The Kansas-Nebraska Bill, the Fugitive Slave Law, and the Dred Scott Decision greatly aroused the North. Some declared that the latter two laws should not be carried out. This increased the hostility of the South. Many persons in the North assisted in what was called the "underground railroad"—secretly assisting slaves on their way to Canada for freedom.
When a small boy, just beginning to read, I remember seeing at my Grandfather Todd's, in southern Indiana, copies of the Louisville Journal (now the Courier-Journal) with whole columns of short advertisements, offering rewards for runaway slaves. Such advertisements could easily be recognized at a glance, for each one had a small picture of a slave with a carpet-sack on his back making long strides for liberty.
The leading opponents of slavery were bitterly hated and persecuted. William Lloyd Garrison was mobbed in the city of Boston, and it was with great difficulty that his life was saved. Elijah P. Lovejoy, who published an anti-slavery paper at Alton, Illinois, was shot down by a mob while defending his property and pleading for free speech. Charles Sumner, because of a speech he made, was brutally assaulted while sitting in his chair in the United States Senate, and was so beaten that he was compelled to give up his seat in Congress for four years.
It was well known that neither moral suasion nor the ordinary political methods would ever do away with the curse of slavery. The people of the North debated, prayed, preached, and voted against slavery, while the people of the South were equally zealous in defending slavery, contending it was a divine institution.
While matters were in such an unsettled condition a great explosion occurred in the fall of 1859 which startled the entire nation. John Brown, who had rendered valuable service in keeping slavery out of Kansas, with an armed force of seventeen men, made a raid upon Harper's Ferry, Virginia, captured the United States arsenal, and for some time held the United States army at bay before he was captured. He had planned for a general insurrection among the slaves, believing that their emancipation depended largely upon themselves. Brown's plans were forced before he was ready. It was a rash act, and was not approved by the North, but strongly condemned. Brown and others who survived the conflict were executed for inciting an insurrection, murder, and treason. Brown was a brave and sincere man, but fanatical. As the explosion of the Maine hastened the Spanish-American War, so the John Brown raid was an important link in the chain of events to hasten the downfall of slavery. Seward's "irrepressible conflict" was at hand, and his "higher law" was soon to prevail.
CHAPTER X.
The Lincoln and Douglas Debates
Candidates for the United States Senate—Seven Joint Debates—The Paramount Issue—The "Divided House"—"Acts of a Drama"—Douglas Charged Lincoln with Selling Whisky—Lincoln's Denial—A Discovery—Site of the Old Still House in Indiana—Douglas Elected—Lincoln, the Champion of Human Liberty.