Part 27

Meanwhile the wretched disease must be understood, and I venture to call attention to a work just published in New York, where it is exposed with consummate ability: I refer to “Slavery in History,” by Adam Gurowski. The learned author, who vindicates his new title as American citizen by noble effort for the good of his adopted country, exhibits Slavery, from the beginning of time, in all nations and places, as nothing more nor less than a monstrosity, disturbing, corrupting, and debasing the government under which it exists, and all the individuals who are parties to it, directly or indirectly: for no man can sustain Slavery, or in any way apologize for it, without suffering in moral, if not also in intellectual nature. Such a work, founded on careful studies, and executed in the spirit of science, will naturally take a place in libraries; but I am sure that all inquirers into the character of Slavery, and especially all practical Republicans, engaged in efforts to stay the spread of this barbarous disease, ought to welcome it as an ally. No good citizen who makes himself acquainted with Slavery can hesitate to join against it.

Accept my best wishes for the success of your festival, and also the assurance of the respect with which

I have the honor to be, Gentlemen,

Your obliged Servant,

CHARLES SUMNER.

HOMER FRANKLIN, ABRAHAM W. KENNEDY, W. K. SCHENCK, Esqrs.

TRIBUTE TO A COLLEGE CLASSMATE.

REMARKS ON THE LATE JOHN W. BROWNE, AUGUST 20, 1860.

Mr. Browne died suddenly, May 1st, 1860. A little volume was printed in the summer, entitled “In Memoriam J. W. B.,” to which Mr. Sumner contributed the following notice. Prefixed were the words of Fénelon:--

“Il n’y a que les grands cœurs qui sachent combien il y a de gloire à être bon.”

I should feel unhappy, if this little book of tribute to my early friend were allowed to appear without a word from me. We were classmates in college, and for two out of the four years of undergraduate life were chums. We were also together in the Law School. Perhaps no person now alive knew him better, during all this period. Separated afterwards by the occupations of the world, I saw him only at intervals, though our friendship continued unbroken to the end, and when we met, it was always with the warmth and confidence of our youthful relations.

Of all my classmates, I think that he gave, in college, the largest promise of future eminence, mingled, however, with uncertainty whether the waywardness of genius might not betray him. None then imagined that the fiery nature, nursed upon the study of Byron, and delighting always to talk of his poetry and life, would be tamed to the modest ways which he afterwards adopted. The danger seemed to be, that, like his prototype, he would break loose from social life, and follow the bent of lawless ambition, or at least plunge with passion into the strifes of the world. His earnestness at this time bordered on violence, and in all his opinions he was a partisan. But he was already thinker as well as reader, and expressed himself with accuracy and sententious force. Voice harmonizes with character, and his was too apt to be ungentle and loud.

They who have known him only latterly will be surprised at this glimpse of him in early life. A change so complete in sentiment, manner, and voice, as took place in him, I have never known. It seemed like one of those instances in Christian story, where the man of violence is softened suddenly into a saintly character. I do not exaggerate in the least. So much have I been impressed by it at times, that I could hardly believe in his personal identity, and I have recalled the good Fra Cristoforo, in the exquisite romance of Manzoni, to prove that the simplest life of unostentatious goodness may succeed a youth hot with passion of all kinds.

To me, who knew him so well in his other moods, it was touching in the extreme to note this change. Listening to his voice, now so gentle and low, while he conversed on the duties of life, and with perfect simplicity revealed his own abnegation of worldly aims, I have been filled with reverence. At these times his conversation was peculiar and instructive. He had thought for himself, and expressed what he said with all his native force refined by new-born sweetness of soul, which would have commended sentiments even of less intrinsic interest. I saw how, in the purity of his nature, he turned aside from riches and from ambition of all kinds, content with a tranquil existence, undisturbed by any of those temptations which promised once to exercise such sway over him. But his opinions, while uttered with modesty, were marked by the hardihood of an original thinker, showing that in him

“the Gods had joined The mildest manners and the bravest mind.”

His firm renunciation of office, opening the way to a tempting political career, when formally tendered to him, is almost unique. He had been Representative from Lynn, in the Legislature of Massachusetts, and was nominated as Senator for Essex. This was long ago, in 1838, while he was yet a young man; and here his sagacity seemed to be remarkable as his principles. At that early day, when the two old political parties had been little criticised, he announced that their strife was “occasional and temporary, and that both had forgotten or overlooked the great principle of equal liberty for all, upon which a free government must rest as its only true and safe basis.” He then proceeded to dissolve his connection with parties, in words worthy of perpetual memory. “I disconnect myself from party,” he said, “whose iron grasp holds hard even upon the least of us, and mean in my little sphere, as a private individual, to serve what seems to me the cause of the country and humanity. I cannot place currency above liberty. I cannot place money above man. I cannot fight heartily for the Whigs and against their opponents, when I feel, that, whichever shall be the victorious party, the claims of humanity will be forgotten in the triumph, and that the rights of the slave may be crushed beneath the advancing hosts of the victors.”[167] No better words have been uttered in our political history. In this spirit, and with his unquestionable abilities, he might well have acted an important part in the growing conflict with Slavery. But his love of retreat grew also, and he shrank completely from all the activities of political life. There was nothing that was not within his reach; but he could not be tempted.

I cannot disguise that at times I was disposed to criticise this withdrawal, as suggesting too closely the questionable philosophy concentrated in the saying, _Bene vixit qui bene latuit_. But as often as I came within the sphere of his influence, and felt the simple beauty of his life, while I saw how his soul, like the sensitive leaf, closed at the touch of the world, I was willing to believe that he had chosen wisely for himself, or at all events that his course was founded on a system deliberately adopted, upon which even an old friend must not intrude. Having always the greatest confidence in his resources, intellectual as well as moral, I was never without hope that in some way he would make his mark upon his country and his age. If he has not done this, he has at least left an example precious to all who knew him.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES AND THE ISSUES.

SPEECH AT THE STATE CONVENTION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AT WORCESTER, AUGUST 29, 1860.

This Convention was organized by the choice of the following officers:--

President,--George S. Boutwell of Groton.

Vice-Presidents,--At large,--Alfred Macy of Nantucket, Robert T. Davis of Fall River, Ezra W. Taft of Dedham, George Morey of Boston, Samuel Hooper of Boston, Charles W. Upham of Salem, P. J. Stone of Charlestown, B. C. Sargent of Lowell, Ebenezer Torrey of Fitchburg, Joel Hayden of Williamsburg, W. B. C. Pearsons of Holyoke; Suffolk,--Charles Torrey of Boston; Essex,--Henry K. Oliver of Lawrence; Middlesex,--Charles Hudson of Lexington; Worcester,--P. Emory Aldrich of Worcester; Norfolk,--James Ritchie of Roxbury; Bristol,--Samuel O. Dunbar of Taunton; Hampden,--E. B. Gillette of Westfield; Hampshire,--William Hyde of Ware; Franklin,--William B. Washburn of Greenfield; Berkshire,--Walter Laflin of Pittsfield; Plymouth,--Levi Reed of Abington; Barnstable,--James Gifford of Provincetown; Nantucket,--Edward Field of Nantucket; Dukes,--John Vinson of Edgartown.

Secretaries,--George W. McLellan of Cambridge, Andrew Tower of Malden, Philip Cook of Provincetown, A. B. Underwood of Newton, W. C. Sheldon of Ware, W. W. Clapp, Jr., of Boston, Charles H. Spring of Holyoke, Franklin Williams of Roxbury, J. J. Piper of Fitchburg, Edmund Anthony of New Bedford, Thomas G. Kent of Milford, Edwin B. George of Groveland, W. S. George of Adams, J. A. Alden of East Bridgewater, S. S. Eastman of Greenfield, W. A. Brabiner of Brighton.

At this Convention John A. Andrew was for the first time nominated as Governor.

The Convention had more than its annual importance, as it was on the eve of a Presidential election. Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, and Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, were the Republican candidates for President and Vice-President; John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, and Joseph Lane, of Oregon, the Democratic candidates; Stephen H. Douglas, of Illinois, and Herschell V. Johnson, of Georgia, the candidates of a seceding body of Democrats, known as the Douglas party; John Bell, of Tennessee, and Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, candidates of old Whigs, called at the time the Bell-Everett party.

On motion of J. D. Baldwin, of Worcester, afterwards Representative in Congress, Mr. Sumner was invited to address the Convention. The report says:--

“Mr. Sumner then came forward, and his appearance upon the platform was hailed with enthusiastic shouts, which testified the esteem and admiration in which the distinguished Senator is held by his fellow-Republicans of the Commonwealth. The cheering was continued some minutes, and when it had subsided, Mr. Sumner proceeded to address the crowded assembly,--the vast hall being filled to overflowing.”

MR. PRESIDENT,--It is now six years since I had the honor of meeting my Republican fellow-citizens of Massachusetts in State Convention, drawn together from all parts of our beloved Commonwealth,--and then also, I remember well, it was at this good city of Worcester. Returning, at last, with restored health, to the activities of public life, I am happy again in this opportunity. It is pleasant to look into the faces of friends, and to feel the sympathy of kindred hearts.

Nor can I disguise the satisfaction which I find at being here in Worcester,--early and constant home of the Republican cause. When other places, even in Massachusetts, were indifferent for Freedom, Worcester was earnest; and when the cause was defeated in other counties, here, under the lead of an eminent citizen, now the ornament of the bench,[168] it triumphed by brilliant majorities; so that Worcester became known, not only throughout Massachusetts, but everywhere, throughout the country, as our impregnable stronghold. Long since, while America was yet an unsettled wilderness, an English poet depicted a county of our motherland as

“That shire which we _the heart of England_ well may call”;[169]

and this ancient verse furnishes a descriptive phrase which has been aptly applied to our Worcester, “the heart,” as it is the central county, of the Commonwealth. But though truly belonging to Worcester on this account, I have always been glad to believe that it only justly depicted her as the “heart” of our cause,--here at least in Massachusetts.

* * * * *

If this cause were of common political interest, if it turned only on some question of mere policy, or if it involved simply the honors and emoluments of office, I should willingly leave the contest to others. It would have little attraction for me. But it is far above these things. It concerns the permanent well-being, primarily, of all the outlying territories of the Republic, broad enough for empires, now menaced by Slavery; and since one part of the body cannot suffer without all being affected, it concerns the permanent well-being and also the good name of the whole country, clouded by the growing influence of Slavery. Nor is this all. The special motive for the proposed extension of Slavery is to fortify the Slave Power in the Senate of the United States, and, through the assured preponderance of this Power there, to control the National Government in legislation, diplomacy, and the distribution of office, so that, in short, no law can be passed, no treaty can be ratified, and no individual, though possessing all possible fitness for public service, can be confirmed for office of any kind, without the consent of the Slave Power,--thus, through the Senate, controlling the Judiciary itself. Seeking, therefore, by active measures,--I say active and immediate measures,--to save the Territories, you seek also to save the whole country, not only from a deadly influence, but also from a degrading rule, which ostracizes from office all who avow the early opinions of the Fathers.

Such is our cause, nakedly stated, without illustration or argument. Strange that it is not recognized at once by every patriot heart! Strange that we should be compelled to vindicate it, sometimes against open foes, and sometimes--harder still--against others who betray it with a kiss!

* * * * *

In the coming election this cause has its representative in Abraham Lincoln. And why has he been selected? Not solely because he is a popular favorite in the great Northwest,--of blameless life, of unimpeachable integrity, of acknowledged abilities, and of practical talent, all of which are unquestionable recommendations, shared, however, by many others,--but because he had made himself the determined champion of the Prohibition of Slavery in the Territories, stating the case with knowledge, with moderation, and yet with firmness,--avowing openly his hatred of Slavery,--likening its introduction in the Territories now to the Canada thistle, which a few may plant to the detriment of succeeding generations, and then again to snakes deposited in the cradle of an infant,--and especially exposing the dishonest invention of “Squatter Sovereignty,” which would despoil Congress of all power over this subject, and transfer it to the distant handful of first settlers.

On two different occasions his views have been put forth and developed,--first, in elaborate controversy with Mr. Douglas in Illinois, and, secondly, in his well-known speech at the Cooper Institute, New York. He does not need my praise; nor would I step aside from my argument to praise anybody; but I may fitly call attention to this masterly address, which, in careful research, clearness of statement, and directness of purpose, may well compare with any one of the innumerable speeches ever made concerning the power of Congress over the Territories. On the topic it professes to treat it is a monograph. Perhaps it is not too much to say that the effort was needed in establishing his title to that public confidence which made him our candidate. It is for the Prohibition of Slavery in the Territories that he has labored, and, excepting his brief, but honorable, experience in Congress, his public life may be summed up in this single service,--nor more nor less. The magnitude of the service may be measured by his present position as representative of our cause.

* * * * *

Arrayed in opposition are three other candidates for the Presidency,--Bell, Breckinridge, and Douglas,--I mention them in alphabetical order,--differing superficially among themselves, but all concurring in friendship for Slavery and in withstanding its prohibition anywhere, with followers ready, in warfare against the Republican party, to coalesce or fuse with each other. In this readiness you see the common antagonism. No person in the Republican party can think of coalition or fusion with either of these three parties; for they each and all represent in some form resistance to the Prohibition of Slavery, and therefore must be opposed, each and all. The whole trio are no better than Mrs. Malaprop’s idea of Cerberus, “three gentlemen at once,” and must be encountered together.

* * * * *

Looking at them separately, there is, first, the Bell party. Pardon me, if I use names familiarly: it is but for the sake of convenience. This party, known among us only by its boasts, draws its practical support from the Slave States. It is a Proslavery party,--essentially hostile to the Prohibition of Slavery in the Territories, and dealing always in treacherous generalities, which, if they have any meaning, mean Slavery,--exalting the Constitution, as Slave-Masters understand it,--also exalting the Union, in order to gain credit for “saving” it,--and calling for the enforcement of the laws, meaning the enforcement of the only Act of Congress which Slave-Masters specially recognize, that for the surrender of fugitive slaves. Your indulgence would hardly excuse me, if I occupied time in argument against this combination, which, without declaring a single principle, without any chance of a majority in the electoral colleges, and without any hope of a single electoral vote in the Free States, runs for luck,--which, with only a single possible vote in the House of Representatives, where it seeks, for a revolutionary purpose, to transfer the election, again proposes to run for luck.

Its plan, so far as known, is this. You will remember, that, by the Constitution of the United States, in the event of failure to elect by the people, the House of Representatives is empowered to choose a President out of the three highest candidates for that office, and the Senate to choose a Vice-President out of the two highest candidates for that office. Now, assuming, first, that the Republican candidate will not be elected by the people, which you know to be a very wild assumption,--and, secondly, assuming that there will be no election of President by the House,--this party, turning next to the Vice-Presidency, assumes, thirdly, that Mr. Everett will be one of the two highest candidates for the Vice-Presidency, and, fourthly, that Mr. Everett will be elected by the Senate Vice-President, and then will become President, like John Tyler and Millard Fillmore,--not through the death of a President, but through a double failure by the people and by the House. Such is the calculation by which this band of professed Conservatives seek repose for the country. Permit me to say that it is equalled only by the extravagance of Mrs. Toodles, in the farce. Her passion was auctions, where she purchased ancient articles of furniture under the idea that they might some day be useful. Once, to the amazement of her husband, she brought home a brass door-plate with the name of Thompson spelled with a p. “But what is this for?” he demanded. “Why,” said Mrs. Toodles, with logic worthy of the Bell party, “though we have been married many years without children, it is possible, my dear, that we may have a child, that child may be a daughter, and may live to the age of maturity, and she _may_ marry a man of the name of Thompson spelled with a p. Then how handy it will be to have this door-plate in the house!” I doubt if any person really familiar with affairs can consider this nomination for the Vice-Presidency of more practical value than Mrs. Toodles’s brass door-plate, with the name of Thompson spelled with a p, picked up at an auction. But then, in a certain most difficult contingency at the end of a long line of contingencies, how handy it must be to have it in the house!

* * * * *

In speaking of the Breckinridge party, I confess myself at the outset perplexed between abhorrence of its dogma and respect for its frankness. No plausible generality is put forward, as by the Bell party, under which good and evil may alike find shelter; nor is any plausible invention announced, as in the case of yet another party, under which the real issue is avoided. But the insufferable claim, first made by Mr. Calhoun, is unequivocally promulgated, that under the Constitution the master may at all times carry his slaves into the Territories, and neither Congress nor Territorial Legislature can prohibit the outrage. This at least is plain. There is something even in criminal boldness which we are disposed to admire. We like an open foe, who scorns to hide in deceit, and meets us in daylight. But we do not like a foe who dodges and hides so that we cannot find him. Nor do we like a man who gives us only something counterfeit in exchange for our votes. We do not like the double-faced prevaricator, who cozens both sides, and deals in words “that palter in a double sense.” It is praise to be frank, even on a bad side; and I have no reason to question this merit of the Breckinridge party. And yet this very frankness reveals an insensibility to reason and humanity, which, when recognized, must add to our abhorrence. That men calling themselves Christians, calling themselves Americans, in this nineteenth century, should without a blush assert such a dogma may well excite our wonder.

Fully to appreciate this dogma, you must know and feel what Slavery is. And here I content myself simply with reminding you of what elsewhere I have demonstrated, that Slavery, as defined by existing law, is a _five-headed_ Barbarism, composed of five different wrongs, each of which you must indignantly reject: first, the impudent claim of property in man; secondly, the gross mockery of the marriage-tie; thirdly, the absolute nullification of the parental relation; fourthly, the denial of instruction; and, fifthly, the robbery of another’s labor, and of all its fruits: that this whole five-headed Barbarism, sustained by existing law, and enforced by the lash, is simply _to compel labor without wages_; and that to this end all great rights of freedom, marriage, family, instruction, and property are trampled down. This is Slavery. Turn it over, look at it as you will, such it is, and such it must be seen to be by every honest mind.

“To those who know thee not no words can paint, And those who know thee know all words are faint.”

Believe me, fellow-citizens, I do not present this outline willingly. Gladly would I drop a veil over the revolting features. But when audacious claims are made for Slavery, and you are told by one candidate that it travels with the Constitution into new Territories, and then by another candidate that the handful of first settlers can alone deal with it in the Territories, while Congress sits powerless, it becomes your duty to consider precisely what Slavery is, to study it in the law from which it derives its character, and to follow it also in all its effects. Here is the essential and vital part of the argument, even on the question of Constitutional Law. It is only when this is done that we can see how irrational is every effort to give it constitutional force, or to save it from the action of Congress within the national jurisdiction.