Address Of The Hillsdale County Liberty Convention

Friends of Liberty : On the 4th of July, 1776, the Continenial Congress of Nofth America, "appealing to Divine Providence for the rectitude oftheir iníeniions," pledged lo each o her 'Mieir lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor," to rnaiiitain ihe sole nn declaration "that all men are created eq'ial - that they are endowed by tlieir crentor with cerlain inalienable rghts that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Hapniness- that to maintain the.e rights governments nre instiluted among men, deriving theirjust powers f-om the consent of the govenied." I'o malntüu these cardinal doctrines, they waged a seven years' war against Great Britain, and triumphed aítei a va-t expend Ureof blood and treasure. At the formaüon o." ihe United Sintes' Constitutie, a large portion of the delegates were in favor of inserting in tht instrumei-t provisions for the speedy and entire abolition of American Slnvery. But in deference to the wishes of Geoigia ind South Carolina, and a few delegntes trom other States, they made no'ppecial provisions for ts abolition in the severa! States by action of Congress. Delegates from Virginia, Alaryland, and otlier Slave States, openiy avowed tlieir abhorrenca of Slnvery, and pledged their faith to procure itsnbuüiion in their respective States. It was believod ni most universally that Slavery hnd received ts denth blow from the spirit of Liberty which animated that convention. Franklin, Ilamilton, JaV, Adams, Wilson, Rusb, Washington, Madison, Pinckney, Jefferson, and a host of ol lier distinguishe.i citizens, abored ear. ne t'y for its overthrow. "The Constitution was written," says Mr. Madíson, "so (hut when slaveiy was abolished no trace might appear that it had ever existed." Laws for the gradual emanciparon of slaves, were passed in severa! States, and for a nurnber of years, sl.ivery was evidently on the wane. But the inventan of Whitney's Cuttün Gin rendered slave Note.- 'In 1793 but 5,000,000 Ib?. ■f cotton weie raised in the United St .te?, and 500,000 lbs. exporte I. It cuuld have never been an aflicto of much commercial import nc under the oíd míihod of rreparing it for mnkfü. By hand-picking a porson con d not preparo more th;m 200 or 300 lbs för market, or only about 3 ie tentli i f wlint he cou!d aise. ín 1793 Mr. Whitiey nventod the Cotton Lï.n, ihhv in use, by which the labor of at Mat 1000 hunds under the oíd syslem ;an now be perlormed by one person in )ieíiiing the rrop for Ín 1800, even afier the invention, 35,000,.
labor productivo, wliicli liad huherto been comparativel v valueloss. Tlie elfect uponslavery was soon visib'e. ín mony States the gradual pmancipalion laws ceased to be operntive, íbr a new ! 1 us had boen given o the eni;lyment of; slave labo.-. And tlius lias this grëat enlion, whicli might have conferred ' naught but good upon mankind, been perverted to ihe suatetitaiim ol" American S'avery, "ihe vilesl ihal ever saw the sun." Tlius stimulated w ith new Hfe, this j odious institution lias increasod ts uöhappy bondsmen f rom OáO.000 tu mora tban j 5,000,000. It hasadded iiine new Sinve Staies to ts dread dominions, and controlled the foreign and domestic p'licy of our country for it.s nggraudizement. lis influence preiJominaleí in every depnrtment or Ihe general govoroment, and sways the national Legi.slüture o!' our country. Of the 11 Pre&idonls of the United Siates, 7 we'e froeri Slave Sialcs, and but 4 lYom Free Stutes. Elavebolders have been Presidenta of ihis nalion 4ü years. and northern men but 12. The same ratio liolds good in nearly nll the tmDortsnt nationnl offices, noiwithstunding the Free States have a ÍVee pnpulation of more ihafe two to he South's one. At the bidding of the Slave Power, Louiwana was )urchased frotn Fr.incP, and three Slave States, and but one Free State have been caTved out of its territory. - Florida waspurchased of Spain, aud after $40,000,000 or $50.000,000 were spent in breakir.g up a rel real for fugitive glaves, was also mnde a Slave State. - Texas was wresleJ from Mexico by renegados froin tiiis counlry, nnd bas added nnother Slave Suite to ihis Union. Andas if the cup of our iniquity was not ye full, oui flects and nnnies are sent to conquer nesv territory frotn Mexico, for the growth nnd perpetuity of American Slavery. The demanda of the Slave Power for nid are uncensing and unending. For more ihnn 40 years it has ruled the nation ns vvit'n a rod of iron, yiolating lts nonstitution, trampling upon its lawg, and yarly making new ihroatta Upon the sacred righis (if man. It has triumphed in nearly every contest agaiust libprty. Witness the Misouri ' empromise, and the fate of the. Wil mot Proviso. Is it not titne that the people should make vigorous, united, and persevrring eff)rts to overtlirow this abominable instilution which sets the inalienable riglits of mankind at defiance? Can we reasonably beüeve that those who enslave the black and mulaito, would hesitate to enslave the white man, also, if he had the power ? - We are well assured they would do it, for fugitive slaves are ofien advertised in Southern papers, and described as having 'dark red huir," light hlue eyes," and "il disposcd to freckle" and other m.'irks characterizing ihe Caucasian race. If a man will wanlonly hold one human being in hopeless bondage, what would prevent him, Chis power were sufficient]y extended, frota reducing a whole nation to abject servitude 1 If a man wilütigly makes one of bis fellow crealures hisslavo, is it not tlie height of folly and absuroiiy to trust him with the I iberties of a batios 1 Most assuredly t is. It is morally wrong lo volé for a slaveliolder, for he tramp'es upon the de.-irest God-given rights of man. Il is wrong to vote for roen who are willing to elévale slaveholders to official stations, and ihus fsnable ihcm to strengthen the bonds of the slave. To piosper as a nation ve must net ï-ight politically as well as morallv, for every political sin is c manifest moral wrong, and endangers the liberiv and happinessof our coraraon country. - It is vain to hope (or the preservation of our liberlies and the existence of a f ree government while we sanction by our vote, our influence, or our apathy, tlie national sins of the United States. Each person is responsiblo for every national wrong commiited just so far as he sanclíons it, or fails to redregs it añer ils commitment. You rnay be told thsf t is patriotism to sanction íhe aots of your - government, "fight or wrong." Satan could ask no more ofhis subjeets than a firm support of his power and givernment right or wrong, l'rue patriotism consiste in promoting virtue and restraining vice. Righleousnes exalieth a nation, wliiie sin is a reproach to any peopie. If we continue as a nation in the perpetralioD ofsuch grievous wrong sas liave cliaracterized for many years our beloved country, we must fall and perlmps fall to rise no more. It is fully for us to rely upon our national strength ; it 000 lbs. of cotton wcre rnir.ed, and 17,800,000 exponed. In 18:57, 400,000.000 lbs were raised, and 884.750,000 exported. Such was the effect of Mr. Whitncy's invenlion. It gave; nt once, extrairy vnlue to the land where cotton, alone, could be rniser), and to saves, because it was the general, the almos! universal. exression of Southern men thnl the euliivation of the Souih could be c arried on only by slaves. There beitig no lVee States a' the South, competition betweeen free and slave labor could nevei there exist on a scale sufiïciently exlensivc to prove the BUpsriofity of' the former in the pfoduelion of cotton, nnd in the pre parntinn of it for miirket." - Spe liirr.ci nnd Emnre Correspondente - also, Sila via u's Journal fot January, 1832, dik the Enciclvpedin Americana, arlicl Whitney. w 1 1 pane as delusive n the hour of peril as did tlie river 'Enphratea lo ilie eonfiding BablyJoniar. Blavery is the mounlain l)ai-rer to every reform, lts very genius nnd spirit aré hoshle to the liberty nnd hnppinessof man. As man advnncrs in Irnowltdge & mornliiy, "vlavr-ry is wpakeneit, f'or il isantagoniíttic to every principie of right nu'l ntellectnal improvemelit. Ignoran, e nnd moral deg rada t ion a the citadel ofslaverjt. These Ibnn its foundation nnd sapor.s'ractu.'o. Henee ilio slaveholder forbids any one to leach hisslave tu read and aqdrstand the Bible, ihc gre -.t text boik of moral ntelligeace, fir il comprises both the b'tne and antidote for slavery. Henee, t!ie master slrives to 'h it up e"9ry avenue of ntclligence to the Slave. Henee he cares but litlle to mprove the mind of the non-slavrholder, who resides near him,!esih; Kwaken to active exercise a spirit which would breiiU every yoke and let the opposed go free. It is our duly lo advocate evcry politica) right, iind oppose every polilical wrong. This is consistent, foi' no pnlitical right c'n bo momlly wrong, and no political wrong can be mora'ly i'ight. - Political reform, and reforma of every class are worlliy ofour ntlention,since tliey teud to ihe nmelioration of thecondition of man. Expedienry should never stand befo re right. VV henever a. principio or meaure is presented to u=, whether il be a political one, or any other,our firsl inquiry sliould be,is it mo rally riglit? If yen, e should adopt il ; if nav, we theuld rejeol it. This is clearly evident Let us noiv maka a practical npplication oftliii trut!); and see so.ne fur of the. resultó wliich will follow. 1. Man having an " inalienable right to ihe pursuit of happiness," governments cannot jiistly prevent free intercourse and commerce among the rationa of the earth. The fact ihat European despots wi.ll not tolérale Free Tra de, forms no good reason why n Republican Government sliould prohibit its own citizens froin enjiying it. One or more wrongs never did nor never can mak e one right. Government has no r'ght to díctate what industrial occupation any citizen shall pursue. When it Ie.ives man in the full enjoyment of his God-given rights, and protects him in the peaceable exercise thereof, it has performed i:s whole duty. More than this is usurpation. 2. IfFree Trnde exisled, tliere would be no Tariffand Direct Taxation would be resorted 10 for the suppoit of the Genei al Government. The taxpayers would soon cause a vast reduction in the expenditures of governmeni, millions upon millions of dollars would be no longer spent to sustain and perpétrale slavery at home, neither would the country be pkinged into unjut and unnecesitry wars to [ilant it in foreign countries. The supply-pipe being cut off, slavery would v.tiher awny for want of nourishment. 3. Hundreds of thousands of dollars would then be no longer spent in opening foreign markets for the product of Slave labor.& Slave labor only. Free & Slave labor would llien each stand on its own basis. In such a position free labor would soon render labor comparalively valueless, as intelligence nnd enterprise, with the stimulus of wages,vill accom)lish far more than ignorance and d(?gradation with the stimulus of the cart-whip. 4 By the aboliton of the Tariflf, e should hold out the Olive Branch of Peace to the nations of the Earth, and proclaim to the world that we regard all mankind as one great brolherhood. The most fruitful sources of war would be dried up. Our example would be speed ily followed by other nations. Our flag would be hailed in every clinie as the ensign of "peace on earth, and good will to man." Shipsof war, freed from their enginesof destruction, would be converted into messengers of peace, carrying the arts and sciences, the blessings of civilization, and the "glad tidings of great joy" to the uttermost parti of the earth, and man would rapidly rise in the scale of moral and intelleclual improvemunt. These would be some of the fruits of the advocacy of right politica! principie?. We might extend the application of the great truth that every political right is a moral righl,aná every political wrong a moral wrong, and find that all monopolies, class legislations, and exclusive ■;: gae, are unequal in their application ; Ihat they trample on the rights of the great mnss, and are tliorefore morally wrong, and subverive of civil liberty. Our's is a uoblfi cause, and we need not fear to advocate it in nll itn hearings. If we full, lfct us f;ill wilh the weapons of trulh and right in our hand., for even dcfeat would ihen be glorloiw. But we shall not fall if we are detcrmined to sland. By plantingoui'selvps on the rock of right principies and mensures, we may bid defiance to all the tyrants that disgrnce the earih. "Truth is powerful, and must ultimately prevail." So far as wc fail to declare and advocate ihe whole truth, just so fur we may expect to fail in our efloits to pu-ih forward the car of Liberty and Refurm. If we speak out like honest men on all politicül questions, we sliall command the respect of our politica! opponente, and arm ourselves with weapons which wi]] siand ihe shock of time. A liltle band of Spaitans nt the pass of Therniopyhr, who werê determined to save iheir country, witlistood the em'jattlcd miüions whicK Xnrxes sent againsl them. Though Uu-y feil r. defence of llieir country, Spaita was saved. Lel lis, ihon, vtith c firm fpliance on Divine Provi JencR, rcsolve t') do riglit, whether we consider it popular or unpopulc', and tlip cause (if liuitmn liberly will progress towards Is consummalion ivith a miinentum which lias never been witnessed a'mre the creation of Man.