USA > Rhode Island > The Dorr war; or, The constitutional struggle in Rhode Island > Part 16
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Island yesterday. They tried to whistle their courage up for a while, and even attempted to deceive themselves by the miserable lie that it was Governor King who had fled and not the puissant Dorr. But it was no go. The flag which had been kept flying for several days at Tammany Hall. in honor of Dorr and his proceedings, was struck, and all looked as sad as though ' melancholy had marked them for her own.'" New York Commercial Advertiser ; copied in the National Intelligencer, May 24, 1842.
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that an attempt to overthrow the regular State government is an act of domestic violence; that Rhode Island should be properly protected in the present crisis; and that it was the duty of the President to take preparatory steps and to adopt efficient measures for this purpose. (41) The resolutions were printed, and here the matter rested for nearly a month. June 21st, 1842, Senator Allen's resolution was assigned, by a vote of 21 to 15, to Monday week. (42) That day fell upon the Fourth of July, and nothing further was heard of the matter. The Rhode Island controversy was settled, as far as any intelligent eye could see, and, not only in Rhode Island, but also in Washington, and even in New York, all was quiet.
AUTHORITIES .- 1 Providence Journal, May 18, 1842. 2 Providence Express, May 18, IS42. 3 Providence Journal, May 19, 1842 ; Wayland, Affairs of Rhode Island. II. 4 Providence Journal, May 21, 1842. 5 Providence Express, May 18, 1842. 6 Providence Journal. May 19, 1842. 7 Turner, Trial of Dorr, 16: Testimony of Col. Blodget. S Providence Journal, May 27, 1842 : Letter of Sam. Ames. 9 Turner, Trial of Derr, 31. 10 Providence Journal, May 19, 1842 11 Providence Journal, May 18, 1842. 12 Pitman, Trial of Dorr, 33 13 Turner, Trial of Dorr, 32. 14 Turner, Trial of Dorr, 21 : Testimony of Benjamin M. Darling. 15 Turner, Trial of Dorr, 26: Testimony of Laban Wade. 16 Turner, Trial of Dorr, 32 : Testimony of Charles W. Carter. 17 Letter of Dorr, May 21. 1842 : Published in Providence Express, May 28, 1842 ; New York Evening Post, May 23, 1842 ; Providence Journal, May 30, 1842 ; Boston Post, May 30, 1842 ; Republican Ilerald, June 1, 1842. 1S Turner, Trial of Dorr, 23 : Testimony of George B. Aldrich. 19 Turner, Trial of Dorr, 14: Testimony of Roger W. Potter ; Providence Journal. May 19, 1842. 20 Turner, Trial of Dorr, 13 and 32 : Testimonies of William P. Blodget and Charles W. Carter. 21 Providence Journal, May 19, 1842. 22 A resident of Uxbridge, Massachusetts. 23 Providence Journal, May 21, 1842. 24 Providence Journal, May 20, 1842. 25 Providence Express, May 19, 1842. 26 Providence Journal, May 19, 1842 ; Republican Herald, May 21, 1842; New York Courier and Enquirer, May 20, 1842. 27 Providence Express, May 19, 1842. 28 Providence Express, May 20, 1842. 29 Providence Express, May 21, 1842. 30 Providence Journal, May 23, 1842. 31 Anthony's letter was published in the Providence Express, May 25, 1842, and was copied by the Providence Journal, May 26, 1842, and the Republican Herald, May 28, 1842. Harris's letter appeared in the Providence Express, May 26. 1842 and in the Providence Journal, May IS, 1842. Whipple's letter was published in the Providence Journal, May 26, 1842, and was copied by the Provi- dence Express, May 27, 1842, and the Republican Herald, May 28, 1842. 32 Providence Journal, May 26, 1812. 33 New York Evening Post, May 28, 1842. 34 Providence Journal, May 19, IS42. 35 National Intelligencer, May 19, 1842. 36 New York Courier and Enquirer, May 21, 1842; National Intelligencer, May 24, 1842. 37 Senate Journal, II Sess., 27 Cong., 1841-42, p. 339. 3S Congressional Globe, II Sess., 27 Cong., 1841-42, p. 506. 39 Senate Documents, II
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Sess., 27 Cong .. 1841-42, IV, 303. 40 Congressional Globe, II Sess., 27 Cong., 1841-42, p. 510. 41 Congressional Globe, II Sess., 27 Cong., 1841-42. p. 523 ; Senate Documents, Il Sess., 27 Cong .. IS41-42, IV, 304 " Resolved, That, by the Constitution, the United States are bound not only to guaranty to every State in the Union a republican form of government, but also to protect each one of them against invasion and, upon proper application, against domestic violence. Resolved, That the form of government with which a State came into the Union and has been recognized and represented as a member of the Union, must be taken and regarded as republican ; and that such State is entitled to all that protection against invasion and domestic violence which is pledged by the Constitution of the United States. Resolved, That the Government of a State so coming into and recognized as a member of the Union, can only be changed or superseded, consistently with the principles of our American Republics, when it is done in pursuance of, and in the mode prescribed by the laws of such State ; and that any attempt by force to overthrow that Government is disorderly and revolutionary, tending to anarchy and bloodshed, and, in the end, to the destruction of public liberty, and is such a domestic violence, as en - titles that State, by her Legislature (or Executive, when the Legislature cannot be convened), to apply for, and obtain from the United States protection against the same. Resolved, That the application made by the Legislature of Rhode Island, one of the 'Old Thirteen,' to the President of the United States, for protection against domestic violence, was within the meaning and terms of the Constitution ; and that it was the duty of the President to take such preparatory steps as a wise and prudent forecast demanded, and to adopt such efficient measures as are contemplated by the Constitution, and the laws made in pursuance of it, for giving such protection." 42 Congressional Globe, II Sess., 27 Cong., 1841-42, p. 659.
CHAPTER XVI.
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T' HE people's government had utterly collapsed : the Governor had fled from the State; the legislature had lost its quorum of members; not an officer of the government was attend- ing to his duties-many had been arrested and many had vanished from sight. Even Governor Dorr himself afterwards acknowledged that the situation was disheartening, when he spoke of the lack of support and the unpromising result of the attack upon the arsenal. We may well ask, as he did, why further attempts were not abandoned as impracticable and hopeless;(1) why, "after such a demonstration as has been described, all thoughts of any further proceeding to carry into effect the people's constitution were not abandoned, and the cause was not left to expire in the hands of those who had brought it into existence ? " (2)
We are compelled to take Governor Dorr's own answer to this question, as no one else has ever attempted to answer it, and at least he was logical to the bitter end: " The rights of the case were not taken away by a failure of arms."(?) " Rights and duties are not to be measured by degrees of success or failure. The Con- stitution was valid and subsisting. The People could not abandon
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it by their votes or by their acts."(3) " Nor could I be permitted to believe that the cause was surrendered by its friends."(2) " This misadventure in the city of Providence was attributed to unforeseen circumstances, to accident, to the want of a more general notice in the country towns for a general rally at the headquarters of the State, to a temporary panic in the city, to the pusillanimity of leading friends of the cause in that place, from whom better things were expected, and whose hearts had failed them in the moment of trial." (4)
Here is found another side of the character of the People's Governor-he did not know when he was beaten. He could ac- cept reasons, without end, for the temporary defeat of the 18th of May, but he could not see that these men, whose " hearts had failed them," were the only ones upon whom he had ever been able to rely for any real assistance, whether in action or advice. Very few of the officers of the people's government were present at the attack on the arsenal, or approved of the movement. After the failure of that attack, scarcely a prominent supporter of the government accepted Dorr's lead.
In spite of the desertions, Governor Dorr was easily deceived by expressions of sympathy and promises of aid, and he wrote that " Encouraging reports and statements were received, through let- ters and by visitors, from various parts of the State, all indicating an earnest desire to retrieve the late disaster, to regain the position that had been lost, and to carry into complete effect the Constitu- tion and government of the People. The quotas of men in the several towns, including Providence, who were pledged to support [me], whenever [I] should call upon them, amounted to 1,300." (5) We shall soon see how terribly disappointed he must have been in the result of his next attempt.
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Now that it was seen that Dorr alone was responsible for the acts of the people's government, his flight and the uncertainty of his whereabouts or his plans naturally began to give rise to rumors of all descriptions. The thirty days following the collapse of the attack on the arsenal were not lacking in excitement. Governor King and his council, weak and vacillating though they had been, now saw the future more clearly than the majority of Rhode Island citizens, and determined to make another attempt to secure aid from the national government. President Tyler's promise of future aid, if it should prove necessary, gave hope that perhaps he might consider that the time had now come.
Seyen days after the arsenal fiasco, the Governor sent a letter to the President, setting forth the situation as it appeared to him : (6) he feared the approach of another crisis; he had been informed by "messengers " that Dorr "and his agents" were raising troops in neighboring States; he had no hesitation in affirming that the law and order militia was sufficient to meet any force of Rhode Island- ers which the people's government could collect, but from evidence that forces were organizing in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, he felt that his troops could repel them only with "the loss of many valuable lives." For this reason he appealed to the Pres- ident; suggesting that a sufficient body of troops at Fort Adams, subject to the requisitions of the executive of the State, would "in- sure peace and respect for the laws, and deter invasions."
President Tyler cautiously replied, May 28th, that he had taken steps to "ascertain the extent of the dangers of any armed invasion, by the citizens of other States." While he considered that there was no apparent probability of a "violation so flagrant and un- precedented of all our laws and institutions," yet he promised that "should the necessity of the case require the interposition of the
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authority of the United States, it will be rendered in the manner prescribed by the laws."(7) The Secretary of War, J. C. Spencer, dispatched letters to Colonel Bankhead, at Fort Adams, (8) and to General Eustis, at Boston,(9) asking them to take all necessary means to obtain information concerning the "movements made in other States," and especially concerning the rumored preparation of war material at Boston.
On the request of President Tyler,(10) Daniel Webster, the Sec- retary of State, sent a personal friend to visit Rhode Island and report to him the situation there. In a letter dated June 3, 1842, this friend informed the Secretary that all was quiet; that a large majority of the members of the people's government had resigned their places and renounced allegiance to their constitution; and that, except Governor King and his council, all "intelligent per- sons " feared no "irruption upon them of an armed force to be collected in other States."(11) Mr. Webster at once forwarded this letter to the President, and no further steps were taken for the time being. It was doubtless this private information which pre- vented the public appearance of a proclamation, commanding all persons connected with the insurrection to disperse, which was pre- pared but never issued. (2)
Meanwhile the rumors in Rhode Island gradually became more consistent with each other. Any movement now of the advocates
(a) Burke's Report, 684.
"BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. "A PROCLAMATION.
" Whereas the legislature of the State of Rhode Island has applied to the President of the United States, setting forth the existence of a dangerous insurrection in that State, composed partly of deluded citizens of the State, but chiefly of intruders of dangerous and abandoned character coming from other States, and requiring the immediate interposition of the constitutional power vested in him to be exer- cised in such cases, 1 do issue this my proclamation, according to law, hereby commanding all insurgents,
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of the people's constitution must clearly be a movement of force, and must begin on the borders of the State, and there could be no question but that it would be in the northern portion. June 2d, rumors of an intended encampment at Woonsocket were current. (12) The next day came reports of meetings of agitators at Scituate, Chepachet, and Woonsocket. (13) It was reported that a lot of land in Smithfield, "about a mile from Woonsocket, at a place called Daily Hole, near the Friend's Meeting House," had been hired for an encampment, which was to be fortified. At this time the Express said: "There seems to be considerable excitement abroad, about Governor Dorr's movements at Woonsocket, without sufficient reason. There is little or no excitement at home, and there are no known grounds for any."(11)
Rumors of a depot of arms on the Connecticut side of the line next appeared. (15) Perhaps the friendly attitude of Governor Cleave- land of that State toward Governor Dorr may have given rise to this story. Meetings at Diamond Hill Plain, and armed men on the Douglas turnpike, were next reported. (16) June 18th an attempt was made to obtain cannon and ammunition in the possession of the artillery company of the little town of Warren, in Bristol county.(17) This was unsuccessful, but it had the effect of thoroughly awaking
and all persons connected with said insurrection, to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within twenty-four hours from the time when this proclamation shall be made public in Rhode Island.
" In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed, and signed the same with my hand.
" Done at the city of Washington, this - day of ~, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, and of the independence of the United States the sixty-sixth.
"JOHN TYLER.
" By the President : " DANIEL WEBSTER, " Secretary of State."
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the charter government to the feeling that danger was threatening them. The Journal editorially expressed the feelings of the law and order party thus :(18) " At this time, when nearly all the lead- ing men profess to be opposed to forcible measures, and when most of them have publicly resigned their treasonable offices, the natural enquiry is, what are all these preparations for ? Why is this constant commotion kept up? Why are mili- tary companies banded to act against the govern- ment? Why are meet- ings held for military exercises ? Why are can- non stolen ? Why do the insurgents refuse to sur- render the arms of the State yet illegally in their possession ? One reason of all this may be a dis- position to keep up an organization without any definite object. but ready to take advantage of any favorable turn that the HENRY Y. CRANSTON. tide of affairs may take; but another and more important object, we imagine, is to influence the General Assembly, now in session."
The legislature met for its June session at Newport, Monday, the twentieth. (19) No quorum appeared until the next day, and then the Assembly devoted most of its time to the allied subjects of constitutional conventions and the suffrage. Nearly a score of peti-
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tions and resolutions of town meetings were received bearing on these matters. On motion of Henry Y. Cranston, of Newport, all these petitions were referred to a select committee of two from each county. A resolution calling for a convention was presented by David Daniels, and also referred to the committee.(20) Two days later the committee rendered its report in the form of a resolution calling for a convention to frame a constitution for the State. After a short consideration the resolution was adopted, sent to the Senate, and there amended; the amendments were concurred in by the House. The legislature then adjourned, to meet in Providence the following Saturday. (21)
The call for the constitutional convention of 1842 was patterned after that for the convention of 1841, and is of interest only in two or three respects. (22) The apportionment of delegates, in accordance with its provisions, was practically the same as that of the year before. The city of Providence was allowed but six delegates; Smithfield, Newport, and Warwick were given four each; and the remaining towns were granted two or three each. The delegates to the 1841 convention were chosen by the freemen of the State, that is, by those citizens who had the right of suffrage in accord- ance with the existing laws. The delegates to the 1842 convention were to be elected by the votes of all "native male citizens of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards," who had lived in the State for three years. It will be noted that the word " native " appears in this call, and that the length of residence is put at three years instead of one. Otherwise the franchise for the election of delegates varied little from that proposed by the people's party. The call also provided that those persons who, by the provisions of the constitution to be framed by the proposed convention, should have the right to vote for the State officers,
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should have the privilege of voting for or against the constitution itself. Evidently the law and order people had had their eyes opened; they conceded to the suffragists almost as much as the reformers had asked.
When the General Assembly met again, on Saturday, at Provi. dence, the situation had begun to be serious. The first step taken by the legislature was to repeal the charters of two militia organ- izations that were thought untrustworthy, and to grant charters to several new companies. (23) A resolution was then proposed, by Mr. Whipple, offering amnesty to those who had made themselves liable to arrest under the terms of the " Algerine Law." This resolution . was laid on the table for the time and hastily withdrawn on Mon- day, when affairs had taken an even more serious appearance. The Assembly then adjourned to Monday, after passing an " Act estab- lishing martial law."(24) The next day Governor King issued a proclamation "to make known the same unto the good people of this State, and all others, that they may govern themselves accord- ingly." (25) When Monday came, the General Assembly met at 10 o'clock, and immediately adjourned until the next Thursday after- noon. (26)
AUTHORITIES .- 1 Turner, Trial of Dorr, 75. 2 Burke's Report, 755: Address of Dorr. August. 1843. 3 Turner, Trial of Dorr, 75. 4 Turner, Trial of Dorr, 75. 5 Turner, Trial of Dorr, 75. 6 Burke's Report, 681 7 Burke's Report, 682. S Burke's Report, 682. 9 Burke's Report, 683. 10 Burke's Report, 685: Letter from Daniel Webster to President Tyler,
June 3, 1842. 11 Burke's Report, 685 : Letter to Daniel Webster, June 3, 1842. 12 Providence Journal, June 2, 1842. 13 Providence Journal, June 3. 1842. 14 Providence Express, June 4, IS42. 15 Providence Journal, June 6, 1842. 16 Providence Journal, June 14, 1842 17 Prov- idence Journal, June 20, 1842. 18 Providence Journal, June 21, 1842. 19 Rhode Island House Journal, June 20, 1842 20 Rhode Island Honse Journal, June 21, 1842. 21 Rhode Island House Journal. June 23, 1842 ; Providence Journal, June 25, 1842. 22 Burke's Report, 444-446. 23 Rhode Island House Journal, June 25, 1842; Burke's Report, S19. 24 Rhode Island House Jour- nal, June 25, 1842 ; Rhode Island Acts and Resolves, June, 1842, p. 7; Providence Journal, June 25, 1842. 25 Burke's Report, 373. See page [229]. 26 Rhode Island House Journal, June 27, 1842.
CHAPTER XVII.
ACOTE'S HILL.
T HE month of June had two-thirds passed before the peo- ple of Rhode Island awoke to the fact that further danger actually threatened them. It was not easy to believe that another attempt to establish the people's government by force could be proposed by the fugitive or his friends. The Boston Post ex- pressed truthfully the prevailing opinion in Rhode Island; this was that no resort to violence was intended, but that the friends of suffrage desired to give a warning to the legislature to do its duty and take the first steps toward a new and liberal constitution. (a)
In this, however, the people were mistaken. Governor Dorr planned to try once more. Having spent some time in New York, where he received much sympathy, though little material assistance, he left that city on Tuesday, the twenty-first, to return to Rhode Island. (1) The next morning he arrived in Norwich, Connecticut, on the steamboat New Haven. (2) With him was the "Spartan
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(a) " We are confident that, if the suffrage men are taking the measures stated, they are but pre- cautionary, and that there will be no resort to violence if the legislature, which is now in session, does its duty, by surrendering to the people at once, and without any onerous conditions, the long withheld right of self-government." Boston Post, June 22, 1842. See also Providence Journal, June 23, 1842.
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TROUBLE IN THE SPARTAN RANKS.
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ACOTE'S HILL.
Band," a small number of men from the metropolis, not more than twenty, probably, under the. command of Michael Walsh. (3) At Norwich, the Governor was met by his Secretary of State, William H. Smith, as well as by a few other friends."") As a result of this interview, an order was sent to convene a council of military offi- cers at Chepachet, to determine whether any step should be taken at this time or not. (5) This place was chosen, since it would prob- ably be the base of operations if the council favored immediate action.
In one respect Chepachet was well adapted for this purpose. It was a little village in the town of Glocester, in the northwest part of the State. This town bordered upon Connecticut, and ex- tended about half the distance across Rhode Island. Chepachet was five miles east of the Connecticut line, perhaps eight south of the Massachusetts border, and sixteen northwest of the city of Providence. On the other hand, the village was in the center of a small farming community, which attempted little more than to raise sufficient crops for its own support. The month was June, and harvest time was far in the future. The charter forces would cut off supplies from Providence, and in the opposite direction cities and large towns were few and far between. A force of any size must make a movement quickly, from such a base, or lack of pro- visions would quickly prove its ruin.
Before the council of military officers had had time to meet, the rank and file had already taken possession of Chepachet. Gov- ernor Dorr was informed, at North Killingly, Connecticut, to which place he had proceeded from Norwich, (6) that five hundred men had " assembled at Chepachet without orders," and that an attack upon them by the charter forces was momentarily expected. At once the fugitive commander-in -chief hastened to the spot, to "share
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with them the fortunes of the cause."(7) He arrived at two o'clock on Saturday morning (the 25th), and found that he or some other leader was imperatively needed. (5)
The village of Chepachet had been the center of exciting scenes for three days. Early Wednesday morning a cannon had been brought to the village by a half dozen men, from Woonsocket Falls. (9) Other cannon arrived during the day, and men began to collect in the neighborhood. By Thursday it was reported that four hundred men had arrived, with some field pieces, plenty of ammunition, and more muskets than men. (10) On Friday the num- ber was said to have increased-the Journal stating that six hun- dred men were in the village, (11) the Express admitting the number to be seven hundred. (12)
Governor Dorr, on his arrival, did not find even six hundred men. In the morning, by his own account, there were less than two hundred, and some of these left that afternoon; that night there were not more than fifty on the spot, the remainder being scat- tered throughout the neighborhood; the largest number present, at any one time, during Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, was less than two hundred and fifty.(13) The discrepancy in these estimates of the number of persons present may not seem so great if it is realized that the Governor counted only the men under proper orders, while the newspapers counted spectators, stragglers, and "hangers on."
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