Thursday, January 25, 2024

Congressman Horace Mann, July 29, 1850

JULY 29, 1850.

We have just heard that Mr. Winthrop has been appointed senator to fill the place made vacant by Mr. Webster. Under the circumstances, the duty of appointing devolved upon Gov. Briggs. I am so certain, that I can almost say I know this appointment has been very disagreeable to Gov. Briggs, and that he has been forced into it by the Webster influence. The promotion, and therefore indorsement, of Mr. Webster by President Fillmore, has given the proslavery party a prodigious advantage in this contest. If the South, and their proslavery friends at the North, do not carry this measure, it will be almost like a miracle. But there is a goodly number of us who will stand firm. For my part, I would rather have the feeling of free thought and free speech within me than to have the highest office which the nation can bestow.

The Compromise Bill is coming to a crisis, and the contest becomes intense. Two tie-votes were taken yesterday in the Senate on important amendments, which shows how nearly parties are divided.

SOURCE: Mary Tyler Peabody Mann, Life of Horace Mann, p. 310


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