nion, and a
vindictive enemy of those who threatened its destruction.

His speeches in the Senate in the Thirty-sixth and the Thirty-seventh
Congress were read and much approved throughout the North, and they
prepared the way for the acceptance of his nomination as a candidate
of the Republican Party in 1864.

Mr. Johnson was an earnest supporter of the Crittenden Compromise.
That measure originated in the House of Representatives. It was
defeated in the Senate by seven votes and six votes of the seven came
from the South. The provisions of the bill were far away from the
ideals of Republicans generally, although the measure was sustained
by members of the party. By that scheme the Fugitive Slave Law was
made less offensive in two particulars, but the United States was to
pay for fugitives from slavery whenever a marshal failed to perform his
duty. As an important limitation of the powers of Congress, the
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia was to be dependent
upon the consent of the States of Maryland and Virginia.

Mr. Johnson gave voice to his indignation when he spoke of the Southern
men whose votes contributed to the defeat of the Crittenden Compromise.
"Who, then," said he, "has brought these evils upon the country? Whose
fault is it? Who is responsible for it? With the help we had from the
other side of the chamber, if all those on this side had been true to
the Constitution and faithful to their constituents, and had acted with
fidelity to the country, the amendment of the Senator from New
Hampshire could have been voted down. Whose fault was it? Who did it?
Southern traitors, as was said in the speech of the Senator from
California. They did it. They wanted no compromise."

These extracts show the style of speech in which Mr. Johnson indulged,
and they prove beyond question that in the winter of 1861 he had no
sympathy with the Republican Party of 1856 and 1860. These facts
explain, and in some measure they palliate, the peculiarities of his
career, which provoked criticism and an adverse popular judgment when
he came to the Presidency. Nor is there evidence within my knowledge
that he ever denied the right of secession. However that may have
been, he disapproved of the exercise of the right at all stages of the
contest.

In the Thirty-sixth Congress Mr. Johnson proposed amendments to the
Constitution which gave him consideration in the North. By his
proposition the Fugitive Sl