Edward Dickinson Baker. 5 honor upon slight controversies. But when we have made a deliberate claim in the eyes of the world ; when we persist that it is clear and unquestioned; when compromise has been offered and refused; when territory on the American con- tinent is at stake; and when our opponent does not even claim title in herself, I would poise myself upon the mag- nanimity of the nation, and abide the issue." Aware of the fact that he was out of harmony with the policy of his party, as a Whig, in his support of President Polk, he said: I desire to treat this as an American question, and I shall not be driven from that course. I am not one of those who supported Mr. Polk. I used the utmost of my abilit}^ to prevent his election; and when Mr. Clay was beaten, I confess, I felt as the friends of Aristides may be supposed to have felt when he was driven from Athens.
- * * Sir, the West will be true to her convictions. I
believe that portion of the West which sustained Mr. Polk will still be for the whole of Oregon." In reply to the charge that the controversy was caused by the restless spirit of Western men pressing into this new country, he replied: "Sir, it is to the spirit which prompts these settlers that we are indebted for the settlement of the Western states. The men who are going to beat down roads and level moun- tains—to brave and overcome the terrors of the wilderness —are our brethren and our kinsmen. It is a bold and free spirit; it has in it the elements of grandeur. They will march, not Like some poor exile, bending with his woe, To stop too fearful, and too faint to go; But they will go with free steps; they will bear with them all the arts of civilization, and they will found a Western Empire. Sir, it is possible they may not receive protection, but, at least, they should be shielded from reproach." In June, 1852, Baker arrived in San Francisco, California, and became a citizen of the Golden State. Here he became known as an able criminal lawyer and skillful debater in public life. He was the Republican candidate for Congress
