USA > New York > History of the state of New York, political and governmental, Vol. VI > Part 8
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admit both the delegations on equal terms; but this decision did not prove satisfactory to either of them, and as the result each withdrew. The Barnburners, returning home, lost no time in starting the diversion from the party that culminated in the Free Soil candi- dacy of Van Buren.
The spirit of accommodation concerning party dis- sensions which the convention showed in its action on the New York dispute, was manifested also in treating delicate national questions. Resolutions condemning the Wilmot Proviso and approving Calhoun's doctrine as to the unlimited rights of slaveowners in the Terri- tories were voted down.
Platform :
"1. Resolved, That the American Democracy place their trust in the intelligence, the patriotism, and the discriminating justice of the American people.
"2. Resolved, That we regard this as a distinctive feature of our political creed, which we are proud to maintain before the world, as the great moral element in a form of government spring- ing from and upheld by the popular will; and we contrast it with the creed and practice of Federalism, under whatever name or form, which seeks to palsy the will of the constituent and which conceives no imposture too monstrous for the popular credulity.
"3. Resolved, Therefore, That, entertaining these views, the Democratic party of this Union, through the delegates assembled in a general convention of the States, coming together in a spirit of concord, of devotion to the doctrines and faith of a free representa- tive government, and appealing to their fellow-citizens for the recti- tude of their intentions, renew and reassert before the American people the declaration of principles avowed by them on a former occasion when, in general convention, they presented their candi- dates for the popular suffrage.
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"4. Resolved, That the Federal government is one of limited powers, derived solely from the Constitution, and the grants of power shown therein ought to be strictly construed by all the departments and agents of the government, and that it is inexpedient and danger- ous to exercise doubtful constitutional powers.
"5. Resolved, That the Constitution does not confer upon the general government the power to commence and carry on a general system of internal improvements.
"6. Resolved, That the Constitution does not confer authority upon the Federal government, directly or indirectly, to assume the debts of the several States contracted for local internal improve- ments or other State purposes; nor would such assumption be just or expedient.
"7. Resolved, That justice and sound policy forbid the Federal government to foster one branch of industry to the detriment of another, or to cherish the interests of one portion to the injury of another portion of our common country ; that every citizen and every section of the country has a right to demand and insist upon an equality of rights and privileges, and to complete and ample protec- tion of person and property from domestic violence or foreign aggression.
"8. Resolved, That it is the duty of every branch of the gov- ernment to enforce and practice the most rigid economy in conduct- ing our public affairs, and that no more revenue ought to be raised than is required to defray the necessary expenses of the government, and for the gradual but certain extinction of the debt created by the prosecution of a just and necessary war, after peaceful relations shall have been restored.
"9. Resolved, That Congress has no power to charter a United States Bank; that we believe such an institution one of deadly hos- tility to the best interests of the country, dangerous to our republican institutions and the liberties of the people, and calculated to place the business of the country within the control of a concentrated money power and above the laws and the will of the people; and that the results of Democratic legislation in this and all other financial meas- ures upon which issues have been made between the two political
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parties of the country have demonstrated to careful and practical men of all parties their soundness, safety, and utility in all business pur- suits.
"10. Resolved, That Congress has no power under the Constitu- tion to interfere with or control the domestic institutions of the several States, and that such States are the sole and proper judges of everything appertaining to their own affairs not prohibited by the Constitution ; that all efforts by Abolitionists or others, made to induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery, or to take incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dangerous consequences, and that all such efforts have an inevi- table tendency to diminish the happiness of the people and endanger the stability and permanence of the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by any friend of our political institutions.
"11. Resolved, That the separation of the moneys of the gov- ernment from banking institutions is indispensable for the safety of the funds of the government and the rights of the people.
"12. Resolved, That the liberal principles embodied by Jeffer- son in the Declaration of Independence, and sanctioned in the Con- stitution, which make ours the land of liberty and the asylum of the oppressed of every nation, have ever been cardinal principles in the Democratic faith; and every attempt to abridge the present privilege of becoming citizens and the owners of soil among us ought to be resisted with the same spirit which swept the Alien and Sedition laws from our statute-book.
"13. Resolved, That the proceeds of the public lands ought to be sacredly applied to the national object specified in the Constitu- tion; and that we are opposed to any law for the distribution of such proceeds among the States as alike inexpedient in policy and repugnant to the Constitution.
"14. Resolved, That we are decidedly opposed to taking from the President the qualified veto power by which he is enabled, under restrictions and responsibilities amply sufficient to guard the public interests, to suspend the passage of a bill whose merits cannot secure the approval of two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representa- tives, until the judgment of the people can be obtained thereon, and
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which has saved the American people from the corrupt and tyrannical domination of the Bank of the United States and from a corrupting system of general internal improvements.
"15. Resolved, That the war with Mexico, provoked on her part by years of insult and injury, was commenced by her army crossing the Rio Grande, attacking the American troops, and invading our sister State of Texas; and upon all the principles of patriotism and laws of nations it is a just and necessary war on our part, in which every American should have shown himself on the side of his coun- try and neither morally nor physically, by word or by deed, have given 'aid and comfort to the enemy.'
"16. Resolved, That we should be rejoiced at the assurance of peace with Mexico, founded on the just principles of indemnity for the past and security for the future; but that while the ratification of the liberal treaty offered to Mexico remains in doubt it is the duty of the country to sustain the administration in every measure necessary to provide for the vigorous prosecution of the war, should that treaty be rejected.
"17. Resolved, That the officers and soldiers who have carried the arms of their country into Mexico have crowned it with imper- ishable glory. Their unconquerable courage, their daring enter- prise, their unfaltering perseverance and fortitude when assailed on all sides by innumerable foes and that more formidable enemy, the diseases of the climate, exalt their devoted patriotism into the highest heroism and give them a right to the profound gratitude of their country and the admiration of the world.
"18. Resolved, That the Democratic national convention of the . thirty States composing the American republic tender their fraternal congratulations to the National Convention of the republic of France, now assembled as the free-suffrage representatives of the sovereignty of thirty-five millions of republicans to establish government on those eternal principles of equal rights for which their Lafayette and our Washington fought side by side in the struggle for our national independence ; and we would especially convey to them, and to the whole people of France, our earnest wishes for the consolidation of their liberties, through the wisdom that shall guide their counsels,
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on the basis of a democratic constitution not derived from grants or concessions of kings or dynasties, but originating from the only true source of political power recognized in the States of this Union-the inherent and inalienable right of the people, in their sovereign capac- ity, to make and to amend their form of government in such man- ner as the welfare of the community may require.
"19. Resolved, That, in view of the recent developments of this grand political truth of the sovereignty of the people and their capac- ity and power for self-government, which is prostrating thrones and erecting republics on the ruins of despotism in the old world, we feel that a high and sacred duty is devolved, with increased responsi- bility, upon the Democratic party of this country, as the party of the people, to sustain and advance among us constitutional liberty, equality, and fraternity, by continuing to resist all monopolies and exclusive legislation for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many, and by a vigilant and constant adherence to those principles and compromises of the Constitution which are broad enough and strong enough to embrace and uphold the Union as it was, Union as it is, and the Union as it shall be in the full expansion of the ener- gies and capacity of this great and progressive people.
"20. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded, through the American Minister at Paris, to the National Conven- tion of the republic of France.
"21. Resolved, That the fruits of the great political triumph of 1844, which elected James K. Polk and George M. Dallas Presi- dent and Vice-President of the United States, have fulfilled the hopes of the Democracy of the Union in defeating the declared purposes of their opponents in creating a national bank; in preventing the corrupt and unconstitutional distribution of the land proceeds from the common treasury of the Union for local purposes; in protecting the currency and labor of the country from ruinous fluctuations, and guarding the money of the country for the use of the people by the establishment of the constitutional treasury; in the noble impulse given to the cause of free trade by the repeal of the tariff of 1842 and the creation of the more equal, honest, and productive tariff of 1846; and that, in our opinion, it would be a fatal error to weaken
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the hands of a political organization by which these great reforms have been achieved and risk them in the hands of their known adver- saries, with whatever delusive appeals they may solicit our surrender of that vigilance which is the only safeguard of liberty.
"22. Resolved, That the confidence of the Democracy of the Union in the principles, capacity, firmness, and integrity of James K. Polk, manifested by his nomination and election in 1844, has been signally justified by the strictness of his adherence to sound Democratic doctrines, by the purity of purpose, the energy, and ability which have characterized his administration in all our affairs at home and abroad; that we tender to him our cordial congratula- tions upon the brilliant success which has hitherto crowned his patri- otic efforts, and assure him that at the expiration of his Presidential term he will carry with him to his retirement the esteem, respect, and admiration of a grateful country."
Whig Party
National convention held in Philadelphia, June 7-9, 1848; temporary chairman, John A. Collier, of New York; permanent chairman, John M. Morehead, of North Carolina.
Once more Clay sought the Presidential nomina- tion. From the beginning, however, the favorite was General Zachary Taylor, of Louisiana, who was nomi- nated on the fourth ballot by the following vote :- Taylor, 171; Clay, 32; Winfield Scott, 63; Daniel Webster, 14.
Millard Fillmore, of New York, was nominated for Vice-President on the second ballot, his principal competitor being Abbott Lawrence, of Massachu- setts.
The convention adopted no platform of principles. Very determined and persistent efforts were made by
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individual members to compel some expression on conspicuous questions; but resolution after resolution was laid on the table. It was thought best by the con- trolling spirits of the body not to commit the party to anything specific that could militate against it in either the north or south; they saw the impossibility of de- claring a policy on the slavery issue suited to both sec- tions, and realized that the sensitive balance of opin- ion everywhere was likely to be turned by feeling. The troubles of the Whigs about platform policy were always much more serious than those of the Demo- crats. The Whigs were under the necessity of win- ning support in the south in order to succeed nation- ally; this required particular discretion and inge- nuity, with attentive reconsideration at each successive election ; whereas the Democrats had a consistent pro- gram, which was sure to be acceptable to the south in the last reduction and was relied on to serve at the north on account of their strength with the masses, as well as the conservative forces, in the principal States of that quarter.
The Whig candidate, General Taylor, was selected for the popularity that he had gained in the Mexican War. He was a purely military character, had never held public office, had never even voted, and was not understood to hold decided opinions on the great ques- tion of the time, although as a southerner and slave- owner his predilections were presumed to be for his section.1 Manifestly, a platform would have been an encumbrance to him.
1A daughter of General Taylor was the first wife of Jefferson Davis.
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Great discontent was felt by the anti-slavery Whigs. Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts, who had been a delegate to the convention, was one of those who re- pudiated its acts and left the party.
In default of a national platform, the supporters of the ticket adopted declarations in conformity to their several points of view. A ratification meeting held in Philadelphia immediately after. the convention passed resolutions, in platform style, which ably but alto- gether discreetly expressed the sentiments of the north- ern wing of the party, and which have been quoted by some writers as defining the Whig attitude in the cam- paign of 1848; but they had no official authority. On the other hand, a Democratic convention in South Carolina tendered Taylor its endorsement (which he accepted) on the ground that he, as a southern man, could be better trusted regarding slavery than Cass, a northern man.
Analyzing the Democratic and Whig positions in the campaign, Carl Schurz says (Life of Clay) :
"Thus both parties avoided any clear position on the one great question that most concerned the future of the republic. The Democratic convention had rejected strong pro-slavery resolutions in order to save its chances at the north. The Whig convention had shouted down anti-slavery resolutions to save its chances at the south. The Democratic party, which contained the bulk of the pro- slavery element, tried to deceive the north by the nomination of a northern man with southern principles. The Whig party, whose ruling tendencies were unfriendly to slavery, tried to deceive the south by silencing the anti-slavery sentiment for the moment and by nominating a southern man who had not professed any principles whatever."
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Free Soil Party
The Barnburner, or anti-slavery, faction of the Democrats in New York had practically served notice that it would follow its own counsels in the campaign ; and after the Democratic national convention, dissatis- fied with the platform and the candidate, it proceeded to make its opposition as effective as possible. A con- vention was accordingly held in Utica, New York, June 22, 1848, at which delegates were present from New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Wisconsin- Samuel Young presiding. Martin Van Buren "was nominated for President, and General Henry Dodge, of Wisconsin, for Vice-President. General Dodge declined.
The Utica convention proved to be the prelude to a general movement of the pronounced anti-slavery people of the country against the old-party tickets. The prevailing influence was that of the "Free Demo- crats," but, on account of the unquestioned sincerity of the movement in the respect of principle, many Whigs, as well as the supporters of the former Abolition party, joined in it. The result was a call for a new and more representative national convention, which met in Buf- falo, August 9-10, 1848.
Upon the assembling of the Buffalo convention it was seen that a wide interest, especially considering its entirely spontaneous character, had been awakened. The States of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylva-
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nia, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin, and the Dis- trict of Columbia, sent delegates. Charles Francis Adams, of Massachusetts, presided.
Nominations :- For President, Martin Van Buren ; for Vice-President, Charles Francis Adams.
The political organization evolved from the Buffalo convention is historically known as the Free Soil party. During its brief existence (restricted to the national campaigns of 1848 and 1852), it was generally called the Free Democratic party on account of its genesis and principal composition.
Platform :
"Whereas, We have assembled as a union of free men, for the sake of freedom, forgetting all past political differences, in a com- mon resolve to maintain the rights of free labor against the aggres- sion of the slave power, and to secure free soil to a free people; and
"Whereas, The political conventions recently assembled at Balti- more and Philadelphia, the one stifling the voice of a great constitu- ency entitled to be heard in its deliberations, and the other abandon- ing its distinctive principles for mere availability, have dissolved the national party organizations heretofore existing by nominating for the Chief-Magistracy of the United States, under the slaveholding dictation, candidates neither of whom can be supported by the oppo- nents of slavery extension without a sacrifice of consistency, duty, and self-respect; and
"Whereas, These nominations so made furnish the occasion and demonstrate the necessity of the union of the people under the ban- ner of Free Democracy, in a solemn and formal declaration of their independence of the slave power, and of their fixed determination to rescue the Federal government from its control,-
"1. Resolved, Therefore, That we, the people here assembled, remembering the example of our fathers in the days of the first Declaration of Independence, putting our trust in God for the triumph of our cause, and invoking His guidance in our endeavors
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to advance it, do now plant ourselves upon the national platform of freedom, in opposition to the sectional platform of slavery.
"2. Resolved, That slavery in the several States of this Union which recognize its existence depends upon the State laws alone, which cannot be repealed or modified by the Federal government, and for which laws that government is not responsible. We there- fore propose no interference by Congress with slavery within the limits of any State.
"3. Resolved, That the proviso of Jefferson, to prohibit the exist- ence of slavery after 1800 in all the Territories of the United States, southern and northern; the votes of six States and sixteen delegates in the Congress of 1784 for the proviso, to three States 'and seven delegates against it; the actual exclusion of slavery from the North- western Territory by the Ordinance of 1787, unanimously adopted by the States in Congress; and the entire history of that period,- clearly show that it was the settled policy of the nation not to extend, nationalize, or encourage, but to limit, localize, and discourage slavery; and to this policy, which should never have been departed from, the government ought to return.
"4. Resolved, That our fathers ordained the Constitution of the United States in order, among other great national objects, to estab- lish justice, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty; but expressly denied to the Federal government, which they created, a constitutional power to deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due legal process.
"5. Resolved, That in the judgment of this convention Congress has no more power to make a slave than to make a king; no more power to institute or establish slavery than to institute or establish a monarchy. No such power can be found among those specifically conferred by the Constitution, or derived by just implication from them.
"6. Resolved, That it is the duty of the Federal government to relieve itself from all responsibility for the existence or continuance of slavery wherever the government possesses constitutional power to legislate on that subject and is thus responsible for its existence.
"7. Resolved, That the true and, and in the judgment of this
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convention, the only safe means of preventing the extension of slavery into territory now free is to prohibit its extension in all such terri- tory by an act of Congress.
"8. Resolved, That we accept the issue which the slave power has forced upon us, and to their demand for more slave States and more slave territory our calm but final answer is: No more slave States and no more slave territory. Let the soil of our extensive domain be kept free for the hardy pioneers of our own land and the oppressed and banished of other lands seeking homes of comfort and fields of enterprise in the new world.
"9. Resolved, That the bill1 lately reported by the committee of eight in the Senate of the United States was no compromise, but an absolute surrender of the rights of the non-slaveholders of all the States; and while we rejoice to know that a measure which, while opening the door for the introduction of slavery into Territories now free, would also have opened the door to litigation and strife among the future inhabitants thereof, to the ruin of their peace and pros- perity, was defeated in the House of Representatives, its passage in hot haste [in the Senate] by a majority embracing several Senators who voted in open violation of the known will of their constituents should warn the people to see to it that their representatives be not suffered to betray them. There must be no more compromises with slavery ; if made, they must be repealed.
"10. Resolved, That we demand freedom and established insti- tutions for our brethren in Oregon now exposed to hardships, peril, and massacre by the reckless hostility of the slave power to the estab- lishment of free government for free Territories; and not only for them, but for our brethren in California and New Mexico.
"11. Resolved, That it is due not only to this occasion, but to the whole people of the United States, that we should also declare ourselves on certain other questions of national policy ; therefore,
1The bill here referred to was the "Clayton Compromise" of July, 1848 (named for Senator John M. Clayton, of Delaware), which provided for organizing the Territorial governments of Oregon, New Mexico, and Cali- fornia on the fundamental plan of referring disputed matters about slavery to the Supreme Court.
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"12. Resolved, That we demand cheap postage for the people; a retrenchment of the expenses and patronage of the Federal gov- ernment; the abolition of all unnecessary offices and salaries; and the election by the people of all civil officers in the service of the govern- ment so far as the same may be practicable.
"13. Resolved, That river and harbor ,improvements, when demanded by the safety and convenience of commerce with foreign nations, or among the several States, are objects of national con- cern, and it is the duty of Congress, in the exercise of its constitu- tional power, to provide therefor.
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