e provisions of the Nebraska act,
but demanded the prohibition of slavery in all the territories and
in the District of Columbia. This feeling was very strong in the
important county of Huron.

When I spoke in North Fairfield I was interrupted by the distinct
question put to me by the pastor of the church in which I spoke,
and whose name I do not recall, whether I would vote for the
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. I knew this was
a turning point, but made up my mind to be frank and honest, whatever
might be the result. I answered that I would not, that the great
issue was the extension of slavery over the territories. I fortified
myself by the opinions of John Q. Adams, but what I said fell like
a wet blanket on the audience. I understood that afterwards, in
a church meeting, the preacher commended my frankness and advised
his people to vote for me.

This canvass, more than any other, assumed a religious tone, not
on sectarian, but on moral grounds. Our meetings were frequently
held in churches, and the speaker was invited to the pulpit, with
the Bible and hymn-book before him, and frequently with an audience
of men, women and children, arranged as for religious worship.

The probable course of Democrats opposed to the Nebraska bill was
more than a matter of doubt. They were in the main content with
Mr. Lindsley and voted for him. But out of the general confusion
of parties there arose what was known as the "Know-nothing" order,
or American party, opposed to the Catholics, and to free immigration.
It was a secret organization, with signs and grips. There were
perhaps one thousand of them in my district, composed about equally
of Democrats and Whigs. They were indifferent, or neutral, on the
political issue of the day.

The result of the election in October was against the Democratic
party in Ohio. Every Democratic candidate for Congress was defeated.
Twenty-one Members, all opposed to the repeal of the Missouri
Compromise, but differing in opinion upon other questions, were
elected to Congress. The composition of the delegation was somewhat
peculiar, as the party had no name, and no defined principles except
upon the one question of the extension of slavery. On the day of
the election everyone was in doubt. Mr. Kirkwood, who supported
Mr. Lindsley, told me it was the strangest election he had ever
seen, that everyone brought his ticket in his vest pocket, and
there was no electionee