In this subtler effort they had made notable progress.

By the Kansas-Nebraska act they had paralyzed the legislation of half a century.

By the Dred Scott decision they had changed the Constitution and blighted the Declaration of Independence.

By the Lecompton trick they would show that in conflict with their dogmas the public will was vicious, and in conflict with their intrigues the majority powerless.

They had the President, the Cabinet, the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court, and, by no means least in the immediate problem, John Calhoun with his technical investiture of far-reaching authority.