" "Were we," he asked, "to slumber in
indolence or fold up our arms and proclaim to the world that we are
palsied by the will of our constituents, would it not be to cast
away the bounties of Providence and doom ourselves to perpetual
inferiority?" Such a profession of faith as this sounded strangely
in the ears of Americans, respectful of their constituents and
accustomed to regard government as a necessary evil. At a stroke,
Adams had destroyed his fair prospects of winning the support of
Virginia, and, what is more, he had aroused the fears of the whole
slave-holding section.
At the beginning of 1824 the legislature of Ohio passed a resolution
in favor of the emancipation and colonization of the adult children
of slaves, and was supported by the legislatures of at least six
northern states, including Pennsylvania, while the proposal was
attacked by all the states of the lower south. [Footnote: Ames,
State Docs. on Federal Relations, No. 5, p. II (with citations);
McMaster, United States, V.
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