,transcriber's ,note3 ,every effort has 
been made to replicate this text as     
faithfully as possible1 including       
obsolete and variant spellings and other
 inconsistencies4 ,text that has been   
changed to correct an obvious error is  
noted at the end of this ebook4         
,,great ,,speech1  ,,delivered ,,in     
,,new ,,york ,,city1  ,,by  ,,henry     
,,ward ,,beecher1  ,,on ,,the  ,conflict
 of ,northern and ,southern ,theories   
,,of ,,man ,,and ,,society1  ,january   
#ad1 #ahee4     ,,rochester3  ,,steam   
,,press ,,of ,a4 ,,strong  ,,co41 ,,cor4
 ,,of ,,state ,,and ,,buffalo ,,streets4
  #ahee4      ,conflict of ,northern and
 ,southern ,theories  ,,of ,,man ,,and  
,,society4   ,the ,eighth ,lecture of   
the ,course before the ,anti-,slavery   
,society1 was delivered1 ,january #ad1  
#ahee1 at the ,tabernacle1 ,new ,york1  
by the ,rev4 ,,henry ,,ward ,,beecher4  
,the subject1 at the present time1 is   
one of peculiar interest1 as touching   
the questions of ,slavery and           

,know-,nothingism1 and1 together with   
the popularity of the lecturer1 drew    
together a house-full of auditors4      
,there were a number of gentlemen of    
distinction1 occupying seats on the     
rostrum--among whom were the ,hon4      
,joshua ,r4 ,giddings1 ,james ,mott1 of 
,philadelphia1 and ,mr4 ,dudley1 of     
,buffalo4  ,mr4 ,beecher was introduced 
to the audience by ,mr4 ,,oliver        
,,johnson1 who said3  ,ladies and       
,gentlemen3 ,the speaker who occupied   
this platform on ,tuesday evening last1 
in the course of his remarks upon the   
wide degeneracy of the ,american ,clergy
 on the ,slavery ,question1 reminded us 
that there was in a ,brooklyn pulpit1 ,a
 ,,man4 ,we thought you would be glad to
 see and hear such a rara avis1 and     
therefore have besought him to come     
hither to-night to instruct us by his   
wisdom and move us by his eloquence4 ,i 
trust that1 whatever you may think of   
some other parts of the lecture of      
,,wendell ,,phillips1 you will1 when    

this evening's performance is over1 be  
ready at least to confess that in what  
he said of the ,brooklyn preacher he was
 not more eulogistic than truthful4     
,,mr4 ,,beecher1 on presenting himself1 
was received with loud and hearty       
applause4 ,he spoke as follows3  ,the   
questions which have provoked discussion
 among us for fifty years past have not 
been questions of fundamental           
principles1 but of the application of   
principles already ascertained4 ,our    
debates have been between one way of    
doing a thing and another way of doing  
it--between living well and living      
better2 and so through1 it has been a   
question between good and better4 ,we   
have discussed policies1 not principles4
 ,in ,europe1 on the other hand1        
life-questions have agitated men4 ,the  
questions of human rights1 of the nature
 and true foundations of ,government1   
are to-day1 in ,europe1 where they were 
with our fathers in #afcj4  ,in this    
respect1 there is a moral dignity1 and  

even grandeur1 in the struggles1        
secretly or openly going on in ,italy1  
,austria1 ,germany1 and ,france1 which  
never can belong to the mere questions  
of mode and manner which occupy         
us--boundary questions1 banks1 tariffs1 
internal improvements1 currency2 all    
very necessary but secondary topics4    
,they touch nothing deeper than the     
pocket4 ,in this respect1 there would be
 a marked contrast between the subjects 
which occupy us1 and the grander        
life-themes that dignify ,european      
thought1 were it not for one            
subject--,slavery4 ,,that is the ,,only 
question1 in our day and in our         
community1 full of vital struggles      
turning upon fundamental principles4    
,if ,slavery were a plantation-question1
 concerning only the master and the     
slave1 disconnected from us1 and        
isolated--then1 though we should regret 
it1 and apply moral forces for its      
ultimate remedy1 yet1 it would be1 7as  
are questions of the same kind in ,india

 or ,south ,america17 remote1           
constituting a single element in that   
globe of darkness of which this world is
 the core1 and which ,christianity is   
yet to shine through and change to      
light4 ,but it is not a                 
plantation-question4 ,it is a national  
question4 ,the disputes implied by the  
violent relations between the owner and 
the chattel may only morally touch      
us4--,but the disputes between the      
masters and the ,government1 and between
 the ,government1 impregnated with      
,slavery1 and the ,northern citizen1    
these touch us sharply1 and if not      
wisely met1 will yet scourge us with    
thorns6 ,indeed1 ,i cannot say that ,i  
believe that ,new ,england and the near 
,north will be affected locally1 and    
immediately by an adverse issue of the  
great national struggle now going on4   
,but the ,north will be an utterly dead 
force in the ,american nation4 ,she will
 be rolled up in a corner1 like a cocoon
 waiting for its transmigration4 ,the   

whole ,north will become provincial2 it 
will be but a fringe to a nation whose  
heart will beat in the ,south4  ,but    
,new-,england was not raised up by      
,divine ,providence to play a mean part 
in the world's affairs4  ,remember1 that
 ,new-,england brought to ,america those
 principles which every ,state in the   
,union has more or less thoroughly      
adopted4  ,new-,england first formed    
those institutions which liberty        
requires for beneficient activity2 and  
from her1 both before and since the     
,revolution1 they have been copied      
throughout the ,land4 ,having given to  
,america its ideas and its institutions1
 ,i think the ,north is bound to stand  
by them4  ,until #ahjj1 the ,north had  
distinctive national influence1 and gave
 shape1 in due measure1 to national     
policy1 as she had before to national   
institutions4  ,then she began to recede
 before the rising of another power4    
,for the last fifty years1 upon the     
national platform have stood arrayed two

 champions in mortal                    
antagonism--,new-,england and the near  
,north--representing personal freedom1  
civil liberty1 universal education1 and 
a religious spirit which always         
sympathises with men more than with     
,governments4  ,the ,new-,england theory
 of ,government has always been in its  
element--first1 independent men2 then   
democratic townships2 next republican   
,states1 and1 in the end1 a ,federated  
,union of ,republican ,states4 ,all her 
economies1 her schools1 her policy1 her 
industry1 her wealth1 her intelligence1 
have been at agreement with her theory  
and policy of ,government4 ,yet1        
,new-,england1 strong at home1 compact1 
educated1 right-minded2 has gradually   
lost influence1 and the whole ,north    
with her4  ,the ,southern ,league of    
,states1 have been held together by the 
cohesive power of ,common ,wrong4 ,their
 industry1 their policy1 their whole    
interior1 vital economy1 have been at   
variance with the apparent principles of

 their own ,state ,governments1 and with
 the ,national ,institutions under which
 they exist4 ,they have stood upon a    
narrow basis1 always shaking under them1
 without general education1 without     
general wealth1 without diversified     
industry4 ,and yet since the year #ahjj1
 they have steadily prevailed against   
,representative ,new-,england and the   
,north4 ,the ,south1 the truest         
representation of ,absolutism under     
republican forms1 is mightier in our    
,national ,councils and ,policy to-day  
than ,new-,england1 the mother and      
representative of true republicanism and
 the whole free ,north4  ,and now it has
 come to pass that1 in the good         
providence of ,god1 another opportunity 
has been presented to the whole ,north  
to reassert her place and her influence1
 and to fill the institutions of our    
country with their original and proper  
blood4 ,i do not desire that she should 
arise and put on her beautiful garments1
 because she is my mother1 and your     

mother2 not because her hills were the  
first which my childhood saw1 that has  
never since beheld any half so dear2 nor
 from any sordid ambition1 that she     
should be great in this world's         
greatness2 nor from any profane wish to 
abstract from the rightful place and    
influence of any ,state1 or any section 
of our whole country4 ,but ,i think that
 ,god sent ,new-,england to these shores
 as his own messenger of mercy to days  
and ages1 that have yet far to come ere 
they are born6 ,she has not yet told    
this ,continent all that is in her      
heart4 ,she has sat down like ,bunyan's 
,pilgrim1 and slept in the bower by the 
way1 and where she slept she has left   
her roll--,god grant that she hath not  
lost it there while she slumbered6  ,by 
all the love that ,i bear to the cause  
of ,god1 and the glory of his ,church1  
by the yearnings which ,i have for the  
welfare of the human kind1 by all the   
prophetic expectations which ,i have of 
the destiny of this land1 ,god's        

,almoner of ,liberty to the ,world1 ,i  
desire to see ,old ,representative      
,new-,england1 and the affiliated       
,north1 rouse up and do their first     
works4  ,is it my excited ear that hears
 an airy phantasm whispering8 or do ,i  
hear a solemn voice crying out1 ,arise8 
,shine8 thy light is come1 and the glory
 of the ,lord is arisen upon thee6  ,i  
am quite aware that the subject of      
,slavery has been regarded1 by many1 as 
sectional2 and the agitation of it in   
the ,north needless1 and injurious to   
our peace and the country's welfare4    
,whatever may have been the evils1 the  
agitation has only come through men1 not
 from them4 ,it is of ,god4 ,it is the  
underheaving of ,providence4 ,mariners  
might as well blame you for the swing   
and toss of their craft when tides troop
 in or march out of your harbor1 as us1 
for heaving to that tide which ,god     
swells under us4 ,tides in the ocean and
 in human affairs are from celestial    
bodies and celestial beings4 ,the       

conflict which is going on springs from 
causes as deep as the foundations of our
 institutions4 ,it will go on to a      
crisis2 its settlement will be an era in
 the world's history1 either of advance 
or of decline4  ,i wish to call your    
patient attention to the real nature of 
this contest4 ,it is1  ,the conflict    
between ,northern theories and ,southern
 theories of man and of ,society4       
,there have been1 from the earliest     
period of the world1 two different1 and 
oppugnant1 doctrines of man--his place1 
rights1 duties and relations4 ,and the  
theory of man is always the starting    
point of all other theories1 systems1   
and ,governments which divide the world4
  ,outside of a ,divine and             
,authoritative ,revelation1 men have had
 but one way of estimating the value of 
man4 ,he was to them simply a creature  
of time1 and to be judged in the        
scientific method1 by his phenomena4    
,the ,greeks and the ,romans had no     
better way4 ,they did not know enough of

 his origin1 his nature1 or his destiny1
 to bring these into account1 in        
estimating man4 ,accordingly they could 
do no better than to study him in his   
developments and rank him by the ,,power
 which he manifested4 ,now if a botanist
 should describe a biennial plant1 whose
 root and stem belong to one season1    
whose blossom and fruit belong to       
another1 as if that were the whole of it
 which the first year produced1 he would
 commit the same mistake which the      
heathen idea of man commits in measuring
 and estimating a being whose true life 
comes hereafter1 by the developments    
which he makes in only this world4      
,from this earthly side of man springs  
the most important practical results4   
,for the doctrine of man1 simply as he  
is in this life1 logically deduces      
,absolutism and ,aristocracy4  ,if the  
power of producing effects is the       
criterion of value1 the few will always 
be the most valuable1 and the mass      
relatively1 subordinate1 and the weak   

and lowest will be left helplessly      
worthless4  ,and the mass of all the    
myriads that do live1 are of no more    
account than working animals2 and there 
is1 no such a theory1 no reason1 a      
priori2 why they should not be          
controlled by superior men1 and made to 
do that for which they seem the best    
fitted--,work and ,drudgery6 ,only long 
experiment could teach a doctrine       
contrary to the logical presumption     
arising from weakness4 ,there could be  
no doctrine of human rights4 ,it would  
be simply a doctrine of human forces4   
,right would be a word as much out of   
place as among birds and beasts4        
,authority would go with productive     
greatness1 as gravity goes with mass in 
matter4 ,the whole chance of ,right1 and
 the whole theory of ,liberty1 springs  
from that part of man that lies beyond  
this life4  ,as a material creature1 man
 ranks among physical forces4 ,rights   
come from his spiritual nature4 ,the    
body is of the earth1 and returns to    

earth1 and is judged by earthly         
measures4 ,the soul is of ,god1 and     
returns to ,god1 and is judged by       
,divine estimates4 ,and this is the     
reason why a free1 unobstructed ,bible  
always works toward human rights4 ,it is
 the only basis on which the poor1 the  
ignorant1 the weak1 the laboring masses 
can entrench against oppression4  ,what1
 then1 is that theory of man which      
,christianity gives forth8  ,it regards 
man not as a perfect thing1 put into    
life to blossom and die1 as a perfect   
flower doth4 ,man is a seed1 and birth  
is planting4 ,he is in life for         
cultivation1 not exhibition2 he is here 
chiefly to be acted on1 not to be       
characteristically an agent4 ,for1      
though man is also an actor1 he is yet  
more a recipient4 ,though he produces   
effects1 he receives a thousand fold    
more than he produces4 ,and he is to be 
estimated by his capacity of receiving1 
not of doing4 ,he has his least value in
 what he can ,,do2 it all lies in what  

he is capable of having done ,,to him4  
,the eye1 the ear1 the tongue1 the nerve
 of touch1 are all simple receivers4    
,the understanding1 the affections1 the 
moral sentiments1 all1 are primarily and
 characteristically1 recipients of      
influence2 and only secondarily agents4 
,now1 how different is the value of ore1
 dead in its silent waiting-places1 from
 the wrought blade1 the all but living  
engine1 and the carved and curious      
utensil6  ,of how little value is a ship
 standing helpless on the stocks--but   
half-built1 and yet building--to one who
 has no knowledge of the ocean1 or of   
what that helpless hulk will become the 
moment she slides into her element1 and 
rises and falls upon the flood with     
joyous greeting6  ,the value of an acorn
 is not what it is1 but what it shall be
 when nature has brooded it1 and brought
 it up1 and a hundred years have sung   
through its branches and left their     
strength there6  ,he1 then1 that judges 
man by what he can do1 judges him in the

 seed4 ,we must see him through some    
lenses--we must prefigure his           
immortality4 ,while1 then1 his          
industrial value in life must depend on 
what he can do1 we have here the        
beginning of a moral value which bears  
no relation to his power1 but to his    
future destiny4  ,this view assumes     
distinctness and intensity1 when we add 
to it the relationship which subsists   
between man and his ,maker4  ,this      
relationship begins in the fact that we 
are created in the divine image2 that we
 are connected with ,god1 therefore1 not
 by ,government alone1 but by nature4   
,this initial truth is made radiant with
 meaning1 by the teaching of            
,christianity that every human being is 
dear to ,god3 a teaching which stands   
upon that platform1 built high above all
 human deeds and histories1 the advent1 
incarnation1 passion1 and death of      
,christ1 as a ,savior of men4  ,the race
 is a brotherhood2 ,god is the ,father1 
,love is the law of this great human    

commonwealth1 and ,love knows no        
servitude4 ,it is that which gilds with 
liberty whatever it touches4  ,one more 
element to human liberty is contributed 
by ,christianity1 in the solemn         
development of man's accountability to  
,god1 by which condition hereafter      
springs from pure character here4       
,however heavy that saying is1 every one
 of us shall give an account of himself 
before ,god--in it is the life of the   
race4  ,you cannot present man as a     
subject of ,divine government1 held     
responsible for results1 compared with  
which the most momentous earthly deeds  
are insignificant1 plied with influences
 accumulating from eternity1 and by     
powers which though they begin on earth 
in the cradle1 gentle as a mother's     
voice singing lullaby1 go on upward1    
taking every thing as they go1 till they
 reach the whole power of ,god2 and     
working out results that outlast time   
and the sun1 and revolve forever in     
flaming circuits of disaster1 or in     

sacred circles of celestial bliss2 you  
cannot present man as the center and    
subject of such an august and eternal   
drama1 without giving him something of  
the grandeur which resides in ,god      
himself1 and in the spheres of          
immortality6  ,who shall trifle with    
such a creature1 full bound upon such an
 errand through life1 and swelling forth
 to such a destiny8 ,clear the place    
where he stands8--give him room and     
help1 but no hinderance1 as he equips   
for eternity6--loosen the bonds of man1 
for ,god girds him6--take off all       
impediments1 for it is his life and     
death and struggle for immortality6     
,that this effect of accountability to  
,god was felt by the inspired writers1  
cannot be doubtful to any who weigh such
 language as this3  ,so then every one  
of us shall give account of himself to  
,god4 ,let us not1 therefore judge one  
another any more1 but judge this rather1
 that no man put a stumbling block1 or  
an occasion to fall in his brother's    

way4  ,by making man important in the   
sight of ,god1 he becomes sacred to his 
fellow4 ,the more grand and far-reaching
 are the divine claims1 the greater is  
our conception of the scope and worth of
 being4 ,human rights become respected  
in the ratio in which human             
responsibility is felt4 ,whatever       
objections men may hold to              
,puritanism--their theory since the days
 of ,st4 ,augustine has constantly      
produced tendencies to liberty and a    
prevalent belief in the natural rights  
of man--and on account of that very     
feature which to many1 has been so      
offensive--its rigorous doctrine of     
human accountability4 ,here1 then1 is   
the idea of man which ,christianity     
gives in contrast with the inferior and 
degrading heathen notions of man4 ,he is
 a being but begun on earth--a seed only
 planted here for its first growth4 ,he 
is connected with ,god1 not as all      
matter is by proceeding from creative   
power1 but by partaking the divine      

nature1 by the declared personal        
affection of ,god1 witnessed and sealed 
by the presence and sufferings of the   
world's ,redeemer4 ,he is a being upon  
whom is rolled the responsibility of    
character and eternal destiny6 ,of such 
a creature it were as foolish to take an
 estimate1 by what he is and what he can
 do in this life1 as it would be to     
estimate by an eagle's egg1 what the old
 eagle is worth1 with wings outspread   
far above the very thunder1 or coming   
down upon its quarry as the thunder     
comes6 ,it is the ,future that gives    
value to the ,present4 ,it is           
,immortality only that reaches down a   
measure wherewith to gauge a man4 ,if a 
heathen measures1 the strong are strong1
 and the weak are weak3 the rich1 the   
favored1 must rule1 and their shadow    
must dwarf all others4 ,if a ,christian 
measures1 he hears a voice saying3      
,there is neither ,jew nor ,greek2 there
 is neither bond nor free2 there is     
neither male nor female2 for ye are all 

one in ,christ ,jesus4 ,whosoever shall 
do the will of my ,father1 which is in  
heaven1 the same is my mother1 and      
sister1 and brother4  ,these are the    
things that give value to man4  ,it is  
not to be said that there is no         
difference between men2 that one is not 
more powerful than another2 that one is 
not richer in genius than another2 that 
one is not more valuable to society than
 another2 that education1 refinement1   
skill1 experience1 give no precedence   
over their negatives4 ,but ,god takes up
 the least of all human creatures1 and1 
declares1 inasmuch as ye have done it   
unto the least of these1 ye have done it
 unto me4 ,in a household1 a babe is    
vastly less than the grown-up children4 
,but who dare touch it1 as if it were as
 worthless as it is weak8  ,so ,god     
pleads his own relationship to the      
meanest human creation1 as his          
protection from wrong2 as the evidence  
of his rights1 as the reason of his     
dignity6 ,there is something of ,god in 

the meanest creature4 ,he is sacred from
 injury6 ,in these truths we find the   
reason why ,christianity always takes   
hold so low down in human life4 ,things 
that have got their root need little    
from the gardener2 but the seeds1 and   
tender sprouts1 and difficult plants1   
require and get nurture4  ,a            
,christianity that takes care of the    
rich1 the strong1 the governing class1  
and neglects the poor1 and ignorant1 and
 the unrefined1 as the antitype of      
,christ4  ,it is in this direction only1
 that the declaration of man's equality 
is true4 ,no heathen nation could say   
that all men are born free and          
equal--for in more earthly respects it  
is false4 ,but it is a truth that stands
 only and firmly in those grand         
relations which man sustains to ,god1 to
 ,eternity1 and to future dignity--all  
are equally subjects of these4 ,man is  
ungrown4 ,all his fruit is green4 ,if he
 must stand by what he is1 how surely   
must he be given over to weakness1 to   

abuse1 to oppressions4 ,the weak are the
 natural prey to the strong1 and        
superiority is a charter for tyranny4   
,but if he be an heir1 waiting for an   
inheritance of ,god1 eternal in the     
heavens1 woe be to him that dare lay a  
finger on him because he is a minor6  ,i
 dwell the longer upon this view because
 it carries the world's heart in it4 ,we
 must deepen our thinkings of man1 and  
bore for the springs of liberty far     
below the drainings of surface strata1  
down deep1 ,artesian1 till we strike    
something that shall be beyond winter or
 summer1 frost or drouth4  ,i do not    
believe that there is a doctrine of     
individual rights nor of civil liberty  
that can stand outside of ,christianity4
 ,they are to be seen revealed in       
nature1 but there is none to interrupt  
them with authority4 ,christ is the     
,world's ,emancipator1 for he hath      
declared that men belong to ,him2 and an
 oppressor thus becomes a felon1 a      
robber1 and a wronger of ,god1 in the   

person of every poor and wretched       
victim6  ,a ,christianity that tells man
 what his origin is--of ,god2 his       
destiny1 to ,god again2 his errand on   
earth1 to grow toward goodness1 and make
 the most of himself--this ,christianity
 is rank rebellion in despotisms1 and   
insurrection on plantations4 ,it cannot 
be preached there4  ,these two radical  
theories of man--man1 a physical        
creature to be judged by effects        
produced in ,time2 or man1 a spiritual  
creature1 to be judged by the           
development to which he is destined1 are
 at the root of all the antagonisms     
between the spirit of northern and      
southern institutions3 northern policy  
and southern policy4 ,in the ,north1 it 
is the public sentiment of the people1  
that all men are born free and equal2   
that every man has an inalienable right 
to life1 liberty and the pursuit of     
happiness1 forfeited only by crime4 ,the
 ,north believe that personal and       
political liberty are not only rights of

 man1 but their necessity1 that man     
cannot thrive nor develop1 with the true
 proportions of manhood1 without        
liberty4 ,it is the northern sentiment  
that a man must be prepared for liberty1
 and that the act of birth is that      
preparation2 that no creature lives     
which is the better for oppression1 and 
who will not be the better for freedom1 
which is the natural air appointed for  
the soul's breathing4 ,the ,north       
disdains every pretense that men are    
injured by sudden liberty4 ,a famished  
man may injure himself by over-feeding2 
but that is an argument not against     
food1 but against famine4 ,it is the    
northern sentiment1 and justly deduced  
from the ,christian theory of man1 that 
society should redeem all its own       
children from ignorance1 should secure  
their growth1 equip them for            
citizenship1 make all the influences of 
society enure to the benefit of the mass
 of men4 ,the southern sentiment is the 
reverse of this4 ,it holds that all men 

are not born free and equal2 that men   
have not an inalienable right to life1  
liberty and the pursuit of happiness2   
and that men are not in their very      
constitution fitted for liberty1 and    
benefited by it4 ,they hold that liberty
 is an attribute of power2 that it is a 
blossom which belongs to races1 and not 
to mankind2 that a part were born to    
rule1 and a part were ordained to serve2
 that liberty is dangerous to the many2 
that servitude1 the most rigorous1 is a 
blessing2 that it accords with the      
creative intent of ,god1 and with his   
revealed institutions2 that a nation    
cannot be homogeneous1 and should not   
aim at it2 that there is a law and scale
 of gradation1 on which the top is      
privilege and authority1 the bottom     
labor and obedience4 ,these are the     
radical theories of the respective      
sections of the land4 ,men often are    
profoundly ignorant of the principles   
which control their policy1 as a ship is
 unconscious of the rudder that steers  

her4 ,many are found1 both ,north and   
,south1 whose conduct over-rules their  
theory1 and who are better or worse than
 their belief4 ,there are southern men  
who are more generous than their theory1
 and there are northern men who are     
grossly untrue to the northern theory1  
which1 with their lips1 they profess4   
,there are southern men with northern   
consciences1 and there are northern men 
with southern consciences4 ,but1 in the 
main1 these respective theories reign   
and regulate public procedure4 ,there is
 not a man so poor in the ,north1 or so 
ignorant1 or souseless1 as not to be    
regarded as a ,man1 by religion1 by     
civil law1 and by public opinion4       
,selfishness and pride1 avarice and     
cunning1 anger or lust1 may prey upon   
the heedlessness or helplessness of     
many4 ,society may be full of evils4    
,but all these things are not sequences 
of northern doctrines1 but violations of
 them4 ,if sharks in great cities       
consume the too credulous emigrant2 if  

usurers1 like moths1 cut the fabric of  
life with invisible teeth2 if landlords 
sack their tenements and pinch the      
tenant--all these results are against   
the spirit of our law1 against public   
feeling1 and they that do such things   
must slink and burrow4 ,they are vermin 
that run in the walls1 and peep from    
hiding-holes1 and we set traps for them 
as we do for rats or weazels4 ,but1 in  
the ,south1 the subordination of man1 to
 man1 in his earnings1 his skill1 his   
time and labor--in his person1 his      
affections1 his very children--is a part
 of the theory of society1 drawn out    
into explicit statutory law1 coincident 
with public opinion1 and executed       
without secrecy4 ,a net spread for those
 guilty of such wrongs against man1     
would catch ,states1 and ,legislatures1 
,citizens1 ,courts1 and ,constitutions4 
,in the ,north the most useless pauper  
that burdens the ,alms-,house--the most 
uncombed foreigner that delves in a     
ditch--the most abject creature that    

begs a morsel from door to door1 is yet 
a man2 and there is1 not in theory only1
 but in the public sentiment1 a         
sacredness of rights1 which no man1     
except by stealth1 can violate with     
impunity4 ,there is no other law for the
 ,governor of ,new-,york or of          
,massachusetts1 than for the beggar in  
your streets4 ,that which protects the  
dwelling and the property of the rich   
man1 belongs just as much to the hovel  
of the beggar4 ,god sends but one sun1  
and it is the same light that kindles   
against the roof of a mansion1 that     
dawns upon the thatch of a hut4 ,the    
same air comes to each1 the same        
showers1 the same seasons1 summer and   
winter4 ,and as is ,nature1 so in the   
,north1 is law1 and the distributive    
benefits of society4 ,they bathe society
 from top to bottom6 ,the rich1 the     
learned1 the refined1 the strong1 may   
know how to make a better use of the    
air1 but they have no more air of       
privilege to breathe1 than the poorest  

wretch4  ,in the ,south1 exactly the    
reverse is true1 not by stealth1 not by 
neglect of a recognized principle1 but  
as the result of men's ideas1 and by    
organized arrangements4 ,touch a        
hireling's wages1 in the ,north1 and the
 ,law stands to defend him and beat you 
down6 ,take the laborer's wages in the  
,south1 and the law stands to defend    
you1 and beat him down4  ,beat a man1 in
 the ,north1 for a private wrong done1  
and the law will strike you4 ,but in the
 ,south1 it is the right of the white1  
unquestioned and unquestionable to beat 
every third person in the community4    
,let the proudest mill-owner break but  
the skin of the poorest operative in    
,lowell or ,lawrence1 and both law and  
public sentiment1 alike1 would grasp and
 punish him6  ,but in the ,south the law
 refuses to look at any degree of       
cruelty in chastisements upon the       
universal laborer1 short of maiming or  
death1 and public sentiment is but      
little better than the law4  ,the       

laborer in the ,north answers to a      
tribunal2 in the ,south1 to a master1   
incensed1 passionate1 vindictive in     
justice executed upon all symptoms of   
resisting manhood6  ,in the ,north1     
nothing is more sacred than a man's     
family and his children4 ,it would not  
be possible for a man to do public      
violence to a family circle without     
vindictive penalty4 ,let him separate a 
mother from her daughters1 let him      
employ a hireling ruffian to carry off  
the boys into the country and parcel    
them out there--let him scatter the     
flock1 and leave the children           
motherless1 and the parents childless1  
and what do you think would become of   
him8  ,in the ,south it is a part of the
 civil rights of men to do these things 
whenever they please4 ,and though public
 sentiment is better than law1 yet as no
 public sentiment on earth is a match   
for legalized lust1 or avarice1 or the  
grip of misfortune1 these things are    
continually done1 and remorselessly4    

,cruelty1 chastity1 virtue1 do not mean 
the same things in the ,south as in the 
,north4 ,a man is not blemished by deeds
 and indulgencies1 upon a plantation1   
among slaves1 which in the ,north1 would
 strike him through with infamy and     
house him in the penitentiary4  ,in the 
,south1 there are many roads leading    
from the top of society to the bottom1  
but not one1 not ,,one from the bottom  
to the top4  ,in the ,north1 if the     
citizen chooses to walk in it1 there is 
a road from every man's door up to the  
,governor's chair or the ,presidential  
seat6  ,it needs no words1 now1 to      
convince you1 that out of such different
 theories of men1 there will exist in   
the ,north and in the ,south1 extremely 
different ideas of ,society1            
,government1 and ,public ,policy4  ,in  
the ,north1 first in order of           
consideration is man1 the individual    
man2 next the family1 made of those of  
common blood1 and by far the strongest1 
as it is the most sacred of all         

institutions4 ,then comes the township1 
which presents the only spectacle of an 
absolute political democracy4 ,for1 here
 only1 do citizens assemble in mass and 
vote1 directly and not by               
representation4 ,next comes ,society at 
large1 or the mass of citizens grouped  
into ,states4 ,and in ,society1 in the  
,north1 there are no classes except such
 as rise out of spontaneous forces4     
,wealth1 experience1 ability set men    
above their fellows4 ,there they stand  
as long as there is a real superiority4 
,but they stand there1 not by legal     
force1 nor to exercise any legal power1 
or to have one single privilege or      
prerogative1 which does not belong just 
as much to every citizen clear down to  
the bottom4 ,all that a class means in  
the ,north is1 that when men have shown 
themselves strong and wise men give them
 honor for it4 ,death levels it all down
 again4 ,their children inherit nothing4
 ,they must earn for themselves4 ,there 
is no division of society into orders1  

by which some have privilege and some   
have not1 some have opportunity and     
advantages which others have not4  ,in  
the ,south1 society is divided into two 
great and prominent classes--the ruling 
and the obeying--the thinking and the   
working4 ,the labor of the ,south is    
performed by three million creatures who
 represent the heathen idea of man4     
,all the benefits that have accrued to  
man from ,christianity1 are appropriated
 and monopolized by the white           
population4  ,here is a seam that no    
sophistry can sew up4 ,here is a society
 organized1 not on an idea of equal     
rights1 and of inequalities only as they
 spring from difference of worth1 but on
 an idea of permanent1 political1       
organized inequality among men4 ,they   
carry it so far that the theory of      
,slave law regards the slave not as an  
inferior man1 governed1 for his own good
 as well as for the benefit of the      
society at large1 but it pronounces him1
 in reiterated forms1 not a man at all1 

but a chattel4  ,when a community of    
,states1 by the most potential voice of 
,law1 says to the whole body of its     
laboring population1 ,ye are not men and
 shall not be2 ye are chattels--it is   
absurd to speak about kind              
treatment--about happiness4 ,it is about
 cattle that they are talking6 ,our vast
 body of laboring men do not yet feel   
the force of such a theory of human     
society4 ,but1 if that political system1
 which has openly been making such      
prodigious strides for the last fifty   
years1 and effecting1 secretly1 a yet   
greater change in men's ideas of society
 and government1 shall gain complete    
ascendancy1 they1 in their turn1 and in 
due time will know and see the          
difference between a ,republican        
,democracy and a ,republican            
,aristocracy8  ,out of such original and
 radical differences1 there must flow a 
perpetual contrast and opposition of    
policies and procedures1 in the         
operation of society and of business4   

,we will select but a few1 of many1     
subjects of contrast1 ,work1 ,education1
 ,freedom of ,speech and of the ,press1 
and ,religion4   ,i4 ,,work4 ,among us1 
and from the beginning1 ,work has been  
honorable4 ,it has been honorable to    
dig1 to hew1 to build1 to reap1 to wield
 the hammer at the forge1 and the saw at
 the bench4 ,it has been honorable      
because our people have been taught that
 each man is set to make the most of    
himself4 ,the crown for every victory   
gained in a struggle of skill or        
industry over matter is placed upon the 
soul2 and thus among a free people      
industry becomes education4  ,it is the 
peculiarity of ,northern labor1 that it 
thinks4 ,it is intelligence working out 
through the hands4 ,there is more real  
thought in a ,yankee's hand than in a   
,southerner's head4 ,this is not true of
 a class1 or of single individuals1 or  
of single ,states4 ,it pervades the air4
 ,it is ,northern public sentiment4 ,it 
springs from our ideas of manhood4      

,these influences1 acting through       
generations1 have been wrought into the 
very blood4 ,it is in the stock4 ,go    
where you will a ,yankee is a working   
creature4 ,he is the honeybee of        
mankind4 ,only ,work is royal among us4 
,it carries the sceptre1 and changes all
 nations by its touch1 opening its      
treasures and disclosing its secrets4   
,but with all this industry1 you shall  
find nowhere on earth so little drudging
 work as in the ,north4 ,it is not the  
servitude of the hands to material      
nature4 ,it is the glorious exercise of 
mind upon nature4 ,they vex nature with 
incessant importunities4 ,they are      
always prying1 and thinking1 and trying4
  ,in ,california1 gold is found in     
quartz formations4 ,but in ,new         
,england1 and the free inventive ,north1
 in the geology of industry1 gold is    
found everywhere--in rye straw and      
bonnets1 in leather and stone1 in wool1 
felts and cloths2 in wood1 in stone1 and
 in very ice4 ,it is wrapped up in the  

beggar's raiment1 which unroll in our   
mills into paper--yesterday1 a beggar's 
feculent rags2 to-day1 a newspaper1     
conveying the world's daily life into   
twenty thousand families4 ,and so great 
are the achievements of labor that      
everybody honors it4 ,it stands among us
 as an invisible dignity4 ,four spirits 
there are that rule in ,new             
,england--religion1 social virtue1      
intelligence1 and work2 and this last   
takes something from them all1 and is   
their physical exponent4 ,so that not   
only is work honored and honorable1 but 
the want of it is an implied discredit4 
,the presumption is always against a man
 who does not labor4  ,in the ,south1   
the very reverse is true1 as a general  
proposition4  ,it is true1 because labor
 is the peculiar badge of ,slavery4 ,it 
does not stand1 as with us1 a symbol of 
intelligence1 but a symbol of stupid    
servitude4 ,it is the business of those 
whom the law puts out of the pale of    
society and accounts chattels1 and who1 

by the opinion of society1 are at the   
bottom1 and under the feet of           
respectable men4 ,to work is1 therefore1
 prima facie evidence of degradation4   
,it is ranking oneself with a slave by  
doing a slave's tasks2 as eating a      
beggar's crust with him would be a      
beggar's fellowship4  ,but this is not  
the whole reason1 nor the chiefest and  
more potent reason of the difference    
between public feeling about ,,work1    
,north and ,south4  ,the ideas of men in
 the ,south do not inspire any such     
tendency4 ,men are judged there not by  
what they are and are to be1 but by what
 they can now do4 ,only such things as  
have an echo in them1 that reverberate  
in the ear of public opinion1 that      
produce an effect of notice1 honor1     
advancement in the ,,opinions of men1   
are relished4 ,in the ,north1 men are   
educated to be something--in the ,south 
to seem something4 ,the ,north tends to 
doing--the ,south to appearing4 ,and    
both tendencies spring from the root of 

opposite theories of men and notions of 
society4  ,and it is this innate1       
hereditary indisposition to work that1  
after all1 is the greatest obstacle to  
emancipation4 ,laziness in the ,south   
and money in the ,north1 are the        
bulwarks of ,slavery6 ,to take away a   
planter's slaves is to cut off his      
hands4 ,there is where he keeps his     
work4 ,there is none of it in himself4  
,and it is this1 too1 which leads to the
 contempt which southern people feel for
 northern men4 ,they are working men1   
and work is flavored to the ,southerner 
with ideas of ignominy1 of meanness1 of 
vulgar lowness4 ,neither can they       
understand how a man who works all his  
life long can be high-minded and        
generous1 intelligent and refined4  ,not
 only is there this contrast in dignity 
of work1 but even more--in rights of    
industry4 ,work1 in the ,north1 has     
responsibilities that are prodigious    
educators4 ,we ordain that a man shall  
have the fullest chance1 and then he    

shall have the results of his activity4 
,he shall take all he can make1 or he   
shall take the whole result of          
indolence4 ,it is a double education4   
,it inspires labor by hope of fruition1 
and intensifies it by the fear of       
non-fruition4 ,the ,south have their    
whole body of laborers at work without  
either responsibility4 ,they cut it off 
at both ends4 ,they virtually say to the
 slave1 in reality1 ,be lazy1 for all   
that you earn shall do you no good2 be  
lazy1 for when you are old and helpless 
we are bound to take care of you4  ,it  
is this apparent care for the           
helplessness of slaves1 that has won the
 favor of many northern men1 and of some
 who ought to have known better the     
effect of taking off from men the       
responsibility of labor1 in both ways1  
its fruition and its penalty4 ,once     
declare in ,new ,york that ,government  
would take care of poverty and old age1 
so as to make it honorable1 and it would
 be a premium upon improvidence4 ,with  

us1 it is expected that every man will  
work1 will earn1 will lay up1 will      
deliver his family from public charity4 
,there is1 to be sure1 an ,alms ,house  
to catch all who1 by misfortune or      
improvidence1 fall through4 ,but such is
 the public opinion in favor of personal
 independence springing from industry1  
that a native-born ,american citizen had
 rather die than go to an ,alms-,house4 
,foreigners are our staple paupers4 ,our
 charity feeds the poor wretches whom   
foreign slavery has crippled and cast   
upon us4 ,but the whole ,south is a vast
 work-house for the slave while young1  
and a vast alms-house for him when old1 
and neither young or old1 is he         
permitted to feel the responsibility for
 labor4 ,and this1 too1 explains the    
apparent advantage which the ,south has 
over the ,north in the matter of        
pauperism and distress4 ,the northern   
system intends to punish those who will 
not work4 ,it it not a system calculated
 for slaves nor for lazy men4 ,if       

indolence comes under it1 it will take  
the penalty of not working4 ,and nowhere
 else in the world is the penalty of    
indolence1 and even of shiftlessness1 so
 terrible as in the ,north1 as nowhere  
else is the remuneration of a virtuous  
industry so ample and so widely         
diffused4   ,,ii4 ,there is just as     
marked a contrast upon the subject of   
education1 and especially of ,common    
,schools4 ,in the ,north we have        
,,common ,schools4 ,this is more than a 
,school4 ,it is more than a public      
school4 ,it is a ,common ,school1 in    
distinction from a select1 or class     
school4 ,it is a public provision for   
bringing together1 upon a perfect       
equality1 the children of the rich and  
the poor1 the noble and ignoble1 the    
high and the low4 ,it is a provision of 
our institutions1 by which every        
generation is led to a line and made to 
start equal and together4 ,there will be
 inequality enough as soon as men get   
into life4 ,some shoot ahead2 some1 like

 dull sailors in a fleet1 are dropped   
behind1 and men are scattered all along 
the ocean4 ,but the ,common ,school     
gathers up their children and brings    
them all back again to take a new start 
together4 ,thus our schools are not mere
 whetstones to the intellect2 they are  
institutions for evening up society2    
they resist the tendency to separation  
into classes1 which grows with the      
prosperity of a community2 they bind    
together1 in cordial sympathy1 all      
classes of citizens4 ,for nothing is    
more tenacious than schoolday           
remembrances1 and the last things that  
we forget are playmates and schoolmates4
  ,the ,south may have schools4 ,but    
never ,common ,schools4 ,the ,south has 
no common people4 ,there can be ,states1
 there1 but never ,commonwealths4 ,there
 is no common ground1 where the theory  
of society grades men upon a            
perpendicular scale4 ,it is a society of
 classes1 and a society of classes can  
never be a community4 ,when the whole   

labor of a ,state is performed by a     
degraded class1 that are not included in
 the ,state as citizens or social       
beings1 it is impossible but that the   
class next above them should feel the   
force of those theories and ideas which 
have produced such a state of things4   
,it is so4 ,the poor white population of
 the ,south is degraded4 ,they are      
ignorant--they are not fertile in       
thought or labor4 ,they are not so low  
as the slaves1 nor so high as those who 
own slaves4 ,there are three            
classes--the top1 the middle1 and the   
bottom2 and two of these1 the top and   
bottom1 being fixed and legal1 the      
middle is modified by them both4  ,in   
such a ,society1 there cannot be a      
,common ,school1 in any such sense as we
 mean it4 ,indeed1 there cannot be      
general education in any ,state where   
ignorance is the legal condition of     
one-half the population1 as is the case 
in many ,southern ,states4 ,ignorance is
 an institution in the ,south4 ,it is a 

political necessity4 ,it is as much     
provided for by legislation and by      
public sentiment1 and guarded by        
enactments1 as intelligence is in the   
,north4 ,it must be4 ,the restrictions  
which keep it from the slave will keep  
it from the whites1 excepting1 always1  
the few who live at the top4 ,there     
cannot be an atmosphere of intelligence4
 ,slaves would be in danger of breathing
 that4 ,there cannot be a common public 
sentiment1 a common school1 nor common  
education4 ,knowledge is power1 not     
only1 but powder1 putting the ,south in 
the risk of being blown up1 by careless 
handling and too great abundance4       
,,iii4 ,closely connected with this1 and
 springing from the same causes1 is a   
contrast between the ,north and the     
,south1 in respect to free speech and   
open discussion by lip and by type4     
,the theory of the ,north is1 that every
 man has the right1 on every subject1 to
 the freest expression of his opinions1 
and the fullest right to urge them upon 

the convictions of others4 ,it is not a 
permission of law2 it is the inherent   
right of the individual4 ,law is only to
 protect the citizen in the use of that 
right4  ,it is the theory of the ,north 
that society is as much a gainer by this
 freedom of discussion as is the        
individual4  ,it is a perpetual         
education of the people1 and a safeguard
 to the ,state4 ,there is the utmost    
latitude of speech and discussion among 
our citizens4 ,the attempt to abridge it
 would be so infatuated that the most   
dignified ,court that ever sat in       
,boston would become an object of       
universal merriment and ridicule1 that  
should presume to arrest and cause to be
 indicted any man for free speaking in  
old ,faneuil ,hall4 ,merriment1 ,i say1 
for who would not laugh at a philosopher
 who would set snares for the stars1 and
 fix his net to catch the sun1 and      
regulate their indiscreet shining4      
,darkness and silence are excellent for 
knaves and tyrants2 but the attempt to  

command the one or the other in the     
,north1 changes the knave to an imbecile
 and the tyrant to a fool4  ,but should 
any power1 against the precedents of the
 past1 the spirit of our people1 the    
theory of our civil polity and the      
rights of individual man succeed1 and   
make headway against free speech1 and   
put it in jeopardy1 it would convulse   
the very frame-work of society4 ,there  
would be no time for a revolution--there
 would be an eruption1 and fragmentary  
,judges1 ,courts and their minions would
 fly upward athwart the sky1 like stones
 and balls of flame driven from the     
vomiting crater of a furious volcano6   
,no4 ,this is a right like the right of 
breathing4 ,this is a liberty that      
broods upon us like the atmosphere4 ,the
 grand ,american doctrine that men may  
speak what they think1 and may print    
what they speak--that all public        
measures shall have free public         
discussion--cannot be shaken2 and any   
party must be intensely ,american that  

can afford to destroy the very          
foundation of ,american principle that  
public questions shall be publicly      
discussed1 and public procedure be      
publicly agreed upon4 ,right always     
gains in the light1 and ,wrong in the   
dark4 ,an owl can whip an eagle in the  
night6  ,the ,south1 holding a heathen  
theory of man--an aristocratic theory of
 society1--is bound to hold1 and does   
hold1 a radically opposite practice in  
respect to rights of speech and freedom 
of the press4  ,there is not freedom of 
opinion in the ,south and there cannot  
be4  ,men may there talk of a thousand  
things--of all religious doctrines1 of  
literature1 of art1 of public political 
measures--but no man has liberty to talk
 as he pleases about the structure of   
southern society1 and apply to the real 
facts of southern life and southern     
internal questions that searching       
investigation and public exposure which1
 in the ,north1 brings every possible   
question to the bar of public opinion1  

and makes society boil like a pot6      
,yes1 you may speak of ,slavery1 if you 
will defend it2 you may preach about it1
 if you shingle its roof with ,scripture
 texts2 but you may not talk1 nor       
preach1 nor print abolition doctrines1  
though you believe them with the        
intensity of inspiration6  ,the reason  
given is1 that it will stir up          
insurrection4 ,and so it will4 ,it is   
said that free speech is inflammatory4  
,so it is4 ,that it would bring every   
man's life in the ,south into jeopardy2 
that1 in self-defence1 they most limit  
and regulate the expression of opinion4 
,but what is that theory of ,government1
 and what is the state of society under 
it1 in which free speech and free       
discussion are dangerous8 ,it is the    
boast of the ,north1 not alone that     
speech and discussion are free1 but that
 we have a society constructed in every 
part so rarely1 wisely1 and justly1 that
 they can endure free speech2 no file   
can part1 but only polish4 ,we turn out 

any law1 and say1 ,discuss it6 that it  
may be the stronger6 ,we challenge      
scrutiny for our industry1 for our      
commerce1 for our social customs1 for   
our municipal affairs1 for our ,state   
questions1 for all that we believe1 and 
all that we do1 and everything that we  
build4 ,we are not in haste to be born  
in respect to any feature of life4 ,we  
say--probe it1 question it1 put fire to 
it4 ,we ask the experience of the past  
to sit and try it4 ,we ask the ripest   
wisdom of the present to test and       
analyze it4 ,we ask enemies to plead all
 they know against it4 ,we challenge the
 whole world of ideas1 and the great    
deep of human interests to come up upon 
anything that belongs1 or is to belong1 
to public affairs4 ,and then1 when a    
truth1 a policy1 or a procedure comes to
 birth1 from out of the womb of such    
discussion1 we know that it will stand4 
,and when our whole public interests are
 rounded out and built up1 we are glad  
to see men going around and about1      

marking well our towers1 and counting   
our bulwarks4 ,may it do them good to   
see such architecture and engineering6  
,and it is just this difference that    
distinguishes the ,north and the ,south4
 ,we have institutions that will stand  
public and private discussion--they have
 not4 ,we will not have a law1 or       
custom1 or economy1 which cannot be     
defended against the freest inquiry4    
,such a rule would cut them level as a  
mowed meadow6 ,they live in a crater1   
forever dreading the signs of activity4 
,they live in a powder magazine4 ,no    
wonder they fear light and fire4 ,it is 
the plea of ,wrong since the world      
began4 ,discussion would unseat the     
,czar2 a free press would dethrone the  
ignoble ,napoleon2 free speech would    
revolutionize ,rome4 ,freedom of thought
 and freedom of expression6 they are    
mighty champions1 that go with          
unsheathed swords the world over1 to    
redress the weak1 to right the wronged1 
to pull down evil and build up good4    

,and a ,state that will be damaged by   
free speech ought to be damaged4 ,a     
,king that cannot keep his seat before  
free speech ought to be unseated4 ,an   
order or an institution that dreads     
freedom of the press has reason to dread
 it4 ,if the ,south would be            
revolutionized by free discussion1 how  
intensely does that fact show her dying 
need of revolution6 ,she is a dungeon1  
full of damps and death-air4 ,she needs 
light and ventilation4 ,and the only    
objection is1 that if there were light  
and air let in1 it would no longer be a 
dungeon4   ,,iv4 ,there is a noticeable 
contrast between ,northern and ,southern
 ideas of ,religion4  ,we believe ,god's
 revealed word to contain the influence 
appointed for the regeneration and full 
development of every human being1 and   
that it is to be employed as ,god's     
universal stimulant to the human soul1  
as air and light are the universal      
stimulants of vegetation4  ,we preach it
 to arouse the whole soul2 we preach it 

to fire the intellect1 and give it wings
 by which to compass knowledge2 we      
preach it to touch every feeling with   
refinement1 to soften rudeness and      
enrich affections2 we build the family  
with it2 we sanctify love1 and purge out
 lust2 we polish every relation of life2
 we inspire a cheerful industry and whet
 the edge of enterprise1 and then limit 
them by the bonds of justice and by the 
moderation of a faith which looks into  
the future and the eternal4 ,we teach   
each man that he is a child of ,god2    
that he is personally one for whom the  
,savior died2 we teach him that he is   
known and spoken of in heaven1 his name 
called2 that angels are sent out upon   
his path to guard and to educate him2 we
 swell within him to the uttermost every
 aspiration1 catching the first flame of
 youth and feeding it1 until the whole  
heart glows like an altar1 and the soul 
is a temple bright within1 and sweet1 by
 the incense-smoke and aspiring flame of
 perpetual offerings and divine         

sacrifices4 ,we have never done with    
him4 ,we lead him from the cradle to    
boyhood2 we take him then into manhood1 
and guide him through all its passes2 we
 console him in age1 and then stand1 as 
he dies1 to prophesy the coming heaven1 
until the fading eye flashes again1 and 
the unhearing ear is full again2 for    
from the other side ministers of grace  
are coming1 and he beholds them1 and    
sounds on earth and sights are not so   
much lost as swallowed up in the glory  
and the melody of the heavenly joy6     
,now tell me whether there is any       
preaching of the ,gospel to the slave1  
or whether there can be1 and he yet     
remain a slave8 ,we preach the ,gospel  
to arouse men1 they to subdue them2 we  
to awaken1 they to soothe2 we to inspire
 self-reliance1 they submission2 we to  
drive them forward in growth1 they to   
repress and prune down growth2 we to    
convert them into men1 they to make them
 content to be beasts of burden6  ,is   
this all that the ,gospel has8 ,when    

credulous ministers assure us that      
slaves have the means of grace1 do they 
mean that they have such teaching as we 
have8 ,or that there is any such ideal  
in preaching8 ,the power of religion    
with us is employed to set men on their 
feet2 to make them fertile1             
self-sustaining1 noble1 virtuous1       
strong1 and to build up society of men1 
each one of whom is large1 strong1      
capacious of room1 and filled with      
versatile powers4  ,religion with them  
does no such thing4 ,it doth the        
reverse4  ,with them it is ,herod       
casting men into prison4 ,with us it is 
the angel1 appearing to lead them out of
 prison and set them free6 ,in short    
religion with us is emancipation and    
liberty2 with them it is bondage and    
contentment4  ,it is very plain that    
while nominally republican institutions 
exist in both the ,north and ,south1    
they are animated by a very different   
spirit1 and used for a different        
purpose4 ,in the ,north1 they aim at the

 welfare of the whole people2 in the    
,south they are the instruments by which
 a few control the many4 ,in the ,north1
 they tend toward ,democracy2 in the    
,south1 toward ,oligarchy4  ,it is      
equally plain that while there may be a 
union between ,northern and ,southern   
,states1 it is external1 or commercial1 
and not internal and vital1 springing   
from common ideas1 common ends1 and     
common sympathies4 ,it is a union of    
merchants and politicians and not of the
 people4  ,had these opposite and       
discordant systems been left separate to
 work out each its own results1 there   
would have been but little danger of    
collision or contest4  ,but they are    
politically united4 ,they come together 
into one ,congress4 ,there these        
antagonistic principles1 which creep    
with subtle influence through the very  
veins of their respective ,states1 break
 out into open collision upon every     
question of national policy4 ,and1 since
 the world began1 a republican spirit is

 unfit to secure power4 ,it degenerates 
it in the many4 ,but an aristocratic    
spirit always has aptitude and impulse  
toward power4 ,it seeks and grasps it as
 naturally as a hungry lion prowls and  
grasps its prey4  ,for fifty years the  
imperious spirit of the ,south has      
sought and gained power4 ,it would have 
been of but little consequence were that
 power still republican4 ,the seat of   
empire may be indifferently on the      
,massachusetts ,bay or the ,ohio1 on the
 ,lakes or on the ,gulf2 if it be the   
same empire1 acting in good faith for   
the same democratic ends4  ,but in the  
,south the growth of power has been     
accompanied by a marked revolution in   
political faith1 until now the theory of
 ,mr4 ,calhoun1 once scouted1 is        
becoming the popular belief4 ,and that  
theory differs in nothing from outright 
,european ,aristocracy1 save in the     
forms and instruments by which it works4
  ,the struggle1 then1 between the      
,north and the ,south is not one of     

sections1 and of parties1 but of        
,principles--of principles lying at the 
foundations of governments--of          
principles that cannot coalesce1 nor    
compromise2 that must hate each other1  
and contend1 until the one shall drive  
out the other4  ,oh6 how little do men  
dream of the things that are transpiring
 about them6 ,in ,luther's days1 how    
little they knew the magnitude of the   
results pending that controversy of     
fractious monk and haughty pope6 ,how   
little did the frivolous courtier know  
the vastness of that struggle in which  
,hampden1 ,milton and ,cromwell acted6  
,we are in just such another era4 ,dates
 will begin from the period in which we 
live6  ,do not think that all the danger
 lies in that bolted cloud which flashes
 in the ,southern horizon4 ,there is    
decay1 and change1 here in the ,north4  
,old ,new-,england1 that suckled        
,american liberty1 is now suckling      
wolves to devour it4  ,what shall we    
think when a ,president of old          

,dartmouth ,college goes over to        
,slavery1 and publishes to the world his
 religious conviction of the            
rightfulness of it1 as a part of ,god's 
disciplinary government of the          
world--wholesome to man1 as a punishment
 of sins which he never committed1 and  
to liquidate the long arrearages of     
,ham's everlasting debt6 and avowing    
that1 under favorable circumstances1 he 
would buy and own slaves6 ,a ,southern  
volcano in ,new-,hampshire1 pouring     
forth the lava of despotism in that     
incorrupt1 and noble old fortress of    
liberty6 ,what a ,college to educate our
 future legislators6  ,what are we to   
think1 when old ,massachusetts1 the     
mother of the ,revolution1 every league 
of whose soil swells with the tomb of   
some heroic patriot1 shall make         
pilgrimages through the ,south1 and1    
after surveying the lot of slaves under 
a system that turns them out of manhood1
 pronounces them chattles1 denies them  
marriage1 makes their education a penal 

and penitentiary offence1 makes no      
provision for their religious culture1  
leaving it to the stealth of good men1  
or the interest of those who regard     
religion as a currycomb1 useful in      
making sleek and nimble beasts--a system
 which strikes through the fundamental  
instincts of humanity1 and wounds nature
 in the core of the human heart1 by     
taking from parents all right in their  
children1 and leaving the family1 like a
 bale of goods1 to be unpacked1 and     
parceled out and sold in pieces1 without
 any other protection than the general  
good nature of easy citizens2 what shall
 be thought of the condition of the     
public mind in ,boston1 when one of her 
most revered1 and personally1 deservedly
 beloved pastors1 has come up so        
profoundly ignorant of what we thought  
every child knew1 that he comes home    
from this pilgrimage1 to teach old      
,new-,england to check her repugnance to
 ,slavery1 to dry up her tears of       
sympathy1 and to take comfort in the    

assurance that ,slavery1 on the whole1  
is as good or better for three millions 
of laboring men as liberty4 ,he has     
instituted a formal comparison between  
the state of society and the condition  
of a laboring population in a slave     
system and those in a free ,state1 and  
left the impression on every page that  
,liberty works no better results than   
servitude1 and that it has mischiefs and
 inconveniences which ,slavery          
altogether avoids4  ,read that book in  
,faneuil ,hall1 and a thousand aroused  
and indignant ghosts would come flocking
 there1 as if they heard the old        
roll-call of ,bunker ,hill4 ,yea1 read  
those doctrines on ,bunker ,hill--and   
would it flame or quake8 ,no4 ,it would 
stand in silent majesty1 pointing its   
granite finger up to ,heaven and to     
,god--an everlasting witness against all
 ,slavery1 and all its abettors or      
defenders4  ,at this moment1 the former 
parties that have stood in counterpoise 
have fallen to pieces4 ,and we are on   

the eve1 and in the very act1 of        
reconstructing our parties4 ,one        
movement there is that calls itself     
,american4 ,oh1 that it were or or would
 be6 ,never was an opening so auspicious
 for a true ,american party that1       
embracing the principles of ,american   
institutions1 should enter our ,temple  
of ,liberty and drive out thence not    
merely the interloping ,gentiles1 but   
the money-changers1 and those1 also1 who
 sell oxen1 and cattle and slaves       
therein4  ,it is not the question       
whether a ,northern party should be a   
party of philanthropy1 or of            
propagandism1 or of abolition4 ,it is   
simply a question whether1 for fear of  
these things1 they will ignore and rub  
out of their creed every principle of   
human rights6  ,i am not afraid of      
foreigners among us4 ,nevertheless1 our 
politicians have so abused us through   
them1 that ,i am glad that a movement is
 on foot to regulate the conduct of     
new-comers among us1 and oblige them to 

pass through a longer probation before  
they become citizens4 ,in so far as ,i  
understand the practical measures       
proposed and set forth in the ,message  
of the ,governor of ,massachusetts1 ,i  
approve them4  ,but ,i ask you1         
fellow-citizens1 whether the simple     
accident of birth is a basis broad      
enough for a permanent ,national party8 
,is it a principle1 even8 ,it is a mere 
fact4  ,ought we not to look a little at
 what a man is after he is born1 as well
 as at the place where8 ,especially1    
when we remember that ,arnold was born  
in ,connecticut and ,la ,fayette in     
,france4  ,if then1 a party is          
,american1 ought it not to be because it
 represents those principles which are  
fundamental to ,american ,institutions  
and to ,american policy8 principles     
which stand in contrast with ,european  
,institutions and policy6  ,which of    
these two theories is the ,american8    
,the ,north has one theory1 the ,south  
another2 which of them is to be called  

the ,american idea8 ,which is           
,american--,northern ideas or ,southern 
ideas8 ,that which declares all men free
 c41 or that which declares the superior
 races free1 and the inferior1 ,slaves8 
,that which declares the right of every 
man to life1 liberty1 and the pursuit of
 happiness--or that which declares the  
right of strength and intelligence to   
subordinate weakness and ignorance8     
,that which ordains popular education1  
freedom of speech1 freedom of the press1
 public discussion--or that which makes 
these a prerogative1 yielded to a class 
but denied to masses8  ,that which      
organizes ,society as a ,democracy and  
,government1 and ,republic--or that     
which organizes ,society as an          
,aristocracy1 and ,government as an     
,oligarchy8  ,which shall it be--that of
 organized ,new ,england townships1     
schools1 and churches--that resisted    
taxation without representation--that   
covered ,boston harbor with tea1 as if  
all ,china had shook down her leaves    

there--which spake from ,faneuil ,hall1 
and echoed from ,bunker ,hill2 or that  
policy which landed slaves on the       
,chesapeake--that has changed ,old      
,virginia from a land of heroes into a  
breeding-ground of slaves--that has     
broken down boundaries1 and carried war 
over our lines1 not for liberty1 but for
 more territory for slaves to work1 that
 the owners might multiply1 and the     
,aristocracy of ,america stand on the   
shores of two oceans1 an unbroken bound 
all between8  ,if a ,national ,american 
party is ever formed1 by leaving out the
 whole question of ,human ,rights1 it   
will be what a man would be--his soul   
left out6  ,an ,american ,national      
party--,liberty left out6  ,an ,american
 party--,human ,rights left out6        
,gentlemen1 such a party will stink with
 dissolution before you can get it      
finished4 ,no ,masonry can make it      
solid--no art can secure it4 ,no anchor 
that was ever forged in infernal stythy 
can go deep enough into political mud to

 hold it6  ,if you rear up an empty     
name2 if you take that revered name     
,american1 all the world over radiant   
and revered1 as the symbol of human     
rights and human happiness--if you      
sequester and stuff that name with the  
effete doctrines of despotism1 do you   
believe you can supplicate from any gods
 the boon of immortality for such an    
unbaptized monster8 ,no4 ,it may live to
 ravage our heritage for a few days1 but
 there is a spirit of liberty that lives
 among us1 and that shall live4 ,and    
aroused by that spirit1 there shall     
spring up the yet unaroused hosts of men
 that have not bowed the knee to        
,baal--and we will war it to the knife1 
and knife to the hilt4  ,for1 ,,it      
,,shall be2 ,america shall be free6  ,we
 will take that for our life's          
enterprise4 ,dying1 we will leave it a  
legacy to our children1 and they shall  
will it to theirs1 until the work is    
done1 our fathers' prayers are answered1
 and this whole land stands clothed and 

in its right mind--a symbol of what the 
earthly fruits of the ,gospel are6  ,if 
a ,national party is now to be formed1  
what shall it be1 and what shall its    
office be8  ,it shall be a peacemaker1  
say sly politicians4 ,yes1 peace by war4
 ,but an ,american party1 seeking peace 
with the imperious ,aristocracy by      
yielding everything down to the         
root--one would think no party need be  
formed to do that4 ,judas did as much   
without company4 ,arnold did that       
without companions4  ,an ,american      
,national party must either be a piebald
 and patched-up party1 carrying in its  
entrails the mortal poison of two       
belligerent schemes1 former legendary   
disputes1 and agitation1 and furious    
conflict2 or1 to be a real national     
party1 it must first be a ,northern     
party and become national4 ,we must walk
 again over the course of history4 ,here
 in the ,north ,liberty began4 ,its     
roots are with us yet4 ,all its         
associations and all its potent         

institutions are with us4 ,having once  
given forth this spirit of liberty1 now 
fading out of our ,southern ,states1 the
 ,north should again come forth and     
refill the poisoned veins that have been
 drinking the hemlock of ,despotism with
 the new blood of ,liberty6 ,let us give
 sap to the tree of ,liberty1 that it   
may not wither and die6  ,when ,hercules
 was born1 but yet a child1 the jealous 
,juno sent two serpents to his cradle to
 destroy him4 ,hercules or the serpents 
must die4 ,both could not lie in the    
same bed4 ,he seized them and suffocated
 them by his grip1 while his poor       
brother1 ,iphiclus1 filled the house    
with his shrieks4 ,an infernal ,juno1   
envious of the destined greatness of    
this country1 hath sent this serpent    
upon it6 ,what shall we do8 ,shall we   
imitate ,hercules or ,iphiclus8 ,shall  
we choke it2 or shall we form a timid   
,national party and shriek8  ,gentlemen1
 you will never have rest from this     
subject until there is a victory of     

principles4 ,northern ideas must become 
,american1 or ,southern ideas must      
become ,american1 before there will be  
peace4 ,if the ,north gives to the      
,nation her radical principles of human 
rights and democratic ,governments1     
there will be the peace of an           
immeasurable prosperity4 ,if the ,south 
shall give to the country a policy      
derived from her heathen notions of men1
 there will be such a peace as men have 
overdrugged with opium1 that deep       
lethargy just before the mortal         
convulsions and death6 ,all attempts at 
evasion1 at adjourning1 at concealing   
and compromising are in vain4 ,the      
reason of our long agitation is1 not    
that restless ,abolitionists are abroad1
 that ministers will meddle with        
improper themes1 that parties are       
disregardful of the country's interest4 
,these are symptoms only1 not the       
disease2 the effects1 not the causes4   
,two great powers that will not live    
together are in our midst1 and tugging  

at each other's throats4 ,they will     
search each other out1 though you       
separate them a hundred times4 ,and if  
by an insane blindness you shall        
contrive to put off the issue1 and send 
this unsettled dispute down to your     
children1 it will go down1 gathering    
volume and strength at every step1 to   
waste and desolate their heritage4 ,let 
it be settled now4 ,clear the place4    
,bring in the champions4 ,let them put  
their lances in rest for the charge4    
,sound the trumpet1 and ,god save the   
right6         99       99       99     
99       99  ,the latter portion of the 
lecture was frequently interrupted by   
boisterous applause4         99       99
       99       99       99  ,after ,mr4
 ,beecher had taken his seat1 there were
 loud calls for ,mr4 ,,giddings1        
whereupon that gentleman came forward   
and said that he had not come to make a 
speech1 but1 like a good ,methodist     
brother1 he would add his exhortation to
 the excellent sermon of his clerical   

friend4 ,in conclusion1 ,mr4 ,giddings  
besought all to enter heartily into the 
contest for ,freedom--to trust in ,god  
and keep their powder dry6 ,loud        
applause4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,transcriber's ,notes3     
,every effort has been made to replicate
 this text as faithfully as possible1   
including obsolete and variant spellings
 and other inconsistencies4  ,the       
transcriber noted the following issues  
and made changes as indicated to the    
text to correct obvious errors3     #a4 
p4  #d1 lees changed to less    #b4 p4  
#d1 themother changed to the mother     
#c4 p4  #e1 ,revleation changed to      
,revelation    #d4 p4  #e1 oppugnent    
changed to oppugnant    #e4 p4  #e1     
prodncing changed to producing    #f4 p4
  #e1 weekness changed to weakness      
#g4 p4  #f1 ,cristianity changed to     
,christianity    #h4 p4  #f1 ,chris'1   
changed to ,christ1    #i4 p4  #f1 unto 
the least changed to unto the least     
#aj4 p4  #g1 sprours changed to sprouts 

#aa4 p4  #g1 ,cristianity changed to    
,christianity   #ab4 p4  #g1 southren   
changed to southern   #ac4 p4  #g1 aud  
changed to and   #ad4 p4  #g1 fouud     
changed to found   #ae4 p4  #h1 breath  
changed to breathe   #af4 p4  #h1 choses
 changed to chooses   #ag4 p4  #h1      
,govenor's changed to ,governor's   #ah4
 p4  #i1 agaih changed to again   #ai4  
p4 #aj1 achievments changed to          
achievements   #bj4 p4 #aj1 feculant    
changed to feculent   #ba4 p4 #aj1 inate
 changed to innate   #bb4 p4 #ac1       
grapsits changed to graps its   #bc4 p4 
#ad1 llke changed to like   #bd4 p4 #ae1
 ,junot changed to ,juno  ,end of       
,transcriber's ,notes