A review of the political conflict in America, from the commencement of the anti-slavery agitation to the close of southern reconstruction; comprising also a résumé of the career of Thaddeus Stevens: being a survey of the struggle of parties which destroyed the republic and virtually monarchized its government ..

Front matter

(.1";

Class.

Book..

Chapter I

Pdge, EIKTH, EDUCATION, ADJnSSION TO THE BAR AND EARLY LEGAL SUCCESS OF THADDEUS STEVENS, - - - - - --9.

CHAPTER n.

RISE OF THE ANTI-MASONIC PARTY. ELECTION OF MR. STEVENS TO THE LEGISLATURE OF PENNSYLVANIA, - - - - - 21.

CHAPTER HI:

MASONIC INVESTIGATION. STAR CHAMBER COMmTTEE. CHARTER OF THE UNITED STATES BANK OF PENNSYLVANIA. MEMBER OF STATE REFORM CONVENTION, ------. -Og^

CHAPTER IV.

THE EUCXSHOT WAR, -----.. 44.

CHAPTER V.

THE ANTI-SLAVERY AGITATION, - - - - - - 67.

CHAPTER VL

REMOVAL OF MR. STEVENS TO LANCASTER, PA. HIS SUCCESS AS A LAW- YER, AND HIS MOVEMENTS AS A POLITICIAN, - - - - 84.

CHAPTER VII.

AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR PRINCIPLES, - - 101.

CHAPTER VIIL

COMPROMISE MEASURES OF 1850, ----_. 123.

CHAPTER IX.

RESISTANCE TO THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW. CHRISTIANA RIOT, &C., 143,

CHAPTER X.

THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL, WITH THE REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI COM- PROjMISE. ORIGIN, RAMIFICATION AND ASPECTS OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, .---. .... 155 vi CONTENTS— Continued.

CHAPTER XL

Page.

THE STRUGGLE FOR ASCENDENCY IN KANSAS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONFLICTING VIEWS INTO SECTIONAL ANTAGONISM, AND THE ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF REPUBLICANISM, ------ 168.

CHAPTER XII.

SECESSION OF THE SOUTHERN STATES, AND THE EFFORTS AT COM- PROMISE, --------- 189.

CHAPTER XIII.

STATE SOVEREIGNTY AND CENTRALIZATION, OR THE OPPOSITE PRINCI- PLES OF GOVERNMENT STRUGGLING FOR ASCENDENCY, - - 213.

CHAPTER XIV.

WAR FOR THE UNION, -..---.- 239.

CHAPTER XV.

EMANCIPATION DECREED, - - - - - ,- - 257.

CHAPTER XVI.

EXECUTIVE UNCONSTITUTIONALISM, - - » - - 271.

CHAPTER XVII.

LEGISLATIVE UNCONSTITUTIONALISM, • - - - - 28G.

CHAPTER XVIH.

GOVERNMENTAL CONSOLIDATION REACHED, - - . - 306.

CHAPTER XIX.

DEMOCRATIC ANTI-WAR ATTITUDE, - - - - - 319.

CHAPTER XX.

CHAPTER XXI.

THE MILITARY SATRAPS, ■ • - - . _ 353.

CHAPTER XXn.

THE GREAT CONSPIRACY REVEALED, - _ . 359^

CHAPTER XXin.

THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN OF 1864, - - . - 375.

CHAPTER XXIV.

FANATICISM TRIUMPHS, - - - • .. - 389.

CONTENTS— Continued. vii

CHAPTER XXV.

Fage.

THEORIES IN CONFLICT, ---.--_ 403.

CHAPTER XXVI.

ANTI-REPUBLICAN RECONSTRUCTION, - - C - .. 415,

CHAPTER XXVn,

BREACH WITH PRESIDENT JOHNSON, - - ■• - - 425.

CHAPTER XXVHI.

THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN OF 1866, ----- 439.

CHAPTER XXIX.

FINAL RECONSTRUCTION, OR THE CLIMAX OF THE REVOLUTION REACHED, 456.

CHAPTER XXX.

THE AFRICANIZATION OF THE SOUTH, ----- 471.

CHAPTER XXXI.

IMPEACHMENT OF ANDREW JOHNSON, - - - - - . 4gg_

CHAPTER XXXII.

DEATH OF MR. STEVENS, WITH CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS, - - 502.

CHAPTEK I.

BIRTH, EDUCATION, ADMISSION TO THE BAR AND EARLY LEGAL SUCCESS OP THADDEUS STEVENS.

Thaddeus Stevens v^^as bom at Danville, Caledonia County, Yermont, April 4tli, 1792. His parents were persons in limited ^ circumstances, being possessed of nothing save a poor farm, upon which they were enabled to rear their children with the most pinching and parsimonious economy. His father, named Joshua Stevens, was a shoemaker by occupation, but as he was a man of rather dissipated habits, he contributed little to the support of his family. He was well built, strong and muscular, and quite an athlete, bearing the reputation of being the best wrestler in hia county. He enlisted as a soldier in the war of 1812, and in the attack upon Oswego, received a bayonet wound in the groin, of which he shortly afterwards died. His mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Morrill, was a women of strong native sense, and of an unconquerable will and resolution. On account of the loose and irregular life of his father, the management of the farm and the rearing of the family devolved upon his mother ; and being a woman of shrewdness and penetration, she determined to afford her children (as all she could give them) the advantages of an education. The school system of Yermont, at that time being very similar to that of the other Eastern States, Thaddeus was placed, as soon as old enough, under tutelage in one of these ISTew England seminaries of the people, where he soon acquired the rudiments of an English education. Being the youngest of the family, and besides, lame and sickly in youth, he obtained advantages in the way of schooling over and above his brothers. He was the favorite and pet of his mother, as is often the case with the mothers of deformed children ; and she spared no pains to provide that he should be in constant attendence at school, in order to prepare him as she fondly hoped, to make his way in life by some means not demanding manual exertion. She was not slow in perceiving his rare powers, in the acquisition of the ordinary

"branches of an education ; and tlie thought occurred to her that one who could so thoroughly, and in so short a time, master reading, writing and arithmetic, should have an opportunity to try liis strength in the higher departments of knowledge. In a word, it was quietly resolved that Thaddeus should be sent to college ; and perhaps he might he able to carve his way to one of the professions, at that time the goal of the ambition of every intelligent New England mother. But the path of life from the cradle to the grave, is beset with thorns ; and the smart of these young Thaddeus must also feel. On account of his lameness, being unable to sport around as briskly as other boys of his age, he came somewhat to be regarded as a youth of great sedateness and sobriety ; nor was he able to escape the taunts and jeers of his youthful school companions, who would at times mimic his limping walk, and otherwise annoy and vex him. These petty anoyances to his proud and sensitive nature, were very galling ; and in their oft repetition his stern and sedate character may originally have received its earliest impression. But although his young classmates were ready to gibe him because of his deformity, he had the sweet satisfaction of knowing that he could far outstrip any of them, so far as class standing was concerned.

The following anecdote is related by Mr. Stevens of his school days, and whether narrated to create amusement, or to delineate character and the condition of the country at that early period, it at least deserves rehearsal in this connection : " At one time," said Mr. Stevens, " the schoolmaster was a broad shouldered Irishman. During a severe winter, the bears encroached on the settlement, and it became the duty of all good citizens to enlist in a war of extermination. The teacher marshalled his pupils, and at their head ventured to obstruct a noted bear-path, he being armed with a long rifle, well loaded and primed, and the boys with clubs and a miscellaneous assortment of weapons. The baying of the dogs soon indicated that the game was up, and the cracking of the bushes, that the bear was approaching. lie came on within a few feet of where the army was posted, and leaping up, his fore feet I'csting on a large log, he hesitated, while he snuffed the danger ahead. The teacher sounded the charge, saying to the boys : 'Now I'll show you a rale specimen of bear hunting.' But his impetuosity," added Mr. Stevens, " overcame his discretion, and rushing on the astonished animal he demolished him with the butt end of his rifle. . "Wlien laughed at by the boys, and ralhed on Iiis forgetf uhiess by myself, the spokesman of them, he replied, 'an what's the use of powder and ball when the thing itself made sich an illegant shelalali^ "

The first time that young Thaddeus was introduced to a knowledge of the world, as he himself related, was in the year 1804, when he accompanied his parents on a visit to Boston, to see some of their relations. It is inferred from what he remarked of this visit, that he then made up his mind to endeavor to procure riches, that he might be able to live as did the wealthy people, whom he there for the first time met. This resolution of one so yoimg shows his remarkable perceptive capacity, and his strong intellect ; and as this was his first knowledge of the power of money, it was natural that he should feel prompted to strive for that which he learned supplied so many of the wants of life.

The desire for the accumulation of wealth, was that which first fired his youthful genius, and the sight of any other admitted excellence, might have produced a similar resolve in his mind. Does not history record the names of several of the eminent ancients, whose ambition was excited by hearing a distinguished poet recite his verses at the Olympic games, or an orator thunder forth his eloquent harangues at the forum, or in the Senate chamber? Although in the present case, our visitor to Boston would seem very young to have formed such high resolves ; yet it is quite certain that at that time he first determined that no efforts should be wanting on his part, to ascend the ladder of life set before all who make the proper efforts.

The following year, after his parents had returned from Boston, the spotted fever prevailed to an alarming extent in his native County of Caledonia. For miles around his home, there M^as scarcely a family that escaped the attacks of this very dangerous disease. In some families all were sick at one time, and it was next to an impossibility to procure any assistance. In this condition of affairs Mrs. Stevens became a ministering angel, as it were, to the sick of her acquaintance, visiting from family to family and relieving their needs in every capacity in which she was able to help them. In these visits amongst lier sick neighbors, she took young Thaddeus with her, and on these circuits of mercy, he obtained another glimpse of life which left an impress upon his memory that never forsook him. His heart was then tender, and the sights of sulferhig which he witnessed, so operated upon his sensibilities as to make him ever afterwards kindly disposed to the sick and poor of every class. To such, to the end of his life, he was ever ready to extend a helping hand.

Mr, Stevens' estimate of his mother we give in his own words, detailed shortly before his death. Speaking of his efforts in the Legislature in behalf of the Free School system of Pennsylvania, and in reference thereto, he said : " That is the work that I take most pleasure in recalling, except one perhaps, I really think the greatest gratification of my life resulted from my ability to give my mother a farm of 250 acres, and a dairy of 14 cows, and an occasional bright gold piece, which she loved to deposit in the contribution box of the Baptist Church which she attended. This always gave her great pleasure, and me much satisfaction. My mother was a very extraordinary woman. I have met very few womien like her. My father was not a well-to-do man, and the support and education of the family depended on my mother. She worked night and day to educate me. I was feeble and lame in youth, and as I could not work on the farm, she concluded to give me an education. I tried to repay her afterwards, but the debt of a child to his mother, you know, is one of the debts we can never pay. Poor woman ! the very thing I did to gratify her most, hastened her death. She was very proud of her dairy, and fond of her cows, and one night going to look after them, she fell and injured herself so that she died soon after."

As his father was a shoemaker, Thaddeus had an opportunity to pick up so much knowledge of this trade, as to enable him to make the shoes of the family, and perhaps a few for the neighbors. This be did at least after the death of his father. In his younger years, when first a candidate for the legislature, he used to boast that he was a shoemaker ; and this gave birth to the numerous stories that circulated all over Pennsylvania, after his fame as a great lawyer was fixed, that he first came to York as a shoemaker and worked at the business for some time before he studied law. These stories were purely mythical, as are many that are usually retailed concerning distinguished personages ; and have their origin in the deception and credulity of mankind :

YvHien a boy, Tliaddeiis Stevens was a diligent reader nnd. like Benjamin Franklin, not having a great snpply of Looks, lie perused eveiything that came within his reach. Books at that early day, were not so plenty as at the present time, and particularly not within the reach of one so situated as he tlien found himself. His fondness for books, it is said, induced him at the early age of fifteen to essay the experiment of starting a library ; but whether this be one of the stories that accompany fame, we are not prepared to say. The example of Franklin, whose life by this time no doubt had been perused by him, might have very readily suggested such an idea in the mind of an intellectual youth of ISTew England. At least, it was not long after this time, that he began to teach school as a means of supply to aid him in his course through college ; for his parents were not able to provide "n every particular for his subsistence and expense whilst passing his collegiate career. The clothing, board, text-books and tuition of a college pupil, to a poor Yennont family, was no light burden ; but by his teaching and other industry, he greatly alleviated his parents, and enabled him to provide himself with some additional books by which he might store his mind with useful information. The first part of his classical course was made in Burlington College, Yermont, where he continued for a considerable period. " On September 11th, ISl-l, he was a student at Burlington College, for on that day he saw with a spy-glass the fight between McDonough and the British fleet, on Lake Champlain. For some reasons he did not graduate at this college, but at Dartmouth, in the following year."*

^ The following anecdote of his college life whilst at Burlington is from Alexander Hood's sketch of Mr. Stevens : " The campus at Burlington College was not enclosed, and the cows of the citizens used to enjoy it as a pleasant pasture ground. Before commencement it was usual to give the people notice to keep their cows away until after commencement was over. The grounds were then cleared up, and everything kept in complete order, until the exercises were ended and the students gone to their homes. It happened that among the citizens of Burlington was a man, "a stubborn fellow, whom," as Stevens said " we shall call Jones." He would take no steps to keep his cows off the campus. One

■""Hood's Sketch in Harris' Biographical History of Lancaster County, pp. 5il-3.

night, about a week before tlie commencement, Stevens and a friend were walking under the trees in fro^^t of the college, when they saw one of Jones' cows within th^ prohibited lines. They knew the cow belonged to Jones ; they knew Jones let her go there in a spirit of deiiance to the students. After some discussion it was agreed to kill the cow.

" Among the students was a young man who kept himself aloof from most of the others. In a word, he had the reputation of being decidedly pious. This young man had a room in an outhouse belonging to the college, where in spare moments he manufactured many things out of wood, which he sold to the people of the town, and to others. Among other tools he was knov/n to have an axe, and Stevens and his companion determined to use it in the execution of the cow. The axe was procured, the cow was slain, the axe returned, and the two avengers of the college dignity retired to rest. The next morning Jones was with the President making complaint about the death of his cow. An investigation was at once begun ; blood was found upon the axe of the pious, well-behaved student ; he denied the charge, but as there was no evidence against any other person, he was threatened with a public reprimand on the day on which he had expected to graduate with high honor. No doubt the young man suffered much, but Stevens and his associate suffered much more. They dare not inform against themselves, yet they could not see an innocent person punished for their misconduct. "What Vv^as to be done. After many conferences, without any result, Stevens suggested that Jones was not a bad man, but rather a high-spirited fellow, who would help them out of the scrape,' if they would throw themselves upon his mercy. This they resolved to do. It was the night before commencement day, when they had the interview with Jones. They made a clean breast of it, and offered to pay twice the value of the cow whenever they should be able to do so. Jones listened kindly ; told them not to distress themselves about the price of the cow, and said he would fix it all next morning. True to his word, abotit nine o'clock Jones appeared, just before the proceedings were to begin ; told the professors that he was all wrong about the death of his cow, and that she had been killed by soldiers who were going down the river on a boat, and had no time to dress and remove the meat. This made all things right ; the pious young man v:as not expelled, but honorably acquitted of the charge. Stevens and Ills friend were ne^:er suspected. Some years afterwards, when Stevens was rising" ai the world, Mr. Jones received a draft for the price of the best sort of cow in the market, accompanied by a line gold watch and chain by way of interest. A year or two afterwards there came to Gettysburg, directed to Mr. Stevens, a hogshead of the best Vermont cider, and this was the end of the killing of Jones' cow." *

Which of the professions Mr. Stevens may have made up his mind to study, in his passage through college, is not known. On one occasion, in an argument with an Arminian, concerning predestination, he evinced such an intimate accpiaintance Vvdth the writers and arguments of the Calvinistic school, that a friend was induced to put to him the inquiry : " Mr. Stevens, did you ever study with a view to the pulpit." The answer was : " Umph ! I have read the books." But no further information on that point was he able to elicit from him.

After taking his degree at Dartmouth College, he prepared and set out in quest of employment, and at length found himself about the close of the year 1815 in York, Pennsylvania. Here he obtained a situation as assistant teacher in an academy taught by Dr. Perkins. Amos Gilbert, a very noted teacher, then residing at York, afterwards remarked of Mr. Stevens, that he was at that time " one of the most backward, retiring and modest young men he had ever seen," and besides spoke of him as being a very close student. Soon after his arrival in York, he began reading law, both morning and evening, when not engaged in teaching, under the instruction of David Casset, a prominent York County lawyer, and prosecuted its study with great zeal, utilizing thus the scraps of his time to a valuable purpose. During the period he was in this manner preparing himself for future life, an effort was made by the members of the bar to thwart the fulfilment of his designs, by the passage of resolutions, providing that no person should be recognized as a lawyer who followed any other vocation whilst preparing himself for admission.f The young student, however, never took any concern as regards the protest, but pursued the even tenor of his way, until he felt that he had mastered his studies. He therefore repaired quietly

*Harris' Biographical History of Lancaster County, pp. 513-13.* fForney's Press, August 13, 18G8.

to Bel Air, the county seat of Harford County, Maryland, wliile the court was in session, and made application to be examined. At that time Marjdand admitted all applicakts to the bar who, upon examination, were found to be qualified. The Court, Judge Chase of impeachment notoriety, appointed a committee, the chairman of which, was Gen. Winder. The following is Mr. Stevens' description of the examination as given in Mr. Hood's sketch of him :

" Supper was over, the table was cleared off, and the clock said it was half-past seven. Stevens was of course punctual to time, and shortly after, the Judge and the committee took their seats.

* Are you the young man who is to be examined V asked the Judge. Stevens said he was. ' Mr, Stevens,' said the Judge, ' there is one indispensible pre-requisite before the examination can proceed. There must be two bottles of Madeira on the table, and the applicant must order it in,' The order was given, the wine brought forward, and its quality thoroughly tested. Gen. Winder began with : ' Mr. Stevens, what books have you read V Stevens replied,

* Blackstone, Coke upon Littleton, a work on pleading, and Gilbert on evidence.' This was followed by two or three other questions by other members of the committee, the last of v.diich required the distinction between a contingent remainder, and an executory devise, which was satisfactorily answered. By this time the Judge was feeling a little dry again, and broke in saying : ' Gentlemen, you see the young man is all right, I'll give him a certificate.' This was soon made out and signed, but before it was handed over, two more bottles had to be produced. These were partaken of by a large number of squires and others, who were there attending court, Avho, as soon as the examination was concluded, came in and were introduced to the newly made member of the bar. 'Fip-Loo' was played then for a good part of the night, Stevens was then a green hand at the business. To use his own words, when he paid his bill the next morning, he had but $3,50 left out of the $45 he began with the night before,"*

He left Bel Air early next morning, directing his course for Lancaster, and narrowly escaped a watery grave in crossing the McCall's Ferry Bridge, not yet completed. His horse became ■frightened and would have fallen with its rider into the river, but for the presence of mind of one of the workmen who was engaged

Harris' Biographical History of LancasteiT County, pp. 574-5.

upon the bridge. The same day he reached Lancaster by noon and dined at Slough's Hotel, then one of the headquarters of the old inland city ; and while his horse was resting he reconnoitered the place, and walked from one end of King street to the other. He had concluded, should Lancaster please him, to select it as a location for the practice of his profession. Not believing that the pl'ace suited one whose pocket was so near empty, he next determined upon Gettysburg and started the same day for York, which he reached in the evening. The following day he arrived at the county seat of AdamsCounty where he began his legal career, with but few friends and little money.

Mr. Stevens had now embarked in that career, in which to one devoid of amability and captivating address, time, patience and ability are all required to obtain marked success. Being unendowed in a high degree, with either of the former traits of character that pave the way in most instances to ordinary success, he had to depend upon patience and ability with whatever slight auxiliary fortune might interpose to aid him in his early struggles. But with all the force of intellect he could command, his patience was well nigh exhausted before anything turned up to assure him that his profession would afford him the ladder of life-ascent, which he had hoped to meet in it. It is very certain, at least, that the quality for which Job Avas distinguished had in his case nearly all become exhausted before he met Avitli any success commensurate with his anticipations ; as he stated to a confidential friend at a dance at Littlestown, that he could hold out no longer, and must select a new location. Destiny, however, had resolved, that in his case, though reduced to the lowest depths of despair, the profession of the law, with its political accompaniments, should make up his career ; as the darkest hour of night is that before day-break, so it was with him. A day or two after the despondency of his condition had led him to ruminate in his mind a new location, a horrible murder was committed ; and none of the prominent lawyers felt inclined to undertake the defense of the accused. Mr. Stevens was retained and exerted his powers to the utmost in behalf of his client, although without being able to acquit him ; yet he brought to the trial of the cause such an an-ay of legal learning, so marshalled and arranged ; and he handled the evidence with such masterly adroitness, that the com't, the bar, the jury, and the citizens were taken by surprise.

His speech "before the jury evinced a mind of such logical acnteness, that the trial ended with his reputation fixed as possessing the elements of an able lawyer. This trial, and the masterly defense, became at once the subject of conversation throughout the whole country. His client was found guilty of murder and executed, but the case brought Mr. Stevens a fee of $1,500, which was the beginning of his fortune. He had already ascended the first step of the ladder of life. From this period there was no occasion that he must content himself with cases that the other lawyers saw proper to decline. He now began to receive a different class of clients than those to whom the other attornies semisneeringly had remarked, " there is a young man in town by the name of Stevens who may, perhaps, be willing to attend to your case."

Persons were no more fearful to employ the club-footed lawyer, as he thenceforth came to be known by those who were not yet much acquainted with him. But his success must depend upon his own efforts, for the seemingly instinctive jealousy of lawyers precluded his receiving any favor from which they could debar him. Regarded as an interloper by most of them, he was thrust aside from all the favors which bars have in their power to exhibit, and their reflection was that if he succeed it must be by dint of superior ability .tud application to business. But Mr. Stbi-ens was one of those who could, in a remarkable measure, divest himself of all appreciation of the petty and contemptible jealousies of human nature. He could afford to despise all such, and yet give no exhibition of his feelings. As, however, he felt that his success must depend upon the impression he would continue to make upon the people, he studiously applied himself and, to the best of his ability, to the preparation for trial of every case with which he was entrusted. It was soon perceived by the people of the county that he was able to try a case with as much success as any lawyer at the Gettysburg bar. His reputation all the time wiis spreading, and his business increasing. His great candor in everything he said, or undertook, made at once a favorable impression upon those v,'ith whom he came in contact. Besides, his freedom from all affectation and pride procured for him the confidence of the German citizens of Adams County, although unable to converse with them in their vernacidar language, a confidence which he ever afterwards was able to retain. The ready humor he could make use of in his intercourse with the people or his brethren of the bar, and his sallies of wit, with which he could often disconcert an opposing attorney in the trial of a cause, were additional weapons which in his setting out in legal life were of incalculable service to him.

His legal business rapidly increased on his hands, and by the year 1821 he made his first appearance in the Supreme Court, holding its session at Chambersburg, then one of the five places at which the highest Court of Pennsylvania sat. It is somewhat remarkable, in view of his latter political course, that his first case in that court should have been a suit de homine rejylegiandoy in which the liberty of a colored woman and her children were concerned. But as lawyers have not the choice of sides in a ease, in this instance, Mr. Stevens found himself compelled to dispute the claim for freedom. Henry Butler and Charity his wife, and their children had brought suit for their liberty, and Stevens was employed for the defense Their claim grew out of a contract between the ovrner of Charity and a man named Cleland, both Marylandors. Cleland again entered into another contract with a Mr. Gilleland, living in tho same State, concerning the services of Charity. Gilleland having deserted his wife, the latter was obliged to turn seamstress, and went occasionally into Pennsylvania, taking Charity with her. After returning to her mother's domicil in Maryland, she sent Charity back to her original master, being then eleven years of age. It became a question of fact for the jury to determine upon the trial, whether Charity had ever, at one time, been kept six months in Pennsylvania. If she had been so detained, she was then entitled to her freedom, as also her children. The jury returned a verdict against her freedom. The case was taken to the Supreme Com-t, but Mr. Stevens succeeded in sustaining the verdict of the court below.* At this period he was established in a profitable practice. Prom the year 1823, he was engaged on one side or the other, of all the important suits of his County, of which fact the report books of the period afford abundant evidence.