THE AMENDMENT ADOPTED

On Tuesday morning last, the official, authoritative announcement was sent over the whole country, with lightening speed, that the Abolition of  Slavery and its PROHIBITION forever were engrafted upon the United States Constitution, and had become part of the fundamental LAW OF THE LAND ! …. We believe our readers will find nothing in our columns this week of such interest as the Proclamation of this great event.  It is the final crowning and completion of the labors of the American Abolitionists, as such. …. It is the voice of the whole People, condemning Slavery as the great Criminal of the land, and banishing it forever from the national soil.   The work to which the Anti-Slavery apostles put their hands thirty-five years ago, and which they dared not hope to see accomplished, is accomplished!  … The overthrow of Slvery leaves us in no position of ease, gives us no warrant to relax our diligence or our determination; but mightily encourages us to put forth both.  In the great work of the Abolition of Slavery, we have succeeded.  … We are now to concentrate the whole power of American law, justice, conscience, sense of consistency, and duty, and bring all to bear on the work of making the freedmen in every sense a freeman and a citizen.  … How fittingly does the Constitutional Amendment time itself to the closing days of the Liberator’s protracted labors!  After thirty-five years of its existence, during which it has not failed to appear on any week, it had announced its purpose to cease its publication at the close of the present month; and lo!  Just as the Liberator is speaking its farewell words, the Constitutional Abolition of Slavery becomes a fact, becomes the recorded will of the people, the established law of the land!   We do not think of this as a mere accident.  We reverently and gratefully own the Divine hand.    S. M. jr  (Liberator, December 22, 1865, pg 2)