The Great Conspiracy, Complete

f the Crittenden Resolutions, and also the Resolutions of the Peace Congress, which, we have seen,

omise Resolutions *

certain Amendments to the Cons

e common territory of the United States; and whereas, it is eminently desirable and proper that these dissensions, which now threaten the very existence of this Union, should be permanently quieted and settled b

ncurring), the following articles be, and are hereby proposed and submitted as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, which s

f the African race is hereby recognized as existing, and shall not be interfered with by Congress, but shall be protected as Property by all the departments of the Territorial government during its continuance. And when any Territory, north or south of said line, within such boundaries as Congress may prescribe, shall contain the popu

y in places under its exclusive jurisdiction, and situate w

ants, nor without just compensation first made to such owners of Slaves as do not consent to such abolishment. Nor shall Congress, at any time, prohibit officers of the Federal government, or members of Congress who

laves from one State to another, or to a Territory in which Slaves are, by law, permitt

ted States shall pay to the owner who shall apply for it, the full value of his Fugitive Slaves in all cases where the Marshal, or other officer whose duty it was to arrest said Fugitive, was prevented from so doing by violence or intimidation, or wh

nsequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered u

mmitted, and recover from it, with interest and damages, the amount paid by them for said Fugitive Slave. And the said county, after it has paid said amount to the United States, may, for its ind

of the Constitution, nor the third paragraph of the second section of the fourth article of said Constitution; and no amendment shall be made to the Constitution

their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of Free Persons, including those bound to Service f

come within the jurisdiction of Congress, and may be remedied by its legislative power; And whereas it is the desire of Congress, as far as its power will extend, t

been sanctioned as valid and Constitutional by the judgment of the Supreme Court of the United States; that the Slaveholding States are entitled to the faithful observance and execution of those laws; and that they ought not to be rep

yet those State laws, void as they are, have given color to practices, and led to consequences, which have obstructed the due administration and execution of Acts of Congress, and especially the Acts for the delivery of Fugitive Slaves; and have thereby contributed much to the discord and commotion now prevailing. Cong

decision be in favor of, or against the claimant. And, to avoid misconstruction, the last clause of the fifth section of said Act, which authorizes the person holding a warrant for the arrest or detention of a Fugitive Slave to summon to his aid the p

g the importation of Slaves into the United States, ought to be more effectual, and ought to be t

ether Slaveholding or Non-Slaveholding, as are willing to unite with Virginia in an earnest effort to adjust the present unhappy controversies in the spirit in which the Constitution was originally formed, and consistently with its princ

e, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Kansas-remained in session until Febru

passed by Congress or the Territorial Legislature to hinder or prevent the taking of such Persons from any of the States of this Union to said Territory, nor to impair the Rights arising from said relation; but the same shall be subject to judicial cognizance in the Federal Courts, according to the course of the common law. When any Territory north or

ty of all the Senators from States which allow Involuntary Servitude, and a majority of all the Senators from States which prohibit that relation; nor shall Territory be acquired by treat

ging with them to the District of Columbia, retaining, and taking away, Persons so held to Labor or Service; nor the power to interfere with or abolish Involuntary Service in places under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States within those States and Territories where the same is established or recognized; nor the power to prohibit the removal or transportation of Persons held to Labor or Involuntary Service in any State or Territory of the United States to any other State or Territory thereof where it is established or recognized by law or usage; and the ri

ued to prevent any of the States, by appropriate legislation, and through the action of their judicial and minister

Congress to pass laws to prevent the importation of Slaves, Coolies, or Persons held to Serv

paragraph of the second section of the first article of the Constitution, and the third paragraph of the secon

as prevented from so doing by violence or intimidation from mobs or riotous assemblages, or when, after arrest, such Fugitive was rescued by like violence or intimidation, and the owner thereby deprived of the same; and the a

, and hence, to a certain extent, which had not entered into their calculations, weakened their "Cause" in the eyes of many of their friends in the North, in the Border States, and in the World. They had become Implacables. Practically considered, this was their great mistake. The Crittenden Comp

promise by their own proper strength, had they been disposed so to do. The President was theirs; the Senate strongly theirs; in the House, they had a small majority, as was evidenced in their defeat of John Sherman for Speaker. Had they now come forward and said, with authority: 'Enable us to pass the Crittenden Compromise, and all shall be peace and harmony,' they

each Seceded, and refused all terms save those which involved an absolute surrende

story of the Compromise measure

for action. On that day it was amended by inserting the words "now held or hereafter to be acquired" after the words "In all the territory of the United States," in the first line of Article I., so that it would read as given above. This a

, Fitch, Green, Gwin, Hemphill, Hunter, Iverson, Johnson of Tennessee, Kennedy, Lane, Mason

, Doolittle, Durkee, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Grimes, Hale, Harlan, King,

e, offered by Mr. Clark, to strike out the preamble of the Crittenden pro

o be obeyed rather than amended; and that an extrication from our present dangers is to be looked for in strenuous efforts to preserve the peace, protect the public p

, are dangerous, illusory, and destructive; that in the opinion of the Senate of the United States no such Reconstruction is practicable; and, therefore, to the mai

sent, is that the territory south of the line of the Missouri Compromise shall be open to their peculiar Property. All this territory, except the Indian Reservation, is within the limits of New Mexico; which, for a part of its northern boundary, runs up two degrees above that line. This is now a Slave Territory; made so by Territorial Legislation; and Slavery exists there, recognized and protected. Now, I am willing, as soon as Kansas can be admitted, to vote for the admission of New Mexico as a State, with such Constitution as the People may adopt. This disposes of all the

h you know we cannot accept, and for which, if we did, we could not carry our constituents? * * * Together our Fathers achieved the Independence of their Country; together they laid the foundations of its greatness and its glory; together they constructed this beautiful system under which it is our privilege to live, which it is our duty to preserve and to transmit. Together we enjoy that privilege; together we must perform that duty. I will not believe that, in the madness of popular folly and delusion, the most benignant Gover

-to this touching appeal in behalf of Peace-what was the

hern Senators though present, refused to vote, and permitted the substitute to be adopted by 25 yeas to 23 nays. The vote of Mr. Douglas, who had been "called out for an instant into the ante-room, and deprived of the opportunity of voting "-as he afterwards stated when vainly asking unanimous consent to have his vote recorded among the nays-would have made it 25 yeas to 24 nays, had he been present and voting, while the votes of the six Southern Senators aforesaid, had they voted, would have defeated the substitute by 25 yeas to 30 nays. Then upon a direct vote on the Crittenden Compromise there would not only have been the 30 in its favor, but the vote of at least one Republican (Baker) in addition, to carry it, and, although that would not have g

; and thus ends all hope of reconciliation. Civil War is now considered inevitable, and late accounts decla

ittenden, and published in the Raleigh, N. C., Register, to quiet the excitement raised by the telegrams of t

N, Jan. 17

ered. Their failure was the result of the refusal of six S

. CRITT

ully a year afterward (Jan. 29-31, 1862) in the Senate, touching the defeat of the Crittenden Compromise by the

h others for the adoption of those measures

American Republic, he would date its fall from the rejection by the

Senator now on this floor came to me and requested that I should inquire of Mr. Toombs, who was on the eve of his departure for Georgia to take a seat in the Convention of that State which was

Mr.

faith to advocate their ratification by their people, Georgia will not Secede. This is the position I assumed before the people of Georgia. I told t

that day to this the darkness and the tempest and the storm have thickened, until thousands like myself, as good and as tr

ee subsequently replied as follows in

his argument. * * * The Senator told us that the adoption of the Clark amendment to the Crittenden Resolutions defeated the settlement of the questions of controversy; and that, but for that vote, all could have been peace and prosperity now. We were told that the Clark amendment defeated the Crittenden Compromise, and prevented a settlement of the controversy. On this point I will read a portion of the speech of my worthy and talented friend from California [Mr. Latham]; and when I speak of him thus, I do it in no unmeaning sense I intend that he, not I, shall answer the Senator from Delaware. *

ul design, on the part of some representatives of Southern States, to seize upon the election of Mr. Lincoln merely as an excuse to p

were not influenced b

olutions submitted by the Senator from New Hampshire [Mr. Clark], were offered as an amendment to the Crittenden Propositions, for the manifest purpose of embarrassing the latter, and the vote taken on the 16th of January, 1861, I ask, what did we see? There were fifty-five Senators at that time

ixon, Doolittle, Durkee, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Grimes, Hale, Harlan, King,

, Gwin, Hemphill, Hunter, Iverson, Johnson of Arkansas, Johnson of Tennessee, Kennedy, Lane, Latha

iately after, on the Clark

ixon, Doolittle, Durkee, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Grimes, Hale, Harlan, King

Green, Gwin, Hunter, Johnson of Tennessee, Kennefly, Lane, Latham, Mason

den Resolution by a vote of twenty-five to twenty-three. Mr. Benjamin of Louisiana, Mr. Hemphill and Mr. Wigfall of Texas, Mr.

any Compromise.' Here were six Southern men refusing to vote, when the amendment would have been rejected by four majority if they had voted. Who, then, has brought these evils on the Country? Was it Mr. Clark? He was acting out his own policy; but with the help we had from the other side of the chamber, if all those on this side had been true to the Constitution and faithful to their constituents, and had acted with fidelity to the Country, the amendment of the Senator from New Hampshir

isunionists, working manifestly for the same end, moved, immediately after the vote was announced, to lay the whole subject on the table. If you will turn to page 443, same volume, you will find, when, at a late period, Mr. Cameron, from Pennsylvania, moved to reconsider the vote, appeals having been

n, Hunter, Johnson of Tennessee, Kennedy, Lane, Latham, Mason,

tle, Durkee, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Grimes, Harlan, King, Mor

ote, forbidding Congress ever interfering with Slavery in the States. The Crittenden Proposition would have been indorsed by a majority vote, the sub

emen were acting in pursuance of a settled and fi

ertain Southern Senators prevented it; and yet, even at a late day of the session, after they had Seceded, the Crittenden Proposit

and yet it was passed by a two-third vote in the Senate. Have you ever heard of any one of the States which had then Seceded, or which has since Seceded, taking up that Amendment to the Constitution, and saying they would ratify it, and make it a part of that instrument? No. Does not the whole history of this Rebellion tell you that it was Revolution that the Leaders wanted, that they started for, that they intended to have

lls, after conferring, affirmatively, power on the Territorial Legislature, it went on to exclude certain powers by using a negative form of expression; and it provided, among other things, that the Legislature should have no power to legislate so as to impair the rig

Compromised, and that if we had agreed to Compromise, bloody Rebellion would not now be abroad in the Land. Sir, Southern Senators are responsible for it. They stood here with power to accomplish the result, and yet treacherously, and, I may say, tauntingly they left this chamber, and announced that they had

Government in the hands of the Few. I know what I say. I know their feelings and their sentiments. I served in the Senate here with them. I know they were a Close Corporation, that had no more confidence in or respect for the People than has the Dey of Algiers. I fought that Close Corporation here. I knew that they were no friends of the People. I knew that Slidell and Mason and Benjamin and Iverson and Toombs were the enemies of Free Government, and I know so now. I commenced the war upon them before a State Seceded; and I intend to keep on

g, although present; and then, without division, the Crittenden Resolutions were tabled-Mr. Cameron, however, entering a motion to reconsider. Subseque

he Select Committee of Thirty-three, reported to the House (January 14

ures of any of the States to obstruct or hinder the recovery and surrender of Fugitives from Service or Labor, are in derogation of the Constitution of th

rticle of the Constitution of the United States for the delivery up of Persons held to Labor by the laws of any State and escaping therefrom; and the Senate and House of Representatives earnestly request that all enactments having such tendency be forthwith repealed, as required by a just sense

hose States; and we recognize no authority, legally or otherwise, outside of a State where it so exists, to inte

f, on the subject of Fugitive Slaves, or Fugitives from Service or Labor, and discountenance all mobs or hindrances to the execution

this Government; that we were not sent here to destroy, but to sustain and harmonize the Institutions of the Country, and to see that eq

tes, of all their Constitutional obligations to each other and to

nment to enforce the Federal Laws, protect the Fede

ss, to citizens of other States traveling therein, the same protection as citizens of such States enjoy; and also to protect the citizens of other

aws as will prevent and punish any attempt whatever in such State to reco

foregoing resolutions to the Governors of the several States, with

the House for action, on the 27th of February, 1861-the same day upon wh

. It was to amend the Select Committee's resolutions, as above given,

o call a Convention of all the States, in accordance with Article Fifth of the Constitution, for the purpose of amending said Constitution in such manner and with regard to such subjec

however, was defeated

rike out all after the first word "That" in the Crittenden Proposition-which had been off

nstitution of the United States, which shall be valid, to all intents and purposes as part

or prevent the emigration to said territory of Persons; held to Service from any State of this Union, when that relation exists by virtue of any law or usage of such State, while it shall remain in a Territorial condition; and when any Territory north or south of said line, within such boundaries as Congress may prescribe, shall contain the population requ

any manner interfere with the relation of Persons held to Service in any State where that relation exists, nor in any manner to establish or sustain that relation in any St

nstrued to authorize and empower Congress to pass laws necessary to secure the return of Persons held to Service or La

itude, into any State, Territory, or place within the United States, from any place or co

Territories thereof, shall be annexed to or be acquired by the United States, unles

ion was defeated by

oposition, as amended in the Senate by inserting the provision as to all territory "hereafter acq

ffice, whether Federal, State, Territorial, or Municipal, shall not be

r the colonization, at expense of the Federal Treasury, of such Free Negroes and Mulattoes as the several States may wish to have

II.), was defeated by 80 yeas to 113 nays, and then the Joint Resolution of the Select Comm

tion of the United States, which had also been previously reported by t

ring), That the following Article be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States as an Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, w

zens and those described in Section II. of the First Article of the Constitution as 'all other persons,' shall originate with any State that

triking out all the words after "na

o Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any State, with the Domestic Instituti

by 123 yeas to 71 nays. On the following day (February 28th), amid still greater confusion and disorder, which the Speaker, despite frequent efforts, was unable to quell, that vote was r

Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting Congress from touching Slav

stitute for it the Cr

itute (the Crittenden Proposition), by the inse

on of the United States; but this Constitution, and all laws passed in pursuance of its delegated powers, are the Supreme

ndment was lost by

Crittenden Proposition), wa

after the word "resolved," and inserting the words of the Clark Proposition

word "whereas" in the preamble of the House

inois have applied to Congress to call a Convention for proposin

, That the Legislatures of the other States be invited to take the subject of such a Convention into considerati

also rejected, by

nt Resolution, the propositions submitted by the Peace Congress or

tion was then adopted

der, with the Clark substitute to it (once carried, but reconsidered),

f the Peace Congress, as a substitute for his

n itself was then rejecte