Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 13.djvu/39

POLITICAL PARTIES IN OREGON 31 cuting the war for the purpose of suppressing rebellion, main- taining the Constitution and executing" the laws ; but we are opposed to any war for the abolition of slavery, or for any other purpose but for the maintenance of the Constitution and Union." In contrast to this was the following statement of O'Meara, one of the leaders of the secession Democrats : "The Democratic party is opposed to the present unnatural, unjust, savage abolition war. Our leaders must say so in obedience to the party command. There is no such thing as a prosecution of this war for the restoration of the Union and the supremacy of the Constitution." The platform adopted by the Democratic State Convention which met at Albany, April 13, demonstrated the truth of the prediction which had been made by the Statesman, that the Copperheads would erect no platform upon which loyal War Democrats could consistently stand. The first plank renewed faith in and devotion to the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of 1798-1799. 34 There was an "irrepressible conflict" between this and the third plank which condemned the actions of the rebellious states. This is explainable by the evident, labored attempt to satisfy two elements in the same platform. How- ever, the same resolution went on to condemn and denounce "that usurpation of tyrannical authority which prohibits the return of those states to the Union, until they shall have made their constitutions conform, not to the will of their respective people, but to suit the anti-slavery views of President Lincoln and his party." An amendment of substitution was offered to this resolution declaring that the Union had not been dissolved and that when any seceded state should be brought back to its allegiance either voluntarily or by force, it should be restored to all its constitutional rights and privileges, free from all Con- gressional or executive dictation. The amendment was de- feated by a vote of 76 to 11, demonstrating the secession strength in the convention. Usurpation, tyranny, fraud and all violations of the Constitution and laws were condemned whole- sale in the usual terms. As a special mark of denunciation, 34 Proceedings, Statesman, April 18.