LORLE A. PORTER
The Lecompton Issue in Knox County Politics: Division of the Democracy, 1858
The division of the Democratic party in 1857-58 over the issue of the Lecompton Constitution for Kansas proved to be a decisive turning point in American history. President James Buchanan, by accepting this semi-fradulent attempt to admit Kansas into the Union as a slave state, bitterly divided the only remaining national party. Senator Stephen A. Douglas, the "Little Giant," opposed the constitution and cham- pioned the cause of Popular Sovereignty to the bitter end. Even though the people of Kansas eventually (by means of the English bill) were given an opportunity to reject the constitution, the Democratic party became severed along North-South lines, thereby destroying Douglas' chances for the presidency. The Republican party, even though the minority, catapulted into serious contention for the presidential race by 1860. The foregoing is common knowledge, only less so are the terms "Black |
Dr. Porter is Assistant Professor of Medieval History at Muskingum College. |
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Republicans" (regular Republicans), "Lecomptonites" (pro-Buchanan Democrats), "Yellow Republicans" (pro-Douglas Republicans), and "dilapidated Democrats" (anti-Lecompton Democrats), and other political epithets associated with the long national debate over Kansas and its constitutions. How did this crucial national debate affect the smallest units of the American political system? Some materials detailing this period have survived for Mt. Vernon in central Ohio, a farming and embryonic manufacturing community of some 5000 in Knox County. The Mt. Vernon Republican, edited by William H. Cochran, and the Mt. Vernon Democratic Banner, with Lecky Harper at the helm, both aggressive and well managed partisan presses, depict the lively scrimages over the issue. Also surviving is a delightful pamphlet, The First Book of Chronicles. As finally con- ceived, it had eighteen chapters, was originally published in the Republican, and depicted a blow-by-blow account of the discomfitures of the Democrats (on the local and national levels) in their struggles to adjust to the Buchanan-Douglas feud. The result was an amusing example of political hyperbole of the pre-Civil War period. Pertinent chapters from The Chronicles are reproduced below as they appeared in 1858. A running commentary explaining the symbolism and events follows Chapter XVIII.1
1. A copy of The First Book of Chronicles can be found in the Western Reserve Historical Society. The Chronicles appeared originally in the Mt. Vernon Republican in three installments: March 30, April 6 and April 13, 1858. With some deletions and many additions, including Chapters XIII-XVII, it was printed as a pamphlet, with "yaller kivers" (as described by the rival Democratic Banner editor, Lecky Harper, Banner, July 20, 1858), in the office of the National Book and Job Office by its owner John W. White, the local telegrapher and something of a local playwright and political gadfly. The Republican advertised the thirty-two page pamph- let for ten cents each in its July 20th edition. Harper's retort to the satire was typical of his style: "Some of the Woollies having tickled John's vanity by telling him they were distressingly funny, he readily believed the story, and being a printer, went to work and printed them in book form ... This is a brilliant, witty, severe, slashing, cutting, rip roaring, terrible, fearful, extraordinary product--in John W. White's opinion." This is how he should hawk it: "Here, gentlemen, is ye grand history of ye great fight amongst ye harmonious Democracy, Written by myself, that is me, I, ego, John W. White, tell lie graphic operation, by Inspiration--won't you buy a copy--only 10 cents." |
160 OHIO HISTORY THE BOOK OF CHRONICLES
CHAPTER I. |
In the first year of the reign of James the Second [James Buchanan], called by his friends "Old Buck," by reason of his |
having withstood the allurements of the fairest portion of the land. |
2. A great commotion arose in the land of Kansas, which spread throughout the length and breadth of the land of America, reaching even unto the land of Knox. 3. And James the Second sent to the land of Kansas, one of his Chieftains named Lecompton [the Lecompton Con- stitution], to subdue and rule over the tur- bulent spirits of that rebellious land. 4. But the wrath of the people thereof waxed hot, and they arose, to a man, and would not have this man Lecompton as their ruler. 5. And James the Second was sorely troubled, and he issued his commands to the people throughout the land, to receive this man Lecompton, and to fall down and worship him. 6. But a goodly portion of the people of the land of America, under the lead of Stephen, the "Little Giant," rebelled against this command. 7. And the wrath of James the Second waxed hot, and he swore in his anger, that his commands should be obeyed, and that |
all the people who would not swear alle- giance to this man Lecompton should lose their heads. 8. Now, when this command reached the land of Knox, the Chieftains thereof trembled in their boots. 9. And word was sent to the Chieftains, to assemble themselves together, to coun- sel one with the other. 10. And when the Chieftains assembled themselves together, Edward the Witless, Eli the Miller, John the Chief Consul, Matthew the Irritable, Samuel the Expec- tant whose sir name is Axtell. William the would-be Congressman, and William the Beamite, declared valiantly for the cause of James the Second, and his great Chief- tain Lecompton.2 11. But William the Gastonite, Jacob, of the house of Ly Brand, Jacob the Banker, Charles the Scribner, Raguet the Spouter, James the Keeper of the Iron Horse, Zimmerman, the Deposed, Isaac, of the tribe of Hadley, Robert the Irvinite, and Harvey, who had diligently sought to |
2. See p. 181-182 of text for identifications. |
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therein. 4. And on his return to the land of Knox he manfully stepped forth, and de- clared for the cause of the sovereignty of the people, and joined the forces under the Little Giant. 5. But the Chieftain Cotton, who was a mighty Nimrod, in hunting after places in the gift of the people, vibrated like unto a pendulum between the forces under the King, and the forces under the Little Giant, fearing, peradventure, lest he strike on the weaker side. 6. Knowing this hankering after places of power, by the Scattering Chieftain, 7. The friends of the King, in the First Ward of the City of Vernon, agreed one with the other, 8. That if he would declare for the King, and go against the impounding of swine found running at large, they would give him the seat with the City Fathers, then occupied by the great Black Republican [George W.] Hauk. 9. And thereupon Cotton, the Scatter- ing Candidate, stepped forth, and enrolled his name with the followers of the King.4 CHAPTER V.
FOREMOST among those who declared for the King, and against the cause of the people, stood the great Chieftain [H. H.] Young, whose Castle is reared among the hills in the land of Monroe [Township; reference to local contest]. 2. In all the land there are none more ready to do unto the King homage than the Crippled Chieftain. 3. When the knees of the hitherto un- daunted followers of the King became help- less as the limbs of sucklings, through the great fear that was upon them, this Chief- tain stood forth dauntless, as though cased |
in armor, and the echo of his war cry rang throughout the land. 4. On the fifth day of the month of April in the second year of the reign of James the Second, the famous battle of Monroe was fought, between the followers of the King, under the leadership of the Chieftain Young, and the forces of the gal- lant Black Republicans, who so numer- ously infest the hills and the valleys of that dark and benighted land. 5. A battle so sanguinary in its results that the Chronicles of history, sacred or profane, containeth not its equal.
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164 11. And to sweep from off the face of the earth, all those dilapidated Chieftains who had declared against the rule of the Lecompton Chieftain, and who hath watered in the face of the King. 12. Peradventure, lest the Chieftains, who were friendly to the cause of the King, should prejudice the minds of the people of the land of Knox against those who had rebelled against the rule of the Chieftain Lecompton, 13. Another call was issued, command- ing the people of the land of Knox to assemble themselves together at the Castle in the City of Vernon, 14. On the sixth day of the month of March, in the second year of the reign of James the Second, 15. To hearken unto the reasons which had caused them to join the forces under the Little Giant, and to array themselves against the King.8 16. And the "noise and confusion," cre- ated by their proceedings, penetrated the walls of the Castle of Lecky the Harper, 17. Causing him to moan and writhe in agony, for, in the triumph of either the King, or the Little Giant in the land of Knox, the "bread and butter" of his exis- tence would fall to the ground. 18. And Lecky the Harper issued forth from his stronghold, 19. And for the space of six days flew, like a bird of passage, from one contend- ing force to the other, 20. Praying with the one, and counsel- ling with the other, to withdraw their sum- |
OHIO HISTORY mons to the people, 21. And unite together and command the people of the land of Knox to gather themselves together in one assembly, and 22. To express themselves for or against this Lecompton Chieftain, and to swear fealty to the King or to join the forces under the Little Giant, as the voice of the majority might declare. 23. And the Chieftains who had re- belled against the King, confident in their strength, and firm in the integrity of their purposes, 24. Listened to the songs of the Harper, and pledged themselves one with the other to withdraw their summons to the people, and submit to the voice of a majority thereof. 25. But the Chieftains who had re- solved to stand by the King, hearkened not unto the songs of the Harper, and grew exceedingly wrathy at the pusillanimity of the Chieftain of Horse Shoe Bend, who was too fearful to declare for or against the King, and drove him forth from among them, and he took refuge within the walls of his stronghold. 26. And he called around him the spirits of the mighty dead, and for the space of fifteen days he dwelt in the presence of those who had arised from their graves. 27. And throughout his Castle re- sounded the rappings of the departed, and so great was the noise thereof, his Castle was shunned by the people as a place wherein dwelleth the ungodly.9 |
CHAPTER VII. |
In the sixth day of the month of March, in the second year of the reign of James the Second, the people of the land of Knox assembled themselves together at the Castle, in the City of Vernon. 2. And they came from the valleys, and from the hill tops, and from the extreme corners of the land, to the number of four |
hundred and three score and ten. 3. And they came in soberness, for they were of that class who loved to reason to- gether, and to hearken unto the words of widsom. 4. And McWilliams, of the land of Clay [Township], was chosen to preside over them, and Jacob the Banker [J. Frank Andrews] selected as Scribe. |
8. See p. 183 of text for a discussion of the
anti-Lecompton mass meeting on March 6, 1858. 9. See p.
180-181 of text for a discussion of Harper's period of indecision as he
struggled to choose between Buchanan and Douglas. |
Lecompton Issue 5. Now, among the Chieftains in the land of Ohio, who had rebelled against the King, and refused to kneel to the cap of the great Lecompton, were Henry [Payne] the Painful, of the land of Cuyahoga, and Daniel of Toledo, in the land of Frogs. 6. Now these Chieftains once stood high in the favor of the King, and had re- ceived many tokens of esteem from his hands, 7. But when the King commanded his followers to fall down and worship the cap of the great Lecompton, they rebelled, and joined the forces under the Little Giant, and they stood forth ready to do battle manfully for the cause they had espoused. 8. And they journeyed from their homes in the land of Cuyahoga and in the land of Frogs, and pitched their tents in the land of Knox. 9. And in the words of truth they spake unto the people, of the wrongs and iniqui- ties attempted to be perpetrated upon the people of the land of Kansas, by the King, and by the Chieftain Lecompton, sent to rule over them. 10. And the people of the land of Knox hearkened unto their words, and arose to a man, and said: 11. This mighty evil shall not be, and they swore in their wrath that they would not have this man Lecompton as their ruler. 12. Among the Chieftains of the land of Knox, who had rebelled against the King, was William [Gaston] the Gastonite, 13. Whom the King and his Chieftains |
165 had brought from the land of Jefferson [Township], to do battle in his cause, and to rescue the land of Knox from the hands of a mighty people called Black Repub- licans. 14. And the Lecompton Chieftains were incensed at his rebellion, and they swore in their wrath, that he should not dwell in their midst, for they were fearful the people would harken unto his voice [newspaper, National].10 15. And William the Gastonite also spake unto the people, of the frauds and iniquities attempted to be forced upon the people of the land of Kansas by the King. 16. And the people assembled were amazed at his words of truth, and they girded on their swords anew, resolved to conquer or die in the cause of justice and truth. 17. Now, when the Lecompton Chief- tains heard these resolves of an incensed people, they were as dumbfounded, and they reeled through the streets as swine afflicted with the kidney worm. 18. And for the space of three days they remained within their Castles, fear- ing, peradventure, lest Steele, the Marshal, should impound them under the provisions of the ordinance restraining sick swine from running at large. 19. And Matthew [H. Mitchell] the Irritable journeyed throughout the land of Ohio, in search of Chieftains friendly to the cause of the King, and who were in possession of the gift of gab, to speak unto the people on the fifteenth day of the month of March. |
CHAPTER VIII. |
IN the
morning of the fifteenth day of the month of March, in the second year of the reign of James the Second, God caused the rain of heaven to descend upon the earth, and the great thoroughfares leading to the City of Vernon, by reason therof, became almost impassable. 2. So much so, indeed, that but few of |
the people of the land of Knox ventured forth from their hearthstones. 3. But those who loved the spirits, both of the departed, and of corn, came forth in their strength, and made the streets of the City to resound with the discord of babbling tongues and of rampant passions. 4. The number thereof were computed |
10. See p. 188-189 of text for a discussion of
the founding and the personnel of the National. |
166 by those skillful in the science of figures, to have reached three hundred and two score and five. 5. And Lecky the Harper issued forth from his Castle, and appeared in their midst, vociferating with a loud voice and wild mein: 6. Long live the King and his great Chief Lecompton! 7. And the people were amazed at his words, and exclaimed: 8. Cast this man forth from among us, for by his teachings, have we not lost the spoils of office, and has not the cause of the Black Republicans triumphed to the utter destruction of the cause of the King in the land of Knox? 9. And Lecky the Harper bowed his head and wept, and, with a pitiful voice, he cried: 10. Cast me not forth to the tender mercies of mine enemies, for the Black Re- publicans will have me not, nor will the Yellow Republicans [Douglasites] fel- lowship with me, and if ye cast me forth with the brand of infamy on my brow, "where shall I go?" 11. And the hearts of the King's friends softened, and they said, with a voice of distrust: 12. Since we brought ye from the land of Pennsylvania on probation [as County Democratic spokesman in 1853], ye may tarry with us for the space of one year longer, for in that time ye will have per- formed your mission, the utter destruction of the cause of the King in the land of Knox, as has come to pass in every land where ye have pitched your tent [reference to prior struggles in Ohio and Penna.] 13. Now, when the people had as- sembled themselves together in the Castle, they chose from amongst the Chiefs John the Consul, to preside over them, and in- stalled as Scribe, Baldwin the Renegade. 14. Among the Chiefs who came from |
OHIO HISTORY afar were Samuel [Medary] the War Horse [Wheel-horse],11 William [Sawyer] the Bo- logna Susage Chief, Belden the Chief Prosecutor, Safford the Senator, Prentiss the Chief Spy, and Mat the Martin, a Stipendary in the Treasury Department in the land of Washington. 15. Now, all these Chieftains, excepting Safford the Senator, were in the pay of the King, and the people marvelled greatly amongst themselves, why they deserted their posts to travel unto a far land to speak unto them. 16. And the people murmured one to the other, saying: 17. In the days of good old King Hickory [Jackson], these things would not have come to pass, for the good old King would have sworn in his wrath, "By the Eternal! the man who leaves his post shall die!"12 18. And when the people had ceased their murmuring, Matthew the Irritable came forth smiling, and said: 19. Behold! I present to you the great Chief, [Judge] Belden the Prosecutor, who hath been swiftly converted from his heresies, and from following of the Little Giant, by a small parchment, with the King's name thereunto attached, making him the King's Attorney over the people of the land of Northern Ohio. 20. And the Chief Prosecutor put forth his hand and commanded silence, for the people murmured one with the other, saying: 21. Why should the King go forth into the ranks of his enemies, and buy, with the gold of office, his Chief Speakers? Have we none faithful to the cause of the King among us? 22. And when silence prevailed, the Chief Prosecutor spake unto the peo- ple, saying: 23. In times gone by he spake unto a great people called by two names-- |
11. White seems to be confused with his terminology
here. Medary was known as "the wheel- horse of Ohio Democracy," not "War
Horse" as is shown in The Chronicles. 12. Reference is to Andrew Jackson's sentencing of
six militiamen to death and 200 more to cruel punishment in 1814-15 in a question of mutiny.
Since the soldiers claimed they had served their full term of enlistment before leaving,
much popular sentiment was created for the men and their families. See "Shooting
Militia Men By command of General Jackson" (1828) and "Some Accounts of some of the Bloody Deeds
of Gen. Jackson" (1828), political broadsides, Ohio Historical Society. |
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CHAPTER IX. |
In the evening of the fifteenth day of the month of March, in the second year of the reign of James the Second, John the Consul prepared for the followers of the King in the land of Knox, a feast. |
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2. And Castle Woodward [Woodward Hall] throughout the day, resounded with the sound of the hammer and the buzz of the saw. 3. And Abel [Hart] the Reader of the Globe, worked diligently from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof, in preparing the board for the reception of the good things of the land. 4. Now, John the Consul had brought with him from a former journey to the land of France, some of its exhilarating vintage: 5. And the fame thereof had reached |
13. Reference here is to Medary's switch from support of Douglas in 1856 to Buchanan in 1857. The Minnesota constitution was not approved by Congress until nearly two weeks after passage of the English bill on April 30, even though it had been submitted in January 1858. In addition to the territorial governorship of Minnesota and the postmastership of Columbus, the Ohio Statesman editor was also awarded the territorial governorship of Kansas in November 1858. James H. Baker, Lives of the Governors of Minnesota (St. Paul, 1908), 68-72. |
Lecompton Issue even unto the remotest corners of the land of Knox, 6. And the eyes of the Nephites were made to glisten with its virtues, and their tongues were loosened to sing its praise. 7. And as the King had commanded John the Consul to gather together his fol- lowers, in the land of Knox, and to obtain their endorsement, that he was right "on the goose" [pro-South in Kansas, i.e. not abolitionist], before he humbled himself at the foot of the throne, it became the Consul to administer spirituous consolation to the hearts of the people. 8. And John caused his servants to bountifully supply the table with his choicest wines: yea, even the wine of the land of France. 9. And his servants bore unto the Castle Woodward five thousand three hun- dred and three score and two bottles of the vintage of the land of France. 10. And in the centre of the east table was placed a pyramid of sweetened dough, and on top thereof was placed the Horn of the King, and the points thereof were red, as with the blood of Bleeding Kansas. 11. And the followers of the King bowed themselves and did homage unto the symbol of Majesty. 12. At the outer gate of the Castle stood [Casper] Fordney the would-be Assessor, to receive the tax of the people, for an assessment of twenty-five cents per caput had been laid upon the revellers at the Consul's feast. 13. The number thereof was computed at two hundred men, women, boys and democrats. 14. And all the Chiefs who had wives took them to the feast, and those who had no wives took two, and the beauty, both matron and maiden, of the city, were there in all their hoops and sparkling gems. 15. And when the guests had assembled themselves together in the banqueting room, 16. Matthew [Mitchell] the Irritable presented himself before the guests, and spake unto them, saying: 17. Men, women and democrats! Ye that have ears hearken unto my voice, and heed the wisdom of my loyal words. |
169 18. Who so eminently qualified to sit at the head of the feast, as the great Bologna Chief, whose history ye have this day listened unto. 19. A Chief whose head is silvered o'er with the biting frosts of Democracy, and whose aged limbs totter with the weight of the King's favors: 20. A mighty Chief who knows no kindred, save those who worship at the shrine of power, and sell themselves for a mess of spoils: 21. A Chief, at the mention of whose name, the elder dogs refuse to bark, and the little puppies subdue their whine: 22. A Chief whom God has given just sense enough to be a Democrat, and to tremble at the frown of the King: 23. A Chief high in favor with the King, and who is even now journeying unto the land of Minnesota, to rule over one of the land offices of that people, and who is to receive therefor the sum of nine thousand dollars annually of the revenue thereof. 24. Again spake Matthew the Irritable unto the assembled guests, saying: 25. This is Mat the Martin, a Stipen- dary in the pay of the Treasury Depart- ment in the land of Washington. Though small in stature, he is yet mighty in the cause of the King: 26. As a child, at the breast of his maternal parent, he sucked in Democracy, and from the day he was weaned unto the reign of James the Second, he has been a sucker at the public teat, and like Oliver Twist, his cry is still for "more!" 27. And the guests at the Consul's feast murmured one to the other, for they came not to hear these sayings of Matthew the Irritable, but to partake of the good things prepared by the Consul, and to drink of the famous wine of the land of France. 28. Now, among the revellers, was [W.H.] Safford the Senator, from the land of Ross [County], whose brain had been working, and the Chieftains of the land of Knox were fearful that, unless he were per- mitted to deliver himself, he would go straightway and do something desperate 29. And they took compassion upon his bowels, and led him to the side of the Bologna Chief: |
170 30. And for the space of two hours his voice was heard rumbling through the Banqueting Hall, like unto the noise of an army afflicted with the summer complaint. 31. Again spake Matthew the Irritable unto the Bologna Chief, saying: 32. There is an old backwood's axiom, that this was a very good frolic, but a long time between drams! 33. Then the guests arose to their feet, and took their places around the festal board, and the vintage of the land of France was in great demand, and the guests became merry, and they reeled to and fro, as men maddened with the recti- fied spirit of corn. 34. And the tongues of the Hard Sock Chief [William Hardsock], the Old War Horse, Baldwin the Renegade, Belden the Prosecutor, and Lecky the Harper, became as the tongues of the possessed, and inun- dated the guests with a diarrhoea of words. 35. And Safford the Senator became as one escaped from the Lunatic Asylum, and exclaimed, with the voice of a maniac: 36. "Save me Sam! or I perish!" and he fell into the arms of the Old War Horse as dead. 37. Now, among the guests, were a number of the youths of the land, styling themselves "Young America," and they made themselves merry with the sayings and doings of the wavering Chieftains. 38. And Matthew the Irritable waxed wroth at the gibes of Young America, and he commanded them to leave his presence. 39. But, having paid their assessment at the gate, they heeded not his commands, but tarried in their midst. 40. And the hands of Matthew became incensed at the words of Young America, and the fingers thereof clasped the thorax of the young Chieftain Brown [?], and Wil- liam [Morton] the Master of the Posts, caught the raiment of Matthew by the hinder part thereof. 41. And great was the commotion thereat, for the young Chieftain Brown was a slight youth of some seventeen sum- mers, and the guests trembled, lest, perad- venture, he suffer violence at the hands of his incensed enemies. 42. And the muscles passing through |
OHIO HISTORY the arms of Matthew, were seen to expand and contract, as though they were of gutta percha [hard, plastic-like substance]. 43. And in a voice hoarse with passion, he vociferated: 44. "You infamous scoundrel! I have known you for twenty years! and you have always opposed the Democratic party!" 45. And the clarion voice of the Chief- tain Brook [Terry], of the House of Terry, rang through the Hall: "Young America! to the rescue!" 46. Likewise the voice of Prentiss the Spy, was heard, saying: "Ho! ye followers of the King! to the rescue of our Irritable Chief!" 47. But the counsels of the more pru- dent prevailed, and the belligerent forces withdrew from the well fought field, and pitched their tents for the night within sight of the camp-fires of the enemy. 48. Now, fearing the turbulent spirits of the followers of the King, 49. John the Consul, Matthew the Irritable, William [Dunbar] the would-be Congressman, William the Beamite [William Beam], and Samuel [Israel] the Israelite, had issued their written com- mands unto 50. Rolin [Hurd] the Judge, [William] McClelland the Commissioner, [?] Warden the Merchant, [A. Baldwin] Norton the Old War Horse of Whiggery, and to [James] Huntsberry the Tinner, all mighty Chiefs in the ranks of the Black Republicans, 51. And likewise unto Joseph [Vance] the Lawyer, the puissiant Chief of the un- divided Vance force [He stood alone for his abolitionist principles.], 52. Commanding them to be present at the festival of the Chief Consul [John K. Miller], hoping thereby, from their re- spected and well known virtues, to keep in subjection the warlike proclivities of the followers of the King. 53. But the Chieftains of the Black Republicans forces, and the Chief of the Vance party, hearkened not unto their commands, saying: 54. "Let them alone!--They whom the Gods wish to destroy they first made mad." * * * |
Lecompton Issue 171
CHAPTER XII. |
In the first day of the month of April in the second year of the reign of James the Second, news came to the people of the land of Knox, that the forces under the King in the land of Washington, had been discomfitted, and that Chieftain Lecompton had fled from his post, leaving |
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his dead unburied, and his wounded in the hands of the Little Giant.14 2. Now, these tidings struck the hearts of the followers of the King in the land of Knox with dismay, for the King had sworn in his wrath that in sixty days Lecompton should triumph, or he would die! 3. And Eli the Miller, Matthew the Irritable, William the would-be Congress- man, and the other Chieftains in the land of Knox who were friendly to the King, bowed them themselves [sic] down, and wept, refusing to be comforted, for they were sorely grieved at the fear of the King's death, for they placed great confidence in his word. |
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4. But on the second day of the month of April, the spirits of Matthew [Mitchell] revived, and he conversed with his friends, saying: 5. Prophecied I not these things unto you? This defeat of the King for several days have I expected and looked for! 6. And the people were amazed at his sayings, for the "oldest inhabitant" remembered not his prophecy. 7. But William the would-be Congress- man, abided not the smiles of the friends of the Little Giant, but fled from their presence, and taking his fishing line and rod, and a box of worms, cast himself down on the banks of the Kokosing and bobbed for eels. |
CHAPTER XIII. |
THROUGHOUT the land of Washing- ton the groans of those wounded in the battle between the followers of the King and of the Little Giant, mingled with the war cry of the victors. 2. And the King became exceedingly alarmed, lest, peradventure, he should fall into the hands of his enemies. 3. And to the East, and to the West, and to the North, and to the South, he sent forth Messengers to gather in his |
forces, and to buy up with the gold of office, or with Majestic smiles, the lukewarm, and the timid. 4. For the King, though defeated, had resolved "never to say die!" 5. To the sordid he promised coinage of gold and silver; to the eyes of the ambitious, he presented visions of offices of honor and profit: 6. And unto the vain and the proud he spread forth costly and fine raiment, |
14. On April 1, 1858, the Crittenden-Montgomery amendment, providing for resubmission of the Lecompton Constitution to popular vote, passed the House, 120-112. |
172 OHIO HISTORY |
and clothed them in garments to appear in the presence of the King. 7. Among the Chieftains in the Coun- cils of the Nation, was the Burning Chief- tain [Joseph Burns] from the land of Ohio. 8. Now, this Chieftain had left his Castle in Coshocton, to take his seat with the Law-makers in the land of Washington, a bold and noisy follower of the Little Giant, and had vauntingly declared that before his prowess, the mightly Lecomp- ton should flee as though pursued by an army with Banners. 9. As he journeyed he nursed his wrath, |
so much indeed, that his face became ter- rible to look upon. 10. And while passing a place known in history as Mason and Dixon's line, labor- ing under an hallucination of the brain, that his foe was within his grasp, 11. So mighty were his efforts to destroy his adversary, that he tore his shirt. 12. And the heart of the Shirtless Chief- tain wilted at this calamity, and he fled to the bosom of the King as a place of refuge for the naked.15 |
CHAPTER XIV. |
IGH in the favor of the Little Giant stood the Lilliputian Chief from the land of Ohio, familiarly called by his friends the "Great Old Sunset," but by his fond parents baptised Samuel Sullivan [Cox]. |
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2. So mighty was he in his onslaught upon the King and his followers, that the people were amazed, for they dreamed not so much valor was contained in so small a space. 3. And the praise of his deeds sounded sweetly to the ear, and his heart was made glad thereat. 4. But at the praise of the Sunset Chief |
the King trembled as in the presence of a goblin, and he became as one bereft of rea- son, for in all the ranks of the rebels were there none so much to be feared as this geminatious [sic] Chieftain. [Reference is to double S in name.] 5. For he boldly rushed into places where others feared to tread. 6. Now, to appease the wrath of this Chieftain, the King commanded his Courti- ers to go forth and to reason with him. 7. And the Courtiers of the King did as they were commanded, and the legs of the Sun-down Chief tottered, and he fell postrate, so powerful was the effect of an English bribe [the compromise English bill].16 |
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15. See p. 187 of text for a discussion of the role of Joseph Burns. 16. See p. 187-188 of text for a discussion of the effect of the acceptance of the English com- promise on local politics. |
Lecompton Issue 173 |
8. And the Little Giant and his fol- lowers were as dumb-founded, for they looked not for this desertion on the part of one who had prophecied that sooner than desert the cause of the people, 9. All the Hickory trees so majesticly [sic] flourishing thro'out the forests of the mighty West, should be eradicated by the roots, |
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10. And their dead bodies erected into a funeral pyre, upon which to immolate his vaulting ambition. 11. Now, when the tidings of the deser- tion of the Sun-down Chief reached the ears of the people dwelling in the City of Columbus, |
12. They stood aghast, and would not be convinced that this thing had come to pass. 13. And they sent unto him word com- manding him to appear in their presence, and show cause why he had done this foul thing. 14. And he hastened unto the City and appeared before them, and rendered an account of his stewardship. 15. But the wrath of the people would not be appeased, and they drove him from their presence amid taunts and gibes for his faithlessness. 16. And the crestfallen Chief made great speed back to the King, and repre- sented unto him 17. That throughout the length and breadth of his District, there prevailed a terrible epidemic, threatening the King and all his followers with the fate of the Syrian cohorts, but more especially unto him the late glorious Sunset Chief. |
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CHAPTER XV. |
OW, when the King had gathered to- gether the stragglers, and secured to his cause the weak and the vibratory, 2. He caused the command to be given along the line, that on the morrow he should move his forces, and give battle unto the enemy. 3. And on the morning of the thirtieth day of the month of April in the second year of his reign, the forces of the King encountered the forces of the Little Giant, and drove them from the field with great slaughter. 4. And the joy of the King thereat was |
exceedingly great, for his strength was nearly spent, and had his forces been re- pulsed, the King would have died. 5. At his defeat the Little Giant man- fully stood his ground, but his forces were utterly prostrated and destroyed. 6. Now, when the tidings of the tri- umph of the King reached the land of Knox, great was the rejoicing of the loyalists thereat, and they were seen to smile at the agony of the "dilapidated." 7. But the friends of the Little Giant hid themselves in the hedges and ditches by the way side for the space of three days, |
174 OHIO HISTORY |
for they were in sore tribulation, and knew not where to flee for consolation. 8. But the friends of the King took com- passion upon them, promising to go snooks in the plunder of the Government, and they sought the shelter of the Demo- cratic Hive, and entering dwelt therein. |
|
9. Thus exemplyfying the saying of the great Nullifier [Calhoun], "that the Demo- cratic party can only be held together by the cohesive power of public plunder." 10. And the thirtieth day of the month of April in the second year of the reign of James the Second, is now recorded in the pages of history, 11. AS THE BLACK FRIDAY! [Pas- sage of the English Bill] |
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12. The King having thus successfully terminated his crusade against his dilapi- dated or Yellow Republican foes, turned his attention to the subjugation of the numerous wives (having none of his own) of the settlers on the far distant plains of Utah! [Reference to Mormon War] |
CHAPTER XVI. |
NOW, the vascillating course of Lecky the Harper during the early part of the war, caused him to be suspected both by the followers of the King and of the Little Giant. 2. And arrangements were made by both forces, to dance to the music of a new organ, should the Harper tune his lyre to sing the praise of either party. 3. And when, on the fifteenth day of the month of March, he squatted on the side of the King, 4. William the Gastonite, James the Keeper of the Iron Horse [James Blake], Jacob of the House of Ly Brand [Jacob W. Lybrand], and other followers of the Little Giant, 5. Sent their commands unto the City of Brotherly Love, |
6. Ordering forthwith to be sent unto them the press, types, and other apparatus, necessary for printing their commands to the people to sustain the cause of the Little Giant [through a new Democratic news- paper, the National]. 7. And the charge thereof was given unto [L.] Raguet the Spouter, and [B. J.] Agnew the Tall. 8. And unto William the Gastonite, and to Charles the Scribner [Charles Scribner], were delegated the command of the ordnance [editorial] department. 9. And on the twenty-second day of the month of April in the second year of the reign of James the Second, 10. The Mt. Vernon National was cast adrift upon the waters, to be buffetted from point to point by the winds and agi- |
Lecompton Issue 175 |
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CHAPTER XVII. |
UPON the desertion of the cause of the Little Giant by the National, Lecky the Harper became sorely alarmed, 2. For the prospects are fair, that he will be unhorsed, and the trident as Democratic music grinder, depart from him forever: 3. For such is the edict promulgated by Raguet the Spouter, that the mission of the National was to lower the Banner, and number it among the things that were. 4. And Lecky journeyed unto the King, and humbly pressing his claims, asked a reward for his services as advocate for the loyal cause. 5. And the King's heart softened, for his wrath had waxed hot against the Harper for his serpentine movements in the cause of Lecompton. 6. And the King issued his commands to the Secretary of the Navy, to give unto Lecky the advertisements of that Depart- ment, 7. That in case of collision with the National, the Banner might give it "Tar." 8. And the heart of the Harper was made glad, and his feet kept time to the music of the bags [of money received]. |
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9. But when he appeared before the Secretary, and presented unto him the commands of the King, 10. The mouth of that functionary flew open with astonishment at the extravagant folly of the King, in paying 'so much for so little.' |
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11. And Lecky the Harper returned to his Castle in the land of Knox, greatly benefitted by his sojourn with the King. 12. And now the National and Banner are vieing one with the other to print the hardest "cock and bull" story against the Black Republican Chief, [William] Coch- ran, 13. For sanctioning by law, in the land of Ohio, the commingling of the blood of the white with the black [reference to a contested marriage performed by Coch- ran] . 14. And advocating themselves the same thing in the licentious South, with- out the sanction of law, or the revelation of the gospel. 15. Thus endth [sic] the 1st Book of Chronicles, of James the Second! |
176
ton has not a more devoted follower, than Gaston the Weasel Chief, late principal fugleman for the Little Giant in the land |
OHIO HISTORY
of Knox. [Reference is to Gaston's disil- lusionment and then his return to the editorship of the National.] |
Lecompton Issue 177 |
The following chapter of the Chronicles was published in the Republican of August 31, 1858, and is an attack on John W. White, the original publisher of the Chronicles. When
White moved to the National and
opposed William Coch- ran's candidacy for justice of the peace, the Republican editor turned his satirical pen against his former colleague. 18th CHAPTER OF CHRONICLES And it came to pass that in the third year of the reign of Salmon [Chase, a Republi- can], the Tetrarch, who under James 1st, ruled over the broad realm of Buckeyedom, otherwise called Ohio, there arose a man whose name was John [White]; the first and last of the odious dilapidated house of "White Hall." This same John had regarded himself of the estate of a man of high degree. He was foolishly ambitious to see his great name printed in papers and in books. He vaunted himself as holding the pen of a "sparkling and ready writer," (in a horn;)--and for- sooth, he aspired to be the "Local" to a quandam sheet called "the National" [quaedam or prostituted sheet]. Now in those days a murmur arose among the people of the tribe of Salmon, the Tetrarch; and peradventure many asked questions; saying: "Is not this the same John who hath fed at our cribs for long years past, eating up our nubbins with a greedy stomach? Hath he not been a hanger-on to our tribe for this many a year:--picking crumbs at our table;-- smacking his lips over the same;--and even as a horse-leech ever crying, give, give, until there is no more to give? Then why peradventure, should he thus give "aid and comfort" to our ancient ene- mies, the tribe of James [the Democrats], by being the secret "Local" of this slan- derous sheet, "the National?" And the words of murmur waxed louder among the people, and many cried out with a loud voice: "He is a spy! He will betray us for lucre! even for three shekels of |
silver!" And straightway in their zeal they seized John and carried him before the Sanhedrium [sic]; accusing him as they went for a selfish and vindictive recreant and demanding adjudication of his case. And it came to pass that when the scribes and publicans had brought John unto the Court; even unto the Bar of Public opinion--they counseled together what to do with him. And the Chief Judge, with a smiling voice, as he looked upon the slanting face of the accused, demanded, saying for what manner of evil is this man arraigned? And certain of the head of the tribe stood forth and spake. "He is an ingrate, He bartereth his tribe for spoils and lucre; we found him walking in the ways, and con- sorting with our enemies, as their "Local," and peradventure he may worship their molten images. Howbeit, through his ex- cessive vanity, his vindictive egotism, backed by the offer of spoil from our ene- mies, he may betray us. Already in his vindictive wrath hath he sworn to flee to the rescue of Joseph, the son of Ankeney [sic] a
clansman of our enemies,18 and to plant his puissant foot upon the neck of Samuel [W. Farquhar] our well tried kins- man [County auditor contest, 1858]. Woe be to the house of Samuel that he should ever in an evil hour, have stood in the doorway of this man's lust for spails [sic]," Thus spake certain of the heads of the scribes and publicans of the tribe of Salmon. Thereupon the Judges took counsel to- gether apace; and after hearing the law and the testimony expounded by the advo- cates, the Chief Judge arose, and stretch- ing forth his arm, he thus spake the sentence of the Sanhedrim [sic]; "John, John, relic of the house of White Hall, thou art adjudged a humbug." Thou hast been weighed in the balance, and found wanting; Henceforth we eschew thee.--Henceforth thou mayest have thy lot and thy luck with the servant, of the house of James, whose organ is the vile 'National,' of which thou art the craven "Local." |
18. See p. 183 of text for a discussion of Joseph Ankeny's
position. |
178 OHIO HISTORY |
Thus spake the chief Judge of th[e] Sand- hedrim [sic] and the voices of the scribes and publicans reverberated through the Justice Hall, amen! But a chief Priest of the tribe of James called Matthew [Mitchell], the Just, in- stanter stood forth, and waving alot his hand, he vehemently demanded to be heard. "Howbeit," said he, "O Judges of the Sanhedrim [sic] and ye men of the tribe of Salmon, why do ye this thing? Fret not thus thy gizzards, we want not your ajax of the lightning; we want not the secret "Local" of the "National;" why would ye thus sorely oppress us! "Peradventure for many seasons we have had our eye upon this man,--we have seen him mix in with all the political isms of the day, for the sake of little offices; we have watched his ingoings and his outcom- ings, and we want none of him in our tribe; --O, men of the tribe of Salmon, do not thus oppress us." And it came to pass, as Matthew, the |
Chief Priest, thus spake, the rumble of compassion began to be heard in the bowels of the Scribes and publicans; and the Judges of the Sanhedrim [sic] began to relent themselves of their hard oppression toward their enemies of the tribe of James; and they spake one with another in small voices; and then the Chief Judge, lifting up his voice, loudly proclaimed, that as the tribe of Salmon did not want the man John, and as the tribe of James would not have him, he should be cast out and henceforth take his lot and portion in the torments of the undivided Vance tribe; afortime [sic] called the undivided Vance party,--but peradventure now to be divided into two equal halves; the house of Joseph and the house of John. [Each should start his own party.] And all the people lifting up their voices cried, amen! Thus endeth the 18th Book of the Chron- icles, which is to be appended to the former and sold at nothing apiece,--liberal dis- count made to wholesale purchasers. |
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Lecompton Issue
179
Between 1854 and 1856 the Republicans
and Democrats in Mt. Vernon had
traded accusations as to who was
responsible for the "border ruffians" and for
fomenting revolt in Kansas. Now in 1858
each party endeavored to attach to the
other the responsibility for the
emergence of Kansas as a potential slave state. Attacks
on the Democracy naturally began with
attacks on President James Buchanan,
"James the Second," and would
not have been complete without reference to the
bachelor stories common during his term
of office (I:1, XV: 12). The Republican's
editor, William H. Cochran, a confirmed
Free Soiler and a quiet power in local
political circles, in an effort to rub
salt in the Democrats wounds, boldly lauded
Douglas' searing anti-Lecompton speeches
and praised Ohio Congressman S. S.
"Sunset" Cox for his
opposition to the proposed constitution (XIV). Cochran
delighted in the unenviable position of
his arch-rival Lecky Harper, the Banner's
flamboyant Irish-born editor. Harper,
even though he had been deeply loyal to
popular sovereignty, could only be
called a strict Party Man; but the conflicting
reports emerging from Kansas and the
vascillation of national policy made the
Banner's position tentative. The county Democracy, in Cochran's
words, the "Lead-
ing fossilliferous Democrats of Knox
County," were caught in the middle of the fray,
and the Republican pictured
Harper as a man waiting for the other shoe to drop
before stating his position. And he had
better not hesitate too long to choose his side
since there was already "some
talk" of the establishment of "an administration organ"
in the city before January 1858.19
From the beginning of the Kansas debate
in October 1857 the Republican had
depicted the local Democracy as badly
divided, a charge Harper valiantly denied
and countered with insinuations of
Republican divisions over Douglas. In response
Cochran chortled:
The BANNER man, still a member of the
great Democratic family--just now something
like Barnum's "Happy
Family"--is a little anxious to avoid the vexatious question now
in suit, and is endeavoring to persuade
itself that there is no difference between the Little
Giant and old Buck.... At any rate, the
BANNER man is as "blind as a bat."20
Until February Harper remained on the
political teeter-totter, first lauding the
courage of Douglas and then emphasizing
the patriotism of Buchanan. He denied
that the pro-slavery Lecompton
Constitution passed in December 1857 was the
popular will. Not only had Free State
men not participated, but many favorable votes
had been shown to be fradulent. He
insisted with Douglas that the submission of the
constitution to the whole electorate in
Kansas for approval was a sacred principle.21
But when the President submitted the
Lecompton Constitution to Congress for pas-
sage in February, the divisions among
Democrats widened and Harper's position
became harder to maintain. Implicit in
Buchanan's speech was an oblique approval of
slavery in Kansas--but there was also
the possibility that the people of the new
state could later alter the constitution
to reject slavery. Cochran labeled this the
"Double Shuffle"--some
Democrats were for Buchanan, some for Douglas, and
some for both, such as "our crudite
neighbor of the Democratic Banner," who would
probably chose Buchanan's position
because he "has power and patronage in his
gift." Even so, Harper continued to
maintain that the constitution should be referred
back to the people of Kansas and be
settled there rather than in the halls of
19. Mt. Vernon Republican, December
29, 1857.
20. Ibid., January 5, 1858.
21. Mt. Vernon Banner, January 5,
1858.
180 OHIO
HISTORY
Congress.22 And Cochran
continued to blast away at the conciliatory tone of the
Banner. He insisted that the Democrats were "In a Bad
Fix," and derided Harper
with the accusation that he would try to
prove that there was no distance between the
rich man and Lazarus! The Republican editor
also began to seed his columns with
rumors of defections from the Democratic
party and accounts of unsavory conduct
of Democrats in Kansas. Prominently--and
erroneously--listed was the "rumor"
that Judge John K. Miller "and
other of the old line prominent Democrats of this
city, have renounced their ancient
faith."23
As the vote on the Kansas constitution
became imminent, Douglasites and Repub-
licans feared that the Lecomptonites
would win concessions in Washington and
thereby influence local Congressman
Joseph Burn's vote. Hence the ridicule in
The Chronicles of Judge Miller's sojourn to the Capital and the
constant mention
of Democratic desires to "see the
land of France" (VI:3). General George W.
Morgan, one of Mt. Vernon's leading
Democrats, was already consul in Marseilles
and soon was appointed minister to
Portugal. Thus the suspicion that the loyalists
were jockeying for the French
appointment from "the King to whom [they] sold
[their] integrity" (VI:4).24
In March the Lecompton issue came to a
boil. In line with other northern states,
both factions in Ohio called for massive
meetings. Calls were printed in Mt. Vernon
on March 2. Cochran waited to see into
which camp Harper would fall.
But as the Banner man has given to the
world pretty strong indications that he considered
the action of the President in the
Kansas matter a violation of the Nebraska Act, the
Cincinnati Platform [national platform
of 1856] and the principles of the Democratic
party, it is understood that he shall
keep partially eclipsed until the 15th of March next.
Now we venture to make a prophecy that
we conscientiously believe will be speedily
fulfilled, to-wit: That the Banner man
will shortly be one of the most servile and earnest
supporters of the Administration in the
country.25
Harper spent the six days between the
announcement of the meetings and March 6
vainly seeking a compromise (VI:18-26).
While promising that the party organ
would be open to every Democrat, he
argued for a single convention, to be called
by the county committee, instead of
separate meetings which would convene in the
heat of passion. He sought to indicate
that the insurgent Douglasites were weak and
reprinted a series of letters, dated
February 25 and 27, which had passed between
Douglas' spokesmen William Gaston and
Charles Scribner and prominent Ohio
Democrat Judge John A. Corwin. The
insurgents had requested Corwin's presence
at the March 6th anti-Lecompton rally to
head off the vote for the Lecompton
Constitution. In his reply, published
originally in the Cincinnati Enquirer, Corwin
refused and announced his support for
Buchanan. In return, the anti-Lecompton
duo denounced supporters of the
constitution as betrayers of the rule of the people.
They (Gaston and Scribner) feared that a
successful Lecompton meeting would
persuade Congressman Burns to vote for
the bill. Indeed, "Hon. John K. Miller
has just returned from Washington, and
has no doubt undertaken to put the matter
22. Ibid., January 5, 12, 19,
February 9, 16, 1858; Republican, February 5, 9, 1858.
23. Banner, January 5, 12, 19,
February 9, 1858; Republican, February 16, 23, 1858. Cochran
published a letter from a "former
locofoco of the red hot school," Robert T. Thompson, who
had been converted to a
"shrieker" (Free Soiler) since migration to Kansas.
24. Banner, May 18, 1858.
25. Republican, March 2, 1858.
[the Lecompton ground swell] through here" (VI: 1-6).26 Apparently Harper was able to effect a compromise to which the Douglas men would ascribe, but the "Chieftain of the King" refused (VI: 22-25). Harper's failure to win compromise won him no friends, and the Chronicler depicts him as taking refuge within his stronghold, at Horse Shoe Bend, where, for the space of fifteen days "he called around him the spirits of the mighty dead.... And throughout his Castle resounded the rappings of the departed . . ." (VI:26-27). Part of the merriment stimulated by The Chronicles rested on personal jokes played on local figures. Harper had built a beautiful brick house at the bend of Gambier Street, and had placed the traditional horseshoe over the door for good luck. This was the perfect opportunity for White to satirize Harper's interest in spirit rappings, a fad of the period, and perhaps to make a cutting remark about his continuing support for the Roman Catholics in the town.27 The convention calls reveal that the Knox County Democratic party was indeed split. The Lecomptonite list reads like a Who's Who of the traditional leadership (I: 10, 17-20). With the exception of "Edward the Witless," all are easily identified. "Eli the Miller": Eli Miller was sixty-seven, a former judge and merchant, long a party mainstay; "John the Chief Consul": Judge John K. Miller was thirty-eight, the chief negotiator in Washington; "Matthew the Irritable": Matthew H. Mitchell was forty-eight, a lawyer, chief marshal of the Lecompton mass meeting on March 15; "Samuel the Israelite": Samuel Israel was forty-five, lawyer-merchant-banker, one of the most aggressive party men in town; "Samuel the Expectant" ("Expendable" in the original): Samuel P. Axtell was thirty-two, a merchant and non-practicing physician, a frequent candidate; "William, the Would-Be-Congressman": William Dunbar was forty-nine, lawyer, candidate in 1854; "William the Beamite": William Beam was forty-seven, a drygoods merchant; "William, Master of Posts": William Morton was appointed postmaster in 1857; "Baldwin the Renegade": A. Baldwin
26. Ibid., March 9, 1858; Banner, March 9, 1858. 27. Ibid., February 16, March 9, 30, 1858; Republican, March 9, 1858. |
Norton was a former Whig-Know Nothing "Slave Democrat," considered a prize catch for the Democrats in the last political realignment in 1856; "John the Know Nothing": John Adams was thirty-one, a lawyer; "Absalom the Thriftless": Absalom Thrift was the former sheriff, head of the party in Fredericktown; "The Scattering Candidate": Emmet W. Cotton was forty-seven, lawyer, marble factory owner. Also in this wing were James Hanegan, a railroad contractor, and William Brophy, newcomers to the leadership circles, perhaps stemming from the Irish immigration of the 1850's.28 The Douglas anti-Lecompton men can be divided into several catagories. They were men without past prominence in the party leadership: "Jacob of the House of LyBrand": Jacob W. LyBrand was forty-four, owner of a hotel at which Democratic functions were sometimes held; "Jacob the Banker": J. Frank Andrews, the youthful cashier of the Knox County Bank; "Isaac, of the tribe of Hadley": Isaac Hadley was sixty, a miller; and "Robert the Irvinite": Robert Irvine was forty-four, a con- fectionist. Both Hadley and Irvine were often county convention delegates. Also in this camp were newcomers to town: "William the Gastonite" (William C. Gaston);
28. This information was compiled from newspaper sources, county histories, the U.S. Census of 1850, and cemetery and church records. No clue as to the identity of "Edward the Witless" was found. Judge Eli Miller added color to campaigns by his purchase of the celebrational canon "Black Bet" at a government arms sale for $20. The Republican commented, "Alas, poor Bet! --How have you fallen," March 9, 1858. Dunbar's candidacy was noted in the Mt. Vernon True Whig, August 15, 1854. Norton's "conversion" was noted in the Republican, October 9, 1855. D. C. Montgomery was listed as a land agent for Iowa lands adjacent to the railroads in the Republican, February 9, 1858. H. B. Banning, a former Whig-Republican, stumped for the Democrats, Banner, September 28, 1858. Joseph Ankeny, who moved to Iowa the following year, a mechanic, was without previous political office, Banner, October 5, 1858. Thrift was the subject of Chapter III, omitted. Samuel Israel's low profile in this campaign, characterized in omitted Chapter X, was attributed to his desire to retain friendly relations with both wings. In political battles before and after this period he never shrank from the field. A better explanation might be a divorce action at this time absorbed his attention. See Elizabeth Welker vs. Samuel Israel, petition for divorce dismissed, Republican, March 9, 1858. Berry, Hanegan and Brophy were Irish Catholics. Census records of 1850-1860 show a significant Irish immigration into Knox County. |
Lecompton Issue 183
D. C. Montgomery was thirty-nine, former
sheriff (1850), recently returned from
Iowa; perhaps also in this group was
"James the Keeper of the Iron Horse": James
Blake, railroad engineer. Less well
established lawyers seemed to gravitate here:
"Charles the Scribner,"
thirty; Clark Irvine, forty-seven, and R. K. McIntire, "the
Restless one." This segment also
drew men on the political "outs": Frederick
"Zimmerman, the Deposed," whom
the party had replaced as postmaster. James
Agnew and L. "Raguet the
Spouter," can be classed as political gadflies.29
As always in Mt. Vernon, local issues
were as much a part of campaigning as were
national philosophical concepts. Emmet
Cotton, the "Scattering Candidate," was
nominated for council in the first ward.
The Banner campaigned against the incum-
bent Republican, the saddler George W.
Hauk, because of his support for dog-lease
laws and his opposition to hard cider, i.e.,
his temperance stance. According to the
Chronicler (IV:8) Hauk also supported
the swine ordinances, which Cotton op-
posed.30 In the two weeks
prior to the March 6th meeting, there must have been
frantic jockeying in attempts to post
the most prestigious list of supporters. Loyalty
was a serious issue. For example, Joseph
Ankeny, of Ankenytown ("Squealtown"),
denied allegiance to the Douglas group,
insisting that his name had been affixed to
the call without permission by the
"Keeper of the Iron Horse," James Blake. Also,
Colonel George McWilliams, of Clay
Township, was listed as supporting the March
15th meeting, but he served as an
officer at the Douglas rally, and Moses McWilliams
was a vice president of the Lecompton
rally, indicating divisions within families.31
The Douglas meeting on March 6 received
interesting treatment in both of
Mt. Vernon's papers as well as in The
Chronicles. Harper published an official
report of the proceedings along with
"M's" (Mitchell's) biting attack on the atten-
dance. He alleged that amongst all the
400 abolitionists and Republicans present,
the sixty "Democratic officers were
sadly out of place," and then listed by name
those present, Lecompton as well as anti-Lecompton.
Both The Chronicles and the
Republican characterized the meeting as large, well ordered and
laudable. Perhaps
Harper was not anxious to lend support
to the meeting, for he had been "unable"
to attend more than the speech given by
Henry B. Payne. Harper's laconic attitude
toward the Douglas meeting was further
indication to Cochran of Harper's eventual
conversion to the Lecompton position. As
soon as he hears "the command of King
Buck Nebuchadnezzar," he will
"fall down and worship the federal image he hath
set up on the plains of Kansas."32
Even though the attendance was large for
the anti-Lecompton, pro-Douglas
meeting on March 6, far more excitement
centered around the pro-Lecompton
March 15th meeting. As always, White and
Cochran saw God on their side, depicted
a violent rain (VIII:2), and cast
aspersions upon the immigrant, anti-temperance,
29. Raguet's title "the
Spouter" might be derived from his penchant to loudly "go it
alone." In
1854 he had been the ringleader in a
strike of printers against Amelia Bloomer, and had
attempted, abortively, to establish a
bi-monthly named the Filibuster, which was to be an
anti-woman's rights, anti-religious fads
and anti-Negro paper. Later, apparently unable to
co-exist with Harper at the Banner, he
worked at the Republican; this too was short lived. True
Whig, April 19, 26, 1854; Republican, April 27, 1858.
30. Banner, April 13, 1858. The
swine ordinance was passed July 14, 1857, and provided
against swine running at large, with a
fine of twenty-five cents for animals impounded. During
this campaign the fine was raised to
fifty cents. Republican, July 21, 1857, May 11, 1858.
31. Banner, March 2, 23, 1858.
Ankeny was the subject of Chapter II, omitted.
32. Banner, March 9, 16, 1858; Republican,
March 9, 1858. The three days between the meet-
ing and the publication of the Banner
on the 9th may account for the passage (VII: 18).
184 OHIO HISTORY
and ill-bred clientele of the
opposition, as "those who loved the spirits, both of the
departed and of corn" (VIII: 3).
After the Lecompton meeting, it was
apparent that Harper had become a full
convert (VIII: 5-13), and henceforth,
the "Mt. Vernon BANNER, hitherto a warm
anti-Lecompton paper" would be a
Buchanan paper. Always vulnerable because of
his volatile style and crusading
techniques, Harper was continually being accused
by Cochran of destroying the local
Democratic party in 1854-56 (VIII:12) [by
"harping on Knownothingism"].
On the Lecompton issue Harper could only lash
out at "ultras" who opposed
his concilliatory aims (VIII: 10).
Tremendously enjoying the Democratic
discomfort, the Republican regaled its
readers with a tale of the
"Convention of Federalists--The Bass Drum and Whiskey
Constituency in the Field!"
According to Cochran the Lecomptonite convention on
the fifteenth had comprehended the
B'hoy element, hard-heads, guzzlers, red
noses, office expectants, federal appointees, and
that class that are carried away by the
noise and fury of bass drums. Wisdom was mani-
fested in selecting speakers adapted in
morals and mind to the hearers on the occasion.33
It was a great rally because
"tremendous efforts" had been exerted to "at least
secure one consulship for this
locality" (VIII:13). Stark County's Judge G. W.
Belden, the United States District
Attorney for the North, who was the chief orator
and looked like "a tad-pole--in his
mental attributes he surpasses a Jackass"--
denounced the anti-Lecomptonites as
"Yellow Republicans" (VIII: 19-22). William
"Sausage Sawyer," of Auglaize
County, a "Government pensioner," spoke. And Sam
Medary, whose stalwart editorship of the
Democratic organ, the Ohio Statesman, had
earned him the title of the
"wheel-horse of Ohio Democracy," added his prestige
(VIII:30-37). Medary had just won
appointment as postmaster in Columbus, a
post worth $5,000, "as a reward of
his treachery to popular sovereignty.... Sam in
his prime was regarded as the greatest
political liar living. He carries the honor of
his youth untarnished in old age."34
The Buchanan Democratics did things in
style, and it was perhaps an envious
streak which produced the Republican accounts
of the Democratic gala (IX).
Cochran's description in the Republican
rivaled White's in The Chronicles. Accord-
ing to Cochran, "in the evening,
those who could raise a quarter" went to Woodward
Hall and paid the fee to [Casper]
"Fordney, the Would Be Assessor" (IX:12).
Half of the "hundred" there
were just curious Republicans, eager to "behold an old
fashioned drunk" (IX:6-9). The gala
had been organized by Abel Hart (IX:3),
ironically, himself a temperance man,
and by Judge John K. Miller (IX:3-4). For
the traditional speeches, Matthew H.
Mitchell, Chief Marshal, introduced "Sausage
(William) Sawyer," and Mat Martin,
of Franklin County, who held a government
job of $2,000 a year--"a sucker at
the public tit" (IX:25-26). The chief speaker
was State Senator W. H. Safford, of Ross
County (IX:28-32), "a very pretty man,"
who "unraveled like an old
stocking, every once in a while coming to a knot, from
which he was relieved by a drink of
water," as his audience slumbered. Only when
Mitchell hinted out loud, did he
"shut pan."
Then the gathering rose to the feast,
"the wine and the ale vanished like a vision.
The rear table was attacked by platoon,
and such scrouging, and hunching, and
33. Republican, March 23, 1858.
34. Ibid. See also footnote 13
above.
|
babbling, and champing we never witnessed before" with Harper leading the toasts, as Cochran had predicted: "Alas, poor Yorick!" Harper, vibratory Harper,--Harper of a thousand strings, he has yielded to the tempter. He has crossed the Rubicon. As we predicted a short time since, he would remain partially eclipsed until after the 15th when he would be fully converted to the Lecompton Infamy. Harper's favorite toast to Andrew Jackson drew this fire: It is a pet of Harper's.... It ought to be embalmed, and placed away in the corner of his house along with that lonely horse-shoe. What preservation art the horse-shoe has not against the encroachment of hobgoblins, we feel confident this magnificent sentiment would supply. Bug-a-boos and witches couldn't harm you then, Mr. Banner. As it is the first idea you have ever produced, we advise you to keep it for seed. Mr. [William IX:34] Hardsock responded to it. He gave the Republican party some hard-socks. Safford closed the meeting, but he "was too full for utterance.... With him speaking is a kind of summer complaint to which epsom salts will bear no comparison" (IX:36).35 According to the Chronicler, a fight broke out between the Democrats and "Young America" (IX:37-47), news of which did not appear in either paper. "Young America" was a Republican organization, apparently organized around a
35. Ibid. |
186 OHIO HISTORY
volunteer fire company in a Republican
ward, commanded by Brook Terry, the
"Captain of the Hose." White
further asserts that the Lecompton leadership had
also flirted with the Republican
establishment and "issued their written command"
(IX:49) to urge their attendance at the
gala to inflate the prestige of the meeting.
Rather than fact, this appears to be an
opportunity seized by White to identify the
opposition leadership, thus far slighted
in The Chronicles (IX: 50-54). Tremendous
prestige would have been gained for the
Lecomptons if "Rolin the Judge" (Judge
Rolin Hurd, the town's most prominent
citizen), William "McClelland the Commis-
sioner," "Norton the Old War
Horse of Whiggery" (A. Baldwin Norton), James
"Huntsberry the Tinner," and
"a number of other chieftains whose names now
escape the memory of the
Chronicler," had attended. Another political leader
merited separate treatment: "the
puissiant Chief of the undivided Vance Force."
Joseph Vance was the only absolutely
uncompromising leader of abolitionists in the
community. But none of the leaders of
this group attended the gala; the Democrats
could destroy themselves without any
help (IX:54).
The local battle lines were now drawn.
Anti-Lecomptonites were incensed by the
epithet "Yellow Republican,"
so Cochran suggested that the "Black" and "Yellow"
Republicans ought to have "a tea
party" and talk it over! On March 30, the first
segment of The Book of Chronicles appeared
in the Republican. On a more serious
level, "Libertas," writing in
that paper, labeled Harper and the Lecomptons as
traitors who were willing to plunge the
nation into a "civil war." He touched what
must have been the dominant theme of the
anti-Lecomptonites: that the Lecompton
Constitution would not be the final
bitter pill--the sanctity of the United States
Constitution would repeatedly be
violated, as it had been, in their eyes, by the
Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the
Compromise of 1850.36
Harper emphatically denied that a split
existed among local Democrats--insisting
that a man did not cease to be a
Democrat on one issue. He sought urgently for
glad tidings to convince the local party
that he was right, thus "the battle of Monroe"
(V) in April. With this local township
victory, he wrote: "Black Republicanism
Knocked Into the 'Middle of January.'
" Then he proceeded to rank this event with
the great battles of history (V:7). Such
was his elation over the success of H. H.
Young, "The Crippled
Chieftain," (V:1-2) and the entire ticket by majorities of
twenty that he labeled this the end of
the "congo dynasty in old Monroe!"37
Cochran could hardly contain himself.
For, to "the lyre of Lecky the Harper," and
like "new made wine," the
Democrats had claimed a fantastic victory (V:6).
Hardly! Cochran's version was that
Harper, so overcome with joy that the shattered
party had not been routed, had claimed a
great victory: Isn't that "too steep and too
thick?" The truth was Monroe
Township had been solidly Democratic before the
great realignment of 1855. In 1853 the
average Democratic majority was 37, in
1855 it was only 3, but in 1858 it was
20. Cochran could color his figures also for
he claimed that Monroe formerly had been
Democratic by more than 100.38 Monroe
merely proved that the Democratic party
was holding its own there and was hardly
the victory Harper needed.
As the congressional debates moved
forward on whether or not to accept the
Lecompton Constitution and admit Kansas
to statehood, the Douglasites had reason
to hope for success (XII; 1).
White insisted that Matthew Mitchell began to
36. Ibid., March 30, 1858.
37. Banner, April 13, 1858.
38. Republican, April 20, 1858.
|
disassociate himself from the Lecompton side (XII:4-6) and that William Dunbar withdrew from the stage (XII:7). On that note, the original Chronicles printed in the Republican ended. However, no supporting evidence for either contention has been found. By April President Buchanan was urgently seeking a compromise (XIII:1-6). One by one, prominent Democrats rallied to that cause. Congressman General Joseph Burns of Coshocton, "The Burning Chieftain," had had considerable difficulty explaining his series of votes on the measure to the home folks (XIII: 7-12). White called him a Douglasite who went over to the King (XIII: 8). Harper had originally lambasted him for his pro-Lecompton vote, even suggesting that Burns was attempting to win a postmastership in Keokuck for his son-in-law. With much difficulty, Burns insisted that he had voted to refer the Lecompton Constitution to the Committee on Territories, rather than for the select Committee of Fifteen, which he felt would be ineffective in its investigation of election frauds in Kansas. The Coshocton Age rejected his explanations. Nevertheless, he and S. S. "Sunset" Cox accepted the compromise worked out by the Committee on Territories, known as the English Bill after its author William H. English of Indiana. By their votes, these Ohio Congress- men incurred the unmitigated scorn of Cochran.39 The great confrontation between the Lecomptonites and the anti-Lecompton forces which ended in passage of the English Bill took place on "Black Friday,"
39. Banner, February 23, 1858; Coshocton Age quoted in Republican, March 2, 1858. |
188 OHIO HISTORY
April 30, 1858, "when the forces of
the King encountered the forces of the Little
Giant, and drove them from the field
with great slaughter" (XV:3). Harper con-
sidered the English compromise an
honorable settlement because it provided for a
popular vote on the Lecompton issue as a
whole. Still denying that he had been anti-
Lecompton, he considered the statement
of the Ohio State Journal that "he began to
whiffle and dodge, then he fell over on
the other side and became a Lecomptonite,"
a typical example of the perfidy of the
Republican press. Echoing the remark which
White placed in the mouth of the
"Great Nullifier" (John C. Calhoun), Cochran
decided that the "Mt. Vernon Banner
democracy can adapt itself to almost anything
the party will do whether in the way of
swindling, bribing, or threatening" (XV:9).40
Hints that a Douglas organ might be
established in Mt. Vernon first appeared in
the Banner late in March. The
paper and the party it was intended to represent
were largely ignored after Harper's
initial blast. The new "National" party, he said,
was "composed chiefly of members of
the late Republican party, and a few disap-
pointed office seekers from the
Democratic ranks . . ." and its paper was "supported
by Republican patronage, to make war
upon the Democratic Administration...."
From Harper's view the appearance of the
National meant that the Democrats would
"loose a few 'weak brethren' by
this last 'fusion,' " but he was not worried because
Republicans would join the Democracy
when they understood the present threat of
"this last desperate effort of
ambitious demagogues."41
By mid-April the rival press, The
Mount Vernon National (XVI: 1-15), arrived
and was published by B. J. "Agnew
the Tall," and L. "Raguet the Spouter." The
owners remained incognito, but
"command of the ordnance [editorial] department"
was delegated to "William the
Gastonite" and "Charles the Scribner" (XVI:7-8).
The editors denied disloyality, nor did
they intend to divide the Democracy and lead
the unsuspecting into Republican ranks.
In fact they claimed,
"We have no sympathies with the
Republican organization. There is nothing in the prin-
ciples which it espouses, to challenge
our approval or admiration. Its aims and purposes
are sectional, not national and are
fraught with fearful dangers to the peace of the country,
and the perpetuity of the Union. Its
unconstitutional dogma of the sovereign power of
Congress to prohibit Slavery in the
territories; and its repudiation of the great doctrine of
the Sovereignty of the people, stand as
impassible barriers between ourselves and it. ... If
the people want Slavery, it is
their right to have it. And we have no hesitation in saying
that it is the duty of members of
Congress to vote for the admission of Slave States as
readily as they would for free."42
In The Chronicles the National
is depicted as seeking the "shelter of the Democratic
Hive" (XV:8), but Cochran's attacks
on it soon became an onslaught. Perhaps the
National was more threatening to him, because of the
attractiveness of Douglas'
opposition to the English compromise to
Republicans, than to Harper who con-
sidered the paper to be more of a
Republican problem than a Democratic. By early
May the Republican made this
accusation: After two weeks "of remarkable firmness
and consistency, they [the National] have
changed their position on the Lecompton
question...." and now both the National
and the Banner "are wallowing in the same
40. Banner, May 4, 11, 1858; Republican,
May 4, 11, 1858.
41. Banner, March 23, April 20,
1858.
42. Quoted from the National in
the Republican, April 27, 1858.
Lecompton Issue 189
Lecompton mire, and politically
urinating through the same stinking political quill
prepared by the traitor English."
Cochran felt that the Banner had at least been
"dragooned" into the King's
service, but the National had meekly followed--"very
stupidly." Even the Banner had
sustained Douglas longer than had the National!
But "the National is now as
radical an unmitigated Locofoco sheet as is the Banner."
By this switch the National had
betrayed some Republicans who, thinking the paper
would pursue a liberal policy towards
their party and be firmly anti-Lecompton, had
"engaged in canvassing the city and
county for subscribers." Also betrayed were
some honest anti-Lecompton Democrats who
had been "taken in." While the
Banner delighted in the idea that all the local Democrats were
together again after
the victory of the English Bill and
would "let by-gones be by-gones," the Republican
continued its attacks on the new paper,
which was floundering, being neither fish nor
fowl. Cochran suggested that it change
its name to the "Notional."43
On May 25 Cochran lampooned the speech
made by Gaston in Columbus before
passage of the English Bill. In his
presentation Gaston had parodied the dialogue
between Hamlet and Polonius to describe
the Lecompton Constitution, wondering
what sort of "varmint" that
document really was--"camel, weasel, or whale"
(XVI:22-34). Now that Gaston was
accepting the constitution, Cochran intoned:
"The 'Varmint' has changed its
shape again, Mr. Gaston.... Is it not like a dodge,
a juggle, a cheat, a piece of rascality?
By the mass, methinks its like modem
Democracy."44
On May 28 Harper printed extensive
advertisements for federal naval supplies.
This was proof, according to Cochran,
that Harper had been rewarded for his party
loyalty:
Mr. Buchanan has given MR. HARPER of the
Banner an advertisement for "Naval
Supplies" such as White Pine, Black
Spruce, Pig Iron, Cotton, Canvass, Pitch, Tar, and
Rosin, natural products of Knox Co., to
be delivered at Kittery Maine, Clarkston, Mass.
and other Eastern points .... Mr.
Harper's advertisement can be no benefit to the adminis-
tration or the country from the fact,
such articles do not exist in the county or region and
the evident inference is, that this is
his reward from the Executive for his betrayal of prin-
ciple and for his support of that
infamous swindle the Lecompton Constitution.45
Harper, of course, denied these
allegations of bribery, pointing out, correctly, that
the Republican was heavily
subsidized by legal advertisements given it by the Repub-
lican sheriff.46
Another issue that was continually
smoldering was that of race relations. Both the
Banner and the National were hypersensitive about
abolition and its attendant possi-
bilities, in particular the oft-repeated
fear of "amalgamation." In June Cochran
presented both presses with a
made-to-order case. As Justice of the Peace, he per-
formed a marriage between Michael Durst
and Mrs. Margaret Burns (XVII: 12-14).
The lid was off Pandora's box.
Immediately, Harper accused Cochran of uniting
"negroes to white women, after
decent magistrates [Judge Davis] decline to engage
in so disgusting a business."
Seeking to dismiss the charges, Cochran lashed out at
the opposition presses:
43. Banner, May 11, 1858; Republican,
May 11, 1858.
44. Republican, May 25, 1858.
45. Ibid., June 1, 1858.
46. Banner, June 8, 1858.
|
Both [are] "dirty Dogs" and known to be so by the community. They have descended to a depth of meaness, vulgarity and filth, we think, no decent man of any party will approve... We think we have been better bred than to meet blackguards with their own filthy weapons.47 On the amalgamation issue the Democrats in Mt. Vernon seemed united and worked until the fall elections to keep the Republican editor on the defensive. Cochran insisted throughout that he had not broken the law and made clear that he was a segregationist: "It is desirable that the African and White races should live in separate communities," he proclaimed in August. This scandal rested upon the question whether or not both parties were of pure color. Cochran insisted that "Lacky" had written "two wilfull deliberate falsehoods": that he, Cochran, had performed an illegal marriage, and then had sought to justify it. Without proof to offer in his defense, Cochran shifted emphasis to the "numerous sins," political and personal, of Lecky Harper and challenged the Banner editor to prove that the parties in the marriage were not "both part white and part black."48 Let us offer this supposition: Cochran did perform an illegal marriage; but he may have been unaware of it. In the 1850 census for Knox County, Mrs. Margaret Burns, age 26, is listed as the wife of Josiah Burns, a black, with two mulatto sons, and was most likely white since she was born in Germany. Since she had lived in the tiny and clannish Negro community of Mt. Vernon, it might have been natural to assume that she was also mulatto. In that case, Harper's assertion that Judge Davis would not have granted legal approval for Mrs. Burn's second marriage, if he had the facts, makes sense. Sometime in the midst of the fall campaign, J. W. White went to work for the National. It was a distinct surprise that the man who wrote The Chronicles, who would be Cochran's chief competitor for Justice of the Peace at the Republican convention, would have gone Democratic in between--but there he was, writing 47. Ibid.; Republican, June 8, 15, 29, 1858. 48. Republican, July 27, August 3, 1858. |
Lecompton Issue
191
the "Local" column and
reporting news of the city council, in which he figured
prominently (XVIII:47). In the September
elections for local officials, White
withdrew after the polls had opened, and
Cochran received 283 of the 285 votes
cast. Cochran claimed that White
"showed the white in a most disgraceful manner,"
but Harper wondered, since only
one-fourth of the eligible voters had turned out, if
Cochran would apply his Kansas logic to
his own election: since out of 1000, 700 did
not want him, would he find this
election also a fraud? Would he resign? White was
evidently stung by the debacle and
charged Cochran with printing the Eighteenth
Chapter of The Chronicles for
election purposes. Cochran denied this, assuring
readers that he had had the piece in
type twelve days prior to discovering that White
was a candidate. The reader will note
that it was published a week before elections
on August 31, the same day that White's
candidacy was announced.49
Kansas themes dominated the election of
1858 for state and national offices.
Congressman Joseph Burns was vulnerable.
The Republican urged Douglasites to
reject him as a pro-slaver. Sniper fire
continued between the Democratic camps.
Gaston stumped the county with Burns,
again abandoning Douglas. He sought to
inflate the image of his support by
pasting a sticker reading "printed with Gaston"
on posters announcing A. Baldwin
Norton's speeches. If the Democrats were
divided, the Republicans found their
principal speaker at the giant pre-election rally
to be "over-liberal," and not
pleasing to the abolitionists. The point in question in
former Whig Governor Thomas Corwin's
speech was that he said he favored allowing
Congress "to admit Slave States
into the Union, when fairly presented.... He said,
however, that the admission of slave
states was a question of no practical importance
at present, and never would be unless
the American people should be greedy and
foolish enough to grasp more slave
territory [such as Cuba]."50
Despite furious campaigning by the
Democrats, all but one of the local offices
went to the Republicans. The
disappointed Banner credited the victory to those
"treacherous Democrats" who
had not voted. Cochran maintained that many
anti-Lecompton Democrats would not vote
the Democratic ticket because it contained
a "lie at their head [Burns]
and would as soon have been circulating base coin. .. ,"
and so voted independently from
President Buchanan and "the Banner man."51
After the election, Lecky Harper dug in
deeper for a long siege with the Republican
party, one which would last until his
retirement in 1889. In 1859 the Negrophobia
issue would gain strength as divisions
within the county grew more sharply focused.
In the election of that year, Knox
County Democrats came within sixty to one hundred
votes of capturing Mount Vernon--closer
than at any time in the recent past. But
with the firing on Ft. Sumter, Harper
would be a war Democrat, later an aggressive
peace Democrat. Vallandigham was to be
arrested for the speech he delivered in
Mt. Vernon under Harper's auspices, but
Harper remained a firebrand, undaunted
by the multiplication of dragons which
surrounded him.52
The Mt. Vernon National rapidly
lost even the status of a "notion," and was
ignored by the Republican. Seeking
an audience, the National's management thought
of publishing a non-partisan literary
newspaper, the Mt. Vernon Tri-Weekly News,
edited by J. W. White, B. J. Agnew, and
S. C. Nicholas--a stillborn venture. In
49. Ibid., August 17, 31,
September 7, 14, 1858; Banner, September 21, 1858.
50. Republican, August 10, 1858.
51. Ibid., October 19, 26, 1858; Banner, October 19, 1858.
52. Banner, January 18, June 14,
October 18, 1859; Republican, November 30, 1858, June 28,
1859.
192 OHIO
HISTORY
November 1858, the National was
sold to James V. Reid of Steubenville; it remained
functioning for a while, but the only
evidence for its life remains in the council
minutes addressed to all the local
papers. By June of 1859 the paper that did not
find, or found, a party surrendered to
its fate.53
In retrospect, the bitter divisions in
the Knox County electorate in the 1854-56
campaigns over the issues of slavery and
the definition of true patriotism, revolving
around Know Nothing tenets, had reduced
the majority Democrats to a minority in
Mt. Vernon and made most of the township
races real contests by 1858. As we have
seen, the Lecompton debate in this year,
on the heels of the preceding trauma,
further reduced the Democratic party to
the secondary position it was to retain into
recent times. Philosophical beliefs,
ethnic, social and economic conditions underscore
all political changes, but one should
not underestimate the propaganda power of
sturdy editors in the era of the
partisan press. The fascination of Knox County
politics is that the losing editor,
Lecky Harper, was able to absorb and answer his
attackers, tit for tat, for three
decades and remain the spokesman for the county
Democrats. The record of this sustained
polemic can provide the historian with an
easily accessible storehouse containing
information that can be used for understanding
grassroots political developments, a
prerequisite for state and national studies as well.
53. The only surviving issue of the Mt.
Vernon National, August 19, 1858, is at the Western
Reserve Historical Society. Republican,
April 27, June 15, 22, 29, August 17, November 9, 30,
1858, June 28, 1859.
LORLE A. PORTER
The Lecompton Issue in Knox County Politics: Division of the Democracy, 1858
The division of the Democratic party in 1857-58 over the issue of the Lecompton Constitution for Kansas proved to be a decisive turning point in American history. President James Buchanan, by accepting this semi-fradulent attempt to admit Kansas into the Union as a slave state, bitterly divided the only remaining national party. Senator Stephen A. Douglas, the "Little Giant," opposed the constitution and cham- pioned the cause of Popular Sovereignty to the bitter end. Even though the people of Kansas eventually (by means of the English bill) were given an opportunity to reject the constitution, the Democratic party became severed along North-South lines, thereby destroying Douglas' chances for the presidency. The Republican party, even though the minority, catapulted into serious contention for the presidential race by 1860. The foregoing is common knowledge, only less so are the terms "Black |
Dr. Porter is Assistant Professor of Medieval History at Muskingum College. |