Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/235

DOUGLAS 227 fended the whole series in a speech (Oct. 24, 1850) in which he defined the principles on which the compromise acts of 1850 were found- ed, and upon which he subsequently defended the Kansas-Nebraska bill in these words: " These measures are predicated on the great fundamental principle that every people ought to possess the right of framing and regulating their own internal concerns and domestic institutions in their own way These tilings are all confided by the constitution to each state to decide for itself, and I know of no reason why the same principle should not be extended to the territories." Mr. Doug- las was an unsuccessful candidate before the democratic national convention at Baltimore in 1852 for the nomination for the presidency. On the 30th ballot he received 92 votes, the highest number given to any candidate on that ballot, out of a total of 288 votes. At the con- gressional session of 1853-'4 he reported the celebrated bill to organize the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, which effectually revo- lutionized political parties in the United States, and formed the issues upon which the demo- cratic and republican parties became arrayed against each other. The passage of this bill caused great excitement in the free states of the Union, and Mr. Douglas as its author was widely and vehemently denounced, and in many places was hanged and burned in effigy. The whole controversy turned on the provision repealing the Missouri compromise, which he maintained was inconsistent with the principle of non-intervention by congress with slavery in states and territories. After repealing the Mis- souri restriction, the bill declared it to be the "true intent and meaning of the act, not to legislate slavery into any state or territory, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the peo- ple thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the constitution of the United States." In 1856 he was again a candidate for the presidental nomination before the demo- cratic convention at Cincinnati. The highest vote he received was on the 16th ballot, which stood for Buchanan 168, for Douglas 121, for Cass 6. In the congressional session of 1857-'8 he denounced and opposed the Lecompton con- stitution, on the ground that it was not the act of the people of Kansas, and did not embody their will. Before the adjournment of that session he returned home to vindicate his ac- tion before the people of Illinois in one of the most exciting and well contested political can- vasses ever known in the United States, his antagonist on the stump being Abraham Lin- coln, who was then the republican candidate for senator. The popular vote at the subse- quent election was adverse to Mr. Douglas, I but he succeeded in carrying the election of a sufficient number of state senators and repre- ! sentatives to- secure his return to the United ' States senate by 54 votes for him to 46 for Lincoln. Mr. Douglas was remarkably suc- cessful in promoting the local interests of his own state during his congressional career. To him, more than to any other individual, is Illi- nois indebted for the magnificent grant of lands 1 which secured the construction of the Illinois Central railroad, and contributed so much to restore the credit and develop the resources of the state. He was a warm supporter and advocate of a railroad from the Mississippi river to the Pacific ocean. In foreign policy he opposed the treaty with England limiting the Oregon territory to the 49th parallel, con- tending that England had no rights on that coast, and that the United States should never recognize her claim. He also opposed the ratification of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, and endeavored to procure its rejection, on the ground, among others, that it pledged the faith of the United States for all time to come never to annex, colonize, or exercise dominion over any portion of Central America. He maintained that the isthmus routes must be kept open as highways to the American pos- sessions on the Pacific, that the time would come when the United States would be com- pelled to occupy Central America, and that he would never pledge the faith of the republic not to do in the future in respect to this con- tinent what its interests and safety might re- quire. He also declared himself in favor of the acquisition of Cuba whenever the island could be obtained consistently with the laws of nations and the honor of the United States. In 1860 he was the candidate of the northern section of the democratic party for the presi- dency, Mr. Breckinridge being supported by the southern section. Mr. Douglas received a popular vote of upward of 1,300,000, though he got only 12 electoral votes, while Mr. Lin- coln, who was elected, got 180. In the stormy discussions in the senate at the beginning of the civil war Mr. Douglas took a prominent part in support of the government and the Union. In his speeches to the people after the adjournment of congress, he denounced seces- sion as crime and madness, and declared that if the new system of resistance by the sword and bayonet to the result of the ballot box shall prevail in this country, "the history of the United States is already written in the history of Mexico." In a letter dictated for publication during his last illness, dated May 10, 1861, he said but one course was left to patriotic men, and that was to sustain the Union, the constitution, the government, and the flag, against all assailants. On his death- bed his last coherent words expressed an ar- dent wish for the honor and prosperity of his country and the defeat and dispersion of her enemies. Mr. Douglas was a strongly built man, somewhat below the middle height, and hence was popularly known as " the little giant." He was a powerful speaker, and few Americans have surpassed him in personal in- fluence over the mass of the people. He was married, April 7, 1847, to Martha, daughter of