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LORLE A

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.

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.

Lecompton Issue

Lecompton Issue

count the treasures of the people, man-

fully stepped forth into the ranks of the

Little Giant.³

12. But William [Morton], the Master

of the Posts, bowed his knee, and kissed

the toe of the great Lecompton, fearing

peradventure, the wrath of the King.

13. And Lecky the Harper, being afraid

of the wrath both of the Little Giant and

of the King, fled, and hid himself within

his Castle, and placed a strong guard of

horseshoes round and about him.

14. At this the wrath of Eli the Miller,

waxed exceedingly hot; from his nostrils

came forth steam as from a furnace heated

seven times hotter than the fiery pit; his

eyes shone like two balls of living fire; his

tongue became swollen with the venom of

his heart, and his mouth belched forth

words of bitterness and of gall.

15. So great was his wrath that his legs

tottered, and he fell to the ground as dead.

16. And great was the commotion

thereat, and Henry, of the house of Ban-

ning, brought forth water, and casting it

upon the face of the prostrate Chieftain,

he revived.

17. Among the Chieftains of the land

of Knox, were Baldwin the Renegade [A.

Baldwin Norton], and John [Adams] the

Know Nothing, whose record caused the

friends of the King to look upon them with

distrust.

18. The taint of Abolition smelt strong

upon the garments of Baldwin; yea,

stronger than the stones of the land of

Danville; and from the hair of John creep-

eth forth the filth of the Know Nothing

dens.

19. Now, these things stank in the nos-

trils of the friends of the King, and causeth

their stomachs to turn against them.

20. And Baldwin the Renegade, and

John the Know Nothing, reasoned one with

the other, and came and bowed themselves

down at the feet of Lecompton, swearing

fealty for the future, receiving the brand

of infamy for the past [election of 1854].

CHAPTER IV.

AMONG the Chieftains of the land of

Knox, whose names were not placed

on record in the first Chapter, were

[D. C.] Montgomery the Sheriff and

[Emmet W.] Cotton the Scattering Candi-

date.

2. Now, both these Chieftains were

mighty in their way, and had aided power-

fully in placing the King upon the throne.

3. In the first year of the reign of James

the Second, Montgomery the Sheriff, jour-

neyed unto the land of Kansas, and dwelt

3. See p. 182-183 of text for identifications.

162

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.

4. See p. 183 of text for a discussion of the contest between Cotton and Hauk.

Lecompton Issue

Lecompton Issue

6. To its glories, the strings of the lyre

of Lecky the Harper awoke, and the fame

thereof sounded sweetly in the ears of the

King, and his followers became merry as

though gladdened with the spirit of new

made wine:

7. And it was likened unto the conflict

upon the plains of Salamis, Platea, Mara-

thon, Thermopylae, Waterloo, Bunker Hill,

Yorktown, New Orleans, Buena Vista, Palo

163

Alto, and one hundred others, inconvenient

for the Harper to attune his lyre to the

glories thereof.

8. Now, although the forces of the Black

Republicans were defeated, yet they are

not dismayed at the war cry of the Chief-

tain Young, nor the lyric of the Harper,

but they withdrew from the well-contested

field, bearing with them twenty more of

their foes than at a former battle.⁵

CHAPTER VI.

JOHN [K. Miller] the Chief Consul,

journeyed unto the Castle of the

King, in the land of Washington,

bearing unto him the allegiance of his

friends, and the defiance of the rebellants.

2. When the King heard these tidings

of the rebellion in the land of Knox, he

bowed his head and wept:

3. And he swore in his wrath, the rebel-

lious Chieftains must be subdued and

return to their loyalty, or John the Consul

should not see the land of France.

4. And John the Consul stood amazed,

for he looked not for this treatment from

the hands of the King, to whom he sold his

integrity.

5. And he returned to the land of Knox,

sorrowing, for his heart was set on a jour-

ney to the land of France.⁶

6. And word was sent to the Chieftains

of the land of Knox to assemble themselves

together and take steps to appease the

wrath of the King.

7. And the Chieftains assembled them-

selves together, and hearkened unto the

commands of the King, and reasoned one

with the other, and those who had declared

for the Little Giant, as with one voice,

refused to recede from the stand they had

taken at their former counsel.

8. And the Chieftains who had knelt

at the feet of the King, and taken the

Chieftain Lecompton to rule over them,

9. Issued a call to the people of the

land of Knox who were friendly to the cause

of the King, and who were willing to take

the Chief Lecompton to rule over them,

10. To assemble themselves together

at the Castle in the City of Vernon, in the

land of Knox, on the fifteenth day of the

month of March, in the second year of the

reign of James the Second,⁷

5. See p. 186 of text for a discussion of the Monroe Township election.

6. See p. 180 of text for a discussion of the consulship controversy.

7. See p. 183-186 of text for a discussion of the Lecompton mass meeting on March 15, 1858.

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

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.

Lecompton Issue

Lecompton Issue

the people Democratic, and the people

Black Republican, but now I find three:

by what name shall this third people be

called?

24. And Matthew the Irritable cried

with a voice of anguish, for the divisions

among the people Democratic vexed him

sorely:

25. Call them the "Dilapidated Demo-

crats!" and thereat the face of John the

Consul was seen to smile, for the name

suited him to a T!

26. Then the Chief Prosecutor shook

his curly locks, and wiped his flattened

nose, and said:

27. No! the name sounds stale--call

this third people "Yellow Republicans!"

it suits my complexion best!

28. Again came forth Matthew the

Irritable, leading Samuel [Medary] the

War Horse, saying:

29. Hearken unto my voice, ye people

of the land of Knox, and give heed unto my

words, that ye may learn wisdom.

167

30. This is the mighty Old War Horse,

the fame of whose ravages hath reached

even unto the remotest corners of the land

of America.

31. So terrible were his depredations

in the land of Ohio, that the people thereof

beseiged the Castle of the King, and suf-

fered him not to rest in peace, until he gave

heed unto their complaints.

32. And the King commanded his head

groomsman to journey with the Old War

Horse unto the green pastures of the land

of Minnesota, and to cast him loose among

the Half Breeds of that land.

33. And the head groomsman and the

Old War Horse journeyed unto the land of

Minnesota, and the head groomsman, by

command of the King, made the Old War

Horse Governor over the Half Breeds of

that land.

34. And in the short space of six

months thereafter, the Half Breeds of the

land of Minnesota, assembled themselves

together, and, forming for themselves a

Constitution, beleaguered the doors of

Congress for admission into the Union as

a Sovereign State, so devastating had been

the depredations of the Old War Horse.

35. And the King took compassion

upon the Half Breeds of the land of Min-

nesota, and gave unto the Old War Horse

six thousand dollars [a postmastership]

168

worth of oats in the City of Columbus, in

the land of Ohio, fearing, peradventure,

lest the heels of the Old War Horse should

be found kicking against the throne of the

King, with the determination to accom-

plish the destruction thereof13

36. And the people of the land of Knox

wondered one with the other, saying:

37. What hath this Pedigree of the Old

War Horse to do with the direful divisions

among the people Democratic in the land

of America, as to the ruling of the Lecomp-

ton Chieftain.

38. Again came forth Matthew the

Irritable, and, in a voice like unto the bark-

ing of a dog, cried:

39. Behold the great Bologna Sausage

Chief, William the Sawyer, of the region

of Hoop-poles, in the land of Auglaize

[County].

40. The fame of whose deeds, while in

the councils of the nation, are yet odor-

iferous in the land of Columbia [ Washing-

ton, D.C.], for great was the havoc among

the canines of the land, and the matrons

mourned for their first born, and refused

to be comforted for they were not. [Pos-

sibly a dispute refering to dog control

laws].

41. And the people of the land of Co-

OHIO HISTORY

lumbia rebelled, for their goods were ex-

posed to the midnight plunderer, for so

destructive was the war of the butcher,

that not a guardian dog was spared as a

monument to the satiated stomach of the

Bologna Chief.

42. And the people drove him forth

from among them, and he became a

wanderer in the land of his brethren.

43. And his fame followed him which-

soever way he went; and even now, al-

though his teeth have became like snags,

the dogs are fearful of showing their faces

within three score and ten miles of his

whereabouts, lest, peradventure, they go

the way of their departed brethren.

44. Then the people of the land of

Knox, who were assembled in the Castle,

arose to their feet in disgust, and departed

for their homes,

45. For they came not together to

hearken unto the depredations of the Old

War Horse, and to the gluttonous exploits

of the Bologna Chief,

46. But to give heed unto the words of

the friends of the King, and to hearken

unto the reasons why the Chieftain

Lecompton should rule over the people of

the land of Kansas.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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].

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

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

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,

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.

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]

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

Lecompton Issue 175

tated waves of the political ocean.

11. Now, Raguet the Vapory Spouter,

flew from one Black Republican to another,

12. Appealing to their prejudices

against Lecky the Harper, and praying

them to countenance the cause of the Little

Giant, by rendering unto the National

"material aid and comfort;"

13. Promising to make it discourse

such music as would make their hearts to

leap with exceeding great joy.

14. And the Black Republicans heark-

ened unto his specious words, and gra-

ciously smiled upon his efforts.

15. And they courageously stepped

forth and placed their names upon his

books to a number almost fabulous.

16. But alas! the words of the Spouter

was as mist, and his promises as chaff, to

vanish at a zypher's breath.

17. Illustrating the fable of the Frozen

Serpent so touchingly portrayed by the

inspired pen of Esop, the renowned

Historian,

18. Which stung to death the bosom

whose warmth had given it life.

19. For the space of fourteen days, the

National was faithful to the cause of the

Little Giant, and boldly vapored in the

presence of the King.

20. But after the defeat of the Little

Giant on the fatal Black Friday, the

National spiked its guns, and went over

to the side of the King:

21. And is now battling shoulder to

shoulder with Lecky the Harper, and vainly

striving to supplant the Banner in the

affections of the King and of his followers

in the land of Knox.

22. Now, for some time past, the mind

of William the Gastonite, had been exer-

cised as to what he should liken Lecomp-

ton.

23. At times it was like a Camel! then

again an Elephant! then a Whale! but his

mind finally became fixed that it was a

Weasel!17

24. Now, to ease the troubled mind of

the perplexed Chieftain,

25. James the Keeper of the Iron Horse,

26. Dispatched a special Freight Train,

numerously manned by the hardy sons of

the Emerald Isle,

27. To discover and capture a Weasel,

to convince the Chieftain that Lecompton

was not a Mythe.

28. And the Freight Train departed on

its mission,

29. And after a long and perilous jour-

ney, the sons of St. Patrick discovered, and

after a sharp conflict, captured, two spe-

cimens of animalculae, designated by

Naturalists as Weasels!

30. And placing them securely within

an old nail keg, the explorers returned to

the City of Vernon, amid the noise and

smoke of an exasperated Bull-gine.

31. And in triumph the Keeper of the

Iron Horse sent unto the Castle of the

Gastonite, the imprisoned animals.

32. And the eyes of the Gastonite

opened, and he became convinced,

33. That Lecompton was not a Weasel!

34. And now, in all the land, Lecomp-

17. See p. 189 of text for William Cochran's parody on this allusion. Reference is to Hamlet.

Act III: 11, lines 392-399.

CHAPTER XVII

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].

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.'

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

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,¹⁸and 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.

Lecompton Issue 179

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.²²And 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

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.³⁰In 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

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

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

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 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

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.

Ohio History Journal