790 



UNITED STATES. 



constraint, from which he could escape by 

 their approval of emancipation in this form. 

 He thus stated it : 



" I am pressed with a difficulty not yet mentioned 

 one which threatens division among those who, unit- 

 ed, are none too strong. An instance of it is known 

 to you. Gen. Hunter is an honest man. He was, and 

 I hope still is, my friend. I valued him none the less 

 for his agreeing with me in the general wish that all 

 men everywhere could be free. He proclaimed all 

 men free within certain States, and I repudiated the 

 proclamation. He expected more good and less harm 

 from the measure than I could believe would fol- 

 low. Yet, in repudiating it, I gave dissatisfaction, if 

 not offence, to many whose support the country cannot 

 afford to lose. And this is not the end of it. The 

 pressure in this direction is still upon me, and is in- 

 creasing. By conceding what I now ask you can re- 

 lieve me, and, much more, can relieve the country in 

 this important point." 



The remarks of the President were brought 

 to a close with appeals, extremely urgent and 

 almost pathetic, to the border State members, 

 to induce them to act upon the measure. 

 Thus: 



" Before leaving the capitol, consider and discuss it 

 among yourselves. You are patriots and statesmen, 

 and as such I pray you consider this proposition, anil, 

 at the least, commend it to the consideration of your 

 States and people. As you would perpetuate popular 

 government for the best people in the world, I be- 

 seech you that you do in no wise omit this. Our com- 

 mon country is in great peril, demanding the loftiest 

 views and boldest action to bring a speedy relief. 

 Once relieved, its form of Government is saved to the 

 world ; its beloved history and cherished memories 

 are vindicated, and its happy future fully assured and 

 rendered inconceivably grand. To you, more than to 

 any others, the privilege is given to assure that happi- 

 ness and swell that grandeur, and to link your own 

 names therewith forever." 



The delegation, which consisted of Senators 

 and Representatives from Maryland, Western 

 Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri, retired to 

 consult upon the proposition and prepare their 

 answer to the President. Two replies, a ma- 

 jority and a minority, were made. The ma- 

 jority stated their reasons for declining to sup- 

 port the measure. The minority promised to 

 recommend the measure to the consideration 

 of the people. (See PUBLIC DOCUMENTS.) Eeplies 

 were also made by individuals. 



The answer of the majority contains also a 

 statement of the posture of public affairs at the 

 time and of the conduct of the war, which ex- 

 pressed the views of a large mass of the citizens 

 of the Northern States. It was in these words : 



The rebellion derives its strength from the union of 

 all classes in the insurgent States ; and while that union 

 lasts the war will never end until they are utterly ex- 

 hausted. We know that at the inception of these 'trou- 

 bles Southern society was divided, and that a large 

 portion, perhaps a majority, were opposed to secession. 

 Now the great mass of Southern people are united. To 

 discover why they are so we must glance at Southern 

 society, and notice the classes into which it has been 

 divided, and which still distinguish it. They are in 

 arms, but not for the same objects; they are moved to 

 a common end, but by different and even inconsistent 

 reasons. The leaders, which word comprehends those 

 who were previously known as the State Rights party, 

 and which party is much the lesser class, seek to break 

 down national independence and set up State domina- 

 tion. With them it is a war against nationality. The 



other class is fighting, as it supposes, to maintain and 

 preserve its rights of property and domestic safety, 

 which it has been made to believe are assailed by this 

 Government. This latter class are not disunionists 

 per se ; they are so only because they have been made 

 to believe that this Administration is inimical to their 

 rights, and is making war on their domestic institu- 

 tions. As long as these two classes act together they 

 will never assent to a peace. The policy, then, to be 

 pursued is obvious. The former class will never be 

 reconciled, but the latter may be. Remove their ap- 

 prehensions : satisfy them that no harm is intended 

 to them and their institutions ; that this Government 

 is not making war on their rights of property, but is 

 simply defending its legitimate authority, and they will 

 gladly return to their allegiance as soon as the pressure 

 of military dominion imposed by the Confederate au- 

 thority is removed from them. 



Twelve months ago both Houses of Congress, adopt- 

 ing the spirit of your Message, then but recently sent 

 in, declared with singular unanimity the objects of the 

 war, and the country instantly bounded to your side to 

 assist you in carrying it on. If the spirit of that reso- 

 lution had been adhered to, we are confident that we 

 should before now have seen the end of this deplorable 

 conflict. But what have we seen ? In both Houses of 

 Congress we Lave heard doctrines subversive of the 

 principles of the Constitution, and seen measure after 

 measure founded in substance on those doctrines pro- 

 posed and carried through, which can have no other 

 effect than to distract and divide loyal men, and exas- 

 perate and drive still further from us and their duty 

 the people of the rebellious States. Military officers, 

 following these bad examples, have stepped beyond 

 the just limits of their authority in the same direction, 

 until in several instances you 'have felt the necessity 

 of interfering to arrest them. And even the passage 

 of the resolution to which you refer has been ostenta- 

 tiously proclaimed as the triumph of a principle which 

 the people of the Southern States regard as ruinous to 

 them. The effect of these measures was foretold, and 

 may now be seen in the indurated state of Southern 

 feeling. 



To these causes, Mr. President, and not to our omis- 

 sion to vote for the resolution recommended by you, 

 we solemnly believe we are to attribute the terrible 

 earnestness of those in arms against the Government, 

 and the continuance of the war. Nor do we (permit 

 us. to say, Mr. President, with all respect for you) agree 

 that the institution of slavery is " the lever of their 

 power," but we are of the opinion that " the lever of 

 their power" is the apprehension that the powers of 

 a conrmon Government, created for common and equal 

 protection to the interests of all, will be wielded against 

 the institutions of the Southern States. 



It will be seen by this statement that in the 

 opinion of its authors the anti-slavery charac- 

 ter of the Government was the cause of the bit- 

 terness of the war, and that the indications of 

 an extreme anti-slavery policy served to divide 

 the Northern people and exasperate the South- 

 ern. This, therefore, was the charge made 

 against the Government at the time : that by an 

 extreme anti-slavery course it would violate 

 the Constitution and ultimately destroy, instead 

 of restoring, the Union, which was the desire 

 of all. There was truth in this charge. The 

 expression of Congress at the session of July, 

 1861, had passed away, and the Government 

 was advancing step by step to a proclamation 

 of emancipation. Still an apparent or real re- 

 luctance thus to advance was manifest on the 

 part of the President. His own declarations 

 show that a most extreme pressure was put 

 upon him to cause the use of his power for the 

 destruction of slavery. The extreme anti- 



