JOSEPH VANCE AND
HIS TIMES.
BY BENJAMIN F. PRINCE,
Professor of History and Political
Science, Wittenberg College,
Springfield, Ohio.
The men who made Ohio for its first
fifty years were per-
sons of remarkable character and
quality. Four or five states
gave choice selections for the
settlement of that region. They
proved themselves good and true for the
work they had to do
and brought honor and success to the
interests committed to their
care. Connecticut, Pennsylvania,
Maryland and Virginia were
the states from which the greater part
came. Among them were
some who had been active participants in
the Revolution. They
were trained in patriotic devotion to
their country and were
likely to plant colonies in which their
own patriotic spirit would
be fostered and perpetuated. Many of the
younger men who
came were surveyors who soon began to
thread the forests with
chain and compass, though beset with
dangers from wild beasts
and hostile Indians, and brought face to
face with many danger-
ous exposures and privations. Others
became teamsters among
the settlements, bringing to the people
the few desirable and
needed supplies. The production and
transportation of salt oc-
cupied the time of a number. There being
no prepared roads
and no bridges over streams, the lot of
these serving men was
beset with many hardships, but they
shrank not from the heavy
tasks that lay before them.
All these experiences were developing a
sturdy and self-
reliant manhood. The young men engaged
in felling forests,
building cabins, carrying on trade and
marking out the lands
were largely thrown upon their own
resources and were learn-
ing to think and act for themselves. The
affairs of state were
also pressing upon them. Political life
was taking form, and
every serious and ambitious young man
was caught in the whirl
of politics. Any one showing more than
ordinary qualities was
( 228 )
Joseph Vance and His Times. 229
usually set forward in official position
that he might take an
active part in the affairs of state.
Most of those who became prominent were
men of limited
education. A few had received a
collegiate training. Others
had learned the rudiments of Latin, a
slight acquaintance with
grammar and history and enough of
mathematics to make them
competent to survey the lands now
opening up to settlement.
Among the young men who came to Ohio in
an early day
was Joseph Vance. His ancestors located
in the colony of Vir-
ginia at an early date, from which
place, on account of their
largely growing numbers, they spread
Southward and North-
ward and Westward. They were of Scotch-Irish
descent. The
father of Joseph Vance was Joseph C.
Vance. He was a mem-
ber of Colonel Morgan's rifle regiment
and served throughout
the Revolutionary War. After peace was
restored he removed
to Western Pennsylvania, where his son,
Joseph Vance, was born,
March 21st, 1786. The place of his birth
was Catfish, now
Washington, Washington County.
Two years later Joseph C. Vance
determined to cast in his
lot with the people farther West. He
placed on board a flat
boat his family and little property and
floated down the Ohio
River, passed a year or more at
Vanceburg, Kentucky, which he
helped to defend against the attacks of
Indians, and afterwards
located near May's Lick in the same
state. In 1801 this Vance
family, in company with General Whiteman
and others came to
Ohio and settled near Clifton, but four
years later removed to
Urbana, a town then on the border of the
settlements.
While living in Kentucky young Joseph
Vance learned his
first lesson in self-help. In those days
the opportunity for ob-
taining the rudiments of an education
were slight. The lack of
schools and the pressure of stern
necessity made other pursuits
important. The extent of young Vance's
education consisted in
what he learned from his father and
about six months' instruc-
tion from an itinerant Irish
school-master. While yet a mere
lad he was employed in cutting wood to
be used in salt making.
By saving he was able to get enough
money to purchase an ox
team and wagon, with which he peddled
salt among the settle-
ments. After he came to Ohio he still
for a time engaged in
230 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
this business. The hardships attending
it were many. He was
often compelled to pass the night alone
with his team in the dense
forest, surrounded with howling wolves
and other wild beasts,
and in self-defense compelled to keep a
large fire. Often swollen
rivers impeded his progress for days,
and swamps and marshes
made it necessary at times for him to
unload his salt and roll the
barrels over as best he could and
re-load them by his own efforts.
In 1805 the county of Champaign was
erected. Its south
line was fixed at a distance of several
miles south of Springfield,
including most of what is now Clark
County. It extended on
the North as far as Lake Erie. In 1809
the commissioners levied
a tax of one thousand and eighty-nine
dollars and one cent. One
hundred and fifty dollars was used to
redeem wolf and panther
scalps, for which a reward was given for
every one brought to
the commissioners. Joseph Vance was the
Secretary of this
Board of Commissioners, and was
serviceable in levying and col-
lecting this tax. He received forty
dollars per year for his ser-
vices. He also received ten dollars for
making a duplicate of the
assessable property of the county and
sending the same to Chil-
licothe, the State capital at that time.
He thus early learned to
take lessons in public duty in which he
was in future to have so
large a part.
In 1807 the murder of a white man near
Urbana by a
malicious Indian, as later investigation
showed, caused a general
alarm among the whites. In order to
prepare themselves against
any depredations from the Indians a military company was
formed of which young Vance was made
Captain. He was with
a party that a little later built a
block-house on the Great Miami
River where Quincy, a village in Logan
County, now stands. It
was called Vance's block-house. It was
used as a post of ob-
servation and a depot of supplies for
the army of the North-
west. Vance's company was called out a
number of times just
prior to the War of 1812 to resist
threatened outbreaks of In-
dians. When the war broke out Urbana was
still a border set-
tlement, and became headquarters for the
military operations of
the North-west. Through that place Hull
passed with his army
on his route to Detroit. From it he was
piloted to the Maumee
by Joseph Vance and his brother. Here
for a short time Gov-
Joseph Vance and His Times. 231
ernor Shelby with his four thousand
mounted Kentuckians en-
camped during their journey northward to
join the army of
General Harrison. Here supplies for the
army were gathered
and distributed, in which duty Vance had
a share. Here were
brought many wounded soldiers. To this
place Colonel Richard
M. Johnson, the reputed slayer of the
celebrated Tecumseh, was
brought to recover from his wounds
before being carried to his
home in Kentucky.
The part of Captain Vance in this war
was to assist in
guarding trains of quartermasters'
supplies and to look after the
defense of the borders against incursion
from the Indians.
In 1812 Mr. Vance was elected to
membership in the lower
house of the State Legislature, in which
position he served for
two years. This election showed the
confidence that the people
of his district had in his faithfulness,
integrity and ability. Dur-
ing the two sessions, which lasted a
little more than two months
each, new counties were formed,
associate judges were ap-
pointed, and measures looking to the
prosecution of the war were
discussed and passed. Every able-bodied
man of military age
was required to respond to every call
made for his services unless
excused by the authorities. A record is
made of one Jacob
Woodring of Scioto County being excused
only because his
father was blind, lame, decrepit and
absolutely helpless and had
two children also blind. Jacob, being
the sole dependence of the
family, was allowed to remain at home.
Great was the stress
laid upon the people along the borders
to protect their homes,
their lives and their material interests
from the threatened in-
cursions of the fierce savages lurking
along the lines of the
outer settlements, ready to strike the
blow that would send terror
to every pioneer heart. There was need
that every man should
stand with gun in hand to ward it off.
In all these events Vance
was an interested actor.
In the session of 1815-1816 Mr. Vance was
again a mem-
ber of the lower house. During that
session stringent laws were
enacted to repress all kinds of games
and gaming. Duelling and
challenging another to fight a duel were
made crimes to be pun-
ished by imprisonment in the
penitentiary for a period of from
282
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
three to ten years. Ohio early took a
stand against a condition
of low morals and personal justice.
In the session of 1819-1820 Mr. Vance
again appears in
the Legislature. He and Reuben Wallace
represented the coun-
ties of Champaign, Clark and Logan. It
appears that these two
persons with some other representatives
were given certificates
which did not state to which House they
were elected. For a
time it looked as though they would be
denied admission, but
finally it was decided that as the
intent was to elect them to the
Lower House they might take their seats.
The great question of the day was the
one concerning the
admission of Missouri. While it was a matter
for Congress
alone to decide, state Legislatures were
deeply concerned in it.
The Ohio Legislature was no exception. A
resolution was in-
troduced in the Senate to instruct the
delegation from Ohio in
Congress to vote against the further
extension of slavery. A
long and acrimonious discussion
followed. William Henry Har-
rison advocated a middle ground, but a
strong resolution against
the institution was passed. Mr. Vance,
though not inclined to
take much part in debate, voted with
those who advocated the
limitation of slave territory.
Another question that evoked much
interest at this session
related to banks and banking. At the
previous session of the
Legislature it had been voted that every
bank doing business in
Ohio not authorized by it, should be
assessed fifty thousand dol-
lars. There were two branches of the
United States Bank oper-
ating in the State without state
charter, one at Cincinnati and the
other at Chillicothe. The two United
States banks resisted the
collection of this tax and secured an
injunction against it. In-
tense excitement prevailed in the
Legislature and great stir
among the courts concerning the rights
of the State and of the
General Government in the premises.
During this session many
of the old laws were revised and
partially codified, and better
preparation made for the care of the
insane, the poor, and the
helpless.
Such were some of the great questions
with which the public
men of that early day had to deal. They
were learning in the
school of practical life, being brought
face to face with interests
Joseph Vance and His Times. 233
that stirred both the state and the
nation to their depths. A mind
like that of Joseph Vance that could
think, be moved, and be
expanded by the consideration of great
interests was becoming
qualified for a larger field of
activity. The people of his district
saw this, so that in 1820 they nominated
and elected him their
representative to Congress and continued
to do so for eight con-
secutive terms.
The records of Congress show that he
appeared at the ses-
sion commencing December the 3d,
1821, as one of the five mem-
bers from Ohio. Neither of the other
four ever became as
noted in Ohio politics as Mr. Vance, yet
he was no lawyer, but
only a plain and unpretentious business
man, performing his
duties earnestly and conscientiously. By
the census of 1820 the
Ohio delegation, by reason of the rapid
growth of population,
was increased in 1822, to thirteen,
three of whom, including
Joseph Vance, became Governors of Ohio.
The other two were
Mordecai Bartley and Duncan McArthur. Of
the others, Sam-
uel F. Hunter and John Sloane were noted
men in their day.
In the second session of the Sixteenth
Congress a question
of much interest to Ohio came before it.
It was a bill for con-
structing a road from the rapids of the
Maumee through the
Black Swamp eastward to the boundary of
the Western Reserve.
The road was to be one hundred and
twenty feet in width, and
the General Government was asked to
appropriate a strip of
land on each side, one mile in width, to
pay for its construction.
When information was called for as to
the need and purpose of
said road, Mr. Vance became the
spokesman for the bill. He
knew the character of the land, for he
had frequently crossed
it, and was well acquainted with the
difficulties that confronted
those who carried supplies for the army
during the late war.
He explained that the Black Swamp was
about thirty miles in
width and from the Rapids ran South and
South-east, and was
impassable to travel with teams for the
greater part of the year.
Also he said, there was no direct
communication between Ohio
and Michigan Territory possible and that
the way over Lake Erie
was not always convenient nor
satisfactory. Individual indus-
try, he said, could not build it, and
that the land sought to be ap-
propriated with much more would be of no
value to the Gov-
234
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
ernment unless such road would be built.
Mr. Vance called at-
tention to the great loss of time and
the extra expense incurred
in the late war by lack of such road,
and that in case of a future
war the cause of the General Government
would be greatly bene-
fited. The bill was laid over for
further information. In Janu-
ary, 1823, on motion of Mr. Vance it was
again taken up. He
more fully explained the need and value
of such a road. It
would take, he said, fifty-seven
thousand acres of land worth
much less than the ordinary price of
Government land, but by
giving it for the purpose desired the
value of all lands in the
vicinity of the road would be enhanced.
The object of the bill
was so well sustained by its chief
advocate that it carried by
an almost unanimous vote.
In May, 1824, another important bill
touching the district
represented by Mr. Vance was on his
motion brought before the
House. When Virginia in 1784 ceded her
lands in the North-
west Territory to the Confederation she
reserved the tract lying
between the Scioto and Little Miami
Rivers to be distributed by
warrants to her soldiers who served
under the authority of that
State during the Revolution. At the time
of drawing the ordi-
nance no one present was acquainted with
the relation of the two
rivers as to their sources. As these
military lands began to be
taken up it became necessary to run a
line connecting their
sources. The first surveyor appointed
for this purpose, Mr.
Israel Ludlow, in 1802 traced the Little
Miami to its source and
from that point ran a line toward the
supposed source of the
Scioto. This line bears north twenty
degrees west. When Mr.
Ludlow reached the Greenville treaty
line which passed South of
the head-waters of the Scioto he was
stopped by the Indians who
objected to any encroachment on their
lands. It was also dis-
covered that if the Ludlow line were
extended it would fall some
miles East of the source of the Scioto.
Some years later an-
other surveyor was secured to run the
line correctly between
the sources of the two rivers. His name
was Roberts, and his
line was known as the Roberts line.
This introduced another difficulty. The
land west of the
Ludlow line had already been surveyed as
Congressional land and
some of it purchased and occupied by
settlers. But the Virgin-
Joseph Vance and His Times. 235
ians who found that their reservation
was not sufficiently large
to satisfy all the claims for lands due
to their soldiers, persisted
in including the wedge tract between the Ludlow and
Roberts
lines, and issued warrants upon it.
Claims for the same portion
of land soon brought trouble. One of
these overlapping claims
was carried to the Supreme Court of the
United States and de-
cided in favor of the Virginia claimant,
thus fixing the Roberts
line as the true one.
In 1824
Mr. Vance introduced a bill to make such
arrange-
ments as to the claims of those who had
purchased lands sup-
posed to be Congress lands, as would be
just and satisfac-
tory. Twice the bill had passed the
House but for want of time
had failed to pass in the Senate. But
Mr. Vance kept it alive by
re-introducing it and urging its
importance, until finally in 1827
it passed both Houses and became a law.
His efforts to secure
its adoption was made more difficult by
the opposition of some
members of the Ohio delegation. While
the Supreme Court
made its decision on the theory that the
Roberts line was the
true one, a compromise was afterwards
effected to the satisfac-
tion of the Virginia claimants, by which
the Ludlow line was
fixed as the legal limit of the Virginia
military lands.
How to reach the West and attach it to
the States east of
the Mountains was a matter of concern to
Washington and the
leading men of his day. When the
purchase of the Louisiana
Territory was made it became a matter of
greater interest how to
control and cement that vast territory
to the Union. To accom-
plish something for this purpose, in
1806 the agitation for a na-
tional road was begun in Congress and
continued from year to
year. By 1811 the work of building such
road was commenced
and in a few years finished as far west
as Wheeling. But the
annual expense for repairs was heavy,
arid doubt as to the right
of Congress to appropriate money for
this purpose on the part
of many of its members delayed for a
time the further ex-
tension of the road. It was, however, a
perennial subject. The
road was built through the greater part
of Ohio, but in 1838,
with the prospect of railroads taking
the place of common roads
for the transportation of traffic,
further expense for this object
236
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
seemed unnecessary, and Congress voted
to turn all her rights
and interests in the Cumberland Road
over to the various States
through which it ran. As a true and
loyal son of the West, the
votes of Mr. Vance were always favorable
to the appropriation
of funds for the furtherance of the
National Road. He be-
longed to the party of broad
constructionists and believed that
the General Government should help the
people to those things
that would advance their prosperity.
In 1828 Mr. Vance was a member of the
Board of Visitors
to the Military Academy at West Point,
and served as its Chair-
man. When the report of the visitors was
presented a pro-
longed discussion ensued. It was charged
that the Committee
was useless, that it was made up usually
of men of little educa-
tion and could not present a report in
proper form, and what-
ever report they did bring before the
House was usually writ-
ten out for the committee by those in
charge of the Institution.
This charge Mr. Vance indignantly
resented. The committee,
he said, was made up of both scientific
and practical men, and
that those who were possessed of
scientific and literary attain-
ments were selected to draw up the
report. As for himself he
believed he could say that he was one of
the most unpretending
members of the House, that all knew by
what means he secured
the little education he possessed, and
that he was as sensible as
any member of the House of his inability
to prepare the report
that had been submitted, but the charge
that it was not prepared
by the committee itself was a base
calumny. This incident shows
clearly the modest, unpretentious, and
honest character of Rep-
resentative Vance.
The need of communication between the
different parts of
the country by which articles of
commerce might find their best
market, and also bind together the
different sections of the land
by a community of interests, led to an
early discussion of a sys-
tem of canals. It was the dream of
Washington that the moun-
tains might be crossed with waterways on
which would be car-
ried the traffic of the country. As
early as 181O, by reason of
overtures from New York, Congress began
the discussion of the
subject. It was proposed that a canal
should be built from the
Hudson River to Lake Erie, in the
expense of which the Gen-
Joseph Vance and His Times. 237
eral Government should join. But
Congress hesitated, and New
York built the canal at its own expense.
It soon proved its
value, not only to New York, but to all
the states that bordered
on the Lakes.
It was said in 1823 that it cost
three dollars to transport by
team and wagon a cord of wood twenty
miles, and five dollars to
carry a barrel of flour one hundred and
fifty miles. To reduce
greatly such cost was to be the
advantage of the canal. The
Ohio Legislature in 1812 passed a
resolution to the effect that a
canal connecting the Great Lakes with
the Hudson was a proj-
ect of national concern and that the
United States should defray
the cost. This State was invited later
to help build the Erie Canal,
and at one time voted to do so, but
later changed its vote, feeling
that it should apply its funds to
building its own canals.
In 1825
it decided to enter upon their
construction, and ap-
pointed a commission to carry forward
the work. Several routes
were planned and Governor Clinton, of
New York, was invited
to visit the State and help inaugurate
and open the system. On
the 4th of July of that year,
ground was broken at Licking Sum-
mit, near Newark, with appropriate
ceremonies. The commis-
sioners, the Governor of the State and
invited guests then passed
on in triumphal procession through
Franklin, Madison, Clark
and Montgomery Counties to Middletown,
where, on July the
21st, the first
dirt was thrown for the Miami Canal. By this
time the whole State of Ohio was
thoroughly aroused and many
new industries were planned along the
lines of the proposed
canals.
In 1828 several bills were introduced
into Congress ap-
propriating government lands for
building Ohio canals. One,
asking for a grant of five hundred
thousand acres, was passed
and other grants were made afterwards.
But these grants were
not made, however, without extended
debate. Mr. Vance took
a very active part in pressing these
bills. He was keenly sensi-
ble of the great value the canals would
be to the people of his
State. If transportation of products was
good, he reasoned that
many persons would be attracted to Ohio
and help build up its
material interests. He showed that Ohio,
through the sale of its
public lands, had contributed a large
sum of money to the Treas-
238 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
ury of the United States, and further
that the bill did not ask for
money already in the hands of the
Treasurer, but to give every
other section along the route of the
Miami and Erie Canal, where
not yet sold, for the construction of
the same. In that case, he
said, the remaining lands would be
doubled in value, be sold
rapidly, be speedily put into the hands
of the people and give the
nation the money desired. His arguments
were favorably re-
ceived and the measure passed.
While in Congress Mr. Vance favored many
bills looking
to the improvement of the West. He voted
for the Erie and
Wabash Canal, the Michigan and Illinois
Canal, the extension of
the National Road, and for other bills
which he believed were
for the advancement of the country. He
favored the Chesa-
peake and Delaware Canal and the Panama
Congress. He at-
tached himself to the National
Republican Party, now begin-
ning to take shape as the Whig Party,-a
zealous advocate of the
policies of Henry Clay. The records of
the House show that he
voted for the tariffs of 1824 and 1828. He
lived in a sheep-
raising State. There were owners there
of large flocks of sheep,
and he believed that they would be
greatly benefited by a high
tariff on wool. Mr. Vance was firmly
allied with the party
favorable to protection.
There had been two methods used in
supplying the army.
The first was to place this privilege in
the hands of civilians, the
second to entrust it to army officers.
The latter method had
lately come into use. In 1834 a bill was
brought before the
House to render permanent the latter
mode. Mr. Vance took
much interest in this bill. He made it a
subject of investigation
and study. He showed that in former
times when contractors
furnished supplies there were enormous
defalcations, assert-
ing that under the old system there had
been a waste of twelve
per cent, while under the new it was
less than one per cent. He
declared that the "Black
Book," in which were listed the de-
faulters, showed a loss to the
government of fifteen million dol-
lars, while under the late plan there
was no loss. Thus in the
practical operations with which
government must so largely
deal, Mr. Vance showed himself
thoroughly prepared and ready
to advocate what seemed to him
appropriate legislation.
Joseph Vance and His Times. 239
Commencing with 1832 numerous petitions
from various
sections of the North were presented to
Congress for the aboli-
tion of slavery in the District of
Columbia. At first these pe-
titions were referred to the committee
on that District, where
they were lost to the world by never
being reported back for
action. In 1835 a petition signed by
eight hundred ladies from
New York was presented by Mr. Dickson,
who followed the
presentation with a long speech against
slavery. At its close he
moved that the petition be referred to a
select committee. His
motion was promptly followed by another
to lay the whole mat-
ter on the table, thus denying the right
of the petitioners to be
heard on the case. Vance voted on the
negative side of this last
proposition, thereby allying himself
with John Quincy Adams in
his great fight for the right of
petition.
At the Whig Convention in Ohio in 1836,
Joseph Vance was
nominated the candidate of his party for
the Governorship of
the State. After the usual visitations
and speech-making in
accord with the political methods of the
day, the election in
October brought victory to the Whigs,
and the second defeat of
the Jeffersonian party since the
organization of the State. Mr.
Vance was inaugurated on the 13th
of December following.
His inaugural address was a plain,
unpretentious, yet sen-
sible document. He was aware of his own
limitations. He
modestly says of himself:-"Gentlemen,
the very thought of
exercising this power causes one almost
to shrink back and with-
draw from the station I am about to
assume. I know my own
weakness and fear that I shall lack that
nerve and energy that
will enable me to resist the strong
supplications that will be made
in favor of the culprit. The security of
property and the peace
of society rest upon the inflexibility
and sternness of your ex-
ecutive officer, and in the certainty
that the penalties of the law
will be enforced and carried into
execution." This was said
because in that day the pardoning power
rested alone with the
Governor, who might under pressure
release prisoners from their
cells and crime thus go unpunished and
justice unsatisfied.
At the time of Governor Vance's
inauguration Congress had
voted to distribute the surplus revenue
in the Treasury of the
United States among the several States.
Ohio was to receive a
240 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
little over two millions of dollars. The
deposit was accepted by
the Legislature of Ohio, December 19, 1836.
There was much
discussion throughout the State as to
what should be done with
the money. Schemes, some good, some
wild, were proposed.
The Governor therefore warns against a
misuse of it and pleads
that it may be used for furthering the
schools of the State. He
says, "Remember, that you are now
about to become their (the
poor and destitute) trustees and
guardians, and that a heavy
responsibility rests upon you to make
such appropriation of their
means as will enable them to become
worthy members of so-
ciety and enlightened and useful
citizens of the State. This can
be done by building up our common
schools, and when we re-
flect that the very foundations of our
political system rest upon
the virtue and intelligence of our
people and, that the interest at
stake is no less than the perpetuation
of our free institutions,
you cannot falter in your exertions to
accomplish the great ob-
ject in view .... No person can appreciate more sen-
sibly than myself the want of an early
education; even in the
place in which I now stand it is felt
with a pungency and force
more easily understood than
explained." His plea was to build
up an endowment fund for the schools so
that all might re-
ceive the benefit of school
opportunities. For a short time this
gift of the government was deposited
with the counties, who were
to pay the interest on it into the local
school fund. Later the
principal was gathered into the hands of
the State and used to
pay the internal improvement debt, but
the annual interest on
this sum to be paid by the State into
the general school fund,
which has been done ever since. In
harmony with the ideas
of Governor Vance, a state
superintendent of schools was ap-
pointed, Samuel Lewis, who did excellent
work during the three
years he remained in the office.
In the first message of Governor Vance,
December 5, 1837,
he is still insistent on the value of
the public schools. In it he
says, "One of the first objects
that should attract the attention
of every statesman is the habits,
condition, and future prospects
of the youth of the State. Through them
we may reach the
future destiny of the Republic, for good
or for evil. If we suf-
fer them to grow up in idleness and
ignorance we must look
Joseph Vance and His Times. 241
to the future with forebodings of the
misery and degradation
that await our descendants, while, on
the other hand, if we give
them industrious habits, guard well
their morals, and improve
their minds, we may fondly anticipate
that our institutions will
be perpetuated and our descendants grow
up and continue in the
enjoyment of freedom, independence, and
prosperity." Common
schools, well systematized, he says, are
the means by which this
desirable condition is to be attained.
Governor Vance then quotes a section
from an act passed
by Congress in 1790. "And it is
further enacted that the pro-
ceeds of the sales which shall be made
of lands in the Western
Territory, now belonging, or that may hereafter
belong, to the
United States, shall be, and are hereby
appropriated towards
sinking or discharging the debts for the
payment whereof the
United States now are, or by virtue of
this act may be holden,
and shall be applied solely to that use
until the said debts shall
be fully satisfied."
In 1837 such debts on the part of the
United States had
been fully paid. What disposition should
be made of the funds
arising from future sale of lands? The
General Government
had by its distribution of the surplus
among the States opened
the way for discussion of the question.
It occurred to Governor
Vance, influenced by the report of
Samuel Lewis, State Superin-
tendent of Schools, that it would be a
wise thing for the Gov-
ernment to turn over to the several
States the money arising
from public land sales to the support of
the schools. The report
of Mr. Lewis showed their backward
condition, and the impos-
sibility of improving them in sparsely
settled districts. A per-
manent fund it was believed would do
this, and no better dis-
position could be made of money arising
from the disposal of
public lands than to create a large
school fund.
Governor Vance also had views on the
financial situation.
The monetary disturbance during the
administration of Presi-
dent Jackson had been great. His war
against the United States
Bank, the rapid increase of State banks,
and the issue of the
specie circular, which at a single blow
discredited the issue of
every bank in the several States,
brought disaster upon the
country. If specie now alone was to do
the business of the
Vol. XIX. - 16.
242 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
country there would not be money enough
as a vehicle of trade.
Prices must remain low, the debtor be
crowded to the wall, and
general distress result. In 1837 the
contraction of credit money
amounted to sixty-two per cent. Some
banks weathered the
storm and showed the soundness of their
methods and indicated
that credit money wisely administered
could be a safe financial
policy. In the rather lengthy discussion
of the financial condi-
tion of the country, Governor Vance
says:
"Let us examine and see what would
be the operation of
such a hazardous experiment as that of
reducing the circulation
of the country to specie alone. Every
man conversant with the
laws of trade and the effects of
currency must admit that all ar-
ticles of merchandise and all
descriptions of property must fall
in proportion to the reduction of
circulation. This, to be sure,
is not always its immediate effect, but
that it must, in the end.
approximate to that standard, is not to
be questioned. But its
operation will not end here-it will
raise the value of debts in
a ratio still more oppressive. Suppose
the banks of Ohio were
compelled to wind up their business, as
they must certainly do
under this exclusive metallic currency,
and that after calling in
their circulation there should remain
due to them ten millions
of dollars. The result would be that it
would take what is now
worth forty millions in landed estate to
settle this debt. We
may theorize as we please, but all
revulsions in trade, when heavy
balances remain unsettled, and
especially in agricultural States,
must in the end be liquidated and paid
by a change of property
from one hand to another. This will
prove equally true in wind-
ing up the affairs of any other
prominent branch of business as
well as that of banking."
In arguing for the benefits of credit
the Governor says,
"Credit has bought our lands, made
our canals, improved our
rivers, opened our roads, built our
cities, cleared our fields,
founded our churches, erected our
colleges and schools, and put
us into the possession of as large a
share of rational freedom
and solid comfort as has ever fallen to
the lot of any people."
On the need of a flexible currency the
Governor voices a
sentiment equally true in our day.
"All must agree that both
our commercial and agricultural wants
require a circulation
Joseph Vance and His Times. 248
capable of expansion today and
contraction tomorrow. The
superabundance of our productions in
Ohio may this year re-
quire five or ten millions of dollars
more to put them into
market than may be necessary in the
next, and one of our sister
States may fall short to the same
amount, and this state of
things may be reversed at the close of
each succeeding crop. The
capacity of our financial system for the
transferring of funds
from one portion of the Union to
another, to meet these fluctua-
tions, is, in my opinion, the only sure
remedy."
Governor Vance, however, was no advocate
of the State
Bank system. Such banks had been tried
during the War of
1812. They had issued a large amount of
currency during a
clamor for money, but it was not
properly adjusted and regu-
lated. Of these conditions the Governor
says, "Our people had
hanging over them in addition to their
mercantile debts a land
debt of millions of dollars. What was
then called currency was
shaved at from twelve to thirty-seven
and one-half per cent to
pay our mercantile engagements, and a
portion of the time it
would not pay for our lands at
all."
The message then shows how the re-chartering
of the United
States Bank in 1816 at once restored
confidence. The General
Government announced that it would
receive in payment for
public lands, credit notes of all banks
that paid out specie. This
acted as a premium on honest banking and
produced a better
financial condition throughout the
country.
But when in 1833 this same bank was
assailed and its sound-
ness and integrity questioned a blow was
struck at the entire
credit system of the country. In a few
years the whole commer-
cial fabric was overthrown and the
business interests of the
country paralyzed. For this reason
Governor Vance discussed
the financial condition of the nation at
great length. He was
anxious to see a resumption of specie
payments. To bring this
about there must be awakened a feeling
of confidence in our
monetary institutions. He says,
"Confidence will bring into our
business operations the horded coin of
the country. A depre-
ciated currency is the natural enemy of
coin, coin will shun its
company and hide itself to keep clear of
its contaminating in-
244 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
fluence and will not again appear in
your streets, or your market
places, until the disorder is
removed."
Governor Vance was likewise in favor of
a law fixing a rate
of interest. He did not believe that
money could be treated as
other property. "Money is seductive
in its character--it con-
trols property--it ministers to our
wants, and gives us an ele-
vation in society exceedingly flattering
to our vanity. These in-
ducements make men risk much to attain
its use, and as one prin-
cipal object of legislation is to
protect the unsuspecting against
the wily and the artful, it is therefore
most respectfully recom-
mended to your consideration the
propriety of passing a law to
regulate interest and prevent usury, as
well against incorporated
companies as against individuals, with
such guards and penalties
as your wisdom may think right."
The subject of internal improvement has
a prominent place
in the message. While in Congress Mr.
Vance used every law-
ful means to further the building of
canals. Now as Governor
of the State of Ohio, with its canals
yet unfinished and their
completion delayed partly for want of
funds and partly because
of differences of views respecting what
the State ought to do
in the matter, it was natural that he
should urge the speedy
completion of these highways of commerce
so necessary for the
producer to carry his wares to the
market. The Whigs were
especially favorable to this project and
Governor Vance stood
squarely on their platform, and it was
but natural that he should
urge the work on the attention of the
Legislative Assembly.
Governor Vance next notices the subject
of mineral coal.
Some of the canal lines passed through
districts rich with this
article. The value of coal in furnishing
steam power in Eng-
land is adverted to. The prospect of its
use in this country would
depend on the cheapness of its
transportation. Figures are given
of the amount of coal received at
Cleveland in the years 1836
and 1837. They are stated in bushels and
not in tons. One
moderately sized factory of today would
consume the entire out-
put registered and be compelled to stop
its wheels for the greater
part of the year for lack of fuel. Those
were days of small
things, but prophetic of the great days
to come. We must give
praise to the men of seventy years ago
for discerning so clearly
Joseph Vance and His Times. 245
the sources of a nation's prosperity and
wealth and so earnestly
advocating the methods and activities
that would lead to a glori-
ous future.
In our day corporations are thought to
be a menace to our
interests and that they ought to be
curbed by the force of law.
In 1837 the same danger on their part of
invading public and
private rights seemed imminent. The
Governor says, "The great
amount of local legislation and the
bestowment of corporate
privileges is believed to be a growing
evil in the State. Experi-
ence ought to teach us how cautious we
should be in lending
the name and influence of State
authority to the association of in-
dividuals. How many charters obtained
for purposes purport-
ing on their face to be for humane and
benevolent objects have
been perverted from their original to
other objects. The faith
of the State cannot be broken,
privileges given which have in-
duced the investment of the property or
money must be held sa-
cred. I therefore see no other way of
arresting the evil that may
arise from hasty legislation, but that
of Staining in your own
hands the right of appeal."
In his second message in 1838 the
financial question is again
the great burden of the document. The
United States Bank had
wound up its affairs with loss of
capital. The Whigs favored a
re-charter, the Democrats opposed. How
should credit money
be controlled? By the States or by the
Nation? Governor Vance
says, "The very proposition to
surrender to twenty-six State
Sovereignties the regulation of the
currency of the Union car-
ries on its face anarchy, inequality,
fluctuation and confusion.
For it is a well-known fact that the
paper of our pres-
ent banks has not the same credit in all
parts of our own State,
and whilst the banks of Columbus ask a
premium for drafts
on Cincinnati or Chillicothe, the banks
of Cincinnati will ask the
same premium in return, thus shaving the
circulation at both ends
of the line. It is also well known that
the paper of our North-
ern banks is rejected by some of the
Southern banks, and is at
this moment at a discount of one and
one-half per cent in Cin-
cinnati."
While there was this difference in the
values of paper money
issued by the various local banks within
the State, it was much
246 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
greater respecting that issued in
different States, and the oppor-
tunity for money changers to reap a rich
reward was vastly in-
creased. These conditions made Governor
Vance an advocate of
a national banking system which would to
a large degree fix the
status of legislative action on the
money problem. This second
message says, "There is nothing
within the scope of your legis-
lative duties that requires a more
careful examination than the
defects in our financial system."
All this sounds strange to us
now. Our State has nothing to do with a
financial system; that
is furnished us by the General
Government and as a result money
wherever issued is at par the land over.
The message deals also with the subjects
of taxation and
the canals. Concerning the former
Governor Vance had made
much investigation by writing to the
Governors of the various
States. He found that while in some
States the rate of taxation
was from six to fifteen cents on every
hundred dollars, in Ohio
it was one dollar and forty
cents. But owing to the low valua-
tion of property in this State the rate
would not be more than
thirty-five cents on a full valuation.
The information contained in
the message was of immense value to the
Legislature. It showed
also the thorough manner in which the
Chief Executive was
studying the financial question for the
benefit of the State.
He gave much space in the message to the
consideration of
the canals. The work of their
construction had been much de-
layed by an unusual amount of sickness
among the workmen.
The opening of the ground along rivers,
through swamps and
unbroken forests produced a condition
favorable to all kinds
of malarious diseases, and the men
exposed to changes of
weather, with little shelter and
sleeping often upon the ground,
were easy subjects for attack. But the
people were clamorous
for the completion of the work. In this
way they saw lodged
their hope of future wealth and
commercial interests. In Gov-
ernor Vance they found a leader ready to
wrestle with the great
proposition. Funds by loans to the
extent of hundreds of thous-
ands of dollars had to be secured on as
favorable terms as possi-
ble and a wise expenditure of the money
had to be faithfully
guarded, in all of which transactions
the Governor was an im-
portant factor.
Joseph Vance and His Times. 247
During his term of office he was called
upon to exercise a
power demanded of him by the
Constitution of the United
States. He says, "On the 6th of
September I issued a warrant
under the requisition of the Governor of
the Commonwealth of
Kentucky for the arrest and delivery to
the authorities of that
State, of John B. Mahan, of Brown
County, charged with two
indictments found in the County of
Mason, in that Common-
wealth, with the crime of aiding and
assisting certain slaves, the
property of William Greathouse, to make
their escape from the
possession of him the said William
Greathouse out of and be-
yond the State of Kentucky."
Governor Vance was much criti-
cised for the delivery of Mahan into the
hands of the Kentucky
courts. The sectional bitterness arising
on account of slavery
and the abduction of slaves was yet
somewhat in its infancy, but
each act which involved the return of a
slave or surrender of his
abettor stirred many people of the free
States to sharp criti-
cism of those in authority who had part
in the matter. While
the sympathy of the Governor was
favorable to the slave, his
sense of duty toward the constitution
and the laws of the United
States was first in his mind. He
defended his action in the fol-
lowing language: - "I hold that the
constitution of the United
States is to be obeyed by all, as the
supreme law of the land,
and that it would be as unwarrantable an
act in an executive of-
ficer to refuse to deliver up a person
charged with the crime of
enticing a slave from the service of his
master, upon the pres-
entation of proper papers, under the
demand of a Governor of a
sister State, as it is to deny the right
of petition and the freedom
of speech and the press to the humblest
individual in the United
States. All are constitutional rights
guaranteed by the same in.
strument, and of equal obligation. And
as I am sustaining that
instrument as it is - I have not
considered it my duty to set up
my opinions of abstract right in
disregard of its solemn and
positive injunctions. I consider the
constitution of the United
States as the ark of our political
safety, and whenever we shall
reject its commands all is put at hazard
and uncertainty, and our
whole population subjected to
convulsions, anarchy and civil war."
At the end of his term of office in
December, 1838, Gover-
nor Vance retired to his farm two miles
north of Urbana. In
248 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
1839 he was elected a member of the
State Senate and served
one term.
In 1842
he was again elected a member of Congress.
The
records show that he was one of the most
active members of
that body. He was made chairman of the
Committee on Claims
to the duties of which he gave his
undivided attention. No
claim unless well founded could pass his
scrutiny, and many
were the applications reported
unfavorably by his committee.
During his term the annexation of Texas
was constantly in one
form and another before the House and
the opportunity to vote
on some phase of the bill occurred
frequently. Mr. Vance was
firmly committed against annexation, as
every vote recorded
shows. He saw nothing but trouble
arising from it, and the ad-
vance of the slave power to a greater
share in the control of
the government.
At the end of his Congressional term Mr.
Vance again re-
turned to his farm. At the organization
of the Mad River and
Lake Erie Railroad, the first to be
built in the State, he was
made its President, in to which office
he put the same energy
as in other positions which he had
filled.
He was a member of the Ohio
Constitutional Convention
of 1850-1851. While returning home from
his labors there he
was stricken with paralysis from which
he died August 24,
1852. His body lies in an honored grave
in Oakdale Cemetery,
Urbana, Ohio.
Governor Vance was an honest,
industrious, and useful man,
performing every duty with a fidelity that
always brings suc-
cess. He was adapted to his times, and
in his day left an im-
press on the young State of which early
in life he became a citi-
zen.