Excerpt from National Union Free Convention's
"How shall We End the Rebellion-Shall We Coax It, or Crush It?" 1864
AMERICANS! Here you have two plans for ending the Rebellion, restoring peace, and preserving the Union. They differ in every essential feature. They agree in scarcely anything. Here are some of their points of contrast:
1. The Chicago platform says not one word in condemnation of the Rebellion or of those who have wrapped the nation in the flames of civil war. The Baltimore platform brands the Rebellion as a gigantic crime, and demands the punishment of the rebels and traitors who have brought it on. With which do you agree?
2. The Chicago Platform proposes that the Rebellion be stopped by
IMMEDIATE EFFORTS FOR A CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES on the part of the Government. The Baltimore Platform proposes to "quell it by FORCE of ARMS." The first is Surrender—the last VICTORY!
Which do you prefer? ...
4. The Chicago Platform says not a syllable against the rebellion, but denounces, with intense bitterness and venom, everything the Government has done to put it down. The Baltimore platform applauds and upholds the Government in its efforts to subdue the rebels, and promises continued support in this endeavor. Which is the most patriotic? ...
7. The Chicago Platform has not a word to say against slavery, which has caused the war, and which is to be the cornerstone of the new Confederacy the rebellion seeks to establish. The Baltimore Platform brands it as a curse to the country, and calls for its complete extirpation from the soil of the Republic, at the hands of the people, through an amendment of the Constitution. Which is the wisest and best for the country?
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
When the author of this statement speaks of the "Chicago
Platform," he means
(1 point)
• the Republican Party's position.
• the Democratic Party's position.
• the Wade-Davis Bill.
• the Ten Percent Plan.