Book -. ^ 
 
THE PRESENT CRISIS. 
 
 TV S P E K C H rj 
 
 nF.T.lVKRKD UY 
 
 DR. GEO. B. LORING, 
 
 LYCEUM HALL, SALE^F. 
 
 AVr.DXKSDAY FA'ENIXO, Antll, -2(1 IX(!.>. 
 
 IIX TIIK ASSASSIXATIOX OF 
 
 PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 
 
 DR. LORIXGS LETTER TO THE S.U.VM CiAZETTE, ON 
 
 RKCONSTRXJCTION. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY REQTKS 
 
 SOUTH D A N V E R S : 
 
 PRINTED AT THE WIZARD OFFICE, BY CHARLES D, HOWARD. 
 
 1865- 
 
tH^i 
 
 'N BX CHANGE 
 
 Bo0. ifShim 
 
 Mar 2B 06 
 
 

 THE riiESENT CKISIS. 
 
 My Fkie.nds and Fki.i,ow-Citiz?;\8 : 
 
 I nccepttd the invitation to respond to the resolutions which have just 
 boon offorod to the nieoting, not sujjposing that I sliould bo the first one called 
 upon to make remarks in concurrence with their tone and tenor. I imagined 
 that I shi.uUl first hear from some of those whose views are a little more 
 familiar to you than mine fkin the discussions of the questions of this hour. 
 I find myself laboring under difficulties, having my thoughts somewhat de- 
 ranged, and my mind .somewhat appalled by the magnitude of the great 
 crisis which rests upon our land. \Vhy, my friends, when I consider the 
 wickedness which i)rnmpted this rebellion, the sophistries and arguments 
 by which its authors sought to defend it, the extraordinary doctrines which 
 they charged upon the Kovolutionary fathers, I am sluuked beyond expres- 
 sion, at this last great tragedy, tlie fruit of our past history, and my mind 
 is broken down by the niaynitudo of our national woe. 
 
 I-et us look buck for a moment. A)o you sujjposc that when Washington 
 and Jtfferson, and Madison and Hamilton, and Jay and Adams, and their 
 great compeers secured our freedom by the sword and wrought out our 
 constitution by their great intellects, do you suppose th( y imagined that the 
 great rights and privileges, which they conferred upon us to be perpetuated 
 by all peaceful endeavor, would demand of us such a fearful sacrifice of blood, 
 in order that their de>iro for freed, m might be accomplishid • l)o you im- 
 agine that when tlie Declaraction of Independence laid dinvn the great truth 
 that " all men are bom free and equal," its authors and defenders reserved 
 to themselves the right to prove that this profoundly humane doctrine is 
 false ■ Do you suppose that it ever occurred to them, when they gave to 
 the states and to individual powers liberty under the con>titution, that such 
 liberty would be used for the purpose of tearing down that constitution and 
 deluging the land with blood r Do you conceive for a moment, that that 
 great system of government devised by them, was not a government before 
 which you and I as individuals, and all these clustering states, must bow 
 in humble submission to the law? Never for a moment. On the contrary 
 their dream was of a perpetual goveniment, confirmed and strengthened 
 as time went on, the work of a long era of peace. They supposed that be- 
 fore a half century slu.uld have passed away, this whole land would be 
 
the abode of freedom, and constitutional rights from the Atlantic to the 
 Pacific, from the lakes to the Gulf. It was written in all letters and docu- 
 ments that emanated from their hands, and in all their debates. That new- 
 born doctrine that " slavery is the corner-stone of the republic,"— do you 
 find it acknowledged anywhere, by the fathers ? Has it been written down 
 by them ? Can you find it in any letter of Washington or Jeff'erson or 
 FrankHn or Adams, in any debate, or in any message to Congress ? Did 
 they ever entertain the thought of engrafting slavery upon this land, so 
 firmly that it should be a lasting institution ? Had they done this in the 
 beginning, where would have been our Republic ? Stricken down by the 
 hand of men before it had passed its pupilage, crushed by the hand of God 
 before it had been born ! 
 
 And now, my friends, here we are. After having been born and educated 
 for the purposes of peace and freedom, and cquahty, we find ourselves with a 
 great record of blood written upon our history, such a record of blood as the 
 world has never seen, and such as for atrocity on one side, the civilized 
 ao-es have never known. We have been compelled to wade through seas 
 of blood for the cause of humanity and good government ; and when the 
 great object of the war was on the verge of being accomplished, the best and 
 dearest blood in the whole land is shed to seal the future of the American 
 people. Before the gTcat national barbarism and wrong we as a people 
 have bowed in agony, and our President has laid down his life, the last as 
 he is the greatest maityr in the cause of the American Independence. (Ap- 
 
 lause.) 
 
 My friends, your resolutions refer tenderly and aifectionately to him, whose 
 enviable lot it was, to be elected of all men upon the earth, by the American 
 people to lead them through this great struggle, this great contest, and then 
 to be elected of God to rise into heaven, to immortalize his work and take 
 his seat by the side of the Father of his Country. It is no idle word to say, 
 that when the name of Washington may be forgotten, perhaps unknown in 
 many an humble heart, when the victories of the battle-field shall have 
 parsed from the memory of men, it will be recorded and remembered forever 
 of Abraham Lincoln, that he laid down his life for universal freedom. 
 (Applause.) This did not Washington. Alone of all men, did our late 
 President, as a leader of the people, lay down his life for the freedom of the 
 down trodden and lowly. His lot is indeed enviable, destined as he was by 
 God to go on step by step, until this great chapter in our history shall be 
 recorded as his. 
 
 He seemed to be guided by instinct, and yet he had great wisdom. We all 
 know he had a kind and generous heart, and his enemies came to know it too. 
 He was not a great statesman, for he had not been educated as such ; he was 
 not a great lawyer, for his professional career was spent in the inferior courts 
 of Illinois ; he was not a great scholar, for books had been but a small part 
 of his early possessions ; he was not a great warrior, for he had no experi- 
 ence on the battle-field, no culture in military schools, but he was a great 
 man— a great man— able to grapple with any subject that rose before him, 
 and to deal with it according to the exigencies of the times. Mark how he 
 
went through nil those troubles, lie began no wiser thnn you or I. lie 
 declared to congress that this war was not for the extinction of slavery, and 
 he never conceived in the outset that this was a war for emaneijjation. AVas 
 it not a great deed, therefore, Avlien the conservative forces of the country 
 stood trenibling, when we were told that bankruptcy would fall upon us, that 
 nnnrehy and ruin would overspread the liind, and servile insurrection would 
 lay waste one half of the rejjublie, was it not a great deed for him to obey 
 tlie largest impulses of his nature, and in an hour to change his convictions 
 and come boldly and uncompromisingly up to the prineiiile. that this land 
 should be free so far as his proclamation could make it fieer \es, my 
 friends, it was a great deed — greater than lawyers do, — your \Vebster8 and 
 your Choates, great as they are — a greater deed than is done in your 
 courts — a greater deed than (Jenerals do— a greater deed than politiiians 
 generally do. (Applause.) And it was because-, wh.ile all the leponsibility 
 and the conseeiuenees rested upon him, he rose above the surrounding level, 
 and made that declaration of freedom, that he made himself truly great. 
 
 I said he was kind-hearted ; and you know there are many n en abroad in 
 this land, ]mrsiiing their peaceful avoeatiems, through the foibearance of 
 Abnihnm Lincoln, who by their own showing are entitled to a life-punish- 
 ment in the penitentiary. And you know, and I know, that when those 
 men who had undertaken to destroy the government, and had deluged this 
 land in blood, came forward but half-penitant, half-clothed in sackcloth and 
 ashes for their sins, his arms were ever open to receive them, and no bosom 
 was broader than his. My friends, his clemency was his danger. And 
 now that he has laid down his life, let us remember that danger and be 
 warned by it. ((ireat applause.) I insist upon it that the great end for 
 which this war has been fought, the great business of his life, will never be 
 aceomplished by what is usually calleel clemency — mercy not directed by 
 justice. (Applause.) If, after having done his duty so faithfully in this 
 life, he has, by his blood, cemented the hearts of the Ameiiean people and 
 enlightened their minds in the work of elevating and purifying the land, this 
 last act is his greatest, lie elrcaeh d assassination, he was awiire that plots 
 were laid for his lile, yet he went steadily and truly on with his work even to 
 the laying down of his life in the cause, until by his death he has taught us 
 a lesson greater and nobkr than any Presielent living coi.ld give. 
 
 I know I used a strong expressiem ^^hen I said we must beware of clem- 
 ency. I do not desire vengeance. L woUld not have the North imitate the 
 example of those who dishonored our noble d<.ad, and starved our impris- 
 oned soldiers to decimate our armies. 1 would not have a free and gallant 
 people vengeful aud blood-thirsty— but I would have them just, prudent 
 and wise. Can not wt' add wisdom to prudence, and accord strict justice 
 to those who have taken up arms against our government ■ Shall we restore 
 them to the fullness of their feirnur rights r Never. They have taken their 
 chances, and now let them abide by the result, ((ireat applause.) They 
 have declared that they were independent, now let them remain independent. 
 (.Vpplause.) The world is wide, and all lands, and all oceans, and the islands 
 of the sea arc open to receive them. (Applause — amen.) Some of them have 
 
6 
 
 taken care to provide the necessary comforts for their journey. (Laughter.) 
 And what a contrast we have before us — your eulogized and sainted Presi- 
 dent, known through all the world as the friend of freedom and a free 
 government, who has written his name among the stars — and his opponent 
 flying in the darkness before an indignant people, branded and despised, 
 bearing his ill-gotten treasure if i:)ossible to that safety which a foreign land 
 alone can give him, an outlaw and fugitive. What a contrast — the one a 
 martyr in heaven — the other a felon sunk into the lowest jjit of infamy on 
 earth. (Applause.) This, my friends, impersonates the contest which has 
 been going on between slavery and freedom. In the history of Abraham Lin- 
 coln I read the refulgence of American freedom — in the history of the great 
 leader of the rebellion, I read the fate of American slavery — sunk to that 
 lower deep which the imagination of man alone has reached. 
 
 I now desire to say a word upon the matter of reconstruction, but I fear I 
 may weary you. (Go on, go on.) In all this question of reconstruction 
 there is but one star that should guide us — and that star is the largest 
 and broadest truth laid down and defended by Abraham Lincoln — the star 
 he has set in the firmament of our heavens. We must not be led away from 
 the issue, either by the blandishments of our foes or by our desire for peace. 
 The American people must have the great principle of human freedom 
 established, and they will never be satisfied until this is done, war or no 
 war. (Great applause.) Starting from this point, from this great prin- 
 ciple, I insist upon it that it is impossible to treat loth traitor" wJio have 
 taken up arms against this governmpiit, for the express purpose of blasting it 
 and all hopes of freedom icith it. W"e cannot restore our government in this 
 way. I feel it to be impossible, and would never, so long as I had the 
 power of an American citizen, I would never agree to the restoration of 
 the old state organizations among the revolted states, or to any state govern- 
 ments manufactured for the occasion. I would as soon invite Jefferson Davis 
 to come to W^ashington and take his seat by the side of President Johnson, 
 as I would allow Extra Billy Smith to reorganize the state government of 
 Virginia. So I say of all the states M'hich have destroyed their "practical 
 relations" to the general government by rebellion. When all the citizens of 
 a state reach that point at which they are ready to return, upon the basis 
 of government which the war has made for us all, let them return. Eut 
 not until this is accomijlished — not until free suffrage is established — not until 
 the institutions of these states conform to the highest civilization of the land — 
 would I place them on an equality with the loyal states. No twelve nor 
 twelve thousand men in any state can do this — but a free people regenerated 
 by the efforts of the general government. Until this is done how can mem- 
 bers of Congress be returned, whose principles shall render them fit to sit 
 by the side of men from Massachusetts ? (Great applause. Hurrah.) 
 
 I asked a distinguished Republican leader not long ago — what benefit 
 could be derived from the admission of such men as Brown of Mistissipi^i 
 and Cobb of Georgia, and Clay of Alabama once more on the floor of Con- 
 gress, or others just like them — a result very lili.ely to follow the sudden 
 reorganization of these states, on the plan proposed in Louisiana. How 
 
could these men dcnl justly witli the grcnt questions growing out of the 
 war? How could they nid in adjusting the great troubles which they have 
 created? '-They would conic but once," was his reply. That once is too 
 much. The work of freedom must be accomplished without and in spite 
 of them. No onth of allegiance can purify them. Our country — the civilized 
 world, does not wont their counsels. Their return would be an etimal 
 disgrace to us. It would humiliate us in the eyes of all foreign powers. 
 It would bring buck all our et)ntrovtr.<!y, paralyze ail our efforts, ovirthrow 
 uU that we have aeeomjjliched, disl ciior the wliite niim, ui.d msluve the 
 black man. 'Ihe ireenien of the North and the bondn.m of the bouth 
 protest against it. May we forever avoid this snare. (Ajiplau^e.) 
 
 Now, what is there on the other hide ? It is simply this. I\>ould hold 
 the revolted states by the power of the Federal authority, — that powtr 
 which we have strengthened and confirmed by this war. The first gun 
 fired at Sumter knocked down the institution of slavery, and dispelled for- 
 ever all the falleeies and sophistries accumulated lor years under the names 
 of State Rights and State Sovereignty. I do not mean ony invasion* of the 
 legitimate riglits of a state, — but of that tuperlative folly which has bein 
 represented by the flag of South Carolijiu and the haercd soil of Virginia. 
 The Federal authority has now become powerful, and is the supreme power 
 in the land. When the revolted states arc ready to recognize that au- 
 thority, when they are ready to bear their proportion of the natiinel 
 debt, when they arc ready to moke common cause with the loyal North in 
 their systems of education and laws and religion, when their citizens arc 
 ready to sacrifice their lives in support of the Vnion as the North has 
 done for the lost four years, then and not till thtn would I allow thim 
 to return. (Applause.) It has been said that the great contest has been be- 
 tween Massachusetts and South Carolina. He it so. And as Massachu- 
 setts has carried the day, I would have South Carolina submit wisely and 
 gracefully to the eonsequences of the defeat. (Applause and hurrahs.) 
 
 Let us see then, if we cannot adopt romc system by which our schoolf , 
 and all our institutions can be planted and nurtured upon their soil. I 
 think we can. I think the American people are equal to this issue, and 
 that they will never be satisfied until the Federal arm is stretched over the 
 revolted states, holding them firmly in obeelience, in its jiowirful grasp, un- 
 til they slioll have learned the lesson of fneeoni, which the Noith has 
 furnished them. 'Ihis would give us a goveinuKnt and a coi.niry worth hav- 
 ving, worth living for and worth dying for. Acciniplish this, and wc can 
 soy that we lave carried our country .^afely through this field of blood, 
 and firmly established the great principles for Mhich this war has been 
 fought; and that we have proved oursehcs not only hiave in battle, but in 
 peace and in war a Christian, and high-toned and moral peoj le. For the 
 accomplishment of this, there must be a period e)f jiupilage, in which the 
 social transformation may go on ui safety to those Avho have been hitherto 
 oppressed — in whiih the down-trodden tliere may wt)rk up to the standard 
 of freedom — and in which they will acquire ability to defenel themselves, 
 when their freedom anel social position shall be perfecteel. .\nd during this 
 
8 
 
 period of pupilage let us exercise such military sway as will secure the 
 great objects of the war. 
 
 My friends, I have often said, in view of the distressing events of these 
 times, that I was bom either too early or too late ; but if in my day the 
 regeneration of this people and nation shall be perfected, and they shall prove 
 themselves to be valiant in the field, and wise, religious, Christian in council 
 and aims, I shall feel that I was born in a blessed hour It is indeed amazing 
 to see how the people have been elevated by the contest, it is marvellous 
 how self-sacrificing and courageous and lofty they have become under its 
 trials and responsibilities. They have been equal to the occasion. When, 
 therefore, I am warred that a free exercise of their powers is dangerous 
 and subversive ; — that no safety can exist in a community whtre the ballot 
 is free, I can turn with pride and satisfaction to this chapter inthe histoiy 
 of popular government. I have entire faith in the people, in the free ballot 
 as an instrument of power which the people shall use. and use well in de- 
 ciding all the great questions of the day. I know that these questions will 
 be judged and settled in our homes and schoolhouses and pulpits^the very 
 places of all others where they should be brought to judgment. And I have 
 yet to see or read of the event in which the ruling and inevitable question 
 of the day, the issue of the time, the controlling thought of the hour hrs 
 not met with a response in the popular heart. There is a great, almost un- 
 known, inestimable power, that sends truth into the hearts of the people ; and 
 the grander the truth the more quickly will their instincts run to it. The 
 history of the war teaches us this lesson also. It is on this estimate of popu- 
 lar intelligence and right, that we of the North have established the exercise 
 of free ballot — of universal suffrage. There is no distinction here among 
 citizens ; no one is deprived of the right to cast his ballot, if he pays his 
 taxes and can read the law. AVhy should there be any other condition of 
 affairs at the South ? And above all things, should there be no discrimina- 
 tion against those who have toiled so faithfully for us and our cause. Shall 
 not they at least exercise the right which they have defended — without 
 distinction of race or complexion ? I have yet to learn what livmg, mortal, 
 conceivable attribute there is wrapt up in a man's skin, that shall prevent 
 him from voting, if he shall pay his taxes and read his spelling book. — 
 (Great applause.) I do not believe thtre is anj' danger in it. But I do be- 
 lieve that by the extension of the free ballot, and by that alone the perma- 
 nency and security of our free institutions, will be secured. (Applause.) 
 It is not written that this great war shall close v ith a great injustice unre- 
 dressed. It is not written in the heavens that tlie American people shall 
 now, at the end of this strife, commit another great wrong. And the strife 
 will never cease until it shall be established that the principles of the Declara- 
 tion are, and shall ever be, the law of the land. Those men who have 
 fought side by side with us in this war, who have perished on our hard-fought 
 fields, and in our trenches, and who have guided our captured soldiers through 
 the intricate paths of the enemy's country into the open air of freedom, 
 always faithful, never flinching, must and shall now enjoy the privileges of 
 free men. When you have established your government on this basis, then 
 
9 
 
 will tlie desire of ycur fathers be fultilled nnd realized. Then will you 
 have the Constitution which Washington and Jefferson proposed. Then will 
 you stand before all nations of the earth, free indeed. Then will your 
 power extend with benignant influence over this whole land. Then will 
 the American people stand in the front rank of the netions. leading them 
 on with the principles of free p«ipular education and law, which they 
 have laid down nnd fixed by this strife. 
 
 My friends, I hardly know how or when or by whom, the history of this 
 l»rent struggle shall be written. No man living to-day can write it as it 
 sbould be. The events of the time> have swept us on, and have carried our 
 rulers along, until the mind of man beccmes almost powerless in its efforts to 
 estimate the consequences. When however in the future »ome wise and 
 profound hii^torian shall look back and recurd this chapter on his pages, he 
 will at least be compelled to acknowledge that never before has a people 
 risen in its might and stricken down all political heresy, all social wrong, 
 and moral iniquity, and obtained by an overpowering impulse that lofty 
 eminence which an enlightened and faithful, and intelligent people ought to 
 possess. Let us then tliank God that we have lived to see this day. and do 
 not let us Sinch now that the power is in our hands. I<(t us do our duty 
 here. This is not a large assembly ; and yet you can have but small idea of 
 the power of such an assembly of earnest men, gathered together for the 
 purpose of ascertaining the truth and preirsing it home to the minds of their 
 rulers. Our country is in confusion. The idias of those who are to guide 
 us through this crisis are yet to be moulded by the presentation from every 
 quarter, of the great all-pervnding truths which have grown out of the 
 occasion. They do not, they cannot tell you how the muss is to crystal- 
 lize—this turbid liquor is yet to be thrown into that condition from which 
 forms and shapes may be taken. From such assemblies as these may go forth 
 courage and wisdom, to teach our rulers and guide their councils. In the 
 views expresed here you are not alone. When I tell you that the Chief Jus- 
 tice of the United States will sanction no law that is not based on the eternal 
 principles of freedom and justice, and the mind of Salmon P. Chase is devoted 
 to the sdution of the pr<.blem upon which a lasting and honorable pence can 
 be obtained, in which no man shall be deprived of his God-given prerogatives, 
 you will know that the Supreme Court is at last a pillar upon which every 
 man who wouhl lie free can lean for succor and supp<irt. (Prolonged ap- 
 plause.) 1 say this because I know it; and when I tell you that the Attorney 
 (ieneral of the United States stands upon the same platform, that the Union 
 men of the middle states cry out for the aid of the Federal Government in 
 opening the revolted districts to free labor and free ballot, that your own 
 Sumner has taken this ground and will not surrender, and that the best in- 
 telligence of the land is assuming this attitude, you will then feel how cordial 
 should be our labor in strengthening the hands of those to whom this great 
 work has been entrusted. My friends, I have barely referred to the great 
 qtiestion of the times. Hut I must yiild to others who arc to address you, and 
 to whom I shall be happy to itnder the same patient hearing which fhey 
 have accorded me. 
 
10 
 
 LETTER TO THE SALEM GAZETTE. 
 
 Salem, May 15, 1865. 
 
 Messrs. Editors : — In an interesting article in the Gazette of the 12th inst., 
 upon the rights of the States in the Union, you object somewhat to the ter- 
 ritorial doctrine advanced by Senator Sumner early in the wai, — a doctrine 
 which, as you say, I endeavored to defend at the meeting of the 4th, in Me- 
 chanic Hall. The importance of this doctrine, at this time, seems to me to 
 be so great that I beg leave to occupy your columns with a few more sugges- 
 tions in its favor. 
 
 I think it will hardly be denied that the revolted States not only destroyed 
 their " practical relations " to the general government, but that in all their 
 civil organization, they placed themselves outside of all exercise of the powers 
 of the constitution. They organized their courts of law, they exercised their 
 legislative functions, they elected their State and National officers, all with 
 reference to some other power than the old government. Their post-offiees 
 and post-roads, their militia, their revenue laws, and their national taxation, 
 were all controlled by authority unrecognized by the United States. Whether 
 this was done by an unconstitutional act of secession, or by simply taking up 
 arms against the Federal government, matters not. In either case the result 
 must be the same. And Georgia, w hile in rebellion, and unoccupied by Fed- 
 eral troops, is no more an integral part of the Union, than Texas was before 
 her annexation. Not that I recognize the right of a State to secede by an 
 act of her legislature, or by a vote of her people. But having risen in rev- 
 olution, in levolt against the Federal authority, the status which she assumed, 
 when admitted into the Union, or when she adopted the constitution, is so 
 broken up, that her reorganization becomes as much a duty of the Federal 
 gorernment, in the event of her conquest, as her organization was while she 
 was in a territorial condition, or at the moment of her becoming a part of the 
 Union. 
 
 A territory can only become a State by an act of Congress. A revolted 
 State can only be restored to its place in the Union, by an act of Congress. — 
 Congress has exercised this power in various ways, in the revolted States, — 
 
I 
 
 11 
 
 in the tlivUion of Virginia, in llie rrjection of senators and representatives 
 from Louis-inna, in recognizing tlic n.ilitary governore of States where the fed- 
 eral government had gained a foolhold during the rebellion. The course 
 pursued towards Gov. Viince of (m< rgin, and (Jov. Smith of Viiginia, the de- 
 tfrniMiiition not to recognize the State authorities, which have been clothed 
 with j)ower hv a rebellious people in civil war, are signiHcant of the necessity 
 which now rests upon the giniuil goveriinient, and very probably, in the 
 minds of those dignitaries, bring them about as near the condition of territo- 
 rii's, as will be of priictical sciviie t(. the govcrtiincnt, and iHt»r ovtrtlirow to 
 tlumselves. 
 
 If, on the breaking out of the war, the people and the government of the 
 United States could have foreseen the majestic power with which they were to 
 iiiarcli on to victory complete and overwhelming, would they have hesitated a 
 moment in declaring that the revolted Stales should be resolved into their 
 original elements, and should be r( constructed by the power which should 
 subdue them r Has not every dejiarture Irom this great principle grown out 
 of u fear of failure ? It was hard, in the beginning, fcT even the most faithful 
 and -vanguine to jjrcdict the grandeur of our success— the astonishing triumphs 
 iif our armies — the gallant protection of our flag on the high seas — the master- 
 ly management oJ our finances — that dignified attitude by which we have 
 kept foreign powtrs in check. Nor could the most enthusiastic and devoted 
 lover of his race have foretold, that a government which commenced a war 
 with the avowed determination of preserving intact all (he iuslitutiona of 
 ibis country, good and bad, would in four years come out of the struggle, el- 
 i vated to the highest standard of humanity and civilization. To the Sena- 
 tor, who, whether he foresaw all \\\'\'< or not, never faltered in his high aim of 
 keeping the people and the government up to the grand i>sue ot the hour, and 
 in his endeavor to establish a policy commensurate with brilliant opportunity 
 which the most complete victory would bring, I think the gntitude of all 
 lovers of freedom throughout the world is due. 
 
 Whether we call South Carolina, and Georgia, and Alab.ima. and Missiship- 
 pi, and Virginia, and tho^e other " wayward sisters," terri ories or r.ot, one 
 thing is certain, and that is that thty now rest in the hands of the general 
 government, and it is for Congress to declare when and how they shall resume 
 their places in the Union. Virginia, under act of Congress, makes two very 
 good States : I am not sure that North and South Carolina could not be join- 
 ed into one. with equal advantage. It is by Congress that the work of recon- 
 struction is to be carried on, a work of moie importa.ice than any which has 
 yet been imposed tipon it. It is for them to p( rfect 'he great work begun upon 
 the battle-Held, and to secure to the American pei pie the reward for all their 
 devotion and sacrifice. Representatives of free and h)yal States, it is for them 
 alone ;o carry freedom and loyalty, into those places made waste by the deso- 
 lation which has followed in the wake of slavery and trea.son. This duty they 
 cannot delegate to others. To leave it to the bunted and fugitive loyalists of 
 the South, is to mock their feebleness ard insigi.iticance. To leave it to re- 
 pentant rebels, is to resign the opportunity forever. In whatever way this 
 duty is to be performed, whether by the appointment of military governors, or 
 
n 
 
 by officers elected by a few loyal voters, whether by civil organizations called 
 States or territories, it all comes back upon Congress, whose acts of reconstruc- 
 tion, confirmed by the Supreme Court, can alone give us our entire country 
 once more. 
 
 In all this I see no danger, but safety and honor to our nation rather. We 
 have a Congress now elected for the purpose of exttnding free institutions and 
 perpetuating them ; a Congress representing the highest purposes of a high- 
 toned, elevated, moral, and free people, a Congress which, if true to all its ob- 
 ligations, must wipe eveiy vestige of slavery from the land, and carry free 
 northern prosperity, and education, and suffrage, into that region which set 
 at defiance every advancing thought of the age. And it cannot be that with 
 the lesson of the last four years in their minds, the American people will ever 
 absolve their representatives from these high obligations, until the work is 
 fully accomplished. We have a Supreme Court now, whose distinguished 
 Chief has shown, in another sphere, how well he comprehended the necessities 
 of the times, and whose whole life gives us an assurance that constitutional 
 law will now rest upon the foundations of freedom and justice, and will be in- 
 terpreted in accordance with those principles of goverr.ment, which we have 
 secured by undying devotion to the Federal authority. Wchave a President 
 now, who knows the heresies and the wrongSj out of which the rebellion sprang, 
 and whose education and instincts would guide him in our new path of na- 
 tional trials, to an eminence as illustrious as that won by his predecessor 
 while he opened the way to higher national glories. 
 
 I am apt to believe that cur nation has entered upon a new career of great- 
 ness, a career which will be untrammeled by the difficulties and trials of the 
 past, whatever may be its dangers and trials in the future. I think the States 
 have learned at last what their proper place is under the governmei.t. I think 
 they have learned that the constitution and the laws enacted under it are the 
 supreme law of the land ; and that in learning this lesson they have lost none 
 of those functions by which they have always controlled their own internal 
 economy, for the peace, good order, and elevation of their people. I trust 
 they have learned also that free-citizenship for all races of men is to be here- 
 after the unalterable law of the American people, and that every revolted State 
 shall be held in territorial subserviency to the General Government, until she 
 is ready to adopt this policy as her own. 
 
 Respectfully yours, etc., 
 
 GEORGE B. LORING. 
 
 My '13