In 1850 the "Fugitive Slave Law" was passed by Congress, which was, in part, to the effect that it was a penal offense to render any accommodations, assistance, or show any favors whatever to runaway slaves; also that officers were empowered to compel citizens, in the North as well as in the South, to assist in the capture of such slaves.
As the Missouri Compromise forever excluded slavery from the northwestern territories, the "forever" terminated when Congress, in May, 1854, passed the celebrated Kansas-Nebraska Bill, introduced by Stephen A. Douglas, the Democratic Senator from Illinois. Its main provision was that each territory seeking admission into the Union might decide by vote of its inhabitants whether it should be admitted as a free or a slave State. This virtually repealed the Missouri Compromise, which Douglas had declared "to be sacred," and a law which "no human hand should destroy." This act was considered such a flagrant violation of a trust, breaking down all legal barriers to the possible spread of slavery, that it aroused great indignation throughout the North.
Mr. Lincoln, just prior to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, as already stated by Mr. Merwin in the last chapter, had become inactive in politics, and had given himself more fully to the practice of law. In furnishing a short biography of himself for a friend, in 1859, he said, "I was losing interest in politics when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again." He now saw the great danger of slavery enlarging its territory indefinitely, and was alarmed at the serious nature of the situation.
When Mr. Douglas discovered the unpopularity of his famous bill, he hastened to Springfield and other places in Illinois, to explain matters. On the 4th of October, 1854, he spoke in the State House at the time of the State Fair. It was expected that Lyman Trumbull, a noted Whig politician of Illinois, would reply, but he did not appear. Seeing the coast clear, Mr. Douglas spread himself, and made a great speech. He was small in stature and somewhat bombastic in his style of delivery. He was popularly known among his friends as the "Little Giant." Mr. Lincoln had been urged to reply to Mr. Douglas, and, after some persuasion, consented to do so. That day he made his first great political speech. It is stated that "all the smothered fires of his broody days and nights and years burst forth in a power and with an eloquence which even those who knew him best had not so much as hoped for." Among other things, he said:
"My distinguished friend, Douglas, says it is an insult to the emigrants to Kansas and Nebraska to suppose that they are not able to govern themselves. We must not slur over an argument of this kind because it happens to tickle the ear. It must be met and answered. I admit that the emigrant to Kansas and Nebraska is competent to govern himself, but I deny his right to govern any other person without that person's consent."
I now introduce to my readers one who heard Mr. Douglas and Mr. Lincoln on that occasion, fifty-four years ago. It is Rev. R. L. McCord, now in his seventy-ninth year. He is an intelligent and highly-respected citizen of Lake City, Iowa, and one of my most valued parishioners. I shall let Mr. McCord speak for himself:
"I was then twenty-four years of age, and in my second year as a student in the Illinois Congregational College at Jacksonville, thirty miles west of Springfield. Some of my college mates and I heard Mr. Douglas and Mr. Lincoln speak in the State House, in the fall of 1854. The people were wearied with the lengthy speech of Judge Douglas. When Mr. Lincoln began his reply, for about fifteen minutes he kept the audience in an uproar of laughter and applause. Then he waded into the subject of 'free speech, free soil, and free men,' much to the confusion of the man who 'didn't care whether slavery was voted up or down.' During Mr. Lincoln's reply, Judge Douglas several times interrupted him, saying he was misrepresented. Mr. Lincoln, in his good nature, allowed him to explain a number of times. At one point he was very much worked up, and, pointing his finger at Mr. Lincoln, vehemently demanded a chance to explain. In a very excited manner, Judge Douglas tried to set himself right, using about fifteen minutes of Mr. Lincoln's time. After he was through, Mr. Lincoln spread his mouth, and, with a broad smile, said, 'I believe the "Little Giant" is somewhat agitated,' and, without further attention to the judge, proceeded with his speech. I was so impressed with Mr. Lincoln's speech that on leaving the State House, I said to my college mates, 'Lincoln is my candidate for President at the next election.' This was six years before Mr. Lincoln was nominated at Chicago. The next evening, with my college mates, we called upon Mr. Lincoln at his home and complimented him for his great speech. He received us kindly, shook hands with us, and thanked us for our call. This was my first meeting with Mr. Lincoln, but I met him and heard him speak a number of times afterward."
This speech of Mr. Lincoln's was a noted one, and nearly all his biographers mention it, but it has not been left on record, except in small extracts. Mr. McCord's statement, made for this book, is interesting, and all will be glad to see the picture of his friendly and intellectual face as it now appears.
The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill and its effects was the means of the destruction of the Whig party, to which Mr. Lincoln belonged, the disruption of other party lines, and the organization of a new party with Abraham Lincoln as its acknowledged leader, which in a few years was to decide the destinies of the United States Government. It also had the effect of bringing about a state of civil war in Kansas. Thousands of pro- and anti-slavery people flocked to Kansas to help decide the destiny of that territory. Illegal votes, bogus legislatures, mobs, murders, incendiary acts, and general lawlessness were some of the fruits of Mr. Douglas' famous bill for popular sovereignty, better known as "squatter sovereignty."
In 1857, Chief-Justice Taney of the United States Supreme Court, with a majority of his associates, decided on a test case, known as the "Dred Scott Case," that when the Constitution of the United States was formed and adopted, a negro slave was not a person, but simply a piece of property,—a thing,—and that his master could lawfully take his slaves anywhere he pleased, just as he could his horses and his cattle.