by Alan Sewell
For months after the election Eddie had been so terrified of Douglas and Davis that he had not slept well. He had kept waking up in nightmares of being returned to slavery. He had talked to Emma about crossing the unguarded border into the British Possessions in the Canadas, even though he had been warned that British subjects were no fonder of Negroes than were most American Whites. He had been tortured for months wondering whether to take himself and Emma to an unwelcoming foreign land or to stay put and risk being returned to slavery.
Emma had finally persuaded him that they should stay. “We shouldn’t let the election of Stephen Douglas and Jefferson Davis cause us to run us away from our homes and our friends. This is as much our country as theirs. If all the colored folks in the North run off to Canada who’s going to be left to speak out for our people down South?” Eddie had reluctantly agreed, but still woke up many mornings in a cold sweat, having a premonition of being returned to slavery.
Then The North Star Liberator’s glorious report of the Cleveland Convention had dispelled his fear. Eddie had read the paper many times already and still he felt warm relief welling up inside him. Although he often spoke in the semi-literate vernacular he had grown up with as a slave, he had been educated in the Quaker schoolhouses after his family’s escape to Michigan. He frequently read aloud with a theatrical persona honed from church readings and community plays. In his practiced baritone voice he read the newspaper report to Emma:
Mr. Lincoln’s address to the Free State Convention in Cleveland, Ohio:
If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it. Let us first consider where we began our journey. Let us go back to that great Age of Liberty in the Time of our Founders and examine where they were and whither they were tending.
Of the founding of our nation John Adams said:
“I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene, and design in Providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of Mankind all over the earth.”
George Washington concurred:
“The citizens of America, as sole lords and proprietors of a vast tract of continent, are the actors on a most conspicuous theater which seems to be peculiarly designated by Providence for the display of human greatness and felicity.”
And Thomas Jefferson told us most eloquently:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Our Founders left us no doubt as to whither they tended. From the North and South alike, they had a common vision of the United States spreading Liberty across this continent by our government, and around the world by our example. By their actions they demonstrated that slavery should be neither an enduring part of our government nor of our example.
They constantly expressed the hope that slavery would gradually be extinguished by the advancing state of civilization. Mr. Jefferson himself authored that great Ordinance of 1787 that forbade the introduction of slavery into our Northwest. George Washington urged the Virginia Legislature to abolish slavery, and fell but one vote short of garnering the majority necessary to abolish it.
Until about thirty years ago this sentiment was expressed almost as often in the South as it was in the North. Indeed our distinguished delegate John Fremont is a Southern man, born and raised in Savannah and Charleston. It was not uncommon for Southern men of his generation to be tutored by their elder statesmen to advocate for the constraint and eventual demise of slavery, which they knew to be consistent with the wishes of our Founders, of whom at least half were Southerners.
Thus, it was until recently that we knew with certainty that we were tending in the direction of perfecting this Republic by constraining slavery and securing in the public mind the understanding that it was in the process of ultimate extinction.
Now let us examine whither our President-elect is tending. Said he during our recent debates:
“I do not believe that the signers of the Declaration of Independence had any reference to Negroes or to the Chinese or Coolies, the Indians, the Japanese, or any other inferior and degraded race, when they spoke of the equality of men.
“I don’t care whether slavery is voted up or voted down; whoever wants slavery has a right to have it; upon principle of equality it should be allowed to go everywhere; there is no inconsistency between free and slave institutions; a negro slave being property, stands on an equal footing with other property, and the owner may carry them into United States territory the same as he does any other property, including dry goods and liquors.”
Does it appear that President-elect Douglas is tending in the same direction that John Adams was tending when he said that Providence had designed America for the “emancipation of the slavish part of Mankind all over the earth?”
In his constant referring to Negroes as property with no more rights than dry goods or liquors, does it seem that he is tending in the same direction that Thomas Jefferson was tending when he said that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
And now the President-elect speaks of his ambition to expand our American Republic to include the whole of North America and its surrounding islands, caring not whether slavery should be “found” already existing in these lands:
“The time may come, indeed has now come, when our interests would be advanced by the acquisition of Cuba. When we get Cuba we must take it as we find it, leaving the people to decide the question of slavery for themselves, without interference on the part of the federal government, or of any State of this Union. So, when it becomes necessary to acquire any portion of Mexico or Canada, we must take them as we find them.”
And here, in regard to Mexico, he gives voice to the great misrepresentation of his ambition, for he will “find” Mexico to be a free country, having abolished slavery from its soil more than forty years ago. He does not intend to leave Mexico as he “finds” it. He intends to graft slavery onto Mexico, like a cancer, after having unleashed the Southern Militiamen to conquer the country, knowing full well that they are bringing their slaves in train.
Does it appear that the President-elect is tending in the same direction as our founding President Washington who perceived our free Republic to be “designated by Providence for the display of human greatness and felicity?” Or is Douglas tending towards the opposite direction of enslaving a free country, to graft upon it an institution designed for the display of human oppression and melancholy?
According to the President-elect, not only the Negro but also the “Chinese, the Japanese, or any other inferior and degraded race” may be enslaved. Presumably he is speaking of the Mexicans too, for are they not as dark as the Chinese or Japanese? And then, when the Negro and all these other “inferior and degraded” races are doomed, and damned, and forgotten, to everlasting bondage, is the white man quite certain that the tyrant demon will not turn upon him too?
That, my friends, is the perilous direction whither Mr. Douglas is tending. It is the direction precisely opposite of the great Design of Liberty that our Founders planned for this nation.
“What do you think about that?” asked Eddie.
“Mr. Lincoln does have a way with words, he surely does,” said Emma when Eddie finished and took a long pause to catch his breath. She was more inspired by Mr. Lincoln’s words that she cared to admit, but she did not want Eddie to let those words excite him into a sense of false hope. “Remember, dear, we’ve heard those kinds of words before,” she cautioned. “Whenever the white folks get to fighting over the Negroes you know what they do. They always sell us Negroes down the river and then kiss and make up. Maybe it will be different this time, but let’s don’t count on it till it happens.”
When Eddie caught his breat
h he answered, “Yes, I understand that. But there is more to it. Listen to what Mr. Fremont says.”
Mr. Fremont’s address to the Free State Convention in Cleveland, Ohio:
Honored delegates of this Free State Convention, let me begin by commending Mr. Lincoln for his observation that I was born a Southerner, with as much affection for that section of the Union as I have for any other. As Mr. Lincoln says, I was raised in Charleston and tutored by an elder generation of Southerners who felt that slavery must be extinguished at some time distant in the future, but nevertheless is a practical necessity for the present.
We do not seek to antagonize the Southern people by denigrating them or their institutions. We ask only that they respect the wishes of our Founders, as Mr. Lincoln has so eloquently expressed them, that slavery be placed in such a position that the public mind will rest in the belief that it is set upon its course of ultimate extinction.
We are assembled here because President-elect Douglas has presented us with solid grounds for believing that it is his intention to set slavery on a foundation of permanence by spreading it to our own Western Territories; by strengthening its grip on our existing Free States; and by spreading it to Mexico and other countries where it has long been extinguished.
He has given us reason to believe that he intends to preside over the acquisition of Mexico without the consent of Congress, for the purpose of later admitting it to the Union as Slave States. He gives us sound reason to believe that he intends, on the basis of the controversial Dred Scott Decision, to strengthen the grip of slavery in the Free States though an aggressive enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Laws, to the extent of sending Negro-hunting expeditions into the North to put into chains all Negroes, including those who have long resided as free men and women.
What, then, should be our response to these provocations? In order that no one should be able with credibility to accuse us of disloyalty to our Constitution and our government, I suggest that we respond to the President-elect’s provocations by adopting his own methods:
President-elect Douglas is the author of the doctrine he calls Popular Sovereignty. Popular Sovereignty, as he explains it, is the doctrine that the settlers in any territory may choose to either abide by or ignore the laws on slavery, including the Dred Scott Decision.
Very well, then. Let us adopt Douglas’ own doctrine that each person may decide for himself how far to go in complying with the Dred Scott Decision and the Fugitive Slave Laws. Let us abide by those our conscience tells us are just and ignore the rest.
My conscience tells me that if slave catchers are in hot pursuit of runaway slaves who are obvious fugitives then I will neither assist the slave catchers nor interfere with their pursuit of the runaway slaves. But if the slave catchers come across the Ohio River with the intent of kidnapping any random Negroes they may by chance encounter, then it is my duty to protect the Negroes even to the point of resisting their would-be kidnappers.
I am advising this convention to adopt this resolution that the citizens of the Free States may be governed by their own consciences in deciding their compliance with the Fugitive Slave Laws; in particular, that they shall give neither aid nor hindrance to the hot pursuit of fugitive slaves; but that they shall resist the kidnapping of free Negroes, including any who have lived in an actual state of freedom for a period of years.
Eddie put down the paper. “The last part of that --- the ‘kidnapping of any free Negroes, including any who have lived in an actual state of freedom for a period of years’ --- that means us,” he said triumphantly, pointing to himself and then to Emma.
“Well, I suppose it is a step in the right direction,” acknowledged Emma. “But fancy talk like that doesn’t amount to a hill of beans. I might believe those high-sounding words if and when the Free State governments band together and decide to do something to protect us.” She contemplated that novel idea. “Now, if they do that we might find ourselves at war with that President Douglas and the Slave Power. Wouldn’t that be something, this country going to war to free the Negroes instead of doing everything it can to keep us down?”
11
Montgomery County, Alabama, December 20, 1860
“Thanks for dropping by,” William Yancey said in his silkiest tone.
“The pleasure’s all mine,” Jefferson Buford replied, entering Yancey’s parlor. “What can I do you for?”
Yancey clasped his friend’s hand firmly. “Well, I’ve been thinking it’s about time we taught those Yankee Abolitionists a lesson, and you’re just the man who can help me do it.”
“Don’t know about that, Bill. The Yankees can be mighty damn stubborn. What sort of lesson do you have in mind?”
Buford was wary, having already locked horns with the Yankees up in ‘Bleeding Kansas’ and come off the worse for it. In 1856 Yancey and his fellow Fire Eaters had financed a mission to send Buford and four hundred Southern militiamen into Kansas to “settle the Territory and bring it into the Union as a Slave State.” Upon arriving Buford had discovered the Yankees to be every bit as determined to bring Kansas into the Union as a Free State. Although Buford was a law-abiding, even-tempered man, he had found it impossible to avoid violent encounters with the Free State men. Outnumbered and discouraged, his band had abandoned their mission. Most had returned to Alabama, but some had switched sides and stayed on in Kanas as Free State men.
Yancey motioned for Buford to be seated. “Please set a spell and I’ll tell you what I have in mind.” Yancey motioned his house slave to bring refreshments.
When the two were comfortably seated Yancey came to the point. “You know that we are going to be conquered by the Abolitionists unless we gather our courage to stop them in their tracks now. You saw for yourself how the Yankees stole Kansas out from under us --- after Stephen Douglas promised that we could take our slaves there without interference. Douglas now tells us that Kansas must be admitted as a Free State.”
“Nobody can say that we didn’t do our best to settle that Territory,” responded Buford. “Four hundred men just weren’t enough. The Yankees brought in forty thousand Free State men. I’m afraid Douglas is right about Kansas. It belongs to the Yankees now.”
Yancey winced as if his comrade’s concession of Kansas to the Yankees had been a dagger driven into his heart. “I hope we may yet have a chance to set things right in Kansas,” he replied after calming himself. “If it does enter the Union as a Free State we’ll lose our claim to the territories west of it, with their gold and silver. Those losses would confirm our status as an inconsequential minority in the Union. In such a reduced status we could not survive.”
Buford shrugged. “It may not be all that bad. We’ve got Douglas in the White House and Davis is there looking over his shoulder to keep him honest. I’ve heard the rumors, as I’m sure you have, that they’re planning the conquest of Mexico using our Southern militias. Then they’re supposed to move on into Cuba and Central America. If we get those territories then Kansas, Colorado, and Nevada don’t much matter do they? Maybe we’d best give Douglas and Davis a chance to show what they can do for us.”
Yancey had anticipated this line of argument and was prepared to answer it. “Yes, I’ve heard the stories about Douglas planning to authorize the conquest of Mexico. Maybe he’ll do it; maybe he won’t. He changes his mind more often than the weather. He promised us Kansas then he took it away, didn’t he? So who can say what he’ll do about Mexico and the rest. It’s like as not that when it comes time to put the cards on the table he’ll claim that he never heard of any such plan.”
“Might could be,” said Buford as he took a swig of bourbon. “But what do you have in mind for us to do about it? Not another expedition to Kansas, I hope. That horse has already left the stable.”
Again Yancey winced at the thought of giving up Kansas. “No, Jeff, not Kansas. This time we have to pierce the Yankee Abolitionists to their heart. We have to answer John Brown’s Raid. We need to let them know that if they insist on
coming into our territory to incite our slaves to rise up against us, then we will go into their territory and take back the slaves that are rightfully ours. We’ve got to teach them that their Cleveland Resolutions do not nullify the Fugitive Slave Act. We need to teach these lessons now, not only to the Yankee Abolitionists, but to Stephen Douglas. He needs to understand that if he refuses to keep the promises he made to us, then it will devolve upon us to execute them ourselves.”
“Go ahead. I’m listening.”
“I want you to go up to Cass County, Michigan and break up that nest the runaway Niggers have made up there. Make it clear that the Abolitionists can’t protect them. I’ve had Lucas Conyers, our old friend from the Kansas Expedition, up there since last year identifying the runaways. I’ve located and purchased titles of ownership to eight of ‘em. I want you to recover as many as you can. I’ll pay thirty thousand dollars to organize the expedition and a thousand dollar bonus for each of the scalawags you bring back. You can split that money with your men any way you want to.”
Buford whistled. “That ought to be enough to attract some daring men!”
