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before:--“Our Federal Union: it must be preserved.”
Little was done at that time, excepting the appointment of delegates to the Peace Congress; but throughout the war,
Governor Yates and the people of
Illinois performed a glorious part.
Northward of
Illinois,
Wisconsin was spread out, between Lakes
Michigan and
Superior and the
Mississippi River, with a population of nearly eight hundred thousand.
Its voters were Republicans by full twenty thousand majority.
Its Governor,
Alexander W. Randall, was thoroughly loyal.
In his message to the Legislature, which convened at
Madison on the 10th of January,
he spoke of the doctrine of State Supremacy as a fallacy, and said:--“The signs of the times indicate, in my opinion, that there may arise a contingency in the condition of the
Government,
under which it may become necessary to respond to the call of the
National Government for men and means to sustain the integrity of the
Union, and thwart the designs of men engaged in an organized treason.”
The Legislature was ready to respond to these words by acts, but no occasion seemed to call for them at that time, and nothing was done until after the attack on
Fort Sumter.
Then the people of
Wisconsin gave men and money freely to the great cause of American Nationality.
Westward of the
Mississippi River, and stretching away northward along its course from the borders of
Missouri, were the young and vigorous States of
Iowa and
Minnesota; and across the continent, on the shores of the
Pacific Ocean, was
California.
The hearts of the people of these States beat responsive to Union sentiments whenever uttered.
Iowa had nearly seven hundred thousand inhabitants.
Its Governor,
Samuel J. Kirkwood, was thoroughly loyal, and spared no exertions in raising troops for the defense of the
State against lawless insurgents that might come up from
Missouri, and in aid of the
National Government,
when the
President called for them.
“In this emergency,” the
Governor said, “
Iowa must not, and does not, occupy a doubtful position.
For the
Union, as our fathers formed it, and for the
Government they framed so wisely and so well, the ”
