The payment of the Indian war debt was a great triumph for Governor Stevens, and completed the vindication of his course, as the confirmation of his treaties vindicated his Indian policy.
During the last seven years, what severe and unremitting labors he had undergone, what great results he had achieved, and what tremendous obstacles and opposition he had overcome! He had made the exploration of the Northern route the most complete and exhaustive of all; had demonstrated its superiority, not simply as a transcontinental line, but as a world route for the world’s commerce, and had made himself the authority and exponent of that route. By his Indian service he had treated with over thirty thousand Indians, extinguished the Indian title to a hundred and fifty million acres, established peace among hereditary enemies over an area larger than New England and the Middle States, and instituted over thousands of savages a beneficent policy of instruction and civilization. By calling out volunteers and waging an aggressive war against the savage foe, when all was gloom and terror, and the settlers were not only forsaken but vilified by the military authority, whose duty it was to protect them, he saved the settlements of his Territory from extinction, and the progress of the Northwest from being set back for years. And his firm and patriotic stand against British aggression saved the San Juan group to the United States.
Entering Congress vilified by high and low, with the censure of his territorial legislature and the disapproval of the President recorded against him, he had so ably demonstrated the wisdom and rightfulness of his course that he secured the ratification of his Indian treaties, the payment of the Indian war debt, the reversal of the reactionary policy of Wool, the opening of the interior to settlement, and the punishment of Indian murderers.
During his brief career up to this time he disbursed over three quarters of a million dollars for the government, as follows:[14]—
| As an officer of engineers, the larger part on Fort Knox | $278,108.29 |
| As Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs | 386,642.66 |
| In the Northern route exploration | 114,103.56 |
| $778,854.51 |
Events followed fast that winter in the great national drama. The ultra-secessionists in the cotton States had it all their own way; and the Democratic leaders throughout the South, regardless of their Northern allies, who had stood by them so bravely and against such odds, were only too ready to follow in the same treasonable path, some accepting Seward’s doctrine of an irrepressible conflict between slavery and freedom, and believing that separation and an independent government were the only means by which slavery could be maintained; while others, furious at the loss of political power, like Lucifer, would rather reign in hell than serve in heaven,—would ruin where they could no longer rule.
Great efforts were made by the moderate men, especially of the border States, to heal the breach; the Republican leaders, frightened at the storm, displayed a conciliatory spirit; and it seemed for a time that the differences might be compromised, the fears of the South allayed, and the Union peacefully preserved. Governor Stevens clung to this hope to the last. He thought that if a constitutional convention could be held, the breach could be healed; that the strong Union sentiment in most of the Southern States would cause them to adhere to the Union; and that the few seceding States, isolated and helpless, would soon be glad to resume their places. It is altogether probable that this view was correct, but one essential condition of such a plan was that no overt act of hostility should be committed. The secessionists, by violently seizing the national forts and property, and beginning hostilities, rendered peaceful adjustment hopeless.
Governor Stevens was firm and decided in his opinion that it was the duty of the President to protect the national property and forts and enforce the laws. The following sentences culled from his correspondence show his views and feelings at this trying and momentous crisis:—
December 10. Should Carolina attack the forts, or seize the revenue, there must be collision. The government must protect its property and execute its laws.
Let all men agree to a convention of all the States. When the delegates meet, I am sure it will be found easier to unite than to separate. If Union seems to be accompanied by occasional discord, separation will threaten perpetual war. If in Union there is not always harmony, in separation there will never be peace.