Show eibe OF POLITICAL PARTIES editor I 1 have stated that during the nd of monroe known as the era of good feeling yet it was during this administration a tion arosa that later on was a potent factor in the cause that brought about th war of th rebellion it would J r t seem that up to 1820 the existence of slavery had rather been regarded as 2 misfortune by the people not only bethe north but by the south the early statesmen 0 the nation regarded the institution of clavery as a serious evil an evil which would have to be cot rid of in their writ ings on this subject they treated it as an evil which would gradually have to be disposed of by cioe emancipation measures it we take his writings for it thomas jefferson hated slavery he was the author of the ordinance of 1784 which ought to exclude slavery from all the territories of the united states south of as w 1 l as north of the ohio r nd at a later day looking at cry evil the contemplation of which brought from him the remark 1 tremble for my country ahen I 1 reflect that god is just in 1808 congress passed an act to prohibit the african slave trade not only with tha united states but with any other country looking at the attitude cf the xa on this subject it appears strange there should be a dais of men claiming these fathers as leaders one of acm being the founder of a party when as years rolled by instead ol 01 compunction of conscience on the subject of african slavery in america the southern leaders ultimately persuaded themselves yes to tho belief that it was not only moral and sanctioned by divine law but that to perpetuate it was a philanthropic duty beneficial to both races in fact one of them declared it to be the highest type 0 civilization in 1820 the admission of missouri as a state m the union was the exciting and absorbing question the struggle commenced in 1818 and the discussion of the subject became sectional in its character the house was decidedly in favor of restricting slavery in the new state the senate was inclined to give it full scope after several attempts to reconcile the two houses a committee of conference was agreed to out of which came into existence the celebrated missouri compromise tha territory of missouri framed a constitution recognizing slavery also a provision prohibiting her legislature from passing emancipation laws and a provision proy ision requiring it to enact laws to absolutely prevent the immigration of free negroes or mulattoes Mulatto ea the measures doing BO ultra was the cause of the delay in her admission it aroused the antislavery sentiment of the north the discussions had the effect of inciting the south to an earnest and united defense of an at ona tima was thought even in the south to be undesirable and only temporary in its nature having heard it frequently asked what is meant by the missouri compromise I 1 here insert so much of the act embracing it the act admitted missouri as a slave state with this proviso that in all that territory ceded by france to the united states under the name of louisiana which lies north of thirty six degrees thirty buch part thereof as is included within the limits of ane detate contemplated by this act slavery and involuntary servitude otherwise than in the punishment of crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted shall be and is hereby forever ault ru lt elwha any person escaping into the same from whom labor and service is lawfully claimed in any state or territory of the united states such fugitive may be lawfully claimed and con eyed to the person claiming his or her labor or service aa aforesaid later aloag a further proviso was enacted to tho effect that her legislature should declare that the clause in khe constitution relative to colored immigration never be construed to authorize the passage of any act by which any citizen of either of the states of the union should be excluded from the enjoyment of any to which he may be entitled under the constitution of the united states this abo legislature did and missouri was admitted the missouri compromise laid the foundation of tho future Ee publican party its effect waa to create a distrust in the mind of the north against the south because of the development of tho slave power what was gained by the north in this settlement it ia difficult to see it obtained nothing that it did not have before philetha wh iletha south secured the admission of a slave state north of the line separating fro edoin from slavery tho power was reinforced a power too that later alon as wo shall see suppressed all opposition to slavery in abo south and as barted the richt to convert the whole unoccupied territory of the united states into slave blates and to carry its humai chattlee chatt lea into tho northern states under the protection of th faderan government in defiance of stats law to the contrary it waa supposed that the corn prom settled the question but it did not it was a subject that would not down it showed itself and especially in the suasion of 1829 30 aheu daniel webster referred to it by comparing duio u fron state with kentucky a slave hayno 0 south carolina resen teJ it as did others but the general agitation of the question did not occur until the question of the of texas cam ap in 1814 ia tho mean time tariff and nullification were the main topics which I 1 will refer to some time A republican provo oct 7 1891 |