He had, however, taken issue
with the party upon the Fugitive Slave Act, and for his hostility to
that measure he was excluded from the Democratic Convention of 1852,
although he had been duly elected by the Democrats of the county of
Essex. There can be no doubt that he would have acted with the
Republican Party had he lived to the period of its organization. He
was one of the three distinguished persons who were born in the county
of Essex early in the century--Cushing, Choate and Rantoul. In
masterly ability Choate was the chief, unquestionably. In the
profession, neither Cushing nor Rantoul could compare with Choate,
although in learning Cushing may have been his rival. In knowledge of
diplomacy and international law neither Choate nor Rantoul could be
compared to Cushing. In the modern languages he was their superior
also, although it is probable that in the knowledge of Latin and Greek
he was inferior to Choate. In business matters they were alike
defective. In Rantoul there was a lack of continuity of purpose. He
was guided by his feelings and opinions. He had the temperament of a
reformer. Indeed, he was a reformer. He abhorred slavery, he made
war upon intemperance, he was an advocate of reform in prison
discipline, and he championed the abolition of capital punishment. In
neither of these movements did Cushing or Choate take an interest.
Pages:
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327