"Resolved,  That  we  invite  the  affiliation  and  cooperation  of  men
of  all  parties,  however  differing  from  us  in  other  respects,  in  sup-
port of  the  principles  herein  declared;  and,  believing  that  the  spirit
of  our  institutions,  as  well  as  the  Constitution  of  our  country,  guar-
antee liberty  of  conscience  and  equality  of  rights  among  citizens,  we
oppose  all  legislation  impairing  their  security."


Whig  Party

The  Whigs  who  still  adhered  to  their  old  party
organization  held  a  national  convention  in  Baltimore,
September  17-18,  1856.  Delegates  were  present  from
twenty-six  States,  and  Edward  Bates,  of  Missouri,  pre-
sided.
For  President  and  Vice-President  the  nominees  of
the  Know-Nothings,  Millard  Fillmore  and  Andrew
Jackson  Donelson,  were  endorsed.
Platform :

"Resolved,  That  the  Whigs  of  the  United  States,  now  here  assem-
bled, hereby  declare  their  reverence  for  the  Constitution  of  the  United
States,  their  unalterable  attachment  to  the  national  Union,  and  a
fixed  determination  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  preserve  them  for
themselves  and  their  posterity.  They  have  no  new  principles  to
announce,  no  new  platform  to  establish;  but  are  content  to  broadly
rest — where  their  fathers  rested — upon  the  Constitution  of  the  United
States,  wishing  no  safer  guide,  no  higher  law.
"Resolved,  That  we  regard  with  the  deepest  interest  and  anxiety
the  present  disordered  condition  of  our  national  affairs — a  portion
of  the  country  ravaged  by  civil  war,  large  sections  of  our  population
embittered  by  mutual  recriminations;  and  we  distinctly  trace  these
calamities  to  the  culpable  neglect  of  duty  by  the  present  national
administration.
