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as a nation half slave and half free. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Now, however, the old Whig party was in ruins. A new party, pledged to oppose all further extension of slavery, was to rise and assert itself. It may be said that this party occupied a middle ground between the Democratic party (pledged as that was, in fact, to the support of slavery) and the Abolitionists, pledged to destroy slavery instantly and by every possible means.

It must be apparent, then, to any one who has followed this history, that Lincoln was the natural leader of the Free-Soil party. In no other part of the country could be found any man who had so carefully studied the question of American slavery, as it was related to our system of government and to the political parties of the time, as Lincoln. Moreover, he was animated by a sincere love of liberty, and he was a shrewd and even cunning politician. As we have seen, he was early in politics, having amused himself with these matters from his boyhood. Not at once, however, did he take the place of leader. Not at once did he throw in his fortunes with those who were to be the leaders of the new Free-Soil party. He always moved slowly and with a deliberation that deceived many and annoyed not a few. They thought him too slow, over-cautious, even waiting to see which was to be the winning side. Nothing could be more unjust. Much of his supposed hesitancy was to wait the inevitable consequence of events. And it will help us to a better understanding of Lincoln's purposes if we bear in

mind that, from the first, he saw that a conflict of some kind was sure to come. But the time came when he took his final stand and declared that he must thenceforth be the champion of freedom against slavery until, to use his own memorable words, "the sun shall shine, the rain shall fall, and the wind shall blow upon no man who goes forth to unrequited toil."

CHAPTER XII.

THE COMING MAN.

Birth of the Republican Party-Nomination of Frémont-The Party Lines Drawn-A Virulent Campaign-Election of James Buchanan-Kansas Reluctant to Consent to Slavery.

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CONVENTION of men opposed to the KansasNebraska measure was called to meet in Bloomington, Illinois, May 29, 1856. It was a meeting, in fact, of such persons residing in Illinois as were opposed to the further extension of slavery. Naturally the assemblage was made up of men who were divided on many of the minor questions relating to the conflict of slavery and freedom, and, in fact, it soon became evident that they could not unite on any declaration of principles beyond that of hostility to slavery and all measures for its extension, without much difficulty. Lincoln was sent for, and, finding the managers of this mass-meeting in trouble, he proposed the following. He said: "Let us, in building our new party, make our cornerstone the Declaration of Independence. Let us build on this rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against us." This simple and sufficient 'platform" met the approval of all who heard it. The convention, if it may be dignified by that name, adopted the following resolution, which was only an expansion of Lincoln's idea:

"Resolved, That we hold, in accordance with the opinions and practices of all the great statesmen of all parties for the first sixty years of the administration of the government, that, under the Constitution, Congress possesses full power to prohibit slavery in the Territories; and that, while we will maintain all constitutional rights of the South, we also hold that justice, humanity, the principles of freedom, as expressed in our Declaration of Independence and our national Constitution, and the purity and perpetuity of our government require that that power should be exerted to prevent the extension of slavery into Territories heretofore free."

The Republican party was born.

Rising in the midst of that convention, which was an assembly vast in proportions, of the most ardent friends of freedom and some of the ablest leaders of public opinion, Lincoln made a masterly speech, kindling, thrilling, and stimulating. Like so many of his earlier addresses in the cause of Republican institutions, no report of the speech has been left One who was present at the meeting says of the

us.

address:

"Never was an audience more completely electrified by human eloquence. Again and again, during the progress of its delivery, they sprang to their feet and upon the benches, and testified, by long-continued shouts and the waving of hats, how deeply the speaker had wrought upon their minds and hearts. It fused the mass of hitherto incongruous elements into perfect homogeneity, and from that day to the present they have worked together in harmonious and fraternal union.”

Similar proceedings had taken place in other

States, each State organizing its party for freedom in its own way. The first national convention of the Republican party met in Philadelphia, June 17, 1856. John Charles Frémont, of California, was nominated for President, and William L. Dayton, of New Jersey, for Vice-President. Lincoln's Illinois friends, ever on the lookout for a chance to promote what they thought were his interests, made an effort to have him made the candidate for VicePresident. Mr. Dayton received 259 votes and Lincoln 110 votes, there being many votes scattered among leading members of the new party. When Lincoln, who remained in Springfield, heard of the votes cast for "Lincoln" for Vice-President, he said, unconscious of his growing fame, "That is probably the distinguished Mr. Lincoln of Massachusetts."

The Democratic convention, in the meantime, had met in Cincinnati, June 2, 1856, and had nominated James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, for President, and John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, for VicePresident. Douglas, Lincoln's frequent adversary, had reason to expect that he might be named for the Presidency as a reward for his advocacy of measures designed to carry slavery into the new Territories. This honor was denied him. On the sixteenth and next to the last ballot, Buchanan received 168 votes, of which 121 were from the free States, and 47 were from the slave States. Douglas received 122 votes, of which 49 were from free States, and 73 from slave States. The Republican party, in their platform of principles, denied the authority of Congress, or of any Territorial Legislature, of any

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