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were brought into the field through legislative | New-York, presided over the delil erations of the and other machinery-viz., Andrew Jackson, Convention, and the nominees received each Henry Clay, and John Quincy Adams. The re- 108 votes. The candidates accepted the nomisult of this famous "scrub race" for the Presi- nation and received the electoral vote of Verdency was, that no one was elected by the mont only. The Convention did not enunciate people, Gen. Jackson receiving 99 electoral any distinct platform of principles, but apvotes, Mr. Adams 84, Mr. Crawford 41, and Mr. pointed a committee to issue an Address to the Clay 37. The election then devolved on the people. In due time, the address was published. House of Representatives, where Mr. Adams It is quite as prolix and verbose as modern powas chosen, receiving the votes of 13 States, litical addresses; and, after stating at great against 7 for Gen. Jackson, and 4 for Mr. Craw-length the necessary qualifications for the ford. This was the end of "King Caucus." Chief of a great and free people, and presetGen. Jackson was immediately thereafter put ing a searching criticism on the institution in nomination for the ensuing term by the Le-free-masonry in its moral and political bearing of gislature of Tennessee, having only Mr. Adams somewhat intensified from the excitement for an opponent in 1828, when he was elected caused by the (then recent) alleged murder of by a decided majority, receiving 178 Electoral William Morgan, for having revealed the secrets Votes to 83 for Mr. Adams. Mr. John C. Cal- of the Masonic Order, the Address comes to the houn, who had at first aspired to the Presidency, conclusion that, since the institution had bein 1824, withdrew at an early stage from the come a political engine, political agencies must canvass, and was thereupon chosen Vice-Presi- be used to avert its baneful effects-in other dent by a very large electoral majority-Mr. words, "that an enlightened exercise of the Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania, (the caucus right of suffrage is the constitutional and candidate on the Crawford ticket,) being his equitable mode adopted by the Anti-Masons is only serious competitor. In 1828, Mr. Calhoun necessary to remove the evil they suffer, and was the candidate for Vice-President on the produce the reforms they seek." Jackson ticket, and of course reëlected. It was currently stated that the concentration of the Crawford and Calhoun strength on this DEMOCRATIC OR JACKSON NATIONAL ticket was mainly effected by Messrs. Martin Van Buren and Churchill C.Cambreleng, of NewYork, during a southern tour made by them in 1827. In 1828, Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, was the candidate for Vice-President on the Adams ticket.

U. S. ANTI-MASONIC CONVENTION-1830. The first political National Convention in this country of which we have any record was held at Philadelphia in September, 1830, styled the United States Anti-Masonic Convention. It was

composed of 96 delegates, representing the States of New-York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New-Jersey, Delaware, Ohio, Maryland and the Territory of Michigan. Francis Granger of New-York presided; but no business was transacted beyond the adoption of the following

resolution:

Resolved, That it is recommended to the people of the United States, opposed to secret societies, to meet in convention on Monday the 26th day of September, 1881, at the city of Baltimore, by delegates equal in number to their representatives in both houses of Congress, to

make nominations of suitable candidates for the office of President and Vice-President, to be supported at the next election, and for the transaction of such other business as the cause of Anti-Masonry may require.

CONVENTION-1832.

There was no open opposition in the Democratic party to the nomination of Gen. Jackson for a second term; but the party were not so well satisfied with Mr. Calhoun, the Vice-President; so a Convention was called to meet at Baltimore in May, 1832, to nominate a candidate for the second office. Delegates appeared and took their seats from the States of Maine, New-Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.

Gen. Robert Lucas, of Ohio, presided, and the regular proceedings were commenced by the passage of the following resolution:

Resolved, That each State be entitled, in the nomination to be made for the Vice-Presidency, to a number of votes equal to the number to which they will be entitled in the electoral colleges, under the new apportionment, in voting for President and Vice-President; and that two-thirds of the whole number of the votes in the Convention shall be necessary to constitute a choice.

famous "two-thirds" rule which has prevailed This seems to have been the origin of the of late in Democratic National Conventions.

The Convention proceeded to ballot for a candidate for Vice-President, with the following result:

;

In compliance with the foregoing call, a National Anti-Masonic Convention was held at BaltiFor Martin Van Buren: Connecticut, 8; Illinois, 2; more, in September, 1831, which nominated Ohio, 21; Tennessee, 15; North Carolina, 9; Georgia, 11 William Wirt, of Maryland, for President, and Louisiana, 5; Pennsylvania, 80; Maryland, 7 New Jersey, 8; Mississippi, 4; Rhode Island, 4; Maine, 10; Amos Ellmaker, of Pennsylvania, for Vice-Pre-Massachusetts, 14; Delaware, 8; New-Hampshire, 7; sident. The convention was attended by 112 de- New-York, 42; Vermont, 7; Alabama, 1-Total, 208. legates from the States of Maine, New-Hampshire, For Richard M. Johnson: Illinois, 2; Indiana, 9; Kentucky, 15-Total, 26. Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Delaware and Maryland only Massachusetts, New-York and Pennsylvania Mr. Van Buren, having received more than being fully represented. John C. Spencer, of two-thirds of all the votes cast, was declared

For Philip P. Barbour: North Carolina, 6; Virginia, 28; Maryland, 8; South Carolina, 11; Alabama, 6Total, 49.

duly nominated as the candidate of the party | diate predecessor (J. Q. Adams) by Gen. Jackfor Vice-President. son in his Inaugural Address, and adds:

The Convention passed a resolution cordially concurring in the repeated nominations which Gen. Jackson had received in various parts of the country for reëlection as President.

Mr. Archer, of Virginia, from the committee appointed to prepare an address to the people, reported that

The committee, having interchanged opinions on the subject submitted to them, and agreeing fully in the principles and sentiments which they believe ought to be embodied in an address of this description, if such an address were to be made, nevertheless deem it advisable under existing circumstances, to recommend the adoption of the following resolution: Resolved, That it be recommended to the several delegations in this Convention, in place of a General Address from this body to the people of the United States, to make such explanations by address, report, or other wise, to their respective constituents, of the object, proceedings and result of the meeting, as they may deem expedient.

The result of this election was the choice of General Jackson, who received the electoral vote of the following States:

The indecorum of this denunciation was hardly less glaring than its essential injustice, and can only be paralleled by that of the subsequent denunciation of the same Administration, on the same authority, to a foreign government.

Exception is taken to the indiscriminate removal of all officers within the reach of the President, who were not attached to his person or party. As illustrative of the extent to which this political proscription was carried, it is stated that, within a month after the inauguration of General Jackson, more persons were removed from office than during the whole 40 years that had previously elapsed since the adoption of the Constitution. Fault is also found with the Administration in its conduct of our foreign affairs. Again the Address says:

On the great subjects of internal policy, the course of the President has been so inconsistent and vacillating, that it is impossible for any party to place confidence in his character, or to consider him as a true and effective friend. By avowing his approbation of a judicious tariff, at the same time recommending to Congress precisely the same policy which had been adopted as the best plan of

Maine 10; New-Hampshire, 7; New-York, 42; New-attack by the opponents of that measure; by admitting
Jersey, 8; Pennsylvania, 30; Maryland, 8; Virginia,
23; North Carolina, 15; Georgia, 11; Tennessee, 15;
Ohio, 21; Louisiana, 5; Mississippi, 4; Indiana, 9;
Illinois, 5; Alabama, 7; Missouri, 4-Total, 219.

For Mr. Clay Massachusetts, 14; Rhode Island, 4; Connecticut, 8; Delaware, 3; Maryland, 5; Kentucky, 15-Total, 49.

For John Floyd, of Virginia: South Carolina, 11.
For William Wirt, of Maryland: Vermont, 7.

Mr. Van Buren received only 189 votes for Vice-President, Pennsylvania, which cast her vote for Jackson, having voted for William

Wilkins of that State for Vice-President.

John Sergeant, for Vice-President, received the same vote as Mr. Clay for President. South Carolina voted for Henry Lee of Massachusetts,

for Vice-President.

NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONVENTION1831.

the constitutionality and expediency of Internal Improvements of a National character, and at the same moment negativing the most important bills of this description which were presented to him by Congress, the President has shown that he is either a secret enemy to the system, or that he is willing to sacrifice the most important national objects in a vain attempt to conciliate the conflicting interests, or rather adverse party feeling and opinions of different sections of the country.

the United States Bank, and the necessity and Objection is taken to Gen. Jackson's war on usefulness of that institution are argued at considerable length. The outrageous and inhuman treatment of the Cherokee Indians by the State of Georgia, and the failure of the National Administration to protect them in their rights, acquired by treaty with the United States, is also the subject of animadversion in the the Address.

A resolve was adopted, recommending to the young men of the National Republican Party to hold a Convention in the city of Washington on the following May.

Such a Convention was accordingly held at the Capital on the 11th of May, 1832, over which William Cost Johnson, of Maryland, presided, and at which the following, among other

The National Republicans met in convention at Baltimore, Dec. 12, 1831. Seventeen States and the District of Columbia were represented by 157 delegates, who cast a unanimous vote for Henry Clay, of Kentucky, for President, and John Sergeant, of Pennsylvania, for Vice-Pre-resolves, were adopted: sident. James Barbour, of Virginia, presided, Resolved, That an adequate Protection to American and the States represented were: Maine, NewHampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana and Indiana. The Convention adopted no formal platform of principles, but issued an Address, mainly devoted to a criticism on the Administration of Gen. Jackson, asserting, among other things, that—

Industry is indispensable to the prosperity of the country; and that an abandonment of the policy at this period would be attended with consequences ruinous to the best interests of the Nation.

Resolved, That a uniform system of Internal Improvements, sustained and supported by the General Governharmony, ment, is calculated to secure, in the highest degree, the the strength and the permanency of the Republic.

Resolved, That the indiscriminate removal of public gross abuse of power; and that the doctrine lately officers, for a mere difference of political opinion, is a boldly preached in the United States Senate, that "to the victors belong the spoils of the vanquished," is detrimental to the interest, corrupting to the morals, and dangerous to the liberties of the people of this country.

The political history of the Union for the last three years exhibits a series of measures plainly dictated in all their principal features by blind cupidity or vindictive party spirit, marked throughout by a disregard of good policy, justice, and every high and generous sentiment, and, terminating in a dissolution of the Cabinet under DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION, circumstances more discreditable than any of the kind to be met with in the annals of the civilized world.

The address alludes to the charge of incapa

1835.

In May, 1835, a National Convention repre

city and corruption leveled against his imme-senting twenty-one States, assembled at Balti

more to nominate candidates for President and Vice-President. The Hon. Andrew Stevenson, of Virginia, was chosen president, with half a dozen vice-presidents and four secretaries. A rule was adopted that two-thirds of the whole number of votes should be necessary to make a nomination or to decide any question connected therewith. On the first ballot for President, Mr. Van Buren was nominated unanimously, receiving 265 votes. For Vice-President, Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, received 178, and William C. Rives, of Virginia, 87. Mr. Johnson, having received more than two-thirds of all the votes cast, was declared duly nominated as the candidate for Vice-President. This Convention adopted no platform.

THE OPPOSITION IN 1836.

In 1835, Gen. Wm. H. Harrison, of Ohio, was nominated for President, with Francis Granger, for Vice-President, by a Whig State Convention at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and also by a Democratic Anti-Masonic Convention held at the same place. A Whig State Convention in Maryland also nominated Gen. Harrison for President, with John Tyler, of Virginia, for Vice. Gen. H. also received nominations in New York, Ohio and other States.

result was the triumphant election of Harrison and Tyler, Van Buren receiving the electoral vote of only seven States; viz:

New-Hampshire, 7; Virginia, 23; South Carolina, 11; Illinois, 5; Alabama, 7; Missouri, 4; and Arkansas, 8Total, 60.

South Carolina refused to vote for Richard M. Johnson for Vice-President, throwing away her 11 votes on Littleton W. Tazewell, of Virginia. Harrison and Tyler received the votes of the following States:

necticut, 8; 'Vermont, 7; New-York. 42; New-Jersey, 8: Maine, 10; Massachusetts, 14; Rhode Island, 4; ConPennsylvania, 80; Delaware, 8; Maryland, 10; North Carolina, 15; Georgia, 11; Kentucky, 15; Tennessee, 15; Ohio, 21; Louisiana, 5; Mississippi, 4; Indiana, 9; Michigan, 8-Total, 234.

ABOLITION CONVENTION,-1839.

Warsaw, N. Y., on the 13th of November, 1889, which adopted the following:

A Convention of Abolitionists was held at

Resolved, That, in our judgment, every consideration of duty and expediency which ought to control the action of Christian freemen, requires of the Abolitionists of the U. S. to organize a distinct and independent political party, embracing all the necessary means for nominating candidates for office and sustaining them by public suffrage.

Hugh L. White, of Tennessee was nominated The Convention then nominated for Presiby the Legislatures of Tennessee and Alabama, dent James G. Birney, of New York, and for as the Opposition or Anti-Jackson candidate; Vice-President Francis J. Lemoyne, of Pennwhile Mr. Webster was the favorite of the Oppo-sylvania. These gentlemen subsequently desition in Massachusetts, and Willie P. Mangum, clined the nomination. Nevertheless they of N. C. received the vote of S. C., 11. The received a total of 7,609 votes in various Free result of the contest of 1836 was the election States.

of Mr. Van Buren, who received the electoral votes of the States of

Maine, 10; New-Hampshire, 7; Rhode Island, 4; Connecticut, 8; New York, 42; Pennsylvania, 80; Virginia, 28; North Carolina, 15; Louisiana, 5; Mississippi, 4; Illinois, 5; Alabama, 7; Missouri, 4; Arkansas, 3; Michigan, 8-Total 170.

Gen. Harrison received the votes of Vermont, 7; New-Jersey, 8; Delaware, 8; Maryland, 10; Kentucky, 15; Ohio, 21; and Indiana, 9-Total, 78. Hugh L. White received the vote of Georgia, 11, and Tennessee, 15: total, 26. Mr. Webster received the vote of Massachusetts, 14.

WHIG NATIONAL CONVENTION,--1839. A Whig National Convention representing twenty-one States met at Harrisburg, Pa., Dec. 4, 1839. James Barbour, of Virginia, presided, and the result of the first ballot was the nomination of Gen. William H. Harrison, of Ohio, who received 148* votes to 90 for Henry Clay, and 16 for Gen. Winfield Scott. John Tyler, of Virginia, was unanimously nominated as the Whig candidate for Vice-President. The Convention adopted no platform of principles; but the party in conducting the memorable campaign of 1840, assailed the Administration of Mr. Van Buren for its general mismanagement of public affairs and its profligacy, and the

*Ballots were repeatedly taken in committee throughout two or three days; but as no candidate received a majority, it was only reported to the convention that the committee had not been able to agree on a candidate to be presented to the convention. Finally, the delegates from New-York and other States which had supported Gen. Scott, generally went over to Gen. Harrison, who thus received a majority, when the result was declared, as

above.

DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1840.

A Democratic National Convention met at Baltimore, May 5th, 1840, to nominate candidates for President and Vice-President. Delegates were present from the States of Maine, New-Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, and Arkansas. Gov. William Carroll, of Tennessee, presided, and the Convention, before proceeding to the nomination of candidates, adopted the following platform—viz. :

limited powers, derived solely from the Constitution, and 1. Resolved, That the Federal Government is one of the grants of power shown therein ought to be strictly construed by all the departments and agents of the government, and that it is inexpedient and dangerous to exercise doubtful constitutional powers.

2. Resolved, That the Constitution does not confer upon the General Government the power to commence or carry on a general system of internal improvement. 8. Resolved, That the Constitution does not confer authority upon the Federal Government, directly or indirectly, to assume the debts of the several States, contracted for local internal improvements or other State purposes; nor would such assumption be just or expedient.

4. Resolved, That justice and sound policy forbid the Federal Government to foster one branch of industry to the detriment of another, or to cherish the interest of one portion to the injury of another portion of our common country-that every citizen and every section of the country has a right to demand and insist upon an equality of rights and privileges, and to complete and ample protection of persons and property from domestic violence or foreign aggression.

5. Resolved, That it is the duty of every branch of Government, and discriminating with special reference the government to enforce and practice the most rigid to the Protection of the Domestic Labor of the country economy in conducting our public affairs, and that no-the Distribution of the proceeds from the sales of the more revenue ought to be raised than is required to de- Public Lands-a single term for the Presidency-a refray the necessary expenses of the government. form of executive usurpations-and generally such an administration of the affairs of the country, as shall impart to every branch of the public service the greatest practicable efficiency, controlled by a well-regulated and wise economy.

6. Resolved, That Congress has no power to charter a United States Bank, that we believe such an institution one of deadly hostility to the best interests of the country, dangerous to our republican institutions and the liberties of the people, and calculated to place the business of the country within the control of a concentrated

money power, and above the laws and the will of the

people,

7. Resolved, That Congress has no power, under the Constitution, to interfere with or control the domestic institutions of the several States; and that such States are the sole and proper judges of everything pertaining to their own affairs, not prohibited by the Constitution; that all efforts, by abolitionists or others, made to induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery, or to take incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dangerous consequences, and that all such efforts have an inevitable tendency to diminish the happiness of the people, and endanger the stability and permanency of the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by any friend to our Political Institutions.

8. Resolved, That the separation of the moneys of the

government from banking institutions is indispensable

for the safety of the funds of the government and the rights of the people.

9. Resolved, That the liberal principles embodied by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, and sanctioned in the Constitution, which makes ours the land of liberty and the asylum of the oppressed of every nation, have ever been cardinal principles in the Democratic faith and every attempt to abridge the present privilege of becoming citizens, and the owners of soil among us, ought to be resisted with the same spirit which swept the Alien and Sedition Laws from our statute book.

The Convention then unanimously nominated Mr. Van Buren for reëlection as President; but, there being much diversity of opinion as to the proper man for Vice-President, the following preamble and resolution were adopted:

Whereas, Several of the States which have nominated Martin Van Buren as a candidate for the Presidency, have put in nomination different individuals as candidates for Vice-President, thus indicating a diversity of opinion as to the person best entitled to the nomination; and whereas some of the said States are not represented in this Convention, therefore,

Resolved, That the Convention deem it expedient at the present time not to choose between the individuals in nomination, but to leave the decision to their Republican fellow-citizens in the several States, trusting that

before the election shall take place, their opinions will become so concentrated as to secure the choice of a Vice-President by the Electoral College.

WHIG NATIONAL CONVENTION, 1844. A Whig National Convention assembled in Baltimore, on the 1st of May, 1844, in which every State in the Union was represented. Ambrose Spencer, of New-York, presided, and Mr. Clay was nominated for President by acclamation. For Vice-President, there was some diversity of preference, and Mr. Frelinghuysen, of N. J., was nominated on the third ballot as follows:

155

79
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82 withdrawn. 275

The contest resulted in the choice of the Democratic candidates (Polk and Dallas,) who received 170 electoral votes as follows: Maine, 9; New-Hampshire, 6; New-York, 36; PennSylvania, 26; Virginia, 17; South Carolina, 9; Georgia, 10; Alabama, 9; Mississippi, 6; Louisiana, 6; Indiana, 12; Illinois, 9; Missouri, 7; Arkansas, 3; Michigan, 5-170.

For Clay and Frelinghuysen: Vermont, 6; Massachusetts, 12; Rhode Island, 4; Connecti cut, 6; New-Jersey, 7; Delaware, 3; Maryland, 8; North Carolina, 11; Tennessee, 13; Kentucky, 12; Ohio, 23-105.

DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION,

1844.

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Mr. Van. Buren's name was withdrawn after the 8th ballot.

The platform adopted by the Convention was the same as that of 1840, with the following additions:

Resolved, That the proceeds of the Public Lands ought to be sacredly applied to the national objects specified in the Constitution, and that we are opposed to the laws lately adopted, and to any law for the Distribution of such proceeds among the States, as alike inexpedient in policy and repugnant to the Constitution.

Resolved, That we are decidedly opposed to taking from the President the qualified veto power by which he is enabled, under restrictions and responsibilities amply. sufficient to guard the public interest, to suspend the passage of a bill, whose merits cannot secure the approval of two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, until the judgment of the people can be obtained thereon, and which has thrice saved the Ameri

can People from the corrupt and tyrannical domination of the Bank of the United States.

Resolved, That our title to the whole of the Territory of 3rd. Oregon is clear and unquestionable; that no portion of the same ought to be ceded to England or any other power; and that the reoccupation of Oregon and the reannexation of Texas at the earliest practicable period are great American measures, which this Convention recommends to the cordial support of the Democracy of the Union.

274

The principles of the party were briefly summed up in the following resolve, which was LIBERTY adopted by the Convention:

Resolved, That these principles may be summed as comprising a well regulated National currency-a Tariff

PARTY NATIONAL CONVEN-
TION, 1843.

The Liberty Party National Convention met

for revenue to defray the necessary expenses of the at Buffalo, on the 30th of August. Leicester

King, of Ohio, presided, and James G. Birney, of Michigan, was unanimously nominated for President, with Thomas Morris, of Ohio, for VicePresident. Among the resolves adopted were the following:

Resolved, That human brotherhood is a cardinal principle of true Democracy, as well as of pure Christianity, which spurns all inconsistent limitations; and neither the political party which repudiates it, nor the political ystem which is not based upon it, can be truly Demoratic or permanent.

Resolved, That the Liberty Party, placing itself upon his broad principle, will demand the absolute and unqualified divorce of the General Government from lavery, and also the restoration of equality of rights, among men, in every State where the party exists, or may exist.

Resolved, That the Liberty Party has not been organized for any temporary purpose by interested politicians, but has arisen from among the people in consequence of a conviction, hourly gaining ground, that no other party in the country represents the true principles of American liberty, or the true spirit of the Constitution of the United States.

Florida, or on the high seas, are unconstitutional, and all attempts to hold men as property within the limits of exclusive national jurisdiction, ought to be prohibited by law. Resolved, That the provision of the Constitution of the United States, which confers extraordinary political powers on the owners of slaves, and thereby constituting the two hundred and fifty thousand slaveholders in the Slave States a privileged aristocracy; and the provision for the reclamation of fugitive slaves from service, are Anti-Republican in their character, dangerous to the liberties of the people, and ought to be abrogated.

Resolved, That the practical operation of the second of these provisions, is seen in the enactment of the act of Congress respecting persons escaping from their masters, which act, if the construction given to it by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Prigg vs. Pennsylvania be correct, nullifies the habeas corpus acts of all the States, takes away the whole legal security of personal freedom, and ought therefore to be immediately repealed.

Resolved, That the peculiar patronage and support hitherto extended to Slavery and Slaveholding, by the General Government, ought to be immediately with drawn, and the example and influence of National authority ought to be arrayed on the side of Liberty and Free Labor.

Resolved, That the practice of the General Govern

Resolved, That the Liberty Party has not been organized merely for the overthrow of slavery; its first de-ment, which prevails in the Slave States, of employing cided effort must, indeed, be directed against slaveholding as the grossest and most revolting manifestation of despotism, but it will also carry out the principle of equal rights into all its practical consequences and applications, and support every just measure conducive to individual and social freedom.

Resolved, That the Liberty Party is not a sectional party but a national party; was not originated in a desire to accomplish a single object, but in a comprehensive regard to the great interests of the whole country; is not a new party, nor a third party, but is the party of 1776, reviving the principles of that memorable era, and striving to carry them into practical application. Resolved, That it was understood in the times of the Declaration and the Constitution, that the existence of slavery in some of the States, was in derogation of the principles of American Liberty, and a deep stain upon the character of the country, and the implied faith of the States and the Nation was pledged, that slavery should never be extended beyond its then existing limits, but should be gradually, and yet, at no distant day, wholly abolished by State authority.

Resolved, That the faith of the States and the Nation hus pledged, was most nobly redeemed by the voluntary Abolition of Slavery in several of the States, and by the doption of the Ordinance of 1787, for the government of the Territory northwest of the river Ohio, then the only Territory in the United States, and consequently the only erritory subject in this respect to the control of Congress by which Ordinance Slavery was forever excluded from he vast regions which now compose the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and the Territory of Wisconsin, and an incapacity to bear up any other than freemen, was impressed on the soil itself.

Resolved, That the faith of the States and Nation thus pledged, has been shamefully violated by the omission on the part of many of the States, to take any measures whatever for the Abolition of Slavery within their respective limits; by the continuance of Slavery in the District of Columbia, and in the Territories of Louisiana and Florida; by the Legislation of Congress; by the protection afforded by national legislation and negotiation to slaveholding in American vessels, on the nigh seas, employed in the coastwise Slave Traffic; and by the extension of slavery far beyond its original limits, by acts of Congress, admitting new Slave States into the Union.

Resolved, That the fundamental truths of the Declaration of Independence, that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, was made the fundamental law of our National Government, by that amendment of the Constitution which declares that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.

Resolved, That we recognize as sound, the doctrine maintained by slaveholding jurists, that slavery is against natural rights, and strictly local, and that its existence and continuance rests on no other support than State Legislation, and not on any authority of Congress. Resolved, That the General Government has, under the Constitution, no power to establish or continue Slavery anywhere, and therefore that all treaties and acts of Congress establishing, continuing or favoring Slavery in the District of Columbia, in the Territory of

Slaves upon the public works, instead of free laborers, and paying aristocratic masters, with a view to secure or reward political services, is utterly indefensible and ought to be abandoned.

Resolved, That freedom of speech, and of the press, and the right of petition, and the right of trial by jury, are sacred and inviolable; and that all rules, regulations and laws, in derogation of either are oppressive, unconstitutional, and not to be endured by free people.

Resolved, That we regard voting in an eminent degree, as a moral and religious duty, which, when exercised, should be by voting for those who will do all in their power for Immediate Emancipation.

Resolved, That this Convention recommend to the friends of Liberty in all those Free States where any inequality of rights and privileges exists on account of color, to employ their utmost energies to remove all such remnants and effects of the Slave system.

Whereas, The Constitution of these United States is a series of agreements, covenants, or contracts between the people of the United States, each with all and all with each; and

Whereas, It is a principle of universal morality, that the moral laws of the Creator are paramount to all human laws; or, in the language of an Apostle, that "we ought to obey God rather than men ;" and,

Whereas, The principle of common law-that any contract, covenant, or agreement, to do an act derogatory to natural right, is vitiated and annulled by its inherent immorality-has been recognized by one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, who in a recent case expressly holds that " any contract that rests upon such a basis is void;" and,

Whereas, The third clause of the second section of the fourth article of the Constitution of the United States, when construed as providing for the surrender of a Fugitive Slave, does "rest upon such a basis," in that it is a contract to rob a man of a natural right-namely, his natural right to his own liberty; and is, therefore, absolutely void. Therefore,

Resolved, That we hereby give it to be distinctly understood by this nation and the world, that, as abolitionists, considering that the strength of our cause lies in its righteousness, and our hope for it in our conformity to the laws of God, and our respect for the RIGHTS OF MAN, we owe it to the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, as a proof of our allegiance to Him, in all our civil relations and offices, whether as private citizens or as public functionaries sworn to support the Constitution of the United States, to regard and to treat the third clause of the fourth article of that instrument, whenever applied to the case of a fugitive slave, as utterly null and void, and consequently as forming no part of the Constitution of the United States, whenever we are called upon o aworn to support it.

Resolved, That the power given to Congress by the Constitution, to provide for calling out the militia to suppress insurrection, does not make it the duty of the Government to maintain Slavery by military force, much less does it make it the duty of the citizens to form a part of such military force. When freemen unsheath the sword it should be to strike for Liberty, not for Despot ism.

Resolved, That to preserve the peace of the citizens, and secure the blessings of freedom, the Legislature of each of

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