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MICHIGAN HISTORICAL COMMISSION
A State Department of History and Archives
BULLETIN NO. 7
LEWIS CASS DAY
ON
MACKINAC ISLAND
AUGUST 28, 1915
UNVEILING A MEMORIAL TABLET

UNDER THE JOINT AUSPICES OF THE
MICHIGAN HISTORICAL COMMISSION
AND THE
MACKINAC ISLAND STATE PARK COMMISSION

f^/v'vW\

WYNKOOP HALLHNBECK CEAWFOED CO., STATE PEINTBBS
LANSING, MICHIGAN
1916

LEWIS CASS

LEWIS CASS DAY
On Saturday, August 28, 1915, the Mackinac Island State Park
Commission and the Michigan Historical Commission, acting
jointly for the people of Michigan, with appropriate ceremonies
unveiled a bronze tablet marking "Cass Cliff," the bluff beyond
and to the east of historic Fort Mackinac,, in memory of Lewis
Cass. This is the second tablet erected under similar auspices,
to beautify the State Park and to commemorate the memory of
men connected with the history of Michigan and the Old North
west. The first tablet was dedicated to John (Jean) Nicolet,
July 13, 1915; an account of the exercises on that occasion was
published in the Michigan Historical Commission's Bulletin No. 6.
Hon. Edwin 0. Wood, a member both of the Mackinac Island
State Park Commission and of the Michigan Historical Com
mission, was appointed chairman for Lewis Cass Day exercises.
The speaker of the day was Hon. Edwin Henderson, a student
of American history and especially of the life and service of Gen
eral Cass; among the speakers were also Col. William P, Preston,
Mayor of Mackinac Island; Rev. Seth Reed, of Flint, a friend
and former neighbor of Governor Cass; United States Senator
Atlee Pomerene, of Ohio; Rt. Rev. Monsignor Frank A, O'Brien,
LL. D., of Kalamazoo, President of the Michigan Historical
Commission; and Hon. Woodbridge N. Ferris, Governor of
Michigan, Among others present were Mrs. Ferris, and Mr. Justice Wil
liam R. Day, of the United States Supreme Court; men prominent
in all walks of life were gathered there from nearly every State
in the Union,
The tablet was provided by popular subscription. The com
mittee in charge was Governor Woodbridge N. Ferris, chairman;
Judge William F, Connolly, secretary; Col. William P. Preston,
treasurer .
2

4 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
The scene on Mackinac Island at the celebration of Lewis Cass
Day was deeply impressive. A procession formed at noon, and
a band swung into march from its place near the waters of the
harbor; with the roll of drums there came behind it the crew of
jackies from the U. S. revenue cutter Morrill; behind them
marched the Michigan National Guard from Cheboygan, as an
escort to Governor Ferris; and after the militia came the carriages,
with many distinguished guests from all parts of the country,
winding on and up the steep road to historic old Fort Mackinac.
They reached at length the old portiers where, enclosed by the
stone walls, the tablet was unveiled — The permanent location of
the tablet is to be at Cass Cliff, the east bluff adjoining Sinclair
Grove on the east.
The white buildings, the green of summer, seen in glimpses
above the roofs; the sparkling blue of the sky overhead, where
the eye was caught by the fluttering of the flag from the tall
shaft; below it, the age-green cannon; the mingling glare of color
where the soldiers and sailors stood against the green carpet in
the enclosure; the gay summer attire of the resorters; the beauti
ful children as they ran in and about the edge of the crowd —
all made a fit setting for exercises to honor Lewis Cass, who
throughout two decades of his young manhood gave his great
energies that Michigan might enjoy the fruits of peace and pros
perity. Upon opening the exercises the chairman called upon the Rev,
Dr. C. H. Hanks, chaplain of the tenth regiment of Ohio during
the Spanish war and later chaplain of the thirty-first regiment of
the Michigan National Guard, who delivered the invocation.
At the close of the invocation, the chairman, after a word of
greeting to the assembled guests, presented Col. William P.
Preston, as "the chief executive of the City of Mackinac Island,
who has in years gone by — for seventeen or eighteen years — been
either the president or the mayor; first, when it was a village,
and later, as a city, and this year named by his neighbors and
friends, without opposition, to be the mayor of this city ; the man,
more than any one else, to whom we are indebted, in the hazard
ous and perilous and narrow channel in the Straits of Mackinac,

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 5
for this splendid life-saving, or coast-guard station, which is now
being erected. It is a privilege and an honor to present Mayor
Preston, who will now address you."
Col. William P. Preston: Governor Ferris, Mr. Chairman,
ladies and gentlemen, and our guests. I do not know whether
this is a Biblical saying or not, or whether it is something that
originated with our church people, but they say that an open
confession is good for the soul; and I want to make that con
fession here today. Now, I had thought of a nice little historical
speech that I expected to deliver here; but since we have the
eloquent speakers that we have with us, I do not feel that I
should take your time.
A short time ago, my friends, we dedicated a tablet on this
Island to John Nicolet, who, as history tells us, was the first
white man that passed through the Straits of Mackinac. At the
time of the unveiling of that tablet I said that it is not very often
that even the chief executive of so small a city as ours, has the
opportunity, and the honor, of extending a welcome to such a
distinguished assemblage as we had with us on that day.
But it seems that honors are sometimes like our troubles; they
do not come single. So today, I again have the privilege and
the honor of extending a welcome to you who are here, to pay
tribute to one of Michigan's greatest statesmen — in fact one of
the greatest statesmen of our country, in his time. It is not my
purpose to speak of the life, the character and the services of
•General Cass. I will leave that to men who are more able to do
so than myself.
It is impossible for an old soldier to get away from some
sentiment, when he has an opportunity of expressing himself.
You are here today in one of the most historic places in our
country. You are on a spot where, with a very short interrup
tion, the flag of our country has flown for a century and a quarter.
You are here where these stone quarters have sheltered and
harbored some of the most distinguished officers that served in
the Mexican War, and in the Civil War, on both sides. Just one
instance: General Pemberton, who surrendered to General Grant

6 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
at Vicksburg in 1863, in one of the pivotal battles of the War,
served in this Post; and I might go on and name many officers
who gained distinction in that war, who were here at that time.
And so I have a feeling of sentiment for this old Post; seven
years of my life were spent in the army, two years and a half of
it in this Post; so that I really have a sentiment for it in greater
degree perhaps than would possibly exist with many others.
If I should start in on our love of country, and our patriotism,
and loyalty to our flag, I would not know where to stop ; because
with us old fellows who responded to the call of President Lincoln
in 1861, we feel that love of country, and patriotism, and loyalty
to our flag, is like that old, old story that we have heard so often,
that we love so well, at Christmas time. We believe that that
story and the love of country go hand in hand; because we are
taught by our ritual of the Grand Army of the Republic: our
God first, our country next.
Now, in the name of our city, in the name of our beautiful
Island, to you. Governor, and to Mrs. Ferris, to you, Mr. Chair
man, and ladies and gentlemen, and to all of our guests, we ex
tend a sincere and cordial welcome.
The following messages of regret were read:
President Woodrow Wilson: It is a matter of most sincere
and unaffected regret on my part that I cannot be present at
the unveiling of the Cass Memorial at Mackinac on August 28,
but I should not really be doing honor to a great statesman if
I were to neglect my duties here in order to pay him my tri
bute of respect.
All thoughtful students of American history must join you in
thought and sympathy, as you render your tribute to a man
who sought to serve the great nation which we love, and who
has written his name with such honorable distinction upon its
annals.
United States Senator William Alden Smith: I regret be
yond expression that I am unable to reach Mackinac Island
for the program in honor of Lewis Cass, who honored Mich-

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 7
igan by his wonderful character, ability and service during his
years of public usefulness.
The Chairman : It has been a rule in my life not to announce
upon any program one who cannot appear; and it had been my
hope that the one who, more than any other, unless it be Mayor
Preston, or the Governor, has worked for the success of this
program, should either be the chairman or one of the speakers.
I refer to one of Michigan's foremost men; I am glad on every
occasion to pay tribute to the character, to the ability, to the
public-spirited work, of Judge William F. Coimolly, of Detroit.
Living in a city having normally an adverse majority of twenty-
five thousand; yet, year after year, he has been returned to a
judicial position by from eight to eighteen thousand majority.
In his court there is the Recorder and the Associate Recorder;
and when the Recorder died last year our Governor, although
Judge Connolly had several years yet to serve as Associate Re
corder, immediately promoted him to the Recordership, which
required that within six weeks he should again stand for reelection;
and again the City of Detroit triumphantly elected this man, who
has taken twenty -five hundred boys and young men, fathers and
sons, who have for the first time committed an offense, through
mistakes we all might make, and Judge Connolly has said, "No,
not the prison life for you; go home, and I will help you make
men of yourselves" — twenty -five hundred men and boys in the
city of Detroit, and ninety-five percent of them making good.
In any part I have had in serving my State, whether it be
partisan or otherwise — if, in any way, I have made mistakes, I
am responsible; but if in any way I have made a success, or won
commendation from my fellow citizens, it is because I have had
at my right hand, as an adviser and friend. Judge William F.
Connolly. He ought to be on this platform, as the Chairman of the day;
but, with the modesty that he practices in everything, he said,
"No." However, we have been permitted to draft his little
son, Jack, four years old, and Walter Owen Briggs, four years
old — the son of Walter 0. Briggs, Secretary of the Mackinac
3

8 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
Island State Park Commission — who will now unveil this beauti
ful tablet.
At this point the tablet was unveiled.
The Chairman: I am going to honor this occasion by pre
senting to you my friend and neighbor from Flint, who was a
neighbor, more than fifty years ago in Detroit, of General Lewis
Cass. He is ninety-two years old. It is an honor, as it is a
privilege, to present to you the Rev. Seth Reed, of Flint.
Rev. Seth Reed: Mr. Chairman, and friends of one whom
we meet to honor today. I will not take your time to tell you
how glad I am of the privilege of meeting friends in the name of
a man whom I admire — Lewis Cass. I rejoice to think of him as
a friend and a neighbor. I will not speak of his public acts, or
sterling qualities; others will do that; I will allude simply to his
urbanity. He was a genial neighbor; he was a delightful com
panion in conversation. He did not dwell upon his own quali
ties, or his own performances, but upon themes that were inter
esting, and of a personal value to those with whom he conversed.
For three or four years his home was near mine in Detroit; one
year, especially, there were but few doors between ours. I would
pass his house almost daily; and when the weather was pleasant,
I would see him sitting on his veranda, ready to give a word of
cheer, and a pleasant bow and smile to his neighbors as they
passed by.
One little incident occurs to me which I will mention. My
parishioners at that time gave me a public donation gathering.
It was held in the auditorium of my church, and among the
neighbors who called at that time, was General Cass; another
caller was an aged priest. Father Mason — an Irishman. The two
persons seemed to come together and affiliate very promptly; we
had them sit on the platform. General Cass was feeble, and he
found it difficult to get up the stairs, and he turned and said to
Father Mason: "Father Mason, when you are as old as I am,
I hope you wUl be smarter than I am," "Indade," said Father

LEWIS CASS MEMORIAL TABLET

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 9
Mason, "General, when you are as old as I am, I hope you will be
as smart as I am."
It caused pleasant laughter among the people; and I know not
how many remembered it, but it pleased us all. It was a good
specimen of his geniality.
Friends, if in fifty or seventy-five years from now, any of you
shall meet on an occasion similar to this, in memory of our noble
Governor, who is a successor of General Cass — as he was once
Governor of Michigan — if you meet, in memory of either of them,
on an occasion like this, and you shall say the pleasant things of
them which I hear you saying of Mr. Cass, I will be there, if I
am around in this part of the country, in order to say. Amen.
The Chairman: At the close of the next address, I am going
to call on a man who has won distiuction in the United States
Senate, who is United States Senator from Ohio, where General
Cass served in the Legislature, and was appointed later as United
States Marshal. I will call, following the next speaker, on Sen
ator Atlee Pomerene of Ohio. He told me, " No." I am giving
him this notice.
When we were looking for a speaker, whose words should be
come permanent in the records of the historical collections of this
state, we wanted a student of the life and services of General
Cass; we wanted a man whose ability, whose experience, was
known to all. We wanted a lawyer, because General Cass was
a lawyer; we wanted a man from Detroit, because General Cass's
activities during a long period of years, were there. And we are
fortunate, my friends, that we can have, on this occasion, a man
whom you will look back to in years to come, and say, "I was
present when General Cass was honored, when the tablet was
unveiled in historic old Fort Mackinac" — a man whose name you
will remember, whom it is an honor to present to you — one of
the ablest men in the City of Detroit, the Honorable Edwia
Henderson. Long applause greeted the name of Mr. Henderson. As the
speaker stepped to the edge of the low platform and looked down

10 CASS DAT ON MACKINAC ISLAND
into the upturned faces, he seemed to feel the spell of the past.
His tones sank into the monotone of emotion, as he led the silent
multitude back into bygone days when General Cass was here,
and gave them a glimpse of the land that lay so quiet about them
today as it was in that far day of beginnings.
address of hon. edwin henderson
Governor Ferris, Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:
We are assembled today, within these historic walls, to do honor
to the memory of Lewis Cass. This place and time seem emi
nently fitting to this day's deed.
The shadows of these venerable walls irresistibly lead memory
back to that early day when this Post stood sohtary sentinel
over the empire of the Northwest against the invasions of an
insolent foreign foe. In truth, a hallowed place! Hallowed by
the deeds and sacrifices, the tears and blood of the patriots who
here unfurled the flag of the Republic to the breeze of the fron
tier horizon.
Fort Michillimackinac! Grim guardian of the northern gate of
the Republic! What American can stand within your sacred
precincts without inspiring an exaltation of spirit from the very
air of patriotism that here so richly abides? More than a cen
tury of storm and sunshine has mellowed the stern menace of
your visage; and yet, across that waste of years we seem to hear
the steady tramp of men and the blare of martial music: it is
the immortal pioneers, the men of America springing up at their
mother's call to defend her far-flung frontier against foreign guile
and greed and force and Indian savagery.
This far north bulwark of American liberty is a peculiarly
proper stage from which to speak the fame of Lewis Cass at this
hour of our history. Those who had the task of preparing the
text for this tablet might well have been content to inscribe upon
it but these few words: "In Memory of
LEWIS CASS,
An American."

(;(_»V, \Vn(.)DHRlI)GK N. KKRKIS
Cliairman Ltnvis C'ass Memoruil Comiiiittfe

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 11
This simple tribute would have met his own conception of his
claim to distinction, for when he spoke a message to the United
States or the world in any other name than his own, the nom-
de-plume he chose was the simple title — ^An American.
Why do I say that this instant hour is a peculiarly timely one
to do honor, to Lewis Cass, American? Because the need of this
hour is for the Americanism of Lewis Cass; an Americanism that
is all American; a hyphenless Americanism; an Americanism
that has a heart for but one land and one flag; that land, the
American Republic; that flag, the Stars and Stripes.
The inspiration of Lewis Cass in all his career was his burning
love of the American Republic, and its institutions. It was this
love of his country that inspired him to leave his comfortable
home in the Ohio Valley, his lucrative business, his family and
his friends, and march at the head of his regiment through hun
dreds of miles of trackless swamp and forest to the defense of the
frontier post of Detroit. It was this love of country that im
pelled him to fight the first battle of the war of 1812; this love of
his country compelled him to rejoin his regiment, after being
exchanged as a prisoner of war, and serve with conspicuous gal
lantry at the battle of the Thames; this love of his country con
strained him to resign his post as Minister to France because
his government had negotiated a treaty with Great Britain
which did not include an express disavowal of Great Britain's
claimed right to search American ships; this love of country led
him in a birch canoe from Fort Detroit to the very spot where
now we stand, and then on and on through the Ste. Mary's River,
across the trackless wastes of Lake Superior; across a trackless
wilderness — today included in the commonwealths of Wisconsin,
Minnesota, the Dakotas and Iowa — ^winning an empire from
savagery to place it as a sparkling jewel in Columbia's diadem.
It was this love of his country that constrained him to return
with dignified disdain to Buchanan the premiership of the nation,
when that vacillating dupe declined to fortify the port of Charles
ton against threatened secession and rebellion. This love of
country impelled him to stand by the Union in the troubled days
of 1861, and with his voice and substance, rally the Northwest to

12 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
the call of Abraham Lincoln. His learning, his enterprise, his mili
tary fame, his statesmanship, all were rooted in his love of the
American Republic. All found nurture, vitality and growth in
the fact that he was, above all and before all, an American.
For the quick, therefore, I speak the fame of the mighty dead,
I speak it as I think he would wish it to be spoken; as though
out of the dim vista of that bygone day he strode forth to this
place, and here, a majestic shade, voiced his message of American
patriotism to the children of his mighty empire.
Lewis Cass was born at Exeter, New Hampshire, on October
9th, 1782. His father, Jonathan Cass, was the village black
smith; but when the echoes of the battle of Lexington rolled into
the New Hampshire hills, forthwith he closed his forge, cast
away his sledge, and snatching his rifle, hurried to join the patriot
hosts. He fought at Bunker Hill, at Princeton, at Trenton, and
at Monmouth; he was no ninety-day volunteer. From the day
after Lexington until the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown,
he followed the flag of his country through defeat and disaster
to triumph and liberty. Of such stuff was the father of Lewis
Cass. The boyhood of Lewis Cass fell in the troubled times of the
Confederation. The very desperation of those trying days
burned into his very soul an abiding love of the Union, and of
its Constitution.
"You remember, young man," he said to James A. Garfield
in 1861, "that the Constitution did not take effect until nine
States had ratified it. My native State was the ninth. It hung
a long time in the doubtful scale whether nine would agree,
but when at last New Hampshire ratified the Constitution, it
was a day of great rejoicing. My mother held me, a little boy
of six years, in her arms at a window, and pointed me to the
bonfires that were blazing in the streets of Exeter, and told me
that the people were celebrating the adoption of the Constitution;
so I saw the Constitution born."
The early education of General Cass was received in the Aca
demy at Exeter. There he remained seven years, whilst his
father fought in the army of Anthony Wayne, on the western

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 13
frontier. The Cass family moved from Exeter to Fort Hamilton,
of which post Major Jonathan Cass was in command. When
Lewis Cass passed out of the academic environment of Exeter,
he journeyed to Wilmington, Delaware, and there assumed the
duties of schoolmaster. But the call of the West was ever ring
ing in his ears; the vision of the mighty empire beyond the AUe-
ghanies, the land of dangers and hardships, yet also of freedom
and opportunity, was ever before his eyes; and so at the age of
eighteen, he swung his meager pack upon his back and walked
across the Alleghany Mountains into the wilderness of the North
west. Contemplate, my friends, the adventurous boy; self-reliant,
fearless, thrilling with hope and ambition as he cast off the tram
mels of eastern refinement and civilization to wrest an honorable
career from the forest primeval, in whose depths the warwhoop
of the savage still sullenly resounded.
At Marietta, Ohio, he took up the study of law, and received,
in 1802, the first certificate of admission to the bar issued by the
state of Ohio under its new constitution. His career as a lawyer
began at Zanesville. In 1804, being twenty-two years old, he
was elected prosecuting attorney of Muskingum county, of which
Zanesville was the county seat. In 1806, although only twenty-
four years of age, and ineligible to membership, he was elected
to the state legislature.
Those were stirring days in Ohio. The brilliant but unscru
pulous Burr, working on the guileless Bleimerhasset, was busily
plotting to establish a new western empire, and strip the Union
of the vast reaches of territory west of the Great Lakes. Lewis
Cass was too good an American to palter with treason or rebel
lion. Although the youngest member of the Legislature, he
drafted a bill authorizing the governor to use the military forces
of the state to suppress the treasonable operations of Burr and
his agents. Under the forceful leadership of young Cass, action
foflowed on the heels of decision. Burr's conspiracy was nipped
in the bud; his boats and his recruits were seized, and Burr him
self sought safety in flight into the southern wilderness.
President Jefferson, casting his keen eye over the vast reaches

14 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
of the Northwest, where brave men were building a mighty em
pire, discerned from afar the bold figure and brilliant promise of
young Cass; and so, in 1807, Jefferson tendered the post of United
States Marshal for the territory of Ohio, to Lewis Cass. He was
only in his twenty-fifth year, yet so successful had been his career
as a lawyer, that he hesitated to accept the unsolicited distinc
tion of the President's commission. But he recognized that the
appointment, coming as it did, was a token of the President's
confidence and gratitude, so he yielded his personal advantage to
the public need, and held the office until the outbreak of the war
of 1812.
The prospect of war between the United States and Great
Britain induced congress, when it met in 1812, to call on the
governors of the states for militia volunteers. This action was
taken in the face of opposition from critics of the president; from
the Tories, the secret sympathizers with foreign powers; from
the peace-at-any-price men of the day.
It was obvious that in the event of war, the frontier bordering
on the British possessions would be first attacked. The attack
would undoubtedly be supplemented by the denizens of the
forests, the resident allies of the foreign foe. Subsidized by the
money of the enemies of America, the Indians might be counted
upon, with tomahawk and scalping knife, to infiict upon the
border population the unspeakable atrocities of savage warfare.
Secret emissaries in the pay of King George had stealthily fomeur
ted opposition to due preparation on the part of the United
States. By the use of foreign gold, an apparent public senti
ment had been promoted which decried the possibility of war as
a bugbear, a chimera, and urged the pure motives of the hostile
Indians. With that clearness of vision which characterized Lewis Cass
throughout his life, he saw the danger which threatened the
republic. He discerned the hypocrisy of those who declared it
impious to resort to arms; and with all the fervent patriotism of
a descendent of the Puritans, he demanded a swift vindication
of the country's rights. When, therefore. Governor Meigs of
OhiO; in 1812, called for volunteers, Cass closed his law offices,

ilRS. W, X. FERE IS

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 15
abandoned his practice, resigned his marshalship, and volunteered
in the militia of Ohio. He assisted in raising three regiments,
one of which unanimously selected him as its colonel.
In June, 1812, he started with his regiment for the military post
of Detroit. It was a journey undertaken out of pure patriot
ism, and one which was fraught with destiny both for him and
for the frontier wilderness through which he journeyed. Through
the trackless forests, through swamp and morass, enduring count
less dangers and privations, these dauntless frontiersmen toiled
their way to the struggling little military post which today is
the metropolis of this state.
The conduct of Lewis Cass through the war of 1812, through
the vicissitudes of defeat and ultimate victory stamps him as a
wise, sagacious and daring leader; as an inspired patriot. In
council, he was for action; in action, he was the leader. His was
the first foot to land on enemy soil. He counseled and led the
expedition against Fort Maiden, which would have succeeded
had the troops under his command not been recalled by the
cowardly imbecility of Hull. Forced with the rest of the garri
son to surrender by Hull's capitulation, he broke his sword rather
than deliver it to the enemy, and during the period of his parole
he zealously sought his exchange. Finally succeeding in his
efforts, he hastened to rejoin his comrades in arms, and at the
battle of the Thames he won new glory. By his subsequent
bravery and devotion, he was successively promoted until he
became brigadier-general in the United States army. His dis
tinguished services under General Harrison in reducing that
part of the British provinces bordering on the Detroit river led
to his being placed in command of the military operations in the
territory of Michigan, with headquarters at Fort Detroit.
While stationed at Detroit, and in the performance of his mili
tary duties, he was surprised to receive notice of his appointment
as Governor of the Territory of Michigan. The tender of this
appointment came to him without solicitation, and his decision
caused him much concern. He had, as he supposed, established
himself permanently in Ohio, where he had expected to return
upon the ending of the war, there to resume the lucrative practice

16 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
of his profession, and the enjoyment of his family and the com
forts and security of private life. To accept the post offered
him meant that he must abandon his residence and law practice
in Ohio, and move his family into a wilderness, fraught with
danger from hostile Indians, and with little, if any, prospect of
substantial gain. Eighteen years later he thus stated the condi
tion of the territory at the time he was asked to assume the
office of Governor:
"The territory had just been rescued from the grasp of an
enemy; its population was small; its resources exhausted; its
prospects cheerless. The operations of the war had pressed
heavily upon it, and scenes of suffering and oppression had been
exhibited to which, in the annals of modern warfare, we may
vainly seek a parallel."
As in all the other important decisions of his life, his decision
to accept the burdensome and uninviting post thus offered him
was inspired by love of his country. It required that he tear up
his life by the roots out of the congenial soil wherein he had
planted it, and transplant it to a new and strange home in the
frontier wilderness; yet, patriot that he was, he responded to his
country's call. He remained with us for eighteen years; laboring
to establish civilization in the wilderness which surrounded him,
and to found a city and a state upon those principles of true
Democracy which he believed essential to human happiness.
During all these years he stood before the vast empire of the
Northwest as the sole representative of the federal government.
To the whites he was the law-giver and defender. To the Indians
he was the strong right arm of the Great Father at Washington.
On the one hand, he had to protect the settlers from Indian
ravages; on the other hand, he had to safe-guard his Indian
wards against the unscrupulous cupidity of lawless whites. To
all, he accorded firm but courteous hearing, and impartial justice.
Rebuild, in your minds, if you can, the Detroit of 1813, the
Detroit that Cass took over as Governor. Rebuild, if you can,
the Territory of Michigan of that period. Do you know the
area of country in the Michigan Territory that was possessed
by the American nation free from Indian claims? Only the ter-

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND ' 17
ritory east of a line running north from the River Raisin to Lake
St. Clair at a remove six miles from the Detroit river and the
shore of Lake Erie. Out of this handful of soil he began the
stupendous task of building the territory of the northwest.
Through his efforts, over 300,000 square miles of territory were
freed for settlement, a region with a population today of more
than ten millions.
You who have journeyed hither by some one of the palatial
steamships of our Great Lakes, go back in memory with me to
the morning of the twenty-fourth day of May in the year 1820.
The place is Detroit — a huddle of buildings flung haphazard on
the marshy shore of the strait. Upon the placid waters of the
river lightly glides a small flotilla of birch canoes. Cass and his
comrades are setting forth on their historic journey to the head
waters of the Mississippi. Amid the enthusiastic tumult of the
citizenry, the fleet gets under way. Voyageurs and Indian guides
bend to their paddles, to the rhythm of jolly chants. Up through
the St. Clair river, then cautiously skirting the shore of Lake
Huron, they come to this place where now we stand. Across the
years I can almost hear the salute of the guns from this venerable
Fort in greeting of the bold voyagers upon their safe arrival,
after fourteen days buffeting by wind and rain in their frail birch
canoes. For eight days Cass and his comrades abide within
these friendly walls, recuperating their strength and replenishing
their supplies against the long journey before them. Then they
fare forth in their canoes to Drummond Island, and thence by
the river Ste. Mary to Sault Ste. Marie.
Here occurred an incident which well exemplifies the indomitable
courage and burning patriotism of Cass. On the shore of the
Ste. Mary's rapids he pitched his tent and summoned the In
dians to a council. After earnest parley, the Indians summarily
withdrew from the council tent to their own lodges. The Indian
encampment was situated on a small hill, a few hundred yards
west of Governor Cass' marquee, with a small ravine between.
The Indians raised the British flag as soon as they reached their
encampment. The Governor instantly ordered the expedition
under arms, and calling his interpreter, proceeded^with him,

18 ¦ CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
naked-handed and alone, to the lodge of the Indians on the hilL
On reaching the lodge he, with his own hands, tore down the
British flag, and trod it under foot, and bursting into the lodge,
told the chief that the hoisting of a foreign flag was an indignity
which would not be tolerated on American soil; that the flag was
the emblem of national power, and that two national flags could
not fly in friendship on the same territory; that the red man
must not raise any but the American flag, and if they again did
it, he, for the American government, would set a strong foot
upon their necks and crush them to the earth. He then stalked
forth trailing the offensive flag in the dirt, to his own quarters.
The very audacity of his conduct awed the hostile warriors.
They resumed their parley, and finally struck a treaty of peace
whereby the American government secured a strip of territory
four miles wide bordering the River Ste. Mary, for a military
post. On the next day, the 17th of June, the canoes were launched,
and the bold explorers entered the vast waters of Lake Superior.
On the 25th of June they passed from Lake Superior into the
Portage river; after a boisterous passage and rainy weather, and
after passing from one portage to another, they reached the
Fond du Lac; then ascending the St. Louis river to one of its
sources, they descended a tributary stream of Sandy Lake to the
Mississippi river; thence ascended to the Upper Red Cedar Lake,
the principal tributary of the Mississippi; thence they descended
the Mississippi 1400 miles to Prairie du Chien; they then navi
gated the Wisconsin river to Portage, and entering the Fox river,
descended it to Green Bay. ' Thence Governor Cass proceeded
up Lake Michigan to Chicago, and returned thither on horse
back to Detroit. He arrived home on the tenth of September,
after a journey by canoe or on horseback of four thousand miles.
His four months' sojourn in the wilderness was devoted not
alone to exploration and topographical survey, but to fair and
generous treaty-making with the Indian tribes.
I have dwelt upon this phase of Cass' career because therefrom
shines forth the thorough Americanism of his character. What
cared he for the dangers and hardships of the trackless wastes of

RT. REV. MONSIGNOR FRANK A. O'BRIEN, LL.D.
President Michigan Historical Commission

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 19
water and primeval wilderness? Was he not building an Ameri
can empire in this wilderness, an empire to which, with far-seeing
vision, he could see countless thousands of Americans coming to
rear homes for themselves and for their children and their chil
dren's children after them? In vision, in purpose, in achieve
ment, he typified the masterful genius of American character; in
political thought he reflected the essential democracy of the
nation. As he was inspired, when he enlisted in his country's cause, by
his love for democracy, and by his jealous regard for the territory
and dominions of the republic, so in his office of Governor, he
was inspired by the sentiments expressed in the Declaration of
Independence that all just powers of government are derived from
the consent of the governed. From the very first, he exercised
his influence, not to extend the almost despotic power which was
vested in him by the act of Congress governing the territory under
his charge, but rather to transfer to the citizens of the city and
state that equal voice in the municipal and state governments
which is enjoined by that splendid Declaration. To him home
rule was a natural and necessary method of conducting local
affairs. He initiated our public school system. He helped to found
the University of Michigan. He was the moving spirit in the
formation of the first Michigan historical society. He designed
the great seal of the State of Michigan, boldly writing thereon:
"TUEBOR"— "I will defend," to express the idea that his
empire frontier stood ever ready to bulwark the nation against
foreign invasion.
Unlike most men he did not need to die to be appreciated.
His mental and moral eminence was recognized by his neighbors.
They gathered to bid him farewell when, in 1831, he was called
by President Jackson to the post of Secretary of War. Major
Biddle, speaking for the commonwealth over which he had so
wisely ruled, thus reviewed his conduct and services while in the
office of Governor of the Territory of Michigan:
"Many of us have witnessed your administration of the affairs
of this Territory for a series of years, which embrace a large

20 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
portion of the active period of life. The situation is one of the
most difficult to which an American citizen can be called. The
public officer who is delegated, without the sanction of their
suffrages, over the affairs of a people elsewhere accustomed to
exercise, in its fullest extent, the right of self-government, is
regarded with no indulgent feelings. The relation is truly colo
nial, and the history of territories, like other colonial history, has
been too often a mere chronicle of the feuds of the governing and
the governed, exhibiting a domineering and arbitrary temper on
the one side, met by a blind and intemperate opposition on the
other. "From the evils of such a state of things we have been happily
exempted. You have preserved harmony by wisely conceding
to public opinion that weight to which it is entitled under every
government, whatever may be its forms; thus giving to your
measures the support of the only authority to which the habits
of American citizens will allow them cheerfully to submit. The
executive powers of the Territory have been administered in the
spirit of republican habits and principles, too firmly fixed to
yield to temporary circumstances, leaving the people nothing to
desire but an occasion to manifest their approbation, by bestow
ing themselves an authority so satisfactorily exercised."
His long experience in negotiating treaties with the Indians, and
the intimate knowledge which he obtained of the Indian char
acter and of the history of the tribes, enabled him, as Secretary
of War, to take the foremost place in the government in settling
the vexed questions relating to the occupancy of Indian territory
by white settlers, and the ever-existing fueds and strifes between
the Indian tribes. His conduct of the office of Secretary of War
was characterized by wisdom, courage and a diplomacy that
never tired. So assiduous was his devotion to his official duties
that his health was impaired. He determined to seek relaxation
and restored health in foreign travel. The President, being un
willing to lose entirely the valued services of Mr. Cass at a criti
cal time in the history of the country, appointed him Minister to
France. But even this moiety of repose was not to be his. In a strange

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC island 21
land, in the court of Kings, he still remained Lewis Cass, an
American. Yea, his very absence from the land of liberty in
tensified his love of liberty, and made even more resentful of any
stain upon her honor. Because Secretary of State Webster nego
tiated a maritime treaty with Great Britain which did not express
a specific disavowal of Great Britain's claimed right to stop and
search American ships, General Cass indignantly tendered his
commission back to the President. His return home was greeted
with the enthusiastic approval of his countrymen; and the com
monwealth of Michigan, whose early fortunes he had so efficiently
guarded and advanced, selected him to sit in the senate of the
United States.
He entered upon his senatorial duties in a time when the nation
was deeply stirred by the pretensions of England to Oregon
territory. With Cass there was no hint of compromise or con
cession in this controversy. He stood prepared to appeal to the
God of battles in defense of American rights. He stood for
"54-40, or fight," and all that it impHed. I invite the pacifists,
the peace-at-any-price men of our day, to hearken to these sturdy
words of this great American:
"During the progress of this discussion, the blessings of peace
and the horrors of war have been frequently presented to us with
the force of truth, and sometimes with the fervency of an excited
imagination. I have listened attentively to all this, though
much of it I remember to have heard thirty-five years ago. But
I beg honorable senators to recollect that upon this side of the
chamber we have interests, and families, and homes, and a coun
try, as well as they have, and that we are as little disposed to
bring war upon our native land unnecessarily as they can be;
that some of us know by experience, all of us by reading and
reflection, the calamities, moral and physical that war brings in
its train; that we appreciate the blessings of peace with a con
viction as deep and as steadfast; and no one desires its continu
ance more earnestly than I do. But all this leaves untouched
the only real subject of inquiry. That is not whether peace is a
blessing and war is a curse, but whether peace can be preserved
and war avoided, consistently with the honor and interest of the

22 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
country. That question may come up for solution; and, if it
does, it must be met by each one of us, with a full sense of its
abiding importance, and of his own responsibility.
"I suppose there is not a gentleman in this body who will not
say that cases may occur, even in this stage of the world, which
may drive this country to the extreme remedy of war, rather
than she should submit to arrogant and umeasonable demands,
or to direct attacks upon our rights and independence — like im
pressment, or the search of our ships, or various other acts, by
which power is procured and maintained over the timid and the
weak. The true, practical question for a nation is not the cost
of war, whether measured by dollars, or by dangers, or by dis
asters, but whether war can be honorably avoided; and that
question each person having the power of determination, must
determine for himself when the case is presented. Good men
may indulge in day-dreams upon the subject, but he who looks
upon the world as it has been, as it is, and as it is likely to be,
must see that the moral constitution of men has undergone little
change, and that interests and passions operate not less upon
communities than they did when the law of public might w^s
the law of public right, more openly avowed than now.
"Certainly a healthful public opinion exerts a stronger influ
ence over the world than at any former period of its history.
Governments are more or less restrained by it, and all feel the
effects of it. Mistresses and favorites and minions no longer
drive nations to war; nor are mere questions of etiquette among
the avowed causes of hostilities * * * Humanity has gained
something; let us hope it will gain more. Questions of war are
passing from cabinets to the people. If they are discussed in
secret, they are also discussed before the world, for there is not
a govermnerit in Christendom which would dare to rush into a
war unless that measure were sanctioned by the state of public
feeling. "Still, let us not deceive ourselves. Let us not yet convert our
swords into plowshares, nor our spears into pruning hooks, nor
neglect the maritime and military defenses of the country, lulled
by the siren song of peace! peace! when there may be no peace.

HON, lOnwiN HENDERSON
Spi-aker for Lewis Casa Day

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 23
I am afraid we have not grown so much wiser and better than
our fathers, as many good people suppose. I do not discern upon
the horizon of the future the first dawn of the millenium. The
eagle and the lion will not always lie down in peace together.
Nations are yet subject to human passions, and are too often
their victims. The government which should say, "I will not
defend myself by force," would soon have nothing to defend.
* * *
"To attempt to purchase safety by concessions is to build a
bridge of gold, not for a retreating, but for an advancing enemy.
Nations are like the daughters of the horse leech; they cry, 'give,'
'give,' 'give.' It is idle, sir, to array ourselves against the power
ful instincts of human nature; and he who is dead to their in
fluence will find as little sympathy in this age of the world as he
would have found had he lived in the ages that are passed. If we
suffer ourselves to be trodden upon, to be degraded, to be de
spoiled of our good name and of our rights, under the pretext
that war is unworthy of us or our times, we shall find ourselves
in the decrepitude of age before we have passed the period of
manhood." Not only was Lewis Cass jealous of the liberty of his own
country and of the preservation of her sacred honor, but his
heart went out in sympathetic approbation to every struggle for
freedom the world over. He hoped for the ultimate universal
democracy of man. He believed that to his own country was
given the divine mission of proselyting the world to that democ
racy. He looked to see the pollen from the flowers upon the
tree of American liberty wafted by the winds and tides of time
to every clime; that thereby the incipient buds of liberty might
be quickened into living luxurious bloom.
His conception of the duty of America to extend sympathy
and aid to those struggling for liberty led him to introduce a
resolution in the senate instructing the committee on foreign
relations to look into the expediency of suspending diplomatic
relations with Austria, when, in 1849, the gallant freemen of
oppressed Hungary rose against the tyrany of the House of
Hapsburg. He supported his resolution in a speech fired with
manly patriotism. In the course of his remarks, he said:
5

24 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
"But, sir, while I maintain that the cessation of diplomatic
intercourse with Austria would give the government of that
country no just cause of offense, I do not seek to deny or conceal
that the motives for the adoption of this measure will be unac
ceptable and peculiarly obnoxious to the feelings of a power
proverbially haughty in the days of its prosperity, and rendered
more susceptible by recent events, which have destroyed much
of its ancient prestige, and compelled it to call for Russian aid
in the perilous circumstances where the noble efforts of Hungary
to assert her just rights had placed the oppressor. On the con
trary, the course I propose would lose half its value were any
doubts to rest upon the motives that dictate it.
"And certainly, were they not open to the day, I should not
look for that cordial approbation which I now anticipate from
the American people for this first effort to rebuke, by public
opinion expressed through an established government, in the
name of a great republic, atrocious acts of despotism, by which
human liberty and life have been sacrificed under circumstances
of audacious contempt for the rights of mankind and the senti
ments of the civilized world, without a parallel even in this age
of warfare between the oppressors and the oppressed. I say this
first effort, for, though the principles of public disapprobation in
situations not very dissimilar may be traced in the proceedings
of at least one of the representative bodies of Europe, I do not
recollect that any formal act has been adopted rendering the
censure more signal and enduring. If we take the first step in
this noble cause, where physical force, with its fiagitious abuse,
if not conquered, may be ultimately restrained by moral considera
tions, we shall add to the value of the lesson of 1776, already so
important to the world, and destined to become far more so by
furnishing one guarantee the more for the preservation of human
rights where they exist, and for their recovery where they are
lost. "Mr. President, I do not mistake the true position of my coun
try, nor do I seek to exaggerate her importance by these sugges
tions. I am perfectly aware that whatever we may do or say,
the immediate march of Austria will be onward in the course of

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 25
depotism, with a step feebler or firmer as resistance may appear
near or remote, till she is stayed by one of those upheavings of
the people, which is as sure to come as that man longs for free
dom and longs to strike the blow which shall make it his.
"Pride is blind, and power tenacious; and Austrian pride and
power, though they may quail before the signs of the times, will
hold out in their citadel till the last extremity. But many old
things are passing away; and Austrian despotism will pass away
in its turn. Its bulwarks will be shaken by the rushing of mighty
winds — by the voice of the world, wherever its indignant expres
sion is not restrained by the kindred sympathies of arbitrary
power. " Here is an empire of freemen, separated by the broad Atlantic
from the contests of force and oppression, which seem to succeed
each other like the waves of the ocean in the mighty changes
going on in Europe — twenty millions of people enjoying a meas
ure of prosperity which God, in His providence, has granted to
no other nation of the earth. With no interest to warp their
judgment; with neither prejudice nor animosity to excite them;
and with a public opinion as free as the air they breathe, they can
survey these events as dispassionately as is compatible with that
natural sympathy for the oppressed which is implanted in the
human breast. Think you not, sir, that their voice, sent from
these distant shores, would cheer the unfortunate onward in their
work — would encourage them while bearing their evils to bear
them bravely as men who hope — and when driven to resist by a
pressure no longer to be born, to exert themselves as men who
peril all upon the effort?
"But where no demonstration of interest on the part of a gov
ernment is called for by circumstances, a sound public opinion is
ready to proclaim its sentiments, and no reserve is imposed upon
their expression. It is common to this country, and to every
country where liberal institutions prevail; and it is as powerful,
and as powerfully exerted, in France and in England as in the
United States. Its effects may not be immediate or immediately
visible; but they are sure to come, and to come in power. Its
voice is louder than the booming of cannon; and it is heard on

26 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
the very confines of civilization. Our Declaration of Indepen
dence has laid the foundation of mightier changes in the world
than any event since the spirit of the Crusades precipitated
Europe upon Asia with zealous but mistaken views of religious
duty." The inspiration which these noble words gave to the struggling
freemen of Hungary may be measured in the words of the patriot
Kossuth: "Your powerful speech was not only the inspiration of sym
pathy for unmerited misfortune, so natural to noble feeling hearts;
it was the revelation of the justice of God — it was a leaf from
the book of Fate, unveiled to the world. On that day. General,
you were sitting, in the name of mankind, in tribunal, passing
judgment on despotism and the despots of the world; and as.
sure as the God of justice lives, your verdict will be accom
plished." To the mind of Cass, our flag became an emblem of shame
instead of honor, if we sat by tamely and silently, while the
homes of freemen anywhere were destroyed, their cities razed
by fire and sword, their women outraged, their coxmtry laid
waste and running red with the blood alike of helpless age and
helpless infancy — solely to gratify the power-lust of a despot.
With keen discernment, he recognized that there was an irrec
oncilable conflict between democracy and despotism; and, with
prophetic vision, he saw that, sooner or later, the world would be
wrapped as in a cloak of fire in the mighty final struggle between
these two natural and necessary foes. Against the day when the
divine right of kings would make its last desperate stand to stem
the onward-rushing forces of human democracy, he warned his
countrymen to make ready in season; not to sit like unmanly
sluggards amidst their flesh-pots — but to keep their swords ground
sharp, their powder dry, and their guns near at hand so that
they might do their proper share in that decisive clash. To him,
the cause of human liberty anywhere was the cause of America;
the foe of human liberty anywhere was the foe of America. He
took the broad ground that American liberty could never be
secure beyond all peradventure of peril until the last despot,

C(.)L. WILLIAM P. PRESTOX
Mayor of Macliinac Island
Treasurer Lewis Cass Memorial Committee

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 27
near-despot or would-be world ruler, would be smitten hip and
thigh to his doom.
And who will say, in the white light of recent history, but
that the God of his fathers had taken Lewis Cass up to the moun
tain tops of vision and impelled him, with fire-touched lips of
inspiration, to shout down the tidings of these days that are
upon us.
In 1848 the Democracy of the nation chose General Cass as
its standard bearer. Unfortunately the defection of Martin Van
Buren, who had received the highest honors from his party in
state and nation, disrupted the Democratic army and encom
passed the defeat of General Cass. He accepted this reverse
with the even-minded philosophy which marked his whole life,
and continued to serve with honor as Michigan's representative
in the senate until 1856, when President Buchanan tendered him
the premiership of his cabinet. In his seventy-fourth year he
took up the arduous labors of this perplexing station. Mean
while, the cloud of threatened secession and rebellion grew apace
on the southern sky. Cass stood staunchly for the Unions In
his old age he was as hostile to the treason of the NuUifiers as in
his young manhood he had been to the treason of Aaron Burr.
When President Buchanan, in 1860, barkened to the traitors
in his cabinet and refused to reinforce the Charleston forts, Cass
resigned the portfolio of Secretary of State and returned to pri
vate life in Detroit. The outbreak of the Civil War found him
bent with years — yet still inspired by indomitable Americanism —
rallying his beloved Northwest to the standard of the Union. All
through those dark days when the fields of the Southland were
drenched in fratricidal blood, his voice and his substance were
given to the perpetuation of the republic of his love. At an
immense Union meeting held in Detroit April 24th, 1861, he was
made chairman, and delivered, in a few words, an eloquent ad
dress. Cheer followed cheer as the old general, stalwart and
indomitable of soul, despite his almost eighty years, with dra
matic effect, thanked God that the American flag still floated
over bis home and his friends.
"No American," said he, "can see its fold spreading out to the

28 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
breeze without feeling a thrill of pride at his heart, and without
recalling the splendid deeds it has witnessed. * * * You need
no one to tell you what are the dangers of your country, nor what
are your duties to meet and avert them. There is but one path
for every true man to travel, and that is broad and plain. It
will conduct us, not indeed without trials and sufferings, to peace
and to the restoration of the Union. He who is not jor his coun
try, is against her. There is no neutral position to be occupied.
It is the duty of all zealously to support the government in its
efforts to bring this unhappy Civil War to a speedy and satis
factory conclusion, by the restoration, in its integrity, of that
great charter of freedom bequeathed to us by Washington and his
compatriots." The very last public speech of General Cass was delivered at
HiUsdale, Michigan, August 13th, 1862, at a "war meeting"
called for the purpose of arousing enthusiasm and raising volun
teers for the service. In part, he said:
"I am sufficiently warned by the advance of age that I can
have but little participation in public affairs, but if time has
diminished my power to be useful to my country, it has left un
diminished the deep interest I feel in her destiny, and my love
and reverence for our glorious Constitution which we owe to
the kindness of Providence and to the wisdom of our fathers."
With pride he spoke of the energy of his own state, and of its
efforts in defense of the Union.
"I have lived," said he, "to see it livalling its sister states in
the sacred work of defending the Constitution. And now the
course of events has rendered it necessary for the government to
appeal again to the people. Additional troops are required for
the speedy suppression of the Rebellion. Patriotism and policy
equally dictate that our force should be such as to enable us to
act with vigor and efficiency against our enemies, arid promptly
to reduce them to unconditional submission to the laws."
He lived to see the clouds of battle lift and the black night of
• rebellion fade into the glorious dawn of triumphant peace for
the Union; and then, rich in years, in achievement and in the
love of his friends and fellow-citizens, he passed peacefully into

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND ^
the Great Beyond. His death occurred at the Detroit of his
heart's love, on the 17th day of June, 1866, in the eighty-fourth
year of his age.
Almost half a century of time, as men measure it, has rolled
by since the passing of Lewis Cass. The generation which knew
and loved him are nearly all gathered to his side "in the tongue-
less silence of the dreamless dust." Today, we, their children,
who knew him not save by his mighty deeds, gather to speak
his fame. In the very heart of the empire which he gave to the
nation, we pay his memory reverent and loving honor. Not as
a ruthless conqueror nor an imperious empire builder, do we
know him. Not so much as a statesman, or an orator, or daunt
less explorer do we pay him tribute of grateful memory, but for
what he was and was proud to be —
LEWIS CASS,
An American.
Let those who read the lines upon this tablet admire, if they
will, the versatility of his genius, the variety of his attainments,
the vastness of his achievements. But beneath these surface
manifestations let them discern the noble soul of the patriot.
Whether we see him at Fort Detroit, wrathfully breaking his
sword in protest against Hull's craven surrender; or leading his
men at the battle of the Thames; or boldly fronting England's
shrewdest diplomats and baffling their intrigues in the court of
Louis Philippe; or raising his voice in ringing defense of America's
rights in Oregon; or flinging back the highest office of the nation,
save the Presidency, rather than give countenance to treason;
whether we regard his career as a soldier, or explorer, or treaty-
maker, or empire builder, or diplomat or statesman, through it
all, and in all, we find, like a thread of purest gold, sturdy love
of his native land; sturdy hate of her enemies; sturdy resolve to
do or to die for her honor.
We, the children of America, send greetings to you, Lewis Cass,
"in that mysterious bourne whence no traveler returns." Father
of the Northwest, indomitable American, we, the children of
America, with loving memory, salute you!

30 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
The Chairman: I know we are warranted, on behalf of the
committee, and on behalf of all of you, in thanking our distin
guished speaker for this classic address, which I believe will live
in history.
I wanted, and we all wanted, Ohio, where Lewis Cass started
his public career, to be represented here; and I said to Mr. Justice
Day, of the highest court in the world, who is loved in this Island,
who has been coming here for many years, and to Senator Pom
erene, "One of you two must speak for Ohio." Mr. Jus
tice Day said, "No." I did not want to be in contempt of the
Supreme Court of the United States, so we said, "Senator Pom
erene, it is you."
I have the honor to present one of the ablest men in the United
States senate, Senator Pomerene.
Hon. Atlee Pomerene: Mr. Chairman, Your Excellency
the Governor, Your Honor the Mayor, ladies and gentlemen: I
think the Supreme Court and your chairman have taken an
unfair advantage of me. I want it distinctly understood, I have
not volunteered; they have drafted me. But I am particularly
glad to be here, for this reason: this is the flrst season I have had
the privilege of spending in northern Michigan; I want to come
back again; and I feared that if I failed to obey your call today
you would not give me permission to return.
I want to express to the speaker of the day the delight with
which I listened to his masterful address. I was particularly
glad to hear him give accent to the intense Americanism of Lewis
Cass. If there ever was a day in the history of our country
when the sentiment of Americanism was more sacred than any
other, it is now. When I look to the continent of Europe and
contrast the conditions of war there with our peaceful pursuits
here, I thank God that my lot was cast in the country of Lewis
Cass. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of Uncle
Sam than dwell in the tents of the royalty of Europe. I would
rather be one of the humblest of our citizens than to wear the
crown of any of the royal heads of Europe, and be responsible
for the present war.

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 31
And I want to say that I have but very little sympathy with
that class of so-called Americans who are seeking to have us
violate the principles of international neutrality for the benefit,
not of America, but of some other country to which they formerly
owed allegiance.
Lewis Cass, in his speech to the Indian chieftain, when he
said, "There is not room for two flags in the same country,"
voiced a truth that ought to appeal to every one who wants the
United States to take a part in that awful war. You cannot
serve God and Mammon at the same time, you cannot be loyal
to the Stars and Stripes, and at the same time be following the
banner of some foreign potentate. And I thank God that at
the head of this nation we have a man with the courage and
patriotism of Woodrow Wilson, and I am glad also to say that
we have at least one ex-president who is upholding his hands, in
the person of William Howard Taft.
My friends, I have every sympathy with the man whose heart
bleeds because of that terrible war which is now disgracing civiliza
tion. I do not flnd fault with a man who grieves because he has
some brother or some friend in one or the other of the armies of
Europe; but, my friends, he cannot expect the country of his
adoption to become involved in that war. The Father of His
Country advised against entangling alliances with all foreign
countries. Our ancestors who came to this country, and those
who have been coming in recent years, are here because of one
of two facts: either because they did not like the government of
the old country, or because this was a land of greater opportuni
ties; and now, if some of these men who are in our midst prefer
the old country to this coimtry, they can leave it as they came
here. When they passed through the gates at our ports, those
gates swung inward, and they were welcomed with hospitable
arms; but, if they do not like the country to which they came,
these gates are hung on double hinges, and they will swing out
ward. Others came here because they felt that this was a land of
greater opportunities, and one of the responsibilities which rests
upon our shoulders, upon clergyman and layman, upon judge

32 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
and legislator and executive, upon all American citizens, is that
we shall keep it the land of opportunities.
My friends, if we can all be imbued with the spirit of Lewis
Cass, this will continue to be the land of opportunity. I do not
wonder that the Frenchman, when he hears the strains of the
"Marseillaise," is filled with enthusiasm for his country. I do
not wonder that the German, as he listens to the strains of "Die
Wacht am Rhine," is stirred with patriotic enthusiasm for the
Fatherland. I do not wonder that the sturdy Englishman is
thrilled for his great country when he hears "God Save the King."
But sweeter, more stirring, more enthusiastic, more patriotic,
than all, is the chorus that wells up from the throats of a hun
dred million Americans, as they sing, "America;" and I am glad
to know that here, in northern Michigan, we are gathered today
to do honor to one of the greatest Americans, Lewis Cass.
The Chairman: If I were asked to name two or three men
who have accomplished the most for permanent good in Michi
gan, I would name among them the next speaker, the man placed
at the head of the great Historical Commission of this state, who
has determined that the material for the first one hundred and
fifty years of the history of this region and this state which came
to us through these noble and heroic missionaries, and for the
later history of this state and this region, shall be brought to
gether, and that there shall be fostered and stimulated in every
community a true spirit of historical interest and study. I was
recently honored by being invited to Kalamazoo, to the investi
ture of my friend the Rt. Rev. Monsignor O'Brien, LL. D., .
and there I found represented not only those of his own church,
laymen and high prelates and dignitaries, but I found all the
officials of the city and state represented; and I found his friends
and neighbors of Kalamazoo; I cannot recount for you all that
he has done for humanity in that city. But I say to you, my
friends, that we are most highly honored by having with us today
the President of the Michigan Historical Commission, the Right
Reverend Monsignor Frank A. O'Brien, LL. D., who will now,
on behalf of the committee as well as the individual donors, and

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 33
acting for the Michigan Historical Commission and the Mackinac
Island State Park Commission, present this tablet to the state of
Michigan.

ADDRESS OF RT. REV. MONSIGNOR O'BRIEN
Governor: To you is given the privilege of witnessing some
of the results of your efforts in the cause of uplifting mankind;
it may be a comfort, and in a way make up for disappointments.
The Mackinac Island State Park Commission was in existence
when you entered office, but you enthused its members with
activity and your spirit of progress, so that it has accomplished
more during the past three years than it had from its inception.
Mackinac Island State Park has been made more beautiful each
year, and great plans have been outlined for the future.
It is said in Europe, "See Naples and die;" for when one had
seen the beauty of the Adriatic, it was thought that he had ceen
enough for a life time. Will not a similar expression regarding
Mackinac be the watchword of Americans, and this Island be
come a real Mecca? The more the Wolverines see it, the more
proud they are of having it in their possession.
The Historical Commission is of your own making. It is true
it succeeded to much of the work of the Pioneer Society, which
accomplished much in a limited sphere, and we have benefited
and will profit by its experiences. Now that the Historical Com
mission is a regular department of the state, more can be accom
plished. We assure you, that it appreciates all that you hav3
done for it from its organization.
Your constant presence, kindly interest, and cooperation have
proven that your heart and soul are in the cause of this depart
ment. The members of the Commission remember your advice
at its opening session. You then said, you expected great things
from it, in gathering whatever might be left of the history of
the Northwest, which it was their duty to conserve and give to

34 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
posterity. They were to honor the memory of the great meij
who made the history of this part of our country so prominent,
"that one who runs may read." We were to conserve and hand
down the story of what our forefathers accomplished for our
civilization and comfort.
We know your attitude towards every department of the
state, that you want no tired men on your boards. As you are
active, they must be; and as soon as one feels that he cannot
fulfill the duties of his charge, he had better resign. Your motto,
"The state demands the best service, or none at all," has brought
Michigan to a position in this country that it has never occupied
before. We believe that every member of this Commission has done
his best to promote the realization of the ideals you had in view.
Today we feel that you must be gratified in seeing the crowning
event of the year brought to such a fitting consummation. Only
a few days ago, we placed on this Island, so dear to you, a tablet
to the memory of a forgotten Frenchman. We know this happy
incident has accomplished much towards the study of the history
of the state. The story of Nicolet has been brought to the atten
tion of the world in a way that it never would have been other
wise. Today we fittingly honor our own whose memory is one
of our richest legacies.
We congratulate you. Governor, on what has been accom
plished in fostering the history of our state during your adminis
tration; and in behalf of the Commission, we thank you.
We feel deeply honored in having Mrs. Ferris with us. It has
been wisely said, that since the days of our Mother Mary, some
good woman has been the prime factor in all great achievements.
To your venerable mother who is still spared, whom you so
greatly revere, we send greetings and congratulations, because
she is the mother of so distinguished a son. But to her who has
been your companion, consolation, and comfort during the years
of trial as well as triumph, Michigan is indebted for its great
Governor. Your friends sympathized with you during the long,
severe ordeal. They saw you harassed in the days spent in hard
work for the state, and the weary nights in care of the cherished

JUDGE WILLIAM F. CONNOLLY
Secretary Lewis Cass Memorial Committe

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 35
invalid. It is a mystery how you could have stood it all. We
knew of your worry and unrest, and the painful thought of what
the next hour might bring. How silently and patiently you bore
up without a murmur during those days, was an edification.
Your countenance told us how rejoiced you were when the dawn
gave hope, and now when relief has come at last, when you have
had the happiness of seeing her health restored, we all rejoice
with you, and say, "God is good, blessed be His holy name."
We congratulate the good lady on her recovery, and pray that
she may be spared for many happy years as your consolation,
help, comfort, and encouragement in the great task that is yours.
We feel proud to have you with us, Mrs. Ferris, on this occasion,
when we honor Governor Cass, whose life was in so many phases
similar to that of your good husband. This is the first time in
which the Commissions have been thus honored in an event of
this kind, when we have had both the Governor and his wife
present at such a celebration. We thank you. Governor, for the
privilege of having Mrs. Ferris with us, and most loyally do we
salute the first lady of the state.
To the President of the day, permit me to pay a slight tribute.
If the definition of a real gentlemen is, "The forgetting of self
and thinking only of others," he then is a gentleman indeed.
His work for the state, along historic and other lines, will per
haps never be properly valued. His days are too short to realize
the honors he deserves, and his nights must be dreams of how
he can make others happy. Worldly goods have no other value
to him than their use in the attainment of moral ends, or the
nation's ideals. He believes that the noblest aim is the awaken
ing of the people's consciences to the fact that they are living in
a great age, and that they should show their appreciation of the
privilege by their generosity. He believes that whatever lives in
a nation's soul, must sooner or later receive expression in public
praise. To him belongs the "Tablet thought," if you may call
it such, which is now so largely cultivated in this state. Since
the erection of the Nicolet tablet, more than a dozen tablets have
been erected in various parts of the state. Within the past week,
a bronze tablet has been placed on the house wherein Cooper

36 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
gathered material for his famous novels in our own country;
another at Nazareth, to commemorate good Bishop R4s6. Two
thousand Indians assembled in the far West last week to erect a
tablet to the memory of the great De Smet. If the contagion of
example continues, then will the prophecy of the Governor be
well realized, "That we may read while we run" of the valiant
deeds that made the Northwest famous. To him, however, fame
is not bought with small change, but is a gem of great worth, that
comes as a worthy tribute of honor to those who merit the palm.
It is a privilege to acknowledge, in behalf of the Commission,
that the assembling of this representative gathering is the result
of the thought of one who is with us, and who should have had
a place on the program had his modesty not forbidden. An able
scholar, a generous friend, a great jurist, and a just judge, whose
ability is recognized far and near, and will in time be properly
rewarded with higher honors. Judge Connolly and the Lewis
Cass memorial committee deserve the gratitude not only of the
Commission, but of every lover of history.
To our dear friend. His honor the Mayor, our gratitude. Ever
ready with both hands extended to greet us with a genuine wel
come, he makes us feel at home on the Island. Without him,
there could be no celebration in this domain. We thank him in
behalf of the Commission for the services rendered today, as
well as on many other occasions, and desire to express our debt
of gratitude.
You have heard much of the "pride of our state," of the great,
good General Cass, who might be likened in many ways to our
present ruling executive. He was one who loved righteousness
and hated iniquity. He had the moral courage to defend the
weak against the strong, against great odds. Constant, beautiful
and advantageous, the holiest aim of humanity, is that which is
upheld by justice. Wisdom, moderation, and concihation, all were
his virtues. He realized that nothing is more detrimental to a
nation's development than self-deception and self -laudation. He
knew that faith is the best guardian of Freedom. He nobly
breasted the storm at its highest fury. He would tell the truth
in the face of angry tribes, with the threat of ruin and death

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 37
staring him in the face. No bribe, menace, or insult could drive
him from what he thought was right. He was an honest man, a
valiant conqueror.
It is but meet and just that we honor this man who always
stood for the right, who ever remained the faithful soldier, under
the banner of Truth at a time when many abandoned it alto
gether, or by their silence, or still worse by their opposition,
encouraged error and falsehood. He detested a lie. His honesty
of intention and earnestness of purpose brought to us the happy
results which have made Michigan a great state of the Union.
In the name of the Governor Cass memorial committee and
on behalf of the donors representing every county in the state,
in the name of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, in
the name of the Michigan Historical Commission, we herewith
present to the state of Michigan, and to you. Governor, her head
and representative, this magnificent tribute to a model man, one
after your own heart, as an incentive to the youth of these times,
and succeeding generations to imitate. We know it will be well
guarded. We believe this day of its presentation will be long
remembered, that its participants will have a story to recount of
all that has occurred which will be an inspiration for future citi
zens, an encouragement to the youth, and a comfort to old age.
The Chairman: I wish to make grateful acknowledgment to
Rt. Rev. Monsignor O'Brien for his kindly personal references.
Dear friends, it is difficult for me to find appropriate words to
introduce the next speaker. My admiration, and affection for
him, my regard for his sincerity, is such that I would not trust
myself to tell you what we think of him in Michigan. As you
read that tablet, and see the many and varied things accom
plished by General Cass, you will remember that it is given to
but few men to have so many honors, and to perform such varied
service; yet I predict that when the future historian shall write
the history of our beloved chief executive of this state, it will be
found that Governor Ferris has accomplished in many lines,
things of similar good import. Coming into our state from New
York, he and his noble wife founded a school in Michigan — a

38 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
school where twenty-five thousand have graduated; not all boys
and girls, but men of forty years, and fifty years of age; and of
all national ties. There are twenty-five thousand of them all over
this country that love him. I need not speak of what he has
done for this state, working under great disadvantages. One of
the great men of this nation is the sincere, modest, unassuming
gentlemen who sits before you — I hope he won't take offense;
we call him the good gray Governor. We have been talking of
waf, and I suppose the Governor would tell us he is a man of
peace; one of the finest addresses I ever listened to was a year
ago, when he plead for peace, on this Island, at the great Peace
Convention. I remember he then said, "I have not yet faith to
believe that wars have ceased;" and in only a few weeks the
world was at war.
Today he is engaged in a war; it is a minor thing, as compared
to that great war; yet in another way, its ravages, and the desola
tion and sorrow that come from it, are terrible; this is the reason
he has enlisted in that war, and has placed Michigan at the
head and front of all the states in this union, by getting an ap
propriation of one hundred thousand dollars to fight tuberculosis.
And he says this war shall go on, until the devastation of this
plague shall be minimized if not annihilated. I will stop, Gov
ernor; but I want to tell them of Michigan's love for this noble
woman. I have heard you say, with smiles and joy, and I have
heard you say with tears and grief, that all you had in honor, in
success, in hope, in ambition, in life, came from her inspiration
and companionship. All honor to this splendid woman, who
stands for all that is noblest and best in Michigan's wives and
mothers. I now have the pleasure and the honor of presenting to you
Michigan's distinguished Governor, Woodbridge N. Ferris, who
will address you:
Governor Ferris: Mr. Chairman, and fellow-citizens: I can
add nothing to the magnificant oration you have heard; it must
needs cover my subject, "Lewis Cass, Governor of Michigan
Territory." Human greatness, which has always commanded the admiration

¦¦UPT. FRANK .\ Ki;XY(lX
Mackinac Island state Park

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 39
of the world, is in origin more or less shrouded in mystery.
Washington in his youth gave no special promise of great
ness; but his achievements in mature manhood, under gigantic
difficulties, placed him in the front rank of the world's greatest
statesmen. Lincoln's closest boyhood friends never so much as
dreamed of his possible future; his mature life was fraught with
responsibilities which would have crushed any but the greatest of
men, and his life continues to be the study of all lovers of
humanity. The more I study the life of Lewis Cass, the more I
am reminded of Washington and Lincoln. During his service
for eighteen years as Governor of Michigan Territory, he was
confronted ¦with problems of government that would have taxed
the diplomacy and statesmanship of a Washington or a Lincoln.
In 1813, Lewis Cass found Michigan Territory devastated,
poverty stricken and honeycombed with anarchy. The total
number of white inhabitants was approximately six thousand.
The estimated number of Indians was forty thousand. The
whites lived in constant terror of the Indians, who were aided
and abetted by the British.
In the fall of 1814, General Cass organized "a little company,"
and led a successful attack on the Indians. This encouraged the
white people to assert their rights, and compelled the savages to
exercise a wholesome fear in relation to the Governor. His unre
mitting vigilance and energetic conduct saved our people from
many of the horrors of war. General Cass possessed the courage
that conquers. He had an accurate knowledge of Indian traits
and of Indian character. During his governorship he made many
important treaties with the Indians; he was scrupulously honest
in all of his dealings with them. Furthermore, he attempted to
advise and encourage them in all matters relating to their own
highest welfare. The injustice and perversity of England not
only made the solution of the Indian problem very difficult, but
hindered him in his efforts to Americanize Michigan Territory.
By an act of congress passed at the beginning of the war, two
million acres of land were to be selected in Michigan to be given
as bounty lands to volunteers. Cass desired that these surveys
should be quickly made, in order that at least a few settlers

40 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
might make their homes in the Territory and introduce a larger
American element on which, and with which, to work. This re
sulted disastrously. The President, assured by the commis
sioner of the land office that scarcely one acre in a thousand was
fit for cultivation, advised congress in February, 1916, that the
quota of bounty lands might better be located in other i^arts of
the Northwest; in other words, the lands of Michigan in the
southern peninsula were declared to be -a barren waste. This
adverse report was a serious handicap to the development of
Michigan for many years.
General Cass was an undaunted pioneer and explorer. He
traveled thousands of miles in a birch bark canoe and on horse
back visiting Indian tribes, and at the same time discovered for
himself the vast riches of this great undeveloped Territory.
Before 1830 the alleged barren waste, Michigan, was actually
exporting flour to the East, and there was an air of comfort on
her borders and an appearance of thrift along her inland roads
which spoke of the success of Governor Cass's efforts to attract
eastern knowledge and energy. By the third census of the cen
tury, Michigan was shown to have over thirty thousand people,
and to have just claims for speedy admittance as a state.
General Cass was thoroughly democratic, both in theory and
practice. He was a Jeffersonian. He did not arrogate to him
self the functions of an autocrat, nor of a monarch. As rapidly
as possible, he organized the Territory for self-government; like
Lincoln, he wished the people to govern. He was an enthusi
astic advocate of good roads. He encouraged education through
the agency of schools and the newspaper. On November 6, 1826,
Lewis Cass said in a speech at Detroit: "Whenever education is
diffused among the people generally, they will appreciate the
value of free institutions, and as they have the power, so must
they have the will to maintain them. It appears to me that a
plan may be devised that will not press too heavily upon the
means of the country and which will ensure a competent portion
of education to all the youth in the Territory; and I recommend
the subject to your serious consideration."
Lewis Cass had extraordinary opportunities for studying the

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND 41
conduct of the civilized and the uncivilized. He was a lawyer
and sociologist, and with his practical knowledge of human
nature, exhibited what bordered on a prophetic vision of how
coming civilization would treat crime. The following statement
made by him in his message to the territorial council January 5,
1831, is profoundly significant:
"In fact, the opinion gains ground through the civilized world,
that human life has been too often sacrificed to unjust laws,
which seek the death of the offender rather than his reformation.
Governments have found it easy to put an end to the transgres
sion of offenders by putting an end to their lives; while the diffi
cult problem, whose solution is equally required by policy and
humanity, of uniting reformation, example and security, has been
neglected as unimportant or unattainable. The period is probably
not far distant when it will be universally acknowledged that all
the just objects of human laws may be fully answered without the
infliction of capital punishment."
Lewis Cass was a natural born leader of men. He never asked
any man to do what he was afraid or unwilling to do himself.
He co-operated with the federal government in all movements
for progress and self-defense. He was a profound statesman and
diplomat. In this age of steam, electricity and iron we find it
difficult to appreciate the heroic and constructive work .of Lewis
Cass. The life of Lewis Cass is worthy of careful study. We gain
inspiration and enthusiasm from knowing what great Americans
have accomplished under the most adverse circumstances. Public
men and citizens will find in the experience of this sturdy pioneer
many of the concrete examples of the regenerating power of
democracy. This so-called progressive age has not overshadowed
Lewis Cass. I commend to economists, lawyers, teachers and
political students the careful examination of this remarkable
man's achievements. I feel so deeply the importance of this
suggestion that my highest aspiration is to be guided by the
ideals of this great man.
[Lifting his eyes to the audience and to the tablet. Governor
Ferris said:] In behalf of this great commonwealth, I, Wood-

42 CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND
bridge N. Ferris, Governor of Michigan, accept this memorial
tablet as a historical mark of love and esteem for one of our
greatest constructive government builders. It is fitting that this
tablet be placed upon Mackinac Island, one of Nature's choicest
creations, an island whose historic associations are sacred, an
island visited annually by people from every state in the union
and by tourists from all parts of the world. May those who
in the years to come pause to read the inscription on this tablet,
be inspired with the patriotism that has lead America to recog
nize and maintain the inalienable rights of all men "to life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness."
At intervals during the reading, Governor Ferris commented
informally on thoughts suggested by the paper. Speaking of
Cass' democracy, he said:
"The trouble in Europe is, they have not a sufficient amount
of democracy; and the trouble in this country, so far as we have
trouble, is along the same line. There is no getting around it.
I believe that America should be for Americans; that we should
have the kind of courage that Cass had; and also, the kind of
charity that Lincoln had. I so abhor and hate war, that I can
not feel like doing anything that might possibly encourage a
disaster of such magnitude as we now have in Europe. When I
think of the awful devastation of Europe, and of the awful slaugh
ter of human lives, I shed no tear for the two millions of brave
men who lie in eternal sleep; but my heart aches, as I pray for
that charity and for that democracy, which can extend sympa
thy and love to the mothers of Europe whose hearts are crushed
and bleeding.
I want to say to you that I love every Finlander I have ever
taught, every Russian I have ever taught, every German I have
ever taught. We are such a mixture of all these nations, that
we have no right to be either pro-German or pro-Ally. I love
enthusiasm; but, with General Sherman, I hate war, whereby
unborn generations, for thousands and thousands of years, must
carry a needless burden. Better to chloroform the monarchs of
Europe, and save the lives of these millions of men, and the
heart-breakings of these millions of innocent women and chil-

HON. EDWIN O. WOOD, LL.D.
-President Mackinac Island State Park Couimisslo
Member Michigan Historical Commission

CASS DAY ON MACKINAC ISLAND

43

dren. The Stars and Stripes stand for something more than
partisanship. God hasten the day when the influence of the
Stars and Stripes shall be recognized throughout the world as
the flag of humanity and brotherly love."
At the close of the Governor's address, the chairman announced
the public reception at the Grand Hotel to the Governor and
Mrs. Ferris, and to the military staff and the officers of the United
States revenue cutter Morrill, which was sent to Mackinac by
the federal government. In concluding, the chairman thanked
Superintendent Frank A. Kenyon, of Mackinac Island State Park,
the press, General Kirk and the military staff of the Governor,
the officers of the Michigan National Guard, the boys of Com
pany K, Capt. Carmine, and all connected with his good ship,
for their attendance and co-operation.
Supt. Kenyon, acting for the Mackinac Island State Park Com
mission, is placing a solid base of enduring stone upon Cass Cliff.
On this shaft the beautiful Lewis Cass Tablet is to be placed.

IN MEMORIAM

TO the MEMORY OF
HON. WILLIAM P. PRESTON

DECEASED

TREASUKER LEWIS CA8B MEMORIAL
COMMITTEE

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