Republican
Party Platform
Resolved
2. That
the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration of
Independence and embodied in the Federal Constitution ‘That all men are created
equal; that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted
among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed’ is
essential to the preservation of our Republican institutions; and the Federal
Constitution, the rights of the States, and the Union of the States, and the
Union of the States, must and shall be preserved.
4. That
the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the States, and especially the right
of each State to order and control its own domestic institutions according to
its own judgement exclusively, is essential to that
balance of powers on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric
depend; and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any
State or Territory.
8. That
the normal condition of all the territory of the United State is that of
freedom and we deny the authority of Congress, of a territorial legislature, or
of any individuals, to give legal existence to Slavery in any Territory of the
United States.