Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 14.djvu/492

 486 Southern Historical Society Papers.

serted they had no intention of interfering with slavery in the States True, a war-proclamation ot emancipation was issued finally, and a movement was made to amend the Federal Constitution, as if to make this emancipation effectual. But this was avowedly done as a threat, to induce a surrender to avoid such a result. Yet, promptly after sur- render, the Southern people waived the discussion of all technicali- ties on this question, and relieved their late enemies of all necessity to enter upon such discussion, and, in conventions assembled, each State for itself most solemnly abolished slavery in their borders. To protect the negro in his freedom was more than a corollary to this emancipation. It was a duty which the preservation of society made necessarv in each State, and by each State for itself.

But the Northern Stales and people were not satisfied with these prompt and manly concessions by our people ot every legal, neces- sary, reasonable, and even incidental result of defeat in the war. The war b^ing over, our arms surrendered, our government scattered, and our people helpless, they now determined not only to enlarge the issues made by the war, and during the war, but they also deter- mined to change those issues, and make demands which had not before been made, which, indeed, had been utterly disclaimed in every possible form by every State of the North, and every department of the Federal government — legislative, executive and judicial. Nay, they now made demands, which they had in every form declared they could have no power or right to make without violating the Consti- tution they had sworn to support, and destroying the Union they had waged the war itself to preserve. Over and over, during the war, they proclaimed in every authoritative form to us and to foreign governments that secession was a nullity, that our States were still in the Union, and that we had only to lay down our arms and retain all our rights and powers as equal States in the Union. We laid down our arms, and immediately they insisted our States had lost all their rights and powers in the Union, and while compelled to remain under the contrd of the Union, we could only do so with such rights and powers as they might accord, and on such terms and conditions as they might impose.

Over and over again, during the war, they, in like authoritative forms, proclaimed that our people had taken up arms in defence of secession under misapprehension of their purposes toward us, and that we had only to lay down our arms and continue to enjoy in the Union every right and privilege as before the mistaken act of secession. We laid down our arms, and they declared we were all criminals and