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Editorial
February 7, 1858
The Washington Union
Washington, District Of Columbia
What is this article about?
The editorial defends Kansas's right to admission to the Union with its slavery-tested constitution, dismissing the Cincinnati platform as non-binding and criticizing congressional opposition as unworthy tactics.
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Full Text
"law and violence"—between the law of the State and the law of the mob.
We trust, at all events, we shall hear no more about the violation of the Cincinnati platform because of the non-submission of the whole constitution. That was a work to be done by and for the people of Kansas. They met the proposition of the Cincinnati platform by testing the will of the majority upon the question of slavery. The platform itself was advisory, not mandatory. It undertook to embody the views of the democratic party out of the Territory. It was not a law; it was an opinion. That opinion prevailed. Kansas comes here with her constitution in her hands thus framed; she asks admission into the Union, and she is met and opposed by all the factious expedients which have disturbed her own domestic peace, with small recruits from the democracy; she is met by parliamentary traps and pitfalls unworthy of the Congress of a free people.
We trust, at all events, we shall hear no more about the violation of the Cincinnati platform because of the non-submission of the whole constitution. That was a work to be done by and for the people of Kansas. They met the proposition of the Cincinnati platform by testing the will of the majority upon the question of slavery. The platform itself was advisory, not mandatory. It undertook to embody the views of the democratic party out of the Territory. It was not a law; it was an opinion. That opinion prevailed. Kansas comes here with her constitution in her hands thus framed; she asks admission into the Union, and she is met and opposed by all the factious expedients which have disturbed her own domestic peace, with small recruits from the democracy; she is met by parliamentary traps and pitfalls unworthy of the Congress of a free people.
What sub-type of article is it?
Slavery Abolition
Partisan Politics
Constitutional
What keywords are associated?
Kansas Admission
Cincinnati Platform
Slavery Question
Democratic Party
Union Admission
What entities or persons were involved?
Cincinnati Platform
Democratic Party
People Of Kansas
Congress
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
Kansas Constitution And Admission To The Union
Stance / Tone
Supportive Of Kansas Admission And Critical Of Opposition
Key Figures
Cincinnati Platform
Democratic Party
People Of Kansas
Congress
Key Arguments
The Cincinnati Platform Was Advisory, Not Mandatory
Kansas Tested The Will Of The Majority On The Question Of Slavery
Opposition To Admission Uses Factious Expedients And Parliamentary Traps