USA > Ohio > History of Ohio; the rise and progress of an American state, Volume Three > Part 6
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
It was natur sChenie should appear -¡ tantoo jati afi Tobru oidO to awsl odt vd bostontuĄ in the new country it there hould be a publi
sentiment Lo vukfais judge Burnet introduced bill which passed the Council authorizing a lottery bar ic was rejected by the House of Representatives The Journal of the House also shows Hmat there was peutlow presented to that body by several of the cit zent of Chillluothe praying "for leave to make a lotter To make Ourre thousand dollars for the purpose ( crochet a Poolbyterian church in thay town." Bot of the wwwmapts failed: as far as the Territori minetot wat concerned, the lottery www interdicte Is Ha infilal movement Illustrative of the opinion In the day of warly statehood on this subject, a con turismo w Its history la mastruelive The legislatio of the pew Mante was decidedly favorable to this popula bis ol goubling. In 1807 (Chase's Statutes I, 559 an act wax passed prohibiting any private lottery with cor a special act of the Legislature. From thence om It war not uncommon for the General Assembly t authorize lotteries by special acts. These were fo Yatitua purposes; for instance: to maise moneys fo Trajeviny Cuyahoga and Muslingin Kivery; to secu! the luckirat the Scfoto at Chillicothe: for a bridge ove the Makingim, and to Authorite ile drawing of Wwwry for the benefit of the Ohio University at Athen Tale JAit wot was never carried out by the authoriti of the Calvervity, and it became a dad letter.
Sossatures Jarenes were permitted for the relief of privire check, as la the case of Ehaha Barrett (Oh) Lass OLEN . (a) of Fairfield, who was authorize to ribe turer thousand dollars in this manner to be
SCHEME !
1 PRIZE OF $8,000
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13,203
-
4829 PRIZES.
$32,004
9395 BLANKS.
(Not two blanks to a prize !
ORDERS from any part of the United States, enclosing the cash, and post paid, will receive prompt attention, if address- ed to either of the Commissioners, in Lancaster, or to such a- gents as they have or may appoint-
LANCASTER,
une 1828
BY AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF OHIO.
Ohio State Lottery. FIRST CLASS,
U "NDER the superintendence of Jacob Claypool, John Creed, and Samuel F. Maccracken, Commissioners, appointed by the Court of Common Pleas of Fairfield County.
ITTHIS ticket will entitle its holder to such prize as may be drawn to its number, if demanded within twelve months after the draw- ing: Subject to a deduction of fifteen per cent. Payable thirty days after the drawing is finished.
4
Larob clayprove
Commis- sioners.
63
OF AN AMERICAN STATE
applied in rebuilding his woolen mill lately destroyed by fire. The lottery was to be conducted at Lancaster by three commissioners appointed by the court of common pleas, and a bond for honest administration in the sum of forty thousand dollars was to be executed to the Treasurer of State. The lottery system came under the ban of public sentiment finally, and in 1830 (Chase's Statutes III, 1656) lotteries were prohibited by law. This prohibition was inserted in the Constitu- tion of 1851 which forever prohibited lotteries and the sale of lottery tickets in this state. Thus the senti- ment and moral standard which was positive enough in the First General Assembly to forbid this character of legislation, was not reached in statehood until after an experience of a third of a century.
The closing days of the Legislature were at hand. The experiment of representative government had been made, and it was satisfactory alike to the people and public officers. Notwithstanding all its faults and shortcomings, the members of the General Assembly were willing to leave the merit and approval of their work to their constituents. On the day before adjourn- ment, December 18, 1799, they issued an address to the citizens of the Northwest Territory. They declared that they were not "insensible of the honor conferred on us in selecting us to the honorable though arduous task of framing laws to protect and secure the personal rights and the property of so numerous and respectable a class of men settled over an extensive tract of country. How far we have succeeded in the execution of our duty to effect so desirable and important an object, can only be known when those laws shall come into
64
THE RISE AND PROGRESS
operation; but if good intentions can entitle us to your approbation, we shall receive it from a brave and generous people with pleasing sensations." Adverting to the possibility of the future greatness of the Terri- tory, they argue for a good citizenship: "Let the present generation set the example by discountenanc- ing idleness and dissipation, and, on the other hand, by encouraging industry, frugality, temperance, and every moral virtue, and in a few years the desert will disappear before the hand of industry, the fields will be covered with flocks, and the face of nature will blossom as the rose." The closing words were: "Let it be remembered that the foundation of public prosperity and happiness must be laid in private families. Every well-ordered family is a little amiable community; and a great community made up of such families must be prosperous and happy at home, and respectable abroad."
At the same time a formal address was prepared and forwarded to John Adams, President of the United States. It was adopted by a unanimous vote of the Council, but in the House Shadrack Bond, William Goforth, Elias Langham, John Ludlow and Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr., voted against it. They were opposed to the expressions of adulation and eulogy showered upon the President. In this negative vote can be seen the first introduction of national politics into Territorial affairs. It was the mustard seed that in a few years grew into a great tree. It was the beginning of the Democratic-Republican party-the party of Thomas Jefferson-that was soon to cast John Adams and Federalism out of power, and at the same time retire Arthur St. Clair to private life.
65
OF AN AMERICAN STATE
On the 19th of December the Governor appeared before a joint session of the two bodies, and made his speech proroguing the Legislature. Standing before them clad in the dress of Revolutionary days, with hair dressed and powdered after the style of that period, the old hero was indeed worthy of respect and admiration. The address was firm, clear and dignified. Personally the Governor had maintained the most cordial relations with the Legislature, and as he stated, it would have given him pleasure to agree with every thing that was done. But the Ordinance gave him a negative on their acts, and it became his obligation to follow the tie of duty and conscience, and the dictates of his own mind. He then proceeded to give reasons for his dissent as to eleven of the acts of the General Assembly. Of these, six related to the erection of new counties. Several reasons were given for this action, but the controlling one was that the power necessary in erecting them was vested in himself and not in the Legislature. Then wishing them a safe and happy return to their respective counties, he declared: "This meeting of the Legislature is put an end to for the present, and prorogued to the first Monday of November next which will be in the year one thousand eight hundred."
From this time forward there was open and bitter opposition to Governor St. Clair. It came from the followers of Thomas Jefferson led by a group of able and aggressive men in public life who came from Vir- ginia. They saw in the continuation of the Territorial government a limitation of popular rights, and they regarded St. Clair as the representative of the aristo-
66
RISE AND PROGRESS OF AN AMERICAN STATE
cratic Federalism of Alexander Hamilton. The right to vote, the right to hold office depended not upon manhood, but upon acres; the right of representative government was nullified by the autocratic powers of the Governor. These things would continue, they argued, just as long as the Territory existed, and aristo- crats like St. Clair were sent to govern them. So they spread the seeds of Democracy and popular rights among the people, and when the Legislature adjourned, they proceeded to inaugurate the movement which eventually resulted in statehood.
1
CHAPTER III. THE STRUGGLE FOR STATEHOOD
A FTER the adjournment of the first session of the Legislature there was a well defined feeling throughout the Territory that Gover- nor St. Clair's arbitrary methods should be curbed. Under the Ordinance there was no way to do this. The only way out apparent to the anti- Federalists was statehood. At first this proposition was murmured, then whispered, and at last openly and aggressively advocated.
Governor St. Clair was opposed to the creation of a new State. He did not hesitate to express himself positively on the prematureness of the movement. He had but little faith in the ruling power and justice of the people, and he said so.
He discloses these honestly entertained views in a letter (St. Clair Papers II, 480) which he wrote in December, 1799, to United States Senator James Ross of Pennsylvania, a friend and a Federalist. He thinks "a multitude of indigent and ignorant people are but ill qualified to form a constitution and government for themselves." But that is not his chief objection. They are too far removed from the seat of government to be impressed with the power of the United States; their connection with the Federal Government is too slender-many of them have left nothing but creditors behind them in the States whom they would willingly forget. As to political principles, he says they have none, and their government would be democratic in form and oligarchic in execution, more troublesome and more opposed to the measures of the United States (meaning Federal principles) than even Kentucky. Then: "All this, I think, may be prevented by the
70
THE RISE AND PROGRESS
division of the Territory." Therefore, his plan to delay and defeat statehood was to divide the Territory, so that the divisions would not have the 60,000 inhabit- ants required by the Ordinance.
Not every division would suit St. Clair; he wanted one, as he says in the Ross letter, that "would keep them in the colonial state for a good many years to come." He wrote Timothy Pickering, the Secretary of State, suggesting the division of the Territory into two parts, making a line due north from the mouth of Eagle Creek in what is now Brown County, Ohio, the boundary and division line. In this way he would have two sure Federalist territories. The Secretary of State showed the letter of Governor St. Clair to William Henry Harrison, the delegate in Congress of the Northwest Territory. Harrison was in favor of a division of the Territory too, but not on the lines of St. Clair; he was also in favor of statehood.
Therefore, when the Governor wrote Harrison from Cincinnati, February 17, 1800, inclosing a petition for division from the people of Vincennes and urging a plan of his own, the delegate became aware that the scheme revealed to him three months before was about to be sprung. The prayer of the Vincennes petitioners was to place them and the people of the Illinois country in a separate territory. In this letter the governor does not agree with the division suggested in the petition, but outlines a plan of his own, the mere men- tion of which discloses an object at once shrewd and far-reaching. This was the plan: "The manner that strikes me as the most eligible is that the Scioto, and a line drawn north from the forks of it, should form
GOVERNOR OTHNIEL LOOKER
From a painting in the Capitol at Columbus.
Born in New York, October 4, 1757; served as a private soldier in the Revolutionary War; served in the House of Representatives and Senate of Ohio; was Speaker of the Senate, when Governor Meigs resigned thus becoming Governor for eight months in 1814; date of death un- known.
70
THE RISE AND PROGRESS
division ofдлябол Чинто я Therefore, his plan to
Mot the Territory, so tetsving's es bovenarmve modomoto Y wokhi modooo inhabit- ant LaHt mi bovisa :isW yisuoituloys oft ni Toibloa
girimood andt borgiasi agisM vomovde hodlw .,ossia onthe wanted
them in the colonial state for a good inany years to come" De wrote Timothy Pickering, the Secretary of State, Ingruting the division of the Territory into two part, making a line due north from the mouth of Engle Freei in what is now -Brown County, Ohio, the buondum and division line. In this way he would Nave Two Bute Federalist territories. The Secretary of Brinte showed the letter of Governor St. Clair to William Henry Harrison, the delegate in Congress of the Northwest Territory. Hariton was in favor of a division of the Territory too, but not on the lines of St Clair! he was also in favor of statehood.
Therefore, when the Governor wrote Harrison from Cincinnati, February 17, 1800, inclosing a petition for division from the people of Vincennes and urging a plan of his own, the delegate became aware that the scheme revealed to him three months before was about to be sprung. The prayer of the Vincennes petitioners was to place them and the people of the Illinois country in a separate territory. In this letter the governor does not agree with the division suggested in the petition, but outlines a plan of his own, the mere men- tion of which discloses an object at once shrewd and far-reaching. This was the plan: "The manner that utrikes me as the most eligible is that the Scioto, and a line drawn north from the forks of it, should form
71
OF AN AMERICAN STATE
the western boundary of the eastern district; a line drawn north from that part of the Indian boundary line opposite to the mouth of the Kentucky, the western boundary of the middle district; and the western division to comprehend all the country between that and the Mississippi. The natural advantages would, in this manner, remain to every part. Marietta would most probably be the seat of the government for this district, and sufficiently convenient to every part of it; Cincin- nati would continue to be, with equal convenience, the seat of the middle district, and St. Vincennes for the western; not, indeed, equally convenient, but more so than any other place that could be chosen. There are many other advantages which would flow from this measure which I will not trouble you with. I will only observe that almost any division into two parts which could be made would ruin Cincinnati."
A division on the lines suggested by the Governor would have resulted in two conditions at least. It would have destroyed the importance of Chillicothe, the seat of Republicanism, as a political and social center, and it would have delayed statehood. Delegate Harrison was in favor of neither of these results because he was a Republican, a statehood man, and because he was playing politics himself. Therefore, he wholly disregarded St. Clair's suggestions and the prayer of the Vincennes petitioners.
By an act of Congress of May 7, 1800, the passage of which was the direct fruit of Mr. Harrison's labor and influence, the Territory Northwest of the Ohio River was divided into two separate governments, by a line drawn from the mouth of the Kentucky River
72
THE RISE AND PROGRESS
to Fort Recovery, and thence north until it intersected the territorial line between the United States and Canada. The territory lying west of this line was erected into, and designated Indiana Territory; the eastern portion retained its existing government and name. Vincennes was designated as the seat of govern- ment of Indiana Territory, and Chillicothe that of the Northwest Territory until otherwise ordered by their respective legislatures.
This legislation had two sequels: it widened the breach between the advocates and opponents of state- hood, and it was the cause of William Henry Harrison resigning his seat in Congress and receiving the appoint- ment of governor of Indiana Territory.
We can profitably pause in this narrative to take a bird's-eye view of the principal actors and their surroundings in this, the heroic period of Ohio history. The contest over forming a new state for the Union is always interesting, but it never developed such a conflict of sentiment as did this between St. Clair and the Virginians. From an historical standpoint it is the most picturesque episode of the pioneer period, and reads like a romance.
The conversion of a wilderness into a garden; the invasion of the Virginians; the overthrow of the great Arthur St. Clair; the struggle for statehood; the victory of the people over the political aristocracy; the framing of the Constitution for a people without their consent, are all events that form a background for a picture that has no parallel in American history. And all these scenes were enacted in a theatre of intel- lect; the only weapons were tongues and pens, but
73
OF AN AMERICAN STATE
they were directed by men who for brains and bravery are worthy of every tribute of admiration and respect that the people of Ohio can bestow upon them.
In 1796 there came into the Scioto Valley a young Virginian named Nathaniel Massie. He had served in the Revolutionary War, from his native State at the age of seventeen, and at nineteen started to Kentucky to pursue his vocation of surveying the public lands and placing land warrants for soldiers of the Revolu- tion. He founded Manchester in Adams County, and in 1796 penetrated the Scioto Valley, which was then a beautiful but savagely wild territory. Here he located and laid out Chillicothe. It is easy to under- stand how he was attracted to this glorious land, which then, as now, bore all the evidence of the rich- ness of nature. It was here that he selected the site that was to be the starting point of a powerful, wealthy and patriotic State.
The territory of the Scioto Valley had for centuries been the selected living place of divers races of men. In the very dawn of human knowledge it was populated by the mysterious race of Mound-builders, and was the seat of their cities, camping places, fortifications and altars. Attracted, doubtless, by the magnificent soil, beautiful scenery and natural resources, both of the animal and vegetable kingdom, they filled this valley in great numbers until driven away or destroyed by a succeeding race. After them came the Shawanese famed for their bravery and numbers, and occupied for perhaps centuries the land along the Scioto River in their populous towns. They, too, lived in this elysium of natural bliss, receiving from bounteous nature all
74
THE RISE AND PROGRESS
that forest and chase could give. The very beauty and richness of the land made them guard it with such jealous spirit, that when Massie first entered it, it was a great and expansive territory of danger and death to the white man.
Chillicothe, in the Virginia Military District, at once attracted immigration from Virginia. It was in a part of the great domain reserved by that State for the use and settlement of her loyal sons that served in the War for Independence. The influx of settlers com- menced as soon as the town was laid out, and even before the winter of 1796 it had stores and taverns and shops for mechanics. The influence of civilized life soon began to unfold, and within a few years a substantial town was in full operation, with a popula- tion of one thousand.
In the spring of 1798 there came to Chillicothe from Berkeley County, Virginia, one whose life and actions influenced the history of Ohio in a greater degree than that of any other man. This was Edward Tiffin. He bore with him this remarkable letter addressed to Gov- ernor St. Clair:
January 4th, 1798.
SIR :- Mr. Edward Tiffin solicits an appointment in the territory Northwest of the Ohio.
The fairness of his character in private and public life, together with a knowledge of law, resulting from close application for a considerable time, will, I hope, justify the liberty I now take in recommending him to your attention. Regarding with due attention the delicacy as well as the importance of the character in which I act, I am sure you will do me the justice to
75
OF AN AMERICAN STATE
believe that nothing but the knowledge of the gentle- man's merits, founded upon a long acquaintance, could have induced me to trouble you on this occasion.
With sincere wishes for your happiness and welfare, I am, etc., etc.
Geo. Washington.
With this introduction from the Father of his Country, he entered a new land and cast his lot among a new people.
Tiffin played such an important part in subsequent events, including the first constitutional convention, that a view of his remarkable career will help us to understand his power and the wonderful work he accomplished. He appeared upon the scene of action in the Northwest Territory in its creative period, when the work of moulding the destinies of a future commonwealth was committed to the care of a very few men. Head and shoulders above them all stood Edward Tiffin. Of a modest bearing and reticent mood, he was more of a thinker than a talker. He wrote much, but unfortunately little is preserved. His brother-in-law, Thomas Worthington, who came to Chillicothe at the same time, was his active and aggressive representative in all his political conflicts. Worthington, as subsequent events will show, stands out as one of the boldest characters of his time.
Tiffin in his official life displayed a greater general average of statesmanship than any of his contempora- ries. He met successfully all the opportunities and responsibilities of his life, which is the best indication of ability. His work in creating, advancing and developing Ohio has not been equaled by any man in
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THE RISE AND PROGRESS
its history. His boyhood was spent in the city of Carlisle, England, where he was born June 19, 1766. He emigrated to this country when eighteen, and after an excellent medical education obtained in the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, settled in Berkeley County, Virginia. There amid the scenes and lives of the early Virginians he spent several years as a quiet and success- ful physician. When he came to Chillicothe he was still a physician, practicing with marked success financially and professionally. In the sparsely settled Scioto Valley his labors carried him over many miles of travel, and he formed the friendships that explain much of his popularity in after years. He had decided views on politics; the principles of Jefferson were adopted by him early in his Virginia life, and his anti- Federal proclivities soon became well-known in his new home.
When the legislative form of government was inaugu- rated Dr. Tiffin was sent as a representative from Chillicothe, and upon the assembling of the first Territorial Legislature at Cincinnati he was unani- mously elected Speaker of the House of Representatives which position he held until Ohio became a State.
He was a man of strong religious and moral convic- tions. In his early life he was an Episcopalian; in 1790 he associated himself with the Methodist Church and was consecrated by Francis Asbury, the missionary bishop, as a local preacher. Thus he brought into the new territory beyond the Ohio, with his professional skill, the still greater influence of the spiritual physician. In both capacities he firmly held the confidence of his fellow citizens throughout his life. Upon his entry
GOVERNOR THOMAS WORTHINGTON From a painting by Charles W. Peale in the Capitol at Columbus.
Born in Jefferson County, Virginia, February 10, 1767; served as a member of the Territorial Legislature and of the first Constitutional Convention; was elected United States Senator in 1803, and again in 1810; served as Governor from 1815 to 1818; founded the Ohio State Library; served as Representative from Ross County in 1821-1823; afterwards was Canal Commissioner; died in New York City, June 20, 1827. .
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THE RISE AND PROGRES
ИОТОИІНТЯOW ТАМОНТ ЯОИЯЯКОЮ
its historiqrO offtiffi elseg W aglisd valgdithisq's mord Rt in the city o Carlisle, England, Heudmulotsis born June 19, 1766.
He emig
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fill physician. When FASI cos anuli . YtiQ NtoY wothai he was will a physician, practicing with marked success Epahcially and professionally. In the wristsely settled Seoto Valley his labors carried hinow many miles of travel, and he formed the friendthis that explain mach of la popularity in alier years. He had decided he principles of Jefferson were adopted by him on ly bo bo Virginia Me, and his anti- Federa! proctivities nós became Himown in his new hojne
When the legislative form of government was inaugu rated Dr. THin was sent as a representative from Chillicothe, and upon the assembling of the first Territonal Ingalasim a1 Cincinnati he was unani- mously deckad towake of the House of Representative which pour mi Janta nihilo became a State.
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