Imperfect Union
Page 46
losing more than they gained: Although no polling existed to prove it, the analyses that reach this conclusion include Sacher, “The Sudden Collapse of the Louisiana Whig Party.”
the Wide-Awakes: Desmond, The Know-Nothing Party, 77.
five thousand of them escorted an anti-Catholic preacher: Ibid.
burned in Maine: Ibid., 75.
stole a block of marble: Ibid., 76.
“That is a disputed point” . . . “base alloy of hypocrisy”: Abraham Lincoln to Joshua Speed, August 24, 1855, Fehrenbacher, Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings, 1832–1858, 363.
John B. Floyd . . . William Preston: Jessie identified Floyd as a supporter in Great Events in the Life of Major General John C. Frémont, 192. Elizabeth Frémont identified Preston in Recollections of Elizabeth Benton Frémont, 75.
In the summer of 1855, Floyd: Elizabeth Benton Frémont indicates that this meeting took place shortly before John met with Jessie in Nantucket; Jessie’s letters show that she was there in the summer of 1855 and John arrived there in August (Elizabeth Benton Frémont, Recollections, 75).
Democrats met John . . . at the St. Nicholas: JBF and F. P. Frémont, Great Events in the Life of Major General John C. Frémont, 193.
“profusion of mirrors” . . . “Eastern prince”: William E. Baxter, who stayed at the St. Nicholas in 1853, quoted in Steen, “Palaces for Travelers,” 275.
velvet-pile carpets . . . marble tables: Ibid.
repeal of the Missouri Compromise: The substance of this meeting is described by Jessie and Lily, neither of whom were present themselves. Jessie named the Fugitive Slave Act as the price for the Democrats’ support, but seemed also to allude to the Compromise. Lily described a proposal to “permit alternate states to come into the Union as free and slave states,” which was functionally what the Compromise repeal could allow. No matter what precisely was said, no Democrat could have won support in the South without supporting the repeal (Elizabeth Benton Frémont, Recollections, 75).
“impossible . . . to accept”: JBF and F. P. Frémont, Great Events in the Life of Major General John C. Frémont, 193.
“I . . . considered him very light metal . . . governed him were Abolition”: In a letter published in newspapers, Floyd denied that any such meeting had taken place, but then described his own participation in the meeting; apparently his disingenuous denial was limited to the way others had described it. “Gov. Floyd and Col. Frémont,” New York Times, September 15, 1856.
the conference failed: JBF and F. P. Frémont, Great Events in the Life of Major General John C. Frémont, 193.
“old sailors and whaling captains” . . . “whaling in their turn”: JBF to Elizabeth Blair Lee, August 17, 1855, Herr and Spence, Letters, 59–61.
“I shall not begin to tell you how forlornly lonesome this island is”: Ibid.
“‘strong-minded’ speech making woman”: Ibid.
key politicos who had met in Philadelphia: Bartlett, John C. Frémont and the Republican Party, 15.
“My dear Mr. Blair . . . to promise your assistance”: JBF to Francis P. Blair, August 27, 1855, Herr and Spence, Letters, 71.
drafting a platform of ideas: Gienapp, Origins of the Republican Party, 322.
“a little old gentleman” . . . “hat too big for his head”: Murat Halstead, quoted in Smith, Francis Preston Blair, 229.
“The storms of faction beat around him” . . . “honor and eternal truth”: Washington Globe, May 10, 1832, quoted in Smith, “Francis P. Blair and the Globe.”
“I am told to tell you . . . your own library”: Ibid., 75.
“I thank you from the bottom” . . . “may not be fully aware of”: Bradford R. Moore to Francis P. Blair, December 11, 1855, Blair Papers, LOC.
a single article about John Charles Frémont: Smith, Francis Preston Blair, 220.
He drew Bigelow into the circle . . . members such as Thurlow Weed: Gienapp, Origins of the Republican Party, 321–2. This interpretation seems most plausible, although half a century later Bigelow published an account that claimed a movement in the opposite direction, in which he drew Blair into the contest (Bigelow, Retrospections of an Active Life, vol. 1, 143).
“water, fire, and gas all over”: JBF to Blair, November 3, 1855, Herr and Spence, Letters, 73–74.
having the images developed: JBF, “Some Account of the Plates,” in JCF, Memoirs of My Life, xvi.
the son of Irish immigrants: R. Wilson, Mathew Brady, 6.
he was introduced to . . . Morse: Ibid., 10.
weathered and strong . . . hidden: The image of JCF is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.
Seward had been supportive of Catholics and immigrants: Bartlett, John C. Frémont and the Republican Party, 13–14.
he must wait until 1860: Gienapp, Origins of the Republican Party, 310.
“a candidate must have a slim record in these times”: Ibid., 324.
“Buchanan and his wife”: Baker, James Buchanan, 25.
“obliged to apply to Mrs. Frémont . . . parentage”: Bigelow, Retrospections of an Active Life, vol. 1, 143.
She traveled to Virginia: JBF to Elizabeth Blair Lee, Herr and Spence, Letters, 112–13.
“repulsive” . . . false claim that Anne divorced and remarried: Bigelow, Memoirs of the Life and Public Services of John Charles Fremont, 20–21.
“Her account of the colonel’s origin . . . purpose very well”: Bigelow, Retrospections of an Active Life, vol. 1, 143.
“Will Mr. Upham let my alterations . . . sober judgment on Mr. Frémont’s”: JBF to Charles Upham, May 31, 1856, Herr and Spence, Letters, 102.
did not directly mention that it was an elopement: Upham, Life, Explorations and Public Services of John Charles Frémont, 20.
“our friends . . . to the Col. [on] 9th Street”: Isaac Sherman to Charles Upham, June 2, 1856, Hugh Upham Clark collection, LOC.
“J.B.” . . . “the second section of the bill”: JBF to Charles Upham, June 24, 1856, Hugh Upham Clark collection, LOC.
“Decidedly, this ought to be struck out”: Ibid.
“This ended my old life” . . . “dropped by every relative”: JBF and F. P. Frémont, Great Events in the Life of Major General John C. Frémont, 203.
“not adapted to such business”: Spence, “David Hoffman: Frémont’s Mariposa Agent in London.”
saying it had borne out Benton’s vision: “I congratulate you on this verification of your vision,” wrote Frémont to Benton, February 9, 1854. Spence, Expeditions, vol. 3, 469–70.
“I do not think I can go to Washington”: JBF to Elizabeth Blair Lee, April 18, 1856, Herr and Spence, Letters, 97.
“I have made one thing a fixed resolve . . . almost suicide”: Ibid.
“I know both my people too well . . . not had a line from him”: Ibid., 97–98.
“a fair occasion”: Ibid., 97.
just caught a train toward Missouri: JBF to Elizabeth Blair Lee, June 9, 1856, Herr and Spence, Letters, 105–6; Herr, Jessie Benton Frémont, 250.
Some Missourians wanted profit from real estate: Andrews, “Kansas Crusade: Eli Thayer and the New England Emigrant Aid Company.”
It had been founded by Eli Thayer: Ibid., 497–99.
Robinson, an agent of the Emigrant Aid Company: Gienapp, Origins of the Republican Party, 171.
sometimes-violent battles over land ownership: Bancroft, History of California, vol. 6, 330; Hurtado, John Sutter, 283–84.
“We were defeated then . . . your battle with them in Kansas”: JCF to Charles Robinson, reprinted in the Washington Star, April 10, 1856.
“complete if it had given . . . ‘the equality of the races’”: Ibid.
federal authorities arrested . . . treason: “Interesting from Kansas,” New York Herald, May 23, 1856.
threw its printing press in the Ka
nsas River: Andrews, “Kansas Crusade.”
burned . . . the Free State Hotel: Ibid.
“devastated and burned to ashes by the Border Ruffians”: “The King Is Dead—Live the King,” New York Tribune, May 26, 1856.
“A few bare and tottering . . . of Human Slavery”: Ibid.
“incoherent phrases” . . . “truth which he did not make”: Smith, Francis Preston Blair, 225.
“hemmed in” . . . “insensible on the floor”: “A Canadian Witness of the Assault on Mr. Sumner,” Congregational Herald, June 5, 1856.
“The telegraph has already spread” . . . “incorrect”: “Washington Correspondence,” Charleston Courier, May 26, 1856.
“was beaten . . . Southern men”: Ibid.
“the hearty congratulations . . . the Abolitionist Sumner”: “Public Approval of Mr. Brooks,” Charleston Courier, May 28, 1856.
“handsome gold headed cane” . . . “chastise Abolitionists”: Ibid.
“the slaves of Columbia” . . . “happiest laborers on the face of the globe”: Ibid.
“chivalrous” . . . “poltroon Senator of Massachusetts”: “Southern Feeling on the Brooks and Sumner Affair,” New York Herald, June 8, 1856.
Democrats . . . turning to Republicans: Gienapp, Origins of the Republican Party, 302–3.
“Has it come to this . . . do not comport ourselves to please them?”: Ibid, 359.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: HE THROWS AWAY HIS HEART
On December 11, 1854, Jacob Dodson filed a petition: Senate Journal, December 11, 1854, American State Papers.
John had violated the law . . . enlist: “Thirty-fourth Congress,” National Intelligencer, April 16, 1856.
“Jacob Dodson, a colored man” . . . “legally enlisted”: Senate Bill 79, 34th Congress, 1st Session, American State Papers.
“in charge of the retiring rooms”: New York Tribune, reprinted in the Daily Gate City, September 2, 1865.
Pierce signed the bill: “A Bill Become a Law,” Washington Globe, April 23, 1856.
“anti-slavery Know Nothings and nigger worshipers”: “The Great Contest—the Northern Masses Moving for Frémont,” New York Herald, June 12, 1856.
“corrupt, imbecile and most wretched”: Ibid.
“frighten Adopted Citizens into their net”: “The Free and Earnest Conferences,” New York Tribune, June 14, 1856.
a letter refusing the nativists: Nevins, Frémont: Pathmarker of the West, 431.
Apollo Rooms . . . birthplace of the New York Philharmonic: Saerchinger, “Musical Landmarks in New York.”
“The dark lanterns . . . wide open to Broadway”: “The George Law Anti-slavery Know-nothing Convention—First Day,” New York Herald, June 13, 1856.
“a large proportion of sharp, hungry, and calculating politicians” . . . “finger in the pie”: Ibid.
political “wire workers”: Ibid.
thirty thousand dollars in cash payments: Gienapp, Origins of the Republican Party, 330.
Banks would refuse the Know-Nothings: Various maneuvers in this intricate plan are described to Banks in letters and telegrams in the Nathaniel P. Banks collection, LOC.
“like a farthing candle”: “The George Law Anti-slavery Know-nothing Convention—First Day,” New York Herald, June 13, 1856.
Messages snapped back and forth: Some telegrams to Banks in Washington are in the Banks papers, LOC.
“Long before the hour” . . . “able to gain admission”: “The Presidency,” New York Herald, June 18, 1856.
“the old fellow’s big head” . . . “uproarious applause”: Journalist Murat Halstead, quoted in Smith, Francis Preston Blair, 229.
“The delegates to this Convention . . . face of the earth”: “The Presidency,” New York Herald, June 18, 1856.
“received with loud cheering . . . the frontier heroes”: Ibid.
“Gentlemen . . . I am opposed to Slavery . . . beyond its present limits”: “The People’s Convention,” New York Tribune, June 17, 1856.
“the principles promulgated in the Declaration of Independence”: 1856 Republican Party platform.
“have been deprived of life” . . . “condign punishment”: Ibid.
“liberty of conscience and equality of rights among citizens”: Gienapp, Origins of the Republican Party, 336.
“His three weeks’ . . . worthy of imitation”: Upham, Life, Explorations and Public Services of John Charles Frémont, 305.
“reputation has been marvelously made within six months for this emergency”: Gienapp, Origins of the Republican Party, 341.
“indebted to Fremont . . . relations of the world”: “The Great Contest—the Northern Masses Moving for Fremont,” New York Herald, June 12, 1856.
“a deep and solemn conviction” . . . “unaccountable”: Halstead, Trimmers, Trucklers and Temporizers, 102.
“chasms in logic”: Ibid.
giant American flag bearing the explorer’s name: “The People’s Convention,” New York Tribune, June 19, 1856.
a woodcut portrait of the nominee: Ibid., 4.
“desperate struggle” . . . “same terms as slaves”: Quoted in the Western Democrat, July 15, 1856.
“Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Men and Frémont”: The many places this slogan can be found include the New York Tribune, July 11, 1856.
A piece of the iron railing broke off and crashed down: Abbott, Reminiscences, 108–9. The broken balcony is also alluded to in the New York Times, August 13, 1856.
“He is cheered so much” . . . “what he is saying”: Abbott, Reminiscences, 108–9.
“Mrs. Frémont!” . . . “Give us Jessie!”: Ibid.
“For a lady to make her appearance . . . an innovation”: Ibid.
“Such occasions as this are apt to disconcert ladies”: Ibid.
“a universal shout”: Ibid.
“The crowd are crazy with enthusiasm” . . . “in hand in the air”: Ibid.
“a mere practice to train their voices”: Ibid.
“Young America” . . . “Old Fogyism”: Undated editorial cartoon, Frémont papers, LOC.
“GIVE ’EM JESSIE”: New York Evening Mirror, reprinted in Frederick Douglass’ Paper, July 4, 1856.
“The felicitous double entendre . . . can win over in a month”: Ibid.
“taking away an old man’s daughter” . . . “runaway lovers”: Ibid.
The article was reprinted: Boston Daily Atlas, June 27; National Anti-Slavery Standard, June 28; Newark Daily Advertiser, June 30; Sentinel of Freedom, July 1; Frederick Douglass’ Paper, July 4; Portland Advertiser, July; (Pennsylvania) Weekly Miners’ Journal, July 12; Washington Reporter (Pennsylvania), July 23.
“Freemen of the North awake! . . . Down with Slavery!”: Cleveland Republican Association, Fremont and Dayton Campaign Songs for 1856, 11, Fremont papers, LOC.
“Oh Jessie is a sweet bright lady”: Ibid., 6.
Women in some cities . . . gather to sing: One such organization, in Fall River, Massachusetts, was described in the Boston Evening Transcript, July 19, 1856. Another, in New York, was described scornfully in the Charleston Courier, September 17, 1856.
“Fire away, my gallant lads . . . ‘give him Jessie’”: McClure and Hand, Fremont Song Book, 17, Frémont papers, LOC.
“Southern lady” . . . institutions: Boston Courier, reprinted in Frederick Douglass’ Paper, July 4, 1856.
“a new feature in political gatherings”: “Frémont and Freedom in Buffalo,” New York Tribune, July 11, 1856.
“the presence of some 400 ladies . . . ‘our Jessie’”: Ibid.
“attended all the great mass meetings” . . . “Tippecanoe battle ground”: “Female Stump Speaker,” Daily Dispatch, October 27, 1856.
“We must enlist music and ladies in our cause”: “The Cause in Ohio—the Town of Fremont,” New
York Tribune, July 11, 1856.
“Over the River and Through the Wood”: The original title was “The New England Boy’s Song About Thanksgiving Day.” Child, Flowers for Children, 25.
crediting her mother for her beliefs: JBF to Lydia Maria Child, July–August 1856, Herr and Spence, Letters, 122–23.
“the temper of children” . . . “influences of slavery”: Ibid.
“The enquiry has repeatedly reached . . . your undivided support”: “Frémont and Dayton,” Frederick Douglass’ Paper, July 4, 1856.
“we are Abolitionists . . . that very ground”: Ibid.
“much less can Frémont himself be suspected . . . abolitionism”: Tinelli, Frémont, Buchanan and Fillmore, 10.
“If white men were enslaved . . . the Republican party”: Ibid.
“We would rather see this just man made President”: Frederick Douglass’ Paper, August 15, 1856, reprinted in Douglass, Speeches and Writings, 339.
“with whatever influence we possess”: Ibid.
“Right Anti-slavery action . . . that particular time”: Ibid.
“abandon a single Anti-Slavery Truth or Principle”: Ibid.
“The present . . . a thousand fold in the future”: “Frémont and Dayton,” Frederick Douglass’ Paper, July 4, 1856.
he had to write a letter of explanation: Blight, Frederick Douglass, 276.
“twenty-five of our leading men”: “Our Alabama Correspondence,” New York Herald, August 24, 1856.
ten years in prison or hanging: Ibid.
“kindness” . . . “St. Domingo revolution”: “The Mobile Development,” Richmond Dispatch, August 27, 1856.
“incendiary” . . . “fiendish aim”: “The Emeute at Mobilei,” New York Herald, August 24, 1856.
“Let all who follow negro dictation . . . reasons for this course”: “Reasons of the Negro Douglass for Supporting Frémont,” Star of the North, September 24, 1856.
“Frederick Douglass supports Fremont” . . . “crew supports Fremont”: “Look On This Picture!,” Daily Iowa State Democrat, September 3, 1856.
“There was never half the reason . . . Frémont and Dayton”: “What Will the Allies Do?” Richmond Dispatch, June 24, 1856.
THE FEARFUL ISSUE . . . ONE DESTINY: Democratic pamphlet cover, 1856, Frémont papers, LOC.