THE PEOPLE DECEIVED-BENEVOLENT OPERATIONS. LVII. 799 the last century, it is doubtful whether the system of slavery CHAP. could have reached its vast proportions, and more likely it might so far have passed away as not to be a disturbing element in the nation, much less that for its protection and extension a war should be inaugurated. The general intelligence of the Northern portion of the country affected its material progress; the people of moderate means were self-respecting and industrious, and their material progress was continuous from generation to generation. In the Southern portion the people of moderate means unfortunately labored under great disadvantages. They were for the most part wanting in that general intelligence needed to secure success, and were stigmatized as the "white trash." With them industry was an irksome necessity, since they looked upon manual labor as the special province of the slave, and therefore degrading. The dignity of the intelligent farmer or mechanic, who read books, educated his children and obtained knowledge of passing events by reading the newspapers, was almost unknown to them. This was their great misfortune; the result of a disregard of their interests and their children's practiced for generations by their rulers. For many years previous to the outbreak of the rebellion Northern newspapers not pleasing to certain leaders were virtually prohibited in the South, and by this means it was easy to deceive the non-slaveowners in respect to the true sentiments of the Northern people. In its influence upon society the system of slavery recognized but two classes: those who owned slaves and those who did not. The former claimed to be the aristocracy, and in their hands were the offices of state. Even wealth invested in lands and slaves gave the possessor a higher social position than the same amount acquired by the industry of the merchant or any other occupation. The mass of the Southern people were grossly deceived by those who represented the people of the North as hostile to them; on the contrary, the sympathies of the Christian 1857. 1857. CHAP. public of the free States had been unusually drawn out toLVII. ward their fellow-citizens of the South. They appreciated the difficulties under which they labored in respect to religious privileges; how they had never been trained, but to a very limited extent, either to support schools or the preaching of the Gospel. Benevolent societies (such as the American Tract, Home Missionary, Sunday School Union and others) labored for years to diffuse religious truths among the mass of the Southern people, especially the whites of moderate means, up to the time when their efforts were materially interfered with by political leaders who wished the relations of friendship and intercourse with the North to cease, as an aid to the accomplishment of their secret plan to break up the Union. Without going into details, these leaders assumed that the intercourse be tween the two sections by means of these operations did or would interfere with slavery, and their benevolent work was gradually restrained to such an extent that when the rebellion began it had nearly ceased, although, owing to intimate commercial relations, the merchants of Northern cities were more than usually liberal in aiding the benevo lent and religious institutions of the South. Many other efforts were made to alienate the Southern people from the Northern; parents were urged not to send their daughters to schools or their sons to colleges in the free States; the separation of religious denominations into Southern or Northern was looked upon with pleasure by these leaders; as well as the alienation of churches of the same denomination. Only one denomination-the Methodist-divided on account of slavery alone; in accordance with the Discipline of that church a bishop has jurisdiction in all the States equally, and in this instance a slave-holding bishop became the occasion of the division of the denomination into the Churches North and South. Likewise, owing to the absence of a national system of finances, the moneyed interests of the country had not so great inducement to unite in preserving the Union as they would have bad under a banking 1844. GROUNDS OF DISSATISFACTION-FOREIGNERS. 801 LVII. 1844. system by means of which the exchange in commercial CHAP. transactions between different portions of the Union would have been merely nominal. At the commencement of the rebellion, and for years previous, exchange through the medium of independent State banks was a heavy tax on the mercantile interests of the whole country. During these years, it is true, a comparative few-the Abolitionistslabored to enlighten the people, especially of the free States, on the moral aspects of slavery; and for these reasons, regardless of consequences, they wished to abolish the system as a great wrong. It was not till the deliberate firing on Sumter revealed its true spirit that the mass of intelligent people in the North recognized fully its deadly hostility to right and justice. This truth, like an intuition, flashed in their minds and conscience, and at once increased the number of its enemies a thousand-fold. Though the great majority of the people believed the system to be a moral, political and economical evil, they were perplexed as to the remedies to be applied in its removal. It was the farthest from their intentions that it should be removed by the borrors of war. They thought of no other means than moral, and certainly not by infringing the right of the slaveowner as guaranteed by the Constitution and the laws made under it. They hoped that the humane spirit of Christianity would finally abolish the system; but in truth the enactments of laws on the subject in the slave States were becoming harsher and harsher every year. It remained for the slaveowners to place themselves in a position which rid the country of the evil. Another ground of dissatisfaction was the progress of the free States in material wealth and population. From about 1825 there had been a large emigration from the Old World, chiefly from Ireland, and mostly unskilled laborers ; nearly all these settled in the free States, where they found employment principally in digging canals and building railroads. Scarcely any of these made their home in the States where slavery existed, because of the stigma resting LVII. 1844. CHAP. upon mauual labor, and also of the lack of enterprise in that section to furnish them employment. Meanwhile the intelligence and industry of the free States were carrying them far in advance in the enterprises of mining, manufac turing and commerce. They had taken possession of the region north of the Ohio and east of the Great River, and of the northwest. These plains were covered with farms, and immense crops were harvested by means of machinery requiring not one eighth as many laborers as under the old system the sickle and the scythe. An outlet had been obtained for their grains to Europe, almost a rival of cotton as an article of commerce. Thus the progress of the free States, as revealed every ten years by the census, was unparalleled; and in consequence of the increase of inhabitants they had in the same ratio increased their number of members in the House of Representatives. Though in 1860 the slaves had twenty representatives in the House, and these elected by their owners, yet the majority of the members from the free States was overwhelming, and could never be overcome, but was increasing from census to census, while the equality of members in the Senate was gone forever. The leaders foreseeing this result -the termination of their power to rule the National Government-determined to change their tactics in order to secure their ends. In accordance with the sentiment held by the people of the free States of non-interference with slavery in the States where it existed, Congress in no instance ever passed a law that was intended to thus interfere; while the Territories, the common property of the whole Union, were governed under the Constitution by Congres alone, by means of laws of its own enactment, and by officers legally appointed by the President. The disposal of these Territories was thus given to Congress as the common property of the nation, under the control of the representatives of the whole people; and, as in other cases, in accordance with the cardinal principle of the National 2 LVII. 1844. Government, that the majority should rule. Hitherto, CHAP. when differences of opinion or policy occurred, the difficulties were arranged by compromises. Such was the case in the famous Missouri Compromise. And in the days of South Carolina nullification by a compromise in respect to the tariff. In the annexation of Texas, a Territory more than five times as great as that of New York or Pennsylvania, the same spirit prevailed; and that Territory was handed over to the slaveholders for their exclusive benefit, though it had cost thousands of precious lives in the war which ensued with Mexico, and an immense amount of national treasure. This concession was made by the free States, when every intelligent person knew that the profit would inure to the slave States alone, and to the extension of their system of enforced labor. The acquisition of California was not then in contemplation, and this concession was an exhibition of good will by the North toward the South. The population of Texas, though its territory was so extensive, would only entitle her to come into the Union as a single State, and not five, into which it could be divided in accordance with the articles of annexation.3 But California, owing to peculiar circumstances. soon acquired the requisite population to make a State, and was admitted into the Union; her people by their vote prohibiting slavery, preserving the balance of power between the free and the slave States in the United States Senate. With this result the advocates of slavery were not satisfied, and they resolved to make another attempt to secure the coveted majority. The plan now adopted was to repeal the Missouri Compromise, which had remained intact for thirty-four years, and secure for their purpose the region west of that State. This repeal raised the question, especially in the free States. Will the advocates of slavery never be satisfied? Are the politicians, for personal ambition, to keep the 4 |