the life of stephen a. douglas-第40章
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on。 He could not comprehend the deep and unappeasable passions that rent the Nation。 The grim earnestness of his fellow…countrymen was as inconceivable to him as the demoniac enthusiasm of the great Apostle was to the scoffing Athenians who heard him on the Hill of Mars。 But； as the great tragedy deepened and darkened； he quit his political speculations and began to think； not of the success of his party； but of the possibility of saving the Union from imminent wreck。
He returned to Illinois and addressed the legislature； urging energetic support of the war； and on May 1st was welcomed back to Chicago by an immense assembly of all parties。 He was escorted to the great hall in which Lincoln had been nominated and there addressed the people。 He spoke not as a politician but as a generous patriot。 He denounced in unmeasured terms the Southern conspiracy which had resulted in secession and now had ripened into open and bloody rebellion。 He saw the treason of the South no longer as a mere element in an interesting political game； but as the blackest of human crimes and an awful menace to the life of the Republic。
〃There are only two sides to the question；〃 he said。 〃Every man must be for the United States or against it。 There can be no neutrals in this war； only patriots or traitors。 * * * It is a sad task to discuss questions so fearful as civil war； but sad as it is； bloody and disastrous as I expect it will be； I express it as my conviction before God that it is the duty of every American citizen to rally around the flag of his country。〃
Not long after his return home he was stricken with serious sickness。 The disease was not of such a character that it was expected to prove fatal； but the highest medical skill and most tender nursing were unavailing。 The truth was； although unsuspected； that his vital energies were completely exhausted by the enormous labors and deep agitations of the past ten years。 He had just passed his 48th birthday but was already gray and prematurely old。 He had dwelt amid the tempest for twenty years and had felt more of severe strain than most men who had seen the Psalmist's three score years and ten。 When told that his end was near； and asked what message he would send to his boys：
〃Tell them；〃 he said； 〃to obey the laws and support the Constitution of the United States。〃
On the morning of June 3rd he died。 His remains lie buried in Chicago on the shore of Lake Michigan； a spot fitly chosen as the last resting place of this most ceaselessly active and inexhaustibly resourceful of American statesmen。
History has not been kind to Douglas。 The farther we recede from events the more trivial seem the temporary circumstances which influence them and the clearer appear the changeless principles which ought to mold men's conduct。 But to the eager； impetuous man of action； the temporary circumstances are apt to be of overmastering force。 He was a practical man of action； whose course was generally guided by the accidental circumstances of the hour； rather than by fixed principles。 His education was defective。 He entered the great arena with little of either mental or moral culture。 Yet； severely as we now judge him； he did not fall below the prevailing standard of political morals。 His real sin was that he did not rise above the ethics of the times； that he remained deaf as an adder to the voices of the great reformers who sought to regenerate the age； and who were compelled to grapple with him in deadly struggle before they could gain footing on the stage。 The time was out of joint and he felt no vocation to set it right。 While his ethics has fared hard； his mental gifts have been over…estimated。 The availability of all his resources； his overwhelming energy and marvelous efficiency among men of intellect； gave rise to the impression which still survives that he was a man of original genius。 But of all his numerous speeches； heard or read by millions； not a sentence had enough vitality to survive even one generation。 Though for ten years of stormy agitation he was the most commanding figure in our public life and wielded power of which Presidents and Cabinets stood in awe； the things for which he is chiefly remembered are his unfortunate doctrine of popular sovereignty and the resistless power with which he defended his most dubious relation to the question of slavery。
His powerful influence upon the overshadowing question of the times； his restless activity in shaping the course of great political events； fast drifting into darkest tragedy； have obscured his work in less conspicuous fields。 While it does not come within the scope of this work to do more than portray his relation to the great national tragedy which was slowly evolving during the entire period of his political life； it should not be forgotten that his activity covered the whole field of legislation and that no man responded more generously or efficiently to the countless demands upon time and energy which so greatly burden the American statesman。
It is pleasant to find a Lieutenant General of the United States army in his old age and retirement recalling a visit in his boyhood to Washington； to seek redress of some West Point grievance； and how the only man he could find who had the leisure enough to effectively interview the Secretary of War on his behalf was Douglas。
It is sufficient for our purposes to say that for thirteen years he had practical control of all legislation affecting the Western Territories； that he drafted the bills establishing territorial governments for Minnesota； Kansas； Nebraska； Utah； New Mexico and Washington and prepared the acts for the admission of Wisconsin； California； Minnesota and Oregon。 He secured for his State an enormous grant of public land； which resulted in the building of the Illinois Central Railroad。 He warmly advocated the building of a railway to the Pacific。 He consistently favored the most liberal appropriations for internal improvements； and； with that provincial patriotism and jealousy of Old World interference which was fashionable fifty years ago； vigorously opposed the Clayton…Bulwer treaty as a practical annulment of the Monroe doctrine。
It is not to be set down in his list of sins that he failed to bridge over the widening chasm between the North and the South； but it must be charged to him as a mental defect that he hopelessly failed to comprehend the significance of the great movements which he seemed to lead； that in the keenness of his interest in the evolutions of political strategy he failed to discern the symptoms of coming revolution。
When the storm that had been brewing before his eyes for ten years broke upon the country it took him by surprise。 The ardor of his temperament； the eagerness of his ambition； make his conduct at times painfully resemble that of the selfish demagogue。 But the range of his vision was small。 He erred less from corruption of the heart than from deficiency of the mind。 But what statesman of note during those strange and portentous years preceding the war could safely expose his speech and conduct to the searchlight of criticism？ The wisest walked in darkness and stumbled often。 It was not the fate of Douglas to see the mists amid which he had groped swept away by the hurricane of war。
What he would have done had his life been protracted ten year longer； is subject of interesting speculation。 By temperament and habit he belonged to the preceding generation and it is difficult to conceive him working in harmony with the fiery and unyielding Puritans who succeeded。 He loved the Union heartily and hated secession。 He would have supported Lincoln in the great crisis。 In the regenerated America； which rose from the fiery baptisms of the war； with its new ideal； its new hopes； its new convictions and deeper earnestness； he would probably have found himself sadly out of place。 The epoch of history to which he belonged was closed。 Young as he was； he had outlived his historic era and there is a dramatic fitness in the ending of his career at this time。
End
