USA > Kansas > Douglas County > Lawrence > The Kansas memorial, a report of the Old Settlers' meeting held at Bismarck grove, Kansas, Sept. 15th and 16th, 1879 > Part 2
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A demand is made by certain States that new consessions and guar- antees be given to slavery, or the Union must be destroyed. The present constitution, however faithfully adhered to, is declared to be incompatible with the existence of slavery ; its change is demanded, or the government under it must be overthrown. If it is true that the continued existence of slavery requires the destruction of the Union, it is time to ask if the existence of the Union does not require the destruction of slavery. If such an issue be forced upon the nation, it must be met, and met promptly. The people of Kansas, while they are willing to fulfill their constitutional obligations to- ward their brethren in the sister States to the letter, cannot look upon the destruction of the fairest and most prosperous government on earth, with indifference. If the issue is presented to them-the overthrow of the Union or the destruction of slavery-they will not long hesitate as to their choice. * * While it is the duty of each loyal State to see that equal and exact justice is done to the citizens of every other State, it is equally its duty to sustain the Chief Executive of the nation in defending the government from foes, whether from within or without, and Kansas, though last and least of the States in the Union, will ever be ready to an- swer the call of her country.
How well she kept her pledge to the President, let the muster rolls answer. If I mistake not she furnished a larger percentage of her population for the war, and lost a larger percentage in battle than any other State.
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THE KANSAS MEMORIAL.
So much for Kansas and Kansas citizens; but great injustice would be done non-residents did we attempt to claim all the credit for the grand results of the last quarter of a century. At the opening of Kansas, slavery seized upon every town and district except such towns and districts as were settled by the agency of the Emigrant Aid Society. Without those settlements, it is safe to say, Kansas would have been a slave State, with not even an at- tempt at resistance. Without the Emigrant Aid Society these towns would not have been, and without Eli Thayer, Amos A. Lawrence, Edward Everett Hale, Wm. M. Evarts and their co- laborers, that society would have had no existence. And these men would have been powerless with all their machinery had not the Liberty party and free soil campaigns, under the lead of the Birneys, Hales, Julians and others been fought; and these cam- paigns would have been still-born had there been no Garrisons, Parker Pillsburys, Theodore Parkers and Wendell Phillipses to cry in the wilderness and prepare the way for the agencies that fol- lowed.
Another class of actors rendered invaluable service near the close of our struggle and must not be forgotten on this gala day. The Walkers, Stantons, Denvers, Forneys and other conservative Democrats, by their impartial and honorable course prevented much bloodshed and cut short the struggle, perhaps years, by crushing out fraud and giving the government to the legal majority as de- manded by the Organic Act.
Also to our former pro-slavery antagonists who have so hon- orably acquiesced in the result, we most cordially extend the right hand of fellowship We have reason to believe that many are well pleased with the institutions of the State, and all are willing to forever close the " bloody chasm" that once divided us.
In conclusion, let me congratulate Kansas and our guests and all friends of Kansas, that the close of the first quarter of a cen- tury from its settlement finds peace and good will among all its in- habitants, and unprecedented prosperity throughout its borders.
SONG OF A THOUSAND YEARS.
At the conclusion of Governor Robinson's address, Messrs. Thomas H. Edwards, Wm. C. Edwards and Captain Henry Booth, of Larned, sang the following appropriate song, written by Walt. Whitman, the venerable poet, who had accompanied Col. Forney to Kansas and was present at the celebration :
Lift up your eyes, desponding freemen ; Fling to the winds your needless fears ; He who unfurled your beauteous banner, Says it shall wave a thousand years.
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THE KANSAS MEMORIAL.
CHORUS-A thousand years, my own Columbia ! ' Tis the glad day so long foretold ! 'Tis the glad morn whose early twilight Washington saw in times of old.
What if the clouds, one little moment, Hide the blue sky where morn appears- When the bright sun, that tints them crimson, Rises to shine a thousand years.
CHORUS-
Tell the great world these blessed tidings ! Yes, and be sure thy bondman hears ; Tell the oppress'd of every nation, Jubilee lasts a thousand years.
CHORUS-
Envious foes beyond the ocean ! Little we heed your threat'ning sneers ; Little will they-our children's children- When you are gone a thousand years.
CHORUS-
Rebels at home ! go hide your faces- Weep for your crimes with bitter tears ; You could not bind the blessed daylight, Though you should strive a thousand years.
CHORUS-
Back to your dens, ye secret traitors! Down to your own degraded spheres ! Ere the first blaze of dazzling sunshine Shortens your lives a thousand years.
CHORUS --
Haste thee along, thou glorious Noonday ! Oh, for the eyes of ancient seers ! Oh, for the faith of him who reckons Each of his days a thousand years !
CHORUS --
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THE KANSAS MEMORIAL.
ADDRESS BY HON. J. P. USHER.
Governor Robinson, as President of the Old Settlers' Meeting in introducing Judge Usher, and referring to the arrival of del- egations from different parts of the State, said he well remembered arrivals from the same localities in former times for the defense of Lawrence, when our neighbors from across our eastern border made hostile incursions. Once a multitude of them were camped in the Wakarusa bottom. When we saw the Topeka and Leavenworth boys coming, we were glad and welcomed them to our assistance in saving our homes. So we now welcome them on this day to our hearts and homes. He then introduced Hon. J. P. Usher, former- ly Mr. Lincoln's Secretary of the Interior, now representing the city of Lawrence as its honored Mayor.
Judge Usher spoke as follows :
Since the organization of society, men have been accustomed by appropriate methods to commemorate great events in their career, as well as the acts and deeds of their benefactors, their he- roes and their statesmen. Especially are they prone to do this if the benefaction, the event, act, or deed has resulted in eradicating an insufferable evil, or in the establishment of a great and lasting good. It is in commemoration of such acts and deeds that we have assembled to-day.
The especial significance attached, is not that we are to com- memorate the first settlement of a new and wilderness country, accompanied by hardships and sufferings such as were encountered by the Pilgrims of Plymouth Rock, or in the settlement of the Northwestern Territory ; yet it is called the Old Settlers' Meeting, and we have met here to commemorate the settlement of Kansas, a settlement which, for causes which I will briefly explain, inaugu- rated a fearful and bloody struggle, to be determined only by a con- stitution afterward to be adopted, declaring whether Kansas should be inhabited by freemen only, or by freemen and slaves.
At the request of the citizens of Lawrence, I have been de- puted on this occasion to extend to the citizens of the State and from abroad their cordial greeting and welcome. Our citizens are here in large numbers, and, as there are many among them now fathers and mothers who were unborn when that fearful struggle raged, I may be pardoned in wasting a few words in explanation of the great significance of this meeting, by giving a brief narrative of the causes which led to that contest.
Kansas, though of immense proportions, is but a part of that vast domain which was ceded to the United States through the in- strumentality of Mr. Jefferson, seventy-six years ago. Missouri is a part of that domain. When that State was admitted into the Union, March 6, 1820, after a long and fierce debate, it was by 2
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THE KANSAS MEMORIAL.
Congress enacted that slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise than in punishment for crime, should be forever prohibited in all the Louisiana Purchase north of latitude 36° 30'. This law was called the Missouri Compromise, and, unrepealed, protected the territory in which Kansas now is from the curse of slavery.
But, by many acts of Congress, Kansas was not subject to set- tlement, until May 30, 1854, when what is known as the Kansas- Nebraska Act was passed. Many Indian tribes had by treaty been allotted large tracts of land now within the State of Kansas, and, by force of these treaties and acts of Congress, all citizens were pre- vented from intruding into the Territory, and the army of the United States was employed to defend the same against all who might come.
By this act of Congress of May 30, 1854, the barriers so long existing against the settlement of Kansas were removed; but in the removal of the same, through the omnipotence of the slave power in Congress, the Missouri Compromise was by the act repealed. Mr. Clay acquired great and lasting renown for the part he took in ·
securing the Missouri Compromise act ; but having died in 1852, after having successfully carried through the compromise measures of 1850, Congress had the temerity to declare in the Kansas- Nebraska Act that these compromise acts were inconsistent with the Missouri Compromise act, wherefore that act was repealed; and, further, that in and by said Kansas-Nebraska Act it was not the intention of Congress to legislate slavery into any State or Territory, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way. The act further provided " that in all cases in- volving titles to slaves, writs of error or appeals should be allowed and decided by the Supreme Court without regard to the value of the matter, property or title in controversy."
Men, philanthropists, and statesmen who had long struggled and indulged the pleasing hope that there was a growing sense of the inhumanity and wrong of slavery, were shocked and horrified at this law. They plainly saw that, instead of the realization of their hope that the shackle was about to fall from the slave, new shackles were forged; and, while yet in dismay, the decision of the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case was announced, de- ciding, as it was said at the time, " that a black man had no rights which a white man was bound to respect." The claim was that slavery was protected by the Constitution of the United States, and this because slaves were property, and that for Kansas or any other Territory or State it only required appropriate laws securing to the holders of slaves adequate means for protecting them in the right to slaves to enable them to exercise the right of enslav- ing men and women everywhere.
From this brief statement of the condition of affairs at that day you will observe how important it was to the slave holding in- terest to secure a legislature which should pass laws 'adequate to
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THE KANSAS MEMORIAL.
enable them to maintain their right to hold slaves in Kansas. They reasoned well that an executive who would sign and ap- prove the Kansas-Nebraska act, would appoint a governor who would approve an act establishing slavery. Accordingly, to make sure of the accomplishment of their purpose, Missouri, then dom- inated by slavery and devoted to its behests, sent into Kansas bodies of armed men who appeared in numbers at nearly all the voting precincts and by menace and brute force took possession of the polls, drove the free state men away, voted and caused to be returned as elected, and their names to be returned to the gover- nor as elected, an out and out pro-slavery legislature. It was in vain that Governor Andrew H. Reeder, of Pennsylvania, sought to overhaul and purge the polls and correct the returns. The leg- islature met and made haste to pass an act which became a law, as the legislature pretended, though never approved by the gover- nor, whereby it was enacted, that whoever should entice a slave to escape from his master, should, upon conviction, suffer death; whoever should deny the right to hold slaves in the Territory of Kansas, should be imprisoned not less than two years and suffer other penalties. The blind and unreasoning zeal of that legisla- ture is well displayed in the report of the judiciary committee of the legislative council, the higher branch of the Territorial legis- lature-a copy of which report I have procured, and which is as follows :
The Committee on Judiciary, to whom was referred a bill entitled an " Act to punish decoying slaves from their masters," respectfully report that they have had the same, for some time, under advisement, and recognizing the correctness of the provisions of the act, but one question has occupied the attention of the Committee, and that is the character of the punishment pre- scribed in the bill. At first presentation of the subject, there was an appar- ent severity which seemed not to be in consonance with the crime, and, view- ing the offense in the light of grand larceny alone, the genius of our institu- tion and the prejudices of the day in which we live, at once discard so ex- treme a punishment. But when we view the offense in its peculiar bearing upon our institution at this particular time, it assumes more the character of treason against the laws than an ordinary crime, which but affects the par- ties immediately interested, or the immediate community in which the offense may have been committed once, may, in its incendiary tendency, lead to con- sequences of the most fearful character, as well upon our political as social institutions ; it is an offense, the frequent occurrence of which, we may well imagine, might light the bonfires of civil war and result in bloodshed more fearful than a thousand murders. We are, therefore, in view of this, pre- pared to sanction the penalty of death, and respectfully recommend the passage of the act. R. R. REES, Chairman.
When I say that the member of the legislative council whose name is attached to that report as chairman of the judiciary com- mittee, was, in his nature, one of the kindest men in the world, for it was my privilege to know him for many years as such, it only shows how imperious and exacting were the demands of the slave power upon the men deputed to do the work of fastening slavery upon Kansas, and of persecuting and driving out those who sought to make this the dwelling-place of freedom.
.
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THE KANSAS MEMORIAL.
In addition to the passage of this most atrocious law, the legis- lature adopted, in mass, the statutes of the slave State of Missouri, with its slave code, and after passing some other special acts, ad- journed. Governor Reeder was removed by the President, Mr. Pierce, and he left the Territory in disgust, and I believe to avoid insult and personal injury, in disguise.
Then it was that the anti-slavery sentiment all over the land was aroused, and with firm resolve determined to defy this pre- tended law. John Speer, here, publisher of the " Kansas Trib- une," denounced and defied them. He published in large and glar- ing letters, "I deny the right of any person to hold slaves in the Territory of Kansas."
Material aid was contributed, without stint, by the adversaries of slavery, throughout the free States, and in addition to those who intended to make their permanent homes in Kansas, there came many others with no other intent than that of joining in the fray in behalf of freedom. In the meantime the pro-slavery party was not idle ; they were vigilant ; in Kansas they were vigilant, and all along the carrying places where they had dominion and sway. They controlled the transportation upon the Missouri river, and established a rigid surveillance upon all boats ascending the river. Emigrants with or without arms were treated alike; they were stripped of all they had and required to return from whence they came. Such, in brief, were the obstructions which the emigrants encountered, that they were compelled to abandon the more easy way by the river and resort to the tedious and more expensive way through Iowa; and so by that way they came in wagons and on foot. The first advantage was altogether in favor of the pro-slavery party. They, as it were, had choice of grounds, and struck the first staggering blow ; but the advantage thus secured, was not to last. The struggle fiercely raged, and after a few months it be- came apparent to the careful observer, that the cause of freedom was steadily being advanced. The issue remained on trial until 1861, when by the adoption of the Wyandotte Constitution the ad- vocates of freedom secured a complete and lasting triumph. By that Constitution there has been secured to the people of Kansas, all the great and valuable rights ever contended for by phi oso- phers and statesmen, among which, and they are fundamental, it is ordained that there shall be freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the inviolability of the person from enforced servitude except for crime, and all monopolies are prohibited. Free colleges and free schools are established, and the system has been organized upon such basis as to secure their endurance forever. Without at- tempting to pass into detail, of all the valuable provisions of our Con- stitution, it is enough to say, that although the government of the United States did not leave the people free to determine, by their Constitution, what their domestic institutions should be, the people did, against all governmental influence, against the tyrannical use of the army, against the profligate use of the public money and
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THE KANSAS MEMORIAL.
abuse of the appointing power, make Kansas free. And after more that twenty years of established freedom there has been paid to the institutions of Kansas and to the work of the old settlers, the highest compliment that has ever been paid, in my judgment, to the political work of men.
A people, after having borne the lash for 200 years, toiling unrequited under the stings and pains of the lash, near two thousand miles away, having turned the yoke of their oppression, cast about to find some land where they could enjoy equal rights with their fellow men, and of all places on the face of the green earth, Kansas was found to be the haven of refuge.
Who that stands in the way and receives in his sheltering arms the hare by hound pursued, does not instinctively resolve to save the life of the timid creature from its relentless pursuer ? The emotion that prompts this is not altogether human, as it seems to me, but an emotion which proceeds directly from the power and influence of the omnipresent and merciful Deity.
Neither they of the exodus, nor those who flee from oppressive laws in other lands, need to have the principles upon which our government is founded asserted in their behalf.
My friends, I now want to explain to you in brief the reason why we are here at this celebration. It is to commemorate the inauguration of a State possessing institutions which should remain forever of the best and most exalted character possible for humani- ty to invent. I have shown to you and you know that the effort to establish such institutions has been crowned with wonderful success. It now but remains for me to say why in my opinion Lawrence should welcome you in this glad gathering.
In the midst of all the turmoil and suffering of the pioneers of free Kansas, Lawrence was the head. Hanging well on the bor- ders of the Indian reservation, it was the first practicable and proper place for the location of a town beyond the Missouri border upon the Kansas river not reserved for Indian occupany. Twenty- five years ago they came, the pioneers of freedom, and located in Lawrence. One of our most estimable citizens, one whose place can never be supplied, I fear, Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, says in his report that Lawrence was then called the city of freedom. That in Lawrence, and only in Lawrence could a man at all times say that he was opposed to slavery without be- ing in danger of losing his life. It was in Lawrence that the weary persecuted ones in other parts of the Territory found repose ; with John Brown among the number. (Applause.) John Brown, who, when he struck that final blow at the slave power, that blow which caused that haughty power to tremble throughout its entire domain, and, in its frenzy, to rush to those measures which caused its destruction-John Brown the hero who, in that fatal hour at Harper's Ferry, standing with one son dead at his feet, with one hand feeling the pulse of another son whose life blood was oozing, and with the other hand holding his rifle, commanded
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THE KANSAS MEMORIAL.
his men with the utmost composure, encouraging them to sell their lives as dearly as possible-this old hero whenever in his Kansas sojourn, he would seek repose in safety, where none but friends dwelt, would repair to Lawrence. (Applause.)
The fact, my friends, is well known that Lawrence was the only place in the entire Territory where free state men could utter their sentiments. For this thing, Lawrence suffered. In one day nearly two hundred of her citizens, before the sun had gone down, lay cold in death. There are few, if any, among the survivors of twenty-five years ago who were here in Lawrence to witness the horrid scenes, which at different times transpired in the devoted city. But there are many who have come since. The pioneers have children and those who have come to settle since have chil- dren. It is well that they know these things, and I have tried in a brief way to-day to speak somewhat of them. I wish them to be kept memorable. I wish the great truths which these people came here to establish and did establish, to be forever kept bright and clear in the minds of the growing and rising generation. I wish them to know why they are here in Kansas. I wish them to know the advantages of being here, and why they enjoy these advantages. We have cause to rejoice for many things. We have cause to rejoice that those among us who were of the oppos- ing forces during this terrible struggle have cause for joy twice to our once. (Applause.) They rejoice because they were defeated ; we rejoice because of our success. They see the mistake and error and now wonder why they were led to do these things. We all re- joice that they do think so. We rejoice altogether that we are of one common mind, that upon this great subject in which the welfare of mankind was buried up, that it has been terminated for the right; and we all believe that it is right. Men of all parties exchange congratulations that the difficulties have gone by and that all are now ready to join hands and go on in building up our glorious State, and in sharing the blessings of its institutions. It is the aim of all that our school system shall be brought to a better condition than that of any other State in the world. That these accumulated funds, now amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, shall be cared for and preserved until every child living among us, of whatever race or nationality shall have the benefit of it; and that the school fund shall be so devoted as to promote virtue and right. We rejoice that we have the best State in the whole Union, pos- sessing such a mild equable and salubrious temperature. Kansas is in the very geographical center of the United States, and our population has now grown to a million. It has only been within a few years that we have been able to increase our numbers and our possessions ; for until after Appomattox there was no time when men could peaceably follow their avocations in the State. All this great advance has been made in a few years. Then my friends let us rejoice, but don't let us go crazy. Don't let our friends from abroad think that we are standing on our heads, that we are dis-
1
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THE KANSAS MEMORIAL.
posed to forget who made us. We simply claim to be free men, made so through noble sacrifice of these pioneers gathered here to-day ; and you see in us what free men, such free men, are. No man is taken to account for any opinion he has or may utter ; whether it be political or whether it be religious, or of what- ever nature. All say and do as they please, and say and do it in peace and without injuring anybody. That is the condition which we have reached under the Kansas-Nebraska act. (Applause.)
But I am taking up too much time. I know well enough there are many here who were present in those trying times, and I know they have come here as gladly as I have, and as you have. We hope to hear many of their voices to-day in re-counting the scenes of the early times, and I will not detain you. Providence is smil- ing upon us to-day in giving us this beautiful sky and this lovely air. We of Lawrence rejoice that you from all over Kansas have come to celebrate with us to day. All the old people, all the young people, of Lawrence, bid you welcome. In their behalf I bid you welcome. Let us go on in our work and after the two days shall have gone by, may it be a scene long to be remembered. May it be a scene which our children here to-day shall remember until their hairs are gray and their heads bowed down by age; remem- bering the difficulties these old settlers passed through in order that liberty might be preserved, and peace and prosperity reign among us in all this rich and prosperous state of Kansas.
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