A D D R E S S

J OHN L . LOV EU

D e li vered Before the Exce ls ior C lub , Gu thri e , Ok la ,

F ebruary 12 , 1909 .

0

L i nc o ln was,

firs t - o f all , G o d’s m an ,

rai se d u p to

m eet a g re a t em e rge n c y . H e m igh t h a v e w o r n

som e o t h e r n am e ,b u t w i th o u t such a le a d e r , i t may

almo§t be sai d, Am e r i ca co u l d n o t h a v e f u lfi l l e d he r

d es t in y .

-W I LL I AM G . F ROST

T i s the c l e a r an d in d i sp u tab le teach i ng o f h u man h i sto r yth a t i n a l l con tes ts be tween the fo r ces wh i c h make for

f r ee d om o r fo r t r u t h an d those wh i c h see k to es tab l i sh o r

pe r pe t u ate opp r ess i on o r e r r o r , the fo r me r u l t i mate ly tri

u mph . C lea r an d i mpo r tan t i s the l es son a lso th at i n all

s u c h con tes ts , th e f r i en d s of f r ee d om ,whe ther

'

o f t ho u gh t or

of pe r son ,m u s t exe r c i se s u p r eme pat i en ce an d the la r gest

f ai th ; that , wh i l e che r i sh i ng an d le n d i ng the mos t en thu

s iast ic a i d an d en co u r agemen t to the r a d i c a l fo r ces wh i ch en

l i s t themse lves ih the c a u se of l ibe r ty , i t i s p r u d en t a l so to

se t h igh v a l u e u pon the conservat i ve fo r ces th at wo r k to the

same en d,an d even to r ec kon often the r ea l beneficen ce o f

r a d i cal ly h os t i l e fo r ces . I t was a fa r c ry f r om Ne r o to Con

stan t ine , f r om the Wa l d en s i an he r e t i cs to Ma r t in L u the r , o r

f r o m the M i sso u r i c omp rom ise to th e P roc lamat ion of Eman

c ipat ion . The fi r es o f Sm i th fi e l d , t he r evoc at i on of the E d i c t

o f Nan te s and the D r e d Scot t d e c i s i on we r e n ot i n ten d e d to

i n f u se h ope i n to the c a u se of f r eedom . These a r e h isto r i c a l

p r oo fs of the g r eat t r u th so s u pe r b ly exp r esse d by Lowe l l :C ar e le ss .

. se e m s t he g r eat Ave nge r ; h i s to ry’

s page sb ut r e co r d

One death—g rap p l e in t he dar kness .

‘tw i xt o l d sys

te m s and the Wo rd ;T r u th fo r e ve r on the s caffo ld , Wr ong fore ve r on

t he t hrone ,

! e s that s caffo l d sways the futu re , and , beh i ndthe d im un k now n ,

S tande th God w i th i n the shadow .

Tr u ly , i f e ve r w i th i n the sh a d ow o f a g r eat ca u se . Go d

stoo d“ ! e e p i ng wat c h above h is o w n ,

it was d u r i n g th at migh ty con tes t o ve r A f r i can s laverv w h i ch

was wage d i n the Un i te d S tates f r om to L i n

co ln . An d it is my fa i th th at “w i th i n the sh a d ow o f the

g r eat ca u se o f the Negro peop l e i n th i s co u n t r y , He s t i l l

4

st an d s,an d w i l l ye t con fi r m the bea u t i f u l c r ee d o f Tennyson

That no th ing walks w i th ai m le ss fee t ;That no t one l i fe shal l be de s t r oyedOr cas t as r ubb i s h to t he vo i d ,Whe n God has m ade t he p i le co m p l e te .

Re cen t l y a membe r o f Con g r es s , who seems to w ish to

un d o wh at i t took n earlv a cen t u r y to ac comp l i sh,r efe r r e d

to the q u es t i o n of Neg r o c i t i zensh i p and Neg r o s u ff r age as

one wh i ch i n vo l ve d “the g r eatest p r o b lem i n the d omes t i c

l i fe o f the Rep u b l i c I f he w i l l read his co u nt r y ’s h i s to r y

co r r e c t l y , he w i l l d i scove r t h at , afte r th e g r eat p r o b lem of

the fo r m at ion of t he go ve r nment vi as pa r t i a l ly so lve d , th e

so le an d o n l y g r eat p r o b lem i n the d omes t i c l i fe of the Rep u b

l i c r e l ate d to the f r ee d om an d en f r an ch’ i semen t of t he Af r i c an

peop les who l i ve d w i th i n its bo r d e r s ; that a l l of the e ffo r ts to

d efea t t hese i n the sh ape o f comp r om i se,ev as ion an d d e fi an ce

came to n a u gh t , an d th at the men an d fo r ces t h at h ave a r

r aye d themse l ves agai n st the r ea l i z at i o n of th e p r i n c i p les of

the Dec l a r at i o n of In d epen d en ce a r e no t among the“ mos t

p le as i ng and i l l u s t r i o u s r eco l le c t i on s of the Rep u b l i c .

The con fl i c t w i th s l ave r y i n the Un i te d S tates was o n e

o f the most s t u pen d o u s e ve r wage d i n th e h i s to r y of th ewo r l d . I t was n o t s i mp ly a M ORAL confl i c t . Ha d i t been on

lv s u ch , it wo u l d h ave been sho r t l i ve d an d the i ss u e p l ai n ly

seen f r om the beg i n n i ng . I t was mo r e th an a POLI TI C AL con

fl i c t . That its po l i t i c a l c har acte r a d d e d to i t s s t u bbo r ness ,

is p lai n l y ev i d en t ; for the po liticali

ad van tage or d isadvan

tage wh i ch it w as to sec t i o ns , p a r t ies an d men , r en d e r e d i t

d i ffic u l t to d eal w i th i n a pop u l a r fo r m o f gove r nme n t .

( J lay’

s geog raph i cal comp r om ises , l i ke Webs te r’ s 7th of M a r c h

spee ch , tes t ifv to its g r e at po l i t i cal be a r i ng . Amb i t i on an d

the d es ire fo r powe r o f ten p l av havo c wi th a g r eat c a u se .

S laverv cou l d sat isfv the one an d bes tow the o the r . I n toth i s temptat i on fe l l m any O f whom the wo r l d h as s a i d :

B lo t o u t h is nam e . the n , r e co r d o ne los t so u l m o r e ,O ne tas ked m o r e de c l i ned , o n e m o r e foo tpath u n trod ,On e m o r e de v i l 's t r i u m ph and so i

~

row. f'

or ange l s ,U n e w r ong m o r e to man ; on e m ore i n su l t to God .

!

Ne i the r was s lave ry s i mp ly an I q u e s t i on I t was

i n d ee d d e c i d e d ly s u ch . S l ave l abo r was a ve r y pe r s i s ten tan d r e c kon ab le fac to r i n the h i s to r y of Ame r i c a from the se t

t lemen t O f J amestown to the s u r r en d e r at. Appomat to k . I t

h a d c u l t i vate d and r u i n e d fa r m s ; it had b u i l t magn i fi cen tc i t i es and h ighways ; it h a d c r ea te d and n u r t u r e d a pam

pe r e d , care l:ss an d so u l l ess ar i s toc r ac y wh i c h g u a r d e d j eal

ously its p r i v i l eges and i ts power ; it ha d a l so en r i c he d a la r ge

t ra d i ng e lemen t o f the pop u l at i o n an d was the r e fo r e t i e d to

the p u r se -s t r i ngs o f the Rep u b l i c . wh i ch ma d e it a d an ge r

ous t h i ng to foo l w i th . I n sho r t , s l ave r y r am i fi e d the who le

s c heme o f a la r ge an d powerfu lsec tion of t he n a t i on— f r om the

d r ess ing roomand pa r l o r o f the mans i o n ho u se to the co t ton

g i n and to bac co bar n O f t he pl an tat i o n . I t was en

t r enche d beh i n d l aw ,c u s tom , con t r ac t , an d c u p i d i ty . The

fo r ce wh i c h a t t ac ks s u c h a c i t a d e l mus t be powe r f u l , i n d ee d .

i f it ex pec ts t o t ake i t .

The con fl i c t em b r ace d a l l o f these cons i d e r at i o n s—mo ral

p o l i t i cal , econ om i c an d so c i a l . I t i n vo lve d on e mo r e e l e

men t,wh i c h was o f the ve r y fi r s t i mpo r tan ce—th e e lemen t

o f RAC E . F r om,

the mo r n in g of th e wo r l d,when the c u r tai n

o f h i s to r y beg i n s to r i se u pon the ac t i v i t i es an d st r u gg l es o f

men,d own to the p r esen t. m omen t , the e l emen t o f r ac i a l d i f

fe r en ce h as been a pe r enn i a l an d pe r s i s ten t c a u se o f confli c t .

W h e r e ve r we v i ew it , whet he r a l on g th e N i l e . u pon the

s ho r es of the Me d i te r ranean , at ! uebec , o r at V lad i vos to k . i t

i s the same i nexo r a b le and pe r s i s ten t fo r ce , wh i ch can no t be

i gno r e d an d must be r eckone d w i th . W h i te se r v i t u d e i n A

me r i c a was bo u n d n a t u r a l ly to d is ap pe a r soone r or late r , but

the Sp i r i t wh i c h wou l d ex p lo i t the A f r i can was n o t to b e

b r o ken,ex cep t by a catac lysm b r o u ght abo u t by the un i on

Of the two u n conque rab l e fo r ces o f F r ee d om and Necessi ty .

Suc h t hen was the n a t u r e o f th e s l ave r y c on fl i c t w h i ch

o c c u p ie d the s tage Of Ame r i c an po l i t i cs f r om the es tab l i sh

men t of the Ord ian ce of 1787 to the ad op t io n o f the Th i r

teen th Amen d men t , whe r eon men wou l d ac t the i r parts and

pass away wh i le the p l ay wen t on awa i t i ng i ts p r o tagon is t .

The con test was engage d i n by men o f v ar i e d tempe ramen t

6

va r i e d q u a l i t i es o f so u l and hea d , an d of va r i e d amb i t i on

I t c a l le d fo r the d isp l ay of the'

highest fo r ms of j u d gemen t

c u n n i ng,he r o i sm an d sac r ifi ce i ts r ewa r d s we r e hono r ,

fame , os t r ac i sm ,and d eat h .

I t i s n at u r a l th a t , in con templ at i n g the g r e at s t r u gg le ,the min d sho u l d be p r one to d we l l l ong an d r eve r e n t ly u pon

t hose who,s co r n i ng

t he so f t. and f l owe ry wo rds

o f fame,gave t hemse l ves u n r ese r ved l y tot h e mo r a l \ s i d e o f

the con fl i c t an d th u s gave to the i r co u n t r y an d to the i r age

the sweetes t memo ri es an d the mos t las t i ng embe l l i shmen t .

What a gal axy of He r oes , G r eat Sp i r i t s , an d M a r ty r s they

make ! L u n d y,Lovej oy

,Gar r i son , Ph i l l i ps , S u mne r , an d

J oh n B r own !

Th at was an om ino u s d ay fo r the s l ave system ,when

Gar r i son, out o f the d eep conse c rat i o n of h i s so u l to the

mo r a l c ause , c r ie d o u t :“ I w i l l be as h a r sh as t r uth

,an d as

un comp r om is i n g as j u s t i ce . On th i s s u bj e c t I d o not wi sh

to th i n k , o r spe ak , o r w r i te wi th mo d e r at i o n U r ge me n ot

to use mo d e r a t ion i n a ca u se l i ke the p r esen t . I am i n e a r n

est— I w i l l not eq u i voc a te— I w i l l no t ex cuse—I w i ll not ! t e

t r e at a s i ng l e s tep—AN D I WI LL iBE HEARD .

!

Than th i s,the r e i s n oth i ng finer i n a l l h is to r y .

He wou l d be t he tongue o f th is w i de lan dM u s t s t r i ng hi s har p w i th cho rds o f s tu r dy i ron ,

And s t r i ke i t w i th a to i l - i m b rowne d hand .

lut the mo r a l C r u sa d e r a l one was impoten t aga i n st t he

powe r f u l o c top u s o f opp r ess i on and g r ee d .

Abo u t t h r ee m on ths afte r th i s fi ne fu lrn inat-i on of G a r

rise n ,Ab r aham L in co l n

,a t a l l

, though tf u l , d r e amy yo u th ,wen t fo r th u pon the we ste r n p rai r i e i n sea r c h Of emp l oy

men t . Th i s he found i n th e shape'

of he l pe r on a fl at-boatwh i ch was mak in g its wry ove r the wes te r n r ive r s to New

Orlean s,then the me t r opo l i s Of the so uthwes t an d the mos t

d read f u l s lave ma r t i n the wo r l d Here h e behe l d.

s laverv

i n its mo s t l oathsome fo r m W i l l iam H . He r n d on , h i s law

partne r and l i fe long f r i en d , thus te l lsthe s to r y of what h ap

pene d as r e late d by h i s compan i on o n his t r i p :

At that t i m e an d p lace , Li n co l n was made an au t i s lavm '

y

man . He saw a s lave , a beau t i fu l m u lat to g i r l , s o l d at auc it i on . S he was fe l t ove r , p i n che d , t ro t te d aro und to s how to

t he b i dde r s t hat t he sai d ar t i c l e was sound c tc . Li n co l nwal ke d away f ro m that sad i nhu man s ce n e w i t h a d e e p fe e ling o f uns m o the rab le hate . He sai d to J ohn f lan k s th i s :“By God ! i f e ve r I ge t a chan ce to h i t that i n s t i t ut i on , l

'

l I

h i t har d , J ohn .

!

Th i s i n c i d en t i n L i n co ln ’s l i fe has a lw ays i mp r e s se d m i

p r ofo u n d ly , an d the mo r e I d we l l u pon it the mo r e it seems

to r eve a l the g r eat d om in an t p ass ion O f h i s sou l, an d to ex

p l a i n his meth o d s in h is late r c a r ee r wh i c h to some may 1t

seem so c le a r . He r e was a so u l th at wan te d A CHANCE to

d o a. g r eat goo d At th i s t i me L in co l n was not ve r y m u ch

ve r se d i n th e po l i t i cal h i s to r y of h i s co u n t r y . He ha d pe r

h aps become somewh at fam i l i a r w i th the c a r e e r o f Hen r y

C lay , h i s ea r ly be a u i d ea l o f a st atesman , and may h ave ha d

some app r ec i at ion of th e a d r o i t s k i l l o f t h i s g r ea t po lit ical

s t r ateg is t . B ut here i n the p r esen ce of t h i s g r e at i n famy he

saw i nst i n c t i ve ly , th at its d est r u c t i on wo u l d t u r n fi na l l y up

on CHANCE , an d h i s who le c a r ee r is one o f p at i en t , can

t i o u s see k ing for th at c h an ce .

Th u s in 183 1 , i n th e th i r d yea r of t he“ r e ig n of An

d rew J ac kson , Ga r r i son—the C rusa d er— u n f u r l e d -

t h e

st an d a r d of eman c i p at i on i n th e eyes of the n at i on w i th i n

s igh t of B u n ke r H i l l an d in the b i r t h p l ace o f l i be r ty ,

! an d

st an d ing in t he gateway of the Lo u i s i an a co u n t r y , an d on

the g r e at h ighway of th e Wes t,wh i c h w i th i n a few yea r s

wo u l d be the batt le g r o u n d o f S l ave r y an d F r ee d om . Ab r a

h am L i n co l n,the f u t u r e Eman c i p ato r . th e p r ac t i c a l po l i t i

cian ,. reso lved i f eve r he go t a ch an ce to h i t t he i n s t i t u t i o n

of s l ave r y,

‘ to “h i t h ar d .

The e lec t i on of An d r ew J ac kson t o the p r es i d en cy i n

1825 , was a most fo r t u n ate e ven t fo r the c a u se o f f r ee d om .

I t marke d a new epo ch i n t h e d eve l opmen t of po l i t i ca l and

econom i c t hough t . C r u d e an d r u s t i c an d atte n d e d b y some

of t he coarse cha r ac te r i st i c s of fro n t ierism , the t r ans i t i on .

neve r the less,u she r e d i n an era of r o b u s t hea l th , o f v irilitv

an d s trength, of r a d i c a l tho u gh n at i ve i n i t i a t i ve . I n his

8

Commemo r at i on O d e,Lowe l l says of L in co ln '

F or h im he r o ld wo r ld m ou l ds as ide she threw ,

And choos ing swee t c lay fro m the breas tOf the une xhaus ted We st ,

Wi th stu ff un tain ted shape d a he re n ew ,

Wise , stead fas t i n the s tre ngth o f God , and true .

Wh i le th i s es t i mate is espec i a l lyapp l i c ab le to -L in co l n , it i s

i n gene r a l t r u e of the men o f the“

J ac kson i an epoch . They

we r e of a new an d r ef r esh i ng b r and o f stateman ship—repre

sen tat ives of the New West , u n tramme l le d by t r a d i t i on s an d

i mb u e d w i th the hopes an d t he asp irat io ns wh i ch the l i m i t

less a r ea of the weste r n w i l d e r ness an d p r a i r i e awakene d .

The pe r i o d of fo r ty ye a r s of n at i on a l l i fe wh i c h p r e ce d e d

J ackson was g u i d e d by men whose i d eas an d th o u gh ts we r e

c ast i n the E u r opean mo u l d . They h a d,afte r en co u n te r ing

many d i ffi c u l t i es,s u c cessf u l ly e l abo r ate d and p u t i n opera

t i on the scheme o f fe d er a l-

u n i o n B ! THE M ETHOD o r C OM PRO

M IS E . They h a d aver te d appal l i ng d omest i c an d fo r e ignd ange r s an d h a d l a u n che d the S h i p of S tate safe ly u pon the

bosom of a p l ac i d s ea, whose be d was so m i ne d w i th com

p r om ises an d r eservat i o ns as to awaken the most f r i gh tf u l

al a r ms . They h a d,it i s t r u e , in t he l at te r d ays o f the i r re

g i me r e ce i ve d one r e c r u i t f r om the New West . C lay b laze d

t he way for those who we r e to fo l low h i m . He h a d the d ash

an d bo l d ness of a Lo ch i nvar,b u t in h i s ze a l t o p ac i fy the

d i ffe r en ces of the East an d So u th on the q u est ion of the t a r

iff an d s lave r y to the a d van t age of the West , he c a r r i e d the

sp i r i t of comp r om ise to the very ve r ge of the p r ec i p i ce .

J ac kson w i t h his r o u gh an d r e a d y me t ho d s p r even te d the

catastrophe. He c le are d the sh i p of the o l d an d sk i l l f u l

c rew and ’w ith new men at the whee l “ an d at the r igg ing

stee r e d fo r the open sea . to at tac k on th e one s i d e wh at heconce iVed '

to be the u nsc r u p u lo u s money power of th e Nor th

an d on the o the r , the r e al d efian t s l ave-bo rn se d i t i on of theSo u th .

M any c i r c u mstances c omb i ne d to b r i ng the s l avery

q u est io n i n to po l i t i cs d u r i ng the J ac ks i n i an e r a . I n 183 1,

Ga r r i son , as a l r e a d y shown , so u n d e d the a l arm of emanc i pa

9

t i on an d Nut T u r ne r madc \ i rgin ia quake . I n lNJi I ’ , thc

yea r o f eman c i pa t i o n i n the llrit ish Empi re . the Ame r i can

An t i -S lave ry So c i e ty was fo r me d . I n 18 3 0 C al h oun and

h i s ban d o f ex t r em is ts . who were beg i nn i ng to take s i ng u lar

f r igh t at eve r y r e fe r en ce to s lavc rv . ac t u a l l y po rm larizcd the

s lave ry ag i tat i o n b y the i r r u t h less at temp t to gag i t . The

nex t year marks the Heg i ra o f F r e d r i c k Do u g l ass an d w it

nessed the m u r d e r o f E l i j ah l’. Lovej o y wh i ch bro u gh t

Ph i l l i ps i n to the an t i -s l ave r y ar e n a . An d i n the same y ear

a few mon ths befo r e the mar ty d om o f Lovej oy , A b raham

Lin co l n i n t r o d u ce d i n the‘

I l l i n o i s leg i s lat u r e a memorial fo r

th e abo l i t i o n o f s l ave r y i n the D ist r i c t o f Co l u mb ia

He r e L i n co l n too k h is F IRST po l i t i cal po s i t io n on the

q u es t i o n of s l ave ry . He was a verv p rac t i c a l man . He

neve r a t temp te d th e impo ss i b le . Some wo u l d make h i m a

d r eame r,who . u n d er the spe l l o f the con sc io u sness o f a g r eat

m i ss i on,looke d athwart i he f u t u re to some “ fa r o ff d i v i n e

even t ! i n wh i c h be was to be the cen t ral fi g u r e . On the

con t r a r y,he was a verv p r ac t i c a l po l i t i c ian ,

who u n d e r s too d

t ho r o u gh ly the n at u r e o f‘

the s l ave ry q u es t i o n and kn ew

j u s t whe r e an d when to pi c k a C HAN C E to h i t i t . He was 1

man of a s i ng l e i ss u e wh i c h he was a lways q u i c k to see an d

s k i l l f u l i n h an d l ing . W i th the M i sso u r i Comp r om ise ho l d

i ng i n chec k the fu r th e r ex tens io n o f the s y stem i n to the te r

ritories, be pe rce i ve d th at the c h an ce fo r the f r i en d s o f f r ee

d om was to at t ac k the i ns t i t u t i on at the seat o f the na t i o n

o ver wh i c h Cong r ess h a d f u l l c on t r o l and abo u t wh i c h the r e

was no i n iq u i to u s c on t r ac t . When he wen t to Con g r ess , he

n troduced a b i l l p r o v i d i ng fo r the abo l i t i on o f s l avery in the

Dis t r i c t o f Co l u m b i a . I t was a mo d e r a te measu r e . bu t so

p r ac t i c a l t h a t even suc h a. s tan ch abo l i t i on i s t. as Joshua I t

Gi d d i ngs s u ppo r te d it on the g r o u n d s that. he was“ w i l l i ng to

pay fo r s l aves i n o r d e r to s ave them f r om the sou the r n ma r

ke t . L i n co l n r ecogn i ze d t ha t men had p r ej u d i ces . i h

they we r e mo r e o ften the v i c t i ms o f fcus to m an d t rad i t i on

t h an of co nsc ien ce an d he a lways r e c kone d w i th these . l n

he ve r y n at u re of th e case,h e h a d to oppose them . but h e

a lways en d e avo r e d to at t ac k them at t he i r weak-m t n n i n t

10

The A bo l i t i on is ts d en i e d the r i gh t of p r ope r ty i n s l aves .

Li n co l n be l i e ve d s l ave r y was wrong,but i f , by e ven recogn iz

ing the r igh t o f p r ope r ty i n s l aves , he co u l d wo r k the d es:

truc t ion o f s lave ry ,he w as w i l l ing and r e ady to d o 8 o

~

When it. came to c hoos i n g be tween t heo r y an d fac t , he m igh t

r espe c t. the theo r y , but he wo u l d ac cept t he f ac t , i f by so d o

i ng he cou l d man age to con fe r a benefi t . Of co u r se h i s b i l l

d i e d “o n the t ab l e .

! He h a d t r i e d h i s c h an ce , but h a d los th is luc k . I n th i s same th i r t i e th Congress he vo te d , he s ays

fo r ty-two t i mes fo r the p r i n c i p les o f the Wi l mo'

t P r ov i so

Those p r i n c i p les we r e a l so s ubme r ge d . F r om the h a l l of

Cong r ess where he had sat i n the com pany of A lexan d e r

S tephen s an d Ro be r t Toombs , he wen t bac k to t he west. to

g i r d h i mse l f to figh t w i th thn ir sp i r i t an d the i r mach i n at i o n s .

befo r e the n a t i o n

Texas an d the Ca l i fo r n i a coun t r y h a d be come a p a r t o f

the n a t i o n a l d oma i n an d the h opes o f the s l ave powe r beat

h igh . I t h a d b r ough t o n the war w i th Mex i co fo r t he’

ve r y

p u r pose of d est r oy ing the e ffe c ts o f the comp r om i se of 1820 .

At‘

t h i s j u n c tu r e the Sou th seeme d to ho l d the w i n n i ng h an d

w h i ch the No r th wo u l d be bo l d i n d ee d to c a l l . I t was a

t i me t h at'

tried men’s so u l s— s u c h a t i me as When pat i en c e

Roc ks res t l ess ly and s c a r es away all r est .

The po l i t i c a l s i t u a t i on was sh i f t i n g ; pa r ty a l i gnmen ts we r e

ch ang i ng . A r o u n d the seeth i ng c a l d r on'

o f se c t i o na l s t r i fe

and mo ral ex c i temen t , s too d g r e at men , t hose whose memo

ries bel onge d to the pas t an d those whose memo r ies wo u l d be

l i n ke d w i th the f u t u r e . Ca l ho u n,totte r ing on the b r i n k of the

grave,but as agg r ess i v e as eve r ; Ben ton , on the eve of p ay

mg the penaltv fo r his mo d e r ate apostacy to s l ave r y , bu t as

i nflex i b le as eve r ; Webste r , nea r whom stoo d no p r ophe t i c

vo i ce wa r n i ng h i m,

“ bewa r e the i d es o f M a r c h ;! Sewa r d an d

C hase,exponen ts o f the HIGHER LAW ; an d th e ce n t r . l

figure,Hen r y C lay

,as a d r o i t a s e ve r

,ho l d i ng ou t the

comp r omise o f 1850 an d u tte r i ng the fo l l ow i ng so lemn Wo r d s ;I am expec t i ng soon to go hen ce an d ow ing no r espons i

b i lity but to my own con sc ien ce and to my God .

!

1 1

The l ate D r . V o n Ho ls t sai d .

“the b r o a d bas i s on wh i ch

the comp r om i se o f 18 50 r es te d . was the con v i c t i o n o f the

g r ea t maj o r i t y o f the peop le bo th n o r t h an d sou th . that i t

was fa i r . r eason ab le , an d pat r i o t i c to come to a f r i en d l y n u

’ V

ders tand ing . We beste r s a i d o n the f ate f u l 7 th o f March ,

the r e sh a l l be n o mo r e agi ta t i on , these. meas u r e s are a fi n a l i

tv , and we w i l l h ave peace .

!S tephen A . Doug las pro

noun ced the s l a ve r y q u es t ion d ea d . L in co l n s a i d mo r e t r u

lv th at the s lavery qu t st io n cou l d !n eve r I .o s u c cessf u l ly

c omp r om ise d .

!

He ~ had d i agnose d the d i sease an d he a lso

knew the pat i e n t He saw t hat i mbe d d e d as it was i n one

pa r t of the bo d y po l i t i c . it mus t n ee d t o fee d U pon an d final

ly d evo u r the r es t of the pa r ts . But he was wi se e no u gh to

awa i t the expe r i en ce of the me d i c i ne men .

The comp r omise o f 1850 p r ov i d e d fo r the abo l i t ion o f

s lave r y i n the D i s t ri c t o f Co l u mb i a . T hus one th i n g was

ga i ne d . I t a'

so p r ov i d e d for a mo r e s t r ingen t An t i - S lave r y

L aw . L i n co ln saw he r e th at the So u th was beg i nn i ng to

o ve r r eac h ; th at b loo d ho u nds an d s l ave catche r s c has i n g

th r o u gh the f r ee st ates,wo u l d be mo r e powe r f u l in the c a u se

of f r ee d om th an a l l o f the abo l i t i on so c ie t i es He saw too

that th e wav the s l ave r y b u s i ness was a r r ange d as to l iexwo .

wo u l d lead to c omp l i c at i ons o r to u n u s u a l d eman d s e lsewhe r e .

Above a l l , he knew th at the s l ave bar o n s , l i ke a l l opp r esso r s .

we r e not capab le of mak i n g a cont r ac t so far as i t r e l ate d to

the i r pec u l i a r i n st i tut i on . Li n co l n was r i gh t an d Webste r

an d Do u g las we r e w r ong .

I n 1854 , Do u g las r es u r r e c te d his co r pse b y t he i n t r o

d u c t i o n of the ! ansas-Neb r aska B i l l whose passage r epea l e dthe M i ssou r i Comp r om ise . L in co l n ’s h o u r had come . He had

b i d e d h i s t i me ; 11 0 1 w i th h is u s ual pat i en ce to be s u r e . The

So u th had v i o late d a con t r ac t —an un consc ienable c on t r a c ti t i s t r u e—ma d e i n her iuterest an d at he r d i c tat i o n . He was

fi l e d w i th i n d i gnat i o n n ot un l i ke th at wh i ch c ame ove r h i m

i n the s l ave mar t in New Or l eans . Do u g l as was see k i ng to

w in the p r es i d en cy by manac l i n g the h an d s of Cong r ess w i th

i n its own j u r i s d i c t i on . A d opt i ng as his mo t to .

“A ho u se

12

d i v i d e d agai n s t i ts e l f c anno t s tan d , L i nco l n p r e pa r e d to

mee t Do u g l as w i th the s i ngl e i ss u e o f the r igh t of Con g r ess

to l eg i s l ate for the te r r ito r i e s on the ques t i o n of s l ave r y .

He r e L i n co l n took his seco N D po l i t i c a l pos i t i o n on the s l ave r y

q u es t i o n by be com i ng the le a d e r o f the an t i-s l ave r y pa r ty i n

the wes t .

I n 1850 Joh n B r own wen t to ! ansas an d t h e s to r y of

B lee d i ng ! ansas ! was w r i t la r ge in th e Boo k of F r ee

d om .

“When ! savs A r no l d ,“the con v u l s ion s of t h e g r eat

nat i on a l confli c t began to sh ake the lan d , ! an sas‘ was the

r oc k wh i c h r o l le d bac k the t i d e o f the s l ave co nsp i r a tor s .

A l l hono r to ! ansas . ( I n M a r ch 5th two years late r ,the D r e d Sco t t d ec i s ion rang out o ve r the n at i o n “ l i ke a fi r e

be l l i n the n igh t .

! Conste r n at i o n r e i gne d i n t he an t i—s l ave r y camp . But the s l ave powe r h a d overreachecl at a po i n t

whe r e r e tre at was i mposs i b l e . When t he fi r s t shoc k of con

sternat ion an d sh ame h a d passe d ; when'

out of t he s ac k c l ot h

and ashes of the n at ion’

s g r e at h u m i l i at i on , the p a r ty of

f r ee d om awoke to th e r e a l i z a t i on o f th e c r i s i s , i n d ign at i on

an d w r a th we r e u n i ve r s a l . I ns t i n c t i ve l y an d p‘ r o phet i c a l ly

,

a l l e ves t u r ne d to the p r a i r i e o f I l l ino is,Whe r e L i n co l n , h av

i ng r ej e c te d the d i c t u m of Ch i ef-J u s t i ce Taney ,was d ebat i ng

the who le s l ave r y q u es t io n d e n ov a.

The Li n co l n -Do u g l as d eb ates a r e the mos t ,memo r ab le

o f any th i ng o f the k i n d i n th e h i s to r y o f pa r ty po l i t i c s i n ! the

Un i te d S tates . They a r e too fami l iar to‘

r eq u i r e r ev iew .

The fo l low i ng con s i d e r at i ons,howeve r

,sh o u l d be bo r n in

min d :

Bo th men we r e c an d i d ates befo r e th e peop le of I l l i n o i sfor the Un i te d S tates Sen a to r sh i p , an d , wh i le the g r eat d i scussion wou l d cen te r a r o u n d the s l ave r y q u est i on as

!

i t then

s too d , par ty a d van tage was no t to be ove r looke d o r fo r gotten .

The Repub l i c an P a r ty h a d r e ache d th at s tage o f g r ow thw h i ch se t men to g u ess in g .

I l l i n o i s h a d been stan ch ly an d u n i fo r m ly Democ r at i ci nd en th u s ias t i c a l ly l oya l to Doug las

,who was a t t h at t i me

the most consp i c u o u s figu r e i n n at i o n a l po l i t i c s and the i d o l

13

of t he no r th e r n w ing o f his pa r ty .

L i n co ln, tak i ng as h i s s ta r t i n g po i n t the i n ten t io n o f

the fa the r s o f th e Rep u b l i c . so u gh t to con fi ne the i ss u e to

the r i gh t o f Cong r ess to l eg is late fo r th e te r r i to r i es i n d isre

ga r d o f t he c l amo r o f th e s l ave p owe r an d the d i c t u m o f the

S u p r eme Co u r t .

Do u g l as,an ac r obat i n po l i t i cs , a sh r ew d d i a le c t i c i an , re

sourc fu l, awa r e o f th e p r ej u d i ces o f the masses o f th e peop le

an d of t he i r c a r e less an d tempo r i z i ng att i t u d e , so u gh t to in

vo l ve an d c on f u se the i ss u e by ex t r aneo u s an d i r r e levan t

mat te r s . He r ep r esen te d ( i t was to h i s i mme d i ate po l i t i c a li n te r es t to d o so ! L in co l n as se d i t i o u s ly r ej ec t ing the d ec i

s i o n of the S u p r eme Co u r t,at the same t i me i n j ec t ing i n to

the d ebates the ac i d of Neg r o s u ff r age , t he so c i a l eq u a l i ty of

the r aces , ama lgamat i on an d o the r s u c h po l i t i c a l c l ap- t r ap ,

wh i c h befo r e an di

sin ce , men , anx i o u s for po l i t i c a l p r efe r

ment , h ave r eso r te d to for the p u rpose of a r o u s i ng p r ej u d i ce

an d p ass i on fo r th e d efeat of a j u s t cau se . The fo l low i ng i s

a samp le o f h is tac t i c s , wh i c h h e emp loye d at O tt awa , Ao

g u s t 2 1 , 1858 :“Mr. Lin co ln , fo l l ow i ng the examp le an d le a d of a l l t he

l i t t le Abo l i t i on o r ato r s who go a r o u n d an d lec t u r e i n the

basemen t of s ch oo l s an d c h u r ches,r e a d s f r om the Dec lara

t i on of I n d epen d en ce th at a l l men we r e c r e ate d eq u a l , an d

th en asks h ow c an yo u d ep r i ve a Neg r o of th at eq u a l i ty

wh i c h God an d the Dec lar at i on of I n d epen d en ce awa r d to

h i m ? He an d t hey ma in t a i n t h at Neg r o eq u a l i ty i s g u a r an

tee d by the laws of Go d . an d th at it i s as se r te d i n th e Dec

larat ion of I n d epen d en ce I f they th i n k so, of c o u r se they

h ave a r i gh t to say so , an d so vote . I d o n o t q u est i on Mr.

L i n co lns consc ien t i o u s be l i e f th at t h e Neg r o was ma d e h i s e

q u a l , an d , hen ce i s his b r o the r ; b u t , fo r my own pa r t , I d o

n o t r ega r d th e Neg r o as my eq u a l,an d pos i t i ve ly d eny th at

he i s my b r o the r Or any k in to me wh atever. L i n co l n h as

ev i d en t ly le a r ne d by hea r t Pa r son Lovej oy ’s c atech i sm . He

can r epeat i t as we l l as Fa r n swo r th,an d he is wo r thy of a

me d a l f r om Fathe r G i d d i ngs an d F r e d Do u g l ass for his Abo

lition ism . He ho l d s th at the Neg r o was bo r n h i s eq u a l an d

14

you r s . and th at he was en d owe d w i th eq u a l i t y by the Al

migh ty,an d that no human l aw can d ep r i ve h i m of these

r i gh ts w h i ch we r e g u ar an tee d to h i m by the S u p r eme R u le r

o f the u n i ve r se .

!

B u t M r . L i n co l n neve r swe r ve d an d const an t ly kep t t he

L i tt l e G i an t i n th e r i ng,con f r on te d w i th the ma i n issue .

To d ay i n ce r t a i n h igh p l aces , whe r e sma l l b u t sh r ew d m in d s

a r e evo l v i ng schemes fo r s t r i p pi ng the Neg r o of h i s g u a r an

tee d r i gh ts , the r e is g r eat d i sp l ay of e ffo r t to p r ove th at

L i n co l n t ho u gh t the Neg r o u n fi t to enj oy the b l ess i ngs whi c h

h ave come to h i m by v i r t u e of L i nc o l n ’s w i se st atesmansh i p .

Some , I be l i eve , h ave t r i e d to p r ove Job an in fi d e l by ex

t r ac ts f r om the g r eat Book of Fai th The men who a r e to

d ay p r a i s i ng an d quo t i ng L i n co l n fo r the p u r pose of d amn

ing the Neg r o w i l l be even l ess s u c cessf u l t h an s u c h,b l as

phemers .

Th r o u gho u t the j o i n t con tes t , L i n co l n stoo d f r an k ly an d

fea r l es s ly by the c r ee d wh i c h he h a d exp r esse d at the Repub

l i c an Con ven t i on of I l l i n o i s wh i c h p u t h i m fo r wa r d as thecompe titorof Do u g l as fo r the Sen ate . The fo l low in g was h i s( ne ed

Gen t l emen of the Conven t ion : I f we co u l d fi r s t k now

whe r e we a r e,an d wh i the r we a r e ten d i ng

,we co u l d th en

bette r j u d ge wh at to d o,an d how to d o i t . We a r e n ow fa r

on into the fi f th yea r,s i n ce a po l i cy was i n i t i ate d

,w i th the

avowe d obj ec t , an d con fi d en t p r om i se of p u t t i ng an en d to

s l ave ry ag i t at i on . Un d e r the ope r at i on of th at po l i cy , th at

ag i t at i on h a d no t on l y n o t cease d,b u t w as cons tant ly a u g

men ted . I n my op i n i on,i t w i l l not cease , un t i l a c r i s i s

sh a l l h ave been r eache d,an d passe d .

‘A'

ho u se d i v i d e d a

gai nst i tse l f c an no t s t an d .

’ I be l ie ve t h i s gove r nmen t c an

not en d u r e , p erman t ly,h a l f s l ave an d h a l f f r ee . I d o n o t

expe c t the Un ion to be deso lved I d o n ot expec t the ho u se

to f al l - b u t I d o expec t i t w i l l c e ase to be.

d i v i d e d . E i th e r

the opponen ts o f s l ave ryw i l l a r r es t the f u r the r sp r e a d of it ,

an d p l ace i t whe r e the p u b l i c m i n d sh al l r es t i n the - be l i e fthat i t is i n cou r se o f u l t i mate ex t i n c t i on , o r i ts a d voc ates

w i l l p u sh i t fo r wa r d t i l l it sh a l l be come a l i ke l awf u l i n a l l

1 5

the s tates , o l d as we ll as new—N o r th as we l l as So u th .

S u ch was his c ree d , the exp r ess i on o f wh i ch ar o u se d bo th

the No r th and the S ou th Th i s remar kab le spee ch he c l ose d

w i th the fo l l ow i ng ex press i on o f the fa i th i n the An t i s lav

e r y pa r t y :“The r es u l t i s n o t d o u b t f u l . \Ve shal l n o t fai l- if we

st an d fi r m , we shal l n o t fa i l . WIS E C‘

OUNS I CLS may At?

C ELICRATE or .\ l I STAI { ES d e lay it , but , soone r o r l ate r

the v i c to r y is SURE to c ome .

!

An d ye t tempo r a r i ly L i n co l n had fai l e d Do u g l as wen tbac k to the Sen ate . The G r ea t A r b i te r o f man ’s d es t iny

was ho l d i ng h i m i n r ese r ve . His r ee l ec t i on to the th i r ty

fi r s t Cong r ess— the Cong r ess of the c omp r om ise of 1850

m igh t h ave p u t h i m i n g r e at pe r i l , an d n ow i n 1858 , it was

pe r haps fo r t u nate fo r h i m an d fo r the c a u se of f r ee d om th atDo u g l as ove r c ame h i m i n a pop u la r e le c t i o n .

t i od a b l e s s i ng gave ,

And save d the man who sought t i save .

The fo l l ow i ng yea r J oh n B r own wen t to V i r g i n i a to

p r e c i p i t a te the c r i s i s,an d i n the g r e a t an d won d e r f u l sh a d

ow of h i s ma r ty d om ,the f r i e n d s of f r ee d om an d eman c i p a

t i on t u rne d to the ta l l,sa d -face d man of the p r a i r i e

,an d i n t o

his h an d s p l ace d w i th so lemn con fi d en ce the i r s tan d a r d , fo r“t h e hou r s up r e m e had c ome .

The sh i p of st a te was d r i ft i ng : the i ss u es c h ange d an d sh i ft

e d l i ke t he ga l es of the n or = hern se a . L i n co l n s aw s'raigh t

to th e ma r k . S lave r y ’s l as t d espe r a te p l ay was to d estroy the

Un i on in o r d e r to mai n ta i n i tse l f , an d L i n co ln so u n d e d th e slogan fo r the PR ES ERV ATI ON of t he Un i on . Th i s was h i s TH IR D

po l i t i c a l pos i t ion on the s l ave r y q u est i on He saw th r o u gh

the t r i c ks an d .

“ soph i s t i c a l con t r i v an ces '

o f h i s t ime an d pe r

ce ived th at the p r eservat i on of t he Un ion w as i nsepa r ab l e

f r om the u n d o i ng of s l ave r y . He saw app r oach i ng ove r a

r u gge d,d ange r o u s

,an d u n ce r ta i n t r ac k th e CHANCE fo r

wh i c h he h a d so long wa i te d .

On the 1 1th of Feb r u a r y 186 1 , the d ay p r e ce d i ng his fi f

ty secon d b i r th d ay , L in co l n ba d e a to u c h i ng fa r ewe l l to h i s

f r i en d s an d ne igh bo r s of Sp r i ng fie l d .

“ I kn ow no t .

! he sa i d .

16

“ how soon I sh a l l see yo u aga i n . I go to ass u me a t as k mo r e

d i ffi c u l t than t h at wh i ch h as d evo l ve d u pon any o the r man

s i n ce the d ays of Wash i ngton The 4 th of t he nex t mon th ,he s too d at the easte r n co l on n a d e of the Cap i to l an d spo ke to

the Ame r i c an peop le the mos t we igh ty wo r d s th at eve r fe l l

f r om h i s l i ps . Fo r ty yea r s befo r e , he h a d floate d d own the

M i ss i ss i pp i on a flat—boat to New O r le ans an d the r e h a d re

so l ve d to h i t the s lave sys tem h a r d , if eve r he go t a ch ance .

Was th i s the CHANC E ? C lose to him p r esse d the f r i en d s of“

f r ee d om . Look i ng i n to the faces of S u mne r,Sewa r d

,Ch ase ,

Wa d e an d o the r c h amp ions of the g r eat c a u se , he too k t he

oath to OB E! the cons t i t u t i o n and to PRES ERV E t h e U n ic‘

m , at

the han d s of th e J u r i s t who w r o te the D r e d S co tt d e c i s i on .

C lose by also s too d the Sp i r i t of d i s co r d , an d i n t h e d is tan ce

h i s prephetic ea r h ear d t he m u t te r i ngs of t r e ason .

Soon the r e c r as he d o ve r S u mpte r the vo l l ey that s ignal

ized the beg i nn i ng of the en ct of t he g r e at d rama. T r eason

h a d d one its wo r st . I t had th r own d own the g love w h i c h

was p i c ke d u p by a ch:mpion whose s t r en g th l ay h i d d en

d eep i n t he s i len ce of h is w ise an d dete r m ine d so u l . Sad an d

t r y i n g d ays fo l l owe d . T h e sp i r i t o f t he peop le was d ep r ess

e d . McC lellan’

s d e lays we r e as th e ch i l l i n g aut u mn frost ;B u l l R u n was as the b l as t of w i n te r . Then the g i an t so u l of

the n at i on , g u i d e d by the c a lm ,r eso l u te

,c a u t i o u s p i l o t t h at

s too d at th e whee l , r o u se d i tse l f . ! ou know the r es t !

B u t what of t h i s man of CHANCE ? Wo u l d h e e ve r see

i t ? Wo u l d he eve r ava i l h i mse l f of it ? L i n co ln ’s o r d ea l was

not t he r eve r ses of the fie l d of ba tt l e , no t t he s u ffe r i ngs ofthe marc h an d the c amp

,no t a lone the l amen tat ions of the

Rache l s who wo u l d no t be com fo r te d : T ryi ng as we r e these ,they we r e the n at u r a l ac compan i men ts o f t he wa r . The Aho lit ion is ts we r e los ing fa i th i n him . Th at s u r e l y a d d e d to

the t i ng u e of L i n co ln ’s s a d ness He was a man sus ce p t i b l eo f th e p leas u r e an d the pa i n wh i c h come f r om the t r u s t o r

d i s t r u s t of f r i en d s . Whethe r i n the Wh i te Ho u se or i n

t he c ab in , man’s surpremest j oy an d s u ppo r t a r e t he t r us t

an d con fi d en ce of h i s f r ie n d s—th ose wh o wo u l d h ave h i m d oan d be the bes t h i s t a len ts an d oppo r t u n i t ie s pe r m i t . The r e

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18

Nea r ly a h a l f cen t u r y h as e l apse d s i n ce th i s mos t im'

po r tan t ac t. of the n i ne teen th cen t u r y was pe r fo r me d . The

i n te r ven i ng yea r s h ave been ma r ke d by ma r ve l o u s ch anges

an d ach ievemen ts . The on e an d on ly g r ea t i ss u e th at for

the p r ev io u s seven ty- five yea r s h a d d i vi d e d the peop le an d

th r e a tene d the s u c cess of the a t t emp t to errec t on these

sh o r es the g r e a tes t r ep u b l i c of f r eem en in the h i story of the

wo r l d i s se t t l e d . Th a t i ss u e i s n ow d ea d beyon d the pos

s ibili ty of man , o r a p a r ty of men or any se c t i on to r ev i ve,

m d t hey w hose l i ves an d con d u c t a r e i n fl u en ce d by e i t he r

the fea r s o r the h opes of its r es u r r e c t i on a r e g r op i ng amongthe sep u l c he r s . I ts pass i ng ma r ke d on e of th ose moral tri

u mphs wh i c h i n po l i t i c a l h i s to r y l if t man k i n d i n respec t

to i d eas an d gove r nmen t to a p l ane f r om wh i c h t he r e c an

be no d escen t . F r om s u ch a p l ane the wo r l d h as a lways fo r

ge t the o l d s t r i fes an d p r ocee d e d to b laze new pa ths of

p r og r essF r om t h i r ty o d d p r os t r ate an d a l mos t sh a tte r e d s t ates ,

our n at io n h as become a wo r l d power,an emp i r e . I ts flag an d

its i n fl u en ce a r e d om in an t the wo r l d o ve r . F r om twen ty-five

mi l l i ons of peop le , b r o ken and-

d i s t r esse d , ye t cemen te d an d

we l d e d t oge t he r by a c le ans i ng fire, we h ave g r own to nea r ly a

h u n d r e d m i l l i on s compose d of va r i e d r aces , a l l loyal to the

flag an d its i n s t it u t i o ns . O u r exp ans io n h as b een too r ap i d

fo r meas u r emen t . When i n 1860 began the con tes t wh i c h

was to c le a r the s tage fo r f u t u r e ach i evemen t an d d eve lop“

men t , the r e we r e b u t l i tt l e m o r e t h an th i r ty tho u s an d m i les

of r a i l way i n o u r bo r d e r s an d o u r comme r c i a l metho d s were

al mos t as s i mp le as the a lph abe t . To d ay we h ave mo r e th ant h r ee h u n d r e d th ou san d m i l es of r a i l way , a lmos t tw i ce as

g r eat as t h a t o f G r ea t B ri t ian,E u r ope an an d Asi ati c Rus

s ia. Germany,and F r an ce comb i ne d , an d g i gan t i c c omme r c i a land fin an c ial fo r ces wh i c h g i ve r i se to con d i t i ons an d p r ob

l ems wh i c h o u r gene r a t i o n w i l l n o t be ab l e tomee t an d so lve .

The peop le u pon wh om L i n co ln ’s ac t bes towe d the heri tage o f c i t i zen sh i p p r i v i l e g es an d mo d e r n oppo r t u n i t i es. h ave

i n c r ease d f r om fo u r to ten mi l l i on s . They h ave become a ten t h

19

o f the pop u l at i on o f avas t and migh t y empi re —bu t. n o t a

s u bme r ge d ten th . S ta r t i ng w i th no cap i tal bu t pro vc rty . ign o

r ance , the h ab i ts o f to i l an d the h opes o f ch i l d r en . thov have

p i le d u p mo r e th an a b i l l i o n d o l l a r s o f we al th . Ope rat i ng n carlv

a m i l l i on fa r ms wh i ch agg r egate nea r ly fi f ty m i l l i o n ac r e ! and

have g r own i n i n te l l i gen ce 8 » th at abo u t s ix ty o ut o f evc ry

h u n d r e d c an r e a d an d w r i te . They a r e pa r t i c i pan ts i n and

agen ts o f the g r eates t governmen t o f the wo r l d . Thev share

i n common w i th the m i l l ion s o f men of the r aces o f th e wo r l d

t he g r e at an d s o l emn p r i v i l ege of he lp i ng to d o the wo r l d’

s

wo r k , so l ve the wo r l d’s p r ob lems an d c on t r o l the wo r l d

’

s d es

t iny—p r o u d o f the he r i t age o f Ame r i c an c i t i ze nsh i p . I f at

t i mes they fee l t h a t they h ave n ot ye t atta i ne d . l e t them re

member that ne i ther h as the wo r l d , ne i t he r h ave those who

h ave a tho u s an d yea r s t h e s t a r t . An d le t them n o t become d is

couraged an d b i t t er an d ou t o f to u c h w i th the p rac t i cal an d

hopef u l fo r ces th a t make fo r p r og r ess .

Hege l has sa i d “ th e H is to ry of the wo r l d i s n o t the t h ea

tre of h app iness . The p ages o f happ iness a r e b l an k pages i n i t

The iss u e o f the C i v i l Wa r i n the Un i te d S tates m igh t have been

expec te d to u she r in th at pe r i o d o f har mony , when the n at i on

m igh t find i tse lf i n th e con d i t i on‘

tf g lo r i o u s ac h i evemen t , t f

u n ive r sa l F r ee d om r e a l i ze d,of t he Un i on p r ese r ve d an d so

migh t h ave en j oye d t ha t con d i t i o n . L i be r ty h oweve r is a

cos t ly boon . Ete r nal v ig i l an ce i s the p r i ce of i Not s i n ce t he

ac t o f L i n co ln has i t been poss i b le fo r the gua r d ians of f r ee d m

to layaside the i r v i g i lan ce . The emanc i p at i o n of he Neg r o

f r om chatt le s lave r y marks s i mp ly the sh i f t i ng o f the i ss u e i n

the g r ea t tas k of l i f ting the r i ce to the “awful verge o f man

hoo d .

! Neve r i n t he his torv c f the r a ce h as the c a u se for v i

gilan ce been g r ea te r than i t, i s to d ay . WITH IN—among ou r

se lves—a r e g r eat d u t i es,wh i c h m u s t be f u l fi l l e d , g r ea ' p r oh

lems,t-he fae t t trs of wh i c h are ourselves ; common asp i r a t i on

the real i zation of wh i c h r eq u i r es , an d w i l l 0 tn t inue to r eq t i r e .

the h ighes t fo rm of'

un ion and ac co r d ; the c onsc i ousness of a

c ommon a i m and a c ommon d es t i ny , ye t d itf eren ces o f m eth o d

wh i c h c a l l fo r the boardes t c h a r i ty and the l a r ges t pa t i en ce .

W ITHOU T a r e s trong aggresive an d r eso u r cef u l fo r ces . boas t f u l

20

ly bu t vai n ly th r eaten i ng to u n d o wh a t h as been d one , or to

d e feat fu r the r ac h ievemen t .

W ITH IN too—among o u r se lves,are d ange r s , bo r n of amb i

t i on,j ea l o u s ies

,van i t i es

,an d hones t s t u p i d i ty , wh ic h ca u se

us o f ten to ben d the kn ee , t o bea r the b ac k , and even g ive a

way the game . Bu t bo th W ITH IN an d W I THOU T are great

beneficen t fo r ces , as Wa d swo r th p u ts i t , g r ea t al l i es ,! wh ic h

a r e mak ingfor r e a l an d l as t i ng p r og r ess i n the d i r e c tion o f

r i gh t an d j u s t i ce .

Le t u s t hen h ave the sense to c he r i s h,n u r t u r e

,an d h o l d

fas t to the s t r o ng r a d i c a l fo r ces t h a t r i se u p w i th in a n d w i th

ou t to he lp us : the j u d ge men t to r espec t the wo r th of the

calm, s low b u t safe , conse r v a t i ve agen c ies that wo r k to the

same end ; and the w i s d om an d the -f o r es igh t to see t h a t Oppos i ng powe r s w i l l i n ev i tab ly o ve rreach . Above all le t u sn o t d a l ly .

“F ro m t h is day fo r th we s'

ial l k now ,

That i n ou r s e l ve s o u r safe ty m us t be sought ;That by o ur own r igh t hands i t m us t be wrought ;That we . m us t s tan d u n prop ped , o r b e lai d low .

!

! e t L inco ln ’s g r e a t ac t w i l l h ave been pe r fo r me d i n vain

i f we fa i l to meas u r e u p to the fu ll s ta t u r e of Ame r i c an c it i zen

s h i p wh i ch i t mad e poss ib l e . The ob l i ga t ions a n d d ut i es

w h i c h we a r e to mee t an d pe r fo r m are the s ame as those

wh i c h are common to all c i t i zens of the Rep u bl i c .

’

The r eare

,i t i s t r u e . ce r tai n d u t i es and p r o b lems th a t r e late i n a

pec u l iar sense to us f r om wh om the inhe r i tan ce was longWithhe l d

,an d t h ese m ust be f ran k ly , sane ly and h e r o i ca l l y me t

an d so lved ; bu t becau se of these we m u s t n o t o u r se l ves be

come b l i n d and,above all

,we m u s t n o t s u ffe r o the r s to b l i n d

us , to the we igh t i e r d u t i es and the larger oPportun I t ies o f A~

me r i can c i t i zensh i p an d Ame r i c tn l i fe .

No th i ng to u ch i n g t he p i esen t l i fe and the f u t u r e d esti nyo f the Rep u b l i c can be fo r e ign to u s . An y arbi traI y at temp t

by e i th e r s ta t u te,cus tom o rco n ce r t to al i e nate us f r om t he

common c u r r e n t of Ame r i can l i fe an d the common en d eavo r s

of Ame r i c an c i t i zen sh i p can n eve r fi n d acq u iesence among us .

By v i r t u e o f b i r th,b u r d en s

,t r a i n i n g an d i d e as

,we are an in

2 1

l egral par t o f acompos i te wh o le , an d such we m u s t e ve r l i t .

n o t bv boast ing nn d lo u d p r o te s t in g—th o u gh cal m .s t r o n g

an d man lypro te s t s h o u l d n o t be lac k i n g when o c cas i on d eman d s—bu t by o u r l i ve s

,our serv ices an d o u r ideals .

We are Am e ricans ,‘

proud o f th e ac h ie ve me n t s an d in

s t i tu t io ns wh i c h e xal t o u r co u n t r y,d ep l o r i ng whatev e r i n

the p r esen t o r i n t he pas t de t r a c ts f r om its g lo r y,an d m ove d

b y the i n ce n t i ve s wh i c h p r nn p t a l l w h o l i v e u n d e r the pro

te c t ion o f the s tar s and s t r i pe s . We empha t i c a l l y i n s i s t u p

on the t r u t h of the fac t s ta-ted mo r e t h a n fi f ty vears ag o b y

the late v en e rab le A l e xan d er Cr u mme l l—a fac t ev e n mo r et r u e n owthan the n :—“O u r c i v i l i zat i on

,i n i ts e l emen ts , is

tha t of t he wo r l d ’s C h r i s t e n dom ; an d i t S p r i n gs u pwar d,i n

u l l i ts l e g i t i mate ten d e n c i e s,u n e r r i n g ly as t he r u s t l i n g p i n

i on s o f a r e t u r n i n g ang e l to the sk i e s . O u r lang u age is th a t

of the fo r emos t men of a l l the ea r th ; and i t make s as o va

i n h e r i tan ce , a l t ho u gh of o the r b loo d an d r ac e th an th e i r s , the

large c ommon s e nse , the s t ron g p r a c t i c a l ne ss . the p u r e an d

lof ~

y mora l s , the gen u i n e ph i lan t h ropy , the nob l e w i s d om ,

and all the t reas u r e s o f t ho u gh t and gen i u s . w i th wh i c h Eh

g lan d has b lesse d the wo r l d :We s peak the language S hake sp ear s pak e ;Tho fai th an d m oral s ho ld wh i ch M i l ton he l d .

An d Sn ,we face h op e f u l ly the f u t u r e , i mb u e d w i th the

Sp i r i t of h i m ,the ce n te n n i a l o f whose b i r th we i n c omm on

w i th o u r f e l low c i t i z e n s th r o u gh o u t the l e ng th an d b r ead th

of the Rep u b l i c commemo r ate today. who in a l l the c r i se s o f

h i s l i f e! n e w t o h i de h is t i m e ,

S t i l l pat i e n t in h is fai t h sub l i m e ,T i l l the w i se year s de c i de .