Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 1.
Frank Moore, Ed.

[83] And what do they say?-“United we stand-divided we fall.” Let us lift up our hearts to Almighty God for His presence and blessing.

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Prayer.

Almighty God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, the Infinite One, we are Thy creatures; Thou the Infinite and Eternal Creator, the King Eternal, Immortal and Invisible; the Great Emperor of heaven and of earth, doing Thy counsel in the armies of heaven and amid all the inhabitants of this lower world. We know we are unworthy; as a people we have to confess our sins before Thee, and come to Thy throne in the name of Jesus Christ, the great Mediator, who is Himself the Prince of the kings of the earth, that we might have an interest in Thy pardoning mercy, and under the blessings of our God and our fathers' God, we address ourselves to the exercises of this day and to the struggle to which Thy holy Providence calls us. Oh, God of our fathers, remember this favored land. We have reason to thank Thee for the spirit and success which Thou didst impart to our fathers in the revolutionary struggle; and may some of that spirit of our revered fathers and sainted mothers come down to their descendants on such occasions as this; and may that portion of the people of this land who, in the spirit of revolt, have gone from us, understand that we are but one people. Oh, God, we commit the cause in which the noble men — young men and men of middle age — have gone forth to fight the battles of this country and resist the aggressions of the foe, to Thy care, to Thy favor, to Thy providence, to Thy protection. Smile upon them and upon us, through Christ our Redeemer. Amen. (Responses of “Amen.” )

These preliminaries having been arranged, the meeting was formally organized as follows:--

Mr. McCurdy put in nomination for President Mr. John A. Dix.

The following list of officers was then put in nomination, and acceded to:--

Vice-Presidents.

W. B. Astor,

Greene C. Bronson,

Peter Cooper,

W. M. Evarts,

W. C. Bryant,

Pelatiah Perit,

Geo. Bancroft,

John A. King,

Moses Taylor,

James Boorman,

Stewart Brown,

John J. Phelps,

R. B. Minturn,

Henry Grinnell,

O. D. F. Grant,

W. E. Dodge,

Watts Sherman,

Edwin Crosswell,

L. G. B. Cannon,

John D. Wolfe,

Seth B. Hunt,

Edwin Dobbs,

Joseph Stuart,

R. H. McCurdy,

Joseph W. Alsop,

E. E. Morgan,

Willis Blackstone,

Nath. Hayden,

John Lloyd,

Chas. H. Russell,

Robt. Ray,

Benj. L. Swan,

John Q. Jones,

David Hoadley,

Robt. J. Taylor,

Jas. N. Phelps,

Jas. Low,

John Ewen,

Jas. A. Briggs,

John D. Jones,

Wm. C. Bryce,

Henry F. Vail,

Frederick Bronson,

F. A. Conkling,

A. J. Williamson,

D. H. Arnold,

Geo. Folsom,

Andrew Carrigan,

A. C. Kingsland,

Isaac Ferris,

J. Auchincloss,

M. Franklin,

D. R. Martin,

Wm. Chauncey,

H. B. Chaflin,

Wm. Bryce,

A. S. Hewitt,

S. B. Althause,

Peter Lorillard,

Erastus Brooks,

Joseph Schleigman,

Schuyler Livingston

W. H. Osborn,

A. A. Vanderpoel,

W. W. De Forrest,

A. B. Baylis,

Elnathan Thorne,

W. B. Maclay,

Fred. Kapp,

Anson Herrick,

Theodore Fowler,

Daniel Leroy,

S. L. Mitchill,

Augustus Schell,

Chas. Christmas,

J B. Varnum,

Wm. Hall,

Chas. A. Secor,

John T. Hoffman,

Hamilton Fish,

Luther Bradish,

Fernando Wood,

A. T. Stewart,

Morris Ketchum,

Jonathan Sturges,

J. J. Astor,

John Cochran,

Alex. Duncan.

Secretaries.

J. Smith Homans,

John Bigelow,

John T. Johnston,

Sheppard Gandy,

D. D. Lord,

C. H. Marshall, Jr.,

Jas. G. De Forest,

George A. Vogel,

Fletcher Westray,

Charles B. Norton,

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Speech of the Hon. John A. Dix.

On taking the chair, the President said:--

Fellow-Citizens:--We have come together to express our determination to uphold the authority of the Government and to maintain inviolate the honor of the country. The circumstances under which we are assembled are calculated to fill any patriotic heart with the deepest concern. For the first time in our day civil strife has broken out in the bosom of our prosperous and happy country, and has been pushed by unscrupulous men to the extremity of war and bloodshed. With no provocation whatever from the Federal Government they turned their army in fraternal hatred against it, even when it was administered by those who were actuated by the most friendly dispositions toward them. But I do not doubt, when the present excitement shall have passed away, when those who have thus arrayed themselves against the Government of the country shall have learned from a disastrous experience that their true interest lies in peace, all will concede, on a review of the past in a spirit of fairness and moderation, that there was no just ground for alienation. (Cheers.) But, fellow-citizens, I feel that all such considerations are inappropriate to the hour. The time for action has come. Practical issues are upon us, to be dealt with under a just sense of the responsibilities they have brought with them. The Constitution of the United States has been spurned and repudiated. The authority of the Government has been resisted by military force. The flag of the Union has been insulted, in more than one instance torn down, and even trampled under foot. Most of us were born, and all of us have lived in prosperity and peace under the protection of the constitution; we have regarded our allegiance to the Union as second only to our religion in the sanctity of its obligations; and we have venerated the national standard, under which Washington and Jackson and the host of gallant men who were their companions in arms, or who followed in their footsteps, achieved undying honors for themselves and their country. (Enthusiastic applause.) We should be more or less men if we could look with indifference on these outrages on all we hold most dear. There is no justification for the cause of the Confederate States in overturning within their limits the authority of the Federal Government. They have no excuse for it. This is no time for elaborate argument. Let me say in a word, that no respectable defence of the right of secession has ever fallen under my notice. No man contends that there is any warrant for it in the constitution. There is but one way for a State to go out of the Union--the way in which all came in — by the concurrence of the common authority. In no other manner can the terms of separation be agreed on. (We don't want to separate.) Whatever preliminary action there may be, it must come to this conclusion at last. It is an omitted case in our political compact. The framers of the constitution did not contemplate the dissolution of the Union. They framed the Government for themselves and their posterity. The repudiation of its authority by one of its members was not foreseen or provided for. It is a case which cannot be reached by the powers vested in Congress or in the Executive; and the States are necessarily remitted to the exercise of their united sovereignty for the solution of a problem which concerns the existence of all. It was for this reason that a Committee, of