USA > Kentucky > A history of Kentucky and Kentuckians; the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume I > Part 15
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"To the state of old Virginia the blow was a heavy one. In the years following the war it added seriously to her financial embarrass- ment, and in many ways obstructed her pros- perity. The anatomy of Virginia was alone disturbed. Upon her alone fell the penalty for secession which, if due to one, was due to all. Texas and Florida retained their public lands at the close of the war. Why were not these and others despoiled? Mexico was help- less in our hands when conquered by this country ; yet our high sense of justice would not permit the despoilment of our helpless neighbor. Fifteen millions were given her for the territory we wanted. We went even fur-
ther than this in our magnanimity and as- sumed to pay four millions more of debts due by Mexico to our own citizens. Americans can but feel a deep personal interest in the good name and good fortune of a state so closely identified with the renown of the re- public, with whose soil is mingled the dust of those to whom all states and all generations are debtors-the Father of His Country, the author of the Declaration of Independence, and chief projector of the national constitu- tion, the purest and wisest of statesmen."
It would seem that after this quotation from Mr. Blaine, Kentucky, the eldest daugh- ter of Virginia, might rest herself in peace and leave to the Mother State the determina- tion of such questions as may yet exist be- tween her and her western neighbor. What las here been written finds a reason therefor in the fact that so closely is the early history of Kentucky interwoven with that of Virginia that what effects the latter also touches the former. The daughter loves the inother with filial affection.
The people of Kentucky had now grown so numerous that the fear of Indian invasion was materially lessened and there grew a desire for an organization that should have more force politically than it had been possible to heretofore exhibit. They wanted self-govern- ment. Richmond, which had now become the chief city and capital of Virginia, was far dis- tant, the difficulties of travel were great, and the necessities demanded that the District should have an independent government. They had not long to wait for a pretext for the step which would lead them to the end sought. Colonel Benjamin Logan was foremost among the real leaders of the district, a fear- less soldier and something of a statesman ; a man who was the progenitor of a line which has ever stood in the forefront in Kentucky in whatever direction its Scotch-Irish mind was turned. They were and are a sturdy, hard-headed, loveable line, who cannot be
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turned from the point at which they believe the right lies, by any other means than a club wielded by one stronger than they. Colonel Logan learned in 1784 that the Cherokees and their allied tribes planned to invade the fron- tier of Kentucky to the south and that the In- dians to the northward were to simultaneously move against that part of the district bordered by the Ohio river. There had been no recent Indian incursions other than those made by small bands of marauders acting on their own initiative, but this proposed invasion threat- ened seriously. Colonel Logan therefore called a meeting at Danville, before which he laid the information he had and asked for sug- gestions as to how best the threatened inva- sion could be met.
It was unanimously determined that a force should be raised to attack the Indians before the latter were ready for their proposed ad- vance into Kentucky. Then came the discov- ery that there was no one in the district quali- fied to call the militia into service, for offen- sive measures. This put an end to the pro- posed incursion into the enemy's country, per- haps a fortunate circumstance, as it turned out, since the threatened Indian invasion never took place.
The Danville meeting, however, was of far- reaching importance. While it failed of the defensive purpose for which it was called, it proved that the district was in every way equal to defending itself but that there was no law to justify such action save that of self- defense when attacked: It was therefore de- termined to request Virginia to enact a law by which Kentucky should be enabled to organ- ize as a state and to enter the Union when ac- cepted by the congress.
These men at Danville had come together to confer as to the best means for defending their homes against savage attack; they con- cluded their deliberations by taking the steps which led after many delays and anxieties to placing another and a very bright star upon the flag of our Union.
This was merely the initial step towards Union, a step taken with "reverence for the law," as McElroy states it. Realizing that the body there assembled was without authority, a recommendation was published that on a given day each military company in the dis- trict should elect a representative to meet with others chosen in like manner at Danville on December 27, 1784, to "devise if possible, some means of preserving their country from that immediate destruction which seemed then impending." The suggestion was well re- ceived and on the day thus named, these chosen representatives met at Danville and at once proceeded to a consideration of the busi- ness for which they had assembled. There was a prolonged debate upon the advisability of a separation from Virginia, which was listened to by many auditors not members of the assembly. Though differing in many other respects, there was no difference of opinion that, whatever was done, it should be strictly in accordance with the laws of Vir- ginia to which all gladly acknowledged allegi- ance. The final result of the deliberations was the adoption of a resolution providing that the citizens of Kentucky, at the next elec- tion of delegates to the Virginia legislature, should choose representatives who should meet in the following May with full power to petition the general assembly of Virginia for an act of separation, and through it, to petition congress for admission into the sister- hood of states.
On the 23rd of May, 1785, the "Second Assembly of Kentucky," met at Danville, the result of which meeting was the following res- olutions :
"I. Resolved (unanimously), as the opinion of this convention, That a petition be presented to the assembly praying that this district may be estab- lished into a state separate from Virginia.
"II. Resolved (unanimously), as the opinion of this convention, That this district, when established into a state, ought to be taken into the Union with the United States of America, and enjoy equal priv- ileges in common with said states.
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"III. Resolved, That this convention recommend it to their constituents to elect deputies in their respective counties to meet in Danville on the second Monday of August next, to serve in convention and to continue by adjournment till the first day of April next, to take further under their consideration the state of the district.
"IV. Resolved (unanimously), That the election of the deputies for the proposed convention ought to be on the principle of 'equal representation.'
"V. Resolved, That the petition to the assembly for the assembling of this district into a state and the several resolves of the former and present con- ventions upon which the petition is founded, to- gether with all other matters relative to the interests of the district that have been under their consider- ation, be referred to the future convention, so that such further measures may be taken thereon as they may deem proper."
This assembly seems to have hesitated at the performance of the duty it was called upon to perform and to have shown a desire to shift upon other shoulders the burden of its respon- sibility. The people, as is usually the case, were wiser than their representatives. They knew what they wanted. They knew that they were not protected by the government against the British in the posts they still held in the northwest; they heard vague rumors that the congress was about to surrender the free navigation of the Mississippi river for twenty-five years, which surrender, if accom- plished, would destroy their every hope of commercial prosperity. They heard many other stories, most of which or all of them, were untrue, but all of which tended to pro- duce a state of unrest. They thought if the general government would not or could not protect them in their personal or commercial interests, they might better "set up shop" for themselves and work out their own salvation. This was precisely the spirit which pleased the agents of Spain who sought to control the navigation of the Mississippi river and its trib- utaries with the rich trade they were soon to offer.
The three counties into which the district of
Kentucky had been divided, Jefferson, Lin- coln and Fayette, were increased in 1785 to four by the naming of the county of Nelson, which was constituted out of all that part of Jefferson county which lay south of Salt river -the stream which, in song and story, has been termed the final destination of the unsuc- cessful politician.
The members of the next convention were apportioned among these four counties and were named as follows:
Jefferson county-Richard Terrell, George Wilson, Benjamin Sebastian and Philip Bar- bour.
Nelson county-Isaac Cox, Isaac Morrison, Andrew Hynes, Matthew Walton, James Mor- rison and James Rogers.
Lincoln county-Samuel McDowell, George Muter, Christopher Irwin, William Kennedy, Benjamin Logan, Caleb Wallace, Harry Innes, John Edwards and James Speed.
Fayette county-James Wilkinson, James Garrard, Levi Todd, John Coleman, James Trotter, John Craig and Robert Patterson.
There were names among these that were to become historic. Harry Innes and George Muter were later to become chief justices of the court of appeals of Kentucky. James Wil- kinson was that General Wilkinson who was at a later period alleged to be connected with what is termed "The Spanish Conspiracy," which in the end proved to be a fantastic fail- ure. Caleb Wallace and Benjamin Sebastian were subsequently judges of the court of ap- peals. James Garrard was twice chosen gov- ernor of the new state of Kentucky.
On assembling the convention named Sam- uel McDowell as president. All papers re- ferred by the former convention were com- mitted to consideration by the convention in committee of the whole, which subsequently submitted a report as follows :
"Your committee having maturely considered the important matters to them referred, are of the opin-
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ion that the situation of this district, upwards of five hundred miles from the seat of the present govern- ment, with the intervention of a mountain desert of two hundred miles, passable only at particular seasons and never without danger from hostile savages, precludes every idea of a connection on republican principles, and originates many griev- ances, among them we reckon the following:
"(1) It destroys every possibility of application to the supreme executive power for support or pro- tection in cases of emergency, and thereby subjects the district to continual hostilities and depredations of the savages; relaxes the execution of the laws; delays justice and tends to loosen and dissever the bonds of government.
"(2) It suspends the operation of the benign influence of mercy by subjecting condemned persons who may be deemed worthy of pardon to tedious, languishing and destructive imprisonment.
"(3) It renders difficult and precarious the ex- ercise of the first and dearest right of freemen,- adequate representation, as no person properly quali- fied can be expected, at the hazard of his life, to undergo the fatigues of long journeys and to incur burdensome expenses by devoting himself to the public service.
"(4) It subjects us to penalties and inflictions which arise from ignorance of the laws, many of which have their operation and expire before they reach the district.
"(5) It renders a compliance with many of the duties required of sheriffs and clerks impracticable and exposes those officers under the present revenue law to inevitable destruction.
"(6) It subjects the inhabitants to expensive and ruinous suits in the high court of appeals and places the poor completely in the power of the opu- lent.
"Other grievances result from partial and retro- spective laws which are contrary to the fundamental principles of free government and subversive of the inherent rights of freemen-such as
"(First) .- The laws for the establishment and support of the district court which, at the same time that we are subject to a general tax for the support of the civil list and the erection of public buildings. oblige us to build our own court houses and jails and other public buildings, by a special poll-tax imposed upon the inhabitants of the district, and leaves several officers of the courts without any spe- cial provision.
"(Second) .- The law imposing a tax of five shil- lings per hundred acres of land previously sold and directing the payment thereof into the register's
office at Richmond before the patents shall issue ; the same principles which sanctify this law would authorize the legislature to impose five pounds per acre on lands previously sold by the government on stipulated conditions and for which an equivalent had been paid, and is equally subversive of justice as any of the statutes of the British parliament that impelled the good people to arms.
"(Third) .- General laws partial and injurious in their operation. Such are these laws: Concerning entries and surveys on the western waters; con- cerning the appointment of sheriffs; for punishing certain offenses injurious to the tranquillity of this commonwealth.
"Which last law prohibits us, while we experi- ence all the calamities which flow from the predatory incursions of hostile savages, from attempting any offensive operations; a savage, who unrestrained by any law, human or divine, despoils our property, murders our fellow-citizens, then makes his escape to the northwest side of the Ohio, is protected by this law. Now,
"Whereas, All men are born equally free and in- dependent and have certain natural inherent and inalienable rights, among which are the enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining hap- piness and safety ; therefore,
"Resolved, That it is the indispensable duty of this convention, as they regard the prosperity and happi- ness of their constituents, themselves and posterity, to make application of the general assembly at the ensuing session for an act to separate this district from the present government forever, on terms hon- orable to both and injurious to neither. in order that it may enjoy all the advantages, privileges and im- munities of a free, sovereign and independent re- public."
The report and resolution met the unani- mous approval of the convention.
To the reader of today there is a familiar sound in the sixth section of the report wherein it is stated that the existing condi- tions "place the unfortunate poor completely in the power of the opulent." It is a plaint as old as the time when men first began to hold property and more is the pity; it is a plaint that will be heard until time shall be no more. Lazarus and Dives have always existed and seem to be immortal.
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The second of the grievances set forth in the latter portion of the report relative to taxes appeals to the citizen of today as it did to the sturdy old patriots who framed it. Se- rious as were the burdens against which they protested, they were trifles light as air when compared to the system of taxation which Kentucky bears as her "white man's burden" today, under the provisions of a constitution mistakenly approved by the people who "knew not what they did." Despite the efforts of
the Union of States, the address of the con- vention to the legislature of Virginia, is given entire as follows :
"Gentlemen : The subscribers, resident in the counties of Jefferson, Fayette, Lincoln and Nelson, composing the district of Kentucky, being chosen at free elections held in these counties, respectively. by the freemen of the same for the purpose of forming a convention to take into consideration the general state of the district and expressly to decide on the expediency of making application to your honorable body for an act of separation, deeply impressed with
CUSTOM HOUSE AND POST OFFICE, LOUISVILLE
better informed citizens, the legislature has steadily refused to give to the people an op- portunity to right the wrong they unwittingly did the state and themselves when, at the polls, they endorsed an instrument about which they knew little save that it was new. It may be that some coming legislature may heed the just demand for a revision of the taxing system, but he who expects such ac- tion has indeed an optimistic spirit.
As it was one of the important preliminary steps towards the formation of a state govern- ment and the final admission of Kentucky into
the importance of the measure and breathing the purest filial affection, beg leave to address you on the momentous occasion.
"The settlers of this distant region, taught by the arrangements of Providence and encouraged by the conditions of that solemn compact for which they paid the price of blood, to look forward to a separa- tion from the eastern parts of the commonwealth. have viewed the subject leisurely at a distance and examined it with caution on its near approach, irrec- oncilable as has been their situation to a connection with any community beyond the Appalachian moun- tains, other than the Federal Union; manifold as have been the grievances flowing therefrom, which have grown with their growth and increased with their population, they have patiently awaited the
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hour of redress, nor even ventured to raise their voices in their own cause until youth. quickening into manhood, hath given them vigor and stability. "To recite minutely the causes and reasoning which have directed and will justify this address would, we conceive, be a matter of impropriety at this juncture. It would be preposterous for us to enter upon the support of facts and consequences which we presume are incontestable; our sequestra- tion from the seat of government, with the interven- tion of a mountainous desert of two hundred miles, always dangerous and passable only at particular seasons, precludes every idea of a connection on republican principles. The patriots who formed our constitution, sensible of the impracticability of con- necting permanently in a free government, the ex- tensive limits of the commonwealth, most wisely made provision for the act which we now solicit.
"To that sacred record we appeal. It is not the ill-directed or inconsiderate zeal of a few; it is not that impatience of power to which ambitious minds are prone, nor yet the baser consideration of per- sonal interest which influences the people of Ken- tucky, directed by superior motives, they are in- capable of cherishing a wish unfounded in justice and are now impelled by expanding evils and ir- remedial grievances, universally seen, universally felt and acknowledged. to obey the irresistible dic- tates of self-preservation and seek for happiness by means honorable to themselves, honorable to you and injurious to neither.
"We, therefore, with the consent and by the authority of our constituents, after the most solemn deliberation, being warned of every consequence which can ensue for them, for ourselves and for posterity unborn, do pray that an act may pass at the ensuing session of the assembly declaring and acknowledging the sovereignty and independence of this district.
"Having no object in view but the acquisition of that security and happiness which may be obtained by scrupulous adherence to private justice and public honor, we should most willingly at this time enter into the adjustment of the concessions which are to be the condition of our separation, did not our relative situation forbid such negotiation; the sepa- ration we request being suggested by necessity and being consonant to every principle of reason and justice, we are persuaded will be cheerfully granted and that we shall be as cheerfully received into the Continental Union on the recommendation of our parent state.
"Our application may exhibit a new spectacle in the history and politics of mankind-a sovereign
power solely intent to bless its people, agreeing to a dismemberment of its parts in order to secure the happiness of the whole. And we fondly flatter our- selves from motives not purely local, it is to give birth to that catalogue of great events which, we persuade ourselves, are to diffuse throughout the world the inestimable blessings which mankind may derive from the American Revolution.
"We firmly believe that the undiminished luster of that spark which kindled the flame of liberty and guided the United States of America to peace and independence will direct the honorable body to whom we appeal for redress of manifest griev- ances, to embrace the singular occasion reserved for them by Divine Providence, to originate a precedent which shall liberalize the policy of nations and lead to the emancipation of enslaved millions.
"In this address we have discarded the compli- mentary style of adulation and insincerity. It be- comes freemen, when speaking to freemen, to em- ploy the plain, manly and unadorned language of independence, supported by conscious rectitude."
The curious student of history may find food for reflection in the last section but one of the above address, wherein the Virginia legislature is called upon "to embrace the sin- gular occasion reserved for them by Divine Providence, to originate a precedent which will liberalize the policy of nations and lead to the emancipation of enslaved millions." It seems to be generally admitted by former his- torians that this address was written by Gen. James Wilkinson. No authority is found for a contrary opinion. What did he mean by the prediction that the desired action of the Virginia legislature would lead to "the eman- cipation of enslaved millions?" Was it mere literary flamboyancy used for effect, or did a prescience of future events guide the pen which wrote the resounding words? How- ever this may be, the emancipation of the "en- slaved millions" of colored slaves came in due time, though, if Wilkinson gave the sentence any more than a cursory thought when he penned it, it is not at all probable that he had in mind the comparatively few negro slaves at that time in the country.
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To present the resolutions and address of the convention to the Virginia legislature, George Muter and Harry Innes were selected. In addition to offering these formal papers, they were instructed to use personal solicita- tion in favor of their adoption and to offer such verbal explanations of the situation in Kentucky as might tend to the creation of a
sentiment in favor of the erection of the dis- trict into a state. These two gentlemen were well equipped for this honorable and impor- tant service, being men of fine intellect and culture and who, at a later date, rendered high service to the new state which their ef- forts had aided in creating.
CHAPTER XVII.
AN ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE-PEN PICTURE OF GENERAL WILKINSON-THIRTY THOUSAND IN KENTUCKY-VIRGINIA ASSENTS TO SEPARATION-ASSEMBLY RESOLUTIONS-ASKS TO COME INTO THE UNION-NOW SEVEN COUNTIES-CONGRESS UNRESPONSIVE-INDIAN AT- TACKS RENEWED-TO THE MOTHER OF KENTUCKY-DEATH OF COLONEL CHRISTIAN- FOURTH DANVILLE ASSEMBLY-VIRGINIA ADOPTS NEW MEASURE -COULD WAIT; ALSO FIGHT.
Having completed consideration of the re- port and the address, the convention turned to an address to the people of Kentucky which, for the same reasons as above stated, is given in full as follows:
"To the Inhabitants of the District of Kentucky: -Friends and fellow countrymen : Your representa- tives in convention, having completed the important business for which they were specially elected, feel it their duty before they adjourn to call your atten- tion to the calamities with which our country ap- pears to be threatened. Blood has been spilled from the eastern to the western extremity of the district ; accounts have been given to the convention from Post St. Vincennes, which indicate a disposi- tion in the savages for general war; in the meantime, if we look nearer home, we shall find our borders infested and constant depredations committed on our property. Whatever may be the remote designs of the savages, these are causes sufficient to arouse our attention that we may be prepared not only to defend but to punish those who unprovoked, offend us. God and nature have given us the power and we shall stand condemned in the eyes of Heaven and mankind if we do not employ it to redress our wrongs and assert our rights.
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