John Harrison Wilson, The life of Charles Henry Dana

During the whole of 1860-61 the country was convulsed by the heated discussion of slavery and the policy of the pro-slavery party. The Tribune's main contention, as already stated, was that slavery should not be interfered with in the States where it legally existed, nor should it be carried into or be established in any territory of the United States. This doctrine had been adopted by the Republican party, and that party was growing rapidly throughout the Northern States, and consequently the Southern States were becoming more and more apprehensive of the outcome of the discussion. Their representatives gave repeated warning that the triumph of the Republican, or Black Republican party, as they preferred to call it, would be followed by the secession of the slave States and the destruction of the Union; but the Tribune was incredulous. While it deprecated and derided such threats, it asserted its right and its intention to continue the discussion till the question was settled.

As usual, Greeley was frequently absent, and this left Dana much of the time in practical control. As the discussion progressed and the excitement became greater and greater, two currents of thought starting from a common basis began to show themselves in the columns of the paper. Both were unrelenting in hostility to slavery and the Democratic party, but while one showed a disposition to admit the possibility of peaceable secession, the other stoutly contended that the Union was in its very nature indissoluble, and must be maintained in its integrity at every cost. That the former reflected the personal views of Greeley, and for a time became the policy of the Tribune, cannot be doubted. It is equally certain that the latter embodied the opinions of Dana, and ultimately became the dominant note of the Union men everywhere, whether they belonged to the Republican or to the Democratic party.