Reminiscences of a. Wayfarer
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Some of the Important Events of the Pioneer Days
of Richardson County and Southeast Neb»aska. as
remembered by the writer, who has spent fifty
one years here.
The Fall of the House of Washington,
“—And that government of the people
by the people, ami for the people
shall not perish from the earth."
The memorable year of which par
ticular mention is made in my last
three papers, dragged its slow length
into mighty history and died. The
events of its last two months, without
the people being a’ are of the fact,
changed the current of history, alter
ed the face of the world, and deter
mined the fate of popular government
among men. When it was definitely
known on the night of November 5th,
1800, that Abraham Lincoln had been
elected president of the United states,
there was rejoicing among the people
of the non-slave holding states In the
north, and deep disappointment and
chagrin among those of the south.
For the first time in the history of
the nation, then only eighty-five years
old, a president had been elected on
a distinctively anti-slavery platform,
and by a distinctively sectional vote.
The South had Indulged In repeat
ed threats to dissolve the Union if
assaults on Its peculiar Institution,
slavery, wore not stopped, and its peo
ple allowed to go Into the common
territories of the nation with their
human chattels, the same ns others
were allowed to go with their horses,
cattle or other recognized chattel
properly. roriy yours oi Km n men
ac0B had brought sueeesB to I lie ad
vocates of the peeultar Institution.
Though, nothing was said about it in
tin* cession of Louiidana by France
in 1803, nor of Florida by Spain in
1810, yet out of tin* first, three slave
states were carved; Florida was al
ready a slave community before we
got it. and of course remained so
'without au effort.
Texas was seized by otir people
who had gone there in an early day
(mostly to escape punishment for
crimes committed in the states north
and east), and without the consent
of its nominal owner, Mexico, pro
ceeded to erect a state government of
their own, and slavery became one of
its constituent institutions, precise
ly ns though It was one of the prin
cipal features of American liberty
our July Fourth spread-eagle speakers
delight to talk about on such oc
casions; and when It was finally an
nexed to the United States, we found
slavery in it, as we found it In Flor
ida, and it stayed there till the war
and Lincoln's emancipation proclama
tion destroyed it.
The truth is, this slavery question
presents one of those strange contra
dictions with which our history
abounds; When the constitution was
adopted about 120 years ngo, every
state but one was slave holding. The
Institution was never established by
authority of law. but it was the crea
ture of universal custom; and when
those states north of what is known
as Mason & Dixon's line, which in
fact was the line established by sur
veyors of those names, between Mary
land and Pennsylvania, ceased to be
slave.hoiding, it was not the result
of local law abolishing it, but was
rather because the institution would
not pay so fur north, and it gradual
ly died out, the people selling their
slaves down south, where such labor
could be utilized profitably.
It never occured to the northern
Puritan that the man of the black
skin was as much entitled to "life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness"
as he was, and being no longer use
ful might as well go free like other
people. Oh! no. not while ho could
get a dollar for him in a Southern
market; and so the north was made
free by selling its slaves to the cot
ton planters in the south. But turn
the kaleidoscope of time forward a
couple of generations, and listen to
the frantic denunciation of the des
cendants of those pious old sinners
who sold the ancestors of many of
tho then slaves in the south, against
their owners for the awful crime,
accursed of tJod and humanity ac
cording to them, of enslaving a down
trodden and an inferior race. The
devil reproving sin could hardly hold
a candle to such a spectacle, but tlie
spectacle was. and the hypocrisy that
went with it. as well. Time, cir
cumstances, environment and the dol
lar, have much to do with the con
duct of men. no matter what church
they belong to. nor what code of mor
als they may affect.
That, however, is not the purpose
in hand just now and 1 shall pur
sue the subject no further. The
statement of fact is all that is Intend
ed, and that is enough.
Two months is not a long time,
but in the closing days of IStiO they
were long enough to comprehend the
disruption of the American republic.
The pretense for it, was the election
of an anti-slavery president, but the
real reason lay further back, in the
colonial days before the revolution.
Knch colony planted in America eon
sill* red itself a nation, or as stated
in the declaration of separation from
the parent government, an "independ
ant state." The idea was fostered
with most vehemence in Virginia, but
was entertained to some extent by
! the entire thirteen, and when the
j Union was made "more perfect" by
the adoption of the constitution, its
J declared in the preamble of that in
strument, the states assumed that
I they had retained some right, or ele
tnent, of sovereignty, that had not
been surrendered by becoming a part
of ilio federal union, and that tills
retained right they were at liberty to
resume whenever, in the judgment
of any one of them, their union
with the others had become oppres
sive or burdensome to its people.
That principle, denied by Marshall
and Webster, was clearly repudiated
by the authors of the "federalist,"
Hamilton, Madison and Jay, was at
the bottom of the asserted right of
secession, anti was the real control
lug cause of our civil war.
When the news of Lincoln's elec
tion was flashed over the wires, then
was rejoicing In the north and mad
rage in tlie south. The pent up fires
of insurrection and disunion blazed
from every city, town, and lmmlet
in the slave states, hut more pro
nounced and fierce In South Carolinia,
the ancient hot-bed of false ideas,
where was early germinated that par
ent of all that lias worked ill for the
nation, namely, that any one of the
stales had a perfect constitutional
right, by implication at least, to with
draw from the Union and tints des
troy its territorial Integrity. Certain
it iH, that that state assumed the
initiatory in the baleful enterprise of
breaking up the government, and set
ting in motion an Independent politl
cai entity ot its own.
between the date of the election
and the meeting of congress in Peceiu
her, there was an interval of about
one month and that tiine was utili
zed by the promoters of dls-union in
fanning' the flames In the Southern
states, and anywhere else they could
command an audience. To dismem
ber the union was a big job, and no
one state could do much towards it.
"in order to make a respectable show
ing there bad to be a concert of not
ion on*the part of all,or as many of
the slave states as could be induced
to embark in the business, and to
that etui every energy of the leading
secessionists were bent with deadly
and tireless persistence.
The whole south was in an uproa
and was kept so from that hour on
to the disastrous end. It was plain to
thoughtful people that the election of
an anti-slavery president,was as muck
desired by the southern secessionists,
as by the northern abolitionists, as it
would furnish the pretext needed, and
would solidify the south for a common
purpose of protecting the institution
of slavery in all of them. On any
other question of administrative policy
it would he impossible to unite thos
states, at least to the extent of dis
union, or to array them in hostile op
position to the authority of the general
government. It does not lie in my way
to discuss the history of the great
conspiracy—for it was nothing else
to wipe the I’niled States from the
map of tin', world, but rather, to ro
lat ■ briefly what I personally saw of
that colossal attempt.
When congress nu t on the first
Monday in December, pandemonium
broke loose. The enemies of the gov
ernment were in control. The presi
dent was a mere puppet in their hands
and nearly "very one of the political
departments were presided over by a
traitor to the union. The Southern
states were fully represented in the
congress.and the din of dis-union was
kept up ill both houses to still fur
ther inflame the public mind south in
pid of the common purpose.
The ' legislature of South Caroliuia
provided for a convention to consid
er the propriety of withdrawing the
state from the Union. The question
was an easy one down there. There
was scarcely a voice in opposition,
and on the 20th of December an ordi
nance of secession was solemnly pas
sed, declaring South Caroliuia an in
dependent state and no longer a mem
ber of the Federal union. That was
the entering wedge, the first event in
Hie long threatened demolition of the
House of Washington. What folly,
what blindness. Little did those peo
ple know what part in an awful dra
ma they were playing that day. No
more perhaps than Judas did when
he betrayed his Master, hut without
such betrayal the gospel of Christ
would have been a thing impossible,
and his apotheosis of the ages, the
mere shadow of a dream. It was
pretty hard on that unfortunate Is
raelite. Nineteen hundred years of
constant and universal anathemas for
doing the most necessary act to make
successful the vast and infinite scheme
of man's redemption, seems an in
justice so monstrous, so monumental,
that even the “demons down under
the sea,” would hardly be guilty of.
1 may be wrong in this conclusion,
it is always easy to be so on any
proposition, but if I am, it must be
on some ethical ground with which
the ordinary principles of logical j
reasoning have nothing in common.!
We will 1( t it go at that.
At the time of which I write. 1 was |
; hoarding in the family of a lady who i
was a subscriber for a literary publi
cation, known as "Harpers Weekly."
It is still published and is of a high
order of magazine literature, in which
the current events of the time were
given, together with illustrations of
jt he principal actors, by means of half
; toned cuts, etc. I had the privilege
: of reading that publication from
i week to week while the furore in the
I political world, 1 have mentioned, was
j going on; and I still remember with
i what curious feelings I regarded the
first illustration, after the secession
i of South Carolinia,which was the pic
i torial group of her delegation In con
gress.—her two senators, and inom
| liers of (lie House of Representatives.
When their state seceded from the
Union, they vacated their seats in
■ digress and went home. It was a
n- w and strange experience, but 1
doubt that people thought much of
the erratic conduct of the proverbial
disloyal little fire-eating state in her
serio-comic, hut somewhat dramatic,
exit from the Union as she gave out.
Out when in the next issue of the
"Weekly” there was another pictor
ial group of seceding congressmen
from another state, who had also va
cated their seats in the national leg'
islature in consequence of t lie seces
sion of their state, the matter began
to wear a serious aspect, and to look
very much as though the oft repeat
ed threat to dissolve the Union was
now materializing as a fact. People
who had heard the old, and long time
thread bare threat to dissolve the
Union, and had come to think noth
ing of it, looked into each others
faces and asked, "Is this indeed the
beginning of the end of the old Uni
on? Is the Itouse of Washington
tumbling into wreck and ruin? It
looks like it."
It is one thing to tnlk of doing
something, and quite another in the
I actual doing of it. And so with the
I long indulged talk of dissolving the
Union. Nobody had taken it seri
ously, for nobody thought it could he
(lone. But when, after the most ex
citing national election the country
ever had, a wide spread movement
was made in tlie south looking to that
end, because of the assumed unfriend
ly result of that election, touching an
interest common to all the southern
states and in defense of which all
' might be united—and were rapidly bc
I lug united—the situation became
grave indeed, and decidedly alarming.
As state after state resolved itself
out of die Union, and recalled their
representatives in congress, the con.
viction forced itself upon the minds
of the people, more and more, that
calamity of some kind, national death
it might be. was impending over our
country.
1 remember with what eagerness I
looked for each issue of the period
ical mentioned, and with what deep
interest I perused each item of news
from Washington, and the South,
the region of storms.
Slowly the old year went out aud
the new one began, but the rising
tide of dis-unlon swept the southland
like a very besom of destruction,
bearing down every opposing force
like frail reeds in the path of a hur
ricane. Before Mr. Lincoln was in
augurated president, eleven of the
slave states had seceded and formed
a government of their own which they
named the “Confederate Slates of
America,’’ elected a provisional pres
ident, adopted a constitution, declar
ing the new creation an independent
nation.
1 need not recount the events that
followed. They are matter of familiar
history and accessible to all, but I
am justified in dealing with effects.
Until Fort Sumpter in Charlston
Harbor was fired upon, Mr. Lincoln
hoped for a peaceful settlement of
all matters in difference between the
people over the vexed question of
slavery, but when the nation was act
ually assailed by war, that hope van
ished and the war power of the gov
ernment was called to oppose
force to destroy the Union, by force
to maintain it.
Mr. Lincoln in his inaugural ad
dress said, “that in contemplation of
universal law the Union was unbrok
en." Theoretically speaking he was
correct, but the fact is, the southern
secessionists had already destroyed
the old Union, not territorially it
is true, but in all other respects.
The old Union was the first to die
in the conflict, shot to death with
the cause of the trouble. As well
try to raise the dead as try to restore
the old house of the fathers, .with all
its appointments, its contradiction,
defects and antagonistic working ma
chinery. All these went with the
first cannon ball that struck the walls
of Fort Sumpter, and the fabric of
Washington was shattered into frag
ments. The new one to come out
of the ruins of the old—if it ever
did—would be freed from all such
imperfections; and would be what the
Declaration of Independence and its
immortal r nthors intended it should
be.
Th? people of the rebellious states,
may be, could take themselves out
of the Union, but not the territory,
except by superior force, and at the
end of a bloody and wasting war.
We had that, but not an acre of the
vast domain was taken from under
tlie aegis of the constitution, nor is
its soil polluted by the thread of a
single servile slave anywhere. The
old house fell, was burned up in the
fires of civil war, but out of its ash
es, like the fabled bird of Egypt, the
new one arose:
“Who is left among you that saw
this house in her first glory? and
how do you see it now? is it not
in your eyes in comparison of if as
nothing?
“The glory of this latter house
shall be greater than of the former.
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