which was characteristic of the New
England abolitionist. He perceived no race problem, no peculiar
difficulty in the readjustments of master and slave which were involved
in emancipation, and he ignored all obstacles to the accomplishment of
his ends. Webster's arraignment of South Carolina was directed against
an alleged erroneous dogma and only incidentally affected personal
morality. The reaction, therefore, was void of bitter resentment.
Sumner's charges were directed against alleged moral turpitude, and
the classic form and scrupulous regard for parliamentary rules which he
observed only added to the feeling of personal resentment on the part of
his opponents. Some of the defenders of slavery were themselves
devoted students of the classics, but they found that the orations of
Demosthenes furnished nothing suited to their purpose. The result was a
humiliating exhibition of weakness, personal abuse, and vindictiveness
on their part.

There was a conspiracy of silence on the slavery question in 1852. Each
of the national parties was definitely committed to the support of the
compromise and especially to the faithful observance of the Fugitive
Slave Law. Free-soilers had distinctly declined in numbers and influence
during the four preceding years. Only a handful of members in each House
of Congress remained unaffiliated with the parties whose platforms had
ordained silence on the one issue of chief public concern. It was by a
mere accident in Massachusetts politics that Charles Sumner was sent to
the Senate as a man free on all public questions.

While the parties were making their nominations for the Presidency,
Sumner sought diligently for an opportunity in the Senate to give
utterance to the sentiments of his party on the repeal of the Fugitive
Slave Act. But not until late in August did he overcome the resistance
of the combined opposition and gain the floor. The watchmen were caught
off guard when Sumner introduced an amendment to an appropriation bill
which enabled him to deliver a carefully prepared address, several hours
in length, calling for the repeal of the law.

The first part of this speech is devoted to the general topic of the
relation of the national Government to slavery and was made in answer
to the demand of Calhoun and his followers for the direct national
recognition of slavery. For such a demand Sumner found no warrant. By
the decision of Lord Mansfield, said he, "the state of slavery"
was d