USA > Maine > Maine; a history, Volume II > Part 14
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The Republicans of Bangor were by no means so happy over the prin- cipal nomination. The Jeffersonian said :
"We suppose if the people of Maine could alone have made a President he would have been Governor Seward of New York. He is the first and foremost man in America. In many respects it would have been gratifying to have rallied under his spotless banner and had not the dele- gates, after a careful and friendly consultation, considered that in the peculiar state of the country his nomination would have endangered the result, he would have been at the head of the ticket.""
The Whig endorsed the nomination in a rather mild way and said that it was pleased that in the selection of a candidate the consideration of avail- ability had been combined with that of principle, hitherto not enough regard had been paid to the former qualification. A little later the Whig described Lincoln in his debate with Douglas. It said that he was "always calm and collected, quick of perception and good natured, logical in the construction of his addresses, rising at times to passages of great beauty and power which rivalled in their eloquence the silver sentences of Clay."
Editor Stevens of the Kennebec Journal, on his return to Maine from the convention, had visited Mr. Seward and the meeting with his chief had only increased his grief and wrath. Gail Hamilton says that "For two days after reaching Augusta he did not go near Mr. Blaine, and when he did it was only to revert for a moment to theology, 'Here, you have got your man. Now take your d-d old paper and run it','" which for a time Mr. Blaine did.
The Argus at first spoke of the Republican candidate as of a worthy, ordinary person. It said: "Mr. Lincoln is represented to be a man of respectable talents. The only figure he has made in public life was two years ago, when, as a candidate for the U. S. Senate, in opposition to Mr. Douglas, he stumped the State, and got badly beaten. The same fate awaits him, not only in his own State, but throughout the Union next fall."
Two days later it said that Seward, "the acknowledged embodiment and ablest leader of his party has been slaughtered by his own friends, and must now be content to see the highest honors within their gift placed upon the brow of a provincial rival. . We do not mean to say that Mr. Lincoln is destitute of ability of that peculiar type which secures local popularity in the West, but to compare him with Mr. Seward in point of statesmanship would only add to the mortification of his disappointed friends who are now mourning over the obsequies of their devoted chief."
'Hamlin, "Hamlin," Chap. XXVII.
"Jeffersonian, May 22, 1860.
'Gail Hamilton, "Blaine," 129.
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The Democratic national convention met at Charleston on April 23, 1860. The great question was whether Douglas and popular sovereignty or the extreme pro-slavery men and Dred Scottism should triumph. Three reports were presented by the platform committee. That of the majority signed by seventeen members reaffirmed the Cincinnati platform with the addition of the principles of the Dred Scott decision. The minority report signed by fifteen members also reaffirmed the Cincinnati platform and added "a promise to abide by any future decision of the Supreme Court as regarded slavery in the territories."
A third report signed by Benjamin F. Butler reaffirmed the Cincinnati platform without appendix. The convention adopted the first minority report whereupon all or a majority of the delegates from South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas left the con- vention. Those who remained ballotted fifty-seven times and adjourned to Baltimore. At that city there was another secession and those who were left nominated Stephen A. Douglas. The last seceders nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky. Their action was ratified by a convention of original seceders and others held at Richmond. Through all these disputes the Maine delegation had supported Douglas.
A Constitutional Union party composed chiefly of old Whigs, nom- inated John Bell of Tennessee for President and Edward Everett of Massa- chusetts for Vice-President.
In Maine both the Republicans and the Democrats presented a new candidate for Governor. The Republicans chose as their standard-bearer Israel Washburn, Jr. Mr. Washburn came of good old New England stock. At a meeting of the Maine Historical Society held for the purpose of paying honor to the memory of Governor Washburn, ex-Governor Perham said :
"It was my good fortune to have some acquaintance with the father and mother of Mr. Washburn. They were eminently worthy to be the parents of a family so distinguished as theirs has been. The father was a gentle- man of the old school, possessing good common sense, strict integrity and an unusual fund of general information. The mother represented the best type of the New England woman. She possessed energy, determination and courage that would not waver in the presence of any obstacle, however formidable. These qualities she transmitted to her sons; and with the practical common sense and solid merits inherited from the father, we find, in part at least, the secret of their success."
Other Maine families, such as the Kings, the Hamlins and the Morrills, have given two or perhaps three unusually able brothers to the service of the State, but of the seven sons of Israel and Martha Livermore Washburn who reached manhood, four,-Israel, Elihu, Cadwallader and William,-were Representatives in Congress from the States of Maine, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota respectively, the first three serving together in three suc- cssive Congresses. Two of them, Israel and Cadwallader, were Governors
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of their States, and Elihu was for a brief period Secretary of State and was then appointed Minister to France. Another brother, Charles A., was Min- ister to Paraguay. Both Cadwallader and William Washburn accumulated large fortunes.
Israel, the oldest son, was born June 6, 1813, on the family farm, the Norlands, Livermore. By nature fitted for study and scholarship, his parents' lack of means deprived him of a college education, and at eighteen he began to fit himself for the practice of law, and at the age of twenty-one he was admitted to the bar. He settled in Orono where the lumber industry gave occasion for much legal business and he soon built up a lucrative practice.
In 1848 the Whigs nominated him for Congress but the district was strongly Democratic and he was defeated. At the next election a split in the victorious party offered a hope of success. Mr. Washburn ran again and won. His services gave such satisfaction to his constituents that he held his seat for ten years until his nomination for Governor in 1860. Representative Washburn had not the advantage of a fine presence, he was short and thick-set, but he was hearty and cordial, was a very fluent speaker, with a quick mind, a remarkable memory, great power of assimilating knowl- edge and of selecting from a mass of material what was really important and presenting it in a clear and logical manner. He was also well versed in parliamentary law. This knowledge and his whole-souled opposition to slavery made him a leader in the fight in the House against the Kansas- Nebraska bill. He strongly sympathised with the efforts of Preston King and others, to unite the anti-slavery Whigs and Democrats in a new party to resist the aggressions of the South, and the morning after the Nebraska bill was passed to be engrossed Mr. Washburn gathered about thirty of the most thorough-going opponents of slavery in the room of two Massachu- setts Representatives and urged the necessity of forming a new party. By what name should they call it? "Much was in a name, and Mr. Washburn suggested that 'Republican' was the most proper, the most suggestive, and the least objectionable that could be adopted. It was a name to conjure with, honorable in its antecedents and in history, and under it people ever so much divided in their political views on other and minor questions could unite on a footing of perfect equality and with no implied surrender of principles or convictions. The idea was received with enthusiasm by every member present except one, who was not yet prepared to give up the long- cherished Whig name and party ; and with this exception, when the meeting adjourned they all felt that for them there was no longer either a Whig or Democratic party." A few days later in a speech at Bangor Mr. Washburn gave public expression to his views.
Mr. Washburn was a most energetic man, vehement in stating his opinions, yet free from bitterness. He was ambitious and his ambitions were only partly satisfied. Successful as Representative and as Governor, he
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aspired to a seat in the United States Senate but was never able to obtain the Republican nomination. His later political life, however, was lucrative if not distinguished. In 1863 President Lincoln appointed him collector of Portland and he held that very well paid position for nearly fourteen years. In 1877, his term having expired, he was succeeded by Lot M. Morrill, who like him had been Governor of Maine but who had also served fifteen years in the United States Senate and had been Secretary of the Treasury for a brief period. If Mr. Washburn seriously desired a reappointment, it must have added to his chagrin that one who had enjoyed the prize he missed should also deprive him of the minor office which he had held so long.
Mr. Washburn combined with his political zeal a strong interest in his- tory. He was "an early and constant friend" of the New England Historical and Genealogical Society and a most loyal and devoted member of the Maine Historical Society. He contributed articles to the "New England Historical and Genealogical Register," published a local history, "Notes Historical, Descriptive and Personal, of Livermore," and wrote for the Maine His- torical Society an able and full account of the North Eastern Boundary Controversy and two long biographical articles on Chief Justice Shepley and George Evans.
A politician, a student, somewhat of an antiquarian, Mr. Washburn had also a keen appreciation of poetry and of the beauties of nature. He wrote articles or delivered addresses on Lamb, Landor and Burns. The editor of the Christian Leader said of him: "Had he lived in their day he would have been of the guild which included Swift, Steele and Addison, and what he could do that he appreciated in others. His love of the literary masters- particularly of Lamb and Landor, was a passion." Another friend said : "He loved nature. Raised among the hills of 'Old Oxford,' her sweeping vales and foaming floods were dear to him. The daisies, violets and roses, the rocks, rills and groves, caused him to have an intense love of freedom and its handmaid, poetry. Hence he delighted in Burns, who was the poet of nature and the people. How earnestly he would chat with one who loved this wonderful genius." Burns' best poems "stirred his heart in the same way the victories won by our boys in blue did during the war."
Mr. Washburn was a member of the Universalist church, and always showed himself a loyal and devoted son. "He was present and an active participant in the first meeting that was called to take the initiative in the starting of Tufts College." He was a member of the corporation from its formation until his death, for the last ten years of his life its president, and was offered the position of president of the faculty, as the head of the college was called, but declined it. He was a wise and liberal friend of the Universalist academies. The Church of the Messiah, India street, Portland, being in danger of passing out of the hands of the parish, was saved from such a fate by the prompt and generous act of Mr. Washburn, who on his own individual responsibility stepped forward and purchased it
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at the cash cost of some $12,000, giving the parish the opportunity of redeeming it at its leisure. It was highly fitting that Israel Washburn should be a member of the church whose corner stone is belief in the salvation of all men, for his most striking characteristic was a full genial confidence in the triumph of right.
A former Portland pastor said: "He was loyalty itself. His enthu- siasm was a noble contagion. He was the most hopeful man I ever knew; and back of his hope was an unfaltering courage." W. W. Thomas said, "The manner of his intercourse was like a sunbeam." The resolutions which the Portland Fraternity Club entered on its records stated that "His cheerful temper and hopeful views entitled him to the appellation of our chief Optimist, for he never failed to look on the bright side of every question, and to find a silver lining to every cloud. The cordiality of his manners, the heartiness of his hand grasp and the cheeriness of his voice, endeared him to all our hearts."
Ex-Governor Perham said: "His faith in God as the loving Father, solicitous for the welfare of His children, and in the final triumph of good over evil, always unwavering, seemed to strengthen with his years; and no one could listen to his earnest words, in his public efforts, or private conversation, as he expressed the deep convictions of his soul on these and kindred subjects without feeling himself raised to a higher plane of spiritual existence.""
The Democrats nominated for Governor a different kind of man, that clever and versatile politician, Ephraim K. Smart, of Rockland. As usual great efforts were made to poll a large vote at the election for Governor in September. The campaign was sharply fought. Mr. Douglas himself came to Maine and spoke at meetings in Portland and Bangor. He also made various rear car speeches. Maine was much interested in the Pacific Railroad bill and at Portland Douglas asserted that this and other bills had failed of consideration because of the time taken up by the agitation of the slavery question. As an illustration of his popular sovereignty doctrine he said that whether there should be a prohibitory law in Maine was a question for Maine and for Maine alone. The Whig in describing the great Democratic rally at Bangor said that Douglas "addressed the audience in the same old speech of an hour and a half which he has deliv- ered all along the route." Seward also spent a short time in Maine. The Whig of August 13 stated that on the IIth it was rumored that Mr. Seward would arrive on the Boston-Bangor boat. A crowd gathered at the wharf and followed him to the Bangor House where he held an im- promptu reception. There was also a great crowd before the hotel and Mr. Seward came out on the steps accompanied by Mayor Stetson, who thus addressed him: "The Republicans of this city desired your nomination for the Presidency at Chicago, and confidently expected it, and they would
""In Memoriam-Israel Washburn, Jr."
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not forgive me if I failed to assure you how profoundly they cherish the teachings of your whole life, and how deeply they regret the fact that the majority took a different direction. Our hope is that the principles that you have inculcated may guide the Republican party and that you may be spared to pilot the Ship of State amid the dangers that surround it."
To this somewhat embarrassing speech Mr. Seward made a brief reply, saying that Maine's interests were those of free labor, and that her fisheries, for example, could never be carried on by slaves and that "all Maine men should vote for the free labor candidates, the able and upright statesman of the West, Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, and your own talented and able citizen whom I am happy to meet with here this day, the Hon. Hannibal Hamlin of Maine."
Candidate Ephraim K. Smart took the stump in his own behalf and made vigorous war on his opponents. He was met foot to foot by the Republican State Chairman, James G. Blaine, who had often crossed swords with him in the Legislature. Mr. Blaine went up and down the State, ruthlessly exposing the political inconsistencies and turnings of the Democratic nominee. Mr. Blaine was a student of the Bible and theology as well as of politics and he usually began his speeches by saying, "Ephraim is a cake not turned," and adding, "I propose to turn him."
Mr. Smart was not the only candidate whose political past was brought up against him, the legislative records of Douglas, Hamlin and Washburn were searched for votes which were, or might be represented to be contrary to the interests of Maine. The Democrats gave considerable attention to State issues. Smart called on Washburn to say whether he would repudiate corrupt State officers, remove the warden of the State prison, and veto any bill appropriating $250,000 to build a new prison, and to promise that he would not give official favors to Blaine or to men implicated in the Peck defalcation.
The campaign was made picturesque by the Republican marching clubs known as Wideawakes. They were formed of young men, many below the voting age, wore firemen coats and helmets and carried torches. Maine clubs took part in processions in Boston and New York.
There was no doubt of the election of Washburn, the question was only of the size of the Republican majority. But this was most important because of the effect on the rest of the country. The Peck defalcation had furnished ammunition to the enemy, most of the nominees for Con- gress were new men and early in the campaign Hannibal Hamlin saw reason to fear that the Republicans were shouting while the Democrats were working. He expressed his views to the Republican managers in Maine with great plainness, and wrote to several national leaders urging them to help start the campaign. Mr. Lincoln also became alarmed. He heard that Hamlin had written to Schuyler Colfax10 expressing a fear that
1ºA popular and influential Congressman from Indiana. He later became speaker and vice-president.
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the Republicans would lose two Congressional districts in Maine and that Washburn's majority would not be over 6,000. He therefore wrote to Mr. Hamlin, "Such a result as you seem to have predicted in Maine would, I fear, put us on the down hill track, lose us the State elections in Pennsyl- vania and Indiana and probably ruin us on the main turn in November. You must not allow it."
But by this time the Republicans were fighting well and they succeeded in electing all their Congressmen and giving. Washburn a majority con- siderably larger than that of Morrill the year before. The vote was the largest ever cast, 124,135. Washburn received 70,030 votes, Smart 52,350, Barnes, Constitutional Union 1,735 scattering 20; Washburn's majority 15,925. Morrill had received a majority in 1859 of 11,808.
On September II the Argus said: "The election is over, we have met the enemy and they are not ours. Our Republican opponents confess that their probable majority in the State is to them unexpectedly large, and they rejoice accordingly; while Democrats console themselves with the reflection that they are not so badly beaten as in 1856; and that although they did not defeat the enemy they scared him awfully." A month later the Argus had arrived at the comforting conclusion that if the Democrats throughout the country made as much gain as the Maine Democrats had done, Mr. Lincoln would be defeated. But some weeks later the October States were lost, and the Argus admitted that the returns were "of the darkest hue and sufficient to satisfy the most rabid Black Republican."
November fulfilled the promise of October, and Lincoln was given a large majority in the electoral college and led in the popular vote, though there he failed to obtain an absolute majority.
The presidential campaign was followed not, as is usually the case by a period of rest and perhaps of good feeling but by one of the greatest excite- ment and alarm. The question of the lawfulness of secession and of the legal and moral right of the United States to compel a dissatisfied State to remain in the Union became at once the subject of vehement discussion. A great cry went up in the North for concession and compromise. Business was frightened. Many Republicans who had no wish to yield Northern rights or admit slavery to the territories, yet preferred acquiescence in seces- sion to civil war. The New York Tribune, the leading Republican news- paper, said that if a State deliberately chose secession "those who rushed upon carnage to defy and defeat it would place themselves clearly in the wrong." The Whig quoted the article and expressed substantial agreement. The Bath Times, a Douglas paper, declared that it would allow South Carolina to secede and stay out until her business was ruined. her popula- tion depleted and her property deprived of its value.
By the middle of January the Whig had grown a little firmer. Sen- ator Seward had proposed as a compromise that Kansas should be admitted as a free State and the rest of the territories as two States, (if practicable),
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one free and one slave. The Whig expressed doubt if this would satisfy the Border States but said that the great question was "whether traitors are to be allowed to break up this Union by seizing government forts and defying the authority of the Republic, by seceding without even consulting sister States, and without even making any propositions for the settlement of the difficulties. In short, whether the right of secession exists. Let Southern men who profess conservatism unite with the North against this destructive doctrine, to suppress rebellion and sustain the government,- and we can then with a better grace consider the question of a settlement of the territorial question."12
The Argus as might have been expected was from the first for conces- sion and surrender. On December 14 it proposed that a constitutional amendment be passed allowing each State to secede at pleasure. There would then, it said, be no fear of oppression and no danger of war and New England should not object as she was constantly becoming relatively weaker in the Union.
Among the measures of conciliation suggested was the repeal by the Northern Legislatures of their "personal liberty laws," which seriously interfered with the return of fugitive slaves. On the meeting of the Maine Legislature, Governor Washburn in his address advised them to carefully examine the laws, repeal such as were not constitutional, but maintain such as were so. In his opinion, what might have been yielded as a friendly con- cession must be refused to threats.
He also spoke in strong terms of the necessity of maintaining the rights of the majority and of the duty of the President to enforce the laws, and declared that only an amendment of the Constitution could give a State the right to secede.
But many of the Republicans in the Legislature while agreeing with the Governor that the laws should be maintained were willing to abandon the personal liberty acts. To influence them a great public meeting was held at Portland, attended by such leading Republicans as J. B. Brown, W. W. Thomas, John Neal, F. C. Hersey and S. A. Leavitt; the last named gentleman had taken an active part in the passing of the liberty law of 1855. With their assent the meeting passed resolutions that no State had a right to secede and that it was the duty of the government to pro- tect the forts and public property and enforce the revenue laws but that to manifest the attachment of the State to the Union and its disposition to remove all occasion for complaint "it was expedient to repeal the liberty laws."
A little later there was another and more Democratic meeting. The Whig said: "A second 'Union Meeting' was held in Portland on Tuesday evening, to give Mr. F. O. J. Smith an opportunity to make a speech. He wasn't satisfied with the resolutions of the first meeting. According to the Argus, he took the ground that slavery was an institution of divine ordina-
"Whig, Jan. 16, 1861.
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tion, that slaves were recognized as property by the Constitution, and there- fore Congress was bound to protect slaveholders in their property wher- ever it might be. He argued for peacable secession and that coercion should not be used towards the seceding States. And resolutions were passed in favor of the Crittenden Proposition."1
In 1855 the Legislature of Maine had passed laws requiring county attorneys to act as counsel for all persons arrested as fugitive slaves, mak- ing illegal the use of jails or other public buildings for the detention of such persons, prohibiting a State officer from aiding in their arrest, in his official capacity, and forbidding police judges and justices of the peace from taking cognizance of any case relating to a fugitive slave. These laws were retained with verbal changes in a revision of the statutes in 1857. One of these alterations was the omission of the reference to official capacity in the law forbidding State officers to aid in the arrest of alleged fugitive slaves. On February 13, 1860, the House of Representatives asked the Supreme Court of Maine if these laws contravened the Constitu- tion or any constitutional law of the United States. Five opinions were given, each signed by one or two of the eight judges. All the judges were of the opinion that the State could control the use of its buildings and fix the duties of its officers but that it could not forbid them from assisting in enforcing a law of the United States in their private capacity. But on the question whether the revision of the statutes actually did this the court was divided.
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