osition. He was one of the most cultivated men
of his day, a radical, and filled one of the most important places
in the history of his time. When he entered the Senate, the South
dominated this Government; the great triumvirate, Webster, Clay,
and Calhoun, had just passed. The day he entered, Clay for the
last time, feeble, emaciated, appeared on the Senate floor.
Compromise was the word, and the Southerners so dominated that it
was considered treason to mention the slavery question. Charles
Sumner was an abolitionist; he was not afraid, and at the very
first opportunity he took the floor and denounced the institution
in no unmeasured terms. Chase and Seward were present that day,
and quickly followed Sumner's lead. Seward, however, was far more
conservative than either Sumner or Chase.

It was the mission of Charles Sumner to awake the public conscience
to the horrors of slavery. He performed his duty unfalteringly,
and it almost cost him his life. Mr. Lincoln was the only man
living who ever managed Charles Sumner, or could use him for his
purpose. Sumner's end has always seemed to me most pitiful.
Removed from his high position as chairman of the Foreign Relations
Committee of the Senate, followed relentlessly by the enmity of
President Grant, than at the very acme of his fame; drifting from
the Republican party, his own State repudiating him, Charles Sumner
died of a broken heart.

But to return to the struggle between the President and Congress.
Trumbull, Sumner, Wade, and the leaders were bound in one way or
another to get the necessary two-thirds. The vote was taken in
the Senate: "Shall the Civil Rights bill pass the veto of the
President to the contrary notwithstanding?" It was well understood
that the vote would be very close, and the result uncertain.

The excitement was intense. The galleries were crowded; members
of the House were on the Senate floor. The result seemed to depend
entirely upon the vote of Senator Morgan, of New York, and he seemed
to be irresolute, uncertain in his own mind which way he would
vote. The call of the roll proceeded. When his name was reached
there was profound silence. He first voted nay, and then immediately
changed to yea. A wonderful demonstration burst forth as it was
then known that the bill would pass over the veto of the President,
and that the Republican party in Congress at last had complete
control. Senator Trumbull made a remarkable speech on