#191: Henry Wilson's Call for Patriotic Harmony to the Declaration

Henry Wilson was one of the most important abolitionists and a savvy politician who thought well ahead of his time. How did he discuss patriotic causes in the abolitionist cause? Hear how an 1857 (in the wake of the Dred Scott decision) speech highlights ways we can relate to the pillar of patriotism.

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Patriotism, faith, national unity, education, fiscal responsibility, civility, the values that define America. Fascinating stories and talks from America-loving patriots dedicated to preserving freedom, opportunity, and justice. Welcome to the Friends and Fellow Citizens Podcast. As always, thank you all so much for joining me. We are going to be talking about another historical figure from the pre-Civil War era and post-Civil War era. Before we get to our main content, uh, first of all, thank you to our dedicated Patreon supporters helping to keep this show going. Uh, we are already in a new year now, here in 2026. And just to know that there's so many great supporters out there uh for this podcast, particularly want to recognize those who are our Patreon contributors. Uh, they're really enjoying some good benefits with this podcast. So if you're interested in helping to keep this show going, become a Patreon pent member today. Uh we're also starting to have more video episodes coming out, particularly for the interview episodes. So let's aim for 100 subscribers on YouTube. Still a relatively new platform for us, but we're hoping that 2026 will be another great year and a year for us to boost our YouTube number. So if you haven't already, hit that subscribe button to get notifications on new episodes that come out. Well, we are going to discuss another figure whom I have not mentioned a whole lot on this podcast, but he's one of the most interesting figures that I found going through American history. You know, as you know, with this show, we you want to look for figures, stories, lessons, and so many other things about Washington's farewell address, but not just the speech itself, obviously, looking at how our country has formed and has and has evolved since that speech. And I think it's so surprising to see again those kinds of figures from different eras of history who demonstrate those values in in varying different degrees and kinds. The person we're talking about today is someone named Henry Wilson. Now, Henry Wilson is a man of a lot of different roles, and he did so much for for his country and for his career and for many other people that there's no possible way to cover Henry Wilson entirely. So I'm sure we'll revisit some of what Henry Wilson said and did. But today I'd like to talk a bit about a speech that he did back in 1857. Now, there's a lot of context that needs to be put in, but I'm going to give you the rundown of why Henry Wilson is an important figure. Well, let's start off with just some of the titles he holds. He gets into politics, obviously. He serves as member from uh the House Massachusetts House of Representatives, the massage member of the Massachusetts Senate. He was also the president of the Senate, and then he gets into Congress and he becomes a senator in 1855, and he serves as a senator for almost 20 years, including as chair of the Senate Military Affairs Committee, which in and of itself doesn't sound like a big deal, but when you hear that he was chair of that committee during and the and after the Civil War, I think that's a pretty big boost for his profile. He was someone who was very politically savvy, and he often supported a lot of positions that were not popular, which is really surprising because when people think of politicians, they only think of politicians that are pure opportunists. Now it's not to say that Henry Wilson was not an opportunist, but he was a special kind of opportunist, in the sense that he he understood political opportunity even in the most unpopular stances. And that I think really defies a lot of this conventional wisdom. And this is something that we I feel like we don't teach enough in our schools and in our discourse. We always think that, well, we have to think a certain way based on the current political conditions, maybe look over the next few years. Someone like Henry Wilson was not thinking so much of the present politics. He was looking long term. He was looking at how do we make change 10, 20, 30 years, maybe more. And I think without Henry Wilson's vision, a lot would not have happened in the Civil War, after the Civil War, and for decades after, probably some lasting effect to this day in American politics. Most notably, he had the position of vice president of the United States. Yes, he was serving as a vice president. He only served for a couple years, though, because uh he he actually died in office uh in November of 1875, but nonetheless, uh a life uh go spanning from 1812 to 1875. That was certainly quite a lifespan. And within his 63 years, yeah, he really accomplished a lot and really is regarded as one of the most accomplished senators of that time. Henry Wilson was also a big big deal for creating the two-party system that we have today. Now, he did not create both parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, but because of his political acumen, his ability to get campaign on issues that he cared about, campaigning against this the the institution of the slave power, which is this large aristocracy and oligarchy that he was trying to dismantle, and he was very successful in that. With all those efforts, he helped build the Republican Party. Without Henry Wilson, I don't think there would be a Republican Party. And I don't think he'd be able to shape maybe elements of the Democratic Party into some degree. Uh, as you know, as some people might know, there were anti-slavery Democrats. So that for him to be able to use these issues to bring a lot of different factions together, that was something very, very unique for anyone in American politics at that time or any time throughout history. Wilson was also serving in the military. He was a he was actually a militia general uh in part of the Union Army Army. Uh and he he again did did a lot to not only serve in the Union Army, but he was already serving as the politician trying to uh draft and draft legislation that would uh that would prohibit slavery. Uh and this is incredibly incredibly important, and and actually helped bring African Americans in the Union's Civil War, uh Civil War armies, which was also a big deal. For so as you can tell, Henry Wilson did a lot. That's that's what I'm trying to get at. Uh but he was he he was one to be very uh very respected. He was not light, I mean, as as a lot of politicians are, but he was certainly one who understood how to work uh different different sides of politics. A lot of times when we talk about politics, we think in terms of positions, like someone who's maybe within a party apparatus. We think of a campaign manager, maybe we think of an activist. Perhaps in governance, we think of a mayor, a senator, or congressman of some kind. The fact that he was able to do all of these things, and and I think to be able to link all these together, I think is something that takes a very, very different kind of acumen. Something that I think is truly admirable. So let's dive in a bit into 1857. I did not pick a speech that was necessarily worth necessarily the worthy, though, in terms of the most famous speech he's ever given. He actually wrote a few volumes about dismantling this slave power. And again, he as a strong abolitionist, this was his baby, this was his dream to uh to ensure that there would be an America that could uh get rid of slavery, and which he saw as a big stain on American history and the the and the American brand and the American name. This speech here was given uh in September of 1857. Now, the reason why I specify the month is because 1857 was also another uh significant year in American history. In March of that year, the Dred Scott decision was issued. The Dred Scott decision effectively ruled that slavery could exist anywhere in the United States, and it infuriated the North and no doubt infuriated this man from Massachusetts. And so think about the context of how this is occurring within six months of one of the worst decisions in American history, within six months of the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land established by John Marshall, one of the great institutions of justice, effectively putting down a ruling, or effectively instituting a ruling that denied the rights and the livelihoods of African Americans everywhere in the country. And Henry Wilson, as the political calculator, shall we say, of someone who understood the impact of bringing of rallying people together. He was not afraid of taking his side. He was not afraid of drawing the line between those who wanted aristocracy and slavery and those who wanted freedom and uh more rights for Americans across the land. And I'd just like to read uh a few excerpts and talk a bit about what I think is a lesson here that we can all take away. So I've got three main passages here, and I'd like to start off with this part towards the beginning, and he talks about the the history of the country a bit. And I'd like for you to just hear in on uh some of the some of the words that he uses to describe why it is that he's there. Why is it that the movement is there in 1857 after decades, decades of successes and failures to try and at least limit slavery and at best, of course, eliminate slavery entirely? And in 1857, in the wake of that terrible decision, you can imagine a lot of people were very frustrated in the North. That people were looking for somebody who could stand up and to be able to assert once again what is the calling here? What is the larger purpose of this anti-slavery movement? And so I'd like to read this first passage for you. When the illustrious framers of the Constitution assembled in 1787, our history as a nation was radiant with deeds for the rights and liberties of mankind. Seventy years have just closed, and that history is blurred and blotted, stained by deeds for human slavery which bring the blush of shame to the cheeks of the patriot who loves his country, who feels the stain upon her fame as a blot of personal dishonor. Now a privileged class, bound together by two thousand millions of dollars, represented by the souls and bodies of more than four millions of bondsmen, rules with resistless power fifteen sovereign states. This aristocracy, based upon the immolated rights of the humanity, now controls the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the national government. In the pride and arrogance of usurped power, the slaveholding aristocracy bids the Supreme Court utter the inhuman sentiment that four millions of men in Republic of America have no rights that white men are bound to respect, and the President of the Republic to declare that slavery exists in the national territories by the authority of the Constitution of the United States. And shall we, the men of Massachusetts, oppose only a temporary, faint and heartless resistance to these ignominious avowals, which bring dishonor and shame upon the American name? He then reads a brief excerpt from a poem called A Country Our Countrymen in Chains. It was written by John Greenleaf Whittier, and the passage he's quotes is Shall we calmly rest the Christian scorn, the heaven's mirth, content to live the lingering jest and byword of a mocking earth? Wilson then continues Or shall we not rather awake to the full realization of our responsibilities, to the full comprehension of our duties. Responsibilities rest upon us, duties press upon us. Responsibility and duty go hand in hand. Our path of duty, young men of Massachusetts, is radiant with light, as luminous as the pathway of the sun across the heavens on this bright autumnal day. For those of you who might recall, this was about a year or a year ago or so. And uh we had a guest named Dr. Forrest Neighbors, who uh was hails from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, and he studied a lot about slavery and really this the Civil War era. And what one of the takeaways kind of based on his finding and really my and my own findings, is that the the big point is that slavery as it was an aristocracy that overtook American institutions. So when people feel like institutions are crumbling, that they are being eroded. I think that's where where Henry Wilson's going with as well. But in to as an extension of that, based on what Dr. Neighbors discussed, slavery was an aristocracy. That aristocracy was composed of a small number of people who amassed huge amounts of wealth who are effectively exploiting the American system. And for Wilson to be able to describe it this way, I think you can see why it was so persuasive. Because it doesn't just bring in people who are slavery versus anti-slavery. I think he's trying to appeal to a much broader audience, trying to remind them that in American history that we've always had this tussle between uh between elites and the common people. Just a few decades before, you had Andrew Jackson. You had Jackson railing against those the the Henry Claysy or the political elites, those people who uh who didn't who certainly did not want anything to do with expanding voting rights. But Andrew Jackson believed in this idea of the common man and of the self-made man. And so already in that in the short history of the United States, we already had those those different histories of people who uh were were not content with some sort of elite. There were there were even protests and riots in the 1790s of American revolution uh veterans who were not happy with the class of politicians who uh whom they felt were ignoring them. And so you see this history here of the of elites versus common common man, and for and for for Henry Wilson to have this sort of rhetoric truly persuasive in the sense that um not only is an aristocracy, but he also describes how uh he I mean he re rails against the incumbents. He talks about this overtaking of institutions, and I don't think he's just mentioning overtaking of institutions, he is deliberately saying these and that this aristocracy is undermining those institutions and effectively kind of strangling them in some sense. This resistless power that he talks about with the with the 15 sovereign states, term talking about what would be the Confederacy, and he all definitely takes a shot at James Buchanan because the president of the republic is and that he mentions is well, James Buchanan, and that was the big problem with Buchanan, is that he he just basically referred to the Constitution, just kind of said, Well, I don't know what you want me to do because about this issue of slavery, because I'm kind of constrained by the Constitution. And this is really one of the reasons why he is considered the worst president in America, is because he did not have the courage and the and really the understanding of the constitution and the the way that presidents need to be upholding that law, but also to be able to ensure that that the president represents uh the ideals and the ambitions of the country, which was to uh go should have been going a direction to eradicate slavery. It also brings out really some of the the founding principles too, and I think Henry Wilson would be someone who would be a great candidate to read some of those early documents uh from American history. I found this quote from Federalist 39 by James Madison. And he's wrote, quote, It is essential to such a government that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion or a favored class of it. Otherwise, a handful of tyrannical nobles exercising their oppressions by a delegation of their powers might aspire to the rank of Republicans and claim for their government the honorable title of republic. Even Madison warned about this idea of a small class of elites trying to effectively not only exercise their power, but to all of a sudden try and pretend that they are representing some element of a republic when in fact they don't believe in any of those principles. And so for one big takeaway to understand is that slavery was not just a moral issue, as we uh we often might read in the history books. That is certainly a very, very important part of it. However, I think as part of the campaigns, as part of the way to persuade others, let's be honest, a lot of people are are thinking in terms of their own wealth, in terms of their own prosperity. And for Henry Wilson to understand, I believe, this idea that people not only want to do the right thing, but they want to do something that does suffice to their material interests, as we'll we'll get to that later, uh, that is a really important piece as part of the abolitionist movement, at least the ones that were most successful, like him. The second piece here, uh the second portion of this speech, um, this this really again ties in with one of our founding documents. But I but and the way he characterizes it, I think, is very, very important. So let me read you this this excerpt here. Quote How grand, comprehensive, and glorious is the work assigned to the young men of this age in America. They are summoned to rescue the Republic from the iron rule of the slave holding aristocracy, from the degrading thrall. Them of a privileged class which hates equal and impartial liberty with inextinguishable hatred, which contemptuously scoffs at the idea of the equality and brotherhood of the race, which sneers at all efforts to emancipate the bondmen or elevate the lowly. They are summoned to secure the ultimate emancipation of millions of overawed and submissive bondmen, to vindicate the rights and dignity of free labor and free laboring men, to purify the nation from the stains and pollutions of slavery, and so put the national government in harmony with the sublime ideas embodied in the Declaration of Independence. They are summoned to this mighty task by that generous and expansive patriotism which embraces the whole country and the people of the whole country, by that philanthropy which cares for the sons and daughters of toil and misfortune, by that religion which teaches us that all the races of men are of one blood, the children of a common father, and that the humblest slave that trembles and cowers under the frown or the lash of a master, or overseer or taskmaker master, taskmaster, in the recess of the far south is a being whom God created, and for whom his son mounted the cross. Seldom in human history has it been permitted by the providence of God to young men of any country or of any age to engage in a work so vast in its conception, so comprehensive in its character, so sanctified by patriotism and humanity, so sure now to win the sympathies of mankind, the applause of the coming generations, the approval of conscience, and the blessings of Almighty God. Again, what a remarkable passage. And I the fact that this passage was not just written in that standard English as you might expect. But the fact that he capitalized certain words, I I'm sure this is on purpose here. Here are just some of the words he capitalizes and trying to go in order from the excerpt that I just read. Republic. Liberty Declaration of Independence obviously should be cap and capitalized. Clearly, he know knows his his proper nouns. Patriotism, philanthropy, religion. It does capitalize the South, because that's that's how people refer to the South. Obviously, God and Son are capitalized. Providence of God, Almighty God. I also miss one here when he taught the children of a common father. Father's also capitalized. I bring this out because as you can tell with the previous passages and this passage, something stands out, and it's one of the pillars of Washington's farewell address. I mean, if you guess it right, it's patriotism. And so the the second takeaway I like to offer is patriotism, according to what Wilson is implying here, it's about a calling, right? A personal calling. He's calling to the young men, which that of itself is very fascinating. Getting people, getting people who are young but who have potential, right? And certainly there's a whole other discussion we could have about men nowadays or the the plights that that are affecting men right now, but nonetheless, for Henry Wilson to be addressing those those young men. That's that's a very important calling there. But that patriotism is about a calling to put one's nation in harmony with the Declaration of Independence. I thought that was a very interesting wording. In harmony. Almost like the Declaration of Independence has its own tune. It's to play a certain tune, to repeat that certain tune. It made me think of an example. When I was younger, I used to play the cello, and one of the pieces that was my favorite to play was The Swan by Samson. It is a classic piece. You probably heard of it. If you haven't already, make sure to take a listen. It is one of the best pieces of music, if not the best piece of music ever written for a cello, in my humble opinion. If you were younger, you were maybe even for I don't know, depending on depending on your ability, depending on your willingness to um to foot and to look into music or to play music, I could I would imagine that someone, a kid who's nine years old, or a person who is 90 years old, could play the notes of that song. So the notes are not the difficult part of that piece. The reason why it is not only a wonderful piece, but it's also a very hard piece to play, is because there really there really is a difficulty to get the harmony right, to in to ensure that everything from the vibratoes to the the tone, the uh uh the volume, all that needs to sync together, and it's so so challenging. It is one of the hardest pieces, I tell you. For those of you who play music, I think you'll you'll know why. It's also a perfect piece for the cello as well. I mean, other instruments uh have great pieces as well, but this one is certainly I think great, very fitting for the cello. Uh, the Swan, I think is a great example of how it's not necessarily about the words or the creeds that are difficult. It's how do we have the harmony to reach those goals, to reach those principles. That is a lot harder than we all like to admit. I'm not gonna sit here and say, oh, I oh in order to uphold the pursuit of life, liberty, and pursuit happiness, here's what we we need to do. One, two, three. There's there's no way, there's no way anybody in this country can just say that. And so I I think Henry Wilson is not just alluding to the fact that we need to have some kind of harmony. I I I see this as this is challenging. If it wasn't challenging, I don't know, I don't think he'd be calling for the young men in Massachusetts to take on this very big role. And certainly the cause for abolitionism was no easy task, as we all know. But as we get more distant from history, it becomes harder for us to understand how difficult those efforts were. And so I just use that example with the swan to just say it's so easy whenever you go out, whether you're reading the papers or you're talking with friends, you're you're hearing a uh hearing someone speak about politics, maybe on a stage of some kind. Just remember that it's so easy to hear those words and uh on and hear them on repeat. But anyone can do that. If someone could just replay a famous politician's words on on, I guess you can an Amazon Echo or on some sort of Bluetooth speaker, just put it on replay. But what about actually implementing those principles? That is the challenge. I don't have all the answers, and we we all have to help each other get closer to those principles, get closer to having harmony with Republican principles in our country. And that that I think that journey to try and be more harmonious with our founding documents and those ideals is a big, big part of patriotism. The last bit I'll discuss here is towards the end, and I'll read this passage to you. This is literally the last part of his speech. Let them, then, while they cherish a profound reverence for humanity, an inextinguishable love for the rights of man, and ever act with unswerving fidelity to these hallowed convictions, cultivate a general and expansive patriotism that knows no lines of latitude or of longitude, or points of the compass, adopt a prudent, wise and practicable public policy that shall demonstrate to the American people their capacity to take care of the varied, multifarious and vast material interests of the nation, and so administer the government as to protect and defend the interests, rights, and honor of the country in peace and in war. Let them so act that the historic pen which shall trace the acts of this great drama shall record for the study and admiration of all after times that the young men of this age in Massachusetts, in America, were animated by lofty motives, aims and purposes, and governed by wise, comprehensive and patriotic counsels that, living and dying, their hearts ever throbbed with an intense and vehement passion for the liberty, the renown, the unity, and eternity of the Republic. Wow. I'm kind of lost for words, so I'm gonna think of words right now to say about this last passage. I would go back to what he said earlier about having a prudent, wise, and practicable public policy to de demonstrate your your capacity to take care of the very multifarious and vast material interests of the nation. Competence is really, really key here. It is it is a part of patriotism. Trying to make yourself more competent, I think, is a big part of serving for others. And so that really leaves the main takeaway, demonstrating that prudence, demonstrating that wise policymaking. For me, I think it reminds me of going back to fundamentals. I did note down here, this was supposed to be a general point of the speech, but I found a passage here in a book about Nick Saban. And Nick Saban was the former head coach of the University of Alabama's football program, and this is a book from about 20 years ago, and he wrote a book about leadership. And the book is called How Good Do You Want to Be? This is a fascinating book, by the way. Regardless of your interest in football, this is a really great book to pick up because there's so many lessons here, and there's some interesting stories that can help complement those lessons. And here's a passage here on page 104 from his book. Quote, what can get lost in the rush to prepare each week for an opponent are the fundamentals. We get so caught up in what we are doing in terms of strategy and adjustments that we neglect the basic fundamentals of execution. Most plays that fail do so because of a mental error or a lack of fundamental execution. There is a great deal of focus on the basic skills in preseason camp in August. Once the season comes around, they tend to take a back seat. They shouldn't. Think about your line of work. When was the last time you spent time on the fundamentals? The basics you were taught way back when when that got you to you to where you are. Most of us lose sight of those fundamentals. That's because the tasks at hand require so much time and effort that we can't afford to review the basics. But when things don't seem to be going as planned, we always revert back to the basic fundamental values that are important to team success. I think Coach Saban absolutely nails it. And while I don't know what a conversation between Nick Saban and Henry Wilson would look like, I'm sure one of them is really interested in football, the other probably doesn't. This really gets back into the core of what we're discussing about fundamentals. And patriotism is a way to get back to fundamentals. It's a way to get back to why and and how we do things. And really does go back to those values of prudence and of showing that you are capable. It's not enough to go around and just talk. To work on oneself, to avoid uh this very, very common tactic nowadays in politics, just blame others. The problem with blaming others all the time is it takes time away from improving yourself and improving your capabilities to give to others. And that I think is a big lesson we should all take from that. Go back to fundamentals. And perhaps we can go back to the fundamentals of patriotism. Because patriotism in of itself is a return to the fundamentals of our nation's values. Thank you all so much for listening to this episode. I hope you enjoyed it. Make sure to check out the links down in the show notes below. Have a great rest of your day and rest of your week. And remember, a day in America is always better when we are with our friends and fellow citizens.