Partition of territory in the Old Union.
One of the most surricing illustrations of the liberality of the
South and its disposition to do more than justice in its relations with the free States under the old Union, and the most conclusive of all answers to the hypocritical outcry of Southern aggression upon the
North; is found in the partition of territory, the rock upon which, after all the concessions that had been made by the
South, the uncompromising spirit of the
North broke the
Union to pieces.
This declaration is amply supported by an appeal to facts and figures.
At the peace of 1783, the territorial extent of the then
United States was 807,678, square miles.
Of this, there were but 169,662 square miles entered within the limits of
Pennsylvania, New York,
New Jersey and
New England; all the rest was slave territory, belonging to the six Southern States.
The proportion of slave territory was therefore about four square miles of the former to one of the latter.
Let this fact be borne in mind,
the proportion of slave territory to free territory was about four to one. Among the earliest acts of the
Southern States were deeds of cession, by which they conveyed a large portion of their territory to the
General Government.
Virginia, as is well known, ceded to the
Confederacy the whole of her territory northwest of the
Ohio river, by which the present States of
Ohio,
Indiana,
Illinois,
Michigan and
Wisconsin were given to free labor.--By the cession of this tract of slave territory, which contained 239,558 square miles, the proportion between free and slave territory was at once greatly changed; for the free territory which had before the cession been but
one fifth of the whole country, was by this voluntary act of a slave State,
increased to more than one-half. The relative extent of the two sections now stood thus:
Free territory, 409,220 square miles; slave territory, 398,458 square miles.--Of the latter, the States of
North Carolina,
South Carolina and
Georgia conveyed 142,856 miles to the
United States, on condition that slavery should not be interfered with; and upon this condition it was accepted, and since that time have been created out of it the States of
Tennessee,
Alabama and
Mississippi.
Thus, it will be seen, that in the first partition of territory, it was freely and generously divided by the slave States with the free, the former giving up their preponderance of territory, and of their own accord putting the latter on an equality with them.
Subsequently, large acquisitions of territory were obtained by the purchase of
Louisiana and
Florida, and by the annexation of
Texas.
These, also, were slave territories when acquired, but they were divided in the same spirit, and with the utmost liberality to the
North.
The
Louisiana territory contained 1,136,496 square miles;
Florida, 59,218 square miles;
Texas, 274,356 square miles — making, in all, 1,470,120 square miles.
Observe the proportion in which this was divided.
Florida and
Texas were reserved to the slave States, making, together, 333,624 square miles, and by the
Missouri Compromise a portion of the
Louisiana purchase was left to the
South, amounting to 158,896 square miles.
Total to the
South, 492,520.
All the remainder, viz: 977,600 square miles, or nearly in the proportion of two to one, were accorded to the free States!
Since that division, the only territory acquired was that under the treaty of peace after the war with
Mexico.
This contained 665,486 square miles, and was all free territory.
Of this, the
North obtained the rich
State of California, containing 188,981 square miles;
Utah, 220,196--making a total of 409,177, which the
Northern States acquired from a war to which Southern treasure contributed the principal portion of the means, and Southern rebels contributed the largest number of soldiers.
New Mexico remained, containing 256,309 square miles of not very desirable territory to any section; yet the
North, after all the territory it had received and acquired, would not accord even this insignificant portion to the
South.
It was slave territory, and it was not as much as the
South was entitled to in proportion to numbers.
Yet, this manifest measure of justice was denied, and ‘"no compromise with an oppressive slave oligarchy,"’ was the cry — the cry of the wolf that accused the lamb of muddying the water.
The compromise of
Crittenden, and
Guthrie, which would have divided the aggregate territory of the
United States, as follows: Free States, 1,995,965 square miles; Slave States, 1,200,711, was scouted, and a temporary resolution in a miserable platform made to triumph over equity and the pacification of the country.
And now the section which has been built up by the
South, which has been endowed by it with territories as well as commerce, is invading our borders with fire and sword to reduce the
South itself to the condition of a territory!
