USA > Ohio > A history of Ohio, with biographical sketches of her governors and the ordinance of 1787 > Part 9
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Very respectfully your obedient servant,
STEVENS T. MASON.
The 31st of March found Governor Lucas with his staff and the boundary Commissioners at Perrysburg. General John Bell of the seventeenth division of the Ohio militia also arrived with a volunteer force of six hundred men. In the meantime Governor
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From 1825 to 1840.
Mason and General Brown had arrived at Toledo with about one thousand men, and there encamped, being fully determined to prevent any re-marking of the "Harris Line." Both Governors eyed each other like pugilists preparing for conflict. Happily before any opening of hostilities, two Peace Com- inissioners from the President of the United States arrived on the scene. They were Richard Rush, of Philadelphia, and Benjamin C. Howard, of Balti- more, who were appointed to represent President Jackson in his efforts for peace. This commission prevented bloodshed, and through its influence the militia of both states were disbanded. Notwith- standing this, however, Governor Lucas determined to run the line. General Brown, the Michigan Commander, was again called out to watch their proceedings. The Boundary Commissioners were accompanied by their surveyor and a possc. When within the disputed territory the sheriff of the county attempted to arrest the party, and did arrest some of them. The Commissioners escaped. The assault on the surveying party created great commo- tion throughout Ohio. Governor Lucas called an extra session of the Legislature, which met on the 8th of June, 1835. In a special message of great length, the Governor detailed the circumstances which occurred since the adjournment of the Legis- lature, together with all correspondence pertaining to them. In retaliation for Michigan's legislation, an act was passed " to prevent the forcible abduction of citizens of Ohio;" and, in addition to this, the county of Lucas was created, which was composed largely of disputed territory, and Toledo was made
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the county seat. Three hundred thousand dollars were appropriated from the State Treasury, and power given the Governor to borrow three hundred thou- sand more for the purpose of asserting the jurisdic- tion of Ohio over the territory in question. The Adjutant General reported to the Governor ten thou- sand troops ready for action. All these preparations only incensed the people of Michigan, and it looked as if the interstate war would break out afresh, to be settled only on the battle field.
The beligerent conduct of Governor Lucas created much discussion and considerable anxiety at Wash- ington and throughout the country. To relieve the President from uneasiness on the situation, the Gov- ernor sent a private commission, consisting of N. H. Swayne, W. Allen and D. T. Disney, to confer with the President on the situation. Upon a full explana- tion of Ohio's claim, the Secretary of State wrote the Commissioners that "the President, without taking upon himself any other character than that in which he had heretofore acted, will cause an earnest recom- mendation to be immediately sent to the acting Governor of Michigan, and the other authorities of the Territory, whom he can rightfully advise in the performance of their duty, 'that no obstruction shall be interposed to the re-marking of "Harris Line ;" that all proceedings already begun under the act of February, shall be immediately discontinued; that 110 prosecutions shall be commenced for any subse- quent violations of that act, until after the next session of Congress, and that all questions about the disputed jurisdiction shall be carefully avoided, and,
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From 1825 to 1840.
if occurring inevitably, their discussion shall be post- poned until the same period.'"
On the 29th of August, 1835, Governor Mason was removed by the President for allowing his zeal for the rights of Michigan to overcome his good judg- ment. The "Harris Line" was run by the Commis- sioners. Congress, at the next session, in June, 1836, decided in favor of Ohio. As a compensation for losing the much-disputed territory, Michigan was given the large and valuable peninsula between the Lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan. Ohio thus settled her northern boundary, and Michigan was given the richest bed of mineral ore in the world.
The real object of Ohio's persistent claim for the " Harris Line" was to secure within her boundaries the favored and important harbor at Toledo. It was especially necessary at this time in order to complete the canal system of the State. Keen observers saw that Toledo would, in time, be a great and important point, both in commerce and population. These considerations, legitimate, too, it may be observed, accounted for much of Ohio's persistency in pressing her claims.
On the 4th of July, 1839, the corner-stone of the present State House was laid in the presence of a large assemblage of citizens. The occasion was inade one of public display and demonstration. Ex- Governor Jeremiah Morrow delivered the oration and laid the corner-stone. Owing to captious objec- tions and frivolous differences growing out of local troubles, unnecessary and unwarranted feeling developed against Columbus among the members of
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the Legislature, and under threats and attempts at a removal of the Capital, work on the State House was suspended for six years. Indeed, so far had this spirit spread in the Legislature that on the rotli of March, 1840, a law was passed repealing the act passed January 26th, 1838, for the erection of the new Capitol. The agitation for the removal of the seat of government was carried on now more ear- nestly than ever before. At the session of 1842-3 the whole subject of removal was referred to a com- mittee, from which came elaborate majority and minority reports. The majority of the committee was strongly opposed to removal, and claimed that it could be done only by a breach of faith and a violation of the pledges of the State. All of which was true. But the report of the minority recommended that a joint resolution should be passed requesting the Governor to issue his proclamation calling for proposals look- ing to a site for the permanent seat of government. These resolutions were adopted by the Senate but were defeated in the House by a vote of thirty-six to twenty-nine. No agitation on this subject occurred afterwards. The construction of the new building proceeded and it was first occupied by the Legisla- ture during the session of 1857. Its cost, including grounds, was $1,359,121, and it took fifteen years to build it.
The census of 1840 found Ohio the third State in point of population, having 1,519,467 inhabitants, being an increase of 63 per cent. over the population of 1830. What wonderful growth that represents! In forty years she had sprung from the eighteenth State to the third on the census roll. Since her
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From 1825 to 1840.
foundation she had been almost exclusively an agri- cultural State, but at this period under the infuence of her public works, Ohio exhibited a wonderful de- velopinent of manufacturing and commercial inter- ests. The census of 1840 indicated that nearly one-third of the population were employed in manu- facture and trade. The mining industries were still in their infancy as there were but 620 men so en- gaged at this time. The cities, while increasing in number, were still small in size. Cincinnati had but 46,338 inhabitants, while Cleveland was a town of 6,000, and Columbus was the same. Toledo, over whose harbor the boundary war occurred, was a small town of 1,222 people. This decade saw the beginning of the railroad system of Ohio. The Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad Company was the first company incorporated for railroad purposes in the State. This was in 1832. The purpose was to build a road from ;Dayton to Sandusky, but it was not completed until 1848, when it became the first through line to Lake Erie.
Along with this material development went the progress of mind. During the decade the following institutions of higher learning were established : Dennison University, Marietta College, Law School of Cincinnati College, Muskingum College, Lane Theological Seminary, Richmond College, and St. Xavier's College. The common schools showed an enrollment of more than two hundred and fifty thousand pupils. In the three years prior to 1840 Ohio spent $728,664 in the construction of 5,506 school-houses. It was in this period ( 1838) that the school law was so amended as to make the school
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tax a State instead of a county levy, thereby making the common schools more than ever a State institu- tion. At the same time the office of State School Commissioner was created.
In a political way, Ohio made her first impression in 1840, by the nomination and election to the Presi- dency of General William Henry Harrison. Up to this time the State had but little influence at Wash- ington; so insignificant was her standing that in 1838 an Ohio writer complained that but "two infe- rior clerks" was the sum total of our greatness at the Capital. Since that date Ohio has furnished three Presidents, one Vice President, one Speaker of the House, two Chief Justices, four Associate Justices, five Secretaries of the Treasury, three Secretaries of the Interior, two Attorneys General and two Post- masters General.
The campaign which individualized Ohio in our political history was a peculiar one; it will probably never have a parallel, either in enthusiasm or inagni- tude. It was one of exclusively emotional politics; the entire summer and fall of 1840 was spent in gigantic and continuous frolic. The discussion of political measures was relegated to the rear, and fun, inusic and song ruled the hour. It has passed into history as the "log cabin and hard cider" campaign. The Baltimore Republican, a Democratic newspaper, after General Harrison's nomination, sneeringly remarked concerning him that he was obscure and unimportant; that for $2,000 a year he would be content to remain in his log cabin and drink hard cider for the balance of his days. This sncer, which was fated to become historical, was seized by the Whigs
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From 1825 to 1840.
as their battle cry against the opposition. It was first adopted in the city of Harrisburg, Penn., and on the 20th of January, 1840, a transparency with a log cabin painted upon it was carried through the streets of that place. It spread like wildfire. The log cabin and hard cider became the emblems of the Whig party. In song and display they were constantly kept before the people. Log cabins were built in every village, and carried in every Whig procession. Thus originated the effort to ridicule General Harrison ou account of his plain method of living, and thus were the words of con- tempt turned into a campaign shibboleth, which swept from power Van Buren and his party.
Ohio, being the home of the candidate, was of course the scene of remarkable, in fact, of almost incredible demonstrations. Mass meetings, which indeed were massive meetings, were attended by the entire population. Business seemed to be suspended during the campaign. General Harrison spoke at various points before immense audiences.
The Miami convention of Whigs held at Dayton in September was the largest political meeting ever held in this country. The present day with its cheap transportation and increased population has not furnished its equal. The multitude covered ten acres by actual measurement, and at no time were more than two thirds of the people on the grounds. While General Harrison was speaking, according to Niles' National Register, the ground upon which the crowd stood was measured by three different civil engineers. Allowing four persons to a square yard, the three estimates numbered the audience at 77,600,
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75,000, and 80,000 respectively. The size of the meeting was of national concern and notoriety, and in speaking of the number present, the paper above referred to said :
"During the time of making three measurements, the number of square yards of surface covered was continually changing, by pressure without and resis- tance within. 'This fact accounts satisfactorily for the slight difference in the results attained, and shows that that difference strengthens instead of weakening the probable correctness of the calcula- tions. No one present would have pretended that there were less than twenty thousand within the limits of the admeasurement of the city, sauntering around the environs, scattered around the booths where refreshments were vended, and lying in large groups upon the plain, discussing affairs of state, and making speeches for themselves. This will swell the number at the Miami Valley convention, including the citizens of Dayton, (whose population is between five and six thousand), which we do, to about one hundred thousand."
General Harrison's march through Ohio was one triumphal procession of oratory, display and song. At Chillicothe he spoke to 50,000 people, and accord- ing to a chronicler of the period, he was escorted by a procession of "freeman six miles long. The old soldier stood erect and bare-headed in the carriage while the prolonged and' deafening shouts of the multitude made manifest the enthusiasm which per- vaded it."
Political meetings at this time lasted for several
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From 1840 to 1860.
· days, just according to the number of orators pres- ent. The people seemed hungry for speeches and singing. It was not at all uncommon for the speak- ing to last from noon until sundown, and the next morning find the enthusiastic partisans fresh for another day of the political picnic. At Lebanon, Urbana, Sidney, Somerset and Columbus gigantic- meetings, never equalled since, were held.
CHAPTER VIII.
1840-1860.
TOM CORWIN ELECTED GOVERNOR-OHIO IN THE WAR WITH MEXICO-CORWIN'S SPEECH IN THE SENATE - A REVOLUTION IN IRON-MAKING - LEGISLATIVE BLOCKADE IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE -THE SECOND CONSTITUTIONAL CON- VENTION -A NEW CONSTITUTION FORMED AND ADOPTED - THE REPEAL OF THE BLACK LAWS -ELECTION OF SALMON P. CHASE TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE - ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY-CHASE ELECTED GOVERNOR - HIS ADMINISTRATION - THE ELECTION OF WILLIAM DENNISON.
Among the victories of the "log cabin " campaign was the election of Hon. Thomas Corwin Governor of Ohio by the Whigs, over Wilson Shannon, his Democratic opponent, and, at that time, Governor, by a majority of sixteen thousand. Tom Corwin, as he was popularly called, stands out now, as he did
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then, as one of the most striking characters in Ohio history. He had served ten years in Congress prior to his election, and he was known throughout the country as the most brilliant orator of his day. He possessed wonderful and terrible powers of ridicule and sarcasm, and his eloquence was past description in its beauty and expression. He was passionately admired by his friends, and feared by his enemies. He was distinguished as the most effective and pow- erful of General Harrison's supporters in Ohio. He assumed the duties of his office December 16, 1840, and served for two years. His administration was decidedly Whig, but without any important events. He was defeated in 1842 by Wilson Shannon, his former competitor. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1844, and opposed with vigor the prosecution of the Mexican war. His speech on this subject will live in the history of political oratory as long as any of the orations of Webster or Clay. In this speech he represented the growing anti-slavery sentiments of his State. The Mexican war was the outgrowth of the desire to extend the slave power in the United States. It was opposed by New England and the Whig party generally.
War with Mexico was declared May 13, 18446. Ohio, with her positive views on the issues causing the war, did not respond very liberally with her sup- port. As a free State, Ohio felt that the annexation of Texas, which preceded the war, was a deliberate and concocted scheme for perpetuating slavery. Hence there was not much war spirit in Ohio, nor, in fact, throughout the North. In the South, though, the enthusiasm was great and unconfined.
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From 1840 to 1860.
There was difficulty in suppressing recruiting in the Southern States, and fears were expressed that enough whites would not remain at home to take charge of the slaves. The heading for calls for vol- unteers read, "Ho! for the Halls of the Montezu- mas!" but the demand for soldiers and enthusiasm fell flat in the North.
Ohio sent out four regiments of volunteers and three independent companies. The total number of men furnished was 5,536; more than any other northern state. Of these eighteen were killed and thirty-nine wounded. Among the Ohioans who gave up their lives in Mexico was General Thomas L. Hamer. He died before Monterey after a few days illness. He was a very prominent Ohio Congress- man, and General Grant has pronounced him "one of the ablest men Ohio ever produced." General Hamer was at first Major of the ist Regiment of Ohio Volunteers, but on July Ist, 1846, was commis- sioned Brigadier General. Colonel George W. Mor- gan, who afterwards became a Brigadier General in the war of the Rebellion, commanded the 2d Regi- inent. He was wounded in the battle of Contreras. He was brave and efficient, and reflected credit upon his State in his services to his country. So it can be seen that although Ohio was not enthusiastic for war, yet when the hour of duty came, the State and her brave sons stood by the flag as against a foreign enemy.
In August, 1846, there occurred an industrial event in Ohio, the effect of which on the wealth and growth of the State cannot be justly measured. It was the introduction of raw coal as a furnace fuel in
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lieu of charcoal. The iron industry of Ohio, as we have seen, began with the construction of the first blast furnace in Mahoning county, a few miles south- east of Youngstown, in 1806. Iron was first made there in 1808. It was of course a charcoal furnace and was capable of producing but two tous per day. This was the beginning of the immense iron inter- ests of Ohio. From 1808 up to the period of which we write, there were thirty charcoal blast furnaces built in Ohio .. The most of them were in the north- ern part of the State. Brush Creek Furnace, con- structed in Adams county in 1816, was the second furnace in the State and the first built in Southern Ohio, but the discovery of the rich mineral deposits of the Hanging Rock region, located in Vinton, Jackson, Gallia, Lawrence and Scioto counties gave a stimulus to iron manufacture that established it as a secure and profitable industry. The first furnace constructed in this region was Union Furnace in Lawrence county in 1826.
In Northern Ohio before many years it began to be apparent that the destruction of timber for the purpose of obtaining charcoal would practically ren- der iron smelting a thing of the past. There was a consequent embarrassment in the business that be. came serious. Ohio iron-masters looked with con- siderable anxiety to a series of experiments that were being carried on during the summer of 1845 at Clay Furnace, in Mercer county, Penn. They were suc- cessful, and to this furnace can be given the credit of being the first in the United States to use raw coal for fuel. The event was heralded with joy by the furnacemen of Ohio; and in August, 1846, Mahoning
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From 1840 to 1860.
Furnace, at Lowellville, in Mahoning county, was the first furnace in Ohio that carried to practical success the new system. It gave a fresh impetus. to iron manufacture, and allayed painful doubts con- cerning its reliability.
A serious political complication occurred in the House of Representatives in the session of 1848-9. It created intense excitement throughout the State, and is illustrative of the close party contests in days gone by. The legislature at the preceding session had passed an apportionment law which gave Ham- ilton county five representatives, and divided the county into election districts. Eight wards of Cin- cinnati constituted the First election district, and the remainder of the county the Second district. At the election in October, 1848, George E. Pugh and four others ran for Representatives regardless of the division into election districts, and received the high- est number of votes in the entire county. Oliver M. Spencer and George W. Runyan, Whigs, had the highest number of votes in the First district. The canvassing board, consisting of Justices of the Peace, certified to the election of Spencer and Runyan; the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas gave the certifi- cates of election to Pugh and Pierce. Both parties claimed their seats. The Democrats adhered to the proposition that the Legislature could not constitu- tionally divide a county into districts for the election of members of the General Assembly.
At the opening of the session both parties were in the House at an early hour. The Democrats came earlier than the Whigs, and Benjamin F. Leiter took possession of the Speaker's chair. The Democrats
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arrayed themselves on the right side of the hall, and the Whigs on the left. The latter was presided over by Anselm 'T. Holcomb, of Gallia. Thus the con- testants sat for weeks. The Democrats remained in session day and night in order to retain possession of the Speaker's chair. The only sound heard all that time of a legislative. import was the wearisome and monotonous roll call of the counties from day to day, each side hoping to secure a quorum. The Democrats had sworn in forty members, including Pugh and Pierce, of Hamilton county; the Whigs also swore in thirty-two members, including Spencer and Runyan. Neither party had a quorum, for under the constitution of 1802 two-thirds of all the ineill- bers constituted a quorum.
There were eight Free-Soil members of the House, and they submitted a proposition on the 22d of December looking to a settlement. It was agreed that the members whose titles were not in dispute should organize the House, and then the question of who were entitled to seats should be settled. This was done, and on the 3d of January, 1849, the House organized by electing John G. Breslin, Speaker; on the 26th Pugh and Pierce were declared duly elected members.
At the following session a similar contest occurred in the Senate, and the same question growing out of the division of Hamilton county arose. The discus- sion and blockade of legislation lasted for seven weeks after December 3, 18449; the contested seat was given to the Democrat. Both of these contests were the occasion of much political bitterness, and very great earnestness and determination was dis-
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From 1840 to 1860.
played by both sides. Fortunately, the principle of submission to the forms of law, which is the basis of all our institutions, carried the controversy to a peaceful, if not a satisfactory, conclusion.
In February, 1850, an act calling a second consti- tutional convention was passed. The convention, composed of one hundred and eight members, met May 6, 1850, at Columbus, in the hall of the House of Representatives. Nearly fifty years had passed since the forming of the first constitution, and in the stupendous development of the State it was gen- erally admitted that the instrument needed change and revision. The people of Ohio have always recognized that constitutional conventions called for the presence of their best inen. And we find that, like its predecessor of 1802, the second constitutional convention was filled with men of representative character and ability. The president of the conven- tion was William Medill, of Fairfield county. He was at that time one of the most prominent men in the State. He had been Speaker of the House of Representatives, member of Congress, Assistant Post- master General, and Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Edward Tiffin, the president of the constitutional convention of 1802, became the first Governor under that instrument, and William Medill, the president of the second convention, was the first Governor elected under the new constitution he was so in- fluential in forming.
As we read the roll of the convention, we meet many names of men that were great then, and some of men who have become great since. Four of its members became Judges of the Supreme Court
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under the organic law they helped to create - Rufus P. Ranney, Josiah Scott, Peter Hitchcock. and J. R. Swan; Ex-Governor Vance served as a delegate from Champaign county; Charles Reemelin, the political writer and economist, came as one of the delegates from Hamilton, and his colleague was the accom- plished jurist, W. S. Groesbeck; the distinguished lawyer Henry Stanberry, afterwards Attorney Gen- eral of the United States, was one of Franklin county's delegates ; William P. Cutler, a grandson of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, and son of Ephraim Cutler, a member of the constitutional convention of 1802, represented Washington county; Gallia county sent Simeon Nash, the law writer, and Otway Curry, the brilliant editor of the short-lived Hesperian, came from Union county.
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