History of Hardin county, Iowa, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 20

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Springfield IL : Union Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1002

USA > Iowa > Hardin County > History of Hardin county, Iowa, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 20

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Resolved, That, as Whigs and citizens of the great valley of the Mississippi, we are heartily in favor of that well regulated Whig policy of liberal appropriations by the general govern- ment, for works of internal improvement of a national character, and that we view all navi- gable waters in the country, whether rivers or inland seas, as eminently national in their char- acter, and recommend to our Senators and Representatives in Congress to endeavor, by all honorable means, to procure appropriations for such purposes, and especially for the removal of obstructions to navigation in the Mississippi river.

Resolved, That we view the proposition of Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, to effect an improvement by the levying of tonnage du- ties on the internal commerce of the country, as entirely inadequate to the accomplishment of such a purpose, and only calculated to imposc heavy and upjust burdens on the people of the West, in the shape of indirect taxation, without

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securing to them any of the proposed advan- tages.

Resolved, That we unreservedly and cordially approve of the course and conduct of the Hon. John P. Cook, our Representative in Congress from the Second Congressional District, and we hereby pledge ourselves to sustain him in his able aud independent course.

WHEREAS, The object of our educational sys- tem was to place the means of a common school cducation within the reach of all; and

WHEREAS, Under its present management more than one-third of the proceeds of the fund set apart to cherish an.l maintain that sys- tem is annually absorbed by its constitutional guardians, subjectiug it to a loss, in the year 1851, of $10,751.40 to pay the salaries and ex- penses of the Superintendent of Public Instruc- tion and Commissioners of the School Fund, and leaving only the sum of $20,600.11 to be dis- tributed among the public schools; and

WHEREAS, The duties of said officers may all be discharged by other State and county officers, without any or with but a trifling expense to said fund; therefore,

Resolved, That sound policy and enlightened philanthropy demand such legislation and amendment to our constitution as will preserve this fund inviolate to the purposes originally intended as an inheritance to our children and their posterity.

Resolved, That we are in favor of a donation, by Congress, of public lands, in limited quanti- ties, to actual settlers.

Resolved, That we believe the people of this State are prepared for, and their interests re- quire, the passage of a law prohibiting the man- ufacture and sale of ardent spirits within the State as a beverage. .

The official vote on Governor was as fol- lowg:

James W. Grimes, Whig .23,025 -1,823 Curtis Bates, Dem 21,202

The election of 1855 was for minor offi- cers. The Democrats met in convention,

January 24, at the Capitol, and nominated the following ticket: Commissioner Des Moines River Improvement, O. D. Tisdale; Register DesMoines River Improvement, Wm. Dewey; Register Land Office, Stark H. Samuels. The following is the plat- form adopted:

WHEREAS, It is in accordance with the Dem- ocratic party, to deelare, from time to time, its views upon the various political principles that occupy the attention of the country; therefore,

Resolved, That there has been a period in the history of our country, when we could with more confidence proclaim to the world our entire adherence to and approval of the old landmarks of the Democratic party.

2. That the temporary success of our foes being a result of an abandonment of principles on their part, and of the aggression of discordant elements, brought together for mercenary ends, afford's no grounds for alarm; but confident of the correctness of our principles, and of the in- tegrity of the masses, we appeal to the sober, second thought of the people with no fears as to the verdict they may render.

3. That we declare our firm determination to sustain the principles recognized as correct, in reference to slavery agitation, to support the constitution faithfully, to carry out its provis- ions, and discountenance all incendiary move- ments that tend to the overthrow of our govern- ment, from whatever source they may originate.

4. That the efforts being made to colonize free negroes in their native land, is a measure that commends itself to every philanthropist as being the only favorable plan for the ultimate accomplishment of the first wish of every friend of freedom.

õ. That we endorse, to the fullest extent, the compromise measure of 1850, believing those measures to be constitutional, just, and proper.

6. That in changing his domicile from one portion of a republican government to another, man does not divest himself of his political, moral or natural rights, nor can he be deprived

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of them otherwise than as he has consented to constitutionally.

7. That the liberal principles cmbodied by Jefferson, in the Declaration of Independence, and sanctioned in the constitution, which makes ours the land of liberty and the asylum of the op- pressed of every nation, have ever been cardinal principles in the Democratic faith, and every at- tempt to abridge the right of becoming citizens and the owners of soil among us ought to be re- sisted with the same spirit that swept the alien and sedition laws from the statute books.

8. That we adhere to the doctrine of an un- restrained religious liberty, as established by the constitution of the United States, and sustained by all Democratic administrations.

The Whigs held their last State conven- tion at Iowa City, January 25, 1855, and, without resolutions, made the following nominations: Commissioner on Des Moines River Improvement, Wm. McKay; Regis- ter DesMoines River Improvement, J. C. Lockwood; Register Land Office, Anson Hart.

The official vote for Commissioners was as follows:

William McKay, Whig. .24,743-4,737 O. D. Tisdale, Dem. . .. .20,006

A vote was taken this year on the pro- hibition liquor law, with the following re- sult:

For the law. 25,555-2,910 Against the law. .22,645

While the Whig party in this State ap- parently was in a well organized condition, throughout the Union it was undergoing a process of disintegration. In the South it was being absorbed by the American or Know Nothing party, and in the North by the newly organized Republican party, born out of the issues growing out of the slavery question. Representatives of the Republican party met in convention at

Iowa City, February 22, 1856, and selected the following ticket: Secretary of State, Elijah Sells; Auditor, John Patten; Treas- urer, M. L. Morris; Attorney-General, S. A. Rice. The following platform was adopted at the same time and place.

United in a common resolve to maintain right against wrong, and believing in the determina- tion of a virtuous and intelligent people to sus- tain justice, we declare-

1. That governments are instituted among men to secure the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

2. That the mission of the Republican party is to maintain the liberty of the press, the sov- ereignty of the State, and the perpetuity of the Union.

3. That under the constitution, and by right, frecdom is alone national.

4. That the federal government, being one of limited powers, derived wholly from the consti- tution, its agents should construe these powers strictly, and never exercise a doubtful authority -always inexpedient and dangerous.

5. If the plan is Jeffersonian, and the early policy of the government is carried out, the fed- eral government would relieve itself of all re- sponsibility for the existence of slavery, which Republicanism insists it should and means it shall do, and that regarding slavery in the State as a local institution, beyond our reach and above our authority, but recognizing it as of vital con- cern to every citizen in its relation to the nation, we well oppose its spread, and demand that all national territory shall be free.

6. That the repeal of the Missouri Compro- mise, and the refusal of the slave power to abide by the principles on which that repeal was pro- fessedly based, make the national domain the battle ground between freedom and slavery; and while Republicans stand on a national basis, and will ever manifest and maintain a national spirit, they will shrink from no conflict and. shirk no responsibility on this issue.

7. That the slave power, the present national administration and its adherents, having violated

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this policy, and the principles on which it is bascd, by a disregard of the law and its own profession, by encroachments upon the State and personal rights, and by breaking solemn covenants of the country, make the issue whether freedom shall be limited to the free States, or slavery to the slave States, and make that issue absorbing and paramount.

Resolved, That the firm, consistent, and patriotic course pursued by the Republican members of the present Congress, during the arduous protracted struggle for the speakership, meets with our cordial approval, and we recog- nize in Hon. N. P. Banks a statesman of mature abilities, a Republican of reliable character; and we hail his election as a proud triumph of those great principles of human liberty upon which the American government was founded.

The Democratic convention met at Iowa City, June 26, 1856, and adopted a plat- form and made the following nominations: Secretary of State, Geo. Snyder; Auditor, Jas. Pollard; Treasurer, George Paul; At- torney-General, James Baker. The follow- ing is the platform:

Resolved, That the Democracy of Iowa receive with joy, and ratify with confidence, the nom- inations of James Buchanan and John G. Breck- enridge.

2. That the platform of Democratic principles laid down by the Cincinnati convention mects our hearty concurrence, and that it is such a one as is worthy of the only National party in cxist- ence.

On motion of Col. Martin, of Scott, the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That freedom and equal rights are the basis of Democracy, and that no measurc or principle not embracing or recognizing these is any part or parcel of the Democratic crced; that Democracy is equality against privilege, freedom against aristocracy, liberty against licentious- ness, strict construction against latitudinarian interpretations of the constitution, law and order

against anarchy and violence, and the peace, har- mony, prosperity and perpetuity of our glorious Union to the end of time.

The entire Republican ticket was elected. Sells, for Secretary of State, received 40,- 687 votes and Snyder 32,920.

There were three elections in 1857-the first in April, for Superintendent of Public Instruction, Register of Land Office and DesMoines River Commissioner; the sec- ond in August, for the purpose of a vote on the new constitution; the third in Octo- ber, for Governor and Lieutenant Gov- ernor. The Democrats nominated the following ticket: Superintendent Public Instruction, Maturin L. Fisher; Register, Theodore S. Parvin; DesMoines River Commissioner, Gideon Bailey; Governor, Benj. M. Samuels; Lieutenant-Governor, Geo. Gillaspie.

The Republicans nominated the follow- ing ticket: Superintendent Public In- struction, L. A. Bugbee; Register, W. H. Holmes; Des Moines River Commissioner, H. F. Manning; Governor, Ralph P.Lowe; Lieutenant-Governor, Oran Faville.

The following Republican platform was adopted:

United in a common resolve to maintain right against wrong, and believing in the determina- tion of a virtuous and intelligent people to sus- tain justice, we declare: -

1. That governments arc instituted among men to secure the inalienable rights of life, lib- erty and the pursuit of happiness.

2. That the mission of the Republican party is to maintain the liberties of the people, the sovereignty of the States and the perpetuity of the Union.

3. That under the constitution, and by right, freedom alone is national.

4. That the Federal Government being one of limited powers, derived wholly from the con-

HISTORY OF IOWA.

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stitution, its agents should construe those powers strictly, and never exercise a doubtful authority, always inexpedient and dangerous.

5. That if this Jeffersonism and early policy were carried out, the Federal Government would relieve itself of all responsibility for the exist- ence of slavery, which Republicanismi insists it should, and means it shall do, and that regard- ing slavery in the States as a local institution, beyond our reach, and above our authority, but recognizingit as of vital concern to the nation, we still oppose its spread, and demand that all national territory shall be free.

6. That the repeal of the Missouri compro- mise, and the refusal of the slave power to abide by the principle on which that repeal was pro- fessedly based, made the national domain the battle ground between freedom and slavery, and while Republicans stand on a national basis, and maintain a national spirit, they will shirk no responsibility on this issue.

7. That the slave power-the present national administration and its adherents having violated this policy, and the principles on which it is based, by a disregard of law and its own pro- fessions, by an invasion of the State and per- sonal rights, and by breaking solemn covenants, has forced upon the country the issue whether freedom shall be limited to the free States or slavery to the slave States, and makes that issue absorbing and paramount.

Resolved, That the recent opinion of the Su- preme Court of the United States, in the Dred Scott case, is the most alarming of those bold innovations upon the rights of the free Statcs which have marked the administration of the government for years past, as sectional and disloyal to the spirit of our free institutions. We regard it as virtually revolutionizing the judicial action of the government, if tolerated; by giving to slavery a national instead of a local character; opening free States and free Terri- tories for its diffusion; reducing to the condi- tion of chattels those who are recognized by the constitution as men, belying the sentiments of the Declaration of Independence, and casting reproach upon the action of those who, amid

toil and peril, laid dcep the formation of the Union.

2. That the National Administration has brought disgrace upon the country by so long tolerating the demoralizing and heaven-defying practices of Brigham Young and his followers in Utah. The embarrassment experienced by the present administration in reaching and cor- recting the evil, is mainly attributed to the doc- trine embodied in the Kansas Nebraska Bill, and the retention of the U. S. soldiery in Kansas to overawe unoffending men, instead of sending them to Utah, where the authority of the gen- eral government is brazenly defied, is humili- ating evidence of perversion of the powers of the national government.

3. That we invite the affiliation and co-opera- tion of freemen of all parties, however differing from us in other respects, in support of the principles herein declared, and believing that the spirit of our institutions as well as the con- stitution of our country, guarantee liberty of conscience and equality of rights among citi- zens, we opposc all legislation impairing their security.

\4. That we congratulate the people of Iowa upon the new constitution, for many reasons, but most of all in view of the fact that it enables them to provide for themselves a sound currency, and places the annual election in October instead of August, thus consulting the convenience of an agricultural population.

5. That it is a deliberate conviction of this convention, that the next Legislature should provide a system of banking that will secure to the State a circulating medium, redeemable at all times, within its limits, in gold and silver; and we will support for State officers and the Legis- lature such, and such only, as are avowedly qualified favorable to this result.

6. That the administration of Governor Grimes deserves and receives our warmest en- dorsement, and that the thanks of all who love the character and prosperity of the State, arc due to him, as well as to the Legislature, for their efforts to bring to justice a dishonorable public servant, defeat speculation, and prevent

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the squandcring of the fund consecrated to the education of the children of the State.

7. That in the nominees for Governor and Lieutanant-Governor we recognize men capable and honest, and every way worthy the support of the Republican party of this State.

The Democrats adopted the following platform :

As to national policy --

1. That we have undiminished confidence in the present administration. That the policy adopted is eminently wise and proper, and should command the support and approval of every rational man.

2. That the opposition to President Buchanan is now composed of the fire-eaters of the South and the Black Republicans of the North, who are vieing with each other in abusing the admin- istration and Democratic party. We therefore place them in the same category, and brand them as a united opposition, and will treat them alike as factionists, disunionists and ene- mies of the Democracy and the country.

3. That we will maintain and preserve the Constitution of the United States, with all its checks and balances, and that treaties made by the President and Senate, laws passed by Congress under the Constitution, and decisions made by the Supreme Court of the United States, are equally binding on the people, and must be maintained in order to preserve the country from anarchy, and that it is the duty of every citizen to sustain these departments of government against the assaults of bigots, fanat- ics and traitors.

As to State policy-

1. That we will preserve and maintain the institutions of this State in a just relation and harmony toward the general government, and we repudiate and condemn any effort that has been made, or may be made, which asserts the right or remotely tends to bring our State into collision orconflict with the general government.

2. That the conflict of the Black Republican party, acting through their Representatives in passing a law authorizing the Negroes and In-

dians to become witnesses against the citizens of this State, was an unjustifiable innovation upon the laws of the State, passed without ne- cessity, and the first step towards a system to equalize the black and white races.

3. The late Constitutional Convention, com- posed of a large majority of Black Republican members, openly advocated the equality of the black and white people, and unanimously recom. mended, through an appendage to the constitu- tion, that the word "white" be stricken from that instrument; we, therefore, feel free to charge upon that party the design and purpose of abolitionizing the people of this State, and placing the negro upon an equality with the white man.

4. That the National Democracy of Iowa re- gard the new constitution just adopted by the people, in many of its features, as essentially anti-Democratic, unjust, and containing prin- ciples that tend to subvert the distinction be- tween the black and white races, and looking to equality between them.

We, therefore, now proclaim open and undis- guised hostility to each and every action and part of said instrument which contains these ob- noxious provisions, and we here raise the stand- ard of opposition and reform, and call upon every true patriot in the State to carry these questions to the ballot-box, and to elcct officers for government of the State who will take every honorable measure to reform ard amend said constitution.

5. That the laws of the last Legislature ap- portioning the State into Representative districts and the adoption of that law by the late Black Republican Constitutional Convention, by which the majority of the members of the General Assembly are given to a minority of the people, and many thousands of our citizens are virtually disfranchiscd, was a tyrannical and flagitious outrage,-a violation of every principle of a Republican Government,-and demands thie scverest rebuke from the people; that we recog- nize in these proceedings a manifest conspiracy against the rights of the majority, and a wanton violation of the principles of our Republican form of Government.

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6. That the refusal of the late Constitutional Convention to allow the constitution to become the supreme law of the land, when sanctioned and adopted by a majority of the people, and postponing the taking effect of portions of the same for more than two years after its adoption, which was avowedly done to withhold political power from the people, and retain it in the hands of already condemned officers, is an insult and an outrage upon the people, and deserving our condemnation.

7. That the Democracy of the State of Iowa take this method of expressing their gratitude and confidence in the Hon. George W. Jones, our Democratic Senator, and the Hon. A. Hall, late Democratic Representative, for thicir faith- ful adherence to Democratic principles, and their untiring vigilance for the welfare of our young and promising State.

Fisher was elected Superintendent over Buzbee by 505 majority; Manning over Baily, for Commissioner, by 315; Lowe over Samuels, for Governor, by 2,149.

The campaign of 1858 was opened by the Republicans, meeting in convention at Iowa City, June 17, and adopting the fol- lowing platform:

WHEREAS, We, the representatives of the Republicans of Iowa, being again permitted to assemble in State Convention, deem this a fitting occasion to briefly express our views of national and State policy, and to affirm our adhesion to the principles of constitutional liberty, for which we have been long and earnestly con- tending. We believe this Republic specially ordained by the blood and treasure of our fore- fathers for the free homes of the mechanic, the operative and the farmer, and we, their descend- ents, are determined it shall be preserved and administered for our common welfare; and that the great problem of the ability of the people to govern themselves shall be clearly solved in the onward progress and prosperity of our Republi- can constitution; manifesting to the nations of this earth that the free spirit of this nation is unconquered and unconquerable; therefore,

Resolved, That the principles laid down in the Philadelphia platform, adopted on June 17, 1856, are founded upon the Constitution of the United States, are consonant with the teachings of Christianity, and are most heartily endorsed by the convention.

2. That in the contest now waging between freedom and slavery, our sympathies are wholly and strongly with the former-that we have no truce to offer, no mercy to ask, that with us the watchword is victory or death.

3. That the effort made to extend the area of slave territory on this continent, by the Demo- cratic party, is contrary to the spirit of the age and the genius of our institutions.

4. That by the passage of the English swindle for the admission of Kansas into the Union under the infamous Lecompton Constitution, whereby an unjust discrimination is made in favor of slave and against free States in the amount of population required to form a State government, the so-called national Democracy have proven devotion to slavery extension, their opposition to the interests of free labor, and their total disregard of the popular will.

5. That the new doctrine of the so-called Democratic party originated by Chief Justice Taney, in the Dred Scott decision, and carry slavery into our national territory, has no foun- dation in the Federal Constitution, is at war with the verities of our history, civil and judi. cial, and this is calculated to tolerate the en- slaving of our race in all the States.

6. That we view with satisfaction the course of those who, without respect to party feeling, and uninfluenced by the threats and in scorn of the bribes and corrupting influences of the Buchanan administration, boldly, and as frce- men fighting for freemen's rights, opposed with all their might the passage of tlie Lecompton Constitution and the English swindle through Congress, and we trust that among the people there will continue the same strong opposition to the encroachments of the slave power, which they have so gallantly manifested before the nation.

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7. That we look forward hopefully to that good time, not far distant, when it shall be deemed legitimate, proper and constitutional for this government to extend its protecting care over free labor, the commerce and industrial interests of all the country, instead of bending its whole energies and treasure for the aggrand- izement of a slaveholding aristocracy in one section of the Union.

8. That the corruption which stalks abroad at noonday, pervading every department of the National Government, the gross and shameless use of Presidential power and patronage to in- fluence the action of Congress, the astounding increase in national expenditures in a time of peace and universal financial embarrassment (involving, as it does, a debt of forty-five mil- lions of dollars, and an expenditure of nearly one hundred millions of dollars during a single financial year), bringing upon the government the burning disgrace of bankruptcy and threat- ening the onerous burthens of direct taxation, demand a solemn, earnest protest from us in behalf of the people of Iowa.

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History of Hardin county, Iowa, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 20

Author: Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Springfield IL : Union Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1002

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Springfield IL : Union Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1002