In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, the supreme court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the supreme court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any state, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed.
Section3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.
The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted.
ARTICLE IV.—Section1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.
Section2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states.
A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall on demand of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime.
No person held to service or labour in one state, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labour, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labour may be due.
Section3. New states may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular state.
Section4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence.
ARTICLE V.—The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, or by convention in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.
ARTICLE VI.—All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.
The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
ARTICLE VII.—The ratification of the Conventions of nine states, shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the states so ratifying the same.
Done in Convention by the unanimous consent of the states present the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the twelfth.In Witnesswhereof we have hereunto subscribed our names,
Done in Convention by the unanimous consent of the states present the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the twelfth.In Witnesswhereof we have hereunto subscribed our names,
GEO WASHINGTON—Presidt and deputy from Virginia.
New Hampshire—John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman.Massachusetts—Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King.Connecticut—Wm. Saml. Johnson, Roger Sherman.New York—Alexander Hamilton.New Jersey—Wil: Livingston, David Brearley, Wm. Paterson. Jona. Dayton.Pennsylvania—B. Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robt. Morris, Geo: Clymer, Tho: Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouv: Morris.Delaware—Geo: Read, Gunning Bedford, Jun'r, John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jaco: BroomMaryland—James M'Henry, Dan: of St. Thos. Jenifer, Danl. Carroll.Virginia—John Blair, James Madison, Jr.North Carolina—Wm Blount, Rich'd Dobbs Spaight, Ho. Williamson.South Carolina—J. Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce ButlerGeorgia—William Few, Abr. Baldwin.
New Hampshire—John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman.
Massachusetts—Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King.
Connecticut—Wm. Saml. Johnson, Roger Sherman.
New York—Alexander Hamilton.
New Jersey—Wil: Livingston, David Brearley, Wm. Paterson. Jona. Dayton.
Pennsylvania—B. Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robt. Morris, Geo: Clymer, Tho: Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouv: Morris.
Delaware—Geo: Read, Gunning Bedford, Jun'r, John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jaco: Broom
Maryland—James M'Henry, Dan: of St. Thos. Jenifer, Danl. Carroll.
Virginia—John Blair, James Madison, Jr.
North Carolina—Wm Blount, Rich'd Dobbs Spaight, Ho. Williamson.
South Carolina—J. Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler
Georgia—William Few, Abr. Baldwin.
Attest: WILLIAM JACKSON,Secretary.
PROPOSED BY CONGRESS, AND RATIFIED BY THE LEGISLATURES OF THE SEVERAL STATES, PURSUANT TO THE FIFTH ARTICLE OF THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION.
PROPOSED BY CONGRESS, AND RATIFIED BY THE LEGISLATURES OF THE SEVERAL STATES, PURSUANT TO THE FIFTH ARTICLE OF THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION.
(Article1.) Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
(Article2.) A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
(Article3.) No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
(Article4.) The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
(Article5.) No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
(Article6.) In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favour, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence.
(Article7.) In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
(Article8.) Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
(Article9.) The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
(Article10.) The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
Article11. The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state.
Article12. The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;—The President of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;—The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose Shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.
The following is prefixed to the first Ten[89]of the preceding Amendments.
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES,
Begun and held at the City of New York, on Wednesday, the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.
The Conventions of a number of the states, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the government, will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution;
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, That the following Articles be proposed to the legislatures of the several states, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which articles, when ratified by three-fourths of the said legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution, viz.
Articles in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth article of the original Constitution.
The first ten amendments of the Constitution were ratified by the states as follows, viz:
By New Jersey, 20th November, 1789.By Maryland, 19th December, 1789.By North Carolina, 22d December, 1789.By South Carolina, 19th January, 1790.By New Hampshire, 25th January, 1790.By Delaware, 28th January, 1790.By Pennsylvania, 10th March, 1790.By New York, 27th March, 1790.By Rhode Island, 15th June, 1790.By Vermont, 3 November, 1791.By Virginia, 15 December, 1791.
The following is prefixed to the Eleventh of the preceding Amendments:
THIRD CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
At the First Session, begun and held at the City of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, on Monday the second of December, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, That the following Article be proposed to the legislatures of the several states, as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States; which when ratified by three-fourths of the said legislatures, shall be valid as part of the said Constitution, viz:
The following is prefixed to the Twelfth of the preceding Amendments:
EIGHTH CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
At the First Session, begun and held at the City of Washington, in the Territory of Columbia, on Monday the seventeenth of October, one thousand eight hundred and three.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, That in lieu of the third paragraph of the first section of the second article of the Constitution of the United States, the following be proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of the legislatures of the several states, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution, to wit:
The ten first of the preceding amendments were proposed at the first session of the first Congress of the United States, 25 September, 1789, and were finally ratified by the constitutional number of states, on the 15th day of December, 1791. The eleventh amendment was proposed at the first session of the third Congress, 5 March, 1794, and was declared in a message from the President of the United States to both houses of Congress, dated 8th January, 1798, to have been adopted by the constitutional number of states. The twelfth amendment was proposed at the first session of the eighth Congress, 12 December, 1603, and was adopted by the constitutional number of states in 1804, according to a public notice thereof by the Secretary of State, dated 25th September, of the same year.
⁂The foregoing copy of the Constitution, Amendments, &c., is printed from an edition which "has been critically compared with the original, and found to be correct in text, letter and punctuation;" and is so certified by James Buchanan, Secretary of State.
Seal of the United States
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundations on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments, long established, should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of the colonies, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having, in direct object, the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world:
He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance unless suspended in their operations till his assent should be obtained; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature; a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining, in the mean time, exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws of naturalization of foreigners, refusing to pass others to encourage their migration thither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.
He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in time of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power.
He has combined with others, to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation.
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:
For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing taxes on us without our consent:
For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefit of trial by jury:
For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies:
For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments:
For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions.
In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of the attempts, by their legislature, to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace, friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declarethat these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that, as free and independent States, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent States may of right do. And, for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
JOHN HANCOCK.
New Hampshire.JOSIAH BARTLETT,WILLIAM WHIPPLE,MATTHEW THORNTON.Massachusetts Bay.SAMUEL ADAMS,JOHN ADAMS,ROBERT TREAT PAINE,ELBRIDGE GERRY.Rhode Island.STEPHEN HOPKINS,WILLIAM ELLERY.Connecticut.ROGER SHERMAN,SAMUEL HUNTINGTON,WILLIAM WILLIAMS,OLIVER WOLCOTT.New York.WILLIAM FLOYD,PHILIP LIVINGSTON,FRANCIS LEWIS,LEWIS MORRIS.New Jersey.RICHARD STOCKTON,JOHN WITHERSPOON,FRANCIS HOPKINSON,JOHN HART,ABRAHAM CLARK.Pennsylvania.ROBERT MORRIS,BENJAMIN RUSH,BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,JOHN MORTON,GEORGE CLYMER,JAMES SMITH,GEORGE TAYLOR,JAMES WILSON,GEORGE ROSS.Delaware.CÆSAR RODNEY,GEORGE READ,THOMAS M'KEAN.Maryland.SAMUEL CHASE,WILLIAM PACA,THOMAS STONE,CHARLES CARROLL, of Carrollton.Virginia.GEORGE WYTHE,RICHARD HENRY LEE,THOMAS JEFFERSON,BENJAMIN HARRISON,THOMAS NELSON,Jr.,FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE,CARTER BRAXTON.North Carolina.WILLIAM HOOPER,JOSEPH HEWES,JOHN PENN.South Carolina.EDWARD RUTLEDGE,THOMAS HEYWARD,Jr.,THOMAS LYNCH,Jr.,ARTHUR MIDDLETON.Georgia.BUTTON GWINNETT.LYMAN HALL,GEORGE WALTON.
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE756.)
Congress assembled on the 3d of December. But the organization of the House of Representatives was delayed for twenty days, that period being consumed in voting for a Speaker, before a choice was effected. The ballotings reached the number of sixty-three. So nearly balanced were the two great political parties, that a few members, constituting the "Free Soil Party," so called, had it in their power for this long time to prevent a choice, and that power they exercised with an obstinacy of purpose, which excited the marvel of the nation. Nor, at the last, was a choice effected but by the adoption of a novel resolution, viz., that after votingviva vocethree times, if no speaker is elected, the vote shall be called again, and the member having the highest vote, provided it be a majority of a quorum, shall be declared elected. Under this rule the choice finally fell upon the candidate of the democratic party.
To the people of the country, such a contest was regarded with deep regret, and even with indignation. The feelings of members became excited and exasperated; political jealousies and animosities were kindled, sectional differences were magnified to unwonted importance, and sectional interests advocated and insisted upon, all giving premonition of the long and stormy session which followed.
Fortunately, the President and Senate awaited the issue with a calm and dignified bearing; and, on the organization of the House, the former communicated his annual Message. It was more brief than such documents have usually been; but clear, able, and remarkably practical.It recommended among other matters of various moment, an alteration of the Tariff—improvements in rivers and harbors—strict neutrality of the nation in foreign quarrels—and the immediate admission of California with the Constitution which she had already formed. The message concluded by urging the preservation of the Union, in terms as noble in sentiment, as beautiful in expression. The President said: "Attachment to the Union of the States, should be habitually fostered in every American heart. For more than half a century, during which kingdoms and empires have fallen, this Union has stood unshaken. The patriots who formed it, have long since descended to the grave; yet still it remains, the proudest monument to their memory, and the object of affection and admiration with every one, worthy to bear the American name. In my judgment, its dissolution would be the greatest of calamities; and to avert that, should be the study of every American. Upon its preservation must depend our own happiness, and that of countless generations to come. What ever dangers may threaten it, I shall stand by it, and maintain it in its integrity to the full extent of the obligations imposed, and the power conferred upon me by the Constitution."
Proceedings in Congress.—For years the subject of slavery has been, as is well known, a fruitful theme of controversy, and a source of jealousy and agitation, between parties in the southern and northern states. The great territorial acquisitions of the United States, consequent upon the war with Mexico, and the question whether slavery should or should not obtain in those territories, had served to increase that jealousy and that agitation. Moreover, California had already adopted a Constitution, by which slavery was excluded, and was making application for admission into the Union. Other states were soon expected to follow her lead. To the South, these anti-slavery tendencies were not only unexpected, but most unwelcome,as with the hope, and, probably, with the design of extending the area of slavery, they had ardently enlisted in the Mexican war. On the other hand, the people of the North generally, were for preventing the further extension of slavery, and even desired to curtail the system by all constitutional measures within their power.
It was in this sensitive and excited state of the country that Congress assembled. The members themselves participated more or less in these jealous and antagonistical feelings, which were rather increased than allayed by the unfortunate contest attendant upon the election of a speaker. Indeed, that a storm was approaching was too evident to be concealed. A crisis had come which must be met. Questions of the deepest importance could no longer be postponed. It was fortunate for the nation, that the Senate at this time embodied men of great political sagacity, and firm and patriotic resolution. Among these may be mentioned, by way of pre-eminence, Mr. Clay, who had once more returned to the councils of the nation, and upon whom more than any other man, it seemed to devolve, to mediate between parties holding a hostile attitude, and to suggest some measures, if such were possible, by which great and daily increasing difficulties might be compromised.
Accordingly, towards the close of January, Mr. Clay introduced his celebrated resolutions to the consideration of the Senate, "by which, taken together, he proposed an amicable arrangement of all the questions in controversy between free and slave states, growing out of the subject of the institution of Slavery." These resolutions were as follows.
The first of these related to the admission of California, when she should apply, without providing for the introduction or exclusion of Slavery within her boundaries. The second declared that Slavery does not exist, and is not likely to be introduced into the territories acquired from the republic of Mexico; and that no legislation should be had in reference to its introduction or exclusion therefrom. The third established the western boundary in the state ofTexas. The fourth provided for the payment of the public debt of the State of Texas, she relinquishing to the United States all her claims for any part of New Mexico. The fifth asserted the inexpediency of abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia, without the consent of Maryland, without the consent of the people of the district, and without just compensation to the owners of the slaves within the district. The sixth expressed the expediency of prohibiting the slave-trade in the District of Columbia. The seventh related to the restitution and delivery of fugitive slaves. The eighth denied the power to Congress, to prohibit or obstruct the slave-trade between the slaveholding states.
These resolutions were subsequently supported by Mr. Clay in a speech of great power, and in which the great pacificator stood before the Senate and the world as the firm and fast friend of the country—the whole country, in whose service, for whose prosperity, and for the preservation of whose Union, he had labored with untiring assiduity during the greater part of his life. In view of the dangers which were thickening around the country and the prospect of disunion, and possibly civil war growing out of these unsettled questions, between the North and South, Mr. Clay in conclusion, most eloquently said, "Sir, I implore gentlemen, I adjure them, whether from the South or the North, by all they hold dear in this world—by all their love of liberty—by all their veneration for their ancestors—by all their gratitude to Him, who has bestowed on them such unnumbered and countless blessings—by all the duties which they owe to mankind—and by all the duties which they owe to themselves, to pause, solemnly to pause at the edge of the precipice, before the fatal and dangerous leap is taken into the yawning abyss below, from which none who ever take it, shall return in safety."
From this time for months, these resolutions occupied the consideration of the Senate—speech following speech—often embodying the most profound views—exciting thedeepest feelings, and giving birth ofttime to eloquence the most powerful and patriotic.
Death of Mr. Calhoun.—During the pendency of these great questions which were agitating the country to its remotest ends, and the discussion of which seemed to increase rather than allay the already excited storm, an event occurred calculated to show the folly of all such sectional strife, as that in which the Representatives of the nation were engaged. This was the death of that able and distinguished statesman, John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, who died at Washington, while a member of the Senate, on the 6th of April. Among the great men of the day, few had occupied a more commanding station than he, and but few had been longer engaged in the public service of his country. As early as 1810, Mr. Calhoun took his seat in the House of Representatives of the United States. The period was pregnant with portentous events. Europe was involved in war, nor was it improbable that the United States would long escape its calamities. Mr. Calhoun felt, and enforced the necessity of immediate preparation for such a state. The first tones of his voice in public life might be considered war-like, yet no man loved peace better, or deemed it more likely to be secured than by being well prepared for hostilities. In subsequent years, he occupied various important offices. During the administration of the younger Adams, and the first term of Gen. Jackson, he held the office of Vice President. During a part of the Tyler Administration, he was Secretary of State. For many years he had a seat in the Senate. In all these stations he showed himself to be a man of pre-eminent talents and incorruptible integrity. He was strongly southern in his feelings, and perhaps his sectional prejudices sometimes led him to the advocacy of some measures, and opposition to others, which with other feelings he would have avoided. Yet, no one could doubt his patriotism or his firmness in the cause of right, as he understood it. His speeches displayedgreat logical acumen, and were often characterized for great power and brilliancy, which commanded the admiration of his strongest political opponents.
In the great questions which were agitating the national representatives at the time of his death, Mr. Calhoun had taken the deepest possible interest. He was solemnly impressed with the critical juncture of affairs, and thought he foresaw in the measures which were likely to be adopted, the precursors of a shock fatal to the integrity of the National Union. Though borne down with a disease which in the sequel must prove fatal, he enlisted himself strongly—too strongly for his physical strength, to avert impending calamities, as he deemed them, and by so doing, hastened the termination of his mortal existence.
His departure was a national loss. Even those who had long differed from him in regard to political doctrines and political measures, lamented his death. A committee of the Senate accompanied his remains to his native state, where it is believed he was held in honor and affection almost unequaled in the history of public men.
The funeral obsequies of Mr. Calhoun having been solemnized, Congress resumed its deliberations, and, shortly after, a resolution introduced by Mr. Foote, referring the subject matters in debate to a select committee, consisting of thirteen, was adopted. Of this committee, Mr. Clay was chairman. To this committee were referred the following subjects upon which to report:
1st. The admission of California as she presents herself. 2d. Governments for territories without any anti-slavery proviso. 3d. Settlement of the boundary question between Texas and New Mexico, and the purchase of the territory of Texas. 4th. The ultimate admission of other states, formed from the territory of Texas. Besides these, the committee were permitted to take into consideration or not, at their discretion, the subject of fugitive slaves, and Slavery in the District of Columbia.
On the 8th of May, Mr. Clay presented the majorityreport of the Committee of thirteen, denominated the compromise or omnibus bill, which after a protracted discussion failed; but its provisions were subsequently passed, as we shall have occasion to notice in a subsequent page.
Invasion of Cuba.—On the 25th of April, and the 2d of May, an expedition, three hundred in number, left New Orleans, under command of Gen. Lopez, for the secret purpose of invading Cuba. This force had been collected, armed, and officered in the United States. So secretly had the affair been conducted, that neither the Spanish Consuls in our larger ports, nor the government of the United States had been apprised of it. The invaders consisted in part of old Mexican soldiers, some of whom were informed of the object in view, while not a few enlisted under the expectation that the expedition was bound to California. On the morning of the 19th of May, a landing was effected at Cardenas. A brief struggle ensued between the invaders and the troops, in which the latter were repulsed, the Governor captured, his palace plundered, and a large quantity of public money seized. The invaders had counted upon accessions to their ranks in the Spanish army, and from the disaffected inhabitants. In this, however, they were disappointed, and Lopez re-embarked on board the steamer, and with a few of his followers made his escape to the United States, leaving the great body of his adherents to the tender mercies of the authorities of Cuba. As soon as the sailing of the expedition was known, the American executive despatched armed vessels to prevent its landing in Cuba. In this, however, they failed. Lopez was arrested in New Orleans, and held for trial. It seems that a Spanish steamer captured two vessels in the Mexican waters, laden with men whom they suspected of having intended to join the invading expedition, and took them into Havanna. The release of these was peremptorily demanded by the President, and subsequently they were so released. But three, it is believed,of all who participated in the invasion, were condemned, and these three were sent to the galleys.
Convention with Great Britain.—This Convention had reference to the Nicaragua treaty, so called, which was ratified by the governments of the United States and Great Britain, and promulgated at Washington, the 4th of July, 1850. This treaty provided for the establishment of a communication between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, by means of a ship canal, to be constructed by way of the river San Juan de Nicaragua, and either or both of the lakes of Nicaragua or Maragua, to any port or place on the Pacific Ocean.
Death of Gen. Taylor.—The administration of Gen. Taylor was suddenly brought to a close, on the 9th of July, by his demise, on the evening of that day. His illness was brief, and occasioned by exposure and fatigue, while attending the celebration of the 4th of July. His funeral was attended by a large military display, by the officers of government and the representatives of foreign nations, and by an immense concourse of his fellow citizens.
This event was unexpected, and the more so, from the well known vigor of health always enjoyed by the President. It came upon the nation, as in the case of the death of the lamented Harrison, like the voice of an earthquake. Few could credit it; none were prepared for it. That he, who "had passed through severe military duties in the swamps of Florida, and on the plains of Mexico, unharmed by bullet or pestilence, should be struck down in the midst of his friends, and in the high station to which his country had raised him—it was thought passing strange."
In a former part of this work we have had occasion to sketch a portion of the military service rendered by Gen. Taylor, while in the employment of the Government. We have seen with what courage, skill, and bravery he bore himself at Palo Alto, Buena Vista, and on other fields, where victories were achieved which would have done credit to aNapoleon or a Wellington. During his entire military life, in the midst of his most brilliant victories, in the flush of all his military prosperity, he seems to have maintained an unaffected simplicity of character, a remarkable plainness of manners, an unbending integrity of soul, combined with kindness, moderation, and benevolence, calculated to win the admiration and confidence of all to whom he stood related.
"Returning, laurel-crowned and victorious, from a foreign war," as a writer remarks, "he was hailed from his first landing on his native strand, as the future President. With what unaffected modesty he received these new honors—how scrupulously he abstained from any and every step that might look like seeking this high office—how calmly and how simply, when installed as President, he bore his honors, we need not attempt to recite." From the day of his inauguration, to the day of his death, it is believed that he endeavored, as he expressed himself on his dying pillow, to do his duty. No one, perhaps, ever suspected him of "pursuing any crooked path in politics," or "having been actuated by sinister views and purposes." His administration was brief—only one year and four months—too brief to decide upon the policy which he might have deemed it his duty to pursue, in the difficult and trying times upon which the government had fallen, and amidst the perplexing questions which it was called to decide. It was fortunate for his reputation, perhaps, that he was removed at the precise juncture at which God called him to resign his exalted station. He had committed no error. He stood before the nation and the world, as the man of integrity—brilliant in his former military exploits—firm and patriotic in his brief civil career. He enjoyed the confidence of friends—he commanded the respect and admiration of political opponents. He died mourned and lamented by all. To what higher honors could a man wish to attain? What reputation more exalted, or more enviable, could he wish to leave behind him?Fortunate Senex!