Life and Public Services of John Quincy Adams Part 19

Mr. Adams.--Well, sir, then I come back to my position, that every man in this country has a right to be an abolitionist, and that in being so he offends no law, but, in my opinion, obeys the most sacred of all laws.

The motion to instruct the committee, was finally laid upon the table.

Mr. Adams was evidently anxious to engage in a legitimate discussion, in the House of Representatives, of the subject of slavery in all its bearings, influences, and results. Such a discussion, coolly and deliberately entered upon, by men of the most distinguished abilities in the nation, could not but have been pregnant with lasting good, not only to the North, but also to the South and the entire country. To afford opportunity for a dignified and profitable investigation of this momentous topic, Mr. Adams, on the 25th of Feb., 1839, proposed the following amendments to the Const.i.tution of the United States:--

"Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress a.s.sembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring therein, That the following amendments to the Const.i.tution of the United States be proposed to the several States of the Union, which, when ratified by three-fourths of the legislatures of said States, shall become and be a part of the Const.i.tution of the United States:--

"1. From and after the 4th day of July, 1842, there shall be throughout the United States no hereditary slavery; but on and after that day, every child born within the United States, their territories or jurisdiction, shall be born free.

"2. With the exception of the territory of Florida, there shall henceforth never be admitted into this Union, any State, the const.i.tution of which shall tolerate within the same the existence of slavery.

"3. From and after the 4th day of July, 1845, there shall be neither slavery nor slave trade, at the seat of Government of the United States."

Instead of meeting and canva.s.sing, in a manly and honorable manner, the vitally important question involved in these propositions, the slaveholding Representatives objected to its coming before the House for consideration, in any form whatever. In this instance, as in most others, where the merits of slavery are involved, the supporters of that inst.i.tution manifested a timidity, a want of confidence in its legitimacy, of the most suspicious nature. If slavery is lawful and defensible--if it violates no true principle among men, no human right bestowed by the Creator--if it can be tolerated and perpetuated in harmony with republican inst.i.tutions and our Declaration of Independence--if its existence in the bosom of the Confederacy involves no incongruity, and is calculated to promote the prosperity and stability of the Union, or the welfare of the slaveholding States themselves--these are facts which can be made evident to the world, by the unsurpa.s.sed abilities of southern statesmen. Why, then, object to a candid and fearless investigation of the subject? But if slavery is the reverse of all this--if it is a moral poison, contaminating and blighting everything connected with it, and containing the seeds of its own dissolution sooner or later--why should wise, sagacious politicians, prudent and honest men, and conscientious Christians, shut their eyes and turn away from a fact so appalling and so dangerous. No man of intelligence can hope, in this age of the world, to perpetuate that which is wrong and destructive, by bravado and threatening--by refusing to look it in the face, or to allow others to scrutinize it. Error must pa.s.s away. Truth, however unpalatable, or however it may be obscured for a season, must eventually triumph. The very exertions of its supporters to perpetuate wrong, will but hasten its death.

"Truth, crushed to earth, will rise again; Th' eternal years of G.o.d are hers: But Error, wounded, writhes with pain, And dies among her worshippers."

Notwithstanding the course Mr. Adams felt himself compelled to pursue led him frequently into collision with a large portion of the Members of the House of Representatives, and caused them sometimes, in the heat of excitement, to forget the deference due his age, his experience, and commanding abilities, yet there was ever a deep, under-current feeling of veneration for him, pervading all hearts. Those who were excited to the highest pitch of frenzy by his proceedings, could not but admire the singleness of his purpose, and his undaunted courage in discharging his duties. On all subjects aside from slavery, his influence in the House has never been surpa.s.sed. Whenever he arose to speak, it was a signal for a general abandonment of listlessness and inattention. Members dropped their newspapers and pamphlets--knots of consulting politicians in different parts of the Hall were dissolved--Representatives came hastily in from lobbies, committee-rooms, the surrounding grounds--and all eagerly cl.u.s.tered around his chair to listen to words of wisdom, patriotism, and truth, as they dropped burning from the lips of "the old man eloquent!"

The confidence placed in him in emergencies, was unbounded. A case in point is afforded in the history of the difficulty occasioned by the double delegation from New Jersey.

On the opening of the 26th Congress, in December, 1839, in consequence of a two-fold delegation from New-Jersey, the House was unable, for some time, to complete its organization, and presented to the country and the world the perilous and discreditable aspect of the a.s.sembled Representatives of the people, unable to form themselves into a const.i.tutional body. On first a.s.sembling, the House has no officers, and the Clerk of the preceding Congress acts, by usage, as chairman of the body, till a Speaker is chosen. On this occasion, after reaching the State of New Jersey, the acting Clerk declined to proceed in calling the roll, and refused to entertain any of the motions which were made for the purpose of extricating the House from its embarra.s.sment. Many of the ablest and most judicious members had addressed the House in vain, and there was nothing but confusion and disorder in prospect.

The fourth day opened, and still confusion was triumphant. But the hour of disenthrallment was at hand, and a scene was presented which sent the mind back to those days when Cromwell uttered the exclamation--"Sir Harry Vane! wo unto you, Sir Harry Vane!"--and in an instant dispersed the famous Rump Parliament.

Mr. Adams, from the opening of this scene of confusion and anarchy, had maintained a profound silence. He appeared to be engaged most of the time in writing. To a common observer, he seemed to be reckless of everything around him--but nothing, not the slightest incident, escaped him. The fourth day of the struggle had now commenced; Mr. Hugh H. Garland, the Clerk, was directed to call the roll again.

He commenced with Maine, as was usual in those days, and was proceeding toward Ma.s.sachusetts. I turned, and saw that Mr. Adams was ready to get the floor at the earliest moment possible. His keen eye was riveted on the Clerk; his hands clasped the front edge of his desk, where he always placed them to a.s.sist him in rising. He looked, in the language of Otway, like the

"--fowler, eager for his prey."

"New Jersey!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Mr. Hugh H. Garland, "and the Clerk has to repeat that--"

Mr. Adams sprang to the floor!

"I rise to interrupt the Clerk," was his first e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n.

"Silence, silence," resounded through the hall; "hear him, hear him! Here what he has to say; hear John Quincy Adams!" was the unanimous e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n on all sides.

In an instant, the most profound silence reigned throughout the Hall--you might have heard a leaf of paper fall in any part of it--and every eye was riveted on the venerable Nestor of Ma.s.sachusetts--the purest of statesmen, and the n.o.blest of men! He paused for a moment; and, having given Mr. Garland a

"--withering look!"

he proceeded to address the mult.i.tude:

"It was not my intention," said he, "to take any part in these extraordinary proceedings. I had hoped that this House would succeed in organizing itself; that a Speaker and Clerk would be elected, and that the ordinary business of legislation would be progressed in. This is not the time, or place, to discuss the merits of the conflicting claimants for seats from New Jersey; that subject belongs to the House of Representatives, which, by the const.i.tution, is made the ultimate arbiter of the qualifications of its members. But what a spectacle we here present! We degrade and disgrace ourselves; we degrade and disgrace our const.i.tuents and the country. We do not, and cannot organize; and why?

Because the Clerk of this House, the mere Clerk, whom we create, whom we employ, and whose existence depends upon our will, usurps the throne, and sets us, the Representatives, the vicegerents of the whole American people, at defiance, and holds us in contempt! And what is this Clerk of yours? Is he to control the destinies of sixteen millions of freemen? Is he to suspend, by his mere negative, the functions of Government, and put an end to this Congress? He refuses to call the roll! It is in your power to compel him to call it, if he will not do it voluntarily. [Here he was interrupted by a member, who said that he was authorized to say that compulsion could not reach the Clerk, who had avowed that he would resign, rather than call the State of New Jersey.] Well, sir, then let him resign," continued Mr. Adams, "and we may possibly discover some way by which we can get along, without the aid of his all-powerful talent, learning and genius. If we cannot organize in any other way--if this Clerk of yours will not consent to our discharging the trusts confided to us by our const.i.tuents, then let us imitate the example of the Virginia House of Burgesses, which, when the colonial Governor Dinwiddie ordered it to disperse, refused to obey the imperious and insulting mandate, and, like men--"

The mult.i.tude could not contain or repress their enthusiasm any longer, but saluted the eloquent and indignant speaker, and intercepted him with loud and deafening cheers, which seemed to shake the capitol to its centre. The very Genii of applause and enthusiasm seemed to float in the atmosphere of the Hall, and every heart expanded with an indescribable feeling of pride and exultation. The turmoil, the darkness, the very "chaos of anarchy," which had, for three successive days, pervaded the American Congress, was dispelled by the magic, the talismanic eloquence of a single man; and, once more the wheels of Government and of Legislation were put in motion.[Footnote: Reminiscences--by an Old Colony Man.]

Having, by this powerful appeal, brought the yet unorganized a.s.sembly to a perception of its hazardous position, he submitted a motion requiring the acting Clerk to proceed in calling the roll. This and similar motions had already been made by other members. The difficulty was, that the acting Clerk declined to entertain them. Accordingly, Mr. Adams was immediately interrupted by a burst of voices demanding, "How shall the question be put?" "Who will put the question?" The voice of Mr. Adams was heard above the tumult, "I intend to put the question myself!" That word brought order out of chaos. There was the master mind.

As soon as the mult.i.tude had recovered itself, and the excitement of irrepressible enthusiasm had abated, Mr. Richard Barnwell Rhett, of South Carolina, leaped upon one of the desks, waved his hand, and exclaimed:

"I move that the Honorable John Quincy Adams take the chair of the Speaker of this House, and officiate as presiding officer, till the House be organized by the election of its const.i.tutional officers! As many as are agreed to this will say ay; those--"

He had not an opportunity to complete the sentence--"those who are not agreed, will say no,"--for one universal, deafening, thundering ay, responded to the nomination.

Hereupon, it was moved and ordered that Lewis Williams, of North Carolina, and Richard Barnwell Rhett, conduct John Quincy Adams to the chair.

Well did Mr. Wise, of Virginia, say, "Sir, I regard it as the proudest hour of your life; and if, when you shall be gathered to your fathers, I were asked to select the words which, in my judgment, are best calculated to give at once the character of the man, I would inscribe upon your tomb this sentence, 'I will put the question myself.'" [Footnote: In a public address, Mr. Adams once quoted the well known words of Tacitus, Annal.

vi. 39--"Par negotiis neque supra"--applying them to a distinguished man, lately deceased. A lady wrote to inquire whence they came. Mr. Adams informed her, and added, that they could not be adequately translated in less than seven words in English. The lady replied that they might be well translated in five--Equal to, not above, duty--but better in three--JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.--Ma.s.sachusetts Quarterly Review.]

CHAPTER XIV.

MR. ADAMS' FIRMNESS IN DISCHARGE OF DUTY--HIS EXERTIONS IN BEHALF OF THE AMISTAD SLAVES--HIS CONNEXION WITH THE SMITHSONIAN BEQUEST--TOUR THROUGH CANADA AND NEW YORK--HIS RECEPTION AT BUFFALO--VISITS NIAGARA FALLS--ATTENDS WORSHIP WITH THE TUSCARORA INDIANS--HIS RECEPTION AT ROCHESTER--AT AUBURN--AT ALBANY--AT PITTSFIELD--VISITS CINCINNATI--a.s.sISTS IN LAYING THE CORNER STONE OF AN OBSERVATORY.

It would be impossible, in the limit prescribed to these pages, to detail the numerous scenes and occurrences of a momentous nature, in which Mr.

Adams took a prominent part during his services in the House of Representatives. The path he marked out for himself at the commencement of his congressional career, was pursued with unfaltering fidelity to the close of life. His was the rare honor of devoting himself, unreservedly, to his legitimate duties as a Representative of the people while in Congress, and to nothing else. He believed the halls of the Capitol were no place for political intrigue; and that a member of Congress, instead of studying to shape his course to make political capital or to subserve party ends, should devote himself rigidly and solely to the interests of his const.i.tuents. His practice corresponded with his theory. His speeches, his votes, his entire labors in Congress, were confined strictly to practical subjects, vitally connected with the great interests of our common country, and had no political or party bearing, other than such as truth and public good might possess.

His hostility to slavery and the a.s.sumptions and usurpations of slave power in the councils of the nation, continued to the day of his death. At the commencement of each session of Congress, he demanded that the infamous "gag rule," which forbid the presentation of pet.i.tions on the subject of slavery, should be abolished. But despite its continuance, he persisted in handing in pet.i.tions from the people of every cla.s.s, complexion and condition. He did not hesitate to lay before the House of Representatives a pet.i.tion from Haverhill, Ma.s.s., for the dissolution of the Union! Although opposed in his whole soul to the prayer of the pet.i.tioners, yet he believed himself sacredly bound to listen with due respect to every request of the people, when couched in respectful terms.

In vain did the supporters of slavery endeavor to arrest his course, and to seal his lips in silence. In vain did they threaten a.s.sa.s.sination--expulsion from the House--indictment before the grand jury of the District of Columbia. In vain did they declare that he should "be made amenable to another tribunal, [mob-law] and as an incendiary, be brought to condign punishment." "My life on it," said a southern member, "if he presents that pet.i.tion from slaves, we shall yet see him within the walls of the penitentiary." All these attempts at brow-beating moved him not a t.i.ttle. Firm he stood to his duty, despite the storms of angry pa.s.sion which howled around him, and with withering rebukes repelled the a.s.saults of hot-blooded opponents, as the proud old headland, jutting far into ocean's bosom, tosses high, in worthless spray, the dark mountain billows which in wrath beat upon it.

"Do the gentlemen from the South," said he, "think they can frighten me by their threats? If that be their object, let me tell them, sir, they have mistaken their man. I am not to be frightened from the discharge of a sacred duty, by their indignation, by their violence, nor, sir, by all the grand juries in the universe. I have done only my duty; and I shall do it again under the same circ.u.mstances, even though they recur to-morrow."

"Though aged, he was so iron of limb, None of the youth could cope with him; And the foes whom he singly kept at bay, Outnumbered his thin hairs of silver grey."

Nor was Mr. Adams without encouragement in his trying position. His immediate const.i.tuents, at their primary meetings, repeatedly sent up a cheering voice in strong and earnest resolutions, approving heartily his course, and urging him to, perseverance therein. The Legislatures of Ma.s.sachusetts and Vermont, rallied to his support. In solemn convocation, they protested against the virtual annihilation of the right of pet.i.tion--against slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia--gave their entire sanction to the principles advocated by Mr.

Adams, and pledged their countenance to all measures calculated to sustain them.

Large bodies of people in the Eastern, Northern, and Middle States, sympathized with him in his support of the most sacred of privileges bestowed on man. Representative after Representative were sent to Congress, who gathered around him, and co-operated with him in his holy warfare against the iron rule which slavery had been enabled to establish in the national Legislature. With renewed energy he resisted the mighty current which was undermining the foundations of the Republic, and bearing away upon its turbid waters the liberties of the people. And he resisted not in vain.

The brave old man lived to see his labors, in this department of duty, crowned with abundant success. One after another the cohorts of slavery gave way before the incessant a.s.saults, the unwearied perseverance, of Mr.

Adams, and the faithful compeers who were sent by the people to his support. At length, in 1845, the obnoxious "gag rule" was rescinded, and Congress consented to receive, and treat respectfully, all pet.i.tions on the subject of slavery. This was a moral triumph which amply compensated Mr. Adams for all the labors he had put forth, and for all the trials he had endured to achieve it.

Yes; he "lived to hear that subject which of all others had been forbidden an entrance into the Halls of Congress, fairly broached. He lived to listen, with a delight all his own, to a high-souled, whole-hearted speech on the slave question, from his colleague, Mr. Palfrey--a speech, of which it is not too high praise to say, that it would not have disparaged the exalted reputation of Mr. Adams, had he made it himself.

Aye, more, he lived to see the whole House of Representatives--the members from the South, not less than those from the North, attentive and respectful listeners to that speech of an hour's length, on the political as well as moral aspect of slavery in this Republic. What a triumph! At the close of it, the moral conqueror exclaimed, 'G.o.d be praised; the seals are broken, the door is open.'" [Footnote: Rev. S. J. May.]

If anything were wanting to crown the fame of Mr. Adams, in the Last days of life, with imperishable honor, or to add, if possible, new brilliancy to the beams of his setting sun, it is found in his advocacy of the freedom of the Amistad slaves.

A ship-load of negroes had been stolen from Africa, contrary to the law of nations, of humanity and of G.o.d, and surrept.i.tiously smuggled, in the night, into the Island of Cuba. This act was piracy, according to the law of Spain, and of all Governments in Christendom, and the perpetrators thereof, had they been detected, would have been punished with death.

Immediately after the landing of these unfortunate Africans, about thirty-six of them were purchased of the slave-pirates, by two Spaniards named Don Jose Ruiz and Don Pedro Montes, who shipped them for Guanaja, Cuba, in the schooner "Amistad." When three days out from Havana, the Africans rose, killed the captain and crew, and took possession of the vessel--sparing the lives of their purchaser's, Ruiz and Montes. This transaction was unquestionably justifiable on the part of the negroes.

They had been stolen from their native land--had fallen into the hands of pirates and robbers, and reduced to abject slavery. According to the first law of nature--the law of self-defence--implanted in the bosom of every human being by the Creator, they were justified in taking any measures necessary to restore them to the enjoyment of that freedom which was theirs by birthright.

The negroes being unable to manage the schooner, compelled Ruiz and Montes to navigate her, and directed them to shape her course for Africa; for it was their design to return to their native land. But they were deceived by the two Spaniards, who brought the schooner to the coast of the United States, where she was taken possession of by Lieut. Gedney, of the U. S. surveying brig Washington, a few miles off Montauk Point, and brought into New London, Conn., The two Spaniards claimed the Africans as their property; and the Spanish Minister demanded of the President of the United States, that they be delivered up to the proper authorities, and taken back to Havana, to be tried for piracy and murder. The matter was brought before the District Court of Connecticut.