every step of the progress of these new communities, until they entered as great and prosperous commonwealths into the sisterhood of American States. In 1820, the North endeavored to overturn this wise and successful policy, and demanded that the State of Missouri should not be admitted into the Union, unless she first prohibited slavery within her limits, by her Constitution. After a bitter and protracted struggle, the North was defeated in her special object; but her policy and position led to the adoption of a section in the law, for the admission of Missouri, prohibiting slavery in all that portion of the territory acquired from France, lying North of 36 deg. 30 min. North latitude, and outside of Missouri. The venerable Madison, at the time of its adoption, declared it unconstitutional; Mr. Jefferson condemned the restriction, and foresaw its consequences, and predicted that it would result in the dissolution of the Union. His prediction is now history. The North demanded the application of the principle of prohibition of slavery to all of the territory acquired from Mexico, and all other parts of the public domain, then and in all future time. It was the announcement of her purpose to appropriate to herself all the public domain then owned and thereafter to be acquired by the United States. The claim itself was less arrogant and insulting than the reason with which she supported it. That reason was her fixed purpose to limit, restrain and finally to abolish slavery in the States where it exists. The South, with great unanimity, declared her purpose to resist the principle of prohibition to the last extremity. This particular question, in connection with a series of questions affecting the same subject, was finally disposed of by the defeat of prohibitory legislation.
The Presidential election of 1852, resulted in the total overthrow of the advocates of restriction and their party friends. Immediately after this result, the anti-slavery portion of the defeated party, resolved to unite all the elements in the North, opposed to slavery, and to stake their future political fortunes upon their hostility to slavery everywhere. This is the party to whom the people of the North have committed the government. They raised their standard in
