Life of James Buchanan, Fifteenth President of the United States. v. 2 (of 2)Curtis, George Ticknor
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Life of James Buchanan, Fifteenth President of the United States. v. 2 (of 2)
Curtis, George Ticknor
Buchanan, James, 1791-1868
This was evidently not intended for the public eye, certainly not for
the Free Soilers. It was, therefore, most reluctantly extracted from
the breeches pocket of John M. Botts, and was read to the Convention,
as we are informed, amid uproarious laughter. In this note, General
Scott, with characteristic inconsistency, whilst declaring his
determination to write nothing to the Convention, or any of its
individual members, at this very moment, in the same note, does
actually write to Mr. Archer, a member of the Convention, that should
the honor of a nomination fall to his lot, he would give his views on
the Compromise Measures in terms at least as strong in their favor, as
those which he had read to Mr. Archer himself but two days before.
This pledge which, on its face, was intended exclusively for Governor
Jones, Mr. Botts, and Mr. Lee, etc., all of them Southern Whigs,
proved sufficient to detach a small division of this wing of the party
from Mr. Fillmore, and these, uniting with the whole body of the
Northern Free Soilers, succeeded in nominating General Scott. After
the nomination had been thus made, the General immediately proceeded
to accept it, “with the resolutions annexed;” and one of these
resolutions is in favor of the faithful execution of all the measures
of the Compromise, including the Fugitive Slave Law.
Now, fellow-citizens, I view the finality of the Compromise as
necessary to the peace and preservation of the Union. I say finality;
a word aptly coined for the occasion. The Fugitive Slave Law is all
the South have obtained in this Compromise. It is a law founded both
upon the letter and the spirit of the Constitution; and a similar law
has existed on our statute book ever since the administration of
George Washington. History teaches us that but for the provision in
favor of the restoration of fugitive slaves, our present Constitution
never would have existed. Think ye that the South will ever tamely
surrender the Fugitive Slave Law to Northern fanatics and
Abolitionists?
After all, then, the great political question to be decided by the
people of the country is, will the election of Scott, or the election
of Pierce, contribute most to maintain the finality of the Compromise
and the peace and harmony of the Union?
Scott’s Northern supporters spit upon and execrate the platform
erected by the Whig National Convention. They support General Scott,
not because of their adherence to this platform, but in spite of it.
They have loudly expressed their determination to agitate the repeal
of the Fugitive Slave Law, and thus bring back upon the country the
dangerous excitement which preceded its passage. They will not suffer
the country to enjoy peace and repose, nor permit the Southern States
to manage their own domestic affairs, in their own way, without
foreign interference.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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