Embedded Files
After twelve years, the Republicans had returned to Washington House. Robert Lee was the first president since James Madison to be from Virginia. At a moment when the issue of slavery was becoming more and more divisive, the new chief executive had more than one hundred enslaved people at his various properties in his home state, something that his Federalist and Northern Democratic opponents regularly decried. Despite his personal views on the issue, however, Lee wrote to friends that he hoped to keep the presidency above the fray and try to strike a more lasting compromise in order to keep the nation together. Though few would have predicted it when he took the oath of office on March 4th, 1851, the nation was only six years away from armed conflict with itself.
The biggest issue of the day when Lee first moved into Washington House was the Runaway Slave Act. The Supreme Court heard a suit filed by Massachusetts and Rhode Island challenging the constitutionality of the law in February, and the ruling was eagerly anticipated by many on both sides of the issue. That ruling came on June 3, 1851, in a 4-3 ruling stating that the law in question was indeed constitutional. The Republican South rejoiced while the Federalist Northeast mourned. That sadness and anger quickly turned to action, however. Once again leading the charge, the state of Massachusetts passed a law forbidding their law enforcement officers from aiding in slave hunts or the return of slaves - directly challenging the Runaway Slave Act. Before any state in the South could challenge this defiance from Massachusetts, President Lee’s administration did. Attorney General Trent Camden filed suit against the “anti-Runaway” law in September of 1851. At the first hearing at the Federal District Court in Boston, the judge ruled in Massachusetts’ favor, and the government promised an appeal, setting the stage for the main political showdown of Lee’s presidency.
Despite this ever-pressing issue, President Lee was determined to accomplish positive domestic goals. In the fall of 1851, he announced that the Federal Bureau of Improvements and the United States Railway Company would majorly expand the National Road and Rail networks. The Third National Road would be extended down to Savannah, Georgia, with plans to eventually extend it down to St. Augustine, Florida - the territorial capital, further bringing up the desire for Florida to become a state - something that would ultimately happen in 1855. In addition to this project, the establishment of the Fourth National Road, running from St. Augustine to New Orleans, was announced, creating the long-awaited Gulf Coast route. The USRC announced the start of construction on rail connecting Philadelphia to St. Augustine, the first leg of which, from Philadelphia to Richmond, would begin immediately, with the total project expected to be done by 1861 and to include both Charleston and Atlanta. The USRC also announced the construction of a line from Franklin to St. Louis, which they expected to be done by the time Lee left office. All of this caused quite a buzz of excitement in the South, which had seen very little investment from the FBI in recent years. The Federalists, by contrast, kicked up some resistance, complaining that all of these projects were either in the South or West, with nothing going into the Northeast. These complaints largely fell on deaf ears, however, since that region already had several federal routes in operation, in addition to a large number of private road and rail lines.
On April 19, 1852, the First Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the federal government in the Massachusetts case, at which point the state vowed to appeal, setting up a final showdown before the Supreme Court. Seeing as how the court had only just upheld the Runaway Slave Act the year before, most political watchers at the time concluded that the highest court in the nation would ultimately rule in the government’s favor. Despite this, the Massachusetts government vowed to fight all the way. In the meantime, other New England states offered their own varying degrees of resistance to the Runaway Slave Act, from laws mimicking Massachusetts to more unofficial non-compliance. The final judgment was announced on May 10, 1853. In a 6-1 decision, the court ruled that Massachusetts’ law violated the constitutional order and ordered it struck down. In an act of unheard-of defiance, Massachusetts Governor Upton Ellsworth spoke with members of the press the following day, saying, “President Lee has received the judgment he wanted. Now he’s free to enforce it, as I will not.”
This image was created using the Wikipedia.org sandbox and MSPaint
The President and his cabinet did not quite know what to do at this point. The state of Massachusetts, along with the rest of New England, continued to refuse to enforce the Runaway Slave Act, and they were garnering support from abolitionist sympathizers across the country. Many in the South demanded swift and strong action, saying Massachusetts was acting in open rebellion. These voices called on the president to send in the Army and force compliance. Lee was unwilling to go that far, but he did order the Attorney General to prosecute several state officials throughout New England for failing to comply with the law. The summer of 1853 saw several major protests in Boston, Providence, Hartford, and even New York City and Brooklyn. By the fall, the most ardent supporters of resistance in Boston had established the New Sons of Liberty, an organization dedicated to the nationwide abolition of slavery, the establishment of racial equality, and other reforms to help “save the republic.” A few of their more radical members even speak of a “Second Revolution” to truly live up to America’s promise of liberty. While on the fringe, the “New Sons,” as they were often referred to, were very vocal and very visible throughout the entire period leading up to the War Between the States.
Things calmed down somewhat by the Winter of 1853, but tensions remained. Northern newspapers remain full of stories of excesses being carried out under the Runaway Slave Act, and small protests flare briefly, but compared to the summer, they are unremarkable affairs. In February of 1854, Platte and Florida were admitted as the 29th and 30th states of the Union. These admissions spurred on serious discussion of significantly reducing the number of citizens per congressional district since the House of Representatives now had over 500 members (each member of the House representing approximately 40,000 residents). Settlers continue to move west into Kanasaw Territory and the still unorganized Upper Louisiana Territory, and now making the even longer trek out to Oregon. There was starting to be serious discussion about dividing up the rest of the Upper Louisiana Territory to make way for eventual states by the end of the century, but the divide on slavery stalled any serious efforts to do so. In early 1855, gold was discovered in the Union of the Californias, kicking off a mad dash of fortune seekers from around the world. Some in the US suggest that the United States ought to step in to “protect” the Californians, as a thinly veiled attempt at annexation. President Lee, however, refused to entertain such notions, and again, with most other issues involving territory, the pro- and anti-slavery divide prevented any concrete congressional support for such a venture.
The first whispers about the 1856 election were just beginning to circulate when tragedy struck. On November 20th, 1855, As he was giving a speech in New York City, President Lee was shot by a radical abolitionist (despite claims in the newspapers at the time, he was not a member of the New Sons of Liberty, though likely influenced by their propaganda). For over six weeks, the president lingerd as infection and other complications slowly grew. Vice President Hawthorne took charge of day-to-day operations, though he steadfastly refused to take the title “Acting President” while Lee was still alive. Hawthorne vowed vengeance for the attack on the president, an action that he called “an attack on American democracy,” and began making plans with Attorney General Camden for crackdowns on the New Sons and other abolitionist groups. Finally, on January 6, 1856, President Robert Lee took his last breaths. In a little over a year, the United States will have descended into a civil war.
Google Sites
Report abuse