Quill
  1. Overview: The Road to Civil War
  2. Full Record: The Road to Civil War
  3. Committee:Senate Special Committee of Thirteen on the Condition of the Country
  4. Session: 1860-12-22 10:00:00
  5. Event type: CREATE

The Road to Civil War

Senate Special Committee of Thirteen on the Condition of the Country

A committee formed through a resolution submitted by Mr. Powell on December 6, 1860 and adopted on December 18, 1860. The role of the committee was to examine the conflict between slaveholding and non-slaveholding States and provide solutions and concessions to avoid secession.

The Committee Secretary's View The Committee Secretary's View

To see the full record of a committee, click on the corresponding committee on the map below.

Document introduced in:

Session 14174: 1860-12-22 10:00:00

Mr. Davis enters the Committee. Mr. Toombs, Mr. Crittenden, and Mr. Davis submit propositions.

Document View:

Joint Resolution Proposing Legislative Remedies: Crittenden Compromise

Shown with amendment 'None' (e145044)

There are 0 proposed amendments related to this document on which decisions have not been taken.

And whereas, also, besides those causes of dissention embraced in the foregoing amendments proposed to the Constitution of the United States, there are others which come within the jurisdiction of Congress, and may be remedied by its legislative power; and whereas it is the desire of Congress, as far as its power will extend, to remove all just cause for the popular discontent and agitation which now disturb the peace of the country, and threaten the stability of its institutions: Therefore,

2. That all State laws which conflict with the fugitive slave acts, or any other constitutional acts of Congress, or which in their operation impede, hinder, or delay the free course and due execution of any of said acts, are null and void by the plain provisions of the Constitution of the United States. Yet those State laws, void as they are, have given color to practices, and led to consequences which have obstructed the due administration and execution of acts of Congress, and especially the acts for the delivery of fugitive slaves, and have thereby contributed much to the discord and commotion now prevailing. Congress, therefore, in the present perilous juncture, does not deem it improper, respectfully and earnestly, to recommend the repeal of those laws to the several States which have enacted them, or such legislative corrections or explanations of them, as may prevent their being used or perverted to such mischievous purposes.

3. That the act of September 18, 1850, commonly called the fugitive slave law, ought to be so amended as to make the fee of the commissioner, mentioned in the eighth section of the act, equal in amount, in the cases decided by him, whether his decision be in favor of or against the claimant. And to avoid misconstruction, the last clause of the fifth section of said act, which authorizes the person holding a warrant for the arrest or detention of a fugitive slave to summon to his aid the posse comitatus, and which declares it to be the duty of all good citizens to assist him in its execution, ought to be so amended as to expressly limit the authority and duty to cases in which there shall be resistance, or danger of resistance or rescue.

4. That the laws for the suppression of the African slave trade, and especially those prohibiting the importation of slaves into the United States, ought to be made effectual, and ought to be thoroughly executed, and all further enactments necessary to those ends ought to be promptly made.

Decisions yet to be taken

Document Timeline

Other Actions

View text build components