Atlanta And Its Builders, Vol. 1 - A Comprehensive History Of The Gate City Of The South. Thomas H. Martin
the draw-cord. Suddenly, while thousands of eyes were strained upwards and hundreds held their breath with the excitement of the man's perilous position, the knife was seen to fly out of his hand, and the next instant, with a cry of horrified despair, the sailor went hurtling through the air to the ground, where he was dashed to instant death. The thrilling spectacle held the great crowd as if spellbound for an instant, and then, almost as one man, by a common impulse, the people declared their intention to raise a purse for the unfortunate seaman's widow or family before they left the ground. A collection committee was chosen at once, and in a remarkably short time the snug sum of $2,000 had been contributed.
During the year 1856 the "Kansas Question," as the "Freesoil" agitation in the Jayhawker state was called in the South, was at its height, and no city in Georgia took a livelier interest in the momentous struggle of the two elements for supremacy than Atlanta. At that time parties of Southern emigrants were continually passing through Atlanta for the "bleeding" territory, intent on turning the political scale in favor of slavery, or on taking a hand in the "subsequent unpleasantness." Large crowds would meet these Kansas emigrants at the depot to cheer them on, and often to contribute to their necessities. The Kansas question was paramount. The territory, about to be admitted to the union, would hold the balance of power between the proslavery and anti-slavery states, and it was highly essential on the South's part to "redeem" enough Kansas counties to turn the balance in the election in a way to please the South. Boisterous Kansas meetings, addressed by fervid, not to say fire-eating, orators, were of almost nightly occurrence in Atlanta during that summer. In March, a company was organized in the city to make the journey to the troubled territory, and before setting out, at a great public gathering held in the courthouse on March 5th, the following resolutions were adopted:
"Whereas, the admission of Kansas territory into the union as a free state would destroy the balance of power between the several states which are already in an excited condition of aggravated discussion, from which the destruction of the constitution, the subversion of the government, and all the horrors of civil war are likely to ensue; and,
"Whereas, the safety of our Southern institutions, and the peace and quiet of all truly patriotic, liberty-loving and law-abiding citizens are endangered, and, in our opinion, doomed to suffer materially or be totally destroyed by the intermeddling and aggressive policy of abolition fanatics; and
"Whereas, The geographical situation and the adaptation of its soil to Southern institutions and products combine to make it a state in which slave labor can be profitably and beneficially employed by all the citizens of the South; and,
"Whereas, The first settlers and original pioneers of that territory were slaveholders, and so declared themselves immediately after the organization of the territory; be it therefore
"Resolved, 1. That each member of this company will lawfully exert himself to the utmost to secure the admission of Kansas territory into the union as a slave state.
"Resolved, 2. That individually and as a company of true, patriotic men who have the safety, the honor of our country, and her institutions at heart, we will do all that we can do to prevent the admission of said territory into the union as a free state, a result to be greatly deplored by all the good and true, especially by all genuine Southern men.
"Resolved, 3. That as the geographical situation and soil of said territory are naturally and peculiarly adapted to slave labor. Southern institutions and products, it does by right and every principle of justice, belong to the South, and the South alone, and that we will resist, at all hazards, any unlawful attempt to make it a free state.
"Resolved, 4. That we highly commend and approve the brave sons of Missouri for the gallant stand and unflinching courage which they have taken and evinced in defending Southern rights; and we now declare our firm and unalterable intention to stand by her side in aiding the people of Kansas territory in enforcing their laws and in the maintenance of the laws and constitution of the United States."
The local newspapers devoted a good deal of editorial and news space to the question of colonizing' Kansas with Southerners, and every few days would chronicle the passing of a Kansas-bound party through the city. The Daily Intelligencer of March 29, 1856, said in an editorial paragraph:
''Judging from the number of companies passing almost daily through our city on their way to Kansas, we doubt not that there will be a 'smart sprinkling' of Southerners in that interesting region before many weeks. On Saturday night a company of eighteen or twenty passed through Atlanta, and on Thursday we noticed another company of forty-one, all armed and equipped, going on their way rejoicing. They were from Charleston and other points in South Carolina. A company organized in this city is expected to leave in a few days." The company referred to was the one which adopted the resolutions previously quoted. It was called "The Atlanta Company of Emigrants for Kansas Territory."
In the same paper, under date of April 4th, 1856, the following reference was made to the departure of the Atlanta emigrants: "Off" for Kansas! Captain Jones's company of emigrants, consisting of twenty-one young and able-bodied men, left this place yesterday morning for Kansas. They will probably be joined by others at Marietta, and along the line of the railroad. Captain Jones is a young man of pure stock and true grit, and we doubt not the success of himself and those under him, in the new territory, while the cause of the South will have in them true and efficient friends."
A largely attended Kansas mass meeting was held in the city hall on the 4th of August, the object of which was to raise funds for the maintenance of Southern emigrants in Kansas who were in need of pecuniary help, and to help in like manner new parties of emigrants that would volunteer to go and "redeem" Kansas. It was explained at this meeting that Georgia was expected to look after three of the thirty counties of Kansas territory, her sister Southern states taking care of three counties each. The speakers were the leading politicians of the city and county, and the audience was worked up to a high pitch of enthusiasm by their eloquence. Two representatives of the Kansas State Colonization Society, Captain B. Jones and Captain E. M. McGhee, were present and addressed the meeting. A. C. Pulliam presided, and Colonel S. G. Howell acted as secretary. The speakers appealed to the state pride of Georgia in behalf of citizens of the state who had located in Kansas, declaring that every Georgian who had cast his lot in Kansas from patriotic motives had nobly done his duty, despite the severest hardships and trials, largely resultant from a lack of sufficient money. Much stress was laid upon the importance to the South of bringing Kansas into the union as a slave state, and one speaker went so far as to predict that failure to do so would inevitably result in dismembering the union and probably plunge the country into civil war.
This meeting resulted in a large committee being appointed, consisting of Atlantans and citizens from each township of Fulton county, whose duty it should be to solicit cash contributions for the Georgia colonists in Kansas, or those who should thereafter emigrate to the disturbed territory. The names of the committees may be of interest as a relic of the ante-bellum excitement. They were:
'For Atlanta— Robert M. Clarke. J. A. Hayden. C. H. Wallace, L. H. Davis, H. Muhlenbrink, O. H. Jones, Dr. R. T. Pulliam, Dr. J. A. Taylor, Colonel A. H. Stokes and Captain G. H. Thompson.
For Black Hall District — Thomas Conally, Dr. J. M. Dorsey, T. J. Perkerson, Meredith Brown and A. R. Almond.
For Buckhead District — Colonel Clark Howell, Henry Irby, Pinckney Randall, B. Pace and M. C. Donaldson.
For Casey's District — Hiram Emory, Nelson Defur, J. M. Cook, J. J. Thrasher and Dr. D'Alvigney.
For Oak Grove District — J. L. Evins. John Isham, S. Jett, Lee Heflin and S. Spruel.
For Stone's District — W. A. Green, Dr. William Gilbert, W. A. Wilson, Murat McGhee and Thomas Kennedy.
Until the admission of Kansas into the union, the keenest interest was then taken in her attitude on the slavery question by the citizens of Atlanta, in common with the people of the South, and when the statehood bill was enacted with the anti-slavery provision, the indignation of Atlanta knew no bounds.
CHAPTER XIII. ATLANTA IN THE PANIC YEAR