USA > Illinois > Illinois in 1818, 2nd ed > Part 23
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Even before the returns were published, a correspondent who wrote over the signature of "Anticipator" sent a communica- tion to the Intelligencer, in which he maintained "that it is the spirit of the law for the members of the body, to be the judges of the fact-that if we have not the population called for, it will be in the power of the convention, not only to form an ordinance, but a constitution for the consideration of the people." In the same issue in which the statement of population was published, the editors announced that, "the fact that our population will not amount to 40,000, having become generally known, we under- stand that some doubts are entertained as to the propriety of electing members of the Convention .- The diversity of opinions
203The original schedules are found in the secretary of state's office, but see appendix, p. 318-319. See James, Territorial Records, 54-58.
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which prevailed on this subject, was such, as to induce us to enquire of Mr. Pope, upon his arrival, as to what were his views on the subject; and he gives it as his opinion, that it will be proper to elect a convention, and for them to meet. And if it should appear from the returns made, that we have not 40,000, then for the Convention to pass an Ordinance, authorising an election for members of convention after the last returns shall be made, which are to be in the first week of December next. And if we then have 40,000 souls, that such Convention will have the right to frame a Constitution."264
Pope's opinion was not allowed to pass unchallenged. The next issue of the Intelligencer contained a communication from "A friend to enquiry" which maintained not only that no special weight should be attached to that opinion but "that his [Pope's] connexion with the law itself, however correct his opinions are in the general, would lead him more readily into false reasoning, than an individual less interested." The writer reached the con- clusion, therefore, "that the people are in the present instance to enquire and judge for themselves in relation to their powers; and that their enquiries may enable them to know, and to act within the provisions of the law is my most earnest wish. For, I do consider it a matter of much doubt whether a constitution, not within the law established for our guide, would be anything more than a dead letter, though it should receive a subsequent ratification by congress." From the reply of the editors in the same issue and from a second communication from "A friend to enquiry," which was published after the elections had taken place, it appears that the points at issue in the controversy were : whether the enabling act required a population of forty thousand at the time of deciding the question of the expediency of form- ing a state government or merely when the constitution was framed; and whether or not any action contrary to the enabling act would be binding on the people of the state, even if accepted by congress. A third article from the same correspondent, pub- lished on July 22, shows his opposition to the exclusion of slav- ery, which may explain his advocacy of delay.
"Intelligencer, June 10, June 17, 1818.
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Before taking up the arguments on slavery advanced by "A friend to enquiry" it will be well to consider those of another writer which appeared in the Intelligencer for June 17 and July I. By far the ablest communications which appeared in this campaign were those sent in from Madison county under date of May, 1818, by a writer who signed himself "Agis." The author was evidently a man of culture and of wide experience, not only in different parts of the United States but in England as well, and his point of view was clearly that of an outsider. All this establishes the probability that the writer was none other than Edward Coles, destined to be the second governor of the state and a leader of the antislavery forces in the struggle of 1824. Coles was a Virginian, an owner of slaves by inheritance, and yet an abolitionist of the extreme type. From 1809 to 1815 he served as private secretary to President Madison; when he resigned in the latter year, he intended to take his slaves to the northwest and set them free. In the following spring, however, he was selected by the president for a special mission to Russia ; later he traveled in Germany, France, and England. On April 13, 1818, he received from Madison a letter of introduction to Governor Edwards and probably he set out for Illinois at once. If so he could easily have been in Edwardsville, his future home, by the middle of May. It is certain that he visited Kaskaskia in July, during the session of the convention and interested him- self in the contest over slavery at that time.
The first of the communications of "Agis" begins as fol- lows :265
Fellow Citizens-As the period cannot now be very distant when you will be called upon to form, by your representatives, a constitution of government for your- selves and for your posterity, I trust you will not deem it premature or improper for one, whose interests are united with yours, and whose warmest wishes are for your welfare, to call your attention to a subject of the utmost importance to individual and national hap- piness-I mean the momentous question whether this
205 Intelligencer, June 17, 1818. See also Washburne, Edward Coles, 13-45; extract from a letter from Coles to Lippincott about 1860, copied as a manu- script note in the latter's set of clippings of his "Conflict of the Century."
.
EDWARD COLES [From original owned by Chicago Historical Society]
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shall be a free or a slave state. Already have the advo- cates of slavery taken the field; and one may frequently hear them descanting upon the advantages which would attend the admission of slavery, and murmuring because this territory is not permitted to enjoy this inestimable blessing as well as some other states and territories. "Were slavery admitted," say they, "the territory would be immediately settled; mills, manu- factories and bridges, would be erected, and the whole country would wear a new appearance."
Believing, however, that the question should be considered from the standpoint of right rather than from that of expe- diency, the writer maintains with cogent arguments the injustice of slavery. Moreover he declares himself to be "one of those who consider the present [1]aws of this territory, admitting slavery under certain restrictions & regulations, as not only unjust, but as plainly inconsistent with the law of Congress which declares that there shall be 'neither slavery nor involuntary servitude' in this territory." The arguments of Governor Ed- wards in favor of the validity of the indenture law, are ably refuted. "It must be a subject of regret to every lover of lib- erty," the writer concludes, "that although our last legislature passed an act to repeal the odious law for the admission of slavery, yet the repealing act has been defeated by the veto of his excellency the governor. Let us hail the approach of that period when we shall be delivered from the trammels and shackles of territorial bondage-when it shall not be in the power of an individual, in whose appointment we have no voice, to set aside the will of the people, as expressed by their repre- sentatives."
In his second number, printed five days before the begin- ning of the election,266 "Agis" proceeded "to show that no solid reason can be produced in favor of the expediency of slavery." His principal points were; the danger of insurrection, the cor- ruption of public and private morals, and the discouragement of free labor.
But were slavery admitted, many emigrants, who now pass through our territory, on their way to Boon's
206Intelligencer, July 1, 1818.
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lick, and other parts of the Missouri territory, followed by a long concourse of slaves, might settle in Illinois. Perhaps they might; and this is the most plausible argument which has been adduced in favor of the admission of slavery. Yet for my own part, I would rather see our rich meadows and fertile woodlands inhabited aloneby the wild beasts and birds of the air, than that they should ever echo the sound of the slave driver's scourge, or resound with the cries of the oppressed African I would rather that our citizens should live fearlessly and contentedly in their peace- ful and modest cabins, than that, surrounded by a host of slaves, and inhabiting splendid palaces and gilded domes, they should live in constant apprehensions of an attack from those who are, and who ought to be, their mortal enemies.
People of Illinois! to you belongs the decision of the important question ; important as it relates to your- selves, but doubly so as it regards your posterity. Do not give them occasion to say, that through indolence, or through a mistaken zeal for public improvements, you have fixed upon them the curse of slavery-a curse which, when once fastened upon your land, can- not be removed. To you it belongs to say, whether this territory shal [sic] be inhabited by freemen or by slaves-whether all its inhabitants shall live in simple and happy freedom, or one half of them shall be reduced to abject and cruel servitude to support the splendid misery and sickly pomp of the other half.
As the love of liberty is dear to your hearts-as you would preserve yourselves and your posterity from the miserable fate of the once opulent inhabitants of St. Domingo-as you would respect the commands of Heaven and the dictates of your own consciences, let me beseach you be cautious to what persons you con- fide the important trust of framing your state consti- tution. Let no friend to slavery, however great his talents, enjoy your confidence. In particular, beware of those who, while they pretend opposition to slavery, are still desirous to uphold the present method of intro- ducing slaves by indenturing. This half-way measure is satisfactory neither to the advocates of slavery, nor to the friends of liberty. Let no one enjoy your con- fidence who will not zealously advocate the entire
-
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exclusion of slavery from the state. Disregard the clamor by which the friends of slavery hope to divert your attention from the great question of slavery or freedom. Place your confidence in men who are in practice, as well as in theory, friends to liberty-men whose interests are blended with your own-who have no aristocratical desires to gratify; and whose infor- mation and talents enable them to act with benefit to their constituents, and with honor to themselves.
The third communication of "A friend to enquiry," pub- lished July 22, after the elections but before the meeting of the convention, is an argument against the exclusion of slav- ery from Illinois as " a principle fraught with cruelty and injustice." Admitting "the abominable principles of slavery" the writer desires "to call the attention solely to the most effec- tual mode of remedying this just stain in the political institu- tions of our common country. That this is the end to which our enquiries should at present be directed, and not to the mere policy of excluding slavery from this territory, will not, I pre- sume be denied, by a single friend to humanity." Replying to "a modern writer of some celebrity" probably "Agis," he points out that "the mere act of exclusion, will not emancipate a sin- gle slave" and advocates a plan "which in itself, by remunirat- ing [sic] the owner, and preparing the slave, for the right exer- cise of his liberty, would give to the system appearance of perfect justice and equity? That a plan of gradual emancipation might be rendered subservient to this purpose, will not be questioned after a moment's enquiry. And I have no hesitation in declar- ing, notwithstanding the opposition I may receive from a host of policy scriblers [sic], that under proper regulations, I would sooner see limited slavery introduced into our territory, though the limit should not take effect during the existence of the first generation, than this exclusion policy so much spoken of at pres- ent." After quoting Dr. James Beattie in favor of gradual emancipation, he concludes :
Let us then, instead of excluding the slave from our territory, for surely that cannot be good policy which is not in unison with religion and humanity-let us,
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I say, provide by our political regulations, for his intro- duction and emancipation, under some such plan as that proposed by Beattie. And let it be remembered that it is no excuse for a dereliction of duty in this particular, to say that we have never yet tolerated slavery in our territory, and that the plan for its aboli- tion has not been adopted by the slave holding states. On the contrary, may we not hope, if we set the example, it will become general. And would it not be a proud triumph to our posterity, after the business of universal emancipation shall have been effected, in tracing the effect to the cause, to find its origin in the benevolent policy of our territory?
In recommending the communication of "Agis" to their read- ers the editors of the paper declared, "they are well worth, to those who are opposed to the toleration of slavery in this ter- ritory, an attentive perusal; and more especially, to those who are in favor of it."267 This impartial attitude which the paper had endeavored to hold on the slavery issue was lost, however, in the comment on the third number of "A friend to enquiry." The arguments of this writer in favor of delaying the move- ment for statehood had been vigorously controverted by the editors, but his plan for the toleration of slavery met with their entire approval. "Our readers," the editorial runs, "are respectfully solicited to give the foregoing essay written by 'A friend to enquiry', an attentive and candid perusal. It breathes the language of philanthropy, and is fraught with much mean- ing and benevolence of soul, and must flash conviction upon the mind of every person who feels a disposition to palliate the condition of the oppressed African, with so little injury to those, who by the laws of our government, have unfortunately become the owners of slaves. He pleads not for an everlasting bondage of the blacks-he pleads not for the perpetual security of that property guaranteed to him by the laws of the Union. No-he pleads for justice, in the emancipation of those unfor- tunate beings. . It would reflect much to the honor and humanity of the generous sons of Illinois, when the grand object of universal emancipation shall be effected, to hear it sounded
"Intelligencer, July 1, 1818.
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from abroad, that this godlike and benevolent act of humanity originated with them."268
Not all of the readers of the communications from "A friend to enquiry" were so easily convinced that his motives were purely philanthropic, and the next issue of the Intelligencer contains two replies. "Prudence" could see no good reason for bringing "among us this class of men [negroes], to the exclu- sion of those more beneficial to society. as well might
GREASE LAMP
The lower receptacle was filled with grease, a wick was inserted through the small opening, and it was the up-to-date lamp of 1818. [Original owned by Judge Perrin, Belleville]
we attempt to transplant all the vices and diseases of the east- ern states, that we might have the credit of curing them-as to bring in these dusky sons of Africa, to where the citizens do not want them, and too where they are prohibited by the laws of the U. States." Especially significant is the statement that: "But few, I think who read the labored essay of 'A Friend to Enquiry' will think, him actuated alone by humanity. It is the dernier resort of an expiring party, who finding that the naked hook of unconditional slavery, will not be swallowed by the people, have adroitly enough, gilded it over with the form of general humanity." In conclusion the writer expressed the
28 Intelligencer, July 22, 1818.
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wish that "the people in general, the convention, and the con- vention's dictator, in particular," would "take into view the serious evils arising from admitting among us a host of free negroes; and that with their schemes of humanity they would mix a little PRUDENCE."
The other reply, by "Independence," was devoted mainly to a rebuttal of the contention that the failure to show a popula- tion of forty thousand in June necessitated the abandonment of the movement for statehood. It contained one passage, however, significant of the motives of the opposition: "Who are the 'disinterested' so much spoken of in a former piece by 'a friend to enquiry?' Who have excited so much feeling in public as the advocates for the continuance of our territorial dependency ? What is the object in abandoning the privileges of the act of Congrèss? Is it not for the purpose of delay? Will delay ben- efit the many or the few ?- As for 'conclusive argument,' we have not heard any from the other side-Of declamation, we have heard considerable." Another writer, who signed him- self "A citizen," makes a statement in the Intelligencer of June 24, which throws additional light on what was going on behind the scenes. "Some think," he declares, "that the ordinance of Congress, and the law for our admission into the union, ex- cludes us forever, from being a slave state. Others, and men of considerable investigation, think differently, and say that this obnoxious feature, in our bill of rights, may be expunged by our next delegate. . I am thus particular, because I am one of those unbelieving few, who do not think that all, now, depends on the convention." Obviously "A citizen" was not in favor of the exclusion of slavery and was in favor of delay.
Some of those who advocated dropping the statehood move- ment for the time being may have hoped to discourage the voters from attending the elections. A letter from Shawnee- town, dated June 17, indicates not only that this was the case and that the attempt met with little success, but also that the lack of forty thousand inhabitants must have been fully recog- nized some time before the returns were published. "I have
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made all the enquiry possible," the writer states, "as to the determination of the people on the subject of a convention; and from the best information I am able to get, the elections on this side will be general. The additional returns from some counties will be considerable-and a disposition is evinced by some, to form a constitution at all events." Two weeks after this letter was written and in the last issue before the elections, the Intelligencer announced a hopeful situation as concerned the census : "We are happy to learn from a respectable source, that the commissioner for taking the census in the county of Franklin, will probably return the number of two thousand in- habitants. We are also credibly informed, that the county of Gallatin contains one thousand inhabitants, not yet returned ; and that the emigration to the eastern counties is astonishingly rapid. From the information we have received, it is probable, that if the commissioners for the several counties will be vig- ilant, that our numbers will increase to forty thousand by the first of August. We would therefore recommend to the com- missioners to be industrious, and make returns of the addi- tional settlers on the first Monday in August, that the conven- tion may be enabled, if possible, to proceed to the formation of a constitution."
While slavery was without doubt the one great issue, it was by no means the only subject discussed in the convention campaign. These discussions as reflected in communications in the Intelli- gencer are of interest not only for the part which they played in the campaign, but also because of the effect which they may have had on the deliberations of the convention. Some time in May, while the campaign was in progress, a second paper was established, at Shawneetown, in which doubtless appeared simi- lar communications affecting and reflecting the campaign in the eastern part of the territory. Unfortunately no issues of this paper earlier than October 17, 1818, are known to have been preserved.
The Intelligencer, in its editorial of March II, urged the im- portance of electing to the convention "men who are versed in the science of government; men who have correct opinions of
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human nature, and who have an extensive acquaintance with the effects which the various forms of government have had upon the happiness of the human family." This opened up a long drawn out discussion of the qualifications which candidates should have and of the sort of men who should be sent to frame the constitution. Cook, as has been seen, urged the election of men of talents regardless of their position on the slavery ques- tion, while "Caution" thought there were not enough such men in the territory to frame the constitution and hold the offices. The most persistent writer on this subject, however, was "One of the people" whose first communication appeared on May 6. Urging the importance of having a constitution so framed "that no one class of citizens could be burdened by a future legislature more than any other class of citizens," a constitution that "should provide for an equitable and just system of taxation, which would prevent the poor from being taxed or burdened more than the rich, as they are in fact at present in this territory," he pointed out the necessity, in order to secure such a constitution, of having it "framed by men of intelligence, whose minds are expanded, whose views are liberal and who will be able to dis- cover the practical operation of those things which may be en- grafted into that important instrument." The tendency of un- qualified candidates to come forward as volunteers was deplored and they were advised to give way and solicit others more quali- fied to accept the position.
In a second number, published May 13, the same writer de- clared that some opposed sending men of talents to the conven- tion because " 'they could not be trusted.' . If they are not of the same calling, that is another objection. 'Their interest,' they say, 'may be different from ours.' Therefore, 'let us send men of our own calling, who will be governed by interest.' That is coming to the point at once. And here it might be said with propriety, that the pay appears to be an object with some of them; for some have been known to enquire, whether the con- ventioners would receive any pay! before they offered to volun- teer their services. Men of narrow contracted minds, who will be governed by the corrupting principle of self-interest, are the
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last men in the world, who ought to be elected to form a happy constitution for a free people. Yet such it is believed, are many of the persons who claim the right to form for us a constitution. They claim it upon the ground that they are the oldest settlers. Many old settlers of the class of candidates, appear to consider all who have not been here quite so long as themselves, as aliens; who have no more rights here than aliens enjoy under the Eng- lish Monarchy." Still a third number, appearing the following week, presented a series of searching questions beginning with "Can I do anything more in a convention than to give my vote?" which each of the would-be candidates was advised not only to answer but to submit to the "best informed men in the county" before deciding to stand for election.
Immediately after these articles were published, another writer, who called himself "Anticipator" appeared on the scene with a number of concrete suggestions as to articles which should be included in the constitution. Among these were provisions against plural office holding, against a religious test for office- holders, for the punishment of bribery or the soliciting of votes, and for allowing "all widows and unmarried females over the age of 21 years to vote at popular elections." The argument in favor of this latter provision has quite a modern ring, although few advocates of women's suffrage today would confine it to "widows and unmarried females." "We frequently see widows," he wrote, "administering on estates and having charge of large families. It is reasonable to suppose that they are some times interested in the passage of particular laws, which affect themselves, their children, or their property. They know before an election, who will and who will not advocate particular measures .- A single vote may preponderate the elec- tion either way. Why deprive them of acting in this case, where they are particularly interested, when their peculiar circumstances had made it necessary for them to act in others, which arbitrary habit, has made the province of men?" In a second number "Anticipator" took occasion to condemn "the old ritual of the English common law, handed down with little variation, from
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