ABRAILUi LINCOLN ASSOCIATION^ 
 
 THE WOODSTOCK SERIES NO. 1 $1.00 
 
 Woodstock's U. S. Senator 
 JACOB COLLAMER 
 
 By 
 
 Mary Louise Kelly 
 
 WOODSTOCK • VERMONT 
 
 N.H. Charter 1761 
 N,Y. ?atentlll2 
 
 THE WOODSTOCK HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 1944 
 
 A^^ 
 
 ftUAl^t Tl^trA-^' 
 
 ^^mfs*^^'^'^>^
 
 r 1 
 
 d The e 
 
 I Woodstock Historical Society g 
 
 ^ Incorporated 1943 
 
 I AIMS & PURPOSES 
 
 ^ XHIS corporation is organized for the purpose of: g 
 
 f\ THE collection and receipt of articles of personal property n 
 
 Sj and memorabilia of historical value and interest such as news- ^ 
 
 ^ papers, letters, documents, genealogies, books, maps, paint- g 
 
 y ings, pictures, furniture, tools, implements, and any articles (s 
 
 c) of historical interest, and the acquisition by deed, devise or Q 
 
 J purchase of real estate of historical value to be used either Js> 
 
 W separately or in connection with the personal property which fa 
 
 ^ may be so acquired. /o 
 
 j^ THE preservation and care of such property and the ar- ^ 
 
 ^ rangement, cataloging and indexing of such articles of per- fa 
 
 of sonal property and memorabilia as may be received by the /» 
 
 8j society. ^ 
 
 S< THE acceptance of gifts, legacies and donations to become fe 
 
 J\ property of the society and of property loaned to the society, r» 
 
 Sj and the raising of funds for the conduct of the organization (3 
 
 r\ and its enterprises. Q 
 
 c\ THE display and exhibition of items and property of his- n 
 
 S) torical interest received or held by the society, ^ 
 
 ^ THE instruction and education of persons as to the mode re 
 
 r\ of life, industries, crafts, society, and philosophy of earlier q 
 
 y times and past generations. ^ 
 
 8J IN general, it shall be the object and purpose of this society ro 
 
 ^ to in any proper method foster and promote interest in Q 
 
 ^ matters of historical import and significance. (^ 
 
 J Proceeds from the sale of this monograph mil \> 
 
 gi be used to augment the Publication Fund W
 
 JACOB COLLAMER j 
 
 By j 
 
 Mary Louise Kelly 
 
 / hold it a noble task to rescue 
 
 from oblivion those 
 
 who deserve to be eternally 
 
 PLINY THE YOUNGER 
 
 THE WOODSTOCK HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 1944 
 
 iClXs^iC^Xr^CiXs^CtXs^iCST^iCfXs^CtJo^ 
 
 ABF.AHAM LINCOLN ASSOCi\TtOK
 
 JACOB COLLAMER 
 
 Born in Troy, N.Y., January 8, ijgi 
 Died in Woodstoc^, Vt., November 9, 186^ 
 
 "He died at his home in Woodstock . . . few citizens of 
 Vermont have been called to so many positions of trust and 
 honor as was Jacob Collamer, and few, indeed, have per- 
 formed such varied duties with stricter fidelity, with more 
 marked abilit)', or reflected greater honor upon the State than 
 he did. Some of her public men may have shone with a 
 greater brilliancy, but none with a steadier or more enduring 
 light. As lawyer and judge in Vermont, as representative of 
 the State in both houses of the national legislative body, he 
 easily ranked among the foremost men of his time. In pur- 
 suance of an act of the Legislature of Vermont in 1872, a 
 statue of Judge Collamer, executed by Preston Powers, son 
 of Hiram Powers (a native of Windsor County, Vt.), was 
 placed in the National Statuary Hall at Washington, D.C. 
 The onlv other citizen of Vermont having received a like 
 honor from the State being General Ethan Allen." 
 
 Aldrich and Holmes, History of Vermont (1891), p. 856.
 
 3 
 
 Cb'^^ni^ L;rNco\vN Tic 
 
 JACOB COLLAMER 
 
 In \vERMONT'S comer of the Hall of Fame stand the statues of two 
 noted men. One is of Ethan Allen, about whom much has been written. 
 This is about the other man whom we are too apt to forget — my great- 
 great-grandfather, Jacob CoUamer. 
 
 The Green Mountain State was his adopted home, for he was born in 
 Troy, New York. At that time, 1791, Vermont was a new, struggling state, 
 "up North" and thoughts of moving there were far distant from the mind 
 of his father, an industrious carpenter of limited means. Nevertheless, four 
 years later found the CoUamer family settled in Burlington, Vermont. There 
 is little to distinguish CoUamer's childhood from that of countless other 
 poor children. Everyone in his family of three boys and five girls had to help 
 with the work, and there was even more for each to do after the death of 
 their father when CoUamer was still a small boy. 
 
 Somehow his mother managed to raise the necessary funds to send him 
 to college and when he was but fifteen he entered the University of Ver- 
 mont, next to the youngest in his class. Because his education was lacking in 
 several respects, the whole summer before he was enrolled was spent in hard 
 work and study. It was said he mastered the principles of Latin grammar 
 in six weeks while chopping wood. 
 
 An amusing incident is told concerning his life there at college. One day 
 Dr. Sanders, president of the University, suggested to the members of his 
 class that thereafter they come to recitation in shoes. The students were so 
 poor that many of them, Jacob CoUamer included, came to class barefooted. 
 Jacob reported the situation to his widowed mother and she succeeded in 
 spinning enough shoe thread to make him a pair of shoes. In an effort to 
 save them from wear as long as possible, he carried them to and from the 
 place of recitation, hiding them in a pine brush fence overnight. In this way 
 his shoes lasted as long as his mother could wish. Despite the disadvantage 
 of his poverty, CoUamer managed to study profitably and graduated with 
 his class in 18 10 with "credit and commendation for good conduct and 
 scholarship." 
 
 Upon graduating from the University, he at once entered the study of 
 law in St. Albans. Two years later he left temporarily to serve as a lieu- 
 tenant of artillery in the frontier campaign during the War of 18 12. Upon 
 his return he was admitted to the Bar (1813) and it was not long be- 
 fore he was regarded as one of the most promising of its younger members.
 
 While visiting in Barre shortly after, an incident occurred which he used to 
 tell with amusement many years later. Young CoUamer was accompanying 
 a Mr. Smith to a trial in a neighboring town. He was to make his first argu- 
 ment there and so it was for him an important occasion. It was winter and 
 he wore under his long coat his only suit of clothes. On the way to the court- 
 house the carriage was upset and his trousers suffered such a rent that he 
 was forced to wear his long coat all through the trial. With such a start he 
 entered on the career which was to carry him to such heights of public and 
 professional fame. 
 
 In Randolph Center, he hung out his first shingle. There he did as much 
 professional work as he could get and added to his meager salary by collect- 
 ing taxes for the United States government. In 1816 he decided to move to 
 Royalton and there he remained for twenty years. Soon after, he married 
 Mary Stone and their marriage proved ideally happy. Representing Royalton 
 four times in the State Legislature, he soon gained a reputation for his 
 clear reasoning and fair judgment. It was largely through his ability and de- 
 termination that the Constitution was amended, making the Senate a sepa- 
 rate branch of the Legislature. 
 
 In 1833, he was elected one of the Assistant Judges of the Supreme Court, 
 which position he held for nearly ten years when he declined a re-election. 
 Though not an extensive reader, he knew his facts and his decisions were 
 never questioned. His experiences as Judge formed a firm foundation for his 
 later work as Senator. 
 
 Upon leaving the Bench, he again moved, this time to Woodstock, and 
 resumed his law practice in the town which was his home for the remainder 
 of his life. He was not allowed to remain for long in private practice, how- 
 ever, for he was soon elected Vermont's Representative to Congress (March, 
 1849). Though he had already gained a reputation as lawyer and judge, his 
 real fame was won there. After three elections he declined a fourth and was 
 then chosen Postmaster-General in President Taylor's cabinet. 
 
 Under Collamer, many reforms in our postal system were brought about. 
 It was he who supervised the making of the first United States postage 
 stamps. He sent the first one on a letter to his brother in Barre, saying that 
 if the "new system worked, the stamp would some day be quite valuable." 
 When President Taylor died (July, 1850), he resigned with the rest of the 
 cabinet. 
 
 His next four years were spent as Circuit Judge in Vermont, presiding in 
 County Courts. He still found time to devote to his community and family. 
 He was elected president of the newly founded medical college in Wood- 
 stock, a position he held for seven years. He was the first to be given the 
 degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of Vermont and this honor was
 
 DAGUERD. BY BRADY, N.Y. ENGD. BY A. H. RITCHIE, N.\'. 
 
 ^c^^^^cL^'if^^r':) 
 
 POSTMASTER GENERAL 
 
 March i84g — July 1850.
 
 ^-*: 
 
 r r'f-,
 
 later given to him by Dartmouth College. He was often chosen to hold other 
 honorary positions, but his greatest happiness came when he was with his 
 family. His seven children loved him dearly and he was never heard to utter 
 a cross or unkind word to them. He was a loving and loved husband and it 
 is little wonder his home was the happy place it was. He spent many hours 
 improving the grounds of his yellow brick house and there still remain the 
 elm and maple trees which he planted one spring. He was a prominent and 
 active member of the Congregational church in his community, and his was 
 a familiar figure as he sat in his accustomed seat each Sunday in the old 
 white meeting house. 
 
 In 1854, he was elected to represent Vermont in the United States Senate 
 and for the next ten years he was foremost among its members. Immediately 
 placed on three important committees, he entered into the numerous activi- 
 ties with spirit. In the stirring days before and during the Civil War, he had 
 an active part. President Lincoln and Senator CoUamer were known to be 
 friends both politically and personally. The President often conferred with 
 him about important questions and showed an interest in his suggestions. 
 Two prized possessions in the CoUamer family today are notes which Lin- 
 coln wrote. Both endeavored to bring the North and South together again 
 and the sudden death of his beloved president came as a great shock. He 
 was walking in his garden in Woodstock when the news was brought to 
 him, and it is said he exclaimed, "My God, what will become of our country 
 now!" It is perhaps best that he did not live to see the worst of what he had 
 feared and tried to avoid. 
 
 It is difficult to point to any one of his speeches as his greatest, for he ex- 
 pressed his views on a multitude of occasions. He was regarded as a con- 
 servative but only inasmuch as he disliked going against the Constitution 
 which he was ever ready to uphold. He was a radical, however, in his wish 
 to have every governmental department strained to the utmost to suppress 
 the Great Rebellion. He was a conscientious statesman and would sacrifice 
 the favor of his party rather than go against what he believed was right. In 
 all he did, his state was behind him and his policies were Vermont's. 
 
 At the time of his death in 1865 (Nov. 9), he was still one of the Senate's 
 foremost members and the respect in which he was held was increasing each 
 year he wore his senatorial robes. His death at the age of seventy-four came 
 as a loss to the whole nation, and special services were held in a joint meet- 
 ing of Congress. For nearly half a century he had been active in public life 
 and his death came at the peak of his career. Today Vermonters may look 
 back with pride at another Vermonter — Jacob CoUamer, who once again 
 had proved that the Green Mountains make great men. 
 
 Mary Louise Kelly
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 THE COLLAMER ESSAY 
 
 UNDER the heading "My Great-Great-Grandfather" the foregoing paper 
 was prepared by Mary Louise Kelly of Woodstock, Vermont, while a stu- 
 dent in 1943 at the Woodstock High School, and was entered in the Ed- 
 munds Memorial History Essay contest, open to all high school students in 
 Vermont. This essay won the Windsor County prize and was awarded first 
 prize and $100 in the state contest. 
 
 THE LINCOLN-COLLAMER LETTERS 
 
 Reproduced for the first time by permission of the owner 
 
 Mary Collamer Clough 
 
 President Lincoln was inaugurated March 4, 1861, and faced, in his first 
 week in Washington, a crisis greater than any which has ever confronted 
 the government of the United States or a president of this nation — a crisis 
 of secession and of Civil War. "A crisis of such gravity, Lincoln had sought 
 the advice of his official advisers," said Barton.^ It will be recalled that the 
 Southern Confederacy was formed February 4, 1861; that Jefferson Davis 
 was inaugurated President of the Confederacy February 18, 1861; that an 
 act of secession had been adopted by the legislatures of seven states prior to 
 Lincoln's inauguration; that the South and their Northern supporters held 
 him in contempt; that his Cabinet was not a unit; that on March 5th he was 
 informed Fort Sumter must be relieved or surrender; that Washington in 
 general and many officials were opposed to him — and so it is little wonder 
 that on the eighth day after his inaugural Lincoln addressed Senator Colla- 
 mer with the phrase "God help me!" 
 
 Executive Mansion 
 March 12, 1861 
 
 Hon. Jacob Colamer, 
 My dear sir: 
 
 God help me! 
 It is said I have offended you — 
 Please tell me how. 
 
 Yours very truly 
 A. Lincoln 
 
 1. William E. Barton, President Lincoln (1933), I, 229.
 
 ■n 
 
 Collamer's Reply: 
 
 March 14 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I am entirely insensible that you have, 
 in any way, offended me. I cherish no sentiment 
 towards you but that of kindness and confidence. 
 
 Very respectfully 
 His Excellency Your Humble Servt 
 
 A. Lincoln, President J. CoUamer 
 
 The President replied to this as follows: 
 
 March 15, 1861 
 Hon. Jacob CoUamer. 
 My dear sir 
 
 I am much relieved to learn that 
 I have been misinformed as to your having been 
 offended. 
 
 Yours very truly 
 A. Lincoln
 
 
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 LINCOLN probably did not know Collamer intimately at that time, as in 
 the first letter he omitted an "1" in the spelling of Collamer, but he un- 
 doubtedly was informed as to Collamer's high standing and leadership in 
 the Senate and of his position on many public matters during his many years 
 of public service in the House and Senate. 
 
 James G. Blaine wrote, "No more difficult task has ever been presented to 
 any government than that which Mr. Lincoln and his Cabinet assumed in 
 the month of March, 1861."- 
 
 It would appear that the Senator and the President had much in common 
 on the Slavery issue and Lincoln greatly desired his cooperation within eight 
 days of his inauguration. 
 
 IT was on Thursday, January i, 1863, President Lincoln signed the Emanci- 
 pation Proclamation but this did not abolish Slavery and Lincoln knew that 
 a further step must be taken "to efface the blot of Slavery from the Repub- 
 lic." On Wednesday, January 14, 1863, Representative Wilson of Iowa, 
 Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, reported a proposed amendment to 
 the Constitution to prohibit Slavery in the United States. Knowing Colla- 
 mer's position on the Slavery issue it is more than probable that the Presi- 
 dent wished to confer with the leader of the Senate, Senator Collamer, on 
 this subject, and asked him to call on Sunday, January 11, 1863. 
 
 If not going to church please call and see 
 me at once; and if to church, please call as 
 soon after, as convenient. 
 
 January 11, 1863 A. Lincoln 
 
 2. Twenty Years of Congress (1884). 

 
 CROCKETT in his History of Vermont states that CoUamer was at church 
 and that "as soon as he returned he proceeded to the White House where he 
 remained twelve hours in consultation with the President." 
 
 Evidently the President knew of the Senator's church habits and his stand- 
 ing as "a Christian man and a Christian gentleman." CoUamer was a church 
 member of long standing and it was Congressman Grider of Kentucky in 
 his address to the House of Representatives who stated that "when I had the 
 honor to be . . .in the House with Judge CoUamer, we had a congressional 
 prayer meeting. I remember distinctly that Judge CoUamer, as a Christian 
 gentleman was uniformly there and participated in the devotional exercises. 
 They were of frequent occurrence, and he used to attend." 
 
 It would be of great interest if we had a stenographic report of that Sun- 
 day conference, but unfortunately no record remains in Senator CoUamer's 
 papers referring to this urgent "call at once" summons of the President. 
 
 On the occasion of the candidacy of Judge CoUamer to the U.S. Senate in 
 1854, he "announced that he was utterly opposed to the repeal of the Mis- 
 souri Compromise and favored immediate and unconditional repeal of the 
 Fugitive Slave Law, unless modified to permit a jury trial in the place of 
 arrest."* 
 
 TWICE CONSIDERED FOR NATIONAL TICKET 
 
 At the first Republican National Convention held in Philadelphia, June 
 17, 1856 — "on an informal ballot for a candidate for Vice President, the 
 fifteen votes from this State were cast for Jacob CoUamer of Vermont."^ 
 
 At the National Republican Convention in i860, on the first ballot, "Ver- 
 mont's votes were cast for Senator Jacob CoUamer, as a deserved compli- 
 ment to a fellow Vermonter,"*' and on the second ballot the delegation voted 
 for Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 NATIONAL STATUARY HALL 
 
 The old Hall of Representatives in Wash- authority to invite each state to contribute 
 
 ington by a provision of the sundry civil for its adornment two statues, in bronze or 
 
 bill of July 2, 1864, was set apart as a Na- marble, of deceased citizens of the State 
 
 tional Hall of Stamary pursuant to a reso- whom "for their renown or from civic or 
 
 lution offered by Mr. Morrill of Vermont. military services she should consider worthy 
 
 The President, at the same time, was given of such national commemoration."'' 
 
 3. IV, 9. 
 
 4. Walter Hill Crockett, History of Vermont (1921), III, 431. 
 
 5. Idem, p. 447. 
 
 6. Idem, p. 485. 
 
 7. George C. Hazelton, Jr., The Natianal Capitol (1897).
 
 THE COLLAMER STATUE 
 
 TWO Vermont Legislatures approved Collamer and Allen for Statuary 
 Hall. The marble statue is the work of Preston Powers. 
 
 Pursuant* to the Congressional Act of 
 1864 and by virtue of an act by the Ver- 
 mont Assembly in 1865, Governor Paul 
 Dillingham appointed Hon. Justin S. Mor- 
 rill and Hon. George F. Edmunds, Com- 
 missioners to select the names of the two 
 Vermonters to be so honored. 
 
 The Commissioners in their report of 
 October, 1866, selected Edian Allen and 
 Jacob Collamer stating that he "has left so 
 many records of service in the various 
 walks of life that it is impossible he should 
 be overlooked" . . . "possessing a vigor- 
 ous intellect, Uained in schools and in his 
 profession, he was able to adapt himself to 
 varied employment and was held long in 
 prominent service, state and national." 
 
 The Commission recommended the em- 
 ployment of Hiram Powers, a native of 
 Vermont, for the statue of Mr. Collamer 
 and addressed him in Florence, Italy, under 
 date of May 30, 1866, asking him his terms 
 to undertake a statue -jVi feet high. Mr. 
 Powers replied on July 11, 1866, stating 
 that while his price for such a statue 
 "should be at least $10,000, he would ac- 
 cept $8000." 
 
 [Hiram Powers died in Florence, Italy, 
 June 27, 1873, and his son, Preston Powers, 
 received the commission.] 
 
 incurred under this act shall be audited by 
 the auditor of accounts. 
 
 Approved November 27, 1872. 
 
 At the Third Biennial Session, 1874, pub. 
 1874, page 384: 
 
 ATo. i8j. An act to amend an act authoriz- 
 ing the Governor to contract for statues of 
 Jacob Collamer and Ethan Allen, approved 
 November 27, 1872. 
 
 Sec. 1. The governor of this state is au- 
 thorized and requested to contract in behalf 
 of the State, with such person as he shall 
 deem proper, for a statue in marble of the 
 late Jacob Collamer, and with Larkin G. 
 Mead for a statue in marble of Ethan 
 Allen, and said statues when completed, to 
 be placed in the national statuary hall in 
 Washington. 
 
 Approved October 28, 1874. 
 
 Relocation of statues in Statuary Hall 
 was provided by an enactment on February 
 24, 1933, due to structural conditions, and 
 under this authorit}- one statue from each 
 state was allotted to Statuary Hall (that 
 from Vermont being Ethan Allen), and 
 seventeen statues, including that of Jacob 
 Collamer, were relocated in the Hall of 
 Columns.^ 
 
 In Acts and Resolves passed by the Gen- 
 eral Assembly of the State of Vermont at 
 the Second Biennial Session, 1872, pub. 
 1873, page 647: 
 
 No. 290. An act authorizing the Governor 
 to contract for statues of Jacob Collamer 
 and Ethan Allen. 
 
 It is hereby enacted by the General As- 
 sembly of the State of Vermont: 
 
 Sec. I. The Governor of this state is au- 
 thorized and requested to contract, in be- 
 half of the state with Hiram Powers, for a 
 statue in marble of the late Jacob Collamer, 
 and with Larkin G. Mead, for a statue in 
 marble of Ethan Allen, and said statues 
 when completed, to be placed in the na- 
 tional statuary hall in Washington. 
 
 Sec. 2. A sum, not exceeding fifteen thou- 
 sand dollars, is hereby appropriated for 
 said object, and the bills for the expenses 
 
 In the brief "biographies of citizens 
 commemorated by Statues from States" (p. 
 33) the following appears under Vermont: 
 "Collamer was an illustrious statesman, a 
 justice of the supreme court of the State, 
 Member of the House of Representatives, 
 Postmaster General and, at the time of his 
 death, a United States Senator." 
 
 Congressional proceedings in regard to 
 the acceptance of the Collamer statue show 
 that Mr. Morrill presented the resolution 
 to the Senate January- 31, 1881. 
 
 U.S. Senator Morrill, from Vermont, in 
 presenting his statue for Statuary Hall, de- 
 clared him to be Vermont's "foremost citi- 
 zen in ability, moral excellence and na- 
 tional distinction." 
 
 8. Commission's Report to the Governor of Vermont, October, 1866. 
 
 9. Report of the Architect of the Capitol (Washington, 1941), pp. 27, 28, 29.
 
 COLLAMER ON PUBLIC AFFAIRS 
 
 "Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia said 
 of Mr. Collamer's first speech in Congress, 
 made February 8, 1844, upon a point of 
 Constitutional law when he had been in 
 the House only two months: 
 
 'This speech of Judge Collamer, not over 
 thirty minutes in length, was so pointed, 
 clear, logical and conclusive, that it put 
 him at once in the front rank of debaters, 
 lawyers and jurists in the House.' "^*' 
 
 Collamer, in his admirable and instruc- 
 tive address February 12, 1862, on the 
 Treasury-note bill, said: 
 
 "I do not know how other members of 
 the Senate look upon the obligation of their 
 oath to support the Constitution of the 
 United States. 
 
 "To me it is an oath registered in heaven 
 as well as upon earth." 
 
 Henry Wilson, in his Rise and Fall of 
 the Slave Power, said that Mr. Collamer 
 "was a statesman of recognized ability and 
 firmness, and was unquestionably the most 
 decided of any member of the Cabinet (of 
 President Taylor) in his opposition to the 
 increasing encroachments of the slave 
 power." 
 
 The speeches and debates made by the 
 Hon. Jacob Collamer may be found in the 
 Congressional Record, Washington, D.C., 
 but the following pamphlets may be seen 
 in the Public Library, Woodstock, Vt.: 
 
 February 8, 1844 — His First Speech in 
 the House of Representatives 
 On the constitutional validity of the act of 
 Congress on the apportionment of Repre- 
 sentatives. 
 
 April 29, 1844 — House of Representa- 
 tives 
 
 On wool and woolens — a tariff measure 
 — sheep in Vermont. 
 
 January 2j, 1845 — House of Representa- 
 tives 
 
 On the annexation of Texas — cites the 
 difference between Vermont and Texas. 
 
 ]une 26, 1846 — House of Representa- 
 tives 
 On the tariff. 
 
 February 1, 1848 — House of Repre- 
 sentatives 
 
 On the Mexican War. 
 
 June 23, 1848 — House of Representa- 
 tives 
 On disposition of public lands. 
 
 March 12, 1856 — U.S. Senate 
 On affairs in Kansas. 
 
 April J & 4, 1856 — U.S. Senate 
 On affairs in the Territory of Kansas — 
 which caused consternation among the 
 hosts of slavery. 
 
 December g, 1856 — U.S. Senate 
 On the President's (Buchanan) message — 
 the regulation of slavery in territories and 
 a review of slave power. 
 
 February 26, 1857 — U.S. Senate 
 On the tariff and wool interest — history of 
 wool and sheep in U.S. and Vermont. 
 
 February 18, 1858 — U.S. Senate 
 On the constitution of Kansas — in re slav- 
 ery. 
 
 March i & 2, 1858 — U.S. Senate 
 On the Kansas question — the admission. 
 
 April 27, 1858 — U.S. Senate 
 On the admission of Kansas. 
 
 February 21, 18 ^g- — U.S. Senate 
 On the acquisition of Cuba. 
 
 March 8, i860 — U.S. Senate 
 On slavery in the territories. 
 
 February 12, 1862 — U.S. Senate 
 On the Treasury-note bill. 
 
 April 24, 1862 — U.S. Senate 
 On bill to confiscate the property and free 
 the slaves of rebels. 
 
 February 11, i86j — U.S. Senate 
 On the bill to provide a national currency. 
 
 "His national career began with his elec- 
 tion to congress in 1843, and he soon at- 
 tracted the attention of the country at large 
 by his able speech on 'Wool and Woolens' 
 during the debates on the tariff."!^ 
 
 "The argument which fixed his place in 
 the front rank of the Whig leaders was de- 
 livered in April (1844) on the tariff, and 
 under the title 'Wool and Woolens' to 
 which a large part of it was given. It is, 
 perhaps, the strongest and most exhaustive 
 argument ever made in favor of protection 
 to wool growing, and as a historical, con- 
 stitutional and economic argument was one 
 of the best Congress has ever heard on the 
 protective side of the question. "i- 
 
 10. Crockett, op. cit., IV, 9. 
 
 11. National Cvclopedia of American Biopraphy, IV, 371. 
 
 12. Men of Vermont (1894). 
 
 14
 
 COLLAMER HOUSE 
 
 This bric\ house was built in i8j2 or i8^^ (see Dana, History 
 of Woodstock) and was occupied by Jacob Collamer from Royal- 
 ton in April, i8j6, until his death. "He made great improve- 
 ments in the house and grounds from time to time, and it is 
 now one of the pleasantest situations in the Village" {Dana, 
 1887).
 
 Sunset Cox, in his Three Decades, said 
 Senator Collamer was "regarded as not in- 
 different to a compromise which would at 
 least retain the border states if it did not 
 stop the movement of the Gulf states" 
 toward secession. 
 
 U.S. Senator Sumner of Massachusetts 
 said: 
 
 "The great act of July 13, 1861, which 
 gave to the war for the suppression of the 
 rebellion its first congressional sanction, and 
 invested the President with new powers, 
 was drawn by him. It was he that set in 
 motion the great ban, not yet lifted, by 
 which the rebel States were shut out from 
 the communion of the Union. 
 
 "This is a landmark in our history, and 
 it might properly be known by the name 
 of its author, as 'Collamer's Statute.' " 
 
 Following the decisive defeat of the 
 Union Army at Bull Run (July 21, 1861) 
 — "it was a rout, and on the retreat be- 
 came a panic"!^ — an immediate danger 
 arose of an outbreak in the border slave 
 states by the enemies of the Union playing 
 upon the fears and prejudices of the slave- 
 holders. To counteract this effort a resolu- 
 tion known as the Crittenden Resolution 
 was introduced in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives by Mr. John Crittenden of Ken- 
 tucky which set forth that "the deplorable 
 civil war has been forced upon the country 
 by the Disunionists of the Southern States 
 now in arms against the Constitutional 
 Government"; that "in this National emer- 
 gency. Congress, banishing all feelings of 
 mere passion or resentment, will recollect 
 only its duty to the whole country"; that 
 "the war is not waged in any spirit of op- 
 pression, or for any purpose of conquest or 
 subjugation, or the overthrowing or inter- 
 fering with the rights or established institu- 
 tions of those States, but to defend and 
 maintain the supremacy of the Constitu- 
 tion, and to preserve the Union with all the 
 dignity, equality, and rights of the several 
 States unimpaired"; and that, "as soon as 
 
 13. Blaine, op. cit., I, 338-339. 
 
 14. Idem. p. 423. 
 
 15. Idem, p. 477. 
 
 these objects are accomplished, the war 
 ought to cease." The resolution was adopted 
 by the House without debate, and with 
 only two negative votes. 
 
 In the Senate an acrimonious debate re- 
 sulted, but the resolution was finally adopted 
 with only five dissenting votes. 
 
 Mr. Collamer spoke ably for the resolu- 
 tion. He was not however afraid of the 
 word "subjugation." Its literal, classical 
 meaning was "to pass under the yoke," but 
 in the popular acceptation it meant that 
 "all the people of the United States should 
 submit to the Constitution and laws." 
 
 On the matter of the legal-tender bill be- 
 fore the Senate, Mr. Collamer of Ver- 
 mont followed Mr. Fessenden in an ex- 
 haustive argument against the bill as a vio- 
 lation of the Constitution. He believed "in 
 the power of the government to sustain 
 itself in the strife physically and pecuni- 
 arily." He was not willing to say to a man, 
 "Here is my note: if I do not pay it, you 
 must steal the amount from the first man 
 you come to, and give him this note in 
 payment." He would not be governed in 
 this matter, as Mr. Fessenden intimated he 
 might be, "by necessity." He had taken an 
 oath to support the Constitution, and he 
 believed this bill violated it. He "would not 
 overthrow the Constitution in the Senate 
 Chamber while the rebels are endeavoring 
 to overthrow it by war."^* Upon the final 
 vote the bill passed by a vote of 30 to 7 — 
 four Democrats and three Republicans, in- 
 cluding Senator Collamer, voted in the 
 negative. 
 
 In the discussion of the national -bank 
 system, "Mr. Collamer of Vermont denied 
 the right to tax the State banks out of ex- 
 istence, and to establish corporations in the 
 States and Territories. Independendy of the 
 power of visitation by those States and 
 Territories, he objected to making the gov- 
 ernment responsible for the ultimate re- 
 demption of the bills by the securities de- 
 posited. He inquired in what respect the 
 promises of the National banks would be 
 better than the notes of the government, 
 and why should they be substituted for 
 them? "15 
 
 n
 
 SYMPOSIA'' 
 
 On him and his high endeavour 
 
 The Hght of praise shall shine for ever. 
 
 WORDSW^ORTH 
 
 James G. Blaine wrote in his Twenty 
 Years of Congress: 
 
 "Jacob Collamer of Vermont w^as a sena- 
 tor of eminent worth and ability. He had 
 earned honorable fame as a member of the 
 House of Representatives, and as a member 
 of the Cabinet in the administration of 
 General Taylor. He had entered the Senate 
 at a ripe age, and with every qualification 
 for distinguished service. To describe him 
 in a single word, he was a wise man. Con- 
 servative in his nature, he was sure to ad- 
 vise against rashness. Sturdy in his prin- 
 ciples, he always counseled firmness. In the 
 periods of excitement through which the 
 party was about to pass, his judgment was 
 sure to prove of highest value — influenced, 
 as it always was, by patriotism, and guided 
 by conscience. Without power as an orator, 
 he was listened to in the Senate with pro- 
 found attention, as one who never offered 
 counsel that was not needed. He carried 
 into the Senate the gravity, the dignity, the 
 weight of character, which enabled him to 
 control more ardent natures; and he brought 
 to a later generation the wisdom and ex- 
 perience acquired in a long life devoted to 
 the service of his state and of his country."!'^ 
 
 U.S. Senator Solomon Foot of Vermont, 
 who served in the Senate with Mr. Colla- 
 mer, in an addess, said in part: 
 
 "Jacob Collamer was endowed with a 
 rare combination of intellectual and moral 
 qualities of a high order; a capacious mind, 
 at once active, clear, and discriminating — 
 a mind, too, on which the analytic powers 
 and the reflective faculties were largely 
 developed." 
 
 sagacity were cheerfully acknowledged 
 there." 
 
 U.S. Senator William Pitt Fessenden of 
 Maine said: 
 
 "Among the distinguished men who 
 during the past ten years have occupied 
 these seats, I regarded Senator Collamer as 
 having no superior." 
 
 U.S. Senator James Dixon of Connecticut 
 spoke of him as "the Nestor of the Ameri- 
 can Senate. . . . 
 
 "In the truest and best sense of the word, 
 Judge Collamer was a conservative. To con- 
 serve, to defend, to uphold, and maintain 
 the Government; the Union, the Constitu- 
 tion, the laws of the United States — this 
 was his constant effort, the mission and the 
 labor of his life." 
 
 U.S. Senator Riddle of Delaware: 
 "In the death of Jacob Collamer, I think 
 Vermont has lost one of her brightest 
 jewels, the Senate one of its most courteous 
 members, and the country one of its great- 
 est statesmen. He was great in feeling, great 
 in thought, great in principle, and great in 
 
 U.S. Senator Reverdy Johnson of Mary- 
 land said: 
 
 "With a mind perfectly honest, with a 
 long experience at the bar and on the bench 
 of his own State (a bar and bench ever dis- 
 tinguished for ability and learning) he 
 came to the councils of the general govern- 
 ment thoroughly prepared to meet their 
 highest demands, and this the result 
 proved. 
 
 "From the first he ranked among the 
 ablest of our jurists and statesmen, and 
 continued to maintain that rank to the 
 last." 
 
 Congressman Justin S. Morrill of Ver- 
 mont said: 
 
 "In his own State at the time of his de- 
 cease he was regarded as her foremost man, 
 and his loss will be mourned by the nation 
 as the loss of one of its great men. . . . 
 His merits in the Senate as a constitutional 
 lawyer of ample learning and uncommon 
 
 16. References: Addresses on the Death of Hon. Jacob Collamer delivered 
 and House of Representatives, December, 1865 (85 pp.). 
 
 17. I, 318. 
 
 U.S. Senator Ira Harris of New York 
 said: 
 
 "The Senate has, indeed, lost one of its 
 
 the Senate 
 
 i8
 
 ablest statesmen, one of its purest patriots. 
 In honoring such a man, we honor our- 
 selves. ... A man of great personal dig- 
 nity, he was justly esteemed for the excel- 
 lence of his judgment and the purity of his 
 character. His most prominent characteris- 
 tics were, I think, sound discretion, clear 
 discernment, good common sense, and 
 great honesty of purpose. 
 
 "No purer patriot ever participated in 
 the councils of the nation." 
 
 illustration combined, embody so much 
 pertinent and valuable information upon 
 the subjects in hand — so much intelligible 
 development — so much of potent and con- 
 vincing treatment, by logic, by analogy, 
 and by example. The statesman, the jurist, 
 the politician, and the unprofessional and 
 untitled citizen, may be largely instructed, 
 and edified, and strengthened by the atten- 
 tive study of them."^^ 
 
 Congressman Fred E. Woodbridge of 
 Vermont said: 
 
 "His career as a senator is known to the 
 whole country. In the most distinguished 
 body of the nation he had no rival in spot- 
 less integrity and purity of character, and 
 no superior in debate." 
 
 U.S. Senator Judge Luke P. Poland: 
 "His published opinions while a judge of 
 the (state) Supreme Court are models of 
 judicial composition. For accuracy of learn- 
 ing, terseness of statement, clearness and 
 comprehensiveness of style, I do not know 
 where they are excelled." 
 
 Congressman Henry Grider of Kenmcky 
 said: 
 
 "He has marked his character upon the 
 records of his country. Long in public life, 
 he proved himself competent and true and 
 faithful in every position to which he was 
 appointed. . . . He was not only a man of 
 integrity and morality but he was a Chris- 
 tian man and a Christian gentieman." 
 
 Congressman John B. Alley of Massa- 
 chusetts said: 
 
 "I have heard some of his associates in 
 the Senate and scores of others remark that 
 he was the wisest man in that august body. 
 . . . Jacob Collamer: the wise Senator, the 
 able statesman, the great lawyer." 
 
 U.S. Senator Anthony of Rhode Island, 
 editor of the Providence Journal, wrote: 
 
 "Judge Collamer was the Nestor of the 
 Senate. . . . On every occasion his opinion 
 had great weight." 
 
 "I refrain from further notice of specific 
 speeches, remarking that it will prove diffi- 
 cult to find, in the whole field of Congres- 
 sional discussion, the speeches of any one 
 man, which, for facts, and argument, and 
 
 Congressman Wentworth of Illinois said: 
 "He looked, as I do, upon economy, as 
 one of the best safeguards of our govern- 
 ment, and as one of the essential requisites 
 of a statesman." 
 
 His Cabinet associate, Reverdy Johnson, 
 said of the Post Office Department, of which 
 Collamer was the head, that the "vast and 
 complicated business of the department was 
 never more ably conducted." Congressman 
 Morrill of Vermont stated "the excess of 
 revenues of the General Post Office over the 
 expenditures in 1849 was $400,000." 
 
 Walter Hill Crockett in his History of 
 Vermont: 
 
 "He was a lawyer and a Judge of great 
 ability, and was considered an authority on 
 constimtional law in the United States 
 Senate." 19 
 
 Upon the matter of a "cordial recon- 
 struction," sought by Lincoln and the terms 
 of General Johnson's surrender to General 
 Sherman (received after Lincoln's death) 
 McClure^o quotes from "a letter written 
 . . . by a statesman of calm temper and 
 good judgment." — J. Collamer, dated 
 Woodstock, Vt., June 14, 1865. 
 
 18. Judge James Barret in the Memorial Address on the Life and Character of the Ho 
 Jacob Collamer (p. 49) before the Vermont Historical Society, October 20, 1868. 
 
 19. Ill, 328. 
 
 20. A. K. McClure, Abraham Lincoln and Men of War-times, p. 245. 
 
 ^9
 
 Following the receipt of the message to 
 Congress from President Buchanan in De- 
 cember, i860, the famous Senate Commit- 
 tee of Thirteen was appointed on December 
 20^1 "a strong and representative committee 
 chosen from the four great political parties 
 to the late Presidential election and embrac- 
 ing recognized leaders in each." "A special 
 committee ... to concert measures of 
 compromise or pacification, either through 
 legislation or constitutional amendments." 
 
 Jacob Collamer was a member of this 
 committee which was unable to reach a 
 compromise on the stand taken by the 
 South: the other members were — Stephen 
 A. Douglas, Illinois; Jefferson Davis, Mis- 
 sissippi; John Crittenden, Kentucky; Pow- 
 
 ell, Kentucky; Toombs, Georgia; Hunter, 
 Virginia; Grimes, Iowa; Doolittle, Wiscon- 
 sin; Bigler, Pennsylvania; Rice, Minnesota. 
 
 In December, 1862, "in the blackest hour 
 in President Lincoln's whole life"-- with 
 his Cabinet divided, facing a committee ap- 
 pointed by the Senate to present a virtual 
 command to him, Lincoln met with his 
 Cabinet and the hostile committee and out- 
 generaled them. In reporting the conference 
 to the Republican caucus that Secretary 
 Chase had declared the Cabinet was sup- 
 porting the President, Collamer (a member 
 of the committee) gruffly stated "He lied." 
 
 2L Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln, II, 405-414. 
 
 22. William E. Barton, President Lincoln (1933), II, 495-499.
 
 ^ THE WOODSTOCK SERIES | 
 
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 WORDS 
 of a 
 UE VERMONTER 
 
 ADDRESSING a delegation of Vermonters who had called 
 to congratulate him on his appointment in March, 1849, by 
 President Taylor, to his Cabinet as Postmaster General, Colla- 
 mer said that Washington, in closely scanning the Northern 
 Constellation with President Taylor, had discovered a star 
 hitherto unknown, "small indeed, but very brilliant and very 
 beautiful . . . the star that never sets,"* adding: 
 
 "Ours is the only Whig State in the Union which has 
 never swerved from her political faith, and almost the 
 only one which has never shared the patronage 
 of the General Government." 
 
 Congressman Wentworth of Illinois said of Senator CoUa- 
 mer: "He looked, as I do, upon economy, as one of the 
 best safeguards of our government, and as one of the 
 essential requisites of a statesman." 
 
 His Cabinet associate, Reverdy Johnson, said of the Post 
 Office Department of which Collamer was the head that the 
 "vast and complicated business of the department was never 
 more ably conducted" — (Congressman Morrill of Vermont 
 stated "the excess of revenues of the General Post 
 Office over the expenditures in 1849 was $400,000). 
 
 In his admirable and instructive address February 12, 1862, 
 on the Treasury-note bill, he said; 
 
 "I do not know how other members of the Senate 
 look upon the obligation of their oath to support the 
 Constitution of the United States. 
 
 "To me it is an oath registered in heaven as well 
 as upon earth." 
 
 In a speech on April 24, 1862, before the United States 
 Senate, Collamer said: 
 
 "I do not think my people wish me to contribute to 
 breaking any provision of the Constitution; and they 
 know I would not do it if they did wish it." 
 
 * Crockett, History of Vermont, III, 376. Ig 
 
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