Slavery and the Constitution

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Excerpt from Slavery and the Constitution: Both Sides of the Question The continuance of the Union is a primary object of patriotic desire. To listen to mere speculation upon it is criminal. There will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those, who, in any quarter, may endeavor to weaken its bonds. One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart burnings which spring from these misrepresentations. They tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection. The Constitution, which at any time exists, till changed by an authentic and explicit act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all, it pre-supposes the duty of every individual to obey it. There is constant danger of the excess of party spirit. The effort ought to be by the force of public opinion to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume. America seems really to be cursed with some selfish, mean politicians, who, through gross ignorance and entire recklessness of moral principles, add only views of the most narrow and sordid character, and are incapable of understanding upon any large and comprehensive principle of right and justice, and of regarding, with a single eye, the great interests of humanity. I appreciate these attempts at disorganization, and trust that the reward of men thus actuated, when aspiring to public favor, will consist in being consigned to the depths of oblivion. - Gen. Samuel Houston, in the Senate of the United States, Feb. 8, 1850, on his Compromise Resolution, as reported in the Evening Bulletin of Feb. 9, 1850. 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.