CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. THE rebellion of the slave-holding states, and the attempt to establish a separate government by force of arms, was solely in the interest of the institution of slavery. The Southern Confederacy was to rest on this institution as its corner-stone. By the establishment of the Confederacy it was intended to end, forever, the agitation of this question, and establish the system of human slavery as one of the permanent institutions of the world. And all this in the nineteenth century of the Christian era! Preparatory to this the pulpit and the press had been suborned, the Christian conscience of the country had been debauched, and the doctrine that slavery was a Divine institution was taught, and accepted as true, by one-half of the American people. A doctor of divinity, or even a common preacher, who could prove this to his own satisfaction, and that of his hearers, at once achieved popularity, and had his great learning and ability heralded by the secular press throughout the South land. Neither was this kind of preaching confined to the South. It found a distinct and earnest echo in many places in the North. It was argued, and no doubt sincerely believed, that slavery was the best condition for securing the happiness and welfare of the African race-the condition in which the negro could be most useful to the world; that his condition had been greatly improved by his transplantation from a heathen land and the environments of barbarism to a Christian land and civilized and Christian environments; and that subjection to a higher and superior race was necessary to his deriving the highest benefit from the change. Slavery, it was taught, was a patriarchal institution, and that it was only through it that the highest ideal of human civilization could be attained. It was natural that a people whose judgment had crystalized around such opinions as these should be intolerant of opposition, as they had closed the door to discussion on this question; and so for several generations a contrary opinion was not tolerated, or allowed to find expression, in the slave-holding states. The agitation of this question, in its moral aspects, by constantly increasing numbers of earnest, able men in the North, at last led to the organization of a political party opposed to this institution, and the question of slavery thus became a political question. The friends of the institution instinctively recognized the danger that thus confronted them, and began to strengthen their fences by most stringent measures to repress discussion and shut out the light. This was a tacit admission that they felt themselves unable to stand before the world in argument. It may be laid down as an axiom, that whenever a political party forecloses discussion on any subject, but more especially on a great moral issue, it is not only on the wrong side of that issue, but has an intuitive perception of that fact. It may also be accepted as an axiom, that the more inconsistent a man's attitude is on any great moral question the more intolerant will he be of opposition. Not only were the most stringent laws passed to prevent the discussion of the institution of slavery in its moral aspects in the Southern States, but also the most lawless and violent measures were resorted to, so that it was as much as a man's life was worth to undertake to make a public argument against slavery in a slave-holding state, and even to be found earnestly opposed to the institution in sentiment was to put personal safety in jeopardy. The making of this question a political question tended largely to de-sectionalize it. No party could hope to succeed, as a National party, without the vote of the South, and this could only be secured by concessions to the demands of the slave holders in the interest of that institution; and so the party that was willing to concede the most to their demands became the dominant party in the nation. Thus the leading Democratic politicians, all over the North, became the staunch advocates of slavery; and we all know with what blind confidence, and fierce determination, the masses follow their political leaders. The cul mination of the contest over this question, resulting in the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency by a party openly opposed to slavery, caused its friends to take their appeal from the ballot box to the sword; and this appeal found those who were the friends of the institution from political party considerations scattered all over the North in quite formidable numbers, constituting an enemy in the rear of our armies that gave to the administration of President Lincoln no little anxiety and embarrassment, making it necessary for him, as early as September, 1862, to proclaim martial law and suspend the writ of habeas corpus in respect to all persons in the United States who were found to be actively disloyal, and engaged in efforts to aid the rebellion. The following is a copy of his proclamation: GENERAL ORDERS NO. 141. WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 1862. The following Proclamation by the President is published for the information and government of the Army and all concerned: By the President of the United States of America. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas it has become necessary to call into service not only volunteers but also portions of the militia of the States by draft, in order to suppress the insurrection existing in the United States, and disloyal persons are not adequately restrained by the ordinary processes of law from hindering this measure and from giving aid and comfort in various ways to the insurrection: Now, therefore, be it ordered: First, That during the existing insurrection, and as a necessary measure for suppressing the same, all rebels and insurgents, their aiders and abettors, within the United States, and all persons discouraging volunteer enlistments, resisting militia drafts, or guilty of any disloyal practice affording aid and comfort to rebels against the authority of the United States shall be subject to martial law, and liable to trial and punishment by court-martial or military commission. Second, That the writ of habeas corpus is suspended in respect to all persons arrested, or who are now, or hereafter during the rebellion shall be, imprisoned in any fort, camp, arsenal, military prison, or other place of confinement, by any military authority, or by sentence of any court-martial or military commission. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this twenty-fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. |