The moment a President was elected of whom it was inferred from his
opinions, not that he would take any measures against slavery where it
exists, but that he would oppose its establishment where it exists
not,--that moment they broke loose from what was, at least, a very
solemn contract, and formed themselves into a Confederation professing
as its fundamental principle not merely the perpetuation, but the
indefinite extension of slavery. And the doctrine is loudly preached
through the new Republic, that slavery, whether black or white, is a
good in itself, and the proper condition of the working classes
everywhere.
Let me, in a few words, remind the reader what sort of a thing this
is, which the white oligarchy of the South have banded themselves
together to propagate and establish, if they could, universally. When
it is wished to describe any portion of the human race as in the
lowest state of debasement, and under the most cruel oppression, in
which it is possible for human beings to live, they are compared to
slaves.
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