Page:Essays on the Civil War and Reconstruction.djvu/20

 It was not understood by President Buchanan, or by the mass of the people, that the secession of South Carolina was the knell of the old principle. Mr. Buchanan promptly adopted the time-honored method of meeting the difficulty. His message in December, 1860, eulogized the constitution, and affirmed the supremacy of the general government in its sphere; he referred with emphasis to the reservation of rights to the states, and recoiled with horror from the idea of using force to preserve the Union, even if the power to do so were conferred. To Congress was left the devising of measures necessary to the circumstances, the President's only recommendation being an explanatory amendment to the constitution. The amendment, he thought, should deal not with the fundamental question, but with the status of slavery, so as forever to "terminate the existing dissensions, and restore peace and harmony among the states."

The executive having thus failed to free itself from the shackles which precedent imposed, what did Congress effect in the way of meeting the emergency? In the House a special committee of one member from each state was appointed, to consider as much of the President's message as referred to the perilous state of the country. A special committee of thirteen was likewise appointed in the Senate. The most casual examination of the enormous mass of propositions submitted to