“I thank God that we have a man in the Senate bold enough and capable enough to point the nation the road back to the foundation principles of the Government.”
E. W. Stewart, originally of the Liberty party, wrote from North Evans, New York:—
“Having read your truly noble plea for the ‘great guaranty’ of personal and political rights under the Constitution, in the Senate, I write to thank you with my whole heart. It is the right word spoken at the right time and in the right place, and it will reach the hearts of the people and produce there a deep conviction, if it does not in Congress.… The positions in your speech are unanswerable.”
Dr. Henry A. Hartt, a radical Abolitionist, wrote from New York:—
“I must tell you how proud I feel, as a man and as an American citizen, on account of the position you have taken. When the Amendment of the Committee was proposed, I felt chagrined and mortified beyond expression, and I did fervently pray that we might be saved from the intolerable infamy of putting into our Constitution a sanction, even by implication, of the right of a State to deny or abridge the franchise in consequence of race or color. You may, then, imagine my joy, when I saw you break loose from all considerations of policy and party, and place yourself immovably upon the elevated platform of a just and righteous statesmanship.
“I have read the report of your speech in the extra of the Tribune, and I am sure that history will confirm the verdict which I give, when I say that it was equal to the great occasion.”
Edward Cary, editor of the Brooklyn Daily Union, wrote from that place:—
“The loyal people in Brooklyn have felt very keenly the outrage and insult you have suffered at the hands of Mr. Johnson. They honor and trust you, and will uphold you. The mention of your name by Mr. Garrison, on Tuesday evening, drew from the large audience rounds of applause, which died away only to be renewed, until it was the most prolonged I ever heard.”
William Silvey, of New Jersey, earnest in patriotism and Antislavery, wrote from Alexandria, Virginia:—
“How all the hearts of the true lovers of their country, even in this rebellious city, are thrilling with gratitude and thankfulness for your uniform noble efforts, which have opened and will continue to open the eyes of the citizens of our country and the whole world as to the true significance or meaning of what constitutes a republican government, which has been so sadly perverted by our practice as a nation!”