Washington City, Feb. 26, 1851.
My Dear Sumner,
I have long desired to write you, but have postponed it from day to day in the
hope that I might be able to congratulate you on your election. I suppose
another attempt has been made today, but the past has discouraged me. The
treachery of the rascals who have hitherto defeated you is probably too deep to
be repented of. But there will be a glorious issue to go to the people upon.
The Free Democracy and the Old Line Democracy will now be drawn into closer
sympathy. I think this approximation is needed. Your old style for our
organization of the Free Democracy, rather than Free Soil, you know, was always
most acceptable to me. In fact I should not myself be willing to fight in a
mere free soil party at the present time. I should be too uncertain whither it
would drift. We must soon grapple with the great question of emancipation. It
will not be long before the gentlemen who are always for compromise, will be
ready for some scheme of emancipation by which the masters will be indemnified.
Capital in mills and shops and stocks and capital in men women & children
will ally themselves together and propose a grand national debt for raising the
means of compensation. To be safe we must place ourselves on the ground of the
separation of the Genl. Government from slavery leaving all questions of
slavery within states to the states themselves. This is the democratic view,
and harmonizes with the original policy of the Government.
But why talk to you of these things, when you know all about
them? Let me hear from you. I shall leave on Tuesday morning or evening for
Cincinnati.
Yours ever,
[SALMON P. CHASE.]
SOURCE: Diary and correspondence of Salmon P. Chase, Annual
Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1902, Vol.
2, p. 234
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