FREDERICK DOUGLASS. taining work at New Bedford, Massachusetts. His natural ability as an orator soon began to attract attention, and at an anti-slavery convention his speech elicited the favorable notice of Garrison and others. The The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society at once made overtures to Douglass, and he became one of its accredited agents. His character, culture and eloquence provoked the insinuation that he was an impostor and had never been a slave. In 1845, to silence this imputation, he published an autobiography, which was widely circulated. As he gave the names of persons and places by which his state 175 ments could be verified, his identity became established and rumors of an attempt at his recapture were circulated. To avoid this he went to England, where he remained two years, carrying on anti-slavery propaganda. There the sum of £150 was raised for his manumission and also $2,500 with which to establish a newspaper in the United States; this he subsequently did at Rochester, New York, naming the new journal the North Star, and afterward Frederick Douglass' Paper. Thenceforth he labored in the cause of abolition, not only with his pen, but by addressing thousands in the New England, Middle, and Western States.* CHAPTER XXII. 1845-1846. EARLY EVENTS OF POLK'S ADMINISTRATION. Polk's inauguration - His Cabinet - Anger in England over Polk's Oregon policy - The negotiation of the Oregon treaty - Westward emigration and the Donner Lake tragedy - Enactment of the tariff of 1846 – Passage of the Independent Treasury Act. On March 4 James K. Polk was inaugurated the eleventh President of the United States. The inaugural address was long and interesting, giving expression to the sentiments and views to be expected from the victorious candidate of the Democratic party. The part of his address which was read with the greatest interest was that dealing with Texas and Oregon. He said that Texas had once been a part of the country, but had been unwisely ceded to Spain. The republic had become independent and had a right to dispose of her territory as her people were minded; hence the question of annexation was one for Texas and the United States to decide as they saw fit, regardless of the views or interests of any foreign na * See Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, by Himself (1893); F. M. Holland, Frederick Douglass, the Colored Orator; Chesnutt, Frederick Douglass (1899); Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass (1906). 176 POLK'S CABINET; HIS OREGON POLICY. tions. He should employ "all constitutional, honorable, and appropriate means to consummate the expressed will of the people" as soon as possible. Nor would it become in a less degree his duty to assert and maintain by all constitutional means the right of the United States to that portion of her territory lying beyond the Rocky Mountains. "Our title to the country of the Oregon is clear and unquestionable and already are our people preparing to perfect that title. by occupying it [that territory] with their wives and children." It was the duty of the Government to protect them adequately" wherever they may be upon our soil." Therefore "the jurisdiction of our laws and the benefits of our republican institutions should be extended over them in the distant regions which they had selected for their homes."'* Almost immediately Polk made known his choice for Cabinet officers, who were confirmed by the Senate. James Buchanan became Secretary of State; Robert J. Walker, Secretary of the Treasury; William L. Marcy, Secretary of War; George Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy; Cave Johnson, Postmaster-General; and John Y. Mason, Attorney-General.† When the text of the inaugural speech became known in England, it stirred up considerable anger. The ministerial party held that the British claim was quite as good as the American and said that "Brother Jonathan" should not have the country without a fight, no matter how much he blustered. On April 4 the subject was brought up in the House of Lords, when Lord Clarendon referred to the extraordinary terms in which Polk had asserted the American right to the whole of Oregon. Lord Aberdeen said that too much importance should not be attached to the President's speech, as it was not an official document, and that the diplomatic agents of the two countries were doing everything possible to bring the matter to an amicable conclusion. Lord John Russell in the House of Commons questioned the President's assertion that the American title was clear and unquestionable, and Sir Robert Peel agreed with Russell in regretting the tone and temper of the inaugural address. The press then took up the issue and attempted to keep the matter alive, but the war feeling gradually subsided and by the middle of May not only was there no war party in existence, but the consensus of opinion seemed to be that Oregon was not worth fighting about.* Meanwhile, as Polk had been elected with the understanding that he would insist upon the boundary of Oregon as 54° 40′ and that the United States *McMaster, vol. vii., pp. 407-411; Von Holst, Constitutional and Political History, vol. iii., p. 25. |