The Trial of Theodore Parker: For the "Misdemeanor" of a Speech in Faneuil Hall against Kidnapping, before the Circuit Court of the United States, at Boston, April 3, 1855, with the DefenceParker, Theodore
Religion
The Trial of Theodore Parker: For the "Misdemeanor" of a Speech in Faneuil Hall against Kidnapping, before the Circuit Court of the United States, at Boston, April 3, 1855, with the Defence
Parker, Theodore
Antislavery movements -- Massachusetts -- Boston; United States -- Fugitive slave law (1850)
Gentlemen, the Evangelists of slavery could not allow a Southern
kidnapper to come to Boston and not steal his man: they were in great
wrath at the defeat of Hughes and Knights. So they procured a meeting
at Faneuil Hall to make ready for effectual kidnapping and restoring
Slavery to Boston. "The great Union meeting" was held at Faneuil Hall
November 26th, 1850,--two days before the annual Thanksgiving; it was
"a preparatory meeting" to make ready the hearts of the People for
that dear New England festival when we thank God for the Harvest of
the Land, and the Harvest of the Sea, and still more for the State
whose laws are Righteousness, and the Church that offers us "the
Liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free," "the glorious Liberty of
the Sons of God." Here are the Resolutions which were passed.
"Resolved, That the preservation of the Constitution and the
Union is the paramount duty of all citizens;--that the
blessings which have flowed from them in times past, which
the whole country is now enjoying under them, and which we
firmly believe posterity will derive from them hereafter,
are incalculable; and that they vastly transcend in
importance all other political objects and considerations
whatever.
"Resolved, That it would be folly to deny that there has
been and still is danger to the existence of the Union,
where there is prevalent so much of a spirit of disunion,
constantly weakening its strength and alienating the minds
of one part of the people of the United States from another;
and that if this spirit be not checked and restrained, and
do not give way to a spirit of conciliation and of patriotic
devotion to the general good of the whole country, we cannot
expect a long continuance of the political tie which has
hitherto made us one people; but must rather look to see
groups of rival neighboring republics, whose existence will
be a state of perpetual conflict and open war.
"Resolved, That all the provisions of the Constitution of
the United States--the supreme law of the land--are equally
binding upon every citizen, and upon every State in the
Union;--that ALL laws passed by Congress, in pursuance of
the Constitution, are equally binding on all the citizens,
and no man is at liberty to resist or disobey any one
constitutional act of Congress any more than another; and
that we do not desire or intend to claim the benefit of any
one of the powers or advantages of the Constitution, and to
refuse, or seem to refuse, to perform any part of its
duties, or to submit to any part of its obligations.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account