ATTACKS ON THE WIDE-AWAKES; Great Wide-Awake Demonstration in Brooklyn; CALIFORNIA AND OREGON: Election of Col. Baker to the Senate (11/3/1860)

AS the procession was passing down Broadway it was greeted with cheers from a number of Republicans who had stationed themselves in front of the Headquarters of the Young Men's Republican Union, Stuyvesant Institute. The meeting-room of a Bell and Everett Club is on the opposite side of the street, and some of the members took umbrage at the demonstrations of applause and applied approbrious epithets to the Republicans. Finally, several of the Fusion Party made a rush toward where the Republicans were standing, and calling them "negro stealers." "sons of b____s," &c., seemed bent on inciting a riot. Officer GROOT, of the Fifteenth Ward made an attempt to drive the rowdies back and in so doing, found it necessary to arrest a man named WM.H. TRAVIS, who appeared to be foremost in the disorder. The crowd made an effort to rescue this man from the custody of the policeman, who, however, was enabled to retain his prisoner by the appearance of Capt. CAFFREY with a reinforcement, and the turbulent people were dispersed, not, however, until some heads had been bruised. In the course of the disturbance, Officer LEFFERTS took one H.A. SMITH into custody, and both the prisoners were taken to the station-house, and locked up. While this affair was transpiring another scene of excitement was witnessed in front of the New-York Hotel, where a large crowd had collected. Several well-dressed men came out of the building and mingled with the people, inciting them to make an attack upon the procession, and using language which the exercise only of extreme forbearance on the part of the Wide-Awakes forbade them to retaliate. The ardor of the rioters at this point was soon dampened by the arrest of ALEXANDER JOHNSON, one of the leaders, whom Sergeant BANTA conducted to the Station-house.

USOTOS quoting: "N.B. No fanatic who thinks it right to steal, rob and murder, need apply.”

The editor makes light of this employment condition.
But it is obviously a reference to abolitionists who were coming south on pretenses to free slaves by force.
This activity, and the failure of the federal government to prevent it, was listed as a primary grievance in most declarations of secession."

That's an interesting observation, so I went back to look at the old "Reasons for Secession" documents.
You may remember, four seceding states wrote official "Reasons" documents before Fort Sumter -- SC, MS, GA & TX.
In them, none use the words "steal" or "rob".
Three do use the word "murder" a total of six different times:

South Carolina: "In the State of New York even the right of transit for a slave has been denied by her tribunals; and the States of Ohio and Iowa have refused to surrender to justice fugitives charged with murder, and with inciting servile insurrection in the State of Virginia."
The reference is to John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, VA. and refusal of Northern states to prosecute Brown's men who escaped justice in Virginia.
Mississippi: no mention of stealing, robbing or murder.
Georgia: "Claimants are murdered with impunity; officers of the law are beaten by frantic mobs instigated by inflammatory appeals from persons holding the highest public employment in these States, and supported by legislation in conflict with the clearest provisions of the Constitution, and even the ordinary principles of humanity.
In several of our confederate States a citizen cannot travel the highway with his servant who may voluntarily accompany him, without being declared by law a felon and being subjected to infamous punishments.
It is difficult to perceive how we could suffer more by the hostility than by the fraternity of such brethren."
This complaint regards slaveholders attempting to recover fugitive slaves in Northern states, not Northerners attempting to free slaves in the South.
Georgia: "These efforts have in one instance led to the actual invasion of one of the slave-holding States, and those of the murderers and incendiaries who escaped public justice by flight have found fraternal protection among our Northern confederates."
This is a second reference to John Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry, VA, and Northern states' harboring Brown's escaped associates.
Texas: "The Federal Government, while but partially under the control of these our unnatural and sectional enemies, has for years almost entirely failed to protect the lives and property of the people of Texas against the Indian savages on our border, and more recently against the murderous forays of banditti from the neighboring territory of Mexico; "
Murderous Mexican banditti, not Northerners hoping to free slaves.
Texas: "They have for years past encouraged and sustained lawless organizations to steal our slaves and prevent their recapture, and have repeatedly murdered Southern citizens while lawfully seeking their rendition."
Texans (and Georgia) claimed that Southern slave-catchers in the North were "repeatedly murdered".
Texas: "They have invaded Southern soil and murdered unoffending citizens, and through the press their leading men and a fanatical pulpit have bestowed praise upon the actors and assassins in these crimes, while the governors of several of their States have refused to deliver parties implicated and indicted for participation in such offenses, upon the legal demands of the States aggrieved."
A third reference to John Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry, VA.

So, of the six "Reasons for Secession" complaints about murders, three referred to Harpers Ferry, two to the murder of Southern slave-catchers in Northern states, and one to Mexican "banditti".

Outside of John Brown's raid, there were no complaints about Northerners coming South to murder citizens and free slaves.

Weak quotes you cite obfuscate stronger quotes you skip.

GEORGIA (not just Harper’s Ferry):

For twenty years past the abolitionists and their allies in the Northern States have been engaged in constant efforts to subvert our institutions and to excite insurrection and servile war among us. They have sent emissaries among us for the accomplishment of these purposes. Some of these efforts have received the public sanction of a majority of the leading men of the Republican party in the national councils, the same men who are now proposed as our rulers. [then the Harper’s Ferry reference as an “invasion”]

Because by their declared principles and policy they have outlawed $3,000,000,000 of our property in the common territories of the Union; put it under the ban of the Republic in the States where it exists and out of the protection of Federal law everywhere; because they give sanctuary to thieves and incendiaries who assail it to the whole extent of their power...

MISSISSIPPI:

The hostility to this institution...

It has grown until it denies the right of property in slaves, and refuses protection to that right on the high seas, in the Territories, and wherever the government of the United States had jurisdiction...

It advocates negro equality, socially and politically, and promotes insurrection and incendiarism in our midst...

It has made combinations and formed associations to carry out its schemes of emancipation in the States and wherever else slavery exists...

[You missed Mississippi’s reference to Harper’s Ferry:]

It has invaded a State, and invested with the honors of martyrdom the wretch whose purpose was to apply flames to our dwellings, and the weapons of destruction to our lives.

SOUTH CAROLINA (Maybe you missed the word “eloign”.)

Those States have assume [sic] the right of deciding upon the propriety of our domestic institutions; and have denied the rights of property established in fifteen of the States and recognized by the Constitution; they have denounced as sinful the institution of slavery; they have permitted open establishment among them of societies, whose avowed object is to ***disturb the peace and to eloign the property of the citizens*** of other States. They have encouraged and ***assisted thousands of our slaves to leave their homes***; and ***those who remain, have been incited by emissaries***, books and pictures to servile insurrection.

TEXAS:

For years past this abolition organization has been actively sowing the seeds of discord through the Union...

They have for years past encouraged and sustained lawless organizations to steal our slaves and prevent their recapture, and have repeatedly murdered Southern citizens while lawfully seeking their rendition. [”steal our slaves” does not only mean giving them refuge after escaping as you say]

They have invaded Southern soil [Harper’s Ferry, but you left out the next 2 paragraphs which are more than HF]...

They have, through the mails and hired emissaries, sent seditious pamphlets and papers among us to stir up servile insurrection and bring blood and carnage to our firesides.

They have sent hired emissaries among us to burn our towns and distribute arms and poison to our slaves for the same purpose.

USOTOS: "Weak quotes you cite obfuscate stronger quotes you skip."

Weak?
No, your words were "steal, rob and murder" referring to "abolitionists who were coming south on pretenses to free slaves by force."
This, you said, "was listed as a primary grievance in most declarations of secession."

I merely pointed out, accurately, that none of those three words, "steal, rob and murder", were used in any of the four "Reasons for Secession" documents to refer to "abolitionists who were coming south on pretenses to free slaves by force."

USOTOS quoting Texas Reasons: "They have for years past encouraged and sustained lawless organizations to steal our slaves and prevent their recapture, and have repeatedly murdered Southern citizens while lawfully seeking their rendition. [”steal our slaves” does not only mean giving them refuge after escaping as you say]"

You're right, I overlooked the word "steal" in focusing on the meaning of "murdered Southern citizens".
Here "Southern citizens" refers to slave-catchers in Northern states trying to return fugitives to their Southern "owners".
As to who, exactly, was working to "steal our slaves", the complaint only mentions "lawless organizations" not, in your words, "abolitionists who were coming south on pretenses to free slaves by force."

In summary:

The word "rob" does not appear in any of the original "Reasons for Secession" documents.
The word "steal" does appear once, in the Texas Reasons, referring to unspecified "lawless organizations".
The word "murder" appears six times -- three in reference to John Brown, two to slave-catchers in Northern states and once to Mexican "banditti," not once to "abolitionists who were coming south on pretenses to free slaves by force."

Regardless, you are absolutely correct that protecting slavery was a very important matter to those who declared secession in late 1860 and early 1861.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.