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Valley Spirit: August 02, 1865 Go To Page : 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

President Johnson's Inherited Cabinet
(Column 5)

Summary: Having assumed the country's helm in the midst of a terrible crisis, President Johnson benefitted from the people's reluctance to criticize a new president. Four months have passed, however, and now, the article contends, it is time for the honeymoon to end. Johnson's decision to keep the cabinet he inherited from his predecessor made sense under the circumstances, but if he chooses to retain those officials, many of whom have brought disrepute to the administration--namely Secretary Stanton--then the president must account for the actions of these individuals as though they were his own selections.

Origin of Article: New York World

Full Text of Article:

The country has practiced toward Mr. Johnson a more generous forbearance than has been accorded to any other President since Washington. This is less a attribute to the man, than a patriotic impulse set in action by the appalling circumstances of his accession. Under that sudden shock the country, for the first time, was alarmed for the existence of the government. The instant unanimity with which all parties stood by the new President was a protest against assassination, against anarchy, against attempts to change the personnel of the government or the politics of the country except by the republican methods of free discussion and regular elections. Nothing more creditable has ever occurred in our history. But the danger which struck us all with sudden dismay is past; and henceforward President Johnson, like every ruler of a free people, must encounter the criticism by which responsibility is enforced upon public officers.

There has been, thus far, a disposition to discriminate between President Johnson and his official advisers. These advisers were not of his appointment, and it was presumed that their stay in the cabinet was a temporary convenience. If he had intented to keep them, it was assumed he would control them; and it was impossible to believe that the outrageous acts of Secretary Stanton were approved by any honest statesman sworn to defend the Consitution. It was easy to se how, in closing a great war and settling a great mass of unfinished business, the services of an officer familiar with its details might be valuable, especially as the President had no personal connection with the administration of the war. With the great mass of new business emerging, he could not afford to master the unwieldly details of a system that had served its day and was falling into disuse. Shockingly as Stanton had violated the Constitution, it was not difficult to discover possible reasons for his temporary retention. But Mr. Johnson is in his fourth month; and, for aught that appears, the Cabinet is as firmly seated under him as under his predecessor who appointed it. An indulgent country cannot much much longer consent to distinguish between acts of the administration and acts of the responsible chief. If the most conspicuious and offensive heads of the departments are to go with Mr. Johson through his term, or through any large and considerable part of it, the country is justified in concluding that he keeps them because he approves of their conduct; that their acts are his acts; and that he ought to be help responsible for their usurpations.

The country will come reluctantly to this conclusion. Even after its confidence is shaken, it will, for a long while, hope against hope. But certain it is, that this people, cradled in liberty, will stand by no man who abandons the principles of the Constitution. The subordintation of the military to to the civil power, goverment by law insted of goverment by arbitrary will, the [unclear] a free press, and free elections, will be resolutely claimed; and no man or party can stand who are faithless to these guarantees. Great allowance was made, during the war, for the difficulties of the situation; but the plea of an over-ruling public necessity will no longer avail. The people now demand that the officers sworn to support the Constitution shall keep their oaths. They they will give their confidence to no public officer who is deliberately recreant to republican principles of government.

On one great subject President Johnson satisifies the just expectations of the country. If he stands by his recognition of State governments, the people will support him till that battle is won. But the other great question of the supremacy of the law is too urgent to be much longer adjourned; and considering how the law had been trampled under foot, defied, and spit upon, even since Mr.Johnson's accession, we can see no other suitable atonement than a removal of the offending members of the Cabinet, and filling their places with honest, law-abiding citizens.

Georgia and Reconstruction
(Column 5)

Summary: Lauds the appointment of Herschel V. Johnson as Georgia's Provisional Governor, and declares that, with a few solitary exceptions, most of the state's whites are prepared to accept the terms prescribed by President Johnson's Reconstruction policy in order to return to the Union.

Origin of Article: Atlanta Intelligencer

Reorganization of the Democratic Party
(Column 6)

Summary: Now that the rebellion has been put down, the political life of the Republican Party is nearly extinguished. In its place, the article insists, the Democratic Party, the only true national party, will soon resume its pre-war position of dominance. Though some commentators claim that the Democrats will have to be reconstructed with a new, post-bellum image, the writer disputes all such assertions.

President Johnson's Provisional Governors
(Column 7)

Summary: Castigates those individuals and groups who have criticized President Johnson's selections for provisional governors, and suggests that it is not important whether the nominees are acceptable to the residents of Massachusetts or Iowa. Rather, it is the views of the Southerners that are most relevant.

Progress of the Two Great Improvements
(Column 7)

Summary: Reports on the progress of the Atlantic Cable and the Pacific Railroad, both of which will have an enormous impact on the country when complete.

President Johnson and Reconstruction
(Column 1)

Summary: In contrast to the war, the problems posed by Reconstruction will be more difficult to solve because they cannot be corrected simply by marshalling armies and equipment. The article supports President Johnson's efforts to reunite the country and chastises Radical Republicans for erecting a variety of obstacles to impede the achievement of his goal.

"Micawber Democracy"
(Column 2)

Summary: Objects to a piece printed in the Repository that mocks President Johnson and his Democratic sympathies.

[No Title]
(Column 2)

Summary: In response to an article that appeared in the Repository some weeks earlier, in which Democrats were castigated for their belief that the declaration that all men are created equal pertained only to whites, the Spirit admonishes their Republican rivals for their ignorance. Not until "the advent of Abolitionism as political power but a few years ago," the Democratic organ states, did the notion that blacks have any sort of rights exist.

The Radical Programme--A New Source of Revolution
(Column 3)

Summary: Denounces the Radicals and their efforts to force black suffrage upon white America. The article casts the Reconstruction program, as advocated by the "radical element" in Congress, as a plot contrived by extremists bent on punishing white southerners. The Spirit alleges that the growing conflict between those who support President Johnson and those who endorse the Radicals threatens to return the country to war.

Gen. Sherman and Negro Suffrage
(Column 3)

Summary: Applauds General Sherman for his stand regarding the question of black suffrage. The "most brilliant soldier of modern times" discussed his views in a speech delivered in Indianapolis, where he confirmed his opposition to granting freedmen the vote. Additionally, the general stated his support for a plan to colonize blacks in Florida.

A Black Ram
(Column 4)

Summary: The article gives a scathing physical description of a black soldier court-martialed for falling asleep at his post.

Origin of Article: Louisville Democrat

How The Shoddy Broth Is Mixed
(Column 5)

Summary: The intra-party conflict among the various Republican factions is coming to a head in Philadelphia where three competing interest groups--the Radicals, the city's Congressmen, and the Cameron-Forney camp--are battling to appoint their supporters to important patronage positions.

Origin of Article: New York Tribune; Patriot and Union

Editorial Comment: "The New York Tribune discourses, as follows, about the incongruous admixture of radicalism, shoddy, and all the other odds and ends of the "loyal" party in Pennsylvania."

[No Title]
(Column 5)

Summary: Provides the details of a law passed the winter before in Massachusetts that levies a fine of fifty dollars on every landlord who refuses to allow his black boarders to sit at the table with him and his white guests. The article maintains that several blacks have made a "small fortune" by taking advantage of the law.

[No Title]
(Column 6)

Summary: The Republicans in Pennsylvania have settled on a platform that includes a demand for black suffrage throughout the South, and a change in Pennsylvania's constitution granting equal political rights to blacks and whites.

Local and Personal--Franklin and Marshall College
(Column 1)

Summary: On July 26th, the twenty-ninth commencement for Franklin and Marshall College was held in Lancaster. Eighteen students received the Degree of A. M. in course, while Capt. M. D. Wickersham was presented with an honorary title of this degree. The honorary Degree of A.B. was awarded to Cyrus Boyer, Esq., and the title of D.D. was bestowed upon Rev. David Cole, a professor of Greek at Rutgers College. Rev. Libertus Van Bokkelen was conferred the L.L.D.. W. S. Stenger delivered the biennial address before the Literary Societies; Cyrus V. Mays provided the Master's oration; and Dr. Lewis H. Steiner presented the Alumni address. Ex-President Buchanan resigned his Presidency of the Board of Trustees. The position was assumed by John Cessna.
(Names in announcement: Captain M. D. Wickersham, Cyrus BoyerEsq., Rev. David Cole, Rev. Libertus Van Bokkelen, W. S. StengerEsq., Cyrus V. Mays, Dr. Lewis H. Steiner, Hon. John Cessna, Ex-President Buchanan)

Local and Personal--Pennsylvania College
(Column 1)

Summary: The catalogue for Pennsylvania College has come out for 1864-65, listing 16 Seniors, 15 Juniors, 18 Sophomore, 15 Freshmen, and 51 Preparations. The commencement will be held in the second week of August, beginning with the Baccalaureates Discourse on August 6th, given by Rev. Dr. Baugher. The Junior Exhibition is scheduled for the morning of the 9th and the Biennial Address before the Philomethean Society, presented by Prof. R. W. Hitchcock, on the same day. That afternoon, the Biennial Address of the Phrenakosmian Society will be performed by William B. Sprague, D. D. Rev. M. Valentine will deliver the Annual Address before the Alumni of the College in the evening. The Commencement exercises will take place on the morning of the 10th.

Local and Personal--Death of Wm. M. Beetem
(Column 1)

Summary: Wm. M. Beetem, a cashier at the Carlisle Deposit Bank, committed suicide by hanging himself in the garret of his dwelling. Mr. Beetem's lifeless body was discovered by two of his co-workers, Mr. Hassler and Mr. Underwood.
(Names in announcement: Wm. M. Beetem, Mr. Hassler, Mr. Underwood)

Origin of Article: Carlisle Volunteer

Local and Personal--Struck by Lightning
(Column 1)

Summary: On July 28th, lightning struck the barn on the farm of the Misses Beatty, severely shocking Jacob Wolfe, who was inside the structure. Mr.Wolfe suffered no serious injuries, but the barn and its contents were destroyed, incurring $2,500 worth of damage.
(Names in announcement: Jacob Wolfe)

Local and Personal--Negro Camp Meeting
(Column 2)

Summary: On August 19th, blacks intend on holding a camp meeting near Shippensburg. The brief piece warns its readers that several "riots may confidently be expected."

Married
(Column 4)

Summary: On July 26th, Charles Fox, of Conshohocken, Montgomery county, married Charlotte Eyster at the bride's parents' house. The service was presided over by Rev. S. McHenry.
(Names in announcement: Rev. S. McHenry, Charles Fox, Charlotte E. Eyster)

Married
(Column 4)

Summary: George Haulman, of St. Thomas, and Mary E. Rupert, of Hamilton township, were married on July 27th, by Rev. S. McHenry.
(Names in announcement: Rev. S. McHenry, George Haulman, Mary E. Rupert)

Married
(Column 4)

Summary: On July 27th, Rev. S. McHenry served as the minister in the marriage ceremony that united Cyrus W. Dosh to Louisa M. Gelwicks, both of Guilford township.
(Names in announcement: Cyrus W. Dosh, Rev. S. McHenry, Louisa M. Gelwicks)

Married
(Column 4)

Summary: At a ceremony presided over by Rev. F. Dyson on July 27th, Patrick Downy, of Middleton, New York, wed Jane M. Duke.
(Names in announcement: Rev. F. Dyson, Patrick Downy, Jane M. Duke)

Died
(Column 4)

Summary: Julia Ann Henneberger, 57, died in Newville, on July 16th. Henneberger is survived by her husband Peter.
(Names in announcement: Julia Ann Henneberger, Peter Henneberger)

Died
(Column 4)

Summary: On July 9th, Mrs. Nancy Parks, 63, died in St. Thomas.
(Names in announcement: Nancy Parks)