Frederick Douglass:—The infamy and hypocrisy of our nation, are fast making their climax. Scenes, such as nobody scarcely believed could occur, have occurred in Central New York. Men who have lived in security for years, and were wont to thank God that they could live in the centre of the great Empire State, with "none to molest, or make afraid," have been compelled to fly to a neighboring province, and seek the protection of monarchical institutions.

And who are these men? Are they felons? Have they committed desperate deeds, that they have been thus virtually outlawed? Oh no! They have the respect and christian regard of the best and truest men. Some of them are ministers of the gospel, men of piety and talent, whose crimes consist in yielding to the noble impulses of humanity and religion; or, in the fact that they, or their fathers, have been cursed with the greatest of all curses—slavery. For this latter class, especially, my heart bleeds. Driven from their homes, and from the society of their friends, who can no longer save them, except at the hazard of their own liberty and property, they are thrown upon the sympathies and hospitalities of strangers, in a province of that country, whose oppression forced us to revolution and bloodshed. What an anomaly! American-born citizens fleeing from American oppression, to British protection for freedom! They are thus driven out from us, at the inclement season of approaching winter, and mostly without the means of a comfortable support. Shame upon the empty boasts of lying bragadocios and politicians, who proclaim our national glory, and call this land an "asylum for the oppressed of all nations," where we thrust out from us our own home-born sons, whose crimes are only their misfortunes. Their ancestors have been enslaved, therefore they should be is the language of American republicanism: an argument as potent for the continued oppression of the serfs of Russia, the masses of Austria and Italy, and the "baner" of Hungary, and the downtrodden of all the world.

While our political journals are expressing their interest in foreign efforts in behalf of the oppressed masses, they deride and vilify those who need their efforts at home; and caricature and treat with scorn and derision those who see in an oppressed American an object of sympathy, as readily as if he spoke a foreign accent, and trod a foreign soil. And these men are republicans and philanthropists. And perchance, some of them libel Christianity, by "wearing the livery of heaven," who thus treat the great-hearted men of our age, and scorn and tantalize the poor with whom they sympathize.

Such men as Gerrit SmithSmith, Gerrit

Gerrit Smith (1797– 1874), a New York businessman and land speculator, became best known for his philanthropic work for such reform causes as temperance and abolition. Between 1828 and 1835, he donated large sums of money to the American Colonization Society, but abandoned that movement in 1835 when his sympathies shifted to the immediate abolitionists. In the 1840s, he gave approximately 140,000 acres of land in upstate New York to three thousand black settlers, thus qualifying them to vote. Smith was a founder and frequent candidate of the Liberty party, running for governor of New York on that ticket in 1840 and winning a seat in Congress in 1852. When the Free Soil merger with moderate antislavery Democrats and Whigs lured away many Liberty party supporters, Smith helped bankroll that organization until 1860. Smith befriended Douglass when the latter moved to Rochester, and Smith frequently helped finance Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Like Douglass, Smith supported John Brown, but psychological stress caused by the failure at Harpers Ferry brought on the first of a series of bipolar episodes that greatly reduced his subsequent reform activities. Ralph Volney Harlow, Gerrit Smith: Philanthropist and Reformer (1939; New York, 1972); Gerald Sorin, The New York Abolitionists: A Case Study of Political Radicalism (Westport, Conn., 1971), 269– 87; Lewis Perry, Radical Abolitionism: Anarchy and the Government of God in Antislavery Thought (Ithaca, N.Y., 1973), 170– 80; John R. McKivigan and Madeleine Leveille, “The ‘Black Dream’ of Gerrit Smith, New York Abolitionist,” Syracuse University Library Associates Courier, 20:61– 76 (Fall 1985); NCAB , 2:322– 23; DAB, 17:270– 71. , by nature a nobleman, and by grace a christian of the most illustrious order, are defamed as if they were monsters of impiety, and monarchists of the most desperate class, because their "lives and fortunes, and honor," are pledged to the maintenance of the doctrines of the Declaration of Independence, and the principles of christianity. For one, I bless God that he has raised up, for this great struggle between liberty and oppression, a man who has so good a claim to "life" and so large a "fortune," and so exalted a sense of "honor," as are professed by Gerrit Smith; and I only wish we had scores of just such men, to enter the arena at this time, to fight the great battle between freedom and slavery. When the names of WebsterWebster, Daniel

Daniel Webster (1782–1852) was a lawyer and statesman known for his stirring oratory. As a lawyer, he successfully argued many cases before the Supreme Court, such as the 1816 Dartmouth College case and the 1819 McCulloch v. Maryland case, earning a reputation as a strong nationalist. During the War of 1812 Webster represented New Hampshire in Congress (1812–46). Then, in 1827, he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, where he remained in service through most of his life. He continued to take strong nationalist positions in political debates, attacking Andrew Jackson’s 1832 veto of the Second Bank of the United States and opposing Nullification in 1832–33. Webster accepted appointment as secretary of state under William Henry Harrison and was the sole cabinet member from Harrison’s presidency to retain his office during John Tyler’s administration. In 1842 he negotiated the Webster-Ashburton Treaty with Great Britain, establishing the modern boundary between the United States and Canada, but resigned his post a year later and returned to the Senate in 1845. In 1848 Webster made an unsuccessful bid for the Whig presidential nomination, losing to war hero Zachary Taylor. In 1850 Webster once again left the Senate to act as secretary of state under Millard Fillmore, a move that placed him in a good position to bid for the presidency; but he lost the 1852 Whig nomination to Winfield Scott. Though not an abolitionist, he opposed the extension of slavery in the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the Mexican-American War, and the enforcement of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law. Robert V. Remini, Daniel Webster: The Man and His Time (New York, 1997), 15–21; ANB, 22:865–68; DAB, 11:585–92. and FillmoreFillmore, Millard

Millard Fillmore (1800-74), thirteenth president of the United States, represented the Buffalo region in the New York state legislature (1828-32) and in the U.S. House of Representatives (1833-35, 1837-43), where he generally voted with the Henry Clay wing of the Whig party. Defeated in the 1844 New York governor's race, Fillmore secured the Whig vice-presidential nomination in 1848 and assumed the presidency upon Zachary Taylor's death in July 1850. Fillmore vigorously advocated passage of the Compromise of 1850 and signed each of its measures into law. Denied his party's nomination in 1852, Fillmore ran for president on the American party ticket in 1856 and supported John Bell and the Constitutional Union party in 1860. NCAB, 6:177-78; DAB, 6:380-82. , and ClayClay, Henry

Henry Clay (1777-1852), a native Virginian, entered politics during the 1790s in his adopted state of Kentucky and rose quickly to national prominence. As a congressman, senator, secretary of state, founder of the Whig party, and regular presidential candidate, Clay espoused broadly nationalistic programs designed to avoid sectional antagonism caused by the issue of slavery. He figured prominently in the debates that led to the passage of the Missouri Compromise, and he was a leading architect of the Compromise of 1850. His support of the American Colonization Society earned him the lasting hostility of Garrisonian abolitionists. In Congress, Clay vigorously opposed abolitionist petitions against slavery in the District of Columbia. Robert V. Remini, Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union (New York, 1991); Richard H. Sewell, Ballots for Freedom: Antislavery Politics in the United States, 1837-1860 (New York, 1976), 109; DAB, 4:73-79. ,

shall be ranked with those who betrayed liberty at the time of the revolution, let the memories of Gerrit SmithSmith, Gerrit

Gerrit Smith (1797– 1874), a New York businessman and land speculator, became best known for his philanthropic work for such reform causes as temperance and abolition. Between 1828 and 1835, he donated large sums of money to the American Colonization Society, but abandoned that movement in 1835 when his sympathies shifted to the immediate abolitionists. In the 1840s, he gave approximately 140,000 acres of land in upstate New York to three thousand black settlers, thus qualifying them to vote. Smith was a founder and frequent candidate of the Liberty party, running for governor of New York on that ticket in 1840 and winning a seat in Congress in 1852. When the Free Soil merger with moderate antislavery Democrats and Whigs lured away many Liberty party supporters, Smith helped bankroll that organization until 1860. Smith befriended Douglass when the latter moved to Rochester, and Smith frequently helped finance Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Like Douglass, Smith supported John Brown, but psychological stress caused by the failure at Harpers Ferry brought on the first of a series of bipolar episodes that greatly reduced his subsequent reform activities. Ralph Volney Harlow, Gerrit Smith: Philanthropist and Reformer (1939; New York, 1972); Gerald Sorin, The New York Abolitionists: A Case Study of Political Radicalism (Westport, Conn., 1971), 269– 87; Lewis Perry, Radical Abolitionism: Anarchy and the Government of God in Antislavery Thought (Ithaca, N.Y., 1973), 170– 80; John R. McKivigan and Madeleine Leveille, “The ‘Black Dream’ of Gerrit Smith, New York Abolitionist,” Syracuse University Library Associates Courier, 20:61– 76 (Fall 1985); NCAB , 2:322– 23; DAB, 17:270– 71. , Wm. H. SewardSeward, William Henry

William Henry Seward (1801-72) was a New York state senator (1830-32) and governor (1839-43) before serving as a U.S. senator (1849-61). He originally belonged to the Anti-Mason party, but became a leader of the Whig party during the 1830s and 1840s. By 1855 Seward had moved his allegiance to the Republican party. During the Compromise of 1850, he first invoked the concept of "a higher law than the Constitution" to support abolition. As the decade progressed, Seward became more outspoken against slavery. characterizing the struggle as an "irrepressible conflict" between opposing forces. In 1856 and 1860 he unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination. Instead, he became Abraham Lincoln's secretary of state in 1861. Seward's influence prevented European recognition of the Confederacy during the Civil War. In 1867 he negotiated the U.S. purchase of the Alaska territory, known as "Seward's Folly." Frederic Bancroft, The Life of William H. Seward, 2 vols. (1899-1900; Gloucester, Mass., 1967); ACAB, 5:470-73; DAB, 16:615-21. , Wm. L. ChaplinChaplin, William Lawrence

In August 1850 William L. Chaplin (1796-1871) was among a group arrested for aiding fugitive slaves. Originally a lawyer, Chaplin left his legal practice in Easton, Massachusetts, to devote himself to the abolitionist movement in New York in the 1830s. He worked for the Liberty party as a lecturer and editor, becoming an associate of Gerrit Smith. In 1850 Chaplin assisted a group of slaves who had escaped from slave owners Alexander H. Stephens and Robert Toombs. Authorities arrested Chaplin and charged him with violating the Fugitive Slave Act in both Washington, D.C., and Maryland. Three of Chaplin’s longtime New York abolitionist friends, James C. Jackson, Joseph C. Hathaway, and Theodosia Gilbert, rushed to Washington to attend to Chaplin’s needs while jailed. Free Democrat Congressman Joshua Giddings and Senator Salmon P. Chase aided in Chaplin’s legal defense. Opponents of the Fugitive Slave Act, led by Smith, rallied around the case and posted the bond of $25,000 for Chaplin. Back in New York in 1851, Chaplin refused to return south for his trial and worked only briefly to raise funds to reimburse those who stood his bail. He drifted away from Gerrit Smith and, together with Jackson and Hathaway, moved into the Free Democratic camp. Chaplin later married Gilbert and joined Jackson in operating a water cure establishment in Glen Haven, New York. Henry Wilson, History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America, 3 vols. (Boston, 1874), 2:80-82; Stanley Harrold, Subversives: Antislavery Community in Washington, D.C., 1826-1865 (Baton Rouge, La., 2003), 157-62; Friedman, Gregarioas Saints, 123; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 290-95; Lawrence J. Friedman, “The Gerrit Smith Circle: Abolitionism in the Burned-Over District,” CWH, 26:19-37 (March 1980).In August 1850 William L. Chaplin (1796-1871) was among a group arrested for aiding fugitive slaves. Originally a lawyer, Chaplin left his legal practice in Easton, Massachusetts, to devote himself to the abolitionist movement in New York in the 1830s. He worked for the Liberty party as a lecturer and editor, becoming an associate of Gerrit Smith. In 1850 Chaplin assisted a group of slaves who had escaped from slave owners Alexander H. Stephens and Robert Toombs. Authorities arrested Chaplin and charged him with violating the Fugitive Slave Act in both Washington, D.C., and Maryland. Three of Chaplin’s longtime New York abolitionist friends, James C. Jackson, Joseph C. Hathaway, and Theodosia Gilbert, rushed to Washington to attend to Chaplin’s needs while jailed. Free Democrat Congressman Joshua Giddings and Senator Salmon P. Chase aided in Chaplin’s legal defense. Opponents of the Fugitive Slave Act, led by Smith, rallied around the case and posted the bond of $25,000 for Chaplin. Back in New York in 1851, Chaplin refused to return south for his trial and worked only briefly to raise funds to reimburse those who stood his bail. He drifted away from Gerrit Smith and, together with Jackson and Hathaway, moved into the Free Democratic camp. Chaplin later married Gilbert and joined Jackson in operating a water cure establishment in Glen Haven, New York. Henry Wilson, History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America, 3 vols. (Boston, 1874), 2:80-82; Stanley Harrold, Subversives: Antislavery Community in Washington, D.C., 1826-1865 (Baton Rouge, La., 2003), 157-62; Friedman, Gregarioas Saints, 123; Harlow, Gerrit Smith, 290-95; Lawrence J. Friedman, “The Gerrit Smith Circle: Abolitionism in the Burned-Over District,” CWH, 26:19-37 (March 1980). , and many others, be enshrined in the hearts of the American people, as the defenders of the same principles of government, as those adopted by our revolutionary patriots!

And when the names of James Gordon Bennet, and the editors of the cotton journals throughout the North, shall be covered with the infamy which they deserve, I hope that Horace Greeley, Frederick Douglass, Samuel R. Ward, and other noble advocates of freedom, though differing in complexion, and to some extent on minor points, will wear the laurels which their hatred of wrong and oppression, and their love and defense of right and equal liberty have merited, from the age in which they live. Can it be otherwise? Will American freemen of the North never awake to a sense of their own degradation, in being forced to recognize the legality and righteousness of the institution of slavery? Will they never turn their indignant scorn upon the slaveocratic, Southern oligarchy, who ride over the great fundamental, self-evident truth, upon which our government is based, that "all men are created free and equal, and have an inalienable right to liberty?"

Do they not already see, that slavery not only demands the enslavement of the blacks, but also of the whites; and that we are to be outlawed, for the humanity and regard for justice which both republicanism and christianity teach? Do they not see that slavery is so inimical to republican and free institutions, that they cannot co-exist?

The struggle is coming on, and the nation, once so free, must be convulsed with the efforts made to regain the freedom of principle, which has been lost. Our revolutionary fathers, doubtless expected that slavery would share the same fate throughout all the states, which it has met in the Northern States. They knew that slavery was inconsistent with the avowed principle of the equality of men, and they expected that this slight excrescence, which then marred the beauty of our national government, would soon be removed, and leave it in all its systematical proportions, "without blemish and without spot."

We hope this struggle will be bloodless, and that neither the plains of the South, nor the hills of the north, will ever smoke with the torch of civil war, but if this were better than slavery, in the days of our fathers of '76, it may be better than the enslavement of one-fifth of the population of this republic. But the ground of hope is, that freemen will awake to the peril of our freedom, and, mighty in the majesty of right, shake from our national government the viper which has almost reached her vitals!

Let the friends of freedom, I mean impartial freedom, of all names and parties, rally to the cause of imperishable liberty, and form a great national party. Let the present politicial shibboleths be forgotten, and WHIG, and DEMOCRAT be no more the watch-word to rally the millions: but, intheir place, let there be a rallying around the doctrine that was announced as a "self evident truth" in our Declaration of Independence; and on the other hand, let those who brand that doctrine as political fanaticism, rally their forces, and contest over again, not with the cartidge-box, but with the ballot-box, whether we shall be a nation of freeman, or an oppressed body of slaves.

M.

New York, Nov. 5th, 1852.