God Forbid That The Day Should Ever

It Is Not Differences Of Opinion; It Is Geographical Lines, Rivers, And Mountains Which Divide State From State, And Make Different Nations Of Mankind.

The Principle For Which We Contend Is Bound To Reassert Itself, Though It May Be At Another Time And In Another Form.

Every One Must Understand That, Whatever Be The Evil Of Slavery, It Is Not Increased By Its Diffusion. Every One Familiar With It Knows That It Is In Proportion To Its Sparseness That It Becomes Less Objectionable. Wherever There Is An Immediate Connexion Between The Master And Slave, Whatever There Is Of Harshness In The System Is Diminished.

Secession Belongs To A Different Class Of Remedies. It Is To Be Justified Upon The Basis That The States Are Sovereign. There Was A Time When None Denied It. I Hope The Time May Come Again, When A Better Comprehension Of The Theory Of Our Government, And The Inalienable Rights Of The People Of The States, Will Prevent Any One From Denying That Each State Is A Sovereign, And Thus May Reclaim The Grants Which It Has Made To Any Agent Whomsoever.

Slavery Existed Before The Formation Of This Union. It Derived From The Constitution That Recognition Which It Would Not Have Enjoyed Without The Confederation. If The States Had Not United Together, There Would Have Been No Obligation On Adjoining States To Regard Any Species Of Property Unknown To Themselves.