Posted on 05/23/2015 7:10:09 PM PDT by Sherman Logan
As for my Savannah speech, about which so much has been said and in regard to which I am represented as setting forth "slavery" as the " corner-stone" of the Confederacy, it is proper for me to state that that speech was extemporaneous. The reporter's notes, which were very imperfect, were hastily corrected by me; and were published without further revision and with several glaring errors. The substance of what I said on slavery was, that on the points under the old Constitution out of which so much discussion, agitation, and strife between the States had arisen, no future contention could arise, as these had been put to rest by clear language. I did not say, nor do I think the reporter represented me as saying, that there was the slightest change in the new Constitution from the old regarding the status of the African race amongst us. >(Slavery was without doubt the occasion of secession; out of it rose the breach of compact, for instance, on the part of several Northern States in refusing to comply with Constitutional obliga- tions as to rendition of fugitives from service, a course betraying total disregard for all constitutional barriers and guarantees.)
I admitted that the fathers, both of the North and the South, who framed the old Constitution, while recog- nizing existing slavery and guaranteeing its continuance under the Constitution so long as the States should severally see fit to tolerate it in their respective limits, were perhaps all opposed to the principle. Jefferson, Madison, Washington, all looked for its early extinction throughout the United States. But on the subject of slavery so called (which was with us, or should be, nothing but the proper subordination of the inferior African race to the superior white) great and radical changes had taken place in the realm of thought; many eminent latter-day statesmen, philosophers, and philan- thropists held different views from the fathers.
The patriotism of the fathers was not questioned, nor their ability and wisdom, but it devolved on the public men and statesmen of each generation to grapple with and solve the problems of their own times.
The relation of the black to the white race, or the proper status of the coloured population amongst us, was a question now of vastly more importance than when the old Constitution was formed. The order of subordination was nature's great law; philosophy taught that order as the normal condition of the African amongst European races. Upon this recognized principle of a proper subordination, let it be called slavery or what not,our State institutions were formed and rested. The new Confederation was entered into with this distinct under- standing. This principle of the subordination of the inferior to the superior was the " corner- stone" on which it was formed. I used this metaphor merely to illustrate the firm convictions of the framers of the new Constitution that this relation of the black to the white race, which existed in 1787, was not wrong in itself, either morally or politically; that it was in conformity to nature and best for both races. I alluded not to the principles of the new Government on this subject, but to public sentiment in regard to these principles. The status of the African race in the new Constitution was left just where it was in the old; I affirmed and meant to affirm nothing else in this Savannah speech.
My own opinion on slavery, as often expressed, was that if the institution was not the best, or could not be made the best, for both races, looking to the advance- ment and progress of both, physically and morally, it ought to be abolished. It was far from being what it might and ought to have been. Education was denied. This was wrong. I ever condemned the wrong. Mar- riage was not recognized. This was a wrong that I condemned. Many things connected with it did not meet my approval but excited my disgust, abhorrence, and detestation. The same I may say of things connected with the best institutions in the best communities in which my lot has been cast. Great improvements were, however, going on in the condition of blacks in the South. Their general physical condition not only as to neces- saries but as to comforts was better in my own neighbour- hood in 1860, than was that of the whites when I can first recollect, say 1820. Much greater would have been made, I verily believe, but for outside agitation. I have but small doubt that education would have been allowed long ago in Georgia, except for outside pressure which stopped internal reform.
I thought it was interesting that he takes for granted that slavery was the ultimate cause of the war, and he still believes slavery to be a positive good.
Seems to me to blow a pretty good hole in the theory that slavery was dying off anyway in the South and that southerners realized it.
BTW, when he refers to "philosophy" as justifying the eternal enslavement of Africans, he means what we today would call science.
Anyone who believes that slavery was not the cause of Confederate secession and the Civil War needs to read American history.
Ben Franklin Material? Time for a Constitutional!
He also admits that the Founders were almost universal in a belief that slavery was evil, but thought it would die out by itself. But men of his time had come to realize that the Founders were wrong in this regard, that slavery was actually good and right and scientific.
Quite right. However, I’ve had extended discussions with people who believe exactly that. Slavery, according to them, was an entirely peripheral issue on both sides.
Ridiculous, I agree. But popular because the alternative was to continue to claim the South was right about slavery. Stephens was one of the few willing to do so after the war.
Return to continent of origin.
Green Fields are gone ... ? I question because of two behind every blade ...
Anyone who believes the North fought the Civil War to end slavery should read American history.
I no longer lay awake ... the Ladies are there with the Faith of the Moon in the shining ... Yes, may they keep telling us nothing is right and everything is wrong ... may we be moving on ....
"My own opinion on slavery, as often expressed, was that if the institution was not the best, or could not be made the best, for both races, looking to the advance- ment and progress of both, physically and morally, it ought to be abolished. It was far from being what it might and ought to have been. Education was denied. This was wrong. I ever condemned the wrong. Marriage was not recognized. This was a wrong that I condemned. Many things connected with it did not meet my approval but excited my disgust, abhorrence, and detestation."
You know, I’d be happy to respond to you if I had any idea what you are trying to say.
Stephens fought the secession of Georgia.
That is correct. The US fought the Civil War to preserve the Union. If the rebellion had been put down more quickly, it is quite possible that slavery in some form could have survived the war.
‘On the Origin of Species’ was published in 1859. America’s largest newspaper, the Republican ‘New York Daily Tribune’, printed articles from Karl Marx in the years before the Civil War. Strange intellectual brew.
All they need to do is read the secession documents of the Confederate states. They were quite explicit that slavery was the cause.
Virginia voted against secession on April 4, 1861 and did not vote for secession until Lincoln called up troops for an invasion.
Virginia voted against secession on April 4, 1861 and did not vote for secession until Lincoln called up troops for an invasion.
Lincoln, as President-elect, corresponded with his old Congressional colleague Stephens. Lincoln summed up the Confederate cause quite accurately: “You think slavery is right and ought to be extended; while we think it is wrong and ought to be restricted.”
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/letter-to-alexander-h-stephens/
“”Abraham Lincoln
Springfield, Illinois
December 22, 1860
For your own eye only
Hon. A. H. Stephens-
My dear Sir
Your obliging answer to my short note is just received, and for which please accept my thanks. I fully appreciate the present peril the country is in, and the weight of responsibility on me.
Do the people of the South really entertain fears that a Republican administration would, directly, or indirectly, interfere with their slaves, or with them, about their slaves? If they do, I wish to assure you, as once a friend, and still, I hope, not an enemy, that there is no cause for such fears.
The South would be in no more danger in this respect, than it was in the days of Washington. I suppose, however, this does not meet the case. You think slavery is right and ought to be extended; while we think it is wrong and ought to be restricted. That I suppose is the rub. It certainly is the only substantial difference between us.
Yours very truly
A. LINCOLN””
I was always more of a Robert Toombs supporter. Then there were the Cobb brothers - Howell and T.R.R. Of course, one of Howell’s best known quotes was “ Use all the negroes you can get, for all the purposes for which you need them, but don’t arm them. The day you make soldiers of them is the beginning of the end of the revolution. If slaves make good soldiers our whole theory of slavery is wrong ....”
If you are ever on I-20 driving between Atlanta and Augusta, take the time to get off at Exit 148 and drive into Crawfordville. At The Stoplight, turn Left, drive under the railroad trestle and visit Liberty Hall, the home of A.H. Stephens.
It is a state park & museum. Next door is the associated Confederate museum. While at Liberty Hall, be sure to visit the slave quarters out behind the main house.
On a side note, in 1922, Liberty Hall was not a museum, but instead served as a boarding house. My mother was born in the upstairs bedroom on the left (looking at the house). So far, the Georgia Historical Commission has not seen fit to install a bronze plaque commemorating the birthplace of the mother of Bwana Ndege...
/S
(cue Rodney Dangerfield)
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