Pretense Of Glory: The Life of General Nathaniel P. Banks

3 Success Is a Duty

3 Success Is a Duty .athaniel P. Banks won reelection to the U.S. House of Representa tives in 1858 by carrying his congressional district two to one. But with the Democrats in control itwasclear that his tenure asSpeaker wasover. Stopping to consider his political future, Banks decided that the best chance of grooming himself for a seat in the Senate or even for the presidency layin gaining experience as the chief executive ofhis home state.1 In the race for the Republican nomination for governor, Banks attempted to avoid taking an extreme position against slavery, but that stance was becoming increasingly difficult. Republicans in Massachusetts were divided into two distinct camps.One faction, whichwas centered around apolitical clique called the BirdClub, wasextremist, abolitionist , and hostile to those who did not share its radicalviews.The Bird Club took its name from Francis W. Bird, an ardent disunionist. Among its members were George L. Starnes, who had been afinancialbackerof John Brown;John A. Andrew,who later raised funds for Browns trial; and Charles Sumner, the abolitionist whom Banks had reluctantly helped get elected to the Senate. Membersof the Bird Club believed that slavery was morally wrong and should be fought unceasingly without compromise. Banks headed a second faction, known as the Banks Club, which was moderate, willing to compromise, and practical in its approach. Although Banks's faction also opposed slavery, its members 1. Harrington, Fighting Politician, 42. The term of office for Massachusetts governors duringthis period was oneyear. N 34 Pretense of Glory rejected abolitionism and subordinated moraljustification oftheir cause to attain political and economic ends. The Banks Club counted among its members manyofthe powerful nativistsin the state.2 Open conflict between the twofactionscame to ahead at the Republican nominating convention on June 24, 1857. There the radicals expressed their disapproval with shouts of "no! no!" when Banks's name was placed in nomination. But the moderates pressed ahead and requested that he be nominated by acclamation. "Trimmer," the opposition shouted. He was a "facile, pliant, flexible man." Banks offered a compromise. He agreed to yield to radical demands by softening his stand on nativism and by denouncing the Dred Scott decision. Satisfied with these pronouncements and preferring Banks to the reactionary incumbent Know-Nothing governor, Henry Gardner, most ofthe radicals voted for the man from Waltham.3 Banks's chief opponent in the campaign was Governor Gardner. Gardner was dull, unattractive, and a dreary speaker, but he knew how to get votes. Because of his strongly nativist background, Gardnerwas able to appeal to manyof the ordinary people of Massachusetts. He also continued to defend the Americanparty by opposing antislavery agitation on the grounds that it was bad for manufacturingand commercial interests.4 The campaign became heated when Gardner supporters went after Banks with all the tricks at their command. Hecklers were sent to Banks meetings to mock the Republican nominee and accuse him of dodging the issues. "Solemn, pretentious humbug," declared his detractors when he juggled phrases to please both moderate and radical antislavery factions . Fighting back, Banks stumped the state and organized over two dozen "Ironsides Clubs," borrowing atitle from Oliver Cromwell's veter2 . Dale Baum, The Civil War Party System: The Case of Massachusetts, 1848-1876 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1984), 103; Donald, Charles Sumner and the Coming of the Civil War, 321-22; Harrington, Fighting Politician,40-45; Robinson , "Warrington" Pen-Portraits, 401,425-27; Frank Preston Stearns, The Life and Public Services of George LutherStearns (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott,1907), 156-59. 3. Lorenzo Sears, Wendell Phillips: Orator and Agitator (1909;reprint, New York: Benjamin Bloom, 1967), 186; New York Evening Post, August 20, September9,1857; Boston Daily Journal, June 18,24,25,1857. Atrimmer issomeonewho charts a cautious course between opposing points ofview as expediency dictates. 4. See Banks's speechin the New York Evening Post, September 9,1857. Success Is a Duty 35 ans. Banks adopted "Little Iron Man" as his campaign nickname, although Gardner quipped that Banks wasreallya "Little Lead Man."The campaign slogan that Banks picked referred to the halt of slavery's spread to the territories: "Success is a duty." Indeed, Banks's energy brought success. When the final vote was in, Banks led Gardner three to two.5 Banks was sworn in as governor of Massachusetts in January 1858. One of the first issues over which the new governor and the radicals clashed involved...