Civil War History - Secession and PoliticsWas it Slavery, or was it States Rights? Perhaps it was the election of Lincoln? What were the real reasons for Southern Secession and what were the political issues in this time of war? Find your answers here in the Secession and Politics Disussion.
Resolved, That we, the delegated representatives of the Republican electors of the United States, in Convention assembled, in discharge of the duty we owe to our constituents and our country, unite in the following declarations:
1. That the history of the nation, during the last four years, has fully established the propriety and necessity of the organization and perpetuation of the Republican party, and that the causes which called it into existence are permanent in their nature, and now, more than ever before, demand its peaceful and constitutional triumph.
2. That the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Federal Constitution, "That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed," is essential to the preservation of our Republican institutions; and that the Federal Constitution, the Rights of the States, and the Union of the States, must and shall be preserved.
3. That to the Union of the States this nation owes its unprecedented increase in population, its surprising development of material resources, its rapid augmentation of wealth, its happiness at home and its honor abroad; and we hold in abhorrence all schemes for Disunion, come from whatever source they may: And we congratulate the country that no Republican member of Congress has uttered or countenanced the threats of Disunion so often made by Democratic members without rebuke and with applause from their political associates; and we denounce those threats of Disunion, in case of a popular overthrow of their ascendency, as denying the vital principles of a free government, and as an avowal of contemplated treason, which it is the imperative duty of an indignant People sternly to rebuke and forever silence.
4. That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the States, and especially the right of each State to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that balance of powers on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric depends; and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any State or Territory, no matter under what pretext, as among the gravest of crimes.
5. That the present Democratic Administration has far exceeded our worst apprehensions, in its measureless subserviency to the exactions of a sectional interest, as especially evinced in its desperate exertions to force the infamous Lecompton Constitution upon the protesting people of Kansas; in construing the personal relation between master and servant to involve an unqualified property in persons; in its attempted enforcement, everywhere, on land and sea, through the intervention of Congress and of the Federal Courts of the extreme pretensions of a purely local interest; and in its general and unvarying abuse of the power intrusted to it by a confiding people.
6. That the people justly view with alarm the reckless extravagance which pervades every department of the Federal Government; that a return to rigid economy and accountability is indispensible to arrest the systematic plunder of the public treasury by favored partisans, while the recent startling developments of frauds and corruptions at the Federal metropolis, show that an entire change of administration is imperatively demanded.
7. That the new dogma, that the Constitution, of its own force, carries Slavery into any or all of the Territories of the United States, is a dangerous political heresy, at variance with the explicit provisions of that instrument itself, with contemporaneous exposition, and with legislative and judicial precedent; is revolutionary in its tendency, and subversive of the peace and harmony of the country.
8. That the normal condition of all the territory of the United States is that of freedom; That as our Republican fathers, when they had abolished Slavery in all our national territory, ordained that "no person should be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law," it becomes our duty, by legislation, whenever such legislation is necessary, to maintain this provision of the Constitution against all attempts to violate it; and we deny the authority of Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of any individuals, to give legal existence to Slavery in any Territory of the United States.
9. That we brand the recent re-opening of the African slave-trade, under the cover of our national flag, aided by perversions of judicial power, as a crime against humanity and a burning shame to our country and age; and we call upon Congress to take prompt and efficient measures for the total and final suppression of that execrable traffic.
10. That in the recent vetoes, by their Federal Governors, of the acts of the Legislatures of Kansas and Nebraska, prohibiting Slavery in those Territories, we find a practical illustration of the boasted Democratic principle of Non- Intervention and Popular Sovereignty, embodied in the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and a demonstration of the deception and fraud involved therein.
11. That Kansas should, of right, be immediately admitted as a State under the Constitution recently formed and adopted by her people, and accepted by the House of Representatives.
12. That, while providing revenue for the support of the General Government by duties upon imports, sound policy requires such an adjustment of these imposts as to encourage the development of the industrial interest of the whole country; and we commend that policy of national exchanges which secures to the working men liberal wages, to agriculture renumerative prices, to mechanics and manufactures an adequate reward for their skill, labor, and enterprise, and to the nation commercial prosperity and independence.
13. That we protest against any sale or alienation to others of the Public Lands held by actual settlers, and against any view of he Homestead policy which regards the settlers as paupers or suppliants for public bounty; and we demand the passage by Congress of the complete and satisfactory Homestead measure which has already passed the House.
14. That the Republican party is opposed to any change in our Naturalization Laws or any State legislation by which the rights of citizenship hitherto accorded to immigrants from foreign lands shall be abridged or impaired; and in favor of giving a full and efficient protection to the rights of all classes of citizens, whether native or naturalized, both at home and abroad.
15. That appropriations by Congress for River and Harbor improvements of a National character, required for the accommodation and security of an existing commerce, are authorized by the Constitution, and justified by the obligations of Government to protect the lives and property of its citizens.
16. That a Railroad to the Pacific Ocean is imperatively demanded by the interest of the whole country; that the Federal Government ought to render immediate and efficient aid in its construction; and that, as preliminary thereto, a daily Overland Mail should be promply established.
17. Finally, having thus set forth our distinctive principles and views, we invite the coöperation of all citizens, however differing on other questions, who substantially agree with us in their affirmance and support.
Transcribed and reverse-order proofread by T. Lloyd Benson from the Tribune Almanac, 1861, pp. 30-31; (facsimile edition: The Tribune Almanac for the Years 1838 to 1868, inclusive, comprehending the Politician's Register and the Whig Almanac, [New York: Published by the New York Tribune, 1868].)
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"It was a very peculiar time." - Franklin D. Cossitt
Ancestors in USA Army: 6th IA Inf, 11th IL Cav, 1st AL Cav; 122nd NY Inf; 6th MI Cav; 35th MA Inf; 100th IL Inf; 1st CO Inf/Cav; 22nd IN Inf
No, but I can certainly see where a slave owner might get a bit nervous or for that matter the Democrat leadership of the time.
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
Shane,
What about the adjustment of the tarrif for the quote industrial interest of the country? Raising the tarrif higher to promote industry clearly would have been frowned on by most Southerners.What about the citizenship of foreigners?Might that have been an issue with the mainly ethnocentric South.Again the CSA Constitution wasn't so liberal granting citizenship to foreifners.What about the appropriations by Congress for river and harbor improvements?What about the government subsidizing railroads?You have four issues right there unrelated to slavery where the Confederate Constitution and the Republican platform were very different.
Ashley
Shane,
What about the adjustment of the tarrif for the quote industrial interest of the country? Raising the tarrif higher to promote industry clearly would have been frowned on by most Southerners.What about the citizenship of foreigners?Might that have been an issue with the mainly ethnocentric South.Again the CSA Constitution wasn't so liberal granting citizenship to foreifners.What about the appropriations by Congress for river and harbor improvements?What about the government subsidizing railroads?You have four issues right there unrelated to slavery where the Confederate Constitution and the Republican platform were very different.
Ashley
Ashley:
I'm afraid you just did what the southern radicals did -- picked out disliked words and made hot buttons of them without a careful reading.
Adjustment of the tariff ... note that is says for the WHOLE country? And specifically singles out agriculture, mechanics, industry, etc.
Citizenship ... Granted, the south may not have welcomed foreigners in the same numbers as the north, but they were not unwelcome. I don't recall citizenship being of any significance in any Declaration of Secession, or in my admittedly deficient reading.
River and harbor improvements ... Notice again, the whole country is included. Given the south's relatively recent push to industrialize and improve their international capacities, I'd have thought they'd welcome some of that.
Subsidized railroads ... Notice again, the whole country is included. Again, with the south's awakening to their transportation needs, I'd have thought they'd welcome some of that.
And I'll certainly expect the Confederate Constitution to differ considerably with the Republican Party Platform.
Ole just answered for me... probably better as well.
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
Ole and Shane,
Your thoughts were excellent.I must serve my penalty so I'll see you guys in a week.
I think the tarrifs protection of industry clearly suited Northern interest much more.I'll try to rectify my attitude.By comparing the number of factories in the two regions you guys can understand why I reach that conclusion.Understand that I don't look down at the evil North because the Republicans were to me clearly more worried about Northern interest.If the South could've and as secession shows they were also more worried about their interest than the country as a whole just like the Republicans.What politicians North or South wouldn't have gotten their way on an issue suiting their regions best needs.They both would've done so.I also don't think protection national interest is inherently bad.Why wouldn't poeple favor American interest other than say Britains.I just recognize that it was better for the North than the South.
Later,
Ashley
Just as a note on the use of Federal funds to improve transportation. The first look at improving the Mississippi river for river traffic was south of St Louis... because that is where the work would have been most effective. I think the South cut its own throat on the Transcontinental RR... if there had been no secession it might well have taken a southerly route instead of its northern one... there were only so many places a train could cross the Rockies or Sierras. Jeff Davis had been campaigning for years for the TransCon to go through a more southerly route. THe northern route had to battle more severe winters but no massive desert and fewer hostile Indian tribes.
THe RR disparity between the North & South is an interesting one; there were several competing companies in the South each w/ their own ideas as to how a RR should operate to include no standard guage of rail. THat meant that to go from Charleston to Vicksburg an individual had to change trains IIRC 6 times. Whereas a standard guage had been adopted... or at least become more accepted in the north. The plethra of rivers in the parts of the South made shipping vie river boat large bulky cash crops like cotton more cash effective than by rail.
THe CS never really did anything to encourage any kind of immigration; something that might have allevieted some of the manpower shortage. The land wasn't nearly as arable as that in the Upper Midwest, poorer farmland and the problem of considerably more hostile natives in Texas and other areas frequented by the Commanche, Kiowa or Apache further west.
As a specific note about the CS, the practice of tithing was far more brutal than anything the Union ever even suggested. And in my own opinion goes a long way in proving that it was a rich mans war but a poor mans fight. That small percentage who owned slaves were easily able to avoid the tithing by paying the fees or pulling strings to avoid it and by doing so he saved his food crops for his own consumption instead of having to spend catastrophic amounts for basic foodstuffs.
THe tarriff was targeted against foreign imports. What is cheaper importing a sewing machine from Mass or from England... especially when that sewing machine would not have an import tax placed upon it? I see nothing wrong w/ encouraging trade between people inside of the country to the detriment of foreign speculators & merchants. As tothe quality diffrence between US & European goods, it was eroding rapidly. US Arms, machinary etc was in most cases equal to or superior to the European equivelant. If you look to what was carried through the blockade, it was luxury goods; very litle that benefitted the average Southerner. The rich and privledged were paying for it not the farmer w/ 40 acres and a hungry family to feed. The ships carrying goods into Charleston, Savannah, Wilmighton, New Orleons etc were not carrying plows, shovels, shoes or blankets. THey were carrying fine china, crystal, furniture etc. Even as the war tightened things blocade runners still insisted on carrying luxury items over essential materials. The Payne Papers are a fascinating study as they show many of the arms 7 gear to support a War effort but also a LOT of luxury junk for the monied who could afford to pay for it.
As has been shown on other threads the tarriff didn't effect the average Southerner all that much and in some ways it might have benefited him by offering lower priced and sometimes better quality merchandise from US manufacturers. The Morrill Tariff was brought into play to help pay for the War... and certainly wouldn't have ever seen the light of day w/out Secession. The Tarriff thread has been a wonderful tool for me, I've learned alot from it.
I tell ya, I am shocked, just shocked that the 1860 Republican National Platform had politics in it.
Have a couple cold ones and I look forward to seeing you back.
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
Shane,
What about the adjustment of the tarrif for the quote industrial interest of the country? Raising the tarrif higher to promote industry clearly would have been frowned on by most Southerners.
The tariff measure that was referred to at the Chicago convention in May was the Morrill tariff which had passed in the House a week before. This tariff was fairly mild in protectionism and was offered foremostly as a revenue tariff to address the deficiency in revenues during the Buchanan years.
Quote:
What about the citizenship of foreigners?Might that have been an issue with the mainly ethnocentric South.
The platforms of both Breckenridge and Douglas factions also had planks concerning protecting its citizenry, whether native or foreign born.
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What about the appropriations by Congress for river and harbor improvements?
What about them? Who do you think took care of US Ports and interstate waterways, lighthouses, etc? Each state?
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What about the government subsidizing railroads?
The federal government did not subsidize railroads to any degree before the Civil War, and a plank calling for a railroad to the Pacific was in every platform in 1860.
The Payne Papers are a fascinating study as they show many of the arms 7 gear to support a War effort but also a LOT of luxury junk for the monied who could afford to pay for it.
I see several Payne Papers on a Google search, but none so far that would list what was imported/smuggled into the South. Do you have any suggestion where I could find them?
Quote:
The Morrill Tariff was brought into play to help pay for the War... and certainly wouldn't have ever seen the light of day w/out Secession.
Depends on what you define as the "Morrill Tariff." The original tariff bill which went into effect on April 1, 1861, was not crafted to raise revenues for war, but mainly to close the deficit. The endless string of revenue measures which followed the attack of Fort Sumter were separate acts of Congress, and as Taussig wrote, "entirely superceded the Morrill tariff" which "forms no part of the financial legislation of the war." (unlike DiLorenzo's writing, Taussig really did write this)
I've got a lot of crow to eat here, so bear w/. I have a copy of a portion of the Payne papers as well as a more complete one in Firearms from Europe THe Payne ppaers detail what arms & material passed to the CS ordnance dept through Wilmington NC. I also have a copy of the Inventory of two blocade runners, which is what I was thinking of, that made the run across perhaps a half dozen times; they are not of the Payne Papers and while I looked at them a couple three nights ago I can't find them now to save my miderable hide! They included things like Chandeliers, Claret, ladies silk dresses, furniture and other luxury items in considerably greater number than blankets, cases of rifles, salt petre and casks of horse shoes.
As to the Tarriff... I hate it when I run things together in my head and decide yup thats it. In short I put 2 & 2 together carried the 5 and got 22000 telephones an hour. Crow, w/ ketchup & hot sauce please and my apologies.
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
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