit and meaning of the organic 
 structure of the Union; and further, as a principle, that 
 man cannot hold property in man. 
 
 I 
 
 . 
 
 Slavery in the American Colonies. 
 
 On the early settling of the North and South Carolinas. 
 they encouraged the importation of slaves ; but soon 
 finding it to be a curse to their progress, they passed laws 
 imposing a heavy tax upon every slave imported. In 
 order to stop the traffic, in 1764, South Carolina enacted 
 a law, imposing a penalty of £100 for every negro slave 
 subsequent to that date, introduced into the colony. ; 
 This fine was greater than the value of the negro ; and 
 was, in effect, an abolition of the slave-trade. Georgif 
 
SLAVERY IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES. 
 
 -247 
 
 introduced slavery, though contrary to the original inten- 
 tion of its founders, in order to extend its productive 
 resources ; “ the system having served a good purpose on 
 the settling of the other colonies.” Maryland and Dela- 
 ware recognised slavery as one of their natural institutions. 
 In accordance with a recommendation of William Penn, 
 the colony of Pennsylvania adopted a fourteen years’ term 
 of servitude, and perpetual adscript to the soil for here- 
 I ditarv slavery. He did not propose to legislate so as to 
 S effect the abolition of slavery; but he used his influence 
 to establish the sanctity of the slave-marriage. In the 
 states of Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York, slavery 
 was a recognised domestic institution. Rhode Island 
 limited slavery to a term of ten years. Massachusetts 
 prohibited the introduction of slaves. New Hampshire 
 t passed laws to prevent the further importation of slaves 
 into that state; and the British ministry issued the fol- 
 lowing order to the governor : — “ You are not to give your 
 assent to, or pass, any law imposing duties upon negroes 
 imported into New Hampshire.” 
 
 On the 14th of October, 1774, the Congress adopted a 
 Bill of Rights for the colonies, in the form of a series of 
 resolutions; among which was the following declaration : — 
 “That we will neither import, nor purchase any slaves 
 
 - imported after the 1st day of December next; after which 
 time we will wholly discontinue the slave-trade, and will 
 neither be concerned in it ourselves, nor will we hire our 
 
 - vessels, nor sell our commodities or manufactures to those 
 who are engaged in it.” This was the first national legis- 
 
 : lation against the slave-trade. 
 
248 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Opposition to Slavery after the Revolution. 
 
 In 1784, Mr. Jefferson, of Virginia, submitted a report 
 to Congress, for the organisation of the north-west terri- 
 tory. In it he proposed, “ that after the year 1800 of the 
 Christian era, there should be neither slavery nor in- 
 voluntary servitude in any of the said states.” This 
 clause in the report was rejected. In 1787, the noted 
 “ ordinance for the government of the territories of the 
 United States, north-west of the Ohio,” was adopted, with 
 the clause — “ There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary 
 servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in punishment 
 of crimes whereof the parties shall be duly convicted.” 
 
 The “ordinance” of 1787, including the anti-slavery 
 clause, was based upon the principles of the “Jefferson 
 ordinance of 1784.” The anti-slavery feature proposed 
 in the report presented by Mr. Jefferson of Virginia, in 
 1784, in the Congress, was rejected because the report did 
 not provide for the recovery of fugitives from service ; and 
 the ordinance of 1787 was adopted because a proviso was 
 added to it; viz.: — 
 
 “ That any person escaping into the same, from whom labour or 
 service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original states, such 
 fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed, and conveyed to the person 
 claiming his or her labour or service as aforesaid.” 
 
 In order to prevent the further introduction of slaves 
 into the United States from Africa or elsewhere, the 
 following clause was adopted in the constitution of 1787, 
 and ratified by all the states — 
 
 “The migration or importation of such persons as any of the 
 states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be pro- 
 
OPPOSITION TO SLAVERY IN THE STATES. 
 
 249 
 
 hibited by the Congress prior to the year 1808 ; but a tax or duty 
 may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for 
 each person. ” 
 
 For the better information of the reader, we deem it 
 necessary to insert the proceedings of the constitutional 
 convention of 1787, having reference to the preceding 
 clause. 
 
 The convention appointed a committee to draft a consti- 
 tution based upon certain resolved principles : it consisted of 
 Messrs. Rutledge of South Carolina, Randolph from Vir- 
 ginia, Gorham from Massachusetts, Elsworth from Con- 
 necticut, and Wilson from Pennsylvania — being two from 
 the southern states, and three from the northern states. 
 On the 6th of August, 1787, the committee reported the 
 proposed constitution ; in which was the following : — 
 
 “No tax or duty shall be laid by the legislature [of the United 
 States’ government] on articles exported from any state ; nor on the 
 migration or importation of such persons as the several states shall 
 think proper to admit ; nor shall such migration or importation be 
 prohibited.” 
 
 By this clause, it would seem that the northern majority 
 of the committee intended to perpetuate the African slave- 
 trade. 
 
 On the 22nd of August, the clause of the constitution 
 above given, was referred to a special committee composed 
 of one member from each state. On the 24th of the same 
 month, Mr. Livingston, from the committee of eleven, 
 reported a proposition to insert the following as a sub- 
 stitute : — 
 
 “ The migration or importation of such persons as the several 
 states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be pro- 
 hibited by the legislature [Congress] prior to the year 1800 ; but a 
 
250 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 tax or duty may be imposed on such migration or importation, at a 
 rate not exceeding the average of the duties laid on imposts.” 
 
 On the 25th of August the report was considered, and — 
 
 “It was moved and seconded to amend the report of the com- 
 mittee of eleven, entered on the journal of the 24th instant, as 
 follows : — To strike out the words, ‘ the year 1800 ; and insert the 
 words, the year 1808 which passed in the affirmative. 
 
 “ Yeas — New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, 
 North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia — 7. 
 
 “Nays — New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia — 4.” 
 
 It will be seen, from the preceding vote, that there were 
 three northern states — New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
 and Connecticut — voted to prolong the African slave- 
 trade eight years. Had they voted with Virginia, the 
 foreign traffic would have ceased in the year 1800. After 
 the preceding vote, the following were the proceedings : — 
 
 “ The importation of slaves into such of the states as shall permit 
 the same, shall not be prohibited by the legislature of the United 
 States until the year 1808. 
 
 “ Yeas — Connecticut, Virginia, and Georgia — 3. 
 
 “Nays — Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, 
 and South Carolina — 6. 
 
 ‘ ‘ Maryland delegation was divided — 
 
 “ On the question to agree to the first part of the report as amended, 
 namely — 
 
 “‘The migration or importation of such persons as the several 
 states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be pro- 
 hibited by the legislature prior to the year 1808 
 
 “ It was passed in the affirmative as follows : — 
 
 “ Yeas — New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, 
 North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia — 7. 
 
 “Nays — New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia — 4.” 
 
 After the organisation of the constitutional government 
 of 1789, Congress enacted all necessary laws within its 
 power to prevent the foreign slave-trade. In 1794, a very 
 
ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE-TRADE. 
 
 251 
 
 stringent law was passed to prevent the people of the 
 United States from engaging in the slave-trade between 
 foreign countries, either by furnishing ships, men, or 
 otherwise assenting. In 1798, it was enacted that there 
 should be no importation of slaves into the Mississippi 
 territory, under a penalty, for each offence, of 300 dollars. 
 In 1804, by the Louisiana Act, Congress prohibited the 
 foreign importation of slaves into Lower Louisiana terri- 
 tory from and after that date. It also prohibited the 
 domestic importation of any slave into the territory, which 
 had been imported from abroad after the year 1798. It 
 prohibited the carrying of any slave into the said Lower 
 Louisiana territory as merchandise. The provisions of 
 this act, however, did not extend to Upper Louisiana or 
 Missouri territory. In 1807 was enacted the law to 
 prohibit for ever, after 1808, the foreign slave-trade with 
 any of the United States. But, soon after the organisa- 
 tion of the government, the southern states desired the 
 cessation of the slave-trade before o 1808, as established by 
 the concurrent vote of some of the northern states ; and 
 having passed state laws to that effect, sought congressional 
 legislation as auxiliary to their own enactments, to effect 
 the great desideratum. With that object, the following 
 law passed Congress in February, 1803 : — 
 
 “ After the first day of April, 1803, masters of vessels shall not 
 bring into any port where the laws of a state prohibit the impor- 
 ;ation of any negro or mulatto, not a native, under a penalty of 
 1,000 dollars ; and all vessels arriving at the ports of such states 
 prohibiting slave importation, having on board negroes, mulattoes, 
 Zc . , are not to be admitted to entry, &c.” 
 
 The custom officers of the United States were to notice. 
 
252 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 and be governed by, tbe laws of the states prohibiting the 
 admission of negroes ; and vigilantly to carry them into 
 effect. While Congress has ever aided in the suppression 
 of the slave-trade, it has not, in a single instance, proposed 
 to interfere with the system within the states. In 1790, 
 attempts were made in that legislative tribunal to interfere 
 with slavery, and it was — 
 
 “ Resolved , That Congress has no authority to interfere in the 
 emancipation of slaves, or in the treatment of them within any of 
 the states ;',it remaining with the several states alone to provide any 
 regulations therein which humanity and true policy may require. ” 
 
 Abolition of Slavery in the Northern States. 
 
 In 1774, Connecticut prohibited the importation of 
 slaves into that state; and in 1790, of its 238,141 popu- 
 lation, there were 2,801 free negroes, and 2,759 slaves. 
 Statutes were passed in 1784 and 1797, to gradually 
 abolish slavery. In 1800, there were but 951 slaves in 
 Connecticut ; showing a decrease, within the ten years 
 previous, of 1,808. In 1840, there were but seventeen; 
 and, in 1850, there were none. 
 
 In Massachusetts, it was declared by the judiciary, soon 
 after the revolution, that slavery had been virtually 
 abolished on the adoption of the state constitution; and 
 that the issue of a female slave, though born prior to the 
 framing of the constitution, and as early as 1773, was 
 born free. According to this ruling, slavery has not 
 existed in Massachusetts, and the district of Maine, since 
 the separation of that state from Great Britain. In 1790, 
 there were 5,463 free negroes in the state; but there were 
 no slaves. In Pennsylvania, an act was passed, in 1780, for 
 
ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN. THE STATES. 
 
 253 
 
 the emancipation of its slaves. In 1790, there were 
 3,737 slaves in the state; in 1800, 1,706; in 1810, 795; 
 in 1840, 64 ; and, in 1850, there were none. 
 
 In New Jersey, statutes were passed, in 1784 and in 
 1820, for the gradual extinction of slavery. It was de- 
 clared that all children born of a slave after the 4th of 
 July, 1804, were to be free. In 1790, there were in this 
 state 11,423 slaves; in 1800, 12,422; in 1810, 10,851; 
 in 1850, 236 ; and, in 1860, there were none. 
 
 In 1799, New York took a step towards the extinguish- 
 ment of slavery in that state, by gradual emancipation. 
 The law declared, that every child born of a slave, within 
 the state, after the 4th of July, 1799, should be born free, 
 though liable to be held as the servant of the proprietor of 
 the mother, until the age of twenty-eight years, in a male 5 
 and twenty-five in a female ; and, as Chancellor Kent 
 says, in like manner as if such person had been bound by 
 the overseers of the* poor to serve for that purpose. This 
 law was further enlarged and improved in 1810; and it 
 was then ordained, that the importation of slaves, except 
 by the owner coming into the state for a residence short 
 of nine months, should be absolutely prohibited ; ande very 
 slave imported contrary to the act, was declared free. Those 
 that were slaves on the 4th of July, 1799, and not manu- 
 mitted, were the only persons, in that state, slaves for 
 life, except those that were imported prior to the 1st of 
 May, 1810. “No slave imported after the 1st of June, 
 1785, could be sold; no slave imported after the 
 1st of May, 1810, could be held as a slave ; and no 
 person born within the state after the 1st of July, 1799, 
 
254 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 was born a slave.” Another and a final law was passed 
 by the legislature in March, 1817; which declared, “that 
 every negro, mulatto, or mustee, within the state, born 
 before the 4th of July, 1799, should, from and after the 
 4th day of July, 1827, be free.” On this latter date, 
 slavery ceased to exist in New York. In 1790, there 
 were 21,324 slaves in the state; in 1800, there were 
 20,343; and, in 1820, 10,088. 
 
 In Rhode Island, no person could be born a slave on or 
 after the 1st of March, 1784. In 1790, there were 952 
 slaves in the state ; and, in 1840, there were but five. 
 
 On the adoption of the constitution of the states of New 
 Hampshire and Vermont, slavery was abolished in those 
 states. In 1790, there were 158 slaves in New Hampshire; 
 in 1810 there were none. In Vermont, there were seven- 
 teen slaves in 1790; and, in 1800, there were none. 
 
 Retardation of Emancipation produced by the 
 Abolitionists. 
 
 We have, in the preceding, given a brief account of the 
 abolition [of slavery in the old colonial states north of 
 Mason and Dixon’s line. These acts were all by and 
 through the influence of an anti-slavery sentiment with 
 the people ; and thus the measure was proceeding from 
 state to state, until the abolition societies sprang into 
 existence, and commenced the propagation of their unlawful 
 schemes for inciting the slaves to insurrection ; and, through 
 secret, organised bands, to kidnap and run off slaves from 
 the southern states to the Canadas. These nefarious acts 
 of the abolitionists, have retarded, and, in fact, put a stop 
 
FANATICISM OF THE ABOLITIONISTS. 
 
 255 
 
 to all emancipation measures, and paralysed the efforts of 
 the anti-slavery people of the Union. The course pursued 
 by the abolitionists rendered it necessary for the slave- 
 holding states to pass the most stringent laws concerning 
 slaves ; and it brought into force many old and obsolete 
 statutes, in order to preserve the lives of the whites, and 
 their homes from the torch of the northern abolition fana- 
 tics. These people were but few until within the past twenty 
 years. Now they number many thousands. We deem it 
 but proper to state, for the benefit of the English reader, 
 that the people of the northern states are, generally, 
 opposed to slavery; but they are not abolitionists. There 
 is a vast distinction between these two classes of people. 
 The anti-slavery man is in favour of the emancipation of 
 slavery by lawful proceedings; but the abolitionist is in 
 favour of accomplishing the end by any means, whether 
 lawful or unlawful. The republican party that has re- 
 cently elected Mr. Lincoln president, does not assume to 
 he an abolition party, though it is anti-slavery. It is 
 opposed to the extension of slavery, which, in reality, is 
 the sentiment of nine-tenths of the people living in the 
 slaveholding states. Among the devoted adherents of the 
 party, however, are the abolitionists ; and that affiliation 
 placed Mr. Lincoln under suspicion in the southern states. 
 
 There are so many issues springing from the slavery 
 question, that it is impossible for us to explain them 
 satisfactorily in this work ; and we cannot but discuss 
 them incidentally. Writers have spoken of the slave, 
 holding states lying next to those which are non-slave- 
 holding, as “ breeding states.” The epithet is offensive, 
 
256 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 and is not consistent with truth. Those states do not 
 allow the importation of slaves as merchandise. A trader 
 cannot carry slaves into them to sell. A family can 
 emigrate to any of those states, with its slaves for its own 
 use. Nearly all the slaves in Missouri were taken there 
 by families removing from Virginia and Kentucky. In 
 1830, there were but 25,091 slaves in Missouri ; but, in 
 1840, there were 58,240. In Virginia there were 469,757 
 slaves in 1830; and 449,087 in 1840. Between 1830 and 
 1840 there was a large emigration into Missouri from 
 Virginia. It was painful to see the great movement of 
 the people from Virginia to the far west during that 
 period. The decrease of the slave population, above shown, 
 amounting to 20,670, (plus the natural increase after 
 1830, which was at least 20,000 — making a total of 40,670), 
 was not on account of their transmission to slave-markets 
 of the Gulf states, but it was principally owing to their 
 removal with the whites to Missouri. The population of 
 Missouri, in 1830, was 140,455; and, in 1840, it was 
 383,702 ! 
 
 From our own personal observation, since we were 
 capable of studying the progress of human affairs, we 
 are of opinion that there is less natural increase of the 
 slaves of the so-called “ breeding states,” than of the more 
 southern, or Gulf states. One of the principal reasons 
 for this less natural increase, lies in the fact, that in those 
 states, the slaves are, to a very great extent, domestic or 
 house-servants, particularly the women ; and families do 
 not wish their house-servants to be encumbered with 
 children. A maid-servant is worth more than a married 
 
SLAVERY IN VIRGINIA. 
 
 257 
 
 one, and can be sold or hired for a larger sum. After a 
 house-servant has children, as a general practice, she 
 ceases to be employed in the family, and, for the future, 
 takes a place in the field — a position of less respectability 
 and comfort. In order to continue in the domestic service, 
 the slave-maid is, generally, disinclined to marry; and the 
 family surround her with every possible caution to preserve 
 her chastity. She is taught to live as an example worthy 
 of imitation by the other slaves ; and, true to the character 
 of her sex, she deports herself with a becoming degree of 
 modesty and discretion. There are many white females, 
 both in the New and the Old Worlds, who might profit by 
 the example of the domestic female slave in the southern 
 states; but it is not for us to indulge in recrimination 
 respecting either of the races. 
 
 s 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The Foreign and Domestic Slave-Trade with the different States of 
 the Union. 
 
 Virginia and the Slave-Trade. 
 
 On examination of the statutes of the American colonies, 
 we find that there was a very general hostility against the 
 importation of slaves. The several colonies had their 
 orders from the king to sanction and encourage the slave- 
 trade ; but on the commencement of the revolutionary 
 war, nearly all the colonies proceeded to enact and enforce 
 laws prohibiting the traffic : among the foremost of these 
 were Virginia and South Carolina. These two states were 
 the most decided of all the American states against the 
 further importation of the African race. 
 
 In 1753, conformably to royal orders, the colony of 
 Virginia enacted, that — 
 
 “All persons who have been, or shall be, imported into this 
 colony by sea or by land, and were not Christians in their native 
 country, except Turks and Moors in amity with his majesty, and 
 such who can prove their being free in England, or any other 
 Christian country, before they were shipped for transportation 
 hither, shall be accounted slaves, and as such be here bought 
 and sold, notwithstanding a conversion to Christianity after their 
 importation. ” 
 
 Among the early laws enacted by the state of Virginia, 
 after the Declaration of Independence in 1776, was the fol- 
 lowing prohibition of the slave-trade. It was passed in 1778. 
 
VIRGINIA AND THE SLAVE-TRADE. 259 
 
 “ Section 1. For preventing the further importation of slaves into 
 this commonwealth, be it enacted by the general assembly, that 
 from and after the passing of this act, no slave or slaves shall here- 
 after be imported into this commonwealth by sea or by land, nor 
 shall any slave or slaves so imported be sold or bought by any 
 person whatever. 
 
 “Section 2. Every person hereinafter importing slaves into this 
 commonwealth contrary to this act, shall forfeit and pay the sum 
 of one thousand pounds for every slave so imported ; and every 
 person selling or buying any such slaves shall, in like manner, 
 forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred pounds for every slave so 
 sold or bought, etc. 
 
 “ Section 3. That every slave imported into this commonwealth, 
 contrary to the true intent and meaning of this act, shall, upon 
 such importation, become free. 
 
 “Section 4. Provided always, that this act shall not be construed 
 to extend to those who may incline to remove from any of the 
 United States, and become citizens of this state, provided that 
 within ten days after their removal into the same, they take the 
 following oath before some magistrate of the commonwealth. 
 
 “ ‘ I, A. B., do swear, that my removal to the state of Virginia 
 was with no intention to evade the act for preventing the further 
 importation of slaves within this commonwealth, nor have I brought 
 with me, or will cause to be brought, any slaves, with an intent of 
 selling them, nor have any of the slaves now in my possession 
 been imported from Africa, or any of the West India Islands, since 
 the 1st day of November, 1778, so help me God.’ ” 
 
 The other southern states having enacted laws to pro- 
 hibit the importation of African slaves, it was supposed 
 that the increase of slavery from across the sea was 
 stopped; but the slave-traders from the northern states, 
 aarticularly New Hampshire, managed to defeat the inten- 
 sions of the Virginia legislature, as declared in the act of 
 L778. With a view to prevent the possibility of any eva- 
 sion of the prohibition, the legislature of that common- 
 vealth enacted the following law in 1785 : — 
 
 “ That no person shall henceforth be slaves within this common- 
 
 S 2 
 
260 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 wealth, except such as were so on the first day of the present 
 session of the assembly ; and the descendants of the females of 
 them. Slaves which shall hereafter be brought into tliis common- 
 wealth, and be kept therein one whole year together, or so long at 
 different times as shall amount to one year, shall be free.” 
 
 The preceding law was found to be excessive, and pre- 
 vented many good people from the northern states from 
 emigrating to Virginia; and, in order to give relief to 
 actual bona fide settlers, the law was amended, so as to 
 permit families to bring their slaves from other states of 
 the Union, provided they took the oath hereinbefore 
 given. In the meantime, a question arose as to the right 
 of property in certain mulattoes, who were nearly white. 
 They had been brought from the northern states; and the 
 legality of their slavesliip was questioned. “They were 
 nearly white, with straight hair, and no marks of the 
 African race to be seen about their person,” having been 
 well bleached by the northern whites; yet the emigrants 
 insisted upon their right of property in them, based upon 
 either descent or purchase. In order to put at rest the 
 question, and enable the. owner to prove the legality of his 
 claims, the legislature of Virginia, in 1785, passed the 
 following law 
 
 “ That every person of whose grandfathers or grandmothers any 
 one is, or shall have been a negro, although all his other pro- 
 genitors, except that descending from the negro, shall have been 
 white persons, shall be deemed a mulatto ; and every such per- 
 son who shall have one-fourth part or more of negro blood, shall, in 
 like manner, be deemed a mulatto.” 
 
 Again a question arose as to who were mulattoes; and, 
 to settle the question, the legislature, in 1786, enacted the 
 following law : — 
 
 “ Every person other than a negro, of whose grandfathers or 
 
VIRGINIA AND THE SLAVE-TRADE. 
 
 261 
 
 grandmothers any one is, or shall have been a negro, although all 
 his or her other progenitors, except that descending from a negro, 
 shall have been white persons, shall be deemed a mulatto ; and so 
 every such person who shall have one-fourth part or more of negro 
 blood, shall, in like manner, be deemed a mulatto.” 
 
 Notwithstanding the efforts of Virginia to put a stop 
 to the traffic in slaves, and their importation from the 
 northern states of the Union, yet there were those who, 
 under the influence of a lust for gold, were actually guilty 
 of kidnapping free negroes in the northern states, and 
 carried them to Virginia, and other southern states, to 
 hold or sell them as slaves. To prevent the repetition of 
 such nefarious transactions, the legislature enacted the 
 following law in 1786 : — 
 
 “ Whereas, several evil-disposed persons have seduced or stolen 
 the children of black and mulatto free persons, and have actually 
 disposed of the persons so seduced or stolen, as slaves, and punish- 
 ment adequate to such crimes not being by law provided for such 
 offenders : 
 
 “ Be it enacted, That any person who shall hereafter be guilty of 
 stealing or selling any free person for a slave, knowing the said 
 person so sold to be free, and thereof shall be lawfully convicted, 
 the person so convicted shall suffer death without the benefit of 
 clergy.” 
 
 "With a view to further avoid the evasion of the laws 
 enacted to prevent the slave traffic from the northern 
 states, by their importation from Africa into some of those 
 states, and from thence into Virginia, the following law 
 was enacted by the legislature of that state, in 1792 : — 
 
 “ That no persons shall henceforth be slaves within this common- 
 wealth, except such as were so on the 17th day of Octoblr, 1785 ; 
 md the descendants, being slaves, as since have been, or hereafter 
 nay be brought into this state, or held therein pursuant to law.” 
 
 In 1806, the legislature of Virginia deemed it necessary 
 
262 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 to pass a further prohibition against the importation of 
 slaves into the state. The northern states had passed 
 laws to gradually emancipate their slaves ; and, in order 
 to avoid the loss of their property, many of the people 
 removed to Virginia, or to some of the other southern 
 states. This rapid increase of slavery in the south, was 
 objectionable to the whites of those states; and hence the 
 repeated enactments concerning the importation of slaves. 
 The following law was passed in 1806 : — 
 
 “That if any slave or slaves shall hereafter be brought into this 
 commonwealth, and shall either be kept therein one whole year, or 
 so long, at different times, as shall amount to one year, or shall be 
 sold or hired within tills commonwealth, in every such case the 
 owner shall forfeit all right to such slave or slaves, which right 
 shall absolutely vest in the overseers of the poor of any county or 
 corporation, who shall apprehend such forfeited slave or slaves 
 within their jurisdiction, in trust for the benefit of the poor of such 
 county or corporation. 
 
 “And every person hereafter bringing into this commonwealth 
 any slave or slaves, contrary to this act, shall forfeit and pay the 
 sum of four hundred dollars for every slave so brought in ;i and 
 every person selling, buying, or hiring any such slave or slaves, 
 knowing the same to have been brought in contrary to the pro- 
 visions of this act, shall forfeit and pay the sum of four hundred 
 dollars for every slave so brought, sold, or hired; which forfeiture 
 shall accrue to the use of the commonwealth, to be recovered by 
 action of debt or information, in which the defendant shall be held 
 to special bail ; judgment shall be rendered without regard to any 
 exception for want of form, and an attorney’s fee of twenty dollars 
 shall be taxed in the bill of costs.” 
 
 The temper of the Virginians had been aroused, on 
 account of the repeated evasion of the laws prohibiting 
 the importation of slaves from the northern states, in 
 which laws had been enacted for their emancipation. The 
 preceding act had been in force only a few years, when 
 
VIRGINIA AND THE SLAVE-TRADE. 
 
 263 
 
 an effort was made to get it modified, in order to permit 
 actual settlers from the northern states to come into 
 Virginia with their slaves. The expansion of the popula- 
 tion in those states had exceeded the requirements of the 
 agricultural domain for labour : there were lands enough 
 in Virginia for a very great increase of population. The 
 people of this state were anxious to have the white immigra- 
 tion ; but they were not willing, nor would they consent 
 to an increase of slavery within their dominion. With a 
 view to effect the ends desired, the legislature enacted the 
 following most singular law in 1812 : — 
 
 “That all persons now residing within this commonwealth, or 
 who may hereafter remove to the same with a bond fide intention 
 of becoming citizens and inhabitants thereof, who now are, or at 
 the time of his, her, or their removal, may be the owner or owners 
 of any slave or slaves born in any of the United States, or territories 
 thereof, shall be, and they are hereby authorised to bring into, and 
 hold within this commonwealth, any such slave or slaves ; provided 
 that said owner or owners shall, within thirty days after such slave 
 or slaves shall have been brought into this commonwealth, exhibit 
 to some justice of the peace of the county in which he, she, or 
 they may reside, or have removed to, a statement in writing, con- 
 taining the name, age, sex, and description of each and every slave 
 so brought in, and shall, moreover, make oath, or solemn affirma- 
 tion before such justice, that the said statement contains a true 
 account of the slaves so brought in ; and that the said slave or 
 slaves were not brought into this commonwealth for the purpose of 
 sale, or with the intent to evade the laws preventing the further 
 importation of slaves ; and within sixty days thereafter, return such 
 statement, together with a certificate of said oath or affirmation, to 
 the court of the same county, to be there recorded. 
 
 “ And provided, also, that the said owner or owners shall, within 
 three months after any slave or slaves shall have been so brought 
 into this commonwealth, export a female slave above the age of ten 
 years and under the age of thirty, for every slave so as aforesaid 
 imported ; and within the said period, return to the court of said 
 county a statement containing the name, age, and description of 
 
264 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 the slave or slaves so exported, and give satisfactory evidence to 
 the said court of the performance of the said condition* and make 
 oath that he, she, or they have bond fide performed the same.” 
 
 The object of this law was to prevent the increase of 
 slavery in Virginia. The slaves imported were mostly 
 males; and by the reduction of the females, the state 
 expected to lessen the natural increase. This was based 
 upon the principles some years since proposed by the 
 celebrated Indian chief, Black Hawk; which was to place 
 all the males in one state, and all the females in another. 
 The scheme, as such, was, and ever will be, impracti- 
 cable. If the female negroes were placed in the one 
 state or section of the country, the whites would, within a 
 few r years, mulatto the race. If the males were confined 
 to a certain section, experience has proved that the white 
 females would be subjected to the most horrible violence. 
 A little more than 200 years (1620) before this act was 
 passed, the London Company shipped to Virginia several 
 cargoes of white females, and sold them to the Virginians 
 for wives : these women bought from fifteen to thirty 
 pounds each; and from the sales the company realised 
 considerable revenue. On the arrival of each cargo of 
 women, the men gathered from all directions, and the 
 competition was active among the purchasers. The highest 
 bidder got the prize ; but all were sold each time. The 
 London Company gave employment to married men in 
 preference to the single ; and that created a necessity for 
 a wife ; or, in other words, it made sure the sales of 
 the women shipped to America by the company. The 
 Virginians, in the above law, had certainly forgotten their 
 ancestral proclivities for female companionship. 
 
SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE SLAVE-TRADE. 
 
 265 
 
 It was not difficult for the owner importing the slave 
 to secure the exportation of the female slave, of an age 
 between the years of teu and thirty. Many Virginians 
 were, at that time, removing to the western states ; and an 
 arrangement was readily effected to comply with the law, 
 by the nominal exportation of the female accompanying 
 and belonging to the family removing to the west. In a 
 few years thereafter, slavery in the northern states was 
 abolished, and the prohibitory laws of Virginia then 
 became dead letters. 
 
 South Carolina and the Slave-Trade. 
 
 We now propose to give some account of the laws of 
 South Carolina, having reference to the slave-trade. This 
 state is, and has been considered, by foreign people, as 
 the most unreasonable of all the states, with respect to the 
 perpetuity of slavery. We will give a few extracts and 
 notices of the record, “behind which no man can go.” 
 
 In 1703, it was enacted, that — 
 
 “ Any slave killing an enemy in time of invasion, shall be granted 
 his freedom. Any slave that gets wounded in the attempt to kill 
 an enemy, shall be supported at the public expense. In either 
 case the master shall be paid for his slave from the public treasury.” 
 
 In 1788, the legislature of South Carolina enacted — 
 
 “No negro or other slave shall be imported or brought into this 
 state either by land or water, on or before the 1st of January, 
 1793, under the penalty of forfeiting every such slave or slaves to 
 my person who will sue or inform for the same ; and under further 
 penalty of paying £100 to the use of the state for every such negro 
 >r slave so imported or brought in : provided that nothing in this 
 prohibition contained shall extend to such slaves as are now the 
 property of citizens of the United States, and at the time of passing 
 his act shall be within the limits of the said United States.” 
 
266 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 In 1792, the preceding law was extended as follows : — ■ 
 
 “ Tliat no slave shall be imported into this state from Africa, the 
 West India Islands, or any other place beyond the sea, for and 
 during the term of two years, commencing from the first day of 
 January, 1793. 
 
 “ That no slave or negro, Indian, Moor, mulatto, or Mestizo, bound 
 to service for a term of years, shall be brought into this state, by 
 land or water, from any of the United States, or any of the countries 
 bordering thereon, ever hereafter : provided, however, actual citi- 
 zens of the United States shall and are hereby permitted to come 
 into this state, and settle with their slaves.” 
 
 Again, in 1794, the legislature extended the prohibition 
 thus : — 
 
 “ That no slave or person of colour, bond or free, shall be per- 
 mitted to be imported, or land, or enter the state from the Bahamas 
 or West India Islands, or from any part of the continent of 
 America, without the limits of the United States, or from any other 
 parts beyond the seas. ” 
 
 In 1796, the law was extended to 1799, with a penalty 
 attached in case of a violation; the person to be subjected 
 to a fine and imprisonment for each person imported in 
 violation of the law. In 1798, the law was extended 
 to 1801. In the year 1800, it was . extended to 1803; 
 and it enacted, that no slave should be brought into 
 the state from any part of the world, not even from 
 any of the United States. This statute was passed for 
 the same reasons that had induced the state of Virginia 
 to enact laws prohibiting the importation of slaves from 
 other parts of the Union, and especially the northern 
 states, where emancipation laws had been passed. The 
 South Carolina statute further enacted — 
 
 “ That it shall and may be lawful to and for any person travelling 
 into or through this state, to bring into the same one or more slaves 
 or free persons of colour, not exceeding two, as necessary attendants 
 
SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE SLAVE-TRADE. 
 
 267 
 
 on such person or his or her family ; and for no other purpose what- 
 soever : provided, nevertheless, to exempt such person from the 
 penalties of this act, every such person shall make an oath before 
 some justice of the peace, near to the place where they shall enter 
 the state, that such slave or slaves, or persons of colour, is or are his 
 or her necessary attendants ; and that he or she will not sell or dis- 
 pose of such slave, or persons of colour, but will take the same back 
 with him or her to his or her usual place of residence.” 
 
 The courts of South Carolina found it difficult to trace 
 the title of the owner to his slave; and persons bringing 
 into the state slaves from another in which emancipation 
 laws had been passed, could not be compelled to reveal 
 from whence they brought their chattels. A man was 
 not expected to criminate himself. In order to make 
 practicable the former most stringent prohibitory laws, 
 which were really beyond the possibility of enforcement, 
 the legislature passed the following permissive statute, 
 then supposed to be necessary as a question of comity : — 
 
 “ That all and every person or persons removing into this state, 
 with their slaves, shall, immediately on entering the state, take the 
 following oath, before some justice of the peace: — 
 
 “ ‘ I, A. B., do swear, that my removal into the state of South 
 Carolina is with no intention of evading the several laws of this 
 state, for preventing the further importation of slaves into this 
 state ; nor have I brought with me any slave or slaves with an in- 
 tention of selling them ; nor will I sell or dispose of any slave or 
 slaves so brought with me as aforesaid, within two years from the 
 date hereof ; and it is my intention, 6owa fide, to become a resident 
 and citizen of the said state.’ 
 
 “ That each and every slave who shall hereafter be imported or 
 brought into this state, except under the limitations prescribed by 
 this act, shall be, and each and every one of them are hereby de- 
 clared to be free, in whosoevers hands they may be.” 
 
 In 1803, the legislature passed an act, declaring that 
 the statutes of 1800 and of 1801. prohibiting the importa- 
 
268 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 tion of slaves into the state of South Carolina, “ shall be, 
 and the same are hereby declared to be perpetual laws.” 
 
 By statute of 1820, it was enacted — • 
 
 “That if any person or persons shall hereafter bring, or cause to 
 be brought into this state, any free negro or person of colour, and 
 shall hold the same as a slave, or sell or offer the same for sale, 
 to any person or persons in this state, as a slave, every such person 
 or persons shall pay for every such free negro, or free person of 
 colour, the sum of 1,000 dollars over and above the damages which 
 may be recovered by such free negro.” 
 
 By act of 1837, it was further declared — 
 
 “ That whoever shall hereafter be convicted of the forcible or 
 fraudulent abduction, or assisting in the forcible or fraudulent 
 abduction of any free person of colour living within this state, 
 with intent to deprive him or her of his or her liberty, shall be fined 
 not less than 1,000 dollars, and be imprisoned for not less than 
 twelve months. 
 
 “ And whoever, in addition to such abduction, shall actually sell 
 or assist in selling, or cause to be sold, such person as a slave, shall, 
 upon being duly convicted thereof, in addition to such fine and im- 
 prisonment, receive thirty-nine lashes on the bare back.” 
 
 Notwithstanding the laws of Congress prohibiting the 
 African slave-trade, and the former laws of South Carolina 
 against the importation of slaves into that state, the 
 legislature, even so late as 1835, found it necessary to 
 renew the former acts in such form as to meet the then 
 existing state of slavery. It was therefore enacted — 
 
 “ That it shall not be lawful for any citizen of this state, or other 
 person, to bring into this state, under any pretext whatever, any 
 slave or slaves from any port or place in the West Indies, or Mexico, 
 or any part of South America, or from Europe, or from any sister 
 state situated north of the Potomac River, or city of Washington.” 
 
 We do not understand why the legislature excluded the 
 slaves from Maryland and Delaware, unless it was owing 
 to the fact, that the slaves of those states were indifferent 
 
269 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA AND THE SLAVE-TRADE. 
 
 labourers, and not much, if at all, more useful than free 
 negroes. 
 
 We have thus fully quoted from the laws of the state of 
 South Carolina ; they prove a morality in legislation 
 worthy of example. We might have given many more of 
 the same tenor j but we deem the preceding sufficient to 
 show the commendable course of that state respecting the 
 slave-trade. 
 
 North Carolina, and the Slave-Trade. 
 
 We will now notice a few of the statutes enacted from 
 time to time by the legislature of North Carolina. Various 
 laws have been passed to prevent the importation of slaves 
 into the state, from beyond the sea, or from any other 
 country, excepting the states of the Union. After the 
 northern states passed laws for gradual emancipation, the 
 whites of those states, as we have before mentioned, 
 carried their slaves to the south, in order to sell them, and 
 in that manner realise upon their property, which, by their 
 own legislative enactments, had been declared to be free 
 within a given number of years thereafter. With the 
 intention to defeat such unjust disregard for the laws, and to 
 prevent the increase of slave property in the state, the legis- 
 lature of North Carolina enacted the following in 1786 : — 
 
 “ That every person who shall introduce into this state any slave 
 or slaves after the passing hereof, from any of the United States 
 which have passed laws for the liberation of slaves, shall, on com- 
 plaint thereof before any justice of the peace, be compelled by such 
 justice of the peace, to enter into bond with sufficient security in 
 the sum of £50 current money, for each slave, for the removing of 
 such slave or slaves to the state from whence such slave or slaves 
 were brought, within three months thereafter, &c. ” 
 
270 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Again, in the year 1795, tlie legislature enacted the 
 following, in order to prevent the evasion of the law 
 prohibiting the importation of slaves from Africa. It 
 was the practice to laud the slaves stolen from Africa at 
 the Bahama Isles, and other places, and reship them in 
 other vessels to the American states. 
 
 “That from and after the first day of April next (1795), it shall 
 not be lawful for any person coming into this state, with an intent 
 to settle or otherwise, from any of the West Indies or Bahama 
 Islands, or the settlements in the southern coast of America, to land 
 any negro or negroes, or people of colour, over the age of fifteen 
 years, under the penalty of £100 for each and ev ery slave or person 
 of colour, <fcc.” 
 
 Georgia and Maryland Anti-Slave-Trade Laws. 
 
 The state of Georgia has passed many laws of the same 
 tenor as those enacted by the other southern states, to pro- 
 hibit the importation of slaves ; and to prevent, beyond ques- 
 tion, the continuation of the African slave-trade, in 1798 
 a clause was inserted in the constitution, that — 
 
 “ There shall be no future importation of slaves into this state, 
 from Africa or any foreign place, after the first day of October next 
 (1798).” 
 
 The legislature of the state of Georgia, in 1833, enacted 
 as follows : — 
 
 “If any person or persons shall bring, import, or introduce into 
 this state, or aid, or assist, or knowingly become concerned or inter- 
 ested in bringing, importing, or introducing into this state, either 
 by land or by water, or in any manner whatever, any slave or slaves, 
 each and every such person or persons so offending shall be deemed 
 principals in law, and guilty of a high misdemeanor, and may be 
 arrested and tried in any county in this state, in which he, she, or 
 they may be found, and, on conviction, shall be punished by a fine 
 not exceeding 500 dollars each, for each and every slave so brought, 
 imported, or introduced, and imprisonment and labour in the peniten- 
 
GEORGIA AND MARYLAND, AND THE SLAVE-TRAED. 271 
 
 tiary* for any term not less than one year, nor longer than four 
 years : provided, however, this act shall not prohibit actual settlers 
 from coming into this state with their slaves from any of the other 
 states of the Union.” 
 
 The state of Maryland, at an early day after the revolu- 
 tion, enacted laws against the increase of slavery. The 
 following was enacted in 1797, in order to prevent the 
 importation of slaves from Africa, and from the northern 
 states, where emancipation laws had been passed : — 
 
 “ That it shall not be lawful, from and after the passing of this 
 act, to import or bring into this state, by land or by water, any 
 negro, mulatto, or other slave for sale, or to reside within this 
 state ; and any person brought into this state as a slave, contrary 
 to this act, if a slave before, shall thereupon immediately cease to 
 be the property of the person or persons so importing or bringing 
 such slave within this state, and shall be free.” 
 
 Exceptions were permitted in favour of persons who 
 came into the state with the bond fide intention to become 
 permanent citizens of the state of Maryland; but even in 
 such cases, the slaves or their mothers must have been 
 residents of the United States at least three years previous 
 to 1797. In 1809, the following law was enacted to 
 prevent the importation of slaves from the northern states 
 that had passed emancipation laws : — 
 
 “ That from and after the passage of this act, if any person or 
 
 * Imprisonment in a penitentiary, in the United States, is of the 
 greatest degradation. A man that has served even but one year, or 
 but one month in that prison, can never regain a character. In 
 many of the states he cannot ever thereafter vote, serve on a jury, 
 )r hold any office of the state. His evidence is refused in court ; he 
 :annot sue or be sued ; and his conviction entitles his wife to a 
 livorce ; he cannot hold property ; nor can he get shelter for a night 
 vhere his character is known. There are, of course, exceptions in the 
 mforcement of the society custom ; but there is no man with any 
 ense of honour but would prefer death to a penitentiary disgrace. 
 
272 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 persons shall import or bring into this state any free negro or 
 mulatto, or any person bound to service for a term of years only, 
 and shall sell or otherwise dispose of such free negro, mulatto, or 
 person bound to service for a term of years only, as a slave for life, 
 or for any longer time than by law such person may be bound to 
 service, knowing such negro or mulatto to be free, or entitled to 
 freedom at a certain age, every such person or persons shall, for every 
 such offence, forfeit and pay the sum of 800 dollars and in case 
 of failure to pay, the person or persons so offending shall be 
 condemned to work on the public roads for a term not exceeding 
 five years. 
 
 In the year 1809, the legislature found it necessary to 
 enact more stringent laws to prohibit the evasion of the 
 statute against the foreign slave-trade. The following was 
 among the acts passed unanimously in that year : — 
 
 “ Every commander of a vessel convicted of wilfully importing 
 into this state from any foreign country any slave, and every person 
 convicted of bringing into this state, by land or water, any negro or 
 mulatto from any foreign country, with intent to dispose of such 
 negro” within this state as a slave, the said persons so offending shall 
 be sentenced to confinement in the penitentiary for a term not less 
 than one year, nor more than five years. 
 
 In 1831, the legislature passed a law totally prohibiting 
 the importation of slaves into that state from the other 
 states of the Union; but, in 1833, it was believed to he 
 oppressive upon the people of the slaveholding states, who 
 wished to reside near Washington, but within the jurisdic- 
 tion of Maryland ; and the law of 1831 was modified in 
 favour of actual bond fide residents. By a law of 1839, 
 white persons coming into the state, importing slaves with 
 them from other states of the Union, were required to 
 make an oath that they came into the state with the 
 intention of becoming citizens of Maryland, and that they 
 did not bring the slaves for the purpose of selling them. 
 
SLAVE-TRADE IN THE NEW STATES. 
 
 273 
 
 The said white persons were required to register, in the 
 clerk’s office of the county, the names and full descriptions 
 of the slaves imported by them ; and for such registration 
 to pay a fee, which was appropriated for the benefit of the 
 African Colonisation Society. 
 
 Anti-Slave Trade Laws of the New Southern States. 
 
 We have noticed a few of the laws of all the 
 original southern states, excepting Delaware; and its 
 statutes are very similar to those of Virginia and Mary- * 
 land. We will now proceed to cite a few of the enact- 
 ments of the new southern states ; that is, those admitted 
 into the Union since the constitutional government was 
 formed in 1789. The first of the new states was Ken- 
 tucky; and all the statutes in force within the state of 
 Virginia on the 1st day of June, 1793, were declared to 
 be the laws of Kentucky ; and having, under the head of 
 “Virginia,” cited a few of them, we do not deem it neces- 
 sary to do more than refer to some of the auxiliary enact- 
 ments passed by Kentucky since 1793; excepting the follow- 
 ing, which was passed by the district assembly in 1790 : — 
 
 “ That no slave shall be imported into this state from any foreign 
 country, nor shall any slave who has been imported into the United 
 States from any foreign country since the 1st day of January, 
 1789, or who may be hereafter imported into the United States 
 from any foreign country, be imported into the state under the 
 penalty of 300 dollars. 
 
 J “ That no slave shall be imported into this state as merchandise ; 
 and any person so offending shall forfeit and pay a fine of 300 
 dollars.” 
 
 The Virginia laws of 1753, 1778, and 1785, were espe- 
 cially re-enacted, and full warning given of their enforce- 
 
 T 
 
274 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 ment. In order to prevent the traffic in slaves from 
 other states of the Union, a statute was enacted in 1815, 
 prohibiting the importation of slaves from the other states, 
 except for domestic purposes, and accompanying the white 
 family to which the said slave or slaves might belong; 
 and the owner was required to take the following 
 oath, which is still enforced in Kentucky : — 
 
 “ I, A. B., do swear, that my removal to the state of Kentucky 
 was with an intention to become a citizen thereof, and that I have 
 no slave or slaves, and will bring no slave or slaves to this state 
 ** with intent of selling them. ” 
 
 In the state of Tennessee but few laws have been passed 
 respecting the condition of slaves: the same may be said 
 of Arkansas. These states being interior, and organised 
 since the prohibition of the slave-trade by the sea-coast 
 states, there seemed to be no necessity for the passing of 
 laws upon the subject. 
 
 The revised statutes of Missouri, of 1835, declare, that — 
 
 “ Hereafter no person shall bring, or cause to be brought into 
 this state, or hold, purchase, hire, sell, or otherwise dispose of, 
 within this state, any person, or the descendants of any person, 
 who shall have been imported into the United States, or any of the 
 territories thereof, in contravention of the laws of the United 
 States, and held as slaves, under a penalty of 500 dollars, recover- 
 able by indictment.” 
 
 The state of Mississippi has ever been hostile to the 
 slave-trade ; and, in 1822, the legislature enacted the fol- 
 lowing law : — 
 
 “ It shall not be lawful for any person whatsoever to bring into 
 this state, or to hold therein, any slave or slaves, born or resident 
 out of the limits of the United States. Every such offender shall 
 forfeit and pay to the state, for the use of the literary fund, for 
 each slave so brought in, sold, purchased, or hired, a fine of 1,000 
 dollars. ” 
 
SLAVE-TRADE 1ST MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 275 
 
 In 1839, the legislature of Mississippi enacted-- 
 
 ‘ ‘ That if any person shall hereafter bring or import any slave or 
 slaves into this state, as merchandise, or for the purpose of selling 
 or hiring such slave or slaves, or shall be accessory thereto, the 
 person or persons so ofFending shall be deemed guilty of a mis- 
 demeanor, and on conviction thereof, shall be fined in the sum of 
 I 500 dollars, and be imprisoned for a term not less than one, nor more 
 than six months, at the discretion of the court, for each and every 
 slave by him brought into this state as merchandise, or for sale, or 
 for hire.” 
 
 The legislature of Alabama has enacted laws, from time 
 to time, adverse to the slave-trade. In 1843, the following 
 law was passed : — 
 
 ‘ ‘ Any slave or slaves brought or imported into this state, eon- 
 i trary to the laws of the United States in such cases made and pro- 
 vided, shall be condemned by any superior court of this state, 
 within whose jurisdiction the said slave or slaves shall be brought or 
 be seized, upon libel filed in the said court, and shall be sold by the 
 proper officer of the court, to the highest bidder at public auction, 
 for ready money, after advertising the time and place of such sale, 
 in some newspaper in this state, at least fifteen days previous 
 thereto.” 
 
 Bv statute of 1807, it was enacted — 
 
 “ That if any person or persons shall hereafter be guilty of stealing 
 or selling any free person for a slave, knowing the said person so 
 I sold to be free, and shall be thereof lawfully convicted, the person 
 or persons so convicted shall suffer death.” 
 
 This law has been construed to mean, that if any 
 person import an African, and shall sell him, the said 
 person is liable under the above statute. In case a slaver 
 should evade the laws forbidding the importation of the 
 Africans, and should land them in the state of Alabama, 
 the laws provide for the employment of a portion of the 
 Africans on public works, and a part of them to be hired 
 to persons for a sufficiency to support such of them as the 
 
 T 2 
 
276 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 governor may find in necessity; the intention being, that 
 the imported Africans shall not be an expense to the 
 state; but that they shall work, and earn enough for their 
 support. 
 
 The states of Louisiana, Florida, and Texas have no 
 laws against the importation of African slaves. The 
 slave-trade having been abolished many years before 
 they were admitted into the Union as states, they have 
 not deemed it necessary to pass prohibitory statutes. 
 The United States’ laws, abolishing the foreign slave- 
 trade, have been fairly administered in those states. 
 
 Having thus cited some of the laws of the southern 
 states, prohibiting the foreign slave importation, and con- 
 cerning the internal slave-trade, we will now proceed to 
 give a few of the statutes enacted in the northern states 
 when slavery existed in those states, as their character and 
 tenor will aid the reader to form a proper idea respecting 
 the moral of the existing slave codes in the southern 
 states ; and besides, some of them will explain the causes 
 producing the enactments in the south, and verify the 
 truth of some of the remarks which we have added to 
 those laws, as explanatory. 
 
 The Slave Traffic in the Northern States. 
 
 The legislature of New Jersey, in 1798, enacted a law, 
 prohibiting any person from fitting out a vessel to carry 
 on the slave-trade between Europe, Asia, Africa, orj 
 America, or anywhere else, under the penalty of forfei- 
 ture of the ship, cargo, tackle, &e. In 1820 it enacted, 
 that all masters of vessels should file a certificate of the 
 
SLAVERY IN THE NORTHERN STATES. 
 
 277 
 
 name and description of every slave taken on board, and 
 should enter into a bond “to return the said slave or 
 slaves to the state of New Jersey;” and, in case of failure, 
 should pay a flue of not less than 1,000, nor more than 
 2,000 dollars, and be imprisoned, “ at hard labour 
 in the penitentiary, for a term of not less than two 
 years, nor more than four years.” The object of this law 
 was to prevent the carrying of slaves into the southern 
 states, to evade the emancipation laws of New Jersey. It 
 was further enacted that no slave should be brought into 
 that state from any of the other states of the Union, under 
 the penalty of 140 dollars. It appears that no laws were 
 passed in this state prohibiting the slave-trade. 
 
 In Pennsylvania there were no laws against the importa- 
 tion of African slaves; but the following enactment of 
 1780 served as an equivalent to a prohibitory statute : — 
 
 “All persons, as well negroes and mulattoes as others, who shall 
 be horn within this state, shall not be deemed and considered as 
 servants for life, or slaves ; and all servitude for life, or slavery of 
 children, in consequence of the slavery of their mothers, in the case 
 of all children born within this state from and after the passing of 
 this act as aforesaid, shall be and hereby is utterly taken away, 
 extinguished, and for ever abolished provided, however, children 
 bom hereafter of slave mothers, are to be held to servitude until 
 they are twenty-eight years old. 
 
 By an act of the legislature of New York, passed in 
 1788, it was declared — 
 
 “ That every negro, mulatto, or muztee within this state, who, 
 at the time of the passing of this act is a slave for his or her life, 
 shall continue such for and during his or her life, unless he or she 
 shall be manumitted or set free in the manner prescribed in and 
 by this act, or in and by some future law of this state. 
 
 “ That the children of every negro, mulatto, or muztee woman, 
 
278 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 being a slave, shall follow the state and condition of the mother, 
 and be esteemed, reputed, taken, and adjudged slaves to all intents 
 and purposes whatsoever.” 
 
 In 1788 an act was passed, prohibiting the importation 
 of slaves from foreign countries, under the penalty of £100 
 sterling ; and the same law prohibited the importation of 
 slaves from other states. Again, in the year 1815, it was 
 enacted, that — 
 
 “No person held as a slave shall be imported, introduced, or 
 brought into this, on aDy pretence whatever, except in the cases 
 hereinafter specified, die. 
 
 “ The preceding section shall not be deemed to discharge from ser- 
 vice any person held in slavery in any of the United States, under 
 and by the laws thereof, who shall escape into this state. ” 
 
 A similar law to the above w as enacted in 1817; and 
 full faith and credit were directed to be given to the fugitive 
 slave law of Congress, passed in 1793. In 1810, a very 
 rigid law was enacted, prohibiting the taking of slaves out 
 of the state, in order to sell them in other states. As the 
 emancipation laws had been passed, many of the people 
 were taking their slaves to the southern states; and, to 
 prevent an evasion of the statutes, the exportation of slaves 
 was prohibited under severe penalties. 
 
 We have not been able to find auy laws enacted by the 
 states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and 
 New Hampshire, against people of those states engaging 
 in the foreign slave-trade; though it is well known that 
 the importation of slaves was not permitted by their 
 statutes or constitutions. There was no market for the 
 slaves in those states; and hence there was but little 
 necessity for the enactment of prohibitory laws for their 
 own protection : but they might have passed more 
 
NORTHERN SHIPS IN THE SLAVE-TRADE. 
 
 279 
 
 stringent statutes, and prevented the fitting-out of ships 
 for the carrying on of the traffic. So long, however, as the 
 southern states remained permissive slave-markets, there 
 were northern shippers ever ready to speculate upon the 
 sale of the kidnapped African. These proceedings ulti- 
 mately became offensive to the humane sentiment of the 
 whole southern people; and hence the repeated enactment 
 of laws to prevent the landing of slaves in those states. 
 The anti-slavery societies discountenanced the slave traffic; 
 and, after the revolution, Dr. Frauklin wrote an appeal to 
 the governor of New Hampshire, as follows: — 
 
 “The Society (Anti-Slavery) have heard, with great regret, that 
 a considerable part of the slaves who have been sold in the southern 
 states since the establishment of peace (1783), have been imported 
 in vessels fitted out in the state over which your excellency presides. 
 From your excellency’s station, they hope your influence will be 
 exerted, hereafter, to prevent a practice which is so evidently re- 
 pugnant to the political principles and form of government lately 
 adopted by the citizens of the United States.” 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Education and Assembling of Slaves ; tlieir Food and Raiment ; 
 Hours of Labour; Slave-Trade between the States; Slave- 
 Market, and the Separation of Families ; their Marriage ; Right 
 of Speech in Slaveholding States ; Constitutional Protection of 
 Slaves ; they cannot hold Property ; Life among the Slaves ; 
 Social Habits, and early Slave-life in Mississippi. 
 
 Education and Assembling of Slaves. 
 
 In nearly all the slaveholding states there are laws for- 
 bidding the education of slaves. They have a permissive 
 right to engage in whatever religious worship they 
 may prefer. The master can restrict their attendance 
 at meetings ; but when that right is exercised in the 
 nature of a prohibition, public opinion justifies its de- 
 nunciation in the pulpit, as it does with every species 
 of hardship in the case of the slave. In 1740, the 
 colony of South Carolina passed a law, which was approved 
 by the crown, enacting — 
 
 “That all and every person and persons whatsoever, who shall 
 hereafter teach, or cause any slave or slaves to be taught to write, 
 or shall use or employ any slave as a scribe, in any manner of 
 writing whatsoever, hereafter taught to write, every such person or 
 persons shall, for every such offence, forfeit the sum of one hundred 
 pounds current money.” 
 
 This most stringent law was passed in 1740, in South 
 Carolina; and, in the same year, we have an account of 
 the trial and conviction of a slave by three justices 
 
EDUCATION OF SLAVES. 
 
 281 
 
 and a jury of five persons, under the laws of New York; 
 who was sentenced, and burnt to death. 
 
 In 1821, an insurrection of the slaves was attempted; 
 and the city council of Charleston, South Carolina, passed 
 the following ; viz. — 
 
 “ Resolved, That the marshal be instructed. to inform the ministers 
 of the gospel and others, who keep night and Sunday schools for 
 slaves, that the education of such persons is prohibited by law, and 
 that the city council feel imperiously bound to enforce the penalty 
 against those who may hereafter forfeit the same.” 
 
 From this proclamation, it would seem that, notwith- 
 standing the law of 1740, the slaves were being educated 
 in 1821. After the cessation of the excitement, or sus- 
 picion, the slaves were again tanght as they had been 
 before. 
 
 In 1800, another act was passed, declaring — 
 
 “ That assemblies of slaves, free negroes, mulattoes, and mes- 
 tizoes, and a portion of white persons, met together for the purpose 
 of mental instruction in a confined and secret place, are declared to 
 be an unlawful meeting ; and the magistrates are recpiired to enter 
 such confined and secret places, to break open the doors, if their 
 entrance be resisted, and to disperse the said persons ; and they may 
 inflict such corporal punishment, not exceeding twenty lashes, upon 
 such slaves, free negroes, white persons, &c., as they may judge 
 necessary for deterring them from such unlawful assemblage in 
 future.” It was further enacted, that “slaves, free negroes, and 
 mulattoes, even in the presence of white persons, are forbidden to 
 meet together for the purpose of mental instruction, either before 
 the rising of the sun, or after the going down of the same.” 
 
 In Virginia, the revised code of 1819 declares — 
 
 “ That all meetings of slaves, or free negroes or mulattoes 
 mixing with the slaves, at any meeting-house in the night, or at 
 my school for teaching them to read or write, either in the day or 
 eight, under whatever pretext, shall be deemed an unlawful as- 
 sembly ; and any justice of the peace may issue his warrant, 
 
282 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 directed to any sworn officer, authorising him to disperse the said 
 assembly, and to inflict corporal punishment on the offenders, at 
 the discretion of any justice of the peace, not to exceed twenty 
 lashes.” 
 
 By revised statutes of 1849, it was declared — 
 
 “ If a free person write, print, or cause to be written or printed, 
 any book or other writing, with intent to advise or incite negroes 
 in this state to rebel or make insurrection, or inculcating resistance 
 to the right of property of masters in their slaves ; or if he shall aid 
 the purposes of any such book or writing, or knowingly circulate the 
 same, he shall be confined in the penitentiary, not less than one, 
 nor more than five years.” 
 
 In North Carolina, to teach a slave to read or write, 
 or sell to him books of an incendiary character , is punished 
 with thirty-nine lashes, or imprisonment, if the offender 
 be a free negro; and if a white man, then with a fine of 
 200 dollars. In Georgia, to teach a free negro or slave 
 is punished by a fine of 500 dollars, and imprisonment, 
 at the discretion of the court. If the teacher be a coloured 
 man, bond or free, he may be fined or whipped, at the 
 discretion of the court. In Louisiana, it is felony to teach 
 slaves to read and write ; and the penalty is one year's 
 imprisonment; and if any one use incendiary language in 
 the pulpit, at the bar, on the stage, or elsewhere, with 
 the view to incite the slaves to discontent and insurrection, 
 they are guilty of felony, and may be punished by im- 
 prisonment or death, at the discretion of the court. If the 
 offender has caused an insurrection, he will be sure to suffer 
 death. If his teachings shall only have produced mischief, 
 such as insubordination, without intent of insurrection, 
 the penalty will be imprisonment. In ^Kentucky, Mary- 
 land, Delaware, and a few other states, there are no laws 
 
KELIGIOUS WORSHIP IN THE SLAVE STATES. 
 
 283 
 
 prohibiting education; but they all have laws forbidding 
 the unlawful assembling of slaves, free negroes, and 
 mulattoes. Although these laws may seem to be bar- 
 barously severe, yet they are not practically carried out, 
 except when there is a suspicion of danger. In all cases, 
 the laws would be enforced against teachers coming from 
 the nou-slaveholding states, and particularly from New 
 England; and, in fact, nearly every person coming from 
 the latter, is under more or less suspicion when in the 
 southern states. This feeling has been produced by the 
 frequent aiding of slaves to run away to the Canadas, by 
 the abolitionists of those states. 
 
 The laws cited may be considered as positive prohibitions 
 to the slaves and free negroes holding or attending reli- 
 gious meetings. The language is plain, and the penalties 
 affixed are severe. Such, indeed, are the laws. We 
 know, however, that they are not rigidly enforced. The 
 negroes, free and slave, attend religious meetings through- 
 out the whole of the slaveholding states, any and every 
 Sunday they may wish, without let or hindrance. There 
 are several religious denominations supporting ministers 
 of the gospel; who, in whole or in part, preach to the 
 slaves, free negroes, and mulattoes, and sometimes in 
 edifices built for their special use. On large plantations, 
 it is common to have a building for their religious worship ; 
 and the proprietor supports a clergyman to preach and 
 to teach them. The Methodist episcopal church (south) 
 has an efficient organisation for the religious teaching of 
 the slaves throughout the southern states. In 1859, the 
 missionary fund of this denomination, collected during the 
 
284 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 year preceding, was 214,664 dollars ; about two-thirds 
 of which sum was employed for the religious education 
 of the slaves. In the state of South Carolina, in 1859, 
 there were thirty-nine clergymen engaged in preaching 
 to the slaves and free negroes, with an actual membership 
 and communion of 11,000 souls. In that year, there were 
 in the slaveholding states, excepting Delaware, Maryland, 
 and a part of Virginia, which belong to the northern 
 connexion, or fellowship, 197,348 coloured communicants 
 in the Methodist church. Of the 214,664 dollars collected 
 for missionary purposes in 1859, two-thirds of the amount 
 were devoted to the payment of salaries of preachers to 
 the slaves, at the rate of 100 dollars per annum, exclusive 
 of presents given by the congregations, of their own handi- 
 work, consisting of socks, gloves, flannel, cloths, &c., &c. 
 Besides the regularly employed clergymen for the negro 
 missions, there are, occasionally, negro chapels, under the 
 unpaid direction of a clergyman having charge of a white 
 congregation. There are, also, coloured clergymen having 
 charge of missionary stations. 
 
 For many years it has been the policy of the slavehold- 
 ing states to encourage religious instruction among the 
 slaves. The pen cannot describe the peculiarities of these 
 people; and to understand their habits and ideas of this 
 world and the life hereafter, a long residence among them 
 is necessary. They are naturally religious ; and as they 
 are freed from worldly cares — their food and raiment 
 being secured to them by law — their thoughts are de- 
 voted to the future welfare of their souls. Religious 
 teaching makes them better servants, and affords them 
 
RELIGION AMONG THE SLAVES. 
 
 285 
 
 subjects for their private discussions. It leads them 
 out of temptation, and elevates their social condition ; 
 for they have a great pride in being recognised as mem- 
 bers of the church. 
 
 We insert the following description of a slave congrega- 
 tion, of Charleston, South Carolina. Similar religious 
 assemblies of the slaves is common throughout all the 
 slaveholding states. 
 
 “Such an audience as I saw there on the afternoon of the 8th 
 of July, I have never seen before ; and none could see it but with 
 pleasure and satisfaction. It spoke a higher eulogy on southern 
 institutions than anything I ever saw. There were seated in that 
 large building some two thousand slaves devoutly and reverentially 
 I engaged in divine worship ; all clean, well-fed, well-clothed, happy 
 in looks, and conducting themselves with a propriety and piety 
 which could not be surpassed by the whites. Earth does not pre- 
 sent, in my judgment, the African in any circumstances more 
 favourable than these. The whole continent of Africa does not 
 exhibit them in a single spectacle as favourably as this. It was the 
 very best exhibition of Africans I have ever seen ; and it was the 
 product of southern institutions. 
 
 “ The preacher, too, was so faithful. He urged upon his audience 
 the duty, the necessity, and the blessings of labour with the greatest 
 fidelity. He warned them against all sin. He opened plainly, but 
 fully and distinctly, the plan of salvation, and showed himself a 
 workman that need not be ashamed — rightly expounding the Word 
 of Truth. 
 
 “ I have no doubt but that his preaching and influence are worth, 
 to Charleston, more than one hundred police officers. The value 
 and safety of our institutions depend almost altogether upon the 
 character of our servants ; and the pulpit imparts that character.” 
 
 With respect to unlawful assemblies, if the slave have a 
 “pass” from his master, he caunot be disturbed. Suppose 
 five slaves of one plantation wish to visit and take tea 
 with their friends on another plantation — a “pass” from 
 the master will protect them; and they cannot be disturbed, 
 
286 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 nor subjected to the lasb. This pass generally reads 
 thus : — “ To the gentlemen patrol. — My servant John has 
 permission to visit the plantation of Mr. Jones, and to 
 return home by ten o’clock to-night.” This pass must be 
 signed by the master, overseer, or some member of the 
 owner’s family. The “ patrol” is composed of some two, 
 three, or more men, commissioned by an officer of the 
 law ; who go from plantation to plantation, to see if there 
 are any unlawful assemblings of the slaves. These search- 
 ing visits are, perhaps, made once a year ; or, as in most of 
 the slaveholding states, only when there is suspicion of an 
 insurrection, which may not occur once in ten years. If 
 they find a slave from another plantation without a pass, 
 he is whipped. But in all these transactions, it is, as in 
 many other things of life, necessary to catch before whip- 
 ping. If the slave can escape to his plantation, the lash 
 will have been cheated of its victim ; for the master will 
 never permit his slave to be whipped if it can be avoided ; 
 and the laws afford every facility for the master to protect 
 his servant. A pass from the master will permit the slave 
 to go and come in any part of the state, and throughout 
 the whole of the slaveholding states. The “patrol” is, to 
 a considerable extent, a police. If the slave be caught, he 
 is moderately whipped. The amusement of the patrol is 
 in catching, and not in hurting him; and the captured 
 negro is the butt of his fellows until another is en- 
 trapped; and thus the sport goes on. Sometimes the 
 house-slaves treat the patrol to “ash-cake and sausage;” 
 and then their (the patrol’s) eyes are so blinded that they 
 cannot see their victim peeping from beneath a pile of old 
 
FOOD AND RAIMENT OF SLAVES. 
 
 287 
 
 clothes in the corner of the cabin. Notwithstanding the 
 system is ordinarily an amusement, yet, in times of in- 
 surrection, the laws are rigidly enforced. The alarm is 
 given from cabin to cabin ; and woe be to him who 
 wanders beyond his lawful bounds after the sun fades 
 away behind the horizon of the west. The law was not 
 made to make the slaves suffer, but for their good, and the 
 peace of society. Slaves and free negroes occasionally 
 attend Sunday-schools, and frequently study at home. In 
 our youth we taught slaves to read and write, and attended 
 sabbath school, in which they were scholars ; and we have 
 no doubt but that there was a slave school within the 
 sound of the cannon on the memorable day of the battle 
 of Bull Run, in the same chapel where we taught slaves 
 to read, in Sunday-school, more than a quarter of a century 
 ago. The value of a slave that can read and write, is 
 greater than of a slave who cannot. The collecting 
 together of the slaves of a plantation is not an unlawful 
 assembly. 
 
 Food and Raiment of Slaves. 
 
 The statutes of South Carolina enact, that — 
 
 “In case any person, &e., who shall be owner, or who shall have 
 the care, government, or charge of any slave or slaves, shall deny, 
 aeglect, or refuse to allow such slave or slaves under his or her 
 ;harge, sufficient clothing, covering, or food, it shall and may be 
 awful for any person, on behalf of the said slave or slaves, to make 
 ;omplaint to the next neighbouring justice in the parish where 
 meh slave or slaves live or be employed ; and the said justice shall 
 nimm nn the party against whom such complaint shall be made ; and 
 hall inquire of, hear, and determine the same ; * * * and shall 
 nake such orders for the relief of such slave or slaves as he in his 
 
288 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 discretion shall think fit ; and shall and may set and impose a fine 
 or penalty on any person who may offend in the premises, in any 
 sum not exceeding twenty pounds, current money, for each offence, 
 to be levied by warrant of distress and the sale of the offender’s 
 goods,” which may be the slave neglected. 
 
 In Louisiana, the law requires, that — 
 
 “ Every owner shall be held to give his slaves the quantity of pro. 
 visions hereinafter specified — to wit, one barrel of Indian corn, or 
 the equivalent thereof in rice, beans, or other grain, and a pint of 
 salt ; and to deliver the same to the slaves, in kind, every month, 
 and never in money, under a penalty of a fine of ten dollars for 
 every offence.” “ The slave who shall not have, on the property of 
 his owner, a lot of ground to cultivate on his own account, shall be 
 entitled to receive from the said owner one linen shirt and panta- 
 loons for the summer ; and a linen shirt and woollen great-coat and 
 pantaloons for the winter. ” 
 
 In North Carolina, the law enacts, that — 
 
 ‘ ‘ In case any slave or slaves who shall not appear to have been 
 fed and clothed according to the intent and meaning of this act — 
 that is to say, to have been sufficiently clothed, and to have con- 
 stantly received for the preceding year an allowance of not less than 
 a quart of corn per day — shall be convicted of stealing any corn, 
 cattle, <fec., <fec., from any person not the owner of said slave or 
 slaves, such injured person shall and may maintain an action of 
 trespass against the master, owner, or possessor of such slave, &c. ; 
 and shall recover his or her damages.” 
 
 The laws of Georgia declare, that — 
 
 ‘ ‘ Any owner of a slave or slaves, who shall cruelly beat such 
 slave or slaves by unnecessary or excessive whipping ; by withhold- 
 ing proper food and nourishment ; by requiring greater labour from 
 such slave or slaves than he or she or they may be able to perform, 
 by not affording proper clothing, whereby the health of such slave 
 or slaves may be injured or impaired ; every such owner or owners 
 of slaves shall, upon sufficient information being laid before the 
 grand jury, be by said grand jury presented ; whereupon it shall be 
 the duty of the attorney or solicitor-general to prosecute said 
 owner or owners for misdemeanor ; who, on conviction, shall be 
 sentenced to pay a fine, or imprisonment in the county jail, or both 
 at the discretion of the court.” 
 
HOURS OF SLAVE LABOUR. 
 
 289 
 
 Another statute of Georgia enacts, that — 
 
 “From and after the passing of this act (1815), it shall be the 
 duty of the inferior courts of the several counties in this state, on 
 receiving information on oath, of any infirm slave or slaves in a 
 suffering condition, from the neglect of the owner or owners of 
 said slave or slaves, to make particular inquiries into the situation 
 of such slave or slaves, and render such relief as they in their dis- 
 cretion shall think fit. The said courts may, and are hereby 
 authorised to sue for and recover, from the owner or owners of such 
 slave or slaves, the amount that may be appropriated for the relief 
 of such slave or slaves, in any court having jurisdiction of the same, 
 any law, usage, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding. ” 
 
 We have cited the preceding laws, in order to show the 
 legal obligations upon masters to feed and clothe their 
 slaves. Bat these laws do not give a correct representation 
 of their condition. They are well clad and fed. Their 
 clothes are of plain woollen or cotton materials ; and they 
 are provided with shoes, hat, stockings, and bed-clothes. 
 Boys and girls, in summer, generally go “ bare-foot,” as is 
 the case with many of the white children. The climate 
 being hot in summer, and mild in winter, heavy clothing 
 is not required. They have three meals per day : for 
 breakfast and supper they have coffee, bread, and meat ; 
 and at dinner they have vegetables, meat, bread, &c. 
 
 Hours of Labour of the Slaves, and their Protection. 
 
 In Louisiana the law enacts, that — - 
 
 “ As for the hours of work and rest which are to be assigned to 
 slaves in summer, the old usage of the territory shall be adhered 
 to ; to wit — the slave shall be allowed half-an-hour for breakfast 
 during the whole year ; from the first of May to the first day of 
 November they shall be allowed two hours for dinner ; and from 
 the first day of November to the first day of May, one hour and a 
 half for dinner. Provided, however, that the owners who will 
 themselves take the trouble of causing to be prepared the meals of 
 
 U 
 
290 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 their slaves, be, and they are hereby authorised to abridge, by half- 
 an-hour per day, the time fixed for their rest. ” 
 
 In all the slaveholding states, work not necessary is 
 forbidden on the sabbath. The “ necessary work 5 ’ is 
 cooking, feeding the stock, &c. A day’s work for the 
 slave is the same as that of the white man — commencing 
 about the rise of the sun, and ending with its setting. 
 There is, however, an obsolete law of South Carolina, passed 
 when it was a colony, and approved by the king in 1740, 
 which forbids owners of slaves to work them “ more than 
 fourteen hours in twenty-four hours, from the 25th day of 
 September to the 25th day of March,” “ under the penalty 
 of a fine not to exceed twenty pounds, nor under five 
 pounds current money.” This law, though obsolete for at 
 least a century, is continually published by writers, in 
 such manner as to make the reader believe that the 
 owners of slaves work them “fourteen hours per day” at 
 the present time. 
 
 Abolition sensation-writers frequently republish adver- 
 tisements taken from southern newspapers, offering a 
 reward for runaway slaves, whether dead or alive. The 
 reader might suppose, from such evidence, that the 
 killing of slaves was justified by the laws. The constitu- 
 tion of the state of Georgia, adopted in 1798, declares as 
 follows; viz.— 
 
 ‘ ‘ Any person who shall maliciously dismember, or deprive a 
 slave of his life, shall suffer such punishment as would be inflicted | 
 in case the like offence had been committed on a free white person, . 
 and on the like proof, except in case of insurrection by such slave, 
 and unless such death should happen by accident in giving such 
 slave moderate correction. 
 
PROTECTION OF THE SLAVES. 
 
 291 
 
 The constitution of the state of Missouri declares, 
 that — 
 
 “ Any person who shall maliciously deprive of life, or dismember 
 a slave, shall suffer such punishment as would be inflicted for the 
 like offence if it were committed on a white person.” That is, he 
 shall suffer death by hanging. 
 
 The laws of all the southern states are very complete in 
 the protection of the slave. Maiming is declared to be 
 felony, and punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary ; 
 deprivation of all civil rights for ever; and besides, the 
 offender’s property is liable to the owner of the slave for 
 special damages. 
 
 The advertisements for the “ runaway slave, whether 
 dead or alive,” are but the vain display of a bombastic 
 overseer, whose temper finds comfort in demonstrating 
 to others that he is a fool. It is but fair that a whole 
 community should not be held responsible for the acts of 
 an isolated knave and an unprincipled braggart. But the 
 aw declares, as Portia did to Shylock, when she told the 
 Tew to take his pound of flesh, that he shall not shed one 
 Irop of blood. The owner may advertise for his slave, 
 lead or alive ; but woe be to the man who takes the life 
 )f a slave. The fugitive, however, cannot resist his arrest. 
 
 We deem it proper to state, that there are owners of 
 laves who do not treat them well. The passing of the 
 aws cited prove that fact, or they would not have been 
 nacted. There is poverty amidst all people ; and even 
 fhites, in the cities of New York, Boston, &c., have 
 ied from starvation. We never heard of a slave dying 
 rom starvation, nor from excessive work, or through 
 reezing. 
 
 u 2 
 
292 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Slave-Trade between the States. 
 
 Slaves cau be bought and sold in any and all of the 
 slaveholding states. Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Mis- 
 sissippi, and several of the others, prohibit the importing of 
 slaves as merchandise. If a family desire to import a servant 
 for domestic use from another state, it must first obtain per- 
 mission from the legislature, which is not always granted. 
 Slaves can be exported from all the states; and they 
 can k be carried into Louisiana, Texas, &c., and sold as 
 merchandise. A slave-trader, for example, in Virginia, 
 purchases some ten, twenty, or more slave-men, women, 
 and children ; and when he has got a sufficient number, 
 he takes them to a more southern market. They are well 
 clad and fed. These poor creatures travel with a small 
 waggon: the children ride in the waggon; the women 
 walk separately, and the men are chained together. Thus 
 fastened and shackled, they march behind the waggon. 
 The owner, commonly called “ the Soul-driver,” rides on 
 his horse, behind his slave-gang, well armed; hated and 
 despised by everybody, both white and black. Thus the 
 slaves are purchased, one by one, from the owners — col- 
 lected together, and fitted out at some town for the journey 
 to a distant state, where they are neatly clad and arranged 
 for sale. 
 
 The Slave-Market, and the Separation of Families. 
 
 A slave-market is a place where slaves are exposed for 
 sale. The trader has a room, in which he exhibits them 
 to purchasers. The men form a row on one side of the 
 
SOUTHERN SLAVE -MARKETS. 
 
 293 
 
 room ; the tallest being upon the right, and the shortest 
 upon the left. On the other side of the room are, in like 
 manner, arranged the women, neatly dressed All face to 
 the front, and, as previously instructed, put on a pleasant 
 look. The slaves have a pride in commanding good prices; 
 and they often boast of their superior value. When the 
 purchaser selects the slave he wishes, by an inspection 
 of his external appearance, he then ascertains his former 
 character, and inspects his back to see if he has any 
 marks of the lash. If none, the purchase is made; if 
 there are scars, he at once objects; and generally, in cases 
 of domestic servants, the scars prevent the sale. The 
 marks of the lash disgrace and decrease the value of the 
 property. For these reasons, no owner wishes his slave 
 whipped or marked. With respect to the selling of married 
 slaves, and the separation of husband and wife, parents 
 and children, the laws are much the same in all the states, 
 with but a few exceptions. 
 
 The statutes of Louisiana, passed in 1825 and 1855, 
 prohibit, under penalty of from one to two thousand 
 dollars, the sale of a child under ten years of age, separate 
 from its mother. In Alabama, no execution can be levied 
 upon a child or children under the age of ten years, 
 without including the mother ; or upon the mother, without 
 including the child or children, as aforesaid, if living and 
 belonging to the defendant in execution ; and the mother, 
 and child or children, must be sold together, unless the 
 parties interested, or one of them, make affidavit, and 
 delivers the same to the officer, that he believes his interest 
 will be materially prejudiced by selling the slaves together : 
 
294 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 the officer may permit them to be sold separately ; but no 
 levy or sale shall be made by which a child, under five , 
 years of age, shall be separated from its mother. ; 
 
 t 
 
 The Marriage of Slaves. 
 
 a 
 
 The marriage between slaves is not a legal contract, and , 
 can be broken at the will of the owner. Their children i ( 
 are all illegitimate. They are things, and are under the j 
 laws governing personal property, with but a few limited t 
 exceptions. They cannot be married by the law ; but they ! , 
 can live together as man and wife. They are usually i . 
 married by a coloured preacher, or by an old and popular 
 slave. The ceremony is the same as that used by the 
 whites. At the marriage, the owner of the bride generally 
 gives the necessary provisions for a feast. The violin and 
 dancing add considerable gaiety to the occasion. The 
 marriage, thus consummated, is as valid as any other 
 among slaves; but it is of no force in law. They may 
 have a dozen children, and snugly live together as husband 
 and wife. On the other hand, when in the midst of their 
 happiness, surrounded by their children, their owner 
 may be compelled to sell them. That dreadful hour is 
 heartrending to the owner and slaves. The sheriff puts 
 them upon the block, and proceeds to sell them one by 
 one. The husband and wife, in nearly all cases, are sold 
 together, or to persons living near each other. The chil- 
 dren are generally scattered. These are the results of 
 forced sales. Private sales are more common ; and the 
 owner not only endeavours to find a purchaser of the lot, 
 but he allows the slaves time to find a new master. 
 
SLAVE MARRIAGE. 
 
 295 
 
 If the wife prove unfaithful, the husband cannot maintain 
 an action against the violator of his bed. There are no 
 remedies for fornication or adultery on either side. If 
 they get tired of each other, they can divorce themselves 
 at their own will, and marry another immediately. A 
 voluntary divorce seldom takes place ; the master always 
 discourages matrimonial disunion, and the negroes abhor 
 it. Slave women often give birth to a mulatto child, the 
 father of which may be on the same plantation, and 
 sometimes a member of the owner’s family. In this 
 manner it occasionally happens that the slave is the grand- 
 child of its owner; and there are rare cases where the 
 owner is the father of the child. In these immoralities, 
 particularly the latter, public opinion is severe upon the 
 father, and he becomes loathed by society. 
 
 According to the North Carolina revised statutes of 1821, 
 it seems there was a law passed in 1741, and still in force, 
 enacting — 
 
 “That if any woman-servant shall hereafter be delivered of a 
 child begotten by her master, she must be sold for one year. If a 
 white servant has a child by a negro, she may be sold for two years, 
 and the child bound out till thirty-one years of age.” 
 
 The above law refers to free servants. The state cannot 
 legislate concerning the paternity of slave children ; nor 
 has it been necessary, as public sentiment is more severe 
 upon the subject than can be attained by legislation. 
 We do not suppose it would be possible for an owner 
 of a slave that had a child by his own servant, to be 
 permitted to live in any community in the southern states. 
 It would be one of those cases where Judge Lynch would 
 
296 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 administer a law commensurate in severity to the turpitude 
 of the crime. 
 
 We doubt if there exist in America a slave-owner that 
 encourages the breeding of slaves for the purpose of selling 
 them. Nor do we believe that any man would be per- 
 mitted to live in any of the southern states that did 
 intentionally breed slaves with the object of selling them. 
 However severe the laws may be against the slave, yet 
 there is a public opinion that shields him from excessive 
 hardships, although he is considered a chattel. Southern 
 society is too high-toned to sanctiou the breeding of slaves 
 for speculation. To prevent such nefarious pursuits, public 
 opiuiou would sustain any decision that might be ren- 
 dered by Judge Lynch. 
 
 The Right or Speech in Slaveholding States. 
 
 The truth respecting slavery affords ample scope for the 
 humane reflections of man; and the partisan abolitionist, 
 in his excessive abuse of the system, does injury to his 
 own cause, and prevents the progress of an ameliora- 
 tion of the condition of the slave. Had it not been for 
 the rashness of abolitionists, emancipation would now be 
 in progress in several of the slaveholding states. It 
 would have succeeded in Kentucky in 1850, but for the 
 kidnapping of slaves about that time, by a clergyman and 
 a female teacher from one of the New England states. 
 Both were convicted, and sentenced to the penitentiary ; the 
 teacher being the first and only woman ever confined in 
 the state-prison of Kentucky. She was soou pardoned, 
 on her word of honour, as a woman, to leave the state, 
 
RIGHT OF SPEECH IX THE SOUTH. 
 
 297 
 
 and never to return again. As a citizen of Kentucky, 
 we advocated gradual emancipation ; and from our own 
 fireside was edited a paper devoted to that object. The 
 paper was published, and circulated by thousands through- 
 out the state ; and no one complained of the tenor of 
 its teachings — -thus evidencing the statements in the pre- 
 ceding part of this chapter, with respect to the circulation 
 of papers, ana the rights of speech in the slaveholding 
 states. A man can promulgate his ideas on paper, or in 
 speeches, with respect to slavery, whatever they may be, 
 in any of the southern states, provided those ideas are not 
 incendiary, and calculated to incite the slaves to insurrec- 
 tion, rapine, and murder. Every man has the right of 
 speech upon the subject of slavery in the southern states; 
 but he will not be permitted to abuse that right. 
 
 Writers visiting those states, unaccustomed to the habits 
 and disposition of the negro race of America, imagine they 
 see in the slave a depression of spirits, a sad and melan- 
 choly countenance, and a pining for freedom. What 
 would the same writers say were they to see the Es- 
 quimaux of the north — the freest people upon the face 
 of the earth? We do not pretend to say that the slave 
 prefers bondage to freedom, because we know better; 
 but we do say, that these comet-like travellers through 
 the slaveholding states of America, are really less capable 
 of judging of the merits and demerits of that institution, 
 chan the unprejudiced man that never put his foot upon 
 slave soil. Some of these fast writers see nothing in the 
 system but good, and pronounce it a blessing to the slaves 
 and to the whites; others consider it a blessing to the 
 
298 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION AVAR. 
 
 slaves, but ruinous to the whites; and some denounce it 
 as a curse both to the slaves and the whites. Occasionally 
 we have seen writers go into ecstasies in describing the 
 universal happiness of the slaves; and, at other times, 
 we have seen them asserting that the slaves are ever 
 gloomy, and moaning for a chance to throw aside their 
 bondage fetters, and breathe the air of freedom ! 
 
 Constitutional Protection of the Right of Property 
 in Slaves. 
 
 Concerning the legislative powers over slaves, the con- 
 stitution of the state of Kentucky presents an illus- 
 tration. 
 
 “ The general assembly shall have no power to pass laws for the 
 emancipation of slaves without the consent of their owners, or 
 without paying their owners, previous to such emancipation, a full 
 equivalent in money for the slaves so emancipated, and providing 
 for their removal from the state. They shall have no power to pre- 
 vent immigrants to this state from bringing with them such per- 
 sons as are deemed slaves by the laws of any of the United States, i 
 so long as any person of the same age or description shall be con- 
 tinued in slavery by the laws of this state. They shall pass no 
 laws to permit owners of slaves to emancipate them, saving the 
 rights of creditors, and to prevent them from remaining in this 
 state after they are emancipated. They shall have full power to 
 prevent slaves being brought into this state, who have been, since 
 the first day of January, 1789, or may hereafter be imported into 
 any of the United States from a foreign country. And they shall 
 have full power to pass such laws as may be necessary to oblige owners 
 of slaves to treat them with humanity ; to provide for them neces- 
 sary clothing and provisions ; to abstain from all injuries to them, 
 extending to life and limb ; and in case of their neglect or refusal 
 to comply with the directions of such laws, to have such slave or 
 slaves sold for the benefit of their owner or owners. In the prose- 
 cution of slaves for felony, no inquest by a grand jury shall be 
 necessary ; but the proceedings in such prosecutions shall be 
 
SLAVES CANNOT HOLD PROPERTY. 
 
 299 
 
 regulated by law, except that the general assembly shall have no 
 power to deprive them of the privilege of an impartial trial by a 
 petit jury.” 
 
 A Slave cannot hold Property. 
 
 A slave can be a witness against or for another slave, 
 but lie cannot be a witness in the case of a white man. In 
 olden times it was common to execute a slave for felony; 
 and in some of the states similar laws are still in existence, 
 though but rarely enforced. A slave cannot sue or be 
 sued, nor can he hold property; and whatever he may 
 possess is by an implied or expressed consent of the 
 owner; and the owner has a right to all the property of 
 the slave if he choose to take it; but such a degree of 
 meanness would be condemned in any community. The 
 laws forbid merchants selling goods to slaves, unless by a 
 written permission from the owner; yet there never has 
 been an enforcement of those laws, except in times of 
 insurrection, or for selling ardent spirits, producing 
 drunkenness, and a disturbance of the peace. The law 
 does not allow the slave to hold property ; yet, practically, 
 like many of the other slave laws, it is obsolete. De Bow 
 tells us, that the crop of cotton belonging to the negroes 
 of a certain plantation in Georgia, in 1858, was sold for 
 1,424 dollars: another crop belonging to the negroes of 
 a plantation in Alabama, in 1859, sold for 1,800 dollars; 
 aud another crop of cotton belonging to some Georgia 
 negroes, was sold, in 1859, for 1,969 dollars. Such 
 large crops among slaves are very uncommon ; but it is 
 usual for them to have some profit from their work : they 
 raise corn, horses, cattle, hogs, &c. ; and from the sale of 
 
300 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION AVAR. 
 
 these, many of them accumulate considerable sums of 
 money, and purchase their freedom. 
 
 The slaves on plantations usually live in small log-huts 
 with one or more rooms, depending upon the size of the 
 family. The fittings of the huts are much the same as the 
 log-cabins of the pioneer whites of the west, and the poorer 
 class of whites in different parts of the American states. 
 The domestic servants generally sleep in a room of the 
 owner's house. They eat in the kitchen, and are as well 
 clad as many of the white people. 
 
 We have quoted, in this chapter, several of the laws 
 regulating slavery in the southern states — enacted with 
 the object of securing the happiness and protection of the 
 slaves; and, at the same time, the owner’s right of pro- 
 perty in them. We deem it our duty, however, to caution 
 the reader from supposing that all the laws we have 
 herein quoted are enforced, for many of them, practically, 
 are obsolete, and never acted on. They are within the 
 statute-book, to be enforced in case the good of the 
 public shall require it. In some of the states there are 
 equally severe laws respecting the whites, though many 
 of them are but dead letters ; occasionally, however, they 
 are enforced. A case of this kind occurred within the 
 past twenty years, in the state of Kentucky. A negro 
 was found guilty of murder; and he escaped death by 
 pleading the old common law privilege, known as the 
 “ benefit of clergy.” The legislature had failed to exempt 
 the privilege when it adopted the common law of England, 
 through colonial Virginia. When slavery existed in the, 
 northern states, there were laws in them like those now 
 
OLD SLAVE LAWS OF THE NORTHERN STATES. 
 
 301 
 
 in force throughout the south. In 1788, the New York 
 legislature enacted, that “no person shall harbour or conceal 
 a slave from his master, under the penalty” of a fine 
 of five pounds sterling; aud if the slave died while thus 
 harboured, the party was liable to the owner for the value 
 of the slave. No person could trade or traffic with slaves 
 without the permission of the master, under a penalty of 
 five pounds, and three times the value of the thing traded 
 for by the slaves. And it was further enacted, that — 
 
 “If any slave shall strike a white person, it shall be lawful for 
 any justice of the peace to commit such slave to prison ; and such 
 slave shall be tried and punished therefor,” <fcc. “ That from and 
 after the passing of this act, no slave shall be admitted for or against 
 any person, in any matter, cause, or thing whatsoever, civil or 
 criminal, except in criminal cases in which the evidence of one 
 slave shall be admitted for or against another slave.” 
 
 The same statute prohibited the owner of “any aged or 
 decrepid slave” from selling the said slave to any person 
 not able to maintain him ; and all such sales were declared 
 to be null and void. A slave over fifty years of age could 
 not be manumitted, except under security that said slave 
 should never be a tax upon the state. 
 
 The laws of New Jersey were equally severe. By the 
 act of 1798, slaves were not allowed to be out at night 
 from their own homes after ten o’clock, without special 
 “passes;” and it was declared, “that no slave shall be ad- 
 mitted as a witness against any white person, or even a free 
 negro, in any matter or cause whatever.” We cannot 
 insert the many severe laws enacted in the northern states 
 respecting slavery. They would fill a volume ; and it would 
 only give a record of an obsolete code. Besides these dead 
 
302 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 statutes concerning slavery, there were very stringent 
 laws governing whites. The following was enacted, in 
 1789, by the legislature of New Hampshire; and it appears 
 unrepealed upon the statutes : — 
 
 “ That no person shall traval on the Lord’s day, or any part of 
 it, unless from necessity, or to attend public worship, visit the 
 sick, or to do some office of charity, on penalty of a sum not ex- 
 ceeding forty shillings, nor less than five shillings nor was a person 
 permitted to take ‘ 1 any recreation. ” 
 
 By act of 1799, no traveller is permitted to “go on 
 between sunrising and sunsettiug, on the Sunday/ 5 These, 
 like many of the existing slave laws in the southern states, 
 are unknown in practice. 
 
 Social Habits, and Early Slave-Life tn Mississippi. 
 
 The following description of southern life was written in 
 1822, by Major-general Quitman — a native of New York, 
 to his father. As it was then, so it is now. The letter is 
 full of truth : — 
 
 “ Our bar is quartered at different country seats — not boarding ; 
 a Mississippi planter would be insulted by such a proposal ;'but we are 
 enjoying the hospitalities that are offered to us on all sides. The 
 awful pestilence in the city brings out, in strong relief, the peculiar 
 virtues of this people. The mansions of the planters are thrown 
 open to all comers and goers free of charge. Whole families have 
 free quarters during the epidemic, and country waggons are sent 
 daily to the verge of the smitten city with fowls, vegetables, <fcc. , for 
 gratuitous distribution to the poor. I am now writing from one of 
 those old mansions ; and I can give you no better notion of life at 
 the south than by describing the routine of a day. The owner is 
 the widow of a Virginia gentleman of distinction — a brave officer, 
 who died in the public service during the last war with Great 
 Britain. She herself is a native of this vicinity — of English parents 
 settled here in Spanish times. She is an intimate friend of my first 
 
SLAVE-LIFE IN THE SOUTH. 
 
 303 
 
 friend, Mrs. G. ; and I have been in the habit of visiting her honse 
 ever since I came south. The whole aim of this excellent lady 
 seems to be to make others happy. I do not believe she ever thinks 
 of herself. She is growing old, but her parlour is constantly thronged 
 with the young and gay, attracted by her cheerful and never-failing 
 kindness. There are two large families from the city staying here ; 
 and every day some ten or a dozen transient guests. Mint-juleps 
 in the morning are sent to our rooms, and then follows a delightful 
 breakfast in the open verandah. We hunt, ride, fish, pay morning 
 visits, play chess, read or lounge until dinner, which is served at 
 2 p. n. , in great variety, and most delicately cooked in what is 
 here called Creole style — very rich, and many made or mixed dishes. 
 In two hours afterwards, everybody, white and black, has disap- 
 peared. The whole household is asleep — the siesta of the Italians. 
 The ladies retire to their apartments, and the gentlemen on sofas, 
 settees, benches, hammocks, and often gipsy-fashion, on the grass 
 under the spreading oaks. Here, too, in fine weather, the tea-table 
 is always set before sunset ; and then, until bedtime, we stroll, sing, 
 play whist, or coquet. It is an indolent, yet charming life, and one 
 quits thinking, and takes to dreaming. 
 
 “This excellent lady is not rich, merely independent; but by 
 thrifty housewifery, and a good dairy and garden, she contrives to 
 dispense the most liberal hospitality. Her slaves appear to be, in a 
 manner, free, yet are obedient and polite, and the farm is well 
 worked. With all her gaiety of disposition, and fondness for the 
 young, she is truly pious ; and in her own apartment, every night, 
 she has family prayer with her slaves ; one or more of them being 
 often called on to sing and pray. When a minister visits the house, 
 which happens very frequently, prayers night and morning are 
 always said ; and on these occasions the whole household and the 
 quests assemble in the parlour : chairs are provided for the servants. 
 They are married by a clergyman of their own colour; and a sumptu- 
 ous supper is always prepared. On public holidays they have 
 iinners equal to an Ohio barbecue ; and Christmas, for a week or 
 ten days, is a protracted festival for the blacks. They are a happy, 
 jareless, unreflecting, good-natured race ; who, left to themselves, 
 would degenerate into drones or brutes ; but, subjected to wholesome 
 restraint and stimulus, become the best and most contented of 
 abourers. They are strongly attached to ‘old massa,’ and ‘old 
 missus but their devotion to ‘ young massa,’ and ‘ young missus,’ 
 
304 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 amounts to enthusiasm. They have great family pride, and are the 
 most arrant coxcombs and aristocrats in the world. At a wedding 
 I witnessed here last Saturday evening, where some 150 negroes 
 were assembled — many being invited guests — I heard a number of 
 them addressed as governors, generals, judges, and doctors (the 
 titles of their masters) ; and a spruce, tight-set darkey, who waits 
 on me in town, was called ‘Major Quitman.’ The ‘ coloured ladies,’ 
 are invariably Miss Joneses, Miss Smiths, or some such title. They 
 are exceedingly pompous and ceremonious ; gloved and highly per- 
 fumed. The ‘ gentlemen’ sport canes, ruffles, and jewellery ; wear 
 boots and spurs ; affect crape on their hats, and carry huge cigars. 
 The belles wear gaudy colours ; ‘ tote’ their fans with the air of 
 Spanish senoritas ; and never stir out, though black as the ace of 
 spades, without their parasols. In short, these ‘ niggers,’ as you 
 call them, are the happiest people I have ever seen ; and some of 
 them in form, features, and movements, are real sultanas. So far 
 from being fed on ‘ salted cotton-seed,’ as we used to believe in 
 Oliio ; they are oily, sleek, bountifully fed, well clothed, well taken 
 care of ; and one hears them at all times whistling and singing 
 cheerily at their work. They have an extraordinary facility for 
 sleeping. A negro is a great night-walker. He will, after labouring 
 all day in the burning sun, walk ten miles to a frolic, or to see his 
 ‘ Dinah ;’ and be at home and at his work by daylight next morn- 
 ing. This would knock up a white man or an Indian. But a negro 
 will sleep during the day— sleep at his work — sleep on the carriage- 
 box — sleep standing up ; and I have often seen them sitting bare- 
 headed in the sun on a high rail-fence, sleeping as securely as though 
 lying in bed. They never lose their equipoise ; and will carry 
 their cotton-baskets, or their water-vessels, filled to the brim, 
 poised on their heads, walking carelessly and at a rapid rate, without 
 spilling a drop. The very weight of such burdens would crush a 
 white man’s brains into apoplexy. Compared with the ague-smit- 
 ten and suffering settlers that you and 1 have seen in Ohio ; or the 
 sickly and starved operatives we read of in factories and in mines, 
 these southern slaves are indeed to be envied. They are treated 
 with great humanity and kindness.” 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 State of Slavery at the Formation of the Government ; Fugitive 
 
 Slave Law of 1793, and its History ; Obligation of the States to 
 
 Deliver up Fugitive Slaves ; the Law of 1850. 
 
 State of Slavery in 1793. 
 
 In 1 789, when the constitutional government was organised, 
 with Washington as president, there were slaves in all the 
 colonial states except Massachusetts. This species of pro- 
 perty was recognised ; and, in every department of the 
 government, care was taken by the officials to observe the 
 rights of the owner. There were no abolitionists in those 
 days ; but there was an almost unanimous anti-slavery 
 sentiment throughout the whole country. The govern- 
 ment officials, members of Congress, and the people, were 
 all alike imbued with a patriotic zeal to promote the 
 common good, in preference to their own private gain. 
 Slavery was a fixed institution, and every necessary pro- 
 vision was made in the constitution, and by acts of Con- 
 gress, to protect the rights of the owner to his slave. The 
 constitution of the United States, as unanimously adopted 
 in the convention of 1787, declares — 
 
 “No person held to service or labour in one state, under the 
 laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any 
 law or regulation therein, he discharged from such service or labour, 
 but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such 
 service or labour may be due.” 
 
 X 
 
306 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Fugitive Slave Law of 1793. 
 
 Iu the mouth of January, 1793, the senate passed the first 
 Fugitive Slave Bill. On the 5th of February, the House 
 of Representatives passed the Senate Bill, by a vote of 48 
 against 7. It was approved by President Washington, and 
 became law on the 12th of February. This act of Con- 
 gress was styled “ An Act respecting Fugitives from Justice, 
 and Persons escaping from the Service of their Masters.” 
 Sections 1 and 2 referred to fugitives from justice. 
 Sections 3 and 4 were as follows : — 
 
 “ Section 3. That when a person held to labour in any of the 
 United States, or in either of the territories on the north-west or 
 south of the river Ohio, under the laws thereof, shall escape into 
 any other of the said states or territory, the person to whom such 
 labour or service may be due, his agent or attorney, is hereby em- 
 powered to seize or arrest such fugitive from labour, and to take 
 him or her before any judge of the circuit or district courts of the 
 United States, residing or being within the state, or before any 
 magistrate of a county, city, or town corporate wherein such seizure 
 or arrest shall be made ; and upon proof, to the satisfaction of such 
 judge or magistrate, either by oral testimony or affidavit taken 
 before and certified by a magistrate of any such state or territory, 
 that the person so seized or arrested doth, under the laws of the 
 state or territory from which he or she fled, owe service or labour to 
 the person claiming him or her, it shall be the duty of such judge or 
 magistrate to give a certificate thereof to such claimant, his agent 
 or attorney, which shall be sufficient warrant for removing the said 
 fugitive from labour, to the state or territory from which he or 
 she fled. 
 
 “ Section 4. That any person who shall knowingly and willingly 
 obstruct or hinder such claimant, his agent or attorney, in so 
 seizing or arresting such fugitive from labour, or shall rescue such 
 fugitive from such claimant, his agent or attorney, when so arrested, 
 pursuant to the authority herein given or declared ; or shall 
 harbour or conceal such person after notice that he or she was a 
 
THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAWS. 
 
 307 
 
 fugitive from labour as aforesaid, shall, for either of the said 
 offences, forfeit and pay the sum of 500 dollars, which penalty may 
 be recovered by and for the benefit of such claimant, by action of 
 debt in any court proper to try the same ; saving, moreover, to 
 the person claiming such labour or service, his right of action for or 
 on account of the said injuries, or either of them.” 
 
 History of the Fugitive Slave Law. 
 
 On reference to senator Benton’s Congressional Debates, 
 we learn that the foregoing bill originated in the senate, 
 and was passed by the house without debate, and almost 
 without division, there being but seven votes cast against 
 it ; and two of the seven were from slaveholding states — one 
 from Maryland, and the other from Yirginia. The re- 
 maining five were — one from each of the states of New 
 Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and 
 New York. There were, at that time, in Congress seven 
 representatives from Massachusetts, the only non-slave- 
 holding state; from New Hampshire, Vermont, Connec- 
 ticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, and Penn- 
 sylvania — the northern slave states — there were twenty- 
 seven representatives; and from the states of Maryland, 
 Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and 
 Kentucky, the southern slaveholding states, there were 
 twenty-five representatives. 
 
 The reasons why the seven votes were cast against the 
 bill are unknown. The fugitive slave clauses were added 
 to a bill which was introduced after the reception of a 
 message from President Washington, founded on a com- 
 munication from the governor of Pennsylvania in relation 
 to a fugitive from justice, who had taken refuge in Vir- 
 
 x 2 
 
308 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 ginia. The third and fourth sections were enacted because 
 it was necessary to have an act of Congress to give effect 
 to the rendition clause in the constitution. There was 
 but little necessity in 1793, however, nor for a long time 
 after, for an act of Congress to authorise the recovery of 
 fugitive slaves. All the states at that time, save Massa- 
 chusetts, were slaveholding states, and the rendition of 
 fugitives was certain and prompt. The interests of the 
 states were the same, and a reciprocity was cordial. In 
 those days the fathers of our republic guided the affairs of 
 state; and they were all honest men : they did not, with 
 one hand upon the Holy Bible, swear to maintain the 
 constitution of the United States, and the laws thereof, 
 and plot, with the other, schemes to promote their own 
 welfare, at the sacrifice of their country’s weal, as has 
 been the case with some of our government officials 
 latterly. 
 
 In 1793, the laws of the free states, and, still more, the 
 force of public opinion, were the slave-owner’s safeguards. 
 The people were against the abduction of slaves ; and if 
 any one were seduced from his owner, it was done furtively 
 and secretly, without show or force, and was looked on 
 the same as any other offence. State laws favoured the 
 owner, and to a greater extent than the act of Congress 
 did, or could. In Pennsylvania, there was an act passed 
 in 1780, and only repealed in 1847, discriminating between 
 the traveller and sojourner and the permanent resident 
 — allowing the former to remain six months in the 
 state before his slaves became subject to the emancipa- 
 tion laws; and, in the case of a federal government 
 
THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAWS. 
 
 309 
 
 officer, allowing as much more time as his duties required 
 him to remain. New York had a similar act, only vary- 
 ing in time, which was nine months. While these two 
 acts were in force, and supported by public opinion, the 
 traveller and sojourner was safe with his slaves in those 
 states; and he was the same in all the other free 
 states. There was no trouble about fugitive slaves in 
 those times. This act of 1793 did not grow out of any 
 such trouble, but out of the case of a fugitive from justice. 
 It was that case, and the message of Washington, that 
 brought the subject before Congress; and, in the act that 
 was passed, the case of fugitives from justice was first pro- 
 vided for, the first and second clauses of the act being given 
 to that branch of the subject ; and the third and fourth to 
 the other — all brief and plain, and capable of enforcement 
 without expense or difficulty. In the case of a slave, 
 the owner was allowed to seize him wherever he saw him, 
 by day or by night, Sunday or week-days, just as if he 
 were in his own state ; and a penalty of 500 dollars attached 
 to any persons who resisted or obstructed him in this 
 seizure. The only authority he wanted was after the 
 seizure: to justify the carrying of the slave back to the 
 state from which he fled, the affidavit of the owner, or his 
 ageut, was required. The act was perfect, except in 
 relying upon state officers, as well as federal, to execute it ; 
 these state officers not being subject to federal law, and 
 being forbidden to act after slavery became a subject of 
 political agitation, within the past quarter of a century. 
 After the politicians sought for personal promotion and 
 gain by agitation, and finally uniting with abolitionism, 
 
310 
 
 AMERICA. AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 then, pari passu with this sectionalism, the country has 
 been lessening in legislative integrity, until the nation, 
 becoming divided in affection, is at war between its own 
 members; not only as to states, but with families — 
 brother against brother, father against father; and, indeed, 
 husband > against wife. Such is the condition of things 
 now existing amidst our once happy and united people. 
 
 Obligation op the States to Deliver up the Fugitive 
 
 Slaves. 
 
 Statesmen have interpreted the constitutional provision 
 quoted in this chapter, to mean, that it is obligatory on 
 the respective states to pass laws for the rendition of 
 fugitive slaves : that it was a regulation between the 
 respective states, conferring rights upon some, and obliga- 
 tions upon others — operative, reciprocally. When these 
 functions are discharged for the benefit of the slaveholder, 
 they should be manifested by means of the laws of the 
 state ; for the constitutional clause which we have quoted 
 speaks of persons held to labour in one state, under the 
 laws thereof. The statutes of the state are made known, 
 interpreted, and expounded by the official acts and 
 decisions of state judges and other officers. The slave 
 taking refuge in another state, “ shall be delivered up.” 
 This duty of delivering up the slave is not imposed on 
 private men or individuals, as in a state of nature, or 
 it might never be performed ; besides, private men are 
 not necessarily supposed to have the slave in their pos- 
 session or power. The duty of delivering up the slave 
 is imposed on the state; and which, as all other civil or 
 
THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAWS. 
 
 311 
 
 social political powers, necessarily, or at least usually, 
 acts by the intervention of its officers, the authorised 
 agents of the people. 
 
 If the constitution of the United States were adopted 
 by the states as independent sovereignties, then the obliga- 
 tion lies with each, one with the other, to faithfully 
 deliver up the slave to the party to whom he or she may 
 belong. It would follow, then, that the states should pass 
 fugitive slave laws, making it the duty of its officers, the 
 governor, judges, legislators, sheriffs, magistrates, police, 
 and each and every member of the commonwealth, to aid 
 and assist in the delivery of the slave to the owner; 
 and the laws should authorise the proper officers to 
 summon the people as a posse comitatus, in cases requiring 
 assistance. If, however, the people of the United States 
 are the sole parties, uniting one with the other in the 
 adoption of the federal constitution, then the whole nation, 
 in its respective communities or states, is pledged to deliver 
 up a fugitive slave to the owner ; and, in this latter case, 
 every man is bound in good faith to aid and assist; and 
 he who repudiates the obligation is no patriot. 
 
 As long as the people of the northern states possessed 
 slaves, fugitives from service were delivered up : then 
 there was a reciprocal interest ; and there was no hue- 
 and-cry about the flourish in the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence — “ that all men are created equal.” Whether or 
 not the declaration just quoted had any reference to the 
 negro race, is not material, because that instrument 
 has no part in the present government. The constitution 
 does not refer to it as the source of a single principle 
 
312 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 contained in that organic instrument, nor does it recognise 
 it, either direct or indirect. The declaration was but 
 explanatory of a proclamation of war ; and the contents of 
 that document must be associated with the circumstances 
 and the time of its issue. It has no more connection 
 with the present government, than the obsolete articles of 
 the confederation of 1781. In a word, all proceedings 
 of the colonies, as a general association or otherwise, 
 prior to 1789, are unknown to the states and the people of 
 the present constitutional government, except as the 
 history of the communities in revolt against their sove- 
 reign. Like magnetic fragments, those independent com- 
 monwealths, by a common interest and affinity, were 
 attracted one to the other, until, in 1789, they became 
 as one mass of power, with an infinite variety of molecular 
 components. 
 
 In 1801, a law was passed by Congress to put in force 
 the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, in the district of Columbia. 
 Within the first fifty years after the formation of the 
 government, the slaves in the northern states became free, 
 and the public sentiment, with respect to the delivering- 
 up of fugitive slaves, materially changed. Instead of 
 fulfilling, in good faith, the conditions of the constitu- 
 tional compact, as their ancestors had done, every possible 
 difficulty has been placed in the way of the owner 
 whenever he has attempted to recover his slave. The 
 legislatures of many of the northern states have passed 
 laws to prevent the enforcement of the statute of 1793, 
 adopted by the fathers of the country. These unofficial 
 and official revolutionary acts, nullifying and repudiating 
 
THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAWS. 
 
 313 
 
 the laws of Congress, and enacted in direct violation of 
 the constitution of the United States, rendered it neces- 
 sary for Congress to pass another and a more stringent 
 law, in order to secure to the southern states their con- 
 stitutional rights in all parts of the Union. To effect that 
 end, among the compromise measures of 1850, presented 
 by senator Clay, from Kentucky, was the fugitive slave 
 law.* 
 
 * This law is of such importance, and has given rise to so much 
 discussion, that we give it entire. 
 
 Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. 
 
 An Act to Amend , and Supplementary to, the Act entitled, “An 
 Act respecting Fugitives from, Justice, and Persons escaping from 
 the Service of their Masters..” — Approved February 12th, 1793. 
 
 Be it enacted, by the senate and House of Representatives of the United 
 States of America, in Congress assembled, That the persons who have been, 
 or may hereafter he, appointed commissioners in virtue of any act of Con- 
 gress, by the circuit courts of the United States, and who, in consequence of 
 such appointment, are authorised to exercise the powers that any justice of 
 the peace or other magistrate of any of the United States may exercise, in 
 respect to offenders, of any crime or offence against the United States, by 
 arresting, imprisoning, or bailing the same, under and by virtue of the thirty- 
 third section of the act of the twenty-fourth of September, seventeen hundred 
 and eighty-nine, entitled, “An Act to establish the Judicial Courts of the 
 United States,” shall he and are hereby authorised and required to exercise 
 and discharge all the powers and duties conferred hy this act. 
 
 Section 2. And be it further enacted, That the superior court of each 
 organised territory of the United States shall have the same power to appoint 
 commissioners to take acknowledgments of bail and affidavit, and to take 
 depositions of witnesses in civil causes, which is now possessed by the circuit 
 courts of the United States ; and all commissioners who shall hereafter be 
 appointed for such purposes by the superior court of any organised territory 
 of the United States, shall possess all the powers and exercise all the duties 
 conferred by law upon the commissioners appointed by the circuit courts of 
 the United States for similar purposes ; and shall, moreover, exercise and 
 discharge all the powers and duties conferred by this act. 
 
 Section 3. And be it further enacted, That the circuit courts of the United 
 States, and the superior courts of each organised territory of the United 
 
314 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 
 The Supreme Court of the United States has fully recog- 
 nised the constitutional protection of the right of property 
 
 States, shall from time to time enlarge the number of commissioners, with a 
 view to afford reasonable facilities to reclaim fugitives from labour, and to the 
 prompt discharge of the duties imposed by this act. 
 
 Section 4. And be it further enacted, That the commissioners above-named 
 shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the judges of the circuit and district 
 courts of the United States, in their respective circuits and districts within 
 the several states, and the judges of the superior courts of the territories, 
 severally and collectively, in term time and vacation ; and shall grant certifi- 
 cates to such claimants, upon satisfactory proof being made, with authority 
 to take and remove such fugitives from service or labour, under the restrictions 
 herein contained, to the state or territory from which such persons may have 
 escaped or fled. 
 
 Section 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of all mar- 
 shals and deputy- marshals to obey and execute all warrants and precepts j 
 issued under the provisions of this act, when to them directed ; and should >! 
 any marshal or deputy-marshal refuse to receive such warrant or other process j 
 when tendered, or to use all proper means diligently to execute the same, he shall, < 
 on conviction thereof, be fined in the sum of one thousand dollars to the use of i\ 
 such claimant, on the motion of such claimant, by the circuit or district court for j 
 the district of such marshal ; and after arrest of such fugitive by such marshal 
 or his deputy, or whilst at any time in his custody under the provisions of 
 this act, should such fugitive escape, whether with or without the assent of i i 
 such marshal or his deputy, such marshal shall be liable, on his official bond, 
 to be prosecuted, for the benefit of such claimant, for the full value of the ] I 
 service or labour of said fugitive in the state, territory, or district whence he 
 escaped ; and the better to enable the said commissioners, when thus appointed, 
 to execute their duties faithfully and efficiently, in conformity with the re- 
 quirements of the constitution of the United States and of this act, they are 
 hereby authorised and empowered, within their counties respectively, to 
 appoint, in writing under their hands, any one or more suitable persons, from 
 time to time, to execute all such warrants and other process as may be issued 
 by them in the lawful performance of their respective duties ; with an authority 
 to such commissioners, or the persons to be appointed by them to execute 
 process as aforesaid, to summon and call to their aid the bystanders or posse 
 comitatus of the proper county, when necessary to ensure a faithful observance 
 of the clause of the constitution referred to, in conformity with the provisions 
 of this act ; and all good citizens are hereby commanded to aid and assist in 
 the prompt and efficient execution of this law, whenever their services may be 
 required as aforesaid for the purpose ; and said warrants shall run and be , 
 executed by said officers anywhere in the state within which they are issued. 
 
THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAWS. 
 
 315 
 
 in slaves. In the case of Prigg v. the Commonwealth of 
 Pennsylvania, it was asserted by every judge upon the 
 
 Section 6. And be it further enacted, That when a person held to service or 
 labour in any state or territory of the United States, has heretofore or shall 
 hereafter escape into another state or territory of the. United States, the 
 person or persons to whom such service or labour may be due, or his, 
 her, or their agent or attorney, duly authorised by power of attorney, in 
 writing, acknowledged and certified under the seal of some legal office or 
 court of the state or territory in which the same may be executed, may 
 pursue and reclaim such fugitive person, either by procuring a warrant from 
 ! some one of the courts, judges, or commissioners aforesaid, of the proper 
 circuit, district, or county, for the apprehension of such fugitive from service 
 or labour, or by seizing and arresting such fugitive where, the same can be 
 done without process, and by taking and causing such person to be taken 
 forthwith before such court, judge, or commissioners, whose duty it shall be 
 to hear and determine the case of such claimant in a summary manner ; and 
 upon satisfactory proof being made, by deposition or affidavit in writing, 
 to be taken and certified by such court, judge, or commissioner, or by 
 other satisfactory testimony, duly taken and certified by some court, magis- 
 trate, justice of the peace, or other legal officer authorised to administer an 
 oath and take depositions, under the laws of the state or territory from 
 which such person owing service or labour may have escaped, with a cer- 
 tificate of such magistracy, or other authority as aforesaid, with the seal 
 of the proper court or officer thereto attached, which seal shall be sufficient 
 to establish the competency of the proof, and with proof also by affidavit, 
 of the identity of the person whose service or labour is claimed to be 
 due as aforesaid, that the person so arrested does in fact owe service or 
 labour to the person or persons claiming him or her in the state or ter- 
 ritory from which such fugitive may have escaped as aforesaid, and that 
 said person escaped, to make out and deliver to such claimant, his or her 
 agent or attorney, a certificate, setting forth the substantial facts as to the 
 service or labour due from such fugitive to the claimant, and of his or her 
 escape from the state or territory in which such service or labour was due, 
 to the state or territory in which he or she was arrested, with authority to such 
 claimant, or his or her agent or attorney, to use such reasonable force and 
 restraint as may be necessary under the circumstances of the case, to take 
 and remove such fugitive person back to the state or territory from whence he 
 or she may have escaped as aforesaid. In no trial or hearing under this act 
 shall the testimony of such alleged fugitive be admitted in evidence ; and the 
 certificates in this and the first section mentioned, shall be conclusive of the 
 right of the person or persons in whose favour granted, to remove such 
 fugitive to the state or territory from which he escaped, and shall prevent 
 
316 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION AVAR. 
 
 bench, that the design of the clause in the constitution 
 respecting fugitives from service, was, “to secure to the 
 
 all molestation of said person or persons, by any process issued by any court, 
 judge, magistrate, or other person whomsoever. 
 
 Section 7. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall knowingly 
 and willingly obstruct, hinder, or prevent such claimant, his agent or attorney, 
 or any person or persons lawfully assisting him, her, or them from arresting 
 such fugitive from service or labour, either with or without process as afore- 
 said ; or shall rescue, or attempt to rescue such fugitive from service or 
 labour from the custody of such claimant, his or her agent or attorney, or 
 other person or persons lawfully assisting as aforesaid, when so arrested I 
 pursuant to the authority herein given and declared ; or shall aid, abet, or 
 assist such person so owing service or labour as aforesaid, directly or in- 
 directly, to escape from such claimant, his agent or attorney, or person or 
 persons legally authorised as aforesaid ; or shall harbour or conceal such 
 fugitive, so as to prevent the discovery and arrest of such person, after notice 
 or knowledge of the fact that such person was a fugitive from service or 
 labour as aforesaid, shall, for either of said offences, be subject to a fine not i 
 exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months, 
 by indictment and conviction before the district court of the United States 
 for the district in which such offence may have been committed, or before the 
 proper court of criminal jurisdiction, if committed within any one of the 
 organised territories of the United States; and shall, moreover, forfeit and i 
 pay, by way of civil damages, to the party injured by such illegal conduct, the 
 sum of one thousand dollars for each fugitive so lost as aforesaid, to be 
 recovered by action of debt in any of the district or territorial courts aforesaid, 
 within whose jurisdiction the said offence may have been committed. 
 
 Section 8. And be it further enacted, That the marshals, their deputies, 
 and the clerks of the said district and territorial courts, shall be paid for 
 their services the like fees as may be allowed to them for similar services in 
 other cases ; and where such services are rendered exclusively in the arrest, 
 custody, and delivery of the fugitive to the claimant, his or her agent or 
 attorney, or where such supposed fugitive may be discharged out of custody 
 for the want of sufficient proof as aforesaid, then such fees are to be paid in 
 the whole by such claimant, his agent or attorney; and all cases where the I 
 proceedings are before a commissioner, he shall be entitled to a fee of ten 
 dollars in full for his services in each case, upon the delivery of the said 
 certificate to the claimant, his or her agent or attorney ; or a fee of five 
 dollars in cases where the proof shall not, in the opinion of such commis- 
 sioners, warrant such certificate and delivery, inclusive of all services inci- 
 dent to such arrest and examination, to be paid in either case by the claimant, 
 his or her agent or attorney. The person or persons authorised to execute 
 

 THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAWS. 317 
 
 citizens of the slaveholding states the complete right and 
 title of ownership in their slaves, as property, in every 
 
 the process to be issued by such commissioners for the arrest and detention of 
 i fugitives from service or labour as aforesaid, shall also he entitled to a fee of 
 five dollars each for each person he or they may arrest and take before any 
 . such commissioner as aforesaid at the instance and request of such claimant, 
 with such other fees as may be deemed reasonable by such commissioner for 
 i . such other additional services as may be necessarily performed by him or 
 r them ; such as attending to the examination, keeping the fugitive in custody, 
 and providing him with food and lodging during his detention, and until the 
 t I final determination of such commissioner ; and, in general, for performing 
 such other duties as may be required by such claimant, his or her attorney 
 or agent, or commissioner in the premises ; such fees to be made up in con- 
 formity with the fees usually charged by the officers of the courts of justice 
 within the proper district or county, as near as may be practicable, and 
 ' paid by such claimants, their agents or attorneys, whether such supposed 
 fugitive from service or labour be ordered to be delivered to such claimants 
 by the final determination of such commissioners. 
 
 Section 9. And be it further enacted, That upon affidavit made by the 
 : claimant of such fugitive, his agent or attorney, after such certificate has been 
 ■ issued, that he has reason to apprehend that such fugitive will be rescued by 
 force from his or their possession, before he can be taken beyond the limits of 
 ' the state in which the arrest is made, it shall be the duty of the officer making 
 the arrest to retain such fugitive in his custody, and to remove him to the 
 state whence he fled, and there to deliver him to said claimant, his agent or 
 attorney. And to this end, the officer aforesaid is hereby authorised and 
 required to employ so many persons as he may deem necessary to overcome 
 such force, and to retain them in his service so long as circumstances may 
 • require ; the said officer and his assistants, while so employed, to receive the 
 i same compensation, and to be allowed the same expenses, as are now allowed 
 by law for the transportation of criminals, to be certified by the judge of the 
 district within which the arrest is made, and paid out of the treasury of the 
 United States. 
 
 Section 10. And be it further enacted, That when any person held to service 
 or labour in any state or territory, or in the district of Columbia, shall escape 
 therefrom, the party to whom such service or labour shall be due, his, her, or 
 their agent or attorney, may apply to any court of record therein, or judge 
 thereof in vacation, and make satisfactory proof to such court, or judge in 
 vacation, of the escape aforesaid, and that the person escaping owed service or 
 labour to such party. Whereupon the court shall cause a record to be made 
 of the matters so proved, and also a general description of the person so 
 escaping, with such convenient certainty as may be ; and the transcript of 
 
318 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 state in the Union into which they might escape from the 
 state where they were held in servitude.” These are the 
 very words of Mr. Justice Story, of Massachusetts, in 
 delivering the opinion of that great national tribunal. He 
 went on to add — “ The full recognition of this right and 
 title was indispensable to the security of this species of 
 property in all the slaveholdiug states ; and, indeed, was 
 so vital to the preservation of the domestic interests and 
 institutions, that it cannot be doubted that it constituted 
 a fundamental article, without the adoption of which the 
 Union could not have been formed.” Again — “We have 
 said that the clause contains a positive and unqualified 
 recognition of the right of the owner in the slave.” Chief 
 Justice Taney, of the Supreme Court, held, that “by the 
 national compact, this right of property is recognised as an 
 existing right in every slave state of the Union.” Judge 
 
 such record, authenticated by the attestation of the clerk, and of the seal of 
 the said court, being produced in any other state, territory, or district in which 
 the person so escaping may he found, and being exhibited to any judge, com- 
 missioner, or other officer authorised by the law of the United States to cause 
 persons escaping from service or labour to be delivered up, shall be held and 
 taken to be full and conclusive evidence of the fact of escape, and that the 
 service or labour of the person escaping is due to the party in such record 
 mentioned. And upon the production by the said party of other and further 
 evidence, if necessary, either oral or by affidavit, in addition to what is con- 
 tained in the said record, of the identification of the person escaping, he or 
 she shall be delivered up to the claimant. And the said court, commissioner, 
 judge, or other persons authorised by this act to grant certificates to claimants 
 of fugitives, shall, upon the production of the record and other evidences 
 aforesaid, grant to such claimant a certificate of his right to take any such 
 person identified and proved to be owing service or labour as aforesaid, which 
 certificate shall authorise such claimant to seize or arrest, and transport such 
 person to the state or territory from which he escaped : provided, that nothing 
 herein contained shall be construed as requiring the production of a transcript 
 of such record or evidence as aforesaid ; but in its absence, the claim shall be 
 heard and determined upon other satisfactory proof competent in law. 
 
THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAWS. 
 
 319 
 
 Thompson said, the constitution “ affirms, in the most 
 mequivocal manner, the right of the master to the service 
 )f his slave, according to the laws of the state under which 
 ie is so held.” Judge Wavne, of Pennsylvania, in the 
 Supreme Court of the United States, affirmed, that all the 
 udges concurred “ in the declaration, that the provision in 
 :he constitution was a compromise between the slave- 
 bolding and the non-slaveholding states, to secure to the 
 former fugitive slaves as property.” Judge Daniel, of the 
 same bench, held, that “ the paramount authority of this 
 dause in the constitution is to guarantee to the owner the 
 right of property in his slave; and the absolute nullity of 
 iny state power, directly or indirectly, openly or covertly, 
 rimed to impair that right, or to obstruct its enjoyment, I 
 idmit, nay insist upon, to the fullest extent.” 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Personal Liberty Bills of the Northern States — Maine, New 
 Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, 
 New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin; i 
 Vattel on the Interpretation of Treaties. 
 
 Anti-Fugitive Slave Laws. 
 
 In the preceding chapter we have given a history of the 
 fugitive slave measures adopted by the government of the 
 United States. The particular law, alleged to be the most 
 offensive to the people of the northern states at the present 
 time, is the one adopted as a compromise measure in 1850. 
 Their indignation against the provisions of that act is 
 beyond all description. To defeat the execution of that 
 compromise, several of the non-slaveholding states have 
 enacted what are termed “ personal liberty laws/’ The i 
 necessity for a more stringent fugitive slave law than the ' 
 one enacted in 1793, was generally admitted; and hence 
 the origin of the act of 1850, then called a compro- 
 mise measure. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Penn- 
 sylvania, and some other states, had passed treasonable 
 statutes, nullifying the acts of Congress of 1793, and in 
 direct violation of the constitution pertaining to fugitives 
 from service. These “personal liberty laws” (which we 
 insert in this chapter), nullify, not only the law of 1850, 
 but also that of 1 793, which was enacted by the fathers 
 of the republic, at the suggestion of Washington. If the! ! 
 
ANTI-FUGITIVE SLAVE LAWS. 
 
 321 
 
 reader will examine the constitutional fugitive slave 
 clause (clause 3, sect. 2, art. iv.), and the laws of 1793 
 and of 1850, passed in conformity therewith; and then 
 compare those decrees with the following revolutionary 
 and nullifying laws, which have been passed with the 
 most singular unanimity in the northern states, he can 
 judge of the integrity of some of our state legislators. 
 
 ' We are pained to record such flagrancies. Every member 
 of the legislatures that passed these anti-fugitive laws 
 was sworn to support the constitution and the laws of 
 Congress. The civilised world can judge of the integrity of 
 the acts. The following is a digest of the state enactments. 
 
 By the laws of the state of Maine, it is provided, that if a fugi- 
 tive slave shall be arrested, he shall be defended by the attorney 
 of the commonwealth, and all expense of such defence paid out 
 ■ of the public treasury. All state and county jails, and all buildings 
 belonging to the state, are forbidden the reception or securing 
 of fugitive slaves ; and all officers are forbidden, under heavy 
 penalties, from arresting or aiding in the arrest of fugitive slaves. 
 
 1 If a slaveholder or other person shall unlawfully seize or confine a 
 , fugitive slave, he shall be liable to be imprisoned for not more than 
 five years, or fined not exceeding 1,000 dollars. If a slaveholder 
 take a slave into the state, the slave is thereby made free ; and if 
 the master undertake to exercise any control over him, he is sub- 
 jected to imprisonment for not less than one year, or fined not 
 exceeding 1,000 dollars. 
 
 We have not had access to the laws of Hew Hampshire ; but a 
 general index, which has been consulted, shows that a law exists by 
 which all slaves entering the state, either with or without the con- 
 sent of their masters, are declared free, and any attempt to capture 
 or hold them is declared to be a felony. 
 
 In the state of Vermont, the law forbids all citizens and officers 
 of the state from executing or assisting to execute the Fugitive 
 Slave Act of the Congress of the United States, or to arrest a fugi- 
 tive slave, under penalty of imprisonment for one year, or a fine not 
 exceeding 1,000 dollars. It also forbids the use of all public jails 
 
 Y 
 
322 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 and buildings for the purpose of securing such slaves . The attorneys 
 for the state are directed, at the public expense, to defend and pro- 
 cure to be discharged every person arrested as a fugitive slave. The 
 Habeas Corpus Act also provides that fugitive slaves shall be tried by 
 jury, and interposes other obstacles to the execution of the Fugitive 
 Slave Act. 
 
 The law further provides, that all persons unlawfully capturing, 
 seizing, or confining a person as a fugitive slave, shall be confined 
 in the state-prison not more than ten years, and fined not exceeding 
 1,000 dollars. Every person held as a slave, who shall be brought 
 into this state, is declared free ; and all persons who shall hold, or 
 attempt to hold, as a slave, any person so brought into the state, in 
 any form, or for any time, however short, shall be confined in the 
 state prison not less than one, nor more than fifteen years, and fined 
 not exceeding 2,000 dollars. 
 
 The laws of the state of Massachusetts forbid, under heavy 
 penalties, her citizens, and state and county officers, from executing 
 the Fugitive Slave Act, or from arresting a fugitive slave, or from 
 aiding in either — denying the use of the jails and public buildings 
 for such purposes. 
 
 The governor is required to appoint commissioners in every 
 county to [aid fugitive slaves in recovering their freedom when 
 proceeded against as fugitive slaves, and all costs attending such 
 proceedings are directed to be paid by the state. 
 
 Any person who shall remove, or attempt to remove, or come 
 into the state with the intention to remove, or assist in removing, 
 any person who is not a fugitive slave, within the meaning of the 
 constitution, is liable to punishment by a fine not less than 1,000, 
 nor more than 5,000 dollars, and imprisonment not less than one 
 nor more than five years. 
 
 The Habeas Corpus Act gives trial by jury to fugitive slaves, and 
 interposes other impediments to the hunting of them. 
 
 By legislative resolve of 1855, it was declared — 
 
 ‘ ‘ Inasmuch as there is neither any power granted to the general 
 government of the United States for the enactment of any law by 
 Congress for the return of alleged fugitive slaves, nor any pro- 
 hibition therein to the states against the passage of laws uponi 
 that subject, that the Fugitive Slave Act is a direct violation of the 
 10tli article of the amendments of the constitution of the United 1 
 
ANTI-FUGITIVE SLAVE LAWS. 
 
 323 
 
 States ; which declares that the powers not delegated to the United 
 States by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are 
 reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” 
 
 By the same resolve, the senators and representatives, 
 in Congress of that state, were instructed to use their 
 exertions to get a repeal of the fugitive slave law of 
 1850— 
 
 “Which' is hostile alike to the provisions of the national consti- 
 tution, and to the dictates of the Christian religion ; an infraction 
 equally of the supreme ‘law of the land,’ and of the ‘ higher law’ of 
 God, in consonance therewith.” 
 
 The first law of Massachusetts against the rendition of 
 fugitive slaves, under the act of Congress, passed in 1793, 
 was enacted in 1843; and, in 1855, the same law was 
 re-enacted, with provisions to defeat the Compromise Act 
 of Congress, passed in 1850. The Massachusetts act 
 seems to have been drawn in a spirit of spite; and it 
 plays upon the words of the Compromise Act of Congress 
 of 1850, without even ordinary respect for the dignity of 
 the legislature. This law forbids any of the officers of the 
 state to issue warrants for the arrest of fugitive slaves ; and 
 declares, that— 
 
 “No person, while holding any office of honour, trust, or emolu- 
 ment under the laws of this commonwealth, shall, in any capacity, 
 issue any warrant or other proof, or grant any certificate under or 
 by virtue of an act of Congress, approved the 12th of February, 
 in the year 1793, entitled, ‘ An Act respecting fugitives from justice, 
 and persons escaping from the service of their masters ;’ or under or 
 by virtue of an act of Congress, approved the 18th day of September, 
 1850, entitled, ‘ An Act to amend, and supplementary to an Act 
 respecting fugitives from justice, and persons escaping from the 
 service of their masters ;’ or shall in any capacity serve any such 
 warrant or other process. ” 
 
 If auy officer of the state should comply with the laws 
 
 y 2 
 
 
324 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 of Congress of 1793, and of the compromise fugitive slave 
 law of 1850 ; and in accordance therewith issue a warrant 
 for the arrest of a fugitive from service, he is to be sub- 
 jected to the following penalty : — 
 
 ‘ ‘ His office shall be deemed vacant, and he shall for ever there- 
 after be ineligible to hold any office of trust, honour, or emolu- 1 
 ment, under the laws of this commonwealth. ” 
 
 If a lawyer shall serve in behalf of the master of the ( 
 fugitive slave, the law subjects him to the following 
 penalty : — - 
 
 ‘ 1 He shall be deemed to have resigned any commission from the 
 commonwealth that he may possess ; and he shall be thereafter in- 
 capacitated from appearing as counsel or attorney in the courts of 
 this commonwealth.” 
 
 If any judge shall issue a warrant, under the fugitive 
 slave laws of Congress, notwithstanding he is sworn to 
 support the constitution and laws of the United States, he 
 will be subjected to the following penalty : — 
 
 “ It shall be considered as in violation of good behaviour, as 
 well as a reason for loss of confidence, and as furnishing sufficient 
 grounds either for impeachment or removal by address.” 
 
 If any sheriff, jailer, coroner, constable, or other officer ■ 
 of the commonwealth, including militia officers, who shall 
 even — 
 
 ‘ 1 Aid in arresting, imprisoning, detaining, or returning any 
 person, for the reason that he is claimed or adjudged to be a fugitive 
 from service or labour, shall be punished by fine not less than 
 1,000 dollars, and not exceeding 2,000 dollars, and imprisoned in 
 the state prison for not less than one, nor more than two years. ” 
 
 The state of Connecticut, which, as late as 1840, tolerated slavery 
 within its own borders, as appears by the census of that year, 
 prohibits, under severe penalties, all its officers from aiding in 
 executing the Fugitive Slave Act of Congress, and vacates all official 
 acts which may be done by them in attempting to execute that law. 
 
ANTI- FUGITIVE SLAVE LAWS. 
 
 325 
 
 By the act of 1854, sec. 1, it is provided, that every person who 
 shall falsely and maliciously declare, represent, or pretend that any 
 person entitled to freedom is a slave, or owes service or labour to 
 any person or persons, with intent to procure, or to aid or assist 
 in procuring, the forcible removal of such free person from this 
 state, as a slave, shall pay a fine of 5,000 dollars, and shall be im- 
 prisoned for live years in the state prison. 
 
 Sec. 2. In all cases arising under this act, the truth of any decla- 
 ration, representation, or pretence, that any person being, or having 
 been, in this state, is or was a slave, or owes or did owe service or 
 labour to any other person or persons, shall not be deemed proved, 
 except by the testimony of at least two credible witnesses testifying 
 to facts directly tending to the truth of such declaration, pretence, 
 or representation, or by legal evidence equivalent thereto. 
 
 Sec. 3 subjects to a line of 5,000 dollars, and imprisonment in the 
 state prison for five years, all who shall seize any person entitled 
 to freedom, with intent to have such person held in slavery. 
 
 Sec. 4 prohibits the admission of depositions in all cases under 
 this act, and provides, that if any witness testify falsely in behalf 
 of the party accused and prosecuted under this act, he shall be lined 
 5,000 dollars, and imprisoned live years in the state prison. 
 
 The statutes of Rhode Island provide, that any one who transports, 
 or causes or to be transported, by land or water, any person lawfully 
 inhabiting therein, to any place without the limits of the state, 
 except by due course of law, shall be imprisoned not less than one, 
 nor more than ten years. They also prohibit all officers from aiding 
 in executing the Fugitive Slave Act of Congress, or arresting a 
 fugitive slave, and deny the use of its jails and public buildings for 
 securing any such fugitives. 
 
 The New Jersey law provides, that if any person shall forcibly 
 take away from the state any man, woman, or child, bond or free, 
 into another state, he shall be lined not exceeding 1,000 dollars, 
 or by imprisonment at hard labour not exceeding five years, or 
 both 
 
 The Habeas Corpus Act gives a trial by jury to fugitive slaves ; and 
 all judicial officers are prohibited from acting under any other than 
 the law of New Jersey. 
 
 Prior to 1847, in Pennsylvania, non-resident owners of slaves 
 were allowed to retain them in Pennsylvania not exceeding six 
 months. In 1847 this privilege was revoked. Slaves are also 
 
326 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 allowed to testify in all cases in the courts of Pennsylvania. It is 
 further provided by law, that any person who violently and tumul- 
 tuously seizes upon any negro or mulatto, and carries such negro 
 away to any place, wdth or without the intention of taking such 
 negro before a circuit or district judge, shall be fined not exceeding 
 1,000 dollars, and imprisoned in the county jail not exceeding three 
 months. The law also punishes with heavy fine, and imprisonment in 
 the penitentiary, any person who may forcibly carry away, or attempt 
 to carry away, any free negro or. mulatto from the state. The sale 
 of fugitive slaves is prohibited under heavy penalties, and a trial by 
 jury is secured to them. 
 
 The law of 1847 further declares — 
 
 “ No judge of any of the courts of this commonwealth, nor any 
 alderman, or justice of the peace of said commonwealth, shall have 
 jurisdiction or take cognizance of the case of any fugitive from 
 labour from any of the United States or territories, under a certain 
 act of Congress, approved the 12th of February, 1793, entitled ‘ An 
 Act respecting fugitives from justice, and persons escaping from the 
 service of their masters nor shall any judge or justice of the 
 peace of this commonwealth, issue or grant any certificate or warrant 
 of removal of any such fugitive from labour, under the said act of 
 Congress, or under any other law, authority, or act of the Congress 
 of the United States ; and if any alderman, or justice of the peace of 
 this commonwealth, shall take cognizance or jurisdiction of the case 
 of any such fugitive, or shall grant or issue any certificate or warrant 
 of removal as aforesaid, then and in either case he shall be deemed 
 guilty of a misdemeanor in office, and shall, on conviction thereof, 
 be sentenced to pay, at the discretion of the court, any sum not less 
 than 500 dollars, nor exceeding 1,000 dollars.” 
 
 Illinois has prohibited, under pain of imprisonment of not less 
 than one, nor more than seven years, any person from stealing or 
 arresting any slave, with the design of taking such slave out of the 
 state, without first having established his claim thereto, according 
 to the laws of the United States. The Habeas Corpus Act allows trial 
 by jury to fugitive slaves. 
 
 The law of Indiana is similar to that of Illinois, except that the 
 penalties are greater. The fine is not less than 1,000 dollars, nor 
 more than 5,000 dollars, and the term of imprisonment not less than 
 one, nor more than fourteen years. 
 
ANTI-FUGITIVE SLAVE LAWS. 
 
 327 
 
 The laws of the state of Ohio are peculiarly stringent and effective. 
 They not only deny the use of the jails and public buildings to secure 
 fugitive slaves, and require the attorneys for the commonwealth to 
 defend them at the expense of the state ; but the law of Connecticut, 
 in relation to the punishment of persons falsely alleging others to 
 be slaves, is adopted, with the addition, that any person who carries 
 a slave shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison, for 
 a period not exceeding ten years, or by a fine not exceeding 1,000 
 dollars. 
 
 The Habeas Corpus Act also provides for trial by jury of claim to 
 fugitives. 
 
 Following the example of the other northern states, Wisconsin 
 has, in .some particulars, exceeded all the rest. It has directed 
 its district attorneys, in all cases of fugitive slaves, to appear 
 for and defend them at the expense of the state. It has required 
 the issue of the writ of habeas corpus, on the mere statement 
 of the district attorney, that a person in custody is detained as 
 a fugitive slave; and directs all its judicial and executive officers 
 who have reason to believe that a person is about to be arrested or 
 claimed on such ground, to give notice to the district attorney of the 
 county where the person resides. If a judge in vacation fail to dis- 
 . charge the arrested fugitive slave on habeas corpus, an appeal is 
 allowed to the next circuit court. Trial by jury is to be granted at 
 the election of either party; and all costs of trial, which would 
 otherwise fall on the fugitive, are assumed by the state. A law has 
 also been enacted, similar to that of Connecticut, for the punishment 
 of any one who shall falsely and maliciously declare a person to be a 
 fugitive slave, with intent to aid in the procuring the forcible re- 
 moval of such person from the state as a slave: “provided that 
 nothing in this chapter shall be construed as applying to any claim 
 or service from an apprentice for a fixed time. ” A section is added 
 to the provisions of the Connecticut law relative to this offence, for 
 the punishment, by imprisonment in the state prison, of any person 
 who shall obstruct the execution of a warrant issued under it, or aid 
 in the escape of the person accused. Another section forbids the en- 
 forcement of a j udgment recovered for violation of the Fugitive Slave 
 Act, by the sale of any real or personal property in the state ; and 
 makes its provisions applicable to judgments theretofore rendered. 
 
 The law relative to kidnapping punishes the forcible seizure, 
 without lawful authority, of any person of colour, with intent to 
 
328 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION AVAR. 
 
 cause him to be sent out of the state, or sold as a slave, or in any 
 manner to transfer his service or labour, or the actual selling or 
 transferring the service of such person, by imprisonment in the 
 state prison from one to two years, or by fine of from 500 to 1,000 
 dollars. The consent of the person seized, sold, or transferred, not | 
 to be a defence, unless it appear to the jury that it was not 
 obtained by fraud, nor extorted by duress or by threats. 
 
 The law of the state of Iowa is similar to that of Indiana, except 
 that the maximum of the punishment is five years in the state- 
 prison, and a fine of 1,000 dollars. 
 
 The following is an analysis of these laws : — States which prohibit 
 their officers and citizens from aiding in the execution of the law 
 of Congress, are — Maine, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, 
 New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Massa- 
 chusetts, Michigan, Vermont. 
 
 States which deny the use of all public edifices in aid of the 
 master, are — Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, Michigan, Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 States which provide defence for the fugitive, are — Maine, New 
 York, Wisconsin, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Michigan. ! 
 
 States which declare the fugitive free, if brought by the master 
 into the state, are — Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont. 
 
 State that declares him free absolutely, is New Hampshire. 
 
 The following is a recapitulation of the penalties provided for 
 the master who pursues his rights under the law of Congress and 
 constitution, but in contravention of state statutes framed for the. 
 purpose of embarrassing his action, defeating his claim, and in 
 every possible way ingenuity can suggest, rendering the law entirely 
 ineffectual:- — In Maine, $1,000 fine, and five years’ imprisonment ; 
 Vermont, $2,000, and fifteen years; Massachusetts, $5,000, and 
 five years; Connecticut, $5,000, and five years; Pennsylvania, 
 $1,000, and three months; Indiana, $5,000, and fourteen years; 
 Michigan, $1,000, and ten years ; Wisconsin, $1,000, and two 
 years; Iowa, $1,000, and five years. 
 
 It will be observed that the northern states have passed 
 laws to try the fugitive slave case by jury. The object of 
 this is to test the right of property in man — the legality of 
 slavery in the abstract. The constitution seems to be 
 
ANTI-FUGITIVE SLAVE LAWS. 
 
 329 
 
 nought with them; and they interpret that great organic 
 charter, not as it declares, nor as it was intended to 
 mean ; but as most comports with their spleen against 
 the southern states- — not because they hate slavery, but 
 because they love the south less. 
 
 Vattel on the Interpretation op Treaties. 
 
 We will include in this, the most painful of all the 
 chapters in this work, a quotation from Vattel’s Law of 
 Nations; which, to us, seems full of relevancy in the 
 premises. 
 
 ‘ ‘ The rules that establish a lawful interpretation of treaties are 
 sufficiently important to be made the subject of a distinct chapter. 
 For the present, let us simply observe, that an evidently false in- 
 terpretation is the grossest imaginable violation of the faith of 
 treaties. He that resorts to such an expedient, either impudently 
 sports with that sacred faith, or sufficiently evinces his inward con- 
 viction of the degree of moral turpitude annexed to the violation 
 of it ; he wishes to act a dishonest part, and yet preserve the cha- 
 racter of an honest man ; he is a puritanical impostor, who aggra- 
 vates his crime by the addition of a detestable hypocrisy. Grotius 
 quotes several instances of evidently false interpretations put upon 
 treaties. The Plateaus having promised the Thebans to restore 
 their prisoners, restored them after they had put them to death. 
 Pericles, having promised to spare the lives of such of the enemy 
 as laid down their arms, ordered all those to be killed that had iron 
 clasps to their cloaks. A Roman general having agreed with 
 Antiochus to restore him half his fleet, caused each of the ships to 
 be sawed in two. All these interpretations are as fraudulent as 
 that of Rhadamistus, who, according to Tacitus’s account, having 
 sworn to Mithridates that he would not employ either poison or 
 3teel against him, caused him to be smothered under a heap of 
 clothes.” 
 
 When the colouial states ratified the constitution, and 
 united in the organisation of the government, each had a 
 
330 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 right to expect from the other an honest fulfilment of the 
 constitution, and that each would deliver up a fugitive 
 from service to the owner ; but the northern states in- 
 terpret the compact to authorise them to fine and imprison 
 the owner demanding the delivery ; by which the said 
 owner is for ever thereafter disqualified to vote, to sit on a 
 jury, or to give evidence in court ; and is, on account of the 
 penal servitude, with his wife and children disgraced 
 beyond all possibility of restoration. 
 
 It may be said, that, notwithstanding these severe 
 personal liberty laws of the non-slaveholdiug states, the 
 southern man has ever gone to the northern states and 
 secured possession of his slave, and has been permitted to 
 take his property back to his home. But, in answer to 
 this, we can, with a knowledge of facts, state to the 
 contrary. Ask Kentucky how many of her noble sons 
 have been incarcerated within the gloomy, rock-walled 
 cells of the northern prisons, because they went to those 
 states in search of their fugitive slaves? 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Free Negroes and Africans of Mixed Blood — their Condition in 
 the United States, and their Immunities in the Non-Slave- 
 holding States. 
 
 Free Negroes. 
 
 Free negroes are not considered to be the equals of the 
 whites in any of the states of America, except by a few 
 fanatics. The civil liberties enjoyed by them in some of 
 the northern states, have been conceded by political parties 
 from time to time, not because they were considered the 
 equals of the whites, but in order to secure popular elec- 
 tions in closely contested states. Occasionally the political 
 parties in those states have been nearly equally divided ; 
 and they have been in the habit of yielding some franchise 
 for the negro, in order to secure the suffrages of the 
 whites, who seemed to have an especial affection or sym- 
 pathy for that race. In this chapter, we propose, in the 
 first place, to give an account of the condition of the free 
 negroes in the slaveholding states; and secondly, their 
 condition and immunities in the non-slaveholding or free 
 states. As preliminary, we deem it proper to state what 
 distinguishes the white race from the negro. A free negro 
 is an individual, not a slave, having, in whole or in part, Afri- 
 can blood ; and society makes no distinction with respect to 
 the degree of the mixture of blood. If there be the least 
 
332 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 African blood in the child, though there be every appear- 
 ance common to the white race, and even the straight 
 black hair; it is, according to law, a negro, excepting ivhen 
 the issue is from a white mother. That is to say, if a 
 child be horn of a white woman, and the father he a full 
 negro, the law recognises the child to he white; hut 
 society refuses to consider it except as a negro ; and the 
 mother is looked upon as a loathsome, hated, and despised 
 creature. In all cases the child takes the condition of 
 the mother; and if the father be a negro, the child is 
 illegitimate, because there can he no marriage between the 
 white and negro races. The revised statutes of Tennessee 
 of 1858, fairly present the law in the premises — 
 
 “No white person can intermarry with a negro, mulatto, or 
 other person of mixed blood, to the third generation.” 
 
 All such marriages are void; and, besides, the parties 
 are liable to he convicted of misdemeanor ; and the penalty 
 for which is, in all cases, either a fine or imprisonment, or 
 both, at the discretion of the court. Such are the facts 
 with respect to the free negro blood in all the states 
 of America. We will now proceed to cite* some of the 
 laws. 
 
 Free Negroes in the Slaveholding States. 
 
 A free negro has certain civil liberties in the southern 
 states; though in none of them are they equal, as a whole, 
 to those enjoyed by a white man. The negro cannot vote ; 
 yet his evidence, in certain cases, is received with the 
 same degree of force as that given by a white witness. In 
 the slaveholding states there are many very stringent laws 
 
FREE NEGROES IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. 333 
 
 restricting the liberties of the free negroes, which have 
 been passed with a view to protect the property in slaves. 
 These laws are of legislative creation, and not of consti- 
 tutional permanency. They can be repealed or amended 
 whenever the public may consider such changes conducive 
 to the common welfare. Many of the laws are but dead 
 letters ; though, on the occurrence of aggravated cases, 
 and the peace of society requiring it, they become operative 
 without let or hindrance. 
 
 In Louisiana, the law expects, that — 
 
 “Free people of colour ought never to insult or strike white peo- 
 ple, nor presume to conceive themselves equal to the whites ; but, 
 on the contrary, they ought to yield to them on every occasion, and 
 never speak or answer them but with respect, under penalty of 
 imprisonment, according to the nature of the offence. ” 
 
 In Maryland, a free negro coming into the state, cannot 
 remain in it without a pass from a justice of the peace, 
 except for the term of one week, under a penalty of fifty 
 dollars ; and in case of inability to pay the said fine, he can 
 be sold. If a free negro leave the state for a term of 
 one month, he cannot return again to reside, unless, prior 
 to his leaving, he procures from a justice of the peace a 
 certificate of his intentions. Free negroes cannot immigrate 
 into any of the slaveholding states, without permission by 
 legislative enactment, which is seldom granted. In some 
 of the states, a free negro man cannot marry a slave. In 
 others he can ; but the issue is a slave. In all the southern 
 states, every free negro is expected to keep “ free-papers •” 
 and in some of them he must have a magistrate’s pass, 
 renewed annually. With a legal certificate, he can travel 
 from one state to another, and back again, at his own will. 
 
334 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 without hindrance. If, however, he fail to have his 
 free-papers, he is liable to be arrested on suspicion of 
 being a fugitive slave, and imprisoned until his freedom is 
 established. And if he cannot prove his freedom, he can 
 be sold for jail fees ; but he can recover his liberty at any 
 time by proving his rights ; and the evidence may be 
 parole, or the certificate of a magistrate. It may seem 
 cruel to sell a free negro, or that there should be laws 
 even making a free man liable to be sold. But such is 
 the case ; and those laws were intended for wise purposes — 
 not to enslave the negro, but to protect the property 
 known as slaves. In Missouri, and, if we mistake not, in 
 several other states, a white man can be sold at public 
 auction to the highest bidder ! In most of the southern 
 states, vessels coming from free states, or foreign countries, 
 cannot land free negroes, except under severe penalties. 
 Schools for educating free negroes are expressly for- 
 bidden by the statutes of nearly all the southern states; 
 but we doubt if there be a single state that enforces the 
 law, except in times of suspicion of. an intended insur- 
 rection of the slaves. Free negroes and slaves are for- 
 bidden to meet together for religious or other purposes ; 
 and the penalties are very severe if they are found thus 
 assembled : practically, however, these laws are not en- 
 forced; for they do meet in every state, and in all parts 
 of the states, in very large numbers — perhaps, occasionally, 
 as many as a thousand at one meeting. The presence of 
 one, two, or more white persons, shields them from all 
 penalties. So true is this, that when we were but eighteen 
 years of age, we often attended slave and free negro 
 
FREE NEGROES IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. 335 
 
 meetings, in order to meet the requirements of the 
 statutes. We know of no state laws forbidding the 
 assembling of free negroes; but they cannot hold meetings 
 with the slaves, except under the liability of severe 
 penalties. 
 
 The constitutions of Delaware and Maryland make no re- 
 strictions to the continuance of free negroes in those states. 
 
 The constitution of Virginia authorises the legislature 
 to “pass laws for the relief of the state from the free 
 negro population, by removal or otherwise.” The consti- 
 tution of North Carolina declares, that — 
 
 “No free negro, free mulatto, or free person of mixed blood, 
 descended from negro ancestors to the fourth generation inclusive 
 (though one ancestor of each generation may have been a white 
 person), shall vote for members of the senate, or House of Commons.” 
 
 The constitution of the state of Kentucky declares, that — 
 
 “The general assembly shall pass laws, providing that any free 
 negro or mulatto hereafter immigrating to, and refusing to leave this 
 state, or having left, shall return and settle within this state, shall 
 he deemed guilty of felony, and be punished by confinement in the 
 penitentiary thereof.” 
 
 Notwithstanding this seeming prohibition, free negroes 
 come into Kentucky, and depart at their own pleasure. 
 They declare themselves residents of another state, and 
 thus escape the penalty of the law; but they cannot come 
 into the state to reside without statutory permission. 
 
 The constitution of Tennessee declares, that — 
 
 “All free men of colour shall be exempt from military duty in 
 time of peace ; and also from paying a free poll-tax. ” 
 
 There is no restriction to their living in the state. The 
 constitution of Florida declares, that — 
 
 ‘ ‘ The general assembly shall have power to pass laws to prevent 
 
336 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 free negroes, mulattoes, and other persons of colour, from immi- i 
 grating to this state ; or from being discharged from on board any 
 vessel in any of the ports of Florida.” 
 
 The constitutions of the states of South Carolina, 
 Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Mis- 
 souri, and Arkansas, do not make any reference to free 
 negroes. 
 
 Free Negroes in the Non-Slaveholding States. 
 
 Several of the northern states’ statute laws have been 
 passed, granting to free negroes the same civil liberties 
 enjoyed by the whites : practically, however, their immu- 
 nities are but legal, and only enjoyed when and where 
 society cannot restrain or withhold them. Socially, the 
 free negroes are distinct from the whites ; and the former 
 can associate only with a few abolitionists of the latter 
 race. In Ohio, as in most of the non-slaveholding states, 
 the free negro cannot vote; and so recent as 1860, a 
 law passed the legislature, styled “An Act to prevent the 
 Amalgamation of the White and Coloured Races.” This 
 law forbids persons possessing a visible admixture of 
 African blood, to intermarry with any person of pure white 
 blood ; and if any person solemnize such a marriage, he 
 is liable to be fined not more than one hundred dollars, or 
 imprisoned for a term not exceeding three months, at the 
 discretion of the court. The law of Michigan declares, 
 that “ no white person shall intermarry with a negro or 
 mulatto.” Massachusetts has enacted, that “no white 
 person shall intermarry with a negro, Indian, or mulatto;” 
 and all such marriage contracts are declared null and void. 
 
FREE NEGROES IN THE NORTHERN STATES. 
 
 337 
 
 By statutes of Indiana, enacted in 1843, it is declared — 
 
 “ No white person shall intermarry with a negro or mulatto ; and 
 any marriages between a white person and a negro or mulatto, shall 
 be absolutely void, without any legal proceedings ; and all children 
 born of such person shall be declared illegitimate and bastards. ” 
 
 "Every person who shall knowingly counsel, abet, or assist in 
 any way or manner whatever, in any marriage between any negro 
 and white person, or between any person having one-eighth part or 
 more of negro .blood and any white person, shall, upon conviction 
 thereof, be fined in any sum not less than ] 00 dollars, nor more 
 than 1,000 dollars.” 
 
 Bv statute of the state of Illinois, it is enacted, that — 
 
 “No person of colour, negro or mulatto, of either sex, shall be 
 joined in marriage with any white person, male or female, in this 
 state ; and all marriages or contracts entered into between coloured 
 persons and white persons, shall be null and void in law ; and every 
 person so offending, shall be liable to pay a fine, whipped in not 
 exceeding thirty-nine lashes, and be imprisoned not less than one 
 year ; and every person so offending shall be held to answer in no 
 other than a criminal prosecution by information or indictment. ” 
 
 Any clerk issuing a licence for such marriage, and any 
 person solemnising the same, shall be subject to pay a fine 
 of 200 dollars. Efforts have been made in Connecticut, 
 Michigan, and in some of the other non-slaveholding states, 
 to permit free negroes to vote; but, at the popular elections, 
 the propositions were rejected. The state of Oregon, ad- 
 mitted into the Union in 1859, and since the commencement 
 of the slavery agitation in the United States, has exceeded 
 the most intolerant slave state in making legal restrictions 
 against the free negroes. The constitution declares, that 
 tf no negro, Chinaman, or mulatto, shall have the right 
 of suffrage and it further declares, that — 
 
 “No free negro, or mulatto, not residing in this state at the time 
 of the adoption of this constitution, shall ever come, reside, or, be 
 
 Z 
 
338 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 within this state, or hold any real estate, or make any contract, or 
 maintain any suit therein ; and the legislative assembly shall provide 
 by penal laws for the removal by public officers of all such free 
 negroes and mulattoes, and for their effectual exclusion from the 
 state, and for the punishment of persons who shall bring them into 
 the state, or employ or harbour them therein. ” 
 
 On the adoption of the constitution, a separate vote was 
 taken on the above most remarkable prohibitory clause; 
 and the ballot stood thus: in favour of it, 8, *640; against 
 it, 1,081 ; making a majority of 7,559 against free negroes 
 coming into the state. 
 
 Free negroes cannot vote in the following non-slave- 
 holding states : — Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Cali- 
 fornia, Minnesota, Oregon, Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey, 
 Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. The states of New York, 
 Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, 
 and Maine, permit free negroes to vote; but, in some of 
 them, property qualification is required. 
 
 The constitution of the state of Indiana declares — 
 
 “No negro or mulatto shall come into or settle in the state after 
 the adoption of this constitution. 
 
 “ All contracts made with any negro or mulatto coming into the 
 state, contrary to the provision of the foregoing section, shall be 
 void ; and any person who shall employ such negro or mulatto, or 
 otherwise encourage him to remain in the state, shall be fined in 
 any sum not less than ten dollars, nor more than 500 dollars. 
 
 “All fines which may be collected for a violation of the pro- 
 visions of this article, or of any law which may hereafter be passed 
 for the purpose of carrying the same into execution, shall be set 
 apart and appropriated for the colonization of such negroes and 
 mulattoes, and their descendants, as may be in the state at the 
 adoption of this constitution, and may be willing to emigrate. 
 
 “ The general assembly shall pass laws to carry out the provisions 
 of this article.” 
 
 The reader will observe, that, according to the constitu- 
 
FREE NEGROES IN THE NORTHERN STATES. 
 
 339 
 
 tion of Indiana, and although the state is non-slaveholding, 
 a free negro cannot even go into it. There is not a slave- 
 holding state, with a prohibition respecting free negroes, 
 more severe than the one just quoted. 
 
 By the statutes of Indiana, revised in 1843, it is 
 declared — 
 
 “No negro, mulatto, or Indian shall be a witness, except on 
 pleas of the state, against negroes, mulattoes, or Indians ; and, in 
 civil causes, where negroes, mulattoes, or Indians alone are parties, 
 every person other than a negro having one-fourth part negro blood 
 or more, or any one of whose grandfathers or grandmothers shall 
 have been a negro, shall be deemed an incompetent witness.” 
 
 By statute of Ohio, 1841, it was declared — 
 
 “ That no black or mulatto person or persons shall hereafter be 
 permitted to be sworn or give evidence in any court of record, or 
 elsewhere in this state, in any cause depending, or matter of con- 
 troversy, where either party to the same is a white person, or in 
 any prosecution which shall be instituted in behalf of this state, 
 against any white person.” 
 
 By statute of New Jersey, 1798, it was declared — 
 
 ‘ ‘ That no free negro or mulatto, of or belonging to this state, 
 shall be permitted to travel or remain in any county in this state, 
 other than in the county where his or h er place of residence may 
 lawfully be, without a certificate from two justices of the peace of 
 the county in which he or she belonged, or from the clerk of the 
 county, under the seal of the court, certifying that such negro or 
 mulatto was set free, or deemed and taken to be free in such 
 county.” 
 
 In the revised statutes of Illinois, issued in 1833, it is 
 declared, by act of 1819 — 
 
 “ That it shall not be lawful for any person or persons to bring 
 into this state any negro or mulatto who shall be a slave, or held 
 to service at the time, for the purpose of emancipating or setting 
 at liberty any such negro or mulatto ; and any person or persons 
 who shall bring in any such negro or mulatto for the purpose afore- 
 
 z 2 
 
340 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 said, shall give a bond to the county commissioners where such 
 slave or slaves are emancipated, in the penalty of 1,000 dollars, 
 conditioned that such person emancipated by him shall not become 
 a charge upon any county in the state ; and every person neglecting 
 or refusing to give such bond, shall forfeit and pay the sum of 
 200 dollars for each negro or mulatto so emancipated or set at 
 liberty.” 
 
 By statute of 1829, it was enacted — 
 
 “ Any person who shall hereafter bring into this state any black 
 or mulatto person, in order to free him or her from slavery, or 
 shall directly or indirectly bring into this state, or aid or assist any 
 such black or mulatto person to settle or reside therein, shall be 
 fined 100 dollars on conviction or indictment, or before any justice 
 of the peace of the county.” 
 
 By statute of 1819, it was enacted — 
 
 “That any such servant [free negro] being lazy, disorderly, or 
 guilty of misbehaviour to his master or master’s family, shall be 
 corrected by stripes,” &c. 
 
 “ That no negro, mulatto, or Indian, shall at any time purchase 
 any servant other than their own complexion.” 
 
 “All contracts between masters and servants during the time of 
 service shall be void.” 
 
 We have carefully examined all the slave codes of the 
 southern states ; and we have not been able to find any- 
 thing equal in severity to the following, taken from the 
 Illinois revised statutes of 1833 : — 
 
 “That if any person or persons shall permit or suffer any slave 
 or slaves, servant or servants of colour, to the number of three or 
 more, to assemble in his, her, or their out-house, yard, or shed, for 
 the purpose of dancing or revelling, either by night or by day, the 
 person or persons so offending shall forfeit and pay a fine of twenty 
 dollars.” It is made “ the duty of all coroners, sheriff’s, judges, and 
 justices of the peace, who shall see or know of, or be informed of 
 any such assemblage of slaves or servants, immediately to commit 
 such slaves or servants to the jail of the county, and on view or 
 proof thereof, order each and every such slave or servant to be 
 whipped, not exceeding thirty-nine stripes on his or her bare back.” 
 
FREE NEGROES IN THE NORTHERN STATES. 
 
 341 
 
 In 1827, it was enacted, that — 
 
 “ A negro, mulatto, or Indian, shall not be a witness in any 
 court, or in any case against a white person. 
 
 “ A person having one-fourth part negro blood shall be adjudged 
 a mulatto.” 
 
 By statute of 1829, it was enacted — 
 
 “ Free negroes or mulattoes can reside in Illinois by giving a 
 : certificate of freedom, and a bond, with sufficient security, to the 
 people of this state, in the penal sum of 1,000 dollars, conditioned 
 that such person will not, at any time, become a charge to any 
 county in the state as a poor person, and that the said person will 
 demean himself or herself in strict conformity with the laws of 
 this state. ” 
 
 Chancellor Kent, in his commentaries on American law, 
 says — Marriages between the negro and the white races 
 are forbidden in some of the states; and where not abso- 
 lutely contrary to law, they are revolting, and regarded as 
 an offence against public decorum. By the revised 
 statutes of Illinois, hereinbefore quoted, marriages between 
 whites and negroes, or mulattoes, are declared void ; and 
 the persons so married are liable to be whipped, fined, and 
 imprisoned. By an old statute of Massachusetts, in 1705, 
 such marriages were declared void ; and they w r ere so under 
 the statute of 1786. And the prohibition is continued 
 under the revised statutes of 1835, which declare, that no 
 white person shall intermarry with a negro, Indian, or 
 mulatto. Public sentiment is so adverse to the marrying 
 of whites with the negroes, that statutes are really un- 
 necessary in any of the states. Such a marriage would 
 incense the people to such a degree, that the law could 
 not restrain them from a riotous act. It is not material 
 for us to discuss whether or not these coercive measures 
 
342 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 best subserve the public good : we give the facts for 
 information, and leave the problem for others to solve. 
 The status of the negro race in America creates sad reflec- 
 tions; and an amelioration of their condition can only- 
 spring from a well-directed philanthropy; but never 
 through the influence of the hypocritical teachings of 
 American abolitionism. 
 
 By statutes of Vermont, passed in 1801, citizens from 
 other states could be prohibited from residing in that 
 state, whether they were of the white or negro races. The 
 law declared, that — 
 
 “The select-men shall have power to remove from the state any 
 persons who come there to reside. And any person removed, and 
 returning without permission of the select-men, shall be whipped, not 
 exceeding ten stripes.” 
 
 By statute of Rhode Island, it was declared, that — 
 
 “ The town council shall, if any free negro or mulatto shall keep a 
 disorderly house, or entertain any person or persons at unseasonable 
 hours, break up his house, and bind him out to serve for two years. ” 
 
 “That no white person, Indian, or mulatto or negro, keeping 
 house in any town, shall entertain any Indian, mulatto, or negro 
 servant or slave ; if he does, to be punished by fine,” &c. 
 
 “ That none [Indians, negroes, and mulatto servants] should be 
 absent at night, after nine o’clock. If found out, to be taken up 
 and committed to jail till morning, and then appear before a justice 
 of the peace, who is ordered and directed to cause such servant or 
 slave to be publicly whipped by the constable, ten stripes.” 
 
 “ That whosoever is suspected, of trading with a servant or slave, 
 and shall refuse to purge himself by oath, shall be adjudged guilty, 
 and sentence shall be given against him,” <fcc. 
 
 By statute of Massachusetts, passed in 1788, revised in 
 1798, and again in 1802, it was enacted — 
 
 “ That no person, being an African or negro, other than a subject 
 of the emperor of Morocco or a citizen of the United States, to be 
 evidenced by a certificate, &c., shall tarry within this commonwealth 
 
FREE NEGROES IN THE NORTHERN STATES. 
 
 343 
 
 for a longer time than two months ; if he does, the justices have 
 power to order such person to depart, fee. ; and if such person shall 
 not depart within ten days, <fcc. , such person shall be committed to 
 the prison or house of correction. And for this offence, (fee., he 
 shall be whipped, <fcc. , and ordered again to depart in ten days ; 
 and if he does not, the same process and punishment to be inflicted, 
 and so toties quoties.” 
 
 The state of Connecticut, by statute of 179.2, declared- — 
 
 “ That when an inhabitant of the United States (this state ex- 
 cepted) shall come to reside in any town in this state, the civil 
 authorities, or major part of them, are authorised, upon the appli- 
 cation of the select-men, if they judge proper, by warrant under 
 their hands, directed to either of the constables of said town, to 
 order said person to be conveyed to the state from whence he or 
 she came.” 
 
 “ The select-men of the town are to warn any person not an in- 
 habitant of this state, to depart from such town ; and the person so 
 warned, if he does not depart, shall forfeit and pay to the treasurer 
 of such town, one dollar and sixty-seven cents per week. If such 
 person refuse to depart or pay his fine, such person shall be whipped 
 on the naked body, not exceeding ten stripes, unless such person 
 depart in ten days. ” 
 
 “If any such person return after warning, he is to be whipped 
 again, and sent away, and as often as there is occasion. ” 
 
 Bv statute of 1796, it was declared, that — 
 
 “Whatsoever negro, mulatto, or Indian servant, shall be found 
 wandering out of the bounds of the town or place to which they 
 belong, without a ticket or pass in writing, to be taken up,” <fec. 
 
 “No free negro is to travel without a pass from the select-men 
 or justices.” 
 
 “Every free person shall be punished by fine, <fcc., for buying or 
 receiving anything from a free negro, mulatto, or Indian servant. ” 
 
 The state of New York passed a statute in 1801, de- 
 claring, as shown in the following, the right to expel from 
 the state the white, negro, or mulatto people of other 
 states of the Union; viz. — 
 
 “ If a stranger be entertained in the dwelling-house or out-house 
 
344 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 of any citizen for fifteen days, without giving notice to the overseers 
 of the poor, he shall pay a fine of five dollars.” 
 
 “ If such person continue above forty days, the justices can call 
 on the inhabitants of the town or city, and the person may be sent 
 to jail,” &c. And the justices may cause such stranger to be con- 
 veyed from constable to constable, until transported into any other 
 state, if from thence he came. 
 
 “ If such person return, the justices, if they think proper, may 
 direct him to be whipped by every constable into whose hands he 
 shall come ; to be whipped, if a man, not exceeding thirty-nine 
 lashes ; and if a woman, not exceeding twenty-five lashes ; and so 
 as often as such person shall return.” 
 
 We have thus plainly and frankly described the rights 
 enjoyed by the free negroes in the United States. We 
 might have explained their social position and industrial 
 habits ; but neither of them are creditable to the race. It 
 is but fair to admit, however, that there are circumstances 
 producing their degradation. If the negro race had equal 
 advantages to those enjoyed by the white race, we do not , 
 know to what degree of industrial position they might 
 attain. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The Missouri Compromise of 1821 ; the Passage of the Kansas- 
 Nebraska Bill of 1854; the Dred Scott Decision. 
 
 The Missouri Compromise of 1821. 
 
 The ordinance of 1787, establishing the north-west terri- 
 tory, declared, that — 
 
 “There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the 
 said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes,” &c. : 
 
 \ provided , “that any person escaping into the same, from whom 
 abour or service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original 
 states, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed, and conveyed to the 
 person claiming his or her labour or service as aforesaid. ” 
 
 This ordinance, adopted by consent of Virginia, establ- 
 ished, that there should never be slavery in the territory 
 lorth-west of the Ohio river. The states of Kentucky, 
 Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, were admitted into 
 he Union after the constitution was adopted. Those states 
 vere taken from the territories of states that formed the 
 onstitutional government of 1789; and slavery existed in 
 hem prior to that date. Louisiana and Florida were 
 nrchased with slavery existing in them. When Louisiana 
 ?as formed into a state, in 1812, the whole territory west 
 f the Mississippi river, and north of Louisiana, had but 
 few settlements ; and in the organisation of Missouri 
 'om a part of the old Louisiana territory, the slavery 
 uestion was agitated. This immense domain was pur- 
 
346 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 chased from France, and paid for at the expense of the 
 whole nation. Slavery actually existed in Missouri in 
 1821, when that state was admitted into the Union; and, 
 in fact, from its first settlement. The question in Con- 
 gress, with respect to the Missouri organisation, was 
 called the “slavery restriction ;” and had in view the same 
 principle as now understood by the term “non-extension 
 of slavery.” The proposition was, to limit or restrict 
 slavery to the territories of the old states, and to forbid 
 its further introduction into the purchased domain, both 
 before and after state organisation. The restriction was 
 most powerfully advocated in Congress while the Missouri 
 question was pending in 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, and 
 1821. In 1818, the Missouri Bill was discussed; and 
 Mr. Tallmadge, of New York, offered the following amend- 
 ment ; viz. — 
 
 “ That the further introduction of slavery or involuntary servi- 
 tude be prohibited, except for the punishment of crimes whereof' 
 the party shall be duly convicted ; and that all children of slaves, 
 born within the said state after the admission thereof into the 
 Union, shall be free, but may be held to service until the age of 
 twenty-five.” 
 
 The bill, thus amended, passed the house by a vote of— 
 yeas, 98 ; nays, 56. It was then sent to the senate. 
 In that body, the motion to strike out all after the 
 word “convicted,” was carried by — yeas, 27 against the 
 restriction; nays — for the restriction, 7. On the motion 
 to strike out the other part of the restriction the vote 
 stood — yeas, 22 ; nays, 16. The bill, as amended, was then 
 sent to the house, where it met with opposition ; and, for 
 want of time, the bill failed to receive further consideration; 
 
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE. 
 
 347 
 
 during that session. In 1819, the Missouri Bill was again 
 taken up, aud warmly discussed. In the meantime the 
 legislatures of nearly all the northern states passed resolu- 
 tions, and forwarded them to Congress, in favour of the 
 restriction just cited. The legislatures of the slave- 
 holding states, with but one or two exceptions, were against 
 the restriction. At this Congress it was proposed to admit 
 the state of Maine into the Union ; and the resolve for the 
 admission of Missouri was added to the Maine Bill as a 
 rider: ultimately, however, the bills for the admission 
 of these states were taken separately. Mr. Thomas, of 
 Illinois, proposed an amendment to the bill ; viz. — 
 
 “ In all that territory ceded by France to the United States, 
 under the name of Louisiana, which lies north of thirty-six degrees 
 thirty minutes north latitude, excepting only such part thereof as 
 is included within the limits of the state (Missouri) contemplated by 
 this act, slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the 
 punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly con- 
 victed, shall be and is hereby for ever prohibited.” 
 
 The constitutional fugitive slave clause was coupled 
 with the above amendment. The bill thus passed the 
 senate, and was sent to the house, where it was amended 
 by a vote of 159 to 18. The adoption of the alteration 
 was a virtual rejection of the senate bill. This amendment 
 :o exclude slavery from the territory north-west of latitude 
 36° 30', it will be observed, originated in the senate, and 
 ;here passed its first reading by a vote of 34 to 10; among 
 ;he ayes were fourteen senators, and, among the nays, were 
 :ight members from slaveholding states. On the engross- 
 nent of the bill, the vote stood — 24 ayes to 20 noes. Of the 
 ormer, there were twenty from the slaveholding states, and 
 
348 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 four from the non-slaveholding states. The votes against 
 the bill (adopting the 36° 30' line), were — eighteen from 
 non-slaveholding, and two from slaveholding states. It 
 will be seen, from these votes, that there was no com- 
 promise between the northern and southern states ; hut 
 that the restriction was adopted by the south, and against 
 the northern vote. This was not the great Missouri 
 compromise issue : that pacificating proposition originated 
 a year later with Mr. Clay, and pertained only to the 
 rights of free negroes. It is proper to observe, however* 
 that the restriction line (36° 30') isgenerally, though 
 erroneously, called the “ Missouri Compromise.” The bill, 
 as amended, was then sent back to the senate, where the 
 house amendment was disagreed to. A conference com- 
 mittee was appointed ; and the following were agreed to 
 by the joint committee, and reported to the respective 
 houses; viz. — 
 
 1st. The senate should give up the combination of Missouri in 
 the same bill with Maine. 
 
 2nd. The house should abandon the attempt to restrict slavery 
 in Missouri. 
 
 3rd. Both houses should agree to pass the senate’s separate 
 Missouri Bill, with Mr. Thomas’s restriction, or compromising pro- 
 viso, excluding slavery from all territory north and west of Missouri. 
 
 The report of the conference committee was agreed to by 
 the house : ayes, 90; noes, 87. The bill, thus agreed to, 
 passed the senate, and became law, by which the people of 
 the territory of Missouri, as therein prescribed, werej 
 authorised to form a constitution preparatory to making 
 an application for admission into the Union as an organised 
 state. 
 
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE. 
 
 349 
 
 In 1820, the Missouri constitution was presented, with 
 the application for admission into the Union. Aud 
 although it was understood that the question was settled 
 in 1819, and that the organisation of the state was to be 
 as then prescribed ; yet, on the proposition of acceptance 
 of the state, in 1820, the north again rallied in opposition, 
 principally originating from some clauses which were 
 lontained in the proposed constitution; namely — 
 
 “ The general assembly shall have no power to pass laws, first, for 
 ;he emancipation of slaves without the consent of their owners, or 
 without paying them, before such emancipation, a full equivalent 
 'or such slaves so emancipated ; and, second, to prevent bond fide 
 migrants to this state, or actual settlers therein, from bringing 
 Torn any of the United States, or from any of their territories, 
 mch persons as may there be deemed to be slaves so long as any 
 persons of the same description are allowed to be held as slaves by 
 .he laws of the state. * * * It shall be their duty, as soon as may 
 te, to pass such laws as may be necessary to prevent free negroes and 
 nulattoes from coming to, or settling in this state under any pretext 
 Whatever. ” 
 
 The clause italicised, was considered by the northern 
 nembers of Congress to be in violation of the constitution 
 »f the United States, which gives to the citizens of each 
 fate the rights of citizens in every state. 
 
 The vote, on admission, was — yeas, 79 ; nays, 93. An 
 attempt was then made to admit the new state on a joint 
 esolution qualifying the clauses above given; but it 
 ailed. Mr. Clay, from Kentucky, then proposed to 
 efer the question to a joint committee, to be chosen 
 <y ballot. The house agreed to this by a vote of 101 to 
 5 ; and Mr. Clay became the chairman of the com- 
 aittee. It was agreed by this committee — 
 
 “ That a solemn pledge should be required of the legislature of 
 
350 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Missouri, that the constitution of that state should not he construed 
 to authorise the passage of any act, and that no act should be 
 passed by which any of the citizens of either of the states should 
 be excluded from the enjoyment of the privileges and immunities 
 to which they are entitled under the constitution of the United 
 States.” 
 
 This was Mr. Clay’s Missouri compromise. It was 
 agreed to by the house — yeas, 86 ; nays, 82. In the senate 
 — yeas, 26; nays, 15. The state of Missouri complied 
 with the agreement; and thus closed the great Missouri 
 struggle. 
 
 Repeal of the Missouri Restriction by the Kansas- 
 Nebraska Bill. 
 
 In 1854, it was proposed to open the territory of Kansas 
 for settlement ; and, to that end, senator Douglas intro- 
 duced a bill, called the “ Kansas-Nebraska Bill,” by which 
 those territories were authorised to be settled ; territorial 
 governments to be established; and that, on the organisa- 
 tion of those territories into states, the people thereof 
 respectively should then have the right to decide whether 
 or not slavery should be allowed in the state after it was 
 admitted into the Union. This law proposed to leave the 
 subject of slavery wholly with the people of the territory. 
 The submitting of the question thus to the people, was 
 viewed as a repeal of the Missouri restriction of 1820, 
 which stipulated that there never should be slavery in 
 the territory north of latitude 36° 30' ; and Kansas and 
 Nebraska were situated north of that line. The bill 
 proposed by Mr. Douglas ultimately passed both houses 
 of Congress in 1854, and became law. The right to 
 
SLAVERY AND ANTI-SLAVERY ISSUES. 
 
 351 
 
 exercise this power, thus declared to lie with the people, 
 has been called “ squatter sovereignty.”* 
 
 The opponents of this repeal of the Missouri restriction, 
 have been known as the “ Free-soil,” “Non-extension,” 
 or “Republican” parties. They have embraced, as tem- 
 porary adherents, the anti-slavery, and fractionals of the 
 old Whig and Know-nothing parties; and also the extreme 
 abolition and amalgamation fanatics of the northern 
 states. 
 
 With respect to the constitutional powers over the 
 territories, there are various opinions entertained by states- 
 men. We will state those differences under the eight 
 following classifications ; viz. — 
 
 1st. Those who believe that the constitution of the United States 
 neither establishes nor prohibits slavery in the states or territories 
 )eyond the power of the people legally to control it, but “leaves 
 .he people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic 
 nstitutions in their own way, subject only to the constitution of 
 he United States.” 
 
 2nd. Those who believe that the constitution establishes slavery 
 n the territories, and withholds from Congress and the territorial 
 sgislature the power to control it, and who insist, that in the event 
 .f the territorial legislature failing to enact the requisite laws for its 
 irotection, it becomes the imperative duty of Congress to interpose 
 is authority, and furnish such protection. 
 
 3rd. Those who believe that the constitution establishes slavery 
 a the territories beyond the power of Congress or the territorial 
 ( egislature to control it, but, at the same time, protest against the 
 uty of Congress to interfere for its protection ; and insist that it 
 i the duty of the judiciary to protect and maintain slavery in the 
 Brritories without any law upon the subject. 
 
 * The appellation, “squatter,” is applied to the inhabitants occu- 
 ying public lands ; which secures to them certain rights of pre- 
 mption to purchase those lands whenever the Congress of the 
 United States shall authorise their sale. 
 
 
352 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 4tli. Those who believe that the constitution neither establishes 
 nor prohibits slavery in the territories west of the Mississippi river, 
 and, as that territory has been purchased since the constitution 
 was formed, Congress has the power to determine the time and 
 conditions of its settlement, whether with or without slavery. 
 
 5th. Those who believe that property exists in slaves by common 
 law, and the owners of such property have a right to carry that 
 specific chattel into any of the territories, the said territories being 
 the common domain of the nation, and not subject to the statute 
 laws of the United, States with respect to slavery or any other 
 chattel property. 
 
 6th. Those who believe that Congress has the power to determine 
 whether or not slavery shall be in any given territory ; that slavery 
 is a species of property created by municipal statute law, and, 
 therefore, in order for it to exist in any territory, Congress must 
 enact a law declaring property in slaves for and within the given 
 territory. 
 
 7 th. Those who believe that the normal condition of all the terri- 
 tory of the United States is that of freedom, and deny the authority 
 of Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of any individuals, to 
 give legal existence to slavery in any territory of the United States. 
 
 8th. Those who believe that there cannot be property in man ; 
 “that all men are bom equally free and independent and that all 
 recognition of the right and legality of slavery in man, whether in 
 the constitution or in the statutes, is in violation of the inalienable 
 rights of man ; and cannot be enforced within the jurisdiction of 
 the federal codes. 
 
 The first of the above classifications was the principle 
 recognised by the Kansas-Nebraska Bill ; the seventh was 
 the recognised doctrine of the republican party of 1860. 
 
 The Dred Scott Decision. 
 
 The Dred Scott case was determined by the Supreme 
 Court of the United States, subsequent to the passing of 
 the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. The court decided, in sub- 
 stance — 
 
 1st. That under the constitution of the United States, a negro 
 
THE DRED SCOTT DECISION. 
 
 353 
 
 descended from slave parents, the mother determining the issue, is 
 not and cannot be a citizen of the United States. 
 
 2nd. That the act of the 6th of March, 1820, commonly called 
 the “Missouri Restriction,” was unconstitutional and void before it 
 was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, and consequently 
 did not and could not have the legal effect of extinguishing a mas- 
 ter’s right to his slave in the territory north of latitude 36° 30' — 
 the territory in which the Missouri restriction declared slavery 
 should never exist. 
 
 The Dred Scott case has been stated thus : — It was an 
 action of trespass, vi et armis, in the circuit court of the 
 United States for the district of Missouri, for the purpose 
 of establishing his claim to be a free man; and was taken 
 by a writ of error, on the application of Scott, to the 
 Supreme Court of the United States, where the final 
 decision was pronounced. The facts of the case were 
 agreed upon, and admitted to be true by both parties; 
 and were, in substance — that Dred Scott was a negro slave 
 in Missouri; that he went with his master, who was an 
 officer in the army, to Fort Armstrong, on Rock Island- 
 territory of Illinois, a non-slaveholding state — and thence 
 :o Fort Snelling, on the west bank of the Mississippi river, 
 md within the country covered by the act of Congress, 
 mown as the “ Missouri Restriction ;” and then he re- 
 iccompanied his master to the state of Missouri, where 
 le remained a slave until his death, in 1858. Upon the 
 igreed statement, two important and material questions 
 rose, besides several incidental and minor ones, which 
 he court considered in the giving of its decision — 
 tamely, the right of a negro to become a citizen of the 
 Jnited States ; and the constitutionality of the Missouri 
 estriction. The state courts of Missouri had decided 
 
 2 A 
 
354 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 against Dred Scott, and declared him and his children 
 slaves; and the circuit court of the United States, for 
 the district of Missouri, had decided the same thing when 
 the question was before that tribunal, from which it was 
 taken by a writ of error to the Supreme Court of the 
 United States at Washington, by Scott, with the hope of 
 reversing the decision of the circuit court of Missouri, and 
 securing his freedom. 
 
 The republican party has contended that the Supreme 
 Court exceeded propriety, and extended its decision to 
 questions not legitimately belonging to the case, in order 
 to sustain slavery doctrines; and, with that view, the 
 party has assailed, very vindictively, the integrity of the 
 judges who gave that decision. In 1860, with respect 
 to the principles of law embraced in this judgment, the 
 republican party declared; viz. — 
 
 “That the new dogma, that the constitution, of its own force, 
 carries slavery in any or all of the territories of the United States, 
 is a dangerous political heresy, at variance with the explicit pro- 
 visions of that instrument itself, with contemporaneous exposition, 
 and with legislative and judicial precedent ; is revolutionary in its 
 tendency, and subversive of the peace and harmony of the country.” 
 
 The democratic party of 1860, that nominated Mr. 
 Breckenridge, resolved — 
 
 “That the government of a territory, organised by an act of 
 Congress, is provisional and temporary ; and during its existence, 
 all citizens of the United States have an equal right to settle with 
 their property in the territory, without their rights, either of person 
 or property, being destroyed or impaired by congressional or terri- 
 torial legislation.” 
 
 The branch of the democratic party nominating Mr. 
 Douglas, in 1860, resolved — 
 
 “That the democratic party will abide by the decisions of the 
 
THE DEED SCOTT DECISION. 
 
 355 
 
 Supreme Court of the United States, on the questions of consti- 
 tutional law.” 
 
 It will be seen, from the declarations before referred to, 
 that the democratic parties were in favour of sustaining 
 the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States 
 with respect to the principles of the Dred Scott case; 
 and that the republican party was adverse to carrying out 
 the said judgment. 
 
 We deem it proper to' remark, that this case was not 
 of very great importance to Scott, iu his own opinion, more 
 especially as he enjoyed greater liberty than he could have 
 done had he been a free negro. He died in St. Louis, in 
 1858. We attended his funeral, as did many others who 
 respected him for his long career as a faithful and a law- 
 abiding servant. 
 
 2 a 2 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Political Parties, from 1789 to 1860. 
 
 There were no parties at the elections of President Wash- 
 ington. During his second term of presidency, the federal 
 and republican parties sprang into existence; John Adams 
 being at the head of the former, and Thomas Jefferson 
 the leader of the latter. In 1796, Mr. Adams was in- 
 augurated president; and, during his administration, the 
 alien and sedition laws were passed, the unpopularity 
 of which defeated him at the next election, and made 
 Mr. Jefferson president, who was re-elected in 1804. In 
 1808, and in 1812, the republican party elected James 
 Madison president. In the latter year there was a division 
 in the party ; the New York republican legislature nomi- 
 nating De Witt Clinton, who had been selected as the 
 candidate by the opposition convention which assembled 
 in New York city, composed of representatives from eleven 
 states. In 1816, the republican party elected James Monroe; 
 and the opposition, or federal party, nominated Rufus King. 
 In 1820, Mr. Monroe was re-elected without opposition. 
 In 1824, party excitement was higher than ever it was before. 
 Washington had been nominated as a candidate by popular 
 manifestation. The republican party, formed during 
 the latter term of Washington’s presidency, was the 
 first to organise for the nomination of candidates. After 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 
 
 357 
 
 this, and until 1824, the members of Congress nominated 
 the candidates for the presidency. The nominating meet- 
 ing, or the party organised in a convention composed of 
 the members of Congress, was called a “ Caucus.” In 
 1824, the party refused to unite in caucus ; and the division 
 produced what was called the “ Scrub-race.” The candi- 
 dates were John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, Andrew 
 Jackson of Tennessee, Henry Clay of Kentucky, and 
 William H. Crawford of Georgia. The latter gentleman, 
 however, was the nominee of the fractional caucus. The 
 term “ democratic” began at this time to be applied to the 
 republican party. The “federal” party had ceased to 
 exist; and, after 1824, the republican party was merged 
 into a new combination, called national republican. The 
 “ Scrub-race” of 1824 resulted in no election by the people. 
 General Jackson had 99 electoral votes; Mr. Adams, 84; 
 Mr. Crawford, 41 ; and Mr. Clay, 37. The election was 
 carried to the House of Representatives, where, according 
 to the constitution, the first three candidates were voted 
 for, according to states — that is to say, each state, however 
 large or small, had one vote. There were then twenty- 
 four states, or twenty-four votes ; and of these, Mr. 
 Adams, by the union of Mr. Clay’s friends, received 13 
 votes; General Jackson, 7; and Mr. Crawford, 4. Mr. 
 Adams was inaugurated president, and Mr. Clay was 
 appointed secretary of state, an office considered a certain 
 stepping-stone to the presidency. The friends of General 
 Jackson immediately charged Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay 
 with having bargained the election in the house ; and 
 though there was not the slightest foundation for the 
 
358 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 accusations alleged against those pure men, yet they 
 caused them serious injury. At the election of 1828, the 
 candidates were — General Jackson, nominated by the 
 legislature of Tennessee ; and Mr. Adams, nominated by 
 general consent of his party. The former was elected by 
 a very large majority ; and with his nomination com- 
 menced the “ Jackson party,” which was sometimes called 
 “ democratic.” 
 
 In 1832, there were three parties regularly organised, 
 with candidates for the presidency. With their nomina- 
 tions commenced the “ declaration of principles.”* One 
 of the parties was called Anti-Masonic, which originated 
 from the supposed murder of a man by the name of 
 Morgan, who had revealed the secrets of freemasonry; 
 and his murder was said to have been committed by the 
 Masons. A convention of delegates from the northern 
 states, and from Delaware and Maryland, assembled at 
 Baltimore in September, 1831, and nominated William 
 Wirt as the candidate of the party for the presidency. 
 The convention, through its committee, issued a long 
 address, giving a detailed account of the murder of 
 Morgan, and of the Masonic fraternity- — charging the insti- 
 tution with the worst of wickedness. The address declared 
 that freemasonry had become a political affair, and it was 
 necessary to suppress it by law. With that view, they 
 
 * The declaration of principles has subsequently been styled a 
 “platform.” It is usual for the national convention to adopt a 
 series of resolutions, each declaring a certain political principle. 
 The whole is called a “ platform,” and each “ resolve” is called a 
 “ plank.” In latter years, these terms are universally employed and 
 understood in the states of the Union.” 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 
 
 359 
 
 appealed to the voters of the country to sustain the anti- 
 Masonic candidate; asserting, “that an enlightened ex- 
 ercise of the right of suffrage, is the constitutional and 
 equitable mode adopted by the anti-Masons, and is neces- 
 sary to remove the evils they suffer, and produce the re- 
 forms they seek.” 
 
 The “democratic party” nominated General Jackson, 
 but declined to issue a declaration of principles ; but — 
 
 “Besolved, That it be recommended to the several delegations in 
 this convention, in place of a general address from this body to the 
 people of the United States, to make such explanations, by address, 
 report, or otherwise, to their respective constituents, of the objects, 
 proceedings, and result of the meeting, as they may deem expe- 
 dient.” 
 
 Although the convention thus formally declined to 
 declare a code of principles, yet the political policy of the 
 first term of General Jackson had very clearly indicated 
 his political faith. He was opposed to a national bank; 
 was in favour of a “judicious tariff,” which, in subsequent 
 years, proved to be anti-protective ; he was against any 
 internal improvement system at the expense of the federal 
 government. 
 
 The national republican party met in convention, and 
 nominated Henry Clay, of Kentucky, for the presidency. 
 They passed the following resolutions, declaring the prin- 
 ciples of the party ; viz. — 
 
 ‘ ‘ Besolved, That an adequate protection to American industry is 
 indispensable to the prosperity of the country ; and that an aban- 
 donment of the policy, at this period, would be attended with con- 
 sequences ruinous to the best interests of the nation ; and that the 
 indiscriminate removal of public officers for a mere difference of 
 political opinion, is a gross abuse of power.” 
 
 The three candidates were thus nominated by the 
 
360 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 people assembled in conventions. The election resulted 
 in the choice of General Jackson, who received 219 elec- 
 toral votes : Mr. Clay received 49 ; Mr. Wirt, 7 ; and John 
 Floyd, of Virginia, received 11 — the vote of South Carolina. 
 
 In 1835, the “ Democratic National” convention 
 assembled in Baltimore, and nominated Mr. Martin Vau 
 Buren as the candidate for the presidency. No declara- 
 tion of principles was made ; hut Mr. Van Buren was 
 considered to he the Jackson candidate; and many people 
 voted for him under the impression that they were voting 
 for the general, whose popularity as a democrat was most 
 extraordinary. The ballot-tickets very generally had 
 printed upon them, “the Jackson party.” 
 
 The opposition parties nominated General W. Id. 
 Harrison, of Ohio; Hugh L. White, of Tennessee; and 
 Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts. General Harrison 
 was the candidate of the new but somewhat local party, 
 called “Whigs,” of Pennsylvania and Maryland. He was 
 also nominated by the democratic anti-Masonic party in 
 Pennsylvania; Mr. White was known as the anti- Jack- 
 son candidate; and Mr. Webster was an opposition candi- 
 date, with protective principles. Mr. Van Buren received 
 170 votes; General Harrison, 73; Mr. White, 26; and 
 Mr. Webster, 14. 
 
 In 1839, commenced a more energetic era in politics, 
 and the most complete organisation of parties. The old 
 republican party had ceased to exist. The feeble Whig 
 party of 1836, on account of the unpopular administration 
 of Mr. Van Buren, was now of very formidable numbers. 
 The Whig national convention assembled in Harrisburg 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 
 
 361 
 
 (December, 1839), and nominated General Harrison for 
 president. With this convention commenced the political 
 “platforms,” since so common in the United States. 
 This “ platform” assailed the Van Buren administration 
 for its mismanagement of public affairs. The party advo- 
 cated a national bank, internal improvements, a protective 
 tariff, distribution of the proceeds of the public lands ; and 
 it declared its opposition to a sub-treasury, a standing 
 army, and all the other political principles of the demo- 
 cratic party. 
 
 At this time the abolition party commenced its national 
 political career; and James G. Birney, of Michigan, was 
 nominated. The convention passed the following resolu- 
 tion; viz. — 
 
 “ Resolved , , That, in our judgment, every consideration of duty 
 and expediency which ought to control the action of Christian free- 
 men, requires of the abolitionists of the United States to organise a 
 distinct and independent political party, embracing all the necessary 
 means for nominating candidates for office, and sustaining them by 
 public suffrage.” 
 
 The abolition party of the United States thus com- 
 menced its aspirations for political power in national 
 affairs. Mr. Birney declined the nomination ; nevertheless 
 7,059 votes were cast for him. 
 
 The democratic national convention assembled in Balti- 
 more, May 5th, 1840, which nominated Mr. Van Buren 
 for the presidency. A “ platform” was adopted, and 
 issued to the voters of the nation. It declared in favour 
 of a strict construction of the constitution ; against internal 
 improvements, and the assumption of the state debts ; the 
 
362 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 protective tariff ; surplus revenue raised by a tariff ; the 
 chartering of a United States’ bank; and — 
 
 “ That all efforts, by abolitionists or others, made to induce Con- 
 gress 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 inevi- 
 table 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.” 
 
 The contest iu 1840, commonly called a “campaign,” 
 was one of the most exciting elections ever held in the 
 United States. Harrison was elected. He received 234 
 electoral votes, and Mr. Van Buren, 60. The popular 
 vote for the former was 1,275,011; and for the latter, 
 1,122,912. This was the first triumph of the Whig party. 
 Harrison died one month after his inauguration ; and 
 Mr. Tyler, the vice-president, came into power. He soon 
 abandoned his party, and his administration was one of 
 singular estrangement. 
 
 In 1844, the parties commenced the campaign with 
 new resolves and increased energy. By this time the 
 abolitionists of the northern states had increased in 
 power, and were sufficiently strong to decide the election 
 in some of the closely-contested states. With this 
 era commenced the surrender of national questions by 
 the great Whig and democratic parties, for the purpose 
 of securing the abolition votes iu the northern states, 
 where the parties were nearly evenly balanced. The 
 abolitionists had rallied under the name of the “Liberty 
 party,” and had effected extensive organisations in the dif- 
 ferent northern states. The party was rapidly increasing; 
 

 POLITICAL PARTIES. 363 
 
 and their numbers, in a presidential contest, were not 
 known. In 1840, the vote cast for Mr. Birney, in Massa- 
 chusetts, was but 1,621 ; but the subsequent state elections 
 very clearly indicated that, in 1844, the abolition vote 
 : would be at least 20,000; and the Whig and the demo- 
 cratic parties were both anxious to secure this ballot. In 
 New York, the vote of the abolitionists was of still more 
 importance, as they had, in that state, some 30,000 votes. 
 Whichever party could get these votes was sure of success. 
 The necessity of the case seemed to have influenced a 
 construction of platforms, so as to secure the largest 
 possible number of abolition votes. The Whig national 
 convention assembled in Baltimore on the 1st of May, 
 . 1844, and nominated Henry Clay, of Kentucky, for the 
 presidency. The platform of the party contained the fol- 
 lowing principles ; namely, a well-regulated national cur- 
 .. rency ; a tariff for revenue, to defray the necessary expenses 
 of the government, and discriminating with special refer- 
 ence to the protection of the domestic labour of the 
 country ; distribution of the proceeds from the sales of 
 public lands ; a single term for the presidency ; restriction 
 of the veto power ; reform in public expenditure; and con- 
 ditionally opposed to the annexation of Texas. These 
 principles were popidar in the northern states ; and it was 
 supposed that they would secure the electoral votes for 
 Mr. Clay. The Whig party had no hope of obtaining a 
 majority in the southern states, as they were, as they had 
 always been, opposed to a protective tariff. 
 
 The democratic national convention assembled at Balti- 
 more on the 27th of May, and nominated James K. Polk, 
 
364 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 of Tennessee, for the presidency. The Whig party had 
 made its nomination, and had constructed its platform, i 
 The democratic convention re-adopted its platform of 
 1840, and added to it a few additional planks : it declared 
 against the distribution of the proceeds from the sales of 
 public lands; against the restriction of the veto power, 
 and in favour of the re-annexation of Texas ; the 
 holding of the whole of Oregon, and excluding all claims 
 of England to that territory. The platform of the party, 
 thus amended, "was decidedly southern with respect to 
 Texas; but otherwise national. The platform of the 
 Whig party was decidedly northern with respect to the 
 tariff, but otherwise national. The slavery interest of 
 the south was in favour of annexation; and, on the other 
 hand, the anti-slavery interest was adverse to it. The 
 abolitionists demanded a great concession of principles 
 from the regular parties ; and, not getting satisfactory 
 assurances, it maintained an independent organisation. ! j 
 
 The national convention of the Liberty party met in 
 August, 1843, and nominated James G. Birnev for presi- 
 dent. It constructed a platform, consisting of upwards of 
 twenty planks ; asserting that the slaveholding states had 
 acted in bad faith to the nation in not having emancipated 
 their slaves ; that slavery was a stain to the national 
 character; was unconstitutional, and should be abo- 
 lished in the district of Columbia, and forbidden in the ter- 
 ritories, &c. The following resolves, however, were added 
 to the platform : — 
 
 ‘ ‘ Resolved, That we hereby give it to be distinctly understood by 
 the nation and the world, that, as abolitionists, considering that the 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 
 
 365 
 
 strength of our cause lies in its righteousness, and our hope for it in 
 our conformity to the laws of God, and our respect for the rights of 
 man ; we owe it to the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, as a proof of 
 our allegiance to him, in all our civil relations and offices, whether 
 as private citizens, or as public functionaries sworn to support the 
 
 • constitution of the United States, to regard and to treat the third 
 clause of the fourth article of that instrument, whenever applied to 
 the case of a fugitive slave, as utterly null and void, and conse- 
 
 • quently as forming no part of the constitution of the United States, 
 whenever we are called upon or sworn to support it. 
 
 1 “ Resolved, That to preserve the peace of the citizens, and secure 
 the blessings of freedom, the legislature of each of the free states 
 ought to keep in force suitable statutes, rendering it penal for any 
 of its inhabitants to transport, or aid in transporting from such 
 
 1 state, any person sought to be thus transported, merely because 
 subject to the slave laws of any other state.” 
 
 Thus was launched the third party, although the first 
 to assemble ; and it has gone on, from year to year, gather- 
 ‘ ing in numbers each successive year, until, in 1860, it 
 succeeded in the election of its president, and the dis- 
 ruption of the Union. 
 
 The platform of the Whig party, and the well-known 
 anti-slavery tendencies of Mr. Clay, considerably reduced 
 the Liberty party vote at the presidential election. In 
 Massachusetts, the votes for Clay were 67,418 ; of which, at 
 least 10,000 were of the Liberty party. Polk received 
 52,846; and Birney, 10,860. In New York, the votes 
 cast for Clay were 332,482 ; for Polk, 237,588 ; and 
 for Birney, 15,812. In this state, if Clay could have got 
 the votes given to Birney he would have carried the election, 
 and been president of the United States. We have been 
 thus particular with reference to this election, to show the 
 reason why the great Whig party sought the abolition 
 votes in 1844 — a policy which aided to extinguish it. 
 
366 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Mr. Polk was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1845. 
 His party had declared in favour of the annexation of 
 Texas to the United States, during the campaign of 1844. 
 The nation decided in favour of annexation ; and on the 
 28th of February, 1845, Texas was admitted into the 
 Union by a joint resolution of Congress. The war 
 with Mexico followed immediately after this act of Con- 
 gress. 
 
 In 1848, the different parties again brought forward 
 their respective candidates. The democratic and the anti- 
 slavery parties adhered to their principles ; but the Whig 
 party abandoned the custom of issuing a platform. No 
 principles were adopted, and they nominated a candidate 
 for availability — that is, the most popular man for the 
 occasion. The Whig national convention assembled at 
 Philadelphia in June, 1848 ; and General Taylor, of 
 Louisiana, was nominated for the presidency. After 
 the convention adjourned, the delegates returned to 
 their respective states, where mass conventions were held, 
 and resolutions proposed and adopted, conformably to the 
 popular opinions of the section : thus each state adopted 
 an independent platform. 
 
 The democratic national convention assembled in May, 
 1848, at Baltimore, when General Lewis Cass, of Detroit, 
 was nominated for the presidency. The party amended 
 its platform, took out some of the obsolete planks, and 
 added a few new ones. It approved the course Mr. Polk 
 had pursued, and especially his prosecution of the Mexi- 
 can war ; and it congratulated the administration 
 upon “the noble impulse given to the cause of free 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 
 
 367 
 
 trade by the repeal of the protective tariff of 1842,” which 
 had been passed in Congress by the Whig party. A resolu- 
 tion was offered, declaring, “that the doctrine of non-inter- 
 ference with the rights of property (slavery) of any portion 
 of the people of this confederacy, be it in the states or ter- 
 ritories thereof, by any other than the parties interested 
 in them, is the true republican doctrine recognised by this 
 body.” 
 
 The resolution was defeated by a vote of — yeas, 36; 
 nays, 216. The doctrine was undoubtedly entertained by 
 every member of the convention ; but it was rejected 
 because it was deemed inexpedient to declare so decisively 
 upon the subject, as it might be the means of losing some 
 of the northern states. 
 
 A faction arose in the Baltimore democratic convention, 
 originating from local causes in New York ; which resulted 
 in the separation from the convention of a part of the 
 delegates, and the subsequent assembling, on the 22nd of 
 June, of the “ free democratic” convention at Utica, 
 New York. Ex-president Martin Yan Buren, of New 
 York, was nominated for president. This local nomina- 
 tion was not considered to be sufficiently national, and 
 another convention was called, to meet at Buffalo on the 
 9th of August, at which Mr. Yan Buren was again nomi- 
 nated. A platform was adopted, containing sixteen planks. 
 The preamble stated — 
 
 “ That the political conventions recently assembled at Baltimore 
 and Philadelphia, the one stifling the voice of a great constituency, 
 entitled to be heard in its deliberations, and the other abandoning 
 its distinctive principles for mere availability, have dissolved the 
 national party organisations heretofore existing, by nominating for 
 
368 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 the chief magistracy of the United States, under slaveholding dicta- 
 tion, candidates, neither of whom can be supported by the opponents 
 of slavery extension, without a sacrifice of consistency, duty, and 
 self-respect.” 
 
 This declaration shows, that in this convention there 
 were representatives from the democratic and the old 
 Whig parties. 
 
 The second plank in the platform of the Buffalo seces- 
 sionary division of the democratic party, declared — 
 
 “ That slavery, in the several states of this Union which recognise : 
 its existence, depends upon state laws alone, which cannot be 
 repealed or modified by the federal government, and for which laws 
 the government is not responsible. We therefore propose no inter- 
 ference by Congress with slavery* with in the limits of any state.” 
 
 It was further declared, “ That the proviso of Jefferson, to prohibit 
 the existence of slavery after 1800, in all the territories of the 
 United States, southern and northern ; the votes of six states and 
 sixteen delegates, in the Congress of 1784, for the proviso, to three 
 states and seven delegates against it ; the actual exclusion of slavery 
 from the north-western territory, by the ordinance of 1787, unani- 
 mously adopted by the states in Congress ; and the entire history of 
 that period, clearly show that it was the settled policy of the nation 
 not to extend, nationalise, or encourage, but to limit, localise, and 
 discourage slavery; and to this policy the government ought to 
 return.” And “That the true and the only safe means of pre- 
 venting the extension of slavery into territory now free, is to pro- 
 hibit its extension in all such territory by an act of Congress.” And 
 further, “That we accept the issue which the slave power has forced 
 upon us ; and to their demand for more slave states, and more 
 slave territory, our calm but final answer is — no more slave states, ] 
 and no more slave territories.” 
 
 As a finale, the convention adopted the motto, “ Free 
 Soil — Free Speech — Free Labour — and Free Men.” And 
 thus was organised the “free democratic party” of 1848. 
 This mixed convention, composed of the fractions from the 
 democratic and Whig parties, and the old anti-slavery 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 
 
 369 
 
 party, it will be seen, restricted the platform to the non- 
 extension of slavery, and at the same time declaring non- 
 interference with slavery in the states. The election took 
 place, and General Taylor received 163 electoral votes, 
 and General Cass, 127. The popular vote was — for 
 Taylor, 1,360,099; for Cass, 1,220,544; and for Van 
 Buren, 291,263. 
 
 Daring the administration of Mr. Fillmore, who suc- 
 ceeded General Taylor after his death in 1850, the parties 
 became excited upon the slavery question. The imme- 
 diate cause of the agitation was the application for the 
 admission of California, as a state, into the Union. The 
 anti-slavery party was determined to prohibit slavery in 
 the territories; and, on the other hand, the pro-slavery 
 party was resolute in maintaining the legality of slave 
 property throughout the public domain. The issues 
 agitated the whole nation; and fears were then entertained 
 of a rupture of the Union. Mr. Clay had saved the Union 
 in 1821, by the Missouri compromise; and again in 1833, 
 by the tariff compromise. He was now called from his 
 retirement in Kentucky to the United States’ senate, with 
 the hope that he would again save the Union. He faith- 
 fully fulfilled his mission, and once more restored the nation 
 to tranquillity. The compromise of 1850 added increased 
 lustre to his fame and patriotism. Mr. Clay, as chairman 
 of the committee, prepared and submitted the report known 
 as “the compromise of 1850,” which passed Congress, 
 with a series of bills calculated to carry out the principles 
 leclared in the compromise report. These various bills 
 ivere presented at the same time. As a whole, they were 
 
 2 B 
 
370 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 commonly styled the “ Omnibus Bill.” The report, or 
 compromise declaration of principles, was as follows: — 
 
 “ 1. The admission of any new state or states, formed out of 
 Texas, to be postponed until they shall hereafter present themselves 
 to be received into the Union, when it will be the duty of Con- 
 gress fairly and faithfully to execute the compact with Texas, by 
 admitting such new state or states. 
 
 “ 2. The admission, forthwith, of California into the Union, with 
 the boundaries which she has proposed. 
 
 “3. The establishment of territorial governments, without the 
 Wilmot proviso, for New Mexico and Utah, embracing all the ter- 
 ritory recently acquired by the United States from Mexico, not con- 
 tained in the boundaries of California. 
 
 ‘ 1 4. The combination of these two last-mentioned measures in 
 the same bill. 
 
 “ 5. The establishment of the western and northern boundaries 
 of Texas, and the exclusion from her jurisdiction of all New Mexico, 
 with the grants of Texas of a pecuniary equivalent ; and the section 
 for that purpose to be incorporated in the bill admitting California, 
 and establishing territorial governments for Utah and New Mexico. 
 
 ‘‘ 6 . More effectual enactments of law to secure the prompt deli- 
 very of persons bound to service or labour in one state, under the 
 laws thereof, who escape into another state ; and, 
 
 “7. Abstaining from abolishing slavery; but, under a heavy 
 penalty, prohibiting the slave-trade in the district of Columbia.” 
 
 The “ Omnibus Bill,” containing acts in conformity with 
 the principles of the above report, was passed; one of 
 which was the fugitive slave law, so offensive to most of 
 the northern states; to prevent the enforcement of which, 
 some of the state legislatures subsequently passed personal 
 liberty bills. The compromise, so far as it pertained to 
 the fugitive slave law, has been nullified by the legislatures 
 and the people in nearly all the northern, or non-slave- 
 holdiug states. 
 
 In 1852, the parties again prepared for the contest, each 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 
 
 371 
 
 sanguine of success. The democratic convention met at 
 Baltimore on the 1st of June, and nominated Franklin 
 Pierce, of New Hampshire, for the presidency. The 
 platform was reconstructed, in which parts of the platforms 
 of 1840, 1844, and 1848 were included. The resolutions 
 contained in the platform, hearing upon the present crisis 
 in America, were — 
 
 “ Resolved , , 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 every- 
 thing appertaining to their own affairs, not prohibited by the con- 
 stitution : that all efforts of the abolitionists or others, made to 
 induce Congress to interfere witli 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 of our political in- 
 stitutions. 
 
 “ Resolved, That the foregoing proposition covers, and is intended 
 to embrace, the whole subject of slavery agitation in Congress ; and, 
 therefore, the democratic party of the Union, standing on this 
 national platform, will abide by, and adhere to, a faithful execution 
 of the acts known as the compromise measures, settled by the last 
 Congress — the act for reclaiming fugitives from service or labour 
 included ; which act being designed to carry out an express pro- 
 vision of the constitution, cannot, with fidelity thereto, be re- 
 pealed, nor so changed as to destroy or impair its efficiency. 
 
 “ Resolved, That the democratic party will resist all attempts at 
 renewing in Congress, or out of it, the agitation of the slavery 
 question, under whatever shape or colour the attempt may be 
 made.” 
 
 From the above resolutions, it will be seen that the demo- 
 cratic party emphatically declared against slavery agita- 
 tion. In the convention of 1848, a similar resolution had 
 been rejected by a vote of 216 to 36. Ou this occasiou, the 
 
 2 b 2 
 
372 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 convention, appreciating the strength of the abolition party, 
 resolved, with an unmistakable determination, to meet the 
 slave question. It did not only do this, but it passed the 
 following resolution — a declaration of the right and inten- 
 tion of secession ; viz. — 
 
 “ Resolved, That the democratic party will faithfully abide by, 
 and uphold the principles laid down in the Kentucky and Virginia 
 resolutions of 1792 and 1798, and in the report of Madison to the 
 Virginia legislature in 1799 ; that it adopts those principles as con- 
 stituting one of the main foundations of its political creed, and is 
 resolved to carry them out in their obvious meaning and import.” 
 
 The Kentucky and Yirginia resolutions referred to, 
 declared that the United States’ government was but a 
 compact between the states, as such, for special purposes, 
 exercising delegated powers for and in behalf of the states 
 as principals, holding vested powers. They declared, “that, 
 as in other cases of compact between parties having no 
 common judge, each party has an equal right to judge for 
 itself, as well of infractions as of the mode and measures 
 of redress.” Thus, in 1852, the democratic party, assem- 
 bled in national convention — consisting of delegates from 
 every state in the Union — resolved in favour of the right of 
 secession ; and that the party would carry out the doctrine 
 whenever the government should exceed its powers under 
 the constitution, as interpreted by the states respectively. 
 
 The Whig national convention assembled at Baltimore, 
 June 16th, and nominated General Winfield Scott, of New 
 Jersey, for the presidency. The convention adopted the 
 following resolution : — 
 
 “ That the series of acts of the thirty-second Congress — the j 
 act known as the fugitive slave law included — are received and 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 
 
 373 
 
 acquiesced in by the Whig party of the United States as a settle- 
 ment, in principle and substance, of the dangerous and exciting 
 questions which they embrace.” 
 
 The free democratic party, then called the “ Free-Soil 
 party,” met in convention at Pittsburg, on the 11th of 
 August, and nominated John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, 
 for the presidency. An elaborate platform was constructed, 
 consisting of twenty-two resolutions, the most of which 
 were taken from the platform of 1848. The following are 
 among the declarations of principles; viz. — 
 
 “ That to the persevering and importunate demands of the slave 
 power for more slave states, new slave territories, and the nationali- 
 sation of slavery, our distinct and final answer is— no more slave 
 states, no slave territory, no nationalised slavery, and no national 
 i legislation for the extradition of slaves. 
 
 I . “That slavery is a sin against God, and a crime against man, 
 which no human enactment nor usage can make right ; and that 
 : Christianity, humanity, and patriotism alike demand its abolition. 
 
 •' £ That the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 is repugnant to the con- 
 stitution, to the principles of the common law, to the spirit of 
 Christianity, and to the sentiments of the civilised world. We 
 ■' therefore deny its binding force upon the American people , and demand 
 its immediate and total repeal. ” 
 
 The election took place, and Mr. Pierce received an 
 overwhelming majority over both of his opponents. 
 
 In 1856, the parties again brought forward their can- 
 didates. The Whig party had nearly ceased to exist ; but 
 it held a convention, and nominated candidates. The 
 Whigs had scattered — some having united with the 
 democratic and free-soil parties. Others of them joined 
 the New American party, which had sprung from what 
 had been known as the “ Know-Nothing,” or native Ame- 
 rican party. On the 2nd of June, the democratic conven- 
 tion assembled at Cincinnati, and nominated James 
 
374 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 Buchanan, of Pennsylvania. The old platform was 
 amended so as to meet the new legislative issues. The 
 resolves in the platform, respecting slavery and the right of 
 secession, were again adopted ; and it was further declared — 
 
 “ Tbat we may more distinctly meet the issue on which a sec- 
 tional party, subsisting exclusively on slavery agitation, now 
 relies to test the fidelity of the people, north and south, to the 
 constitution and the Union : 
 
 “ Resolved, That claiming fellowship with, and desiring the co- 
 operation of all who regard the preservation of the Union under 
 the constitution as the paramount issue, and repudiating all sec- 
 tional parties and platforms concerning domestic slavery, which seek 
 to embroil the states, and incite to treason and armed resistance to 
 law in the territories, and whose avowed purpose, if consummated, 
 must end in civil war and disunion, the American democracy recog- 
 nise and adopt the principles contained in the organic laws estab- 
 lishing the territories of Nebraska and Kansas, as embodying the 
 only sound and safe solution of the slavery question, upon which 
 the great national idea of the people of this whole country can 
 repose in its determined conservation of the Union, and non- 
 interference of Congress with slavery in the territories or in the 
 district of Columbia. 
 
 “ That we recognise the right of the people of all the territories, 
 acting through the legality and fairly-expressed will of the majority 
 of the actual residents, and whenever the number of their inhabi- 
 tants justifies it, to form a constitution, with or without domestic 
 slavery, and be admitted into the Union upon terms of perfect 
 equality with the other states. ” 
 
 On the 17th of June, the republican national convention 
 met at Philadelphia. It was the same as the free-soil 
 'party of 1852. It nominated Colonel John C. Fremont 
 for the presidency. The platform was formed from that of 
 1852, though considerably reduced. The principal issues 
 contemplated were based upon an opposition to the 
 principles of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. It denied 
 
 “ The power of Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of any indi- 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 
 
 375 
 
 vidual or association of individuals, to give legal existence to slavery 
 in any territory of the United States,” under the constitution ; and 
 further, “That the constitution confers upon Congress sovereign 
 power over the territories of the United States, for their govern- 
 ment ; and that in this power it is both the right and the duty of 
 Congress to prohibit in the territories those twin relics of barbarism 
 — polygamy and slavery.” 
 
 • The American party, organised from the dissolved Know- 
 Nothing and native American parties, with a large number 
 of Whigs, held a convention at Philadelphia in February, 
 and nominated Millard Fillmore for the presidency. No 
 platform was adopted. 
 
 The Whig party, for the last time in national conven- 
 tion, met at Baltimore in September, and nominated 
 the American party candidate, Millard Fillmore, for the 
 presidency. The platform adopted was very pacific, and 
 intended to be more patriotic and national than those of 
 the other parties. It proclaimed its attachment to the 
 Union, and pledged the party to support the constitu- 
 tion. The convention declared — 
 
 “ That it had no new platform to establish ; no new principles to 
 announce ; but it was content to broadly rest where the fathers of 
 the republic had rested — upon the constitution of the United States ; 
 wishing no safer guide, no higher law.” And “that any cause that 
 shall array the different sections of the Union in political hostility and 
 organised parties, founded only on geographical distinctions, must 
 < inevitably prove fatal to a continuance of the national Union.” 
 “The danger has now become fearfully apparent, in the agitation 
 now convulsing the nation ; and must be arrested at once, if we 
 would preserve our constitution and our Union from dismember- 
 ment.” “ That all who revere the constitution and the Union, must 
 look with alarm at the parties in the field in the present presidential 
 campaign — one claiming only to represent sixteen northern states, 
 and the other appealing mainly to the passions and prejudices of 
 the southern states : that success of either party faction must add 
 
376 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 fuel to the flame which now threatens to wrap our dearest interests 
 in a common ruin.” 
 
 At the election, Mr. Buclmnau received the electoral 
 votes of all the southern states, except Maryland, which 
 was cast for Mr. Fillmore ; and the free states — California, 
 New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Illinois; making 
 172 in all. Colonel Fremont received the votes of the 
 other eleven free states, making 114 in all. Of the popnlar 
 vote, Buchanan received 1,838,169; Fremont, 1,341,264; 
 and Fillmore, 874,534. Buchanan and Fillmore received 
 votes in all the states of the Union. Fremont did not 
 receive any votes in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, ; 
 Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North 
 Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. In 
 Virginia he received only 291 out of the 150,307 votes 
 cast in that state. In Kentucky he received but 314 votes; 
 Delaware, 308 ; Maryland, 281 : making his total vote, in • 
 the southern states, 1,194. 
 
 The people of the southern states were very unanimous 
 in openly declaring their intention to secede from the 
 Union in case of the election of Fremont. The most 
 intense excitement prevailed throughout the south. On the 
 other hand, the people of the north were equally excited, 
 and resolved to secure his election, and defeat the alleged 
 spread of slavery. 
 
 The abolitionists of the north were particular^ immode- 
 rate and indiscreet in their expressions. One of the leaders 
 said, “ he would register a pledge before Heaven to do 
 what within him lay to effect the eternal overthrow of the 
 blood-stained Union.” A leading editor thought it “ better 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 
 
 377 
 
 that the capital itself should blaze by the torch of the 
 incendiary, or fall and bury all beneath its crumbling 
 ruins, than to cease agitation.” Another declared, “that 
 republicanism should force back slaveocracy with fire 
 and sword.” On the other hand, the southern politicians 
 were equally expressive. A senator declared, in Congress, 
 that, “if Fremont should be elected, the Union would be 
 dissolved.” Another said, ‘‘that, in such an event, the 
 Union would be dissolved, and ought to be dissolved.” 
 A third said, “When Fremont is elected; we must rely 
 upon what we have — a good state government. I should 
 advise my legislature to go out of the Union at the tap 
 of the drum.” Thousands of like declarations were made 
 throughout the Union, during the campaign of 1856, to 
 millions of people, north and south. Many of these 
 speeches were delivered to amuse the rabble, as flourishes 
 of speech, and not intended to mean anything. The dema- 
 gogues of America have gone on from one extravagance to 
 another, in advocating political dogmas; and to such an 
 extent, that there has been no chance to retreat except by 
 a recantation ; and ambitious politicians have been too 
 cowardly to confess their faults. We speak thus in order 
 to explain the fact, that, in America, there are several 
 kinds of legislators — such as the statesman, the politician, 
 and the speculating office-holder. The people understand 
 these different classes ; but, unfortunately, the influence 
 of the demagogue is frequently more important than that 
 of the patriot. 
 
 The passage of the Kansas and Nebraska Bill, re- 
 pealing the Missouri restriction of 1820, strengthened 
 
378 
 
 AMERICA ANT) THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 the republican party ; but in 1857- 5 8, the proposition for 
 the admission of Kansas, as a state, into the Union, 
 excited the parties from one end of the land to the other. 
 After the act organising Kansas territory in 1854, the 
 free-soil and slavery factions formed combinations and 
 societies to settle the territory, with the view of organising 
 that state according to their respective proclivities. Armed 
 forces, in violation of law and order, ruled the people. 
 The population consisted, to a considerable extent, of a 
 multitude of organised mobs, each resolved to suppress the 
 other. These mobs were sustained by money, guns, powder, 
 and ball, from different parts of the country, north and 
 south. Ministers of the gospel, in the northern states, 
 desecrated their high and holy calling, and preached in- 
 flammatory sermons, with the view of encouraging the 
 contest then waging in Kansas, even at the sacrifice of the 
 blood and the lives of peaceable and honest pioneers. 
 
 On the 19th of September, 1855, a convention assembled 
 at Topeka, Kansas, to frame a constitution. It was finally 
 completed, and attempted to be enforced. It prohibited 
 slavery. The governor of the territory denounced its 
 legality, and declared the convention a treasonable as- 
 semblage. The attempt of the anti-slavery party to thus 
 organise the state was unsuccessful. In 1857, the pro- 
 slavery party assembled in convention at Lecompton, and 
 framed a constitution. This organisation was considered, 
 by the federal administration, to be legal ,• and the presi- 
 dent recommended to Congress, in 1857-’8, the admission 
 of Kansas into the Union. The republican party opposed 
 the measure, on the grounds that the convention had been 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 
 
 379 
 
 fraudulently organised. The bill failed to pass Congress. 
 In 1859, another convention assembled at Wvandott, and 
 formed an anti-slavery constitution, which was submitted 
 to Congress ; and, on the 30th of January, 1861, the 
 state was admitted into the Union. Thus was settled one 
 of the most vexatious of all questions ever considered by 
 Congress. The republicans assumed a sectional character, 
 and proved to be the most powerful party in the north. 
 The democratic party became more decidedly southern 
 than ever, and declared in favour of free trade, which at 
 once, independent of its pro-slavery tendencies, was suffi- 
 cient to establish its southern identity. On the other 
 hand, the republican had become a high protective tariff 
 party. The people of the nation thus, from different 
 causes and incidents, became allied to one or the other 
 of the two great parties — namely, the democratic, with the 
 principles that Congress had no right to interfere with 
 slavery in the states and territories, in favour of the rendi- 
 tion of fugitive slaves, as required by the constitution of 
 the United States; and it resolutely advocated free trade. 
 The republican party declared that Congress had a right 
 to prohibit slavery in the territories ; it was opposed to the 
 rendition of fugitive slaves, and in favour of a high 
 protective tariff. Thus the two great parties had become 
 decidedly sectional before the presidential campaign of 
 I860. Besides these, however, there was a remnant of 
 the old Whig party, which rallied under the name of the 
 Union party. 
 
 Among other circumstances that produced the resolute 
 and determined course of the southern democracy to meet 
 
380 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 the slavery question “straight in the face/’ was the issuing 
 of an abolition book called The Impending Crisis of the 
 South, which contained the following most extraordinary 
 platform for the anti-slavery parties of the north. 
 
 “ 1st. Thorough organisation and independent political action on 
 the part of the non-slaveholding whites of the south. 
 
 “2nd. Ineligibility of slaveholders. Never another vote to the 
 trafficker in human flesh. 
 
 “3rd. No co-operation with slaveholders in politics. No fellow- 
 ship with them in religion. No affiliation with them in society. 
 
 “4th. No patronage to slaveholdiug merchants. No guestship in 
 slave-waiting hotels. No fees to slaveholding lawyers. No employ- 1 
 ment to slaveholding physicians. No audience to slaveholding 
 persons. 
 
 “ 5th. No recognition of pro-slavery men, except as ruffians, out- 
 laws, and criminals. 
 
 “ Gtli. Abrupt discontinuance of subscription to pro-slavery news- 
 papers. 
 
 “ 7th. The greatest possible encouragement to free white labour. 
 
 “ 8th. No more hiring slaves by non-slaveholders. 
 
 “ 9th. Immediate death to slavery ; or, if not immediate, un- 
 qualified proscription of its advocates during the period of its 
 existence. 
 
 “ 10th. A tax of sixty dollars on every slaveholder, for each and 
 every negro in his possession at the present time, or at any interme- 
 diate time between now and the 4th of July, 1863 — said money to 
 be applied to the transportation of the blacks to Liberia, to their 
 colonisation in Central or South America, or to their comfortable 
 settlement within the boundaries of the United States. 
 
 “ 11th. An additional tax of forty dollars per annum, to be levied 
 annually on every slaveholder, for each and every negro found in 
 his possession after the 4th of J uly, 1863 — said money to be paid 
 into the hands of the negroes so held in slavery, or, in cases of 
 death, to their next of kin ; and to be used by them at their own 
 option. ” 
 
 These remarkable doctrines were, together with the 
 whole book, endorsed by sixty-eight republican members 
 of the Congress of 1859. Amongst the number were 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 
 
 381 
 
 some of the most distinguished and influential gentlemen 
 of that party. The southern politicians became incensed 
 at such intemperate language, and gave to the circum- 
 stance more than an ordinary import. They forgot that 
 • language equally intemperate against the north had been 
 repeatedly uttered, perhaps by some of themselves. We 
 might give many specimens which lie before us, but we 
 deem it unnecessary : they had no effect except to create 
 in the south a deadly feeling of hatred against the northern 
 republicans and abolitionists. During the presidential 
 campaign of 1860, the character of this book was the 
 
 [ subject of universal condemnation in the southern states ; 
 and the whole republican party, with Mr. Lincoln at its 
 head, was held responsible for its contents. The dispas- 
 sionate and conservative patriot considered the book as 
 but the opinions of a wild, deluded fanatic. The recom- 
 mendation given to it by the sixty-eight members of 
 Congress, as subsequently explained, exhibited a want of 
 caution upon their part. Had they taken the pains to 
 have read the book, they would, we have no doubt, con- 
 sidered it as but emanating from a crazy man. 
 
 Added to these facts may be mentioned, that, on the 
 execution of John Brown and his band of murderers, in 
 1859, near Harper’s Ferry, the church bells throughout 
 the northern states were tolled, in honour of the deeds of 
 those ruffians, who had attempted to incite the slaves to 
 join them in their acts of rapine and murder. Hundreds 
 of sermons were preached, and solemn dirges were sung 
 in their praise. This universality of the desecration of 
 the sacred temples of God, offended the whole south ; and 
 
382 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 each and every inan resolved to prepare for the defence 
 of his life,, and the protection of his family. 
 
 We have now arrived at the most important era — 1860 ; 
 and we will endeavour to explain the state of parties with 
 sufficient clearness to enable the reader to comprehend 
 some of the immediate causes which produced the seces- 
 sion of several of the southern states ; but in the conside- 
 ration of the events of 1860, the reader must couple with 
 them the past history of the nation. 
 
 The republican convention of 1860 met at Chicago, on 
 the 16th of May, and nominated Abraham Lincoln, of 
 Illinois, for the presidency. A platform was constructed, 
 based upon non-extension of slave-territory. 
 
 In a speech delivered by Mr. Lincoln, February 27th, 
 1860, in New York, he was emphatic in his advocacy of 
 the ultra-republican party doctrines. Relative to the 
 Dred Scott decision of the Supreme Court of the United 
 States, he said — 
 
 “ Perhaps you will say the Supreme Court has decided the disputed 
 constitutional question in your favour (southern) ; not quite so. But 
 waiving the lawyer’s distinction between dictum, and decision, the 
 courts have decided the question for you in a sort of way. The 
 courts have substantially said, ‘ It is your constitutional right to 
 take slaves into the federal territories, and to hold them there as 
 property.’ When I say the decision was made in a sort of way, I 
 mean it was made in a divided court, by a bare majority of the 
 judges, and they not quite agreeing with one another in the reasons 
 for making it ; that it is so made as that its avowed supporters 
 disagree with one another about its meaning ; and that it was 
 mainly based upon a mistaken statement of facts — the statement 
 in the opinion that the right of property in a slave is distinctly and 
 expressly affirmed in the constitution. An inspection of the con- 
 stitution will show that the right of property in a slave is not dis- 
 
F0LIT1CAL PARTIES. 
 
 383 
 
 tinctly and expressly affirmed in it.* Bear in mind, the judges do 
 not pledge their judicial opinion that such a right is impliedly 
 affirmed in the constitution ; but they pledge their veracity that i* 
 is distinctly and expressly affirmed there — ‘ distinctly;’ that is, not 
 mingled with anything else — ‘ expressly;’ that is, in words meaning 
 just that, without the aid of any inference, and susceptible of no 
 other meaning. If they had only pledged their judicial opinion that 
 such right is affirmed in the instrument by implication, it would 
 be open to others to show that neither the word ‘ slave’ nor ‘ slavery’ 
 is to be found in the constitution ; nor the word ‘ property’ even, 
 in any connection with the language alluding to the things, slave 
 or slavery ; and’ that wherever, in that instrument, the slave is 
 alluded to, he is called a ‘ person ;’ and wherever his master’s legal 
 right, in relation to him, is alluded to, it is spoken of as ‘ service 
 or labour due,’ as a ‘debt,’ payable in service or labour. Also it 
 would be open to show, by contemporaneous history, that this mode 
 of alluding to slaves and slavery, instead of speaking of them, was 
 employed on purpose to exclude from the constitution the idea that 
 there could be no property in man. ” 
 
 This remarkable speech, in the opinion of the southern 
 people, committed Mr. Lincoln against carrying out the 
 constitution and laws of Congress with respect to the 
 delivering up of fugitive slaves; and also against obedience 
 to the Dred Scott decision of the Supreme Court of the 
 United States; in which slavery is recognised in the terri- 
 tories, and that it is not subject to congressional prohibi- 
 tion. As to the historical statements contained in the 
 above extract, we regret to say that we are unable to 
 verify them. 
 
 The constitutional Union convention assembled on the 
 9th of May, 1860, at Baltimore, when John Bell, of Ten- 
 nessee, was nominated for the presidency. This party 
 was composed of the last remnant of the old Whigs. The 
 
 * In his inaugural address, Mr. Lincoln admits that slavery is 
 recognised by the constitution. 
 
384 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 convention declined to adopt a platform, but issued a 
 laconic declaration in favour of the Union. 
 
 The democratic convention assembled at Charleston 
 on the 23rd of April, 1860. The earlier part of the 
 meeting was occupied in the settlement of contested seats, 
 which resulted in the production of considerable dissatis- 
 faction. For some time preceding the assembling of the 
 convention, there were indications of troubles. The posi- 
 tive p o 1 i cy adopted by the republican party in Congress, 
 with respect to slavery, and the decisive results of the 
 state elections immediately prior thereto, had warned the 
 country as to the future. The southern democrats con- 
 strued the declarations of the northern republican press as 
 inflammatory; and retaliation was readily resorted to by 
 their principal speakers. They were anxious to meet the 
 resolved policy indicated by the republicans in Congress — i 
 namely, that they would insist on no more slave territory; 
 the abnegation of the legality of the right of slavery 1 
 in the territories of the United States; the practical nul- 
 lification of the fugitive slave laws, and of the fugitive 
 slave clause in the federal constitution. On the other 
 hand, the more conservative branch of the democratic 
 party, favouring the “ squatter sovereignty” doctrine, were 
 opposed to the decisive southern pro-slavery and free-trade 
 policy. The ultimate leaders of these two factions or 
 divisions of the democratic parties, were Mr. Breckenridge 
 and Mr. Douglas. The delegates favouring the nomina- jj 
 tion of the former gentleman, were of the opinion that ; f 
 any citizen had the right to hold slaves in the territories — l0 
 as much so as they had a right to hold there any other 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 
 
 385 
 
 property. The democratic delegates, rallying with Mr. 
 Douglas, admitted that slavery existed upon the territorial 
 soil, but that the people occupying had a right to decide, 
 on the organisation of the territory into a state, whether 
 there should be a continuation of slavery in the new 
 state or not. The difference between the two divisions of 
 the party was not of very material importance; and it 
 would seem, that in the adoption of the Cincinnati platform 
 of 1856, the whole democratic party was committed to 
 the “squatter sovereignty” doctrine. We are led to 
 believe that the new issue was the result of a desire to 
 defeat the nomination of Mr. Douglas, as there had been a 
 dislike to that gentleman among the friends of the adminis- 
 tration, because he had opposed the admission of Kansas 
 under the Lecompton constitution, after the president had 
 recommended that measure. The convention was for 
 I some time engaged in the construction of the platform. 
 There was a unanimous opinion in favour of the one 
 adopted at Cincinnati in 1856 ; but it was necessary to 
 amend it by the addition of a few planks, to meet the 
 more recent issues of the times. The “squatter sove- 
 reignty” division was the strongest in the convention; 
 and it adopted its amendments by a large majority. This 
 act displeased the democrats from the southern states; 
 and the delegates from Alabama, Mississippi, South Caro- 
 lina, Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, and Louisiana, 
 withdrew from the convention, after tiling their respective 
 protests. The convention, failing to harmonise or make a 
 - nomination, adjourned after a session of ten days, to meet 
 again at Baltimore on the 18th of June. 
 
 2 c 
 
386 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 
 On assembling at Baltimore, the convention was soon 
 involved in complications, greater, in fact, than had been 
 experienced at Charleston. The “ squatter sovereignty,” 
 or Douglas division, was the strongest ; and the delegates 
 from the cotton states were determined to make a platform 
 that would meet the issue direct with the republican party. 
 
 At the Charleston convention there had been fifty-seven 
 ballots for the nomination of a candidate for the presidency ; 
 and there was no choice. The withdrawal of the delegates 
 from the southern states caused the convention to adjourn, 
 as it was considered injudicious to make any nomination 
 in the face of the certain hostility of these states. Before 
 the Baltimore convention assembled, hopes were enter- 
 tained that there would be a union of the party; but, con- 
 trary to that hope, the convention really failed to organise 
 before a rupture took place on account of the admission of 
 the representatives from some of the states. Delegates, in 
 whole or in part, from the states of Virginia, North 
 Carolina, Tennessee, California, Delaware, Maryland, and 
 Kentucky, retired. The remaining members of the con- 
 vention proceeded to nominate a candidate for the pre- 
 sidency, which resulted in the choice of Stephen A. 
 Douglas, of Illinois, by nearly a unanimous vote. Before 
 the convention adjourned, the following resolution was 
 adopted nearly unanimously : — 
 
 “ Resolved , That in its accordance with the interpretation of the 
 Cincinnati platform, that during the existence of the territorial 
 governments, the measure of restriction, whatever it may be, imposed 
 by the federal constitution on the power of the federal legislature 
 over the subject of domestic relations, as the same has been, or shall 
 hereafter be finally determined by the Supreme Court of the United 
 
POLITICAL PARTIES. 
 
 387 
 
 States, should be respected by all good citizens, and enforced -with 
 promptness and fidelity by every branch of the general govern- 
 ment.” 
 
 The delegates from the Gulf and other states that had re- 
 tired from the convention, and those which had been refused 
 admission from New York, assembled in Baltimore on the 
 28th of June, and organised a convention. There were 
 twentv-oue states represented. The Cincinnati platform 
 was adopted, with amendments against the agitation of 
 slavery, and in favour of abiding by the decisions of the 
 Supreme Court of the United States. John C. Brec- 
 kenridge, of Kentucky, was nominated for the presidency. 
 
 The parties, in 1860, were thus organised, with their 
 candidates before the people. In order that the reader 
 may clearly understand the position held by each of the 
 candidates with respect to the great slavery question, we 
 present the following recapitulation :■ — - 
 
 1st. Mr. Lincoln, the republican candidate, was opposed 
 to the recognition of the principle declared by the Supreme 
 Court of the United States — that slavery, under the con- 
 stitution, did exist in the territories ; and he was of 
 opinion that Congress had the power to prohibit the intro- 
 duction of slavery into the territories. He was opposed to 
 the fugitive slave law, and in favour of a protective tariff. 
 — 2nd. Mr. Breckenridge, the southern democratic candi- 
 date, held that the decision of the Supreme Court of the 
 United States was in conformity with the constitution ; 
 and that Congress had no power whatever to prohibit the 
 introduction of slavery into the territories ; and further, 
 that the people of the territories, on their organisation into 
 
 2 c 2 
 
388 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 a state, had no right to exclude therefrom slave property 
 then and there existing. He avowed himself favourable to 
 the fugitive slave laws, and the doctrines of free trade. — 
 3rd. Mr. Douglas, the democratic candidate of the squatter 
 sovereignty doctrine, w r as in favour of the decision of the 
 Supreme Court of the United States, declaring that the 
 constitution carried slavery into the territories. He held 
 that Congress had no power to prohibit its introduction 
 therein ; and that a majority of the people, on the forma- 
 tion of a state out of a territory, had the right to permit or 
 prohibit slavery ; and advocated the legality of the fugitive 
 slave laws. — -4th. Mr. Bell, the constitutional Union candi- 
 date, was opposed to the agitation of the slavery question ; 
 was in favour of the fugitive slave laws ; the decision of the 
 Supreme Court; and a protective tariff. 
 
 The campaign was conducted with great excitement ; 
 and the thousands of speeches made, north and south, were 
 principally confined to the slavery question. The cotton 
 states saw that it was impossible to elect Mr. Breckenridge, 
 and they commenced preparations for the contingency of 
 Mr. Lincoln’s election. Secession was the watch-word; 
 it was uttered in nearly every speech ; and the warnings 
 were heralded from state to state, county to county, and 
 fireside to fireside. “ The irrepressible conflict” was 
 near at hand, and politicians argued that disunion was 
 the only possible remedy for the safety of the property, and 
 even the lives of the southern people. Passion swayed 
 over the country, north and south. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 The Legality and Illegality of Secession. 
 
 The Legality of Secession. 
 
 The right of secession is a question upon which there 
 seems to be a diversity of opinion. In the southern 
 seceding states, the people have been, for a long time, 
 determined to perform that responsible act, whenever, in 
 their judgment, the time for it should arrive. 
 
 The confederation, formed during the revolutionary war 
 in 1781, was intended to be as perpetual and permanent 
 as it was possible to form a government. The document 
 thus organising the states, was styled, “Articles of Con- 
 federation and Perpetual Union between the States,” under 
 the name of “the United States of America.” In the 
 second article it was declared, that “each state retained 
 its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every 
 power, jurisdiction, and right which is not by this con- 
 federation expressly delegated to the United States.” 
 From this clause, it is clear that the powers thereafter to 
 be exercised by the United States, were delegated, and 
 were not vested. The term recognises the existence and 
 continuance of the sovereignty of the states over the 
 general government. But while the states were the 
 principals, and the confederation but the mere agent, 
 exercising only delegated powers, it was intended to form 
 
390 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 a perpetual Union. A body, whether aggregate or sole, 
 exercising delegated powers, is an agent, and subject to be 
 dismissed at the pleasure of the principal or creating power. 
 In cases, however, where powers are delegated irrevocably 
 to an agent, the act cannot be cancelled ; and the agent 
 becomes, practically, a principal with vested powers. The 
 term “ perpetual,” in the articles of confederation, was 
 equivalent to an irrevocable clause; and hence the govern- 
 ment, thus formed, did not contemplate any power in a 
 state to annul the articles of Union. There was no tribunal 
 fixed upon to adjust differences of opinion or questions of 
 power between the states and the confederation. The 
 ninth article declared, that — 
 
 “ The United States, in Congress assembled, shall also be the last 
 resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting, or 
 that hereafter may arise between two or more states concerning 
 boundary, jurisdiction, or any other cause whatever.” 
 
 Then follows the mode of arbitrament. By this tribunal 
 the states agreed to have their questions of difference ad- 
 justed. It would seem that the government, thus organised, 
 did form a Union, intended to be perpetual, permanent, 
 and binding; and although the term “delegated” was used, 
 yet there were conditions embraced in the agreement, 
 or articles of confederation, which legally gave to the 
 agent vested and irrevocable powers. It is evident, from 
 the document itself, and the circumstances of the states, 
 that such were the objects and purposes of all the parties 
 concerned. There was, however, an omission of the 
 greatest importance in the articles. No mode of enforce- 
 ment of the decisions of the high court of arbitrament 
 was prescribed. A coercive doctrine would have defeated 
 
.EGALITY OF SECESSION. 
 
 391 
 
 any kind of union. It was agreed to abide by the judg- 
 ment of Congress on questions of difference arising 
 between the states ; but there was no power given to 
 Congress to enforce its decisions. In reference to 
 arbitration between man and man, the judicial tribunals 
 can render judgment; and the officers of the government, 
 under prescribed laws, can enforce the decisions of the 
 arbitrament. The cases, therefore, are not parallel ; be- 
 cause, in the one case, there is no agreement as to the 
 mode of enforcement ; and, in the other, the law prescribes 
 the means of coercion. Notwithstanding the confederation 
 was organised with the view of permanency, and declared 
 to be “ perpetual,” it did not exist ten years before eleven 
 of the states seceded from it, and formed a constitutional 
 government. Some of the states failed to carry out the con- 
 ditions stipulated in the articles ; and there were no powers 
 to coerce the fulfilment of the obligations disregarded. 
 Washington and others saw the impossibility of main- 
 taining the federal government ; and a convention was 
 called in 1786, not to construct a new government, but to 
 remedy the deficiencies of the then existing articles. For 
 want of representation, the convention did nothing more 
 than propose another, which met the next year (1787) 
 in Philadelphia, when the present constitution was framed. 
 This organic instrument was submitted to the states for 
 ratification ; with an article, declaring, that “ the ratifica- 
 tion of the conventions of nine states shall be sufficient for 
 the establishment of this constitution between the states 
 so ratifying the same.” The article did not require the 
 thirteen states to ratify it, because the convention knew, 
 
392 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 or liad sufficient evidence to justify the belief, that New 
 York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island would not ratify 
 it. The latter was not represented at the convention. 
 In 1788, ten of the states ratified the constitution of 1787, 
 and thus agreed to abandon their first national govern- 
 ment. On Wednesday, the 7th of January, 1789, the 
 electors were chosen in the respective states. On Wed- 
 nesday, the 4th of February, they assembled in the 
 states for the election of a president; and on Wednesday, 
 the 4th of March, the constitution was declared by Con- 
 gress to be in force. On that day was completed the 
 secession of eleven states from the confederation ! Wash- 
 ington was inaugurated president on Thursday, the 30th 
 of April, 1789; and thus was fully organised the constitu- 
 tional government of the eleven seceding states. 
 
 The constitution does not declare the new government 
 to be a perpetual Union. The failure of the confederation 
 had removed from the minds of the delegates all expecta- 
 tion of ever obtaining such a state of perfection ; and 
 they evidently contemplated a change of the organic law 
 from time to time, as the nation progressed. Their object 
 was, “to form a more perfect Union; establish justice; 
 insure domestic tranquillity ; provide for the common de- 
 fence; promote the general welfare; and secure the bles- 
 sings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” The last 
 clause of this preamble is of import. To secure liberty to 
 “ our posterity,” contemplates time in the far distance — 
 without end, or so long as the nation existed. This was 
 for ever; or for such time as the Creator, in his beneficence 
 and infinite wisdom, should allow the people to have 
 
LEGALITY OF SECESSION. 
 
 393 
 
 descendants. The intention of the framers of the constitu- 
 tion was the organisation of a permanent Union — to be 
 sustained only, however, by the affections of the people. 
 The very fact that coercive laws were attempted to be 
 made, and failed, to effect the enforcement of the consti- 
 tution against the will of the states, proves that the framers 
 of that instrument never contemplated the employment of 
 force. On this subject, several attempts were made to 
 i authorise coercion by different means or equivalents. 
 Amongst the plans were — 
 
 1st. It was proposed, through the action of Congress, to 
 authorise the federal executive to use force in the carrying 
 out of the constitution, if found necessary. This was 
 rejected. 
 
 2nd. It was proposed to give to the president of the 
 j United States the nomination of the state governors, and 
 to invest them with power to veto state laws, in order to 
 preserve the faith of the states, and the supremacy of the 
 federal government. This was rejected. 
 
 1 3rd. It was proposed to make the senate of the United 
 States the judge of all difficulties that might arise between 
 states and the general government. This, too, was re- 
 jected. The arbitration clause for the settlement of diffi- 
 culties between the states, which had formed a part of 
 the articles of confederation, was rejected. 
 
 4th. It was proposed to give Congress authority to 
 negative state legislation interfering with the powers of 
 the federal government. This was rejected. 
 
 5th. It was also proposed to give to Congress the power 
 to veto and annul all state laws interfering with the federal 
 
 
394 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 government — to be exercised only by a vote of two-thirds 
 of each branch of Congress. This, too, was rejected. 
 
 Upon the subject of force, Mr. Madison said, that — 
 
 “ The more he reflected on the use of force, the more he doubted 
 the practicability, the justice, and the eflicacy of it, when applied 
 to people collectively, and not individually. A union of the states 
 containing such an ingredient, seemed to provide for its own de- 
 struction. The use of force against a state would look more like a 
 declaration of war than an infliction of punishment ; and would 
 probably be considered by the party attacked as a dissolution of all 
 previous compacts by which it might be bound.” 
 
 Mr. Alexander Hamilton, of the convention, said — 
 
 “ It has been observed, to coerce the states is one of the maddest 
 projects that was ever devised. A failure of compliance will never 
 be confined to a single state. This being the case, can we suppose it 
 wise to hazard a civil war ? Suppose Massachusetts, or any large state, 
 should refuse, and Congress should attempt to compel them, would 
 they not have influence to procure assistance, especially from those 
 states which are in the same situation as themselves ? What picture 
 does this idea present to our view ? A complying state at war with 
 a non-complying state ; Congress marching the troops of one state 
 into the bosom of another — this state collecting auxiliaries, and 
 forming, perhaps, a majority against its federal head. Here is a 
 nation at war with itself. Can anyj reasonable man be well-dis- 
 posed towards a government which makes war and carnage the only 
 means of supporting itself — a government that can exist only by the 
 sword ? Every such war must involve the innocent with the guilty. 
 This single consideration should be sufficient to dispose every peace- 
 able citizen against such a government. ” 
 
 The ratification of the constitution by the state of Vir- 
 ginia, was in the following language : — 
 
 “Act of the State of Virginia adopting the Federal Constitution, : 
 passed the 26th day of June, 1788. 
 
 “We, the delegates of the people of Virginia, duly elected in 
 pursuance of a recommendation from the general assembly, and now 
 met in convention, having fully and freely investigated and discussed 
 the proceedings of the federal convention, and being prepared as 
 
LEGALITY OF SECESSION. 
 
 395 
 
 well as the most mature deliberation hath enabled us, to decide 
 thereon — do. in their name and iu behalf of the people of Virginia, 
 declare and make known, that the powers granted under the consti- 
 tution, being derived from the people of the United States, may be 
 resumed by them whenever the same shall be perverted to their 
 injury or oppression ; and that every power not granted thereby 
 remains with them, and at their will. That, therefore, no right of 
 any denomination can be cancelled, abridged, restrained, or modi- 
 fied by the Congress, by the Senate, or House of Representatives, 
 acting in any capacity, by the president or any department or officer 
 of the United States, except in those instances in which power is 
 given by the constitution for those purposes ; and that among other 
 essential rights, the liberty of conscience and of the press cannot be 
 cancelled, abridged, restrained, or modified by any authority of the 
 United States.” 
 
 We have given the foregoing facts to prove the in- 
 tention of the framers of the constitution, and their under- 
 standing of the meaning of that instrument. We will 
 now take an extract from an address delivered by a 
 statesman and a pure man, ex-president John Quincy 
 Adams, before the New York Historical Society, in 1839, 
 at the jubilee of the constitution. Upon the right of 
 secession, he said — 
 
 “ To the people alone is there reserved, as well the dissolving as 
 the constituent power ; and that power can be exercised by them 
 only under the tie of conscience, binding them to the retributive 
 justice of Heaven. 
 
 “ With these qualifications, we may admit the same right to be 
 vested in the people of every state in the Union, with reference to 
 the general government, which was exercised by the people of the 
 united colonies, with reference to the supreme head of the British 
 empire, of which they formed a part ; and, under these limitations, 
 have the people of each state in the Union a right to secede from 
 the confederated Union itself. 
 
 “Thus stands the right. But the indissoluble link of union 
 between the people of the several states of this confederated nation, is, 
 after all, not in the right, but in the heart. If the day should ever 
 
396 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 come (may Heaven avert it) when the affections of the people of these 
 states shall be alienated from each other ; when the fraternal spirit 
 shall give way to cold indifference, or collisions of interest shall fester 
 into hatred ; the bands of political association will not long hold 
 together parties no longer attracted by the magnetism of conciliated 
 interests and kindly sympathies ; and far better will it be for the 
 people of the disunited states to part in friendship from each other, 
 than to be held together by constraint. Then will be the time for 
 reverting to the precedent which occurred at the formation and 
 adoption of the constitution, to form again a more perfect Union, 
 by dissolving that which could no longer bind, and to leave the 
 separated parts to be reunited, by the law of political gravitation, 
 to the centre.” 
 
 We have given authorities from statesmen in favour of 
 the right of secession, and their opinions respecting the 
 relative powers of the federal and state governments. We 
 will now notice a few of the state legislative proceedings. 
 The general assembly of Kentucky, during its session of 
 1798-’9, passed sundry resolutions, expressing the opinion 
 held by that legislature concerning the powers of the 
 general government; viz. — 
 
 “ That the constitution of the United States is a compact between 
 the several states, as states, each sovereign state being an integral 
 party to that compact. That as in other compacts between equal 
 sovereigns who have no common judge, each party has the right 
 to interpret the compact for itself, and is bound by no interpre- 
 tation but its own. That the general government has no final right, 
 in any of its branches, to interpret the extent of its own powers. 
 That these powers are limited within certain prescribed bounds; 
 and that all acts of the general government, not warranted by 
 its powers, may properly be nullified by a state, within its own 
 boundaries. ” 
 
 The legislature of the state of Virginia passed similar 
 resolutions; and on their consideration, subsequently, 
 Mr. Madison, from the committee, submitted an argu- 
 
ILLEGALITY OF SECESSION. 397 
 
 ment in favour of the doctrines contained in them. He 
 : said — 
 
 “ It appears to your committee to be a plain principle, founded 
 in common sense, illustrated by common practice, and essential to 
 the nature of compacts, that, where resort can be had to no tribunal 
 superior to the authority of the parties, the parties themselves must 
 be the rightful judges, in the last resort, whether the bargain made 
 has been pursued or violated. The constitution of the United 
 States was formed by the sanction of the states, given by each in 
 its sovereign capacity. It adds to the stability and dignity, as well 
 as to the authority of the constitution, that it rests on this legitimate 
 i aDd solid foundation. The states, then, being the parties to the 
 constitutional compact, and in their sovereign capacity, it follows, of 
 necessity, that there can be no tribunal above their authority, to 
 decide, in the last resort, whether the compact made by them be 
 i violated ; and consequently, that, as the parties to it, they must 
 themselves decide, in the last resort, such questions as may be 
 of sufficient magnitude to require their respective interposi- 
 tion.” 
 
 Mr. Madison subsequently saw the effect of his doctrines 
 of state sovereignty, when, during his own administration, 
 the United States’ government was on the verge of disso- 
 lution; and had the war of 1814 continued another year, 
 there can be no doubt that the New England states would 
 have seceded from the Union, upon the grounds that, 
 “when emergencies occur, too pressing to admit of the 
 delay incident to their forms, and beyond the reach of judi- 
 cial tribunals, states which have no common umpire must 
 be their own judges, and execute their own decisions.” 
 
 The Illegality of Secession. 
 
 In presenting the reasons advanced against the legality 
 of secession, we will, as we have in the preceding, exercise 
 the right to give our own interpretation of the questions 
 
398 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 considered. It is but common sense to admit, that the 
 opinions entertained at the present time by the people, 
 both north and south, are controlled by passion. Again, 
 it is fair to acknowledge, that many of our political and 
 law writers, heretofore, have been prejudiced in favour of 
 a supposed perfection of the Union. 
 
 We have been blinded with an imaginary glory; and 
 our political writers could only see our government as the 
 most complete of all governmental systems. We have not 
 been able to see our faults ; and an ignorance of our imper- ' 
 fections has led us into the vortex, now fast destroying 
 our people, not only as individuals, but also as states and 
 as a nation. In an article written by Mr. Motley, and 
 published in the London Times, he said the confederation 
 government of 1781 was “a league of petty sovereignties.” 
 This declares that the states were sovereigns — not the 
 people, but the states; because the confederation was 
 formed through and by the power of the legislatures, and 
 not by the people. The constitution of 1789 was framed 
 by the delegates from the legislatures, and not from the 
 people. He said the constitution — • 
 
 S ! “Was not a compact. Whoever heard of a compact to which 
 there were no parties ? or whoever heard of a compact made by a 
 single party with himself ? Yet the name of no state is mentioned 
 in the whole document. The states themselves are only men- 
 tioned to receive commands or prohibitions ; and the 1 people of the 
 United States’ is the single party by whom the instrument is 
 executed. ” 
 
 A compact is an agreement — a contract between parties ; 
 it is a word that may be applied in a general sense : it has 
 import according to the parties thereto. When between 
 
illegality of secession 
 
 399 
 
 individuals, it is termed an agreement; but an engage- 
 ment between nations is called a treaty or a compact. 
 The two words have the same meaning. The names of 
 the states are not mentioned in the constitution, because 
 it was not possible for the convention to know what states 
 would accept of the constitution ; and, iu fact, the dele- 
 gates knew that two or three of the states would not ratify 
 it. Law does not require a recital of the names of the 
 parties to a contract or compact to be given in the body 
 of the instrument. The states accepted the constitution, 
 and thus became parties to it. Now it is quite possible 
 for the states, in their sovereign capacities, to adopt a like 
 compact with a very large majority of the people against 
 the measure. 
 
 "We have previously stated, that the constitution was 
 adopted by the states as sovereignties, through conventions ; 
 and in no case was it ratified by a vote of the people. The 
 formality of electing delegates to a convention, by the 
 people, is not the equivalent of a ratification by the people ; 
 and besides, a majority vote of the people may be cast 
 against a proposition; and yet, through the sovereign 
 majority of a convention, the affirmative may be carried, 
 as was the case in the state of New York. 
 
 Curtis, iu his History of the Constitution, referring to 
 the debates in the Virginia convention, says — ■ 
 
 “Their (the opponents to the constitution) first and chief object 
 was to show that the constitution presented a national and con- 
 solidated government, in the place of the confederation ; and that, 
 under such a government, the liberties of the people of the states 
 could not be secure. The eloquent Henry argued, ‘ that the con- 
 stitution presented a consolidated government, because it spoke in 
 
400 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 the name of the people, and not in the name of the states. It was 
 neither a monarchy like England — a compact between prince and 
 people, with checks on the former to secure the liberty of the 
 latter; nor a confederacy like Holland— an association of inde- 
 pendent states, each retaining its individual sovereignty ; nor yet a ' 
 democracy, in which the people retain securely all their rights. It 
 was an alarming transition from a confederacy to a consolidated ; 
 government.’ Mr. Mason, always cool, clear, and sensible, an- 
 swered these objections. He described the new government as 
 having a mixed character. It would be in some respects federal, 
 in others consolidated. The manner in which it was to be ratified 
 established this double character. The parties to it were to be the 
 people ; but not the people as composing one great society, but the | 
 people as composing thirteen sovereign states. If it were a purely 
 consolidated government, the assent of a majority of the people 
 would be sufficient to establish it.” 
 
 Mr. Motley further states — 
 
 £ 1 The constitution was not drawn up by the states ; it was not 
 promulgated in the name of the states^; it was not ratified by the 
 states. The states never acceded to it, and possess no power to j 
 secede from it. It ‘ was ordained and established’ over the states 
 by a power superior to the states — by the people of the whole land 
 in their aggregate capacity, acting through conventions of delegates 
 expressly chosen for the purpose within each state, independently 
 of the state governments, after the project had been framed.” 
 
 He says the constitution was adopted “ by the people of 
 the whole land in their aggregate capacity ;” and then he 
 says it was “ through conventions” of each state. We 
 cannot see the consistency of the two assertions. The 
 people of the states did not ratify the constitution by 
 the ballot. He says, too, that the delegates were “ex- 
 pressly chosen for the purpose within each state, inde- 
 pendently of the state governments.” In the case of New 
 York, the people voted against the constitution in 1788, 
 and yet the convention adopted it in 1789. 
 
ILLEGALITY OF SECESSION. 
 
 401 
 
 On this subject, Curtis, in his History of the Constitu- 
 tion, says — 
 
 “In January, 1788, the governor of 'New York presented the 
 official communication of the instrument (constitution) from the 
 Congress to the legislature, with the cold remark, that from the 
 nature of his official position, it would be improper for him to have 
 any other agency in the business than that of laying the paper 
 before them for their information. Neither he nor his party, how- 
 ever, contented themselves with this abstinence. After a severe 
 struggle, resolutions ordering a state convention to be elected were 
 passed by the bare majorities of three in the senate and two in the 
 house, on the 1st day of February, 1788. The elections were held 
 in April ; and when the result became known, iri the latter part of 
 May, it appeared that the anti-federalists (anti-constitutionalists) 
 had elected two-thirds of the members of the convention, and that 
 probably four-sevenths of the people of the state were unfriendly to 
 the constitution.” 
 
 The process of the adoption of the constitution we 
 have before shown to be as follows : — The legislatures 
 of the states sent the delegates to the convention which 
 framed the constitution. This instrument was reported 
 to Congress, and by that body sent to the legislatures 
 of the respective states. It was for them to determine 
 whether or not it should be submitted to a convention of the 
 state. If that were preferred, then the election of delegates 
 to the convention, to consider the proposed constitution, 
 was to be ordered by the legislature. This was done, 
 and delegates were elected by the people. The convention 
 thus assembled in each state, and adopted the constitution. 
 
 Mr. Motley quotes from Blackstone, to prove that the 
 constitution is not a compact — 
 
 “ A compact is a promise proceeding from us ; law is a command 
 directed to us. The language of a compact is — ‘ we will or will not do 
 this ; that of a law is — thou shalt or shalt not do it.’ ” Mr. Motley 
 
 2 D 
 
402 
 
 AMERICA, AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 then proceeds to say — “ Congress shall do this ; the president shall 
 do that; the state shall not exercise this or that power. Witness, 
 for example, the important clause by which the sovereign states are 
 shorn of all the great attributes of sovereignty.” 
 
 This quotation from Blackstone will sustain the reverse of 
 that attempted to be proved. The laconic preamble to 
 the constitution, says — 
 
 “ We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more 
 perfect Union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquillity, pro- 
 vide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and 
 secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do 
 ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of 
 America.” 
 
 This, then, means — “We, the people, will and do ordain;” 
 or, in other words — we, the people, hereby form a compact. 
 
 Mr. Motley further states — 
 
 “ Granted the premises that each state may peaceably secede 
 from the Union, it follows that a county may peaceably secede 
 from a state, and a town from a county, until there is nothing left 
 but a horde of individuals, all seceding from each other.” 
 
 The constitutional government of the United States was 
 the creature of the states, each acting for itself; and all 
 counties are the creatures of the states. The legislature 
 can create, divide, and destroy a county at its own will. 
 The United States’ government has been created by 
 the legislature and convention of each state — repre- 
 senting as sole the aggregate people. It seems to us that 
 Mr. Motley’s reasonings above given are not sustained by 
 law. Again, he says — “ The same power which established 
 the constitution, may justly destroy it,” Now, this is the 
 strongest secession doctrine that we have seen. It de- 
 clares, that as the constitution was adopted by the con- 
 ventions of the respective states, each acting independent 
 
ILLEGALITY OF SECESSION. 
 
 403 
 
 of the other, therefore the convention of any state can 
 secede from the constitutional government. Mr. Motley , 
 further says — “ The people of the whole land may meet, by 
 delegates, in a great national convention, as they did in 
 1787, and declare that the constitution no longer answered 
 the purpose for which it was made/’ We are wholly 
 unable to find that any such convention was held in 1787. 
 Some of the legislatures appointed delegates to a convention 
 of that date, but they were not authorised to frame a con- 
 stitution. There is no clause in that instrument contem- 
 plating its revision by a national convention. It can be 
 amended (Article Y.) ; but there is no provision for its 
 annulment, because it was intended to “ secure the bless- 
 ings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” 
 
 Mr. Motley, very patriotically, thus writes : — 
 
 “ The Union alone is clothed with imperial attributes ; the Union 
 alone is known and recognised in the family of nations ; the Union 
 alone holds the purse and the sword — regulates foreign intercourse — 
 imposes taxes on foreign commerce — makes war and concludes peace. 
 The armies, the navies, the militia, belong to the Union alone ; and 
 the president is commander-in-chief of all. No state can keep 
 troops or fleets.” 
 
 In the above there are several errors. The Union holds 
 a purse and a sword ; and so do the states. The Union 
 holds an army and a navy; and so does nearly every state. 
 The constitution of Virginia declares, that its governor — 
 
 “ Shall be commander-in-chief of the land and naval forces of 
 the state; have power to embody the militia to repel invasions, 
 suppress insurrections, and enforce the execution of the laws ; con- 
 duct, either in person or in such other manner as shall be pre- 
 scribed by law, all intercourse with other and foreign states. 
 
 The constitution of the state of Oregon, recently admitted 
 into the Union, declares, that “the governor shall be com- 
 
 2 d 2 
 
404 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 mander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of this 
 state, and may call out such forces to execute the laws, to 
 suppress insurrection, or to repel invasion.” 
 
 The constitution of the United States says — 
 
 “ The president shall be commander-in-chief of the army and I 
 navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, f 
 when called into the actual service of the United States.” The second , 
 amendment, entire, says — -“A well-regulated militia being neces- j, 
 sary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep L 
 and bear arms shall not be infringed.” 
 
 The quotations from the constitutions prove that ! 
 Mr. Motley was wrong ; that the armies and navies ;• 
 do not belong to the Union alone ; that the president is not 
 commander-in-chief of all ; and that states can keep 
 troops and fleets. The entire militia of a state can be on a 
 war footing at any time, and at all times, if the people of 
 the state authorise it for its own protection ; and the 
 president of the United States has no authority over that i 
 militia army, however powerful it may be. Every state \ 
 in the Union keeps and maintains troops, though they are 
 styled the “Militia.” We have seen a review of 18,000 
 of the New York militia; and, in appearance and drill, 
 they equalled, at least, the best soldiers of Europe. 
 
 The constitution and statute laws of every state con- 
 template the establishment of a permanent militia army, 
 of which the governor is the commander-in-chief. In 
 tenor, the powers of the executive of all the states are 
 the same; and we need but refer to the constitution of 
 New Hampshire,* which we have before quoted from, to 
 
 * Vide, p. 142. 
 
ILLEGALITY OF SECESSION. 
 
 405 
 
 relieve Mr. Motley from his Utopian-like visions of the 
 perfection of our government. 
 
 Mr. Motley stated, that the constitution “ was not a 
 compact. Who ever heard of a compact to which there 
 were no parties? or who ever heard of a compact made by 
 a single party with himself?” President Jackson, in his 
 proclamation on the South Carolina secession, in 1832, 
 thus differs from Mr. Motley. He said — 
 
 “Because the Union was formed by compact, it is said the 
 parties to that compact may, when they feel themselves aggrieved, 
 depart from it ; hut it is precisely because it is a compact that they 
 cannot. A compact is an agreement or binding obligation.” 
 
 In the article referred to, Mr. Motley argued against 
 secession, because the constitution of the United States 
 “was not a compact.” President Jackson argued against 
 secession because the constitution “ was a compact.” 
 His proclamation contains the following conclusive argu- 
 ment against the right of secession : — 
 
 “ The constitution of the United States, then, forms a govern- 
 ment, not a league ; and whether it be formed by compact between 
 the states, or in any other manner, its character is the same. It 
 is a government in which all the people are represented ; which 
 operates directly on the people individually, not upon the states — 
 they retained all the power they did not grant. But each state having 
 expressly parted with so many powers, as to constitute, jointly with 
 the other states, a single nation, cannot, from that period, possess 
 any right to secede, because such secession does not break a league, 
 but destroys the unity of the nation ; and any injury to that unity 
 is not only a breach, which would result from the contravention of 
 a compact, but it is an offence against the whole nation. To say 
 that any state may, at pleasure, secede from the Union, is to say 
 that the United States are not a nation ; because it would be a 
 solecism to contend that any part of a nation might dissolve its 
 connection with the other parts, to their injury or ruin, without 
 committing any offence. Secession, like any other revolutionary 
 
406 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 act, may be morally justified by the extremity of oppression ; but to 
 call it a constitutional right, is confounding the meaning of terms, 
 and can only be done through gross error, or to deceive those who 
 are willing to assert a right, but would pause before they made a 
 revolution, or incur the penalties consequent on failure. ” 
 
 It will be remembered that the noted Hartford conven- 
 tion assembled in 1814, while the United States was at 
 war with Great Britain. Mr. Madison was president at 
 that time. He feared the dissolution of the Union by the 
 threatened secession of the New England states. The 
 want of support from those states seems to have changed 
 his mind with respect to states’ rights ; and in 1830, he 
 issued the following very able argument on the constitu- 
 tion, against the right of secession : — 
 
 “ It was formed, not by the governments of the component states, 
 as the federal government [of 1781] for which it was substituted 
 was formed. Nor was it formed by a majority of the people of the 
 United States, as a single community, in the manner of a consoli- 
 dated government. It was formed by the states ; that is, by the 
 people in each state, acting in their highest sovereign capacity ; and 
 formed, consequently, by the same authority which formed the state 
 constitutions. 
 
 “ Being thus derived from the same source as the constitutions of 
 the states, it has within each state the same authority as the consti- 
 tution of the state ; and is as much a constitution, in the strict 
 sense of the term, within its prescribed sphere, as the constitutions 
 of the states are, within their respective spheres ; but with this 
 obvious and essential difference — that being a compact among the 
 states in their highest sovereign capacity, and constituting the 
 people thereof one people for certain purposes, it cannot be altered 
 or annulled at the will of the states individually, as the constitution 
 of a state may be at its individual will.” 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 The Causes of Secession ; the Southern Confederacy. 
 
 The Causes that produced Secession. 
 
 In this chapter we propose to give a brief account of the 
 secession of eleven of the southern states, and the for- 
 mation by them of a general government, under the 
 name of the Southern Confederacy. 
 
 It is not to be denied but that several of the slave- 
 holding states had for some time desired a termination of 
 the union with many of the northern states, so long as the 
 latter continued to enforce the personal liberty laws already 
 described. For nearly twenty years, some of the northern 
 states have nullified the national compact respecting fugi- 
 tive slaves ; and the only hope that the southern states 
 had for the enforcement of the constitution and laws, de- 
 pended upon a president being elected who would discharge 
 the functions of his office as a national executive. The elec- 
 toral votes of the states that had passed laws nullifying 
 the constitution and the fugitive slaves statutes, made 
 Mr. Lincoln president. He had denounced the integrity 
 of the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States ; 
 and it was quite natural that the south should look upon 
 him as an enemy to its welfare aud interest. We do not 
 think secession was justified ; but the sin for the dis- 
 ruption of the Union, iu our opinion, lay more with 
 Mr. Lincoln than with any other man. He could have 
 
408 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 preserved it by announcing, when lie saw the nation 
 scattering in fragments, that he would not be a sectional 
 president — that he would do all in his power to preserve 
 the interest of the whole people, whether in the north or 
 south ; that he would faithfully execute the fugitive slave 
 laws ; and that he would administer the executive affairs 
 of the government conformably to the constitution and the 
 laws of Congress, as interpreted by the judicial depart- 
 ment of the government. Had Mr. Lincoln uttered the 
 foregoing few words, there would not have been a secession 
 of a single state — not even the restless and ever unreason- 
 able South Carolina. A false pride, and the influence of 
 fanatics, seemed to control him; and thus, by omission, 
 he has been the principal cause of the ruin of the nation. 
 He who sees the torch applied to the edifice by others, 
 and does not attempt to extinguish the flame when it is 
 in his power to do so, is equally responsible with the in- 
 cendiary for the conflagration. Mr. Lincoln did not seem 
 to appreciate the policy of using kind words to the dis- 
 tracted nation, as Washington and Jackson had done; 
 but, on the contrary, he permitted his friends to make 
 fanatical abolition speeches in his behalf, which increased 
 the madness of the people in the south. Ambitious 
 politicians in South Carolina, and in some of the other 
 southern seaboard states, seized each and every possible 
 circumstance to inflame the public, and prepare them for 
 the disruption of the Union. These politicians were not 
 satisfied with exposing the errors of Mr. Lincoln; but 
 they held him responsible for the speeches and opinions of 
 the northern abolitionists. 
 
the secession. 
 
 409 
 
 One of the influences moving the cotton states to seces- 
 sion, was the tariff question. These states have ever been 
 in favour of free trade; while, on the other hand, the New 
 England states have been in favour of a high protective 
 tariff. Among the slaveholding states, South Carolina 
 has been the most sectional and unreasonable; and 
 among the northern states, Massachusetts has eclipsed the 
 whole of them in adopting nullifying measures against the 
 national compact. The people of these two states have 
 mutually cultivated a hatred for each other. In nearly all 
 legislative transactions their representatives have been 
 antagonistic. A South Carolina Congress-man assaulted 
 a Massachusetts senator for insults given in a public 
 speech against the south, and the states respectively did 
 honour to their representatives ; the former was looked upon 
 as a hero, and the latter as a martyr. An importance was 
 given to the affair because it occurred in the room of the 
 capitol in which the senate assembled. 
 
 As South Carolina had but little affection for the more 
 northern states, it was not difficult for the politicians of 
 that state to influence the public in favour of secession after 
 the election of Mr. Lincoln. And besides, these poli- 
 ticians had made speeches, during the presidential cam- 
 paign, in favour of secession, in case of the success of the 
 republican party ; and in this manner the people of that 
 state had committed themselves to declarations that they 
 could not retract without a seeming cowardice. We are 
 unwilling to believe that the people of that state ever 
 intended to permanently dissolve the Union, though that 
 was evidently the intention of the politicians. The 
 
410 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 people thought that, by the formal secession, they might 
 be able to secure guarantees from the northern states for 
 their faithful compliance with the constitution and statutes 
 of Congress. In this manner they effected the reduction 
 of the oppressive tariff in 1833. We deem it our duty to 
 remark, that the statesmen of South Carolina have ever 
 been loyal and faithful to their constitutional obligations ; 
 but these sons of the south, like many patriots of other 
 states, have had to yield to the overpowering influence 
 of the sectional politicians. 
 
 The general desire and intention of the people in the 
 south seem to have been thoroughly national ; they con- 
 templated effecting measures that would more firmly 
 cement the bonds of the Union. The following extract 
 from the address of the Mississippi commissioner to Mary- 
 land, explains frankly the real objects and purposes of the 
 southern people ; viz. — 
 
 “Secession is not intended to break up the present government, 
 but to perpetuate it. We do not propose to go out by way of 
 breaking up or destroying the Union, as our fathers gave it to us ; 
 but we go out for the purpose of getting further guarantees and 
 security for our rights — not by a convention of all the southern 
 states, nor by congressional tricks, which have failed in times past, 
 and will fail again. But our plan is, for the southern states to 
 withdraw from the Union for the present ; to allow amendments to 
 the constitution to be made, guaranteeing our just rights ; and if 
 the northern states will not make those amendments, by which 
 these rights shall be secured to us, then we must secure them the best 
 way we can. This question of slavery must be settled now or never. 
 The country has been agitated seriously by it for the past twenty or 
 thirty years. It has been a festering sore upon the body politic ; 
 and many remedies having failed, we must try amputation to bring 
 it to a healthy state. We must have amendments to the con- 
 stitution ; and if we cannot get them, we must set up for ourselves.” 
 
THE SECESSION. 
 
 411 
 
 Such were the sentiments moving the people of the 
 great south to favour secession. 
 
 The Southern Confederacy. 
 
 Soon after the election of Mr. Lincoln, the legislature 
 of South Carolina ordered the convening of a convention 
 to consider the state of the Union. The convention 
 assembled according to law ; and, on the 20th of December, 
 1860, the following secession ordinance passed, by a 
 unanimous vote of 169 members : — 
 
 “We, the people of South Carolina, in convention assembled, do 
 declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained, that the 
 ordinance adopted by us in convention, on the 23rd day of May, 
 1788, whereby the constitution of the United States of America was 
 ratified, and also all acts and parts of acts of the general assembly of 
 this state, ratifying the amendments of the said constitution, are 
 hereby repealed, and that the union now subsisting between South 
 Carolina and the other states, under the name of the United States 
 of America, is hereby dissolved. ” 
 
 The convention issued a declaration, detailing the 
 reasons that impelled it to pass the secession ordinance. 
 The principal cause alleged was the breach of faith com- 
 mitted by the northern states, respecting the slavery clause 
 in the constitutional compact. 
 
 At that time federal troops were in the forts at 
 Charleston; and in order to prevent a collision of the 
 state and federal forces — having in view the effecting of a 
 peaceable solution of the secessionary issue by the restora- 
 tion of the state to the Union — Mr. Floyd, the secretary 
 of war, issued orders to Major Anderson, commander at 
 those forts ; from which we take the following extract : — - 
 ‘ ‘ But as the counsel and acts of rash and impulsive persons may 
 possibly disappoint these [peaceful] expectations of the government, 
 
412 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 he deems it proper that you should he prepared with instructions to 
 meet so unhappy a contingency. 
 
 “You are carefully to avoid every act which would needlessly 
 tend to provoke aggression ; and for that reason you are not, without 
 necessity, to take up any position which could be construed into the 
 assumption of a hostile attitude ; but you are to hold possession of 
 the forts in the harbour ; and if attacked , you are to defend yourself 
 to the last extremity 
 
 After this, and of the failure of all efforts to quiet the 
 people of the south, Mr. Buchanan appealed to Congress 
 for co-operation in efforts to arrest the disruption of the 
 Union. The parties in Congress would not unite upon 
 any measure calculated to preserve the government. The 
 republicans were the strongest in the house, and the 
 democrats had the majority in the senate. Neither did 
 anything for the Union; and, unsupported by Congress, 
 the president was powerless. In the meantime, a peace 
 convention assembled in Washington, composed of dele- 
 gates from many of the states. A scheme of adjustment 
 was agreed upon ; but it did not receive the encourage- 
 ment of the republican party ; and the measure recom- 
 mended resulted in nought. 
 
 On the 9th of January, 1861, Mississippi seceded from 
 the Union; Alabama on the 11th; Florida on the 12th ; 
 Georgia on the 19th ; Louisiana on the 28th ; and Texas 
 on the 1st of February. 
 
 On the 6th of February, the Congress of the seven 
 seceding states met at Montgomery, Alabama, and elected 
 Mr. Davis provisional president. 
 
 On the 12th of April, Fort Sumter was attacked by the 
 southern forces ; and, on the 13th, Major Anderson sur- 
 rendered. This attack opened the civil war. The northern 
 
THE SECESSION. 
 
 413 
 
 states rallied to the call of the president; and, in a few 
 days, nearly 100,000 men were at Washington, to defend 
 the capital. Fearing that the president intended to make 
 an attempt to subjugate the seceding states, the whole 
 south was in a state of the greatest anxiety. On the 17th 
 of April the state of Virginia seeeded from the Union ; 
 on the 6th of May, Arkansas ; on the 8th, Tennessee ; 
 and on the 20th of May, North Carolina. These four 
 states were hurried out of the Union by the collection of 
 federal troops at Washington, as it wajs the general im- 
 pression that the president intended to do that which 
 he has since attempted — namely, the subjugation of the 
 southern seceding states. 
 
 The southern confederacy is composed of eleven states, 
 with an aggregate area of 733,645 square miles, which is 
 177,884 square miles more than was within the united 
 colonies in 1776; which was 555,761 square miles. 
 
 The constitution of the southern confederacy has 
 been framed so as to recognise the right of secession. 
 Under this government, South Carolina, or any of the 
 other states, can secede whenever it wishes, without let or 
 molestation. Such a government as this can only live as 
 long as there is war, as did the confederation of 1781. 
 Its continuance, therefore, depends upon the prolongation 
 of the present war of subjugation. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 It is but hallucination to believe that the south can be 
 conquered, or restored to the Union, under the existing 
 constitution. It is equally fallacious to believe that the 
 
414 
 
 AMERICA AND THE SECESSION WAR. 
 
 federal and confederated governments could exist in peace 
 more than for a few years. Each will prepare for defence. 
 The spirit of hatred will increase, and ultimate destruc- 
 tion to both will be the consequence. The American 
 people can only live as one nation, though there is 
 territory enough for a dozen. In this judgment, however, 
 we may be biassed, because it comports with our wish. 
 
 “ UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL.” 
 
415 
 
 POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 States. 
 
 1790. 
 
 1800. 
 
 1810. 
 
 1820. 
 
 1830. 
 
 1840. 
 
 1850. 
 
 1860. 
 
 Alabama . . . . 
 
 
 
 
 127,901 
 
 309,527 
 
 590,756 
 
 771,623 
 
 964,296 
 
 Arkansas . . . 
 
 
 
 
 14,273 
 
 30,388 
 
 97,574 
 
 209.897 
 
 435,427 
 
 California . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 92.597 
 
 380,015 
 
 Connecticut . . . 
 
 •238.141 
 
 251,002 
 
 262,042 
 
 275,202 
 
 297,675 
 
 309.978 
 
 370.792 
 
 460,151 
 
 Delaware . . • 
 
 59,096 
 
 64,273 
 
 72,674 
 
 72,749 
 
 ' 76,748 
 
 78,085 
 
 91,532 
 
 112,218 
 
 Florida . . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 34,730 
 
 54.477 
 
 87,445 
 
 140,439 
 
 Georgia . . . • 
 
 82,548 
 
 162,101 
 
 252,433 
 
 340,987 
 
 516,823 
 
 691,392 
 
 906,185 
 
 1,057,327 
 
 1,711,753 
 
 Illinois . . . • 
 
 
 
 12,282 
 
 55,211 
 
 157,445 
 
 476,183 
 
 851.470 
 
 Indiana . . . . 
 
 
 4,875 
 
 24,520 
 
 147,178 
 
 343,031 
 
 685,806 
 
 988,416 
 
 1.350,479 
 
 Iowa 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 43,112 
 
 192,214 
 
 674,948 
 
 Kansas . . . • 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 107,110 
 
 Kentucky . . . 
 
 73,077 
 
 220,955 
 
 406,511 
 
 564,317 
 
 687,917 
 
 779,828 
 
 982,405 
 
 1,155,713 
 
 Louisiana . . . 
 
 
 
 76,556 
 
 153,407 
 
 215,739 
 
 352,411 
 
 517.762 
 
 709.433 
 
 Maine 
 
 96,540 
 
 151,719 
 
 228,705 
 
 298,335 
 
 399.455 
 
 ■ 501.793 
 
 583,169 
 
 628,276 
 
 Maryland . . . 
 
 319,728 
 
 341,548 
 
 380,546 
 
 407,350 
 
 447,040 
 
 470,019 
 
 583,034 
 
 687,034 
 
 Massachusetts . . 
 
 378,717 
 
 423,245 
 
 472,040 
 
 523,287 
 
 610,408 
 
 31,639 
 
 737,699 
 
 994,514 
 
 1,231,065 
 
 Michigan . . . 
 
 
 
 4,762 
 
 8,896 
 
 212,267 
 
 397,654 
 
 749,112 
 
 Minnesota . . . 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 6,077 
 
 162,022 
 
 Mississippi . . . 
 
 
 8,850 
 
 40.352 
 
 75,448 
 
 136,621 
 
 375,651 
 
 606.026 
 
 791,395 
 
 Missouri . . . . 
 
 
 
 20,845 
 
 66,586 
 
 140.455 
 
 383,702 
 
 682,044 
 
 1,173,317 
 
 New Hampshire . 
 
 141,899 
 
 183,762 
 
 214,360 
 
 244,161 
 
 269,328 
 
 284,574 
 
 373.306 
 
 317,976 
 
 326,072 
 
 New Jersey . . . 
 
 184,139 
 
 211,949 
 
 245,555 
 
 277,575 
 
 320,823 
 
 489.555 
 
 672,031 
 
 New York . . . 
 
 340,120 
 
 586,756 
 
 959,049 
 
 1,372,812 
 
 1,918,608 
 
 2,428,921 
 
 3,097.394 
 
 3,887,542 
 
 North Carolina . . 
 
 393,751 
 
 478,103 
 
 555,500 
 
 638,829 
 
 737.987 
 
 753.419 
 
 869.039 
 
 992,667 
 
 Ohio 
 
 
 45,365 
 
 230,760 
 
 581,434 
 
 937,903 
 
 1,519,467 
 
 1,980,329 
 
 2,339,599 
 
 Oregon . . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.093 
 
 52,464 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 
 434,373 
 
 602,361 
 
 810,091 
 
 1.049,458 
 
 1,348,233 
 
 1,724,033 
 
 2,311.786 
 
 2,906,370 
 
 Rhode Island . . 
 
 69.110 
 
 69,122 
 
 77,031 
 
 83,059 
 
 97,199 
 
 581,185 
 
 108,830 
 
 147,545 
 
 174,621 
 
 South Carolina . . 
 
 249,073 
 
 345,591 
 
 415,115 
 
 261,727 
 
 502.741 
 
 594,398 
 
 668.507 
 
 703,812 
 
 Tennessee . . . 
 
 35,791 
 
 105,602 
 
 422,813 
 
 681,904 
 
 829,210 
 
 1,002,717 
 
 212,592 
 
 1,109,847 
 
 601,039 
 
 Texas 
 
 
 
 
 
 Vermont .... 
 
 85,416 
 
 154,465 
 
 217,713 
 
 235,764 
 
 280.652 
 
 291,948 
 
 314,120 
 
 315,116 
 
 Virginia . . . . 
 
 748,308 
 
 880,200 
 
 974,622 
 
 1,065,379 
 
 1,211,405 
 
 1,239,797 
 
 1,421,661 
 
 1,596,083 
 
 Wisconsin . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30,945 
 
 305,391 
 
 775,873 
 
 Territories. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Colorado .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 34,197 
 
 Dakotah . . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4,839 
 
 Nebraska , . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28.842 
 
 Nevada . . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6,857 
 
 New Mexico . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 61,547 
 
 93,451 
 
 40,295 
 
 Utah 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11,380 
 
 Washing-ton . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,201 
 
 11,578 
 
 Dist. of Columbia . 
 
 
 14.093 
 
 24,023 
 
 33,039 
 
 39,834 
 
 43,712 
 
 51,687 
 
 75,076 
 
 Persons in United 
 States’ Navy . . 
 
 
 
 
 5,318 
 
 6,100 
 
 Total . . . 
 
 3,929,827 
 
 5,305.937 
 
 7 239.814 9,638,191 
 
 12,866,020 
 
 17,069.453 
 
 23,191,876 
 
 _ 
 
 31,429,891 
 
 It is not possible to ascertain the natural increase of the population of 
 ■.he United States, except proximately. The foreign emigration has been 
 ?ery great, and irregular as to places of entering the country. For 
 sample, there is no means of ascertaining how many persons enter the 
 tates from the Canadas. 
 
416 
 
 
 SLAVE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 States. 
 
 1790. 
 
 1800. 
 
 1810. 
 
 1820. 
 
 1830. 
 
 1840. 
 
 1850. 
 
 1860. 
 
 Alabama . . . 
 
 
 
 
 41,879 
 
 117,549 
 
 253,532 
 
 342,844 
 
 435,13: 
 
 Arkansas . . . 
 
 
 
 
 1,617 
 
 4,576 
 
 19,935 
 
 47,100 
 
 111,10 
 
 California . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Connecticut . . 
 
 2,759 
 
 95] 
 
 31(1 
 
 97 
 
 25 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 Delaware . . 
 
 8,887 
 
 6,153 
 
 4,177 
 
 4,509 
 
 3,292 
 
 2,605 
 
 2,290 
 
 1,791 
 
 Florida . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 15,501 
 
 25,717 
 
 39,310 
 
 61,75! 
 
 Georgia . . . 
 
 29,264 
 
 59,404 
 
 105,218 
 
 149,654 
 
 217,531 
 
 280,944 
 
 381,682 
 
 462,231 
 
 Illinois . . . 
 
 
 
 168 
 
 917 
 
 747 
 
 331 
 
 Indiana . . . 
 
 
 135 
 
 237 
 
 190 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 Iowa .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 Kansas . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kentucky . . 
 
 11,830 
 
 40,343 
 
 80,561 
 
 126,732 
 
 165,213 
 
 182,258 
 
 210,981 
 
 225,491 
 
 Louisiana . . 
 
 
 
 34,660 
 
 69,064 
 
 109, 58S 
 
 168,452 
 
 244,809 
 
 332,521 
 
 Maine . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 Maryland . . 
 
 103,036 
 
 105,635 
 
 111,502 
 
 107,397 
 
 102,994 
 
 89,737 
 
 90,368 
 
 87,181 
 
 Massachusetts . 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Michigan . . 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 32 
 
 
 
 
 Minnesota . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mississippi . . 
 
 
 3,489 
 
 17,088 
 
 32,814 
 
 6*5,650 
 
 195,211 
 
 309,878 
 
 436,691 
 
 Missouri . . . 
 
 
 
 3,011 
 
 10,222 
 
 25,091 
 
 58,240 
 
 1 
 
 87,422 
 
 114,96; 
 
 New Hampshire . 
 
 158 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 New Jersey . . . 
 
 11,423 
 
 12,422 
 
 10,851 
 
 7,557 
 
 2,254 
 
 674 
 
 236 
 
 
 New York . . . 
 
 21,324 
 
 20,343 
 
 15,017 
 
 10,088 
 
 75 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 North Carolina . . 
 
 100,572 
 
 133,296 
 
 168,824 
 
 205,017 
 
 245,601 
 
 245,817 
 
 288,548 
 
 331,081 
 
 Ohio 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 Oregon . . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pennsylvania . . 
 
 3,737 
 
 1,706 
 
 381 
 
 795 
 
 211 
 
 403 
 
 64 
 
 
 
 Khode Island . . 
 
 952 
 
 108 
 
 48 
 
 17 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 South Carolina . . 
 
 107,094 
 
 146,151 
 
 196,365 
 
 258,475 
 
 315,401 
 
 327,038 
 
 384,984 
 
 402,541 
 
 Tennessee . . . 
 
 3,417 
 
 13,584 
 
 44,535 
 
 80,107 
 
 141,603 
 
 183,059 
 
 239,459 
 
 275,784 
 
 Texas .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 58,161 
 
 180,388 
 
 Vermont . . . . 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Virginia . . . . 
 
 293,427 
 
 345,796 
 
 392,518 
 
 425,153 
 
 469,757 
 
 449,087 
 
 472,528 
 
 490,887 
 
 Wisconsin . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 Territories. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Colorado .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dakotah .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nebraska. . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 Nevada . . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Mexico . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 Utah 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 29 
 
 Washington . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dist. of Columbia . 
 
 
 3,244 
 
 5,395 
 
 6,377 
 
 6,119 
 
 4,694 
 
 3,687 
 
 3,181 
 
 Total . . . 
 
 697,897 
 
 893,041 
 
 1,191,364 
 
 1,538,038 
 
 2,009,043 
 
 2,487,455 
 
 3,204,313 
 
 3,952,801 
 
 In order to ascertain the per-centage of natural increase of the slaves, ' 
 calculations should not be made prior to 1830, as, before that period, in 
 some of the states, slaves were being emancipated every year ; 'and besides, 
 from some of the Northern States slaves were taken to the South to be 
 continued in bondage. During the present century there has not been! 
 any increase of slaves from Africa. 
 
 PRINTED EY THE LONDON PRINTING AND PUBLISHING COMPANY, LIMITED, 
 8T. JOHN STREET, SMITH FIELD, LONDON. 
 
INDE X. 
 
 Abolition of slavery in America, 252. 
 Admission of new states into' the 
 Union, 60. 
 
 African slave-trade in 1787, 248. 
 Alabama, state of, 84. 
 
 Anti-fugitive slave laws, 320. 
 Apportionment system, 196. 
 
 Area of America, 7 ; of the United 
 States, ib . ; of the colonies, 130. 
 Articles of confederation of 1787, 151. 
 
 C. 
 
 Cabinet of the president, 191. 
 California, state of, 104. 
 
 Census of the colonies, 132 ; Decen- 
 nial Census, 415. 
 
 Climate of the United States, 116. 
 Compromise, Missouri, 345 ; of 1850, 
 369. 
 
 Confederation of 1787, 151. 
 
 Congress, departments of, 183. 
 Congressional apportionment, 196. 
 Congressional elections, 211. 
 Connecticut, state of, 37. 
 
 Constitution of states, 145 ; of United 
 States, 165, 180. 
 
 Counties, organisation of, 144. 
 
 D. 
 
 Decennial apportionments, 201. 
 Declaration of Independence, 127. 
 Departments of the government, 183. 
 Dissolution of the Union of 1781, 
 162 ; of 1860, 407. 
 
 Domain of the colonies, 130. 
 
 Dorr rebellion, 228. 
 
 Dred Scott decision, 352. 
 
 E. 
 
 Elective system, 212. 
 
 Elections, presidential, 205 ; state, 
 211 ; congressional, 211, 
 Excitements, national, 239. 
 
 Executive department of the states, 
 142 ; United States, 187. 
 
 F. 
 
 Families of slaves can be separated, 
 292. 
 
 Federal government organised, 181 ; , 
 
 right to hold property in states 
 149. 
 
 Florida, state of, 95. 
 
 Free negroes in the colonies, 133 ; 
 degree of blood, 331 ; in slave- 
 holding states, 332 ; in non-slave- 
 holding states, 336. 
 
 Fugitive slave law of 1793, 306; of 
 1850, 313. 
 
 G. 
 
 Georgia, state of, 56. 
 
 Government changes in America, 161. 
 Governor of a state, 142. 
 
 Grades of territorial governments, 150. 
 
 H. 
 
 Harper’s Ferry, 11. 
 
 Hartford convention, 231. 
 
 History of the states, 8. 
 
 I. 
 
 Illinois, state of, 82. 
 
 Indiana, state of, 79. 
 
 Iowa, state of, 102. 
 
 Illegality of secession, 397. 
 
 Impending crisis, 380. 
 
 J. 
 
 Judiciary of the United States, 189 ; 
 of the states, 143. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kansas, state of, 110; Kansas and 
 Nebraska Bill, 350. 
 
 Kentucky, state of, 63 — 69. yj 
 
 L. 
 
 Legality of secession, 389. 
 Legislature of a state, 140. 
 
 Louisiana, state of, 77. 
 
 M. 
 
 Maine, state of, 86. 
 
 Maryland, state of, 33. 
 
 Mason and Dixon’s line, 35. 
 Massachusetts, state of, 22. 
 
 Michigan; state of, 93. 
 
 Minnesota, state of, 107. 
 
 Mississippi, state of, 80. 
 
418 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Missouri, state of, 89 ; compromise, 
 345. 
 
 N. 
 
 National excitements, 239. 
 
 Nebraska and Kansas Bill, 350. 
 
 Negro, free, in the states, 331. 
 
 New Hampshire, state of, 25 ; power 
 of governor, 142 ; on the slave- 
 trade, 2/9. 
 
 New Jersey, state of, 27. 
 
 New York, state of, 15. 
 
 North Carolina, state of, 43. 
 
 Northern states on slavery, 252. 
 
 Nullification by South Carolina, 234. 
 
 O. 
 
 Ohio, state of, 64 — 75. 
 
 Oregon, state of, 109. 
 
 Organisation of the United States’ 
 government, 181. 
 
 P. 
 
 Patrol system in the south, 286. 
 
 Pennsylvania, state of, 52. 
 
 People the source of power, 147. 
 
 Permanency of republics, 214. 
 
 Personal liberty bills, 320. 
 
 Platforms of parties in 1852, 371 ; 
 of 1856, 373; of 1860, 382: 
 
 Political parties, 1 789 to 1860, 356. 
 
 Population of the colonies in 1790, 
 133; in 1860, 415. 
 
 President of the United States, 187 ; 
 his cabinet, 191 ; election of, 
 205. 
 
 R. 
 
 Rebellions in the United States, 
 
 220 . 
 
 Religion among the slaves, 284. 
 
 Representation in Congress, 185 ; of 
 slaves, 196. 
 
 Restriction, Missouri, repeal of, 350. 
 
 Revolutionary war, cause of, 126; 
 Rhode Island, state of, 40. 
 
 Right of property in slaves, 298 ; 
 of speech in the south, 296. 
 
 S. 
 
 Scott, Dred, decision of, 352. 
 
 Secession in 1789, 180'; in 1860, 
 407 ; legality of, 389. 
 
 Shay’s rebellion, 220. 
 
 Slavery in the colonies, 133, 246, 
 305 ; representation in Congress, 
 196; considered in convention of 
 1787, 248; slave education in the 
 south, 280 ; social habits of, 302 ; 
 marriage of, 294 ; food and rai- 
 ment of, 287. 
 
 Slave-trade, foreign, in the states of 
 Virginia, 258 ; South Carolina, 265; 
 North Carolina, 269 ; Georgia, 
 270; Maryland, ib. ; Kentucky, 
 273 ; Missouri, 274; Mississippi, 
 ib. ; Alabama, 275; in the north- 
 ern states, 276. 
 
 Slave-market, 292 ; trade between the 
 states, 292. 
 
 Slave, fugitive, laws of Congress, 306 
 — 313; nullification of, in northern 
 states, 321 ; Somerset decision, 244. 
 
 State elections, 211; source of state 
 sovereignties, 147. 
 
 South Carolina, state of, 47 ; nullifi- 
 cation of 1832, 234. 
 
 T. 
 
 Tennessee, state of, 63—73. 
 
 Territorial governments, 150. 
 
 Territories of the United States, 150. 
 
 Treaty of 1783, 135. 
 
 Texas, state of, 97. 
 
 U. 
 
 United States’ confederation, 151 i 
 organised, 160 ; constitution, 165 ; 
 government, 183; senate, 184; 
 House of Representatives, 185. 
 
 V. 
 
 Vattel, interpretation of treaties* 
 329. 
 
 Vermont, state of, 62—66. 
 
 Virginia, state of, 9 ; Bill of Rights, 
 137; slavery, 242; slave-trade, 
 258. 
 
 W. 
 
 Whisky rebellion, 221. 
 
 Wisconsin, state of, 100. 
 

Date Due 
 
973.71 S525W 
 
 She.f fner i_ 
 
 344708 
 
 The war in America. 
 
 DATE 
 
 ISSUED TO 
 
 973.71 
 
 S525W 
 
 344708