Speech of Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, on the Oregon Bill

Speech of Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, on the Oregon Bill
Author: Jefferson Davis
Publisher:
Total Pages: 24
Release: 2015-09-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781330603352
GET BOOK

Excerpt from Speech of Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, on the Oregon Bill: Delivered in the Senate of the United States, July 12, 1848 If the right to migrate with their property to territory belonging to the United States attaches equally to all their citizens; and if, as I have been credibly informed, citizens have migrated with their slaves into Oregon; to pass the bill before us without amendment would be abolition of slavery by the Federal Government. Entertaining this opinion I submitted an amendment to meet the case distinctly and singly. Now, for the first time in our history, has Congress, without the color of compact or compromise, claimed to discriminate in the settlement of Territories against the citizens of one portion of the Union and in favor of another. This, taken in connection with all which is passing around us, must excite the attention of Senators to the fact, and forces on my mind the conclusion that her-in is sought to be established a precedent for future use. Here upon the threshhold we must resist, or forever abandon, the claim to equality of right, and consent to be a marked caste, doomed, in the progress of national growth, to be dwarfed into helplessness and political dependence. As equals the States came into the Union, and, by the articles of confederation, equal rights, privileges, and immunities were secured to the citizens of each; yet, for asserting in this case that the Federal Government shall not authorize the destruction of such equality, we have been accused of wishing to claim for the citizens of the Southern States unusual rights under the Constitution. This accusation comes badly from those who insist on provisions for exclusion; and cannot find its application to a demand that nothing shall be done to affect the constitutional relations of citizens or the constitutional rights of property. We do not ask of the Federal Government to sign new privileges, but to forbear from interfering with existing rights; rights which existed anterior to the formation of the Constitution, -which were recognized in that instrument, and which it is made the duty of the Federal Government, as the agent of our Union, to protect and defend. Such obligations as belong to other species of property, nor more nor less, we claim as due to our property in slaves. Nor can this claim be denied without denying the property-right to which it attaches. This, it has been contended, is the creation of local law, and does not extend beyond the limits for which such laws were made, and, with an air of concession, we are told that it is not proposed to interfere with slavery as it exists in the States, because the Constitution secures it there. Sir, slavery is sustained but was not created by the local law of the States in which it exists; nor did those States ask of the Federal Government to secure or maintain it within their borders; beyond their own jurisdiction, and there only, could the protection of federal laws be required. Before the formation of our confederacy slavery existed in the colonies, now the States of the Union; and but for the Union of the States, would have no legal recognition beyond the limits of the territory of each. But when the fathers of the Republic had achieved its independence, they sought to draw closer the bonds of union, and to remove all cause for discord and contention. For this holy purpose, they met in council, and formed the Constitution under which we live. This compact of union changed the relation of the States to each other in many important particulars, and gave to property and intercourse a national character. Property in persons held to service was recognized; in various and distinct forms it became property under the Constitution of the United States, was made co extensive with the supremacy of the federal laws, its existence subject only to the legislation of sovereign States possessing powers not drawn from, hut above, the Constitution. Thus provision was m.

SPEECH OF JEFFERSON DAVIS OF M

SPEECH OF JEFFERSON DAVIS OF M
Author: Jefferson 1808-1889 Davis
Publisher: Wentworth Press
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2016-08-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781373809384
GET BOOK

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Speech of Hon.

Speech of Hon.
Author: Jefferson Davis
Publisher:
Total Pages: 22
Release: 2015-07-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781330539385
GET BOOK

Excerpt from Speech of Hon.: Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, on His Resolutions Relative to the Rights of Property in the Territories, Etc, Delivered in the Senate of the United States, May 7, 1860 Mr. Davis, of Mississippi, said: Mr. President: Among the many blessings for which we are indebted to our ancestry, is that of transmitting to us a written Constitution; a fixed standard to which, in the progress of events, every case may be referred and by which it may be measured. But for this the wise men who formed our Government dared not have hoped for its perpetuity; for they saw floating down the tide of time, wreck after wreck, marking the short life of every Republic which had preceded them. With this, however, to check, to restrain, and to direct their posterity, they might reasonably hope the Government they founded should last forever; that it would secure the great purposes for which it was ordained and established;that it would be the shield of their posterity equally in every part of the-country, and equally in all time to come. It was this which mainly distinguished the formation of our Government from those confederacies or republics which had preceded it; and this is the best foundation for our hope of a perpetuity-to the peace, power, and prosperity our Union has conferred. The resolutions which have been read, and which I had the honor to present to the Senate are little more than the announcement of what I hold to be the clearly expressed declarations of the Constitution itself. To that fixed standard it is sought, at this time, when we are drifting far from the initial point, and when clouds and darkness hover over us, to bring back the Government, and to test our present condition by the rules which our fathers laid down for us in the beginning. The differences which exist between distinct portions of the country, the rivalries and the jealousies of to-day, though differing in degree, are exactly of the nature of those which preceded the formation of the Constitution. Our fathers were aware of the conflicting interests of the navigating and planting States, as they were then regarded. They sought to compose those difficulties, and, by compensating advantages given by one to the other, to form a Government equal and just in its operation; and which, like the gentle showers of heaven, should fall twice blessed, blessing him that gives and him that receives. This beneficial action and reaction between the different interests of the country constituted the bond of union and the motive of its formation. They constitute it still, if we are sufficiently wise to appreciate our interests, and sufficiently faithful to observe our trust. Indeed, with the extension of territory, with the multiplication of interests, with the varieties increasing from time to time of the products of this vast country, the bonds which bind the Union together should have increased. Rationally considered, they have increased, because the free trade which was established by the Union of the States has now become more valuable to the people thus united than their trade with the rest of the world. I do not propose to argue questions of natural rights and inherent powers; I plant my reliance upon the Constitution; that Constitution which we have all sworn to support; that Constitution which, as the civil supreme, we have solemnly pledged ourselves to maintain while we hold the seats we now occupy in the Senate; to which we are bound in its spirit and in its letter, not grudgingly, but willingly, to render our obedience and support; as long as we hold office under the Federal Government; neither in conscience or in conduct can there be for us a higher authority. When the tempter entered the garden of Eden to taint its purity, to blight its peaceful happiness, and induced our common mother to offend against the law which God had given to her through Adam, he was the first teacher of that higher law which sets the wil.

Speech of the Hon.: Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, Delivered in the United States Senate, on the 10th Day of January, 1861, Upon the Mes

Speech of the Hon.: Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, Delivered in the United States Senate, on the 10th Day of January, 1861, Upon the Mes
Author: Jefferson Davis
Publisher: Forgotten Books
Total Pages: 20
Release: 2018-01-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780483999435
GET BOOK

Excerpt from Speech of the Hon.: Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, Delivered in the United States Senate, on the 10th Day of January, 1861, Upon the Message of the President of the United States, on the Condition of Things in South Carolina Mr. Davis. Mr. President, when I took the floor yesterday, I intended to engage somewhat in the argument which has heretofore prevailed in the Senate upon the great questions of constitutional right, which have divided the country from the beginning of the government. I intended to adduce some evidences, which I thought were conclu sive, in favor of the Opinions which I entertain; but events, with a current hurrying on as it progresses, have borne me past the point where it would be useful for me to argue the question of rights by citing authority. To day, therefore, it is my purpose to deal with events. Abstract argument has become among the things that are past. We have to deal now with facts; and in order that we may meet those facts, and apply them to our present condition, it is well to inquire what is the state of the country. The Consti tutien provides that the President shall, from time to time, communicate information on the state of the Union. The message which is now under consideration gives us very little, indeed, beyond that which the world, less, indeed, than reading men generally, knew before it was communicated. What, senators, to-day is the condition of the country? From every quarter of it comes the wailing cry of patriotism, pleading for the preservation of the great inherit ance we derived from our fathers. Is there a senator who does not daily receive letters, appealing to him to use even the small power which one man here possesses to save the rich inheritance our fathers gave us? Tears now trickle down the stern face of man; and those who have bled for the flag of their country, and are willing now to die for it, stand powerless before the plea that the party about to come into power laid down a plat form, aud that come what will, though ruin stare us in the face, consistency must be ad hered to, even if the Government be lost. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Speech of Mr. Davis, of Mississippi, on the Subject of Slavery in the Territories

Speech of Mr. Davis, of Mississippi, on the Subject of Slavery in the Territories
Author: Jefferson Davis
Publisher:
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2015-08-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781332534371
GET BOOK

Excerpt from Speech of Mr. Davis, of Mississippi, on the Subject of Slavery in the Territories: Delivered in the Senate of the United States, February 13& 14, 1850 In this hope I have been disappointed - grievously disappointed by the character of the resolutions which he has introduced, and yet more grievously disappointed in the remarks by which they were prefaced. If that great power and influence to which I have alluded, and that eloquence upon which multitudes have hung entranced, and remembered only to admire, had now been exerted in the cause of the weak against the strong, the cause of the Constitution against its aggressors, the evils by which we are surrounded might perhaps have been removed, and the decline of that Senator's sun been even more bright than its meridian glory. But, instead of this, he has chosen to throw his influence into the scale of the preponderating aggressive majority, and in so doing vehemently to assert his undisputed right to express his opinions fearless of all mankind. Why, sir. there was nothing to apprehend, and I presume no one will dispute the right of the Senator to advance his opinions in any decorous language he might choose. Mr. President, my feelings and my duties run in the same channel. My convictions of what is necessary to preserve the Union correspond with my opinions in relation to the local and peculiar interests which I particularly represent. I have therefore no sacrifices to make, unless it be that personal sacrifice I make in appearing under circumstances like those which now surround me. The greater part of the Senator's argument has been directed against the right of the Southern States to that equality of enjoyment in the Territories to which they assert they are entitled. He has rebuked the spirit of abolitionism as the evil of the country, but, in doing so, instead of describing it as a factious, disorganizing, revolutionary spirit, he has only spoken of it as the offspring of party, the result of passion. Now, Mr. President, I contend that the reverse is true. I contend that it is the want of party which has built up this faction and rendered it dangerous; that so long as party organization preserved its integrity, there was no place for a third party, and no danger from it. If this were merely the result of passion, I should then have hopes which I cannot now cherish. If it were the mere outbreak of violence, I should see some prospect for its subsidence. But considering it, as I do, the cold, calculating purpose of those who seek for sectional dominion, I see nothing short of conquest on the one side, or submission on the other. This is the great danger which hangs over us - not passion - not party; but the settled, selfish purpose which alone can sustain and probably will not abandon the movement. That upon which it originally rested has long since passed away. It is no longer the clamor of a noisy fanaticism, but the steady advance of a self-sustaining power to the goal of unlimited supremacy. This is the crevasse which the Senator described - a crevasse which he figuratively says is threatening submersion to the whole estate, while the owners are quarrelling about the division of its profits. Yes, sir, a moral crevasse has occurred: fanaticism and ignorance - political rivalry - sectional hate - strife for sectional dominion, have accumulated into a mighty flood, and pour their turgid waters through the broken constitution, threatening not total submersion, but only the destruction of a part of the estate - that part in which my constituency, as well as that of the Senator, is found. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com