Speech On Hon Wm Barksdale Of

Author : William Barksdale
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781331130949
Total Pages : 30 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (39 download)

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Download or read book Speech on Hon. Wm, Barksdale, of Mississippi, on the Presidential Election (Classic Reprint) written by William Barksdale and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-11 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Speech on Hon. Wm, Barksdale, of Mississippi, on the Presidential Election To the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, I propose to speak of the approaching Presidential election, on which I believe, more than on any former election, depends the fate of the Union, the hopes of our country, and Mr. Chairman, the hopes of constitutional liberty, as involved in the success of this our experiment in representative government. In past Presidential contests, parties have been divided upon questions, not affecting alike the interests of every section of the Union, it is true, hut national in their character, and all felt that the triumph of the one did not necessarily involve the degradation or dishonor of the other. Now, however, an issue plainly local and sectional in its character has been boldly and defiantly forced upon the country. The coming conflict, then, sir, will be for the Constitution, for State-rights, and for everything, in fact, which is dear and sacred to one half of the confederacy. Without attempting a discussion of the details of the different parties, I shall confine my remarks to the three principal ones, which are now seeking the confidence of the people and the control of the government - the Know-nothing, Black Republican, and Democratic parties. The Know-nothing party is of hut recent origin. It came upon the country at the hour of midnight, and has concealed its purposes from public scrutiny and investigation. In its beginning it had, and, so far as we are informed, it now has, its signs, grips, pass-words, oaths, and all the paraphernalia of a secret organization. These cabalistic characters may be useful in institutions purely social and benevolent, but in political organizations they must ever wield an influence for evil. A representative cannot suffer himself to be trammelled by them. He challenges the closest scrutiny into his political principles and conduct. In speaking of these parties, and the candidates under whose names they severally rally, I shall resort to facts and figures in the history of the country. I have already remarked that the designs of the Know-nothings were at first kept hid from public view, but time developed that they sought to extend or repeal the naturalization laws, and to exclude foreigners and Roman Catholics from office. Fruitful as these topics are for thought and reflection, it is not my purpose now, at length, to discuss them. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.