THEY TOOK THE VAN1 TEN YEARS OF POLITICAL ABOLITIONISM, THE LIBERTY PARTY, 18.39-1848 A Thesis Presented to the F~culty of the School of Social Science Morehead State University In Partial }'ulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in History by Doris Lynn Koch May 1969 Accepted by the faculty of.the School of Social Scienoe, Morehead State University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in History .degree. ) 'I I Director Master's Chairman ... TABLE OF CONTENTS . PAGE INTRODUCTION I I I I O I I I I I .._, .. • . .. · •·. • . 1 CHAPTER I. PETITIONING AND QUESTIONING FAI~ • • • • • • 5 II. UNITY FRml DIVISION • , , , • • , , , • • • , 17 III, EARLY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE LIBERTY PAR~Y • • 101 IV, A TRIO OF CArlDIDATES: THE ELECTION OF 1844 135 V. THE PARTY IN TRANSITION • •. , • • , , • • • . 158 . VI, THE LIBERTY PARTY IN DECLINE, , , , , • , , 181 ASSESSMENT OF THE LIBERTY PARTY , , , , , . , , , , , 213 BIBLIOGRAPHY . - . • • • .• . 220 ·- INTRODUCTION Panaticsl Disunionistsl Foolsl Such epithets were bailed at the men who from 1830 to 1860'labored tor the emancipation of the American Negro, The history of the Liberty party forms a chapter in the lengthy narrative of abolitionism, Throughout the history of civilization, men have found that by banding together and promoting their particular cause in the bounds of fellowship, their chances for success are greatly enhanced, Abolitionists did not form a coherent group until December 4, 1833, when deliberations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, culminated in the organi­ zation of the American Anti-Slavery Society, The. formation of a national organization marked the beginning of a concerted effort on the part of antislavery men to ·present their ideas to the ~eople of the United States, The American Anti-Slavery Society attempted to convert the nation to abolitionism, Their methods included propagandizing through the mails by sending newspapers, tracts, and magazines.throughout the country, Antislavery lectures were delivered, These methods, however, were not destined to provide their desired effects, Mob violence often greeted abolitionist speeches, and meetings, not only in the South, but also throughout ·. 2 the North, The First Anniversary Meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society at the Chatham Street Chapel in New York City caused a three day riot,· A Society member's home. was sacked, and several churches were damaged, In 1835 riots took place in Utica, N.ew York and Boston, Massachusetts, The Boston mob.of October 21 was so vehement that William Lloyd Garrison, editor of the abolitionist newspaper,~ Liberator, was led to jail for his protection,1 James Gillespie Birney, a Kentucky slaveholder turned abolitionist, was no stranger to riotous actions, In July~ 1835, he faced a Danville, Kentucky mob, His antislavery newspaper, The Philanthropist, was wrecked by Cincinnati, Ohio rioters on July JO, 18J6, While meetings and lectures were being disrupted by violence in the North, the mail was being burned ~n the South, On July JO, 1835, a groups of citizens broke into the Charleston, South Carolina Post Office and burned stacks of abolitionist material, Protests to Postmaster General Amos Kendall resulted in the acqui­ escence of the federal government to Southern mail censor- ship, The abolitionists gained scattered support in the lLouis Filler, The Crusade Ai>:ainst Slavery, 1830- 1860 - (liew Yerka Harper and Brothers, 1960) 1 p, 77, .3 North, seemingly, because of Southern actions which • were viewed as a repression of freedom of speech and press,2 Additional Northern support was gained by the advocates of abolitionism when the infamous gag rul.e was imposed in the Congress of the United States, Anti­ slavery petitions were sent to Congress in an organized campaign directed by the antislavery societies for the purpose of abolishing slavery in the District-of Columbia, and protesting the possible annexation of Texas, John C, Calhoun and his S_outhern supporters managed to have the antislavery petitions laid on the table without comment, By 1840 a procedure whereby antislavery petitions were ignored became a standing rule in the House,3 The petition struggle brought many Northerners into sympathy with the abolitionist cause as the right of petition was considered to be a constitutional guarantee, As arguments continued in Congres?, violence continued throughout the North, In November, 1837, the abolitionist cause gained its first martyr, Elijah P, Lovejoy, Editor of an abolitionist newspaper,~ Alton 2w, Sherman Savage, The Controversy Over The ~istribtttion of Abolition Literature, 1830-TI.loo -niew York, The Association For 'l'he Study of Nei:ro Life and History, 1938), pp, 54-55, .3Henry H, Simm~, Emotion~ High~• Abolition ~QU:t.a;u -.: 4 Observer, Lovejoy was murdered while defending pis press 1n Alton, Illinois. Thus a "physical martyr" had been added to the "civic martyrs," such as John Quincy Adams, who along with ot.her Norther:t;l politicians had been slandered for his fight against the ·gag rule in Congress. _ Violence continued. and on May 17, 1838, Pennsylvania Hall, a Philadelphia building constructed by abolitionist funds, was burned by a mob. These events and other circumstances ·were to leave an indelible impression on the minds of antislavery men. 4 : The mobs abolitionists faced above and below the Mason­ Dixon Line, the petition struggle and resulting gag rules, the interference with the delivery of abolitionist litera­ ture through the mails, the murder of Lovejoy, and other incidents convinced many antislavery advocates of the inefficacy of the moral suasion program being attempted by the American Anti-Slavery Society. Their ensuing actions cover the period from 183.9 to 1848; their policies came to be termed political abolitionism, and their political organization was kno~m as the Liberty party. as a· Controversial Factor, 1830-1845 (Richmond, Virginia1 William Byrd Press, 1960), p. 119. 4c1ement Eat!=m, "Mob Violence In The Old South," Mi~sJssippi Valley Historical Review,XXIX (December, 'I9 2 , p. 351. CHAPTER I PETITIONING AND QUESTIONING.FAIL In 1838 abolitionists faced an ever increasing problem, what means should they use to accomplish their goals? Their meetings and lectures were disrupted, Their literature burned,· A member of the flock had been IIUl'dered, The petition struggle was gaining some Northern adherents to their side albeit the ultimate goals of anti- 1lavery men seemed as far away as before, The need for a mode of action to accomplish abolitionist desires was evident, Diversity within the antislavery ranks, however, did not tend to ameliorate their disputes over methodology and final purpose, Within the American Anti-Slavery Society the vestiges of that diversity were being manifested in disagreements concerning the actual purposes of the organi­ zation, In 1838, Alvan Stewart, a resident of Utica, New York, and member or the American Society, proposed that the 1833 Constitution of the group be altered, Stewart Wished to delete the clause in the governing document which affirmed the rights of the Southern states under the Constituti.on of the United Stat·es,1 _ Stewart, speaking at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the American Anti-Slavery lBayard Tuckerman, William Jay And The Constitutional !lovement For The Abolition of Slavery (i'iewYork: Dodd, Head· r.nd Company, T8"9J), p, 52, - 6 society, held in New' York City, in May, 1838, proposed a resolution which would have recognized the power of the tederal government over slavery wherever the peculiar lnSt1 tut ion existed, The Society '·s Cons titut ion declared that Congress had the power to abolish slavery in the J territories and the District of Columbia, and that the interstate slave trade was within its legislative authority, ?et, the states were free to legislate within their borders on the question of slavery, 2 Although Stewart's opinions were shared by others 1n the Society, the necessary two-thirds majority was not willing to back his suggestion, This question of consti­ tutional power over slavery was a common problem in the 1ears p~ior to the Civil War, In fact, it would cause aerious splits in the abolitionist ranks, The formation of a separate political party composed ot abolitionists was deprecated by the American Anti-Slavery Society, but other means of political action were advised, At the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Society the following resolution was adopted• •, ,We recommend to abolitionists throughout· the country to interrogate candidates for office with 2Ibid,, PP• 92-93, 'l reference to their opinions on subjects connected with the abolition of slavery, and to vote irrespective of party for those only who wi11 advocate the principles of universal liberty,J Also, the E.'xecutive Committee of the: Society was instructed to question the presidential and vice-pr~sidential candidates on these issues, the abolition of slavery in the District ot Columbia, the interstate slave trade, the annexation ot Texas as a slave state, and the recognition of Haitian ·1ndependence, 4 The practice of questioning candidates for public ottice concerning their attitudes toward ·slavery and abolition was viewed by many antislavery men as the most efficient means of thwarting the proslavery forces, Men llho advocated the "test question" as a reliable procedure and considered questioning.the strongest political weapon or abolitionism used as their motto, "Vote for no man who votes against freedom," 5 Throughout the North, state antislavery societies announced that their members did not intend to vote for Uorthern political candidates who refused to avow beliefs Sn the right of petition and congressional power over )Emancipator {New York City], May 10, 18J8, 4-Ib1d, Swilliam Birney,: James G, Birney ~ ~ Times,_ ' . i 8 l e].avery in the District of Columbia and terri~ories, I ' A Rochester, New Yor~1 antislavery meeting passed such a resolution in January, 1838, l .-,,While we as abolitionists refrain from political organization, yet, we will bestow our suffrages l ...