,,the ,,contest ,,in ,,america  ,by     
,john ,stuart ,mill   ,reprinted ,from  
,fraser's ,magazine    ,redactor's note3
  ,italics are indicated by underscores 
surrounding the italicized text4        
,,the ,,contest ,,in ,,america    ,the  
cloud which for the space of a month    
hung gloomily over the civilized world1 
black with far worse evils than those of
 simple war1 has passed from over our   
heads without bursting4 ,the fear has   
not been realized1 that the only two    
first-rate ,powers who are also free    
nations would take to tearing each other
 in pieces1 both the one and the other  
in a bad and odious cause4 ,for while1  
on the ,american side1 the war would    
have been one of reckless persistency in
 wrong1 on ours it would have been a war
 in alliance with1 and1 to practical    
purposes1 in defence and propagation of1
 slavery4 ,we had1 indeed1 been wronged4
 ,we had suffered an indignity1 and     
something more than an indignity1 which1
 not to have resented1 would have been  

to invite a constant succession of      
insults and injuries from the same and  
from every other quarter4 ,we could have
 acted no otherwise than we have done3  
yet it is impossible to think1 without  
something like a shudder1 from what we  
have escaped4 ,we1 the emancipators of  
the slave--who have wearied every ,court
 and ,government in ,europe and ,america
 with our protests and remonstrances1   
until we goaded them into at least      
ostensibly coperating with us to prevent
 the enslaving of the negro--we1 who for
 the last half century have spent annual
 sums1 equal to the revenue of a small  
kingdom1 in blockading the ,african     
coast1 for a cause in which we not only 
had no interest1 but which was contrary 
to our pecuniary interest1 and which    
many believed would ruin1 as many among 
us still1 though erroneously1 believe   
that it has ruined1 our colonies1--we   
should have lent a hand to setting up1  
in one of the most commanding positions 
of the world1 a powerful republic1      

devoted not only to slavery1 but to     
pro-slavery propagandism--should have   
helped to give a place in the community 
of nations to a conspiracy of           
slave-owners1 who have broken their     
connection with the ,american           
,federation on the sole ground1         
ostentatiously proclaimed1 that they    
thought an attempt would be made to     
restrain1 not slavery itself1 but their 
purpose of spreading slavery wherever   
migration or force could carry it4  ,a  
nation which has made the professions   
that ,england has1 does not with        
impunity1 under however great           
provocation1 betake itself to           
frustrating the objects for which it has
 been calling on the rest of the world  
to make sacrifices of what they think   
their interest4 ,at present all the     
nations of ,europe have sympathized with
 us2 have acknowledged that we were     
injured1 and declared with rare         
unanimity1 that we had no choice but to 
resist1 if necessary1 by arms4 ,but the 

consequences of such a war would soon   
have buried its causes in oblivion4     
,when the new ,confederate ,states1 made
 an independent ,power by ,english help1
 had begun their crusade to carry negro 
slavery from the ,potomac to ,cape      
,horn2 who would then have remembered   
that ,england raised up this scourge to 
humanity not for the evil's sake1 but   
because somebody had offered an insult  
to her flag8 ,or even if unforgotten1   
who would then have felt that such a    
grievance was a sufficient palliation of
 the crime8 ,every reader of a          
newspaper1 to the farthest ends of the  
earth1 would have believed and          
remembered one thing only--that at the  
critical juncture which was to decide   
whether slavery should blaze up afresh  
with increased vigor or be trodden out  
at the moment of conflict between the   
good and the evil spirit--at the dawn of
 a hope that the demon might now at last
 be chained and flung into the pit1     
,england stepped in1 and1 for the sake  

of cotton1 made ,satan victorious4  ,the
 world has been saved from this         
calamity1 and ,england from this        
disgrace4 ,the accusation would indeed  
have been a calumny4 ,but to be able to 
defy calumny1 a nation1 like an         
individual1 must stand very clear of    
just reproach in its previous conduct4  
,unfortunately1 we ourselves have given 
too much plausibility to the charge4    
,not by anything said or done by us as a
 ,government or as a nation1 but by the 
tone of our press1 and in some degree1  
it must be owned1 the general opinion of
 ,english society4 ,it is too true1 that
 the feelings which have been manifested
 since the beginning of the ,american   
contest--the judgments which have been  
put forth1 and the wishes which have    
been expressed concerning the incidents 
and probable eventualities of the       
struggle--the bitter and irritating     
criticism which has been kept up1 not   
even against both parties equally1 but  
almost solely against the party in the  

right1 and the ungenerous refusal of all
 those just allowances which no country 
needs more than our own1 whenever its   
circumstances are as near to those of   
,america as a cut finger is to an almost
 mortal wound1--these facts1 with minds 
not favorably disposed to us1 would have
 gone far to make the most odious       
interpretation of the war in which we   
have been so nearly engaged with the    
,united ,states1 appear by many degrees 
the most probable4 ,there is no denying 
that our attitude towards the contending
 parties 7,i mean our moral attitude1   
for politically there was no other      
course open to us than neutrality7 has  
not been that which becomes a people who
 are as sincere enemies of slavery as   
the ,english really are1 and have made  
as great sacrifices to put an end to it 
where they could4 ,and it has been an   
additional misfortune that some of our  
most powerful journals have been for    
many years past very unfavorable        
exponents of ,english feeling on all    

subjects connected with slavery3 some1  
probably1 from the influences1 more or  
less direct1 of ,west ,indian opinions  
and interests3 others from inbred       
,toryism1 which1 even when compelled by 
reason to hold opinions favorable to    
liberty1 is always adverse to it in     
feeling2 which likes the spectacle of   
irresponsible power exercised by one    
person over others2 which has no moral  
repugnance to the thought of human      
beings born to the penal servitude for  
life1 to which for the term of a few    
years we sentence our most hardened     
criminals1 but keeps its indignation to 
be expended on rabid and fanatical      
abolitionists across the ,atlantic1 and 
on those writers in ,england who attach 
a sufficiently serious meaning to their 
,christian professions1 to consider a   
fight against slavery as a fight for    
,god4  ,now1 when the mind of ,england1 
and it may almost be said1 of the       
civilized part of mankind1 has been     
relieved from the incubus which had     

weighed on it ever since the ,trent     
outrage1 and when we are no longer      
feeling towards the ,northern ,americans
 as men feel towards those with whom    
they may be on the point of struggling  
for life or death2 now1 if ever1 is the 
time to review our position1 and        
consider whether we have been feeling   
what ought to have been felt1 and       
wishing what ought to have been wished1 
regarding the contest in which the      
,northern ,states are engaged with the  
,south4  ,in considering this matter1 we
 ought to dismiss from our minds1 as far
 as possible1 those feelings against the
 ,north1 which have been engendered not 
merely by the ,trent aggression1 but by 
the previous anti-,british effusions of 
newspaper writers and stump orators4 ,it
 is hardly worth while to ask how far   
these explosions of ill-humor are       
anything more than might have been      
anticipated from ill-disciplined minds1 
disappointed of the sympathy which they 
justly thought they had a right to      

expect from the great anti-slavery      
people1 in their really noble           
enterprise4 ,it is almost superfluous to
 remark that a democratic ,government   
always shows worst where other          
,governments generally show best1 on its
 outside2 that unreasonable people are  
much more noisy than the reasonable2    
that the froth and scum are the part of 
a violently fermenting liquid that meets
 the eyes1 but are not its body and     
substance4 ,without insisting on these  
things1 ,i contend1 that all previous   
cause of offence should be considered as
 cancelled1 by the reparation which the 
,american ,government has so amply made2
 not so much the reparation itself1     
which might have been so made as to     
leave still greater cause of permanent  
resentment behind it2 but the manner and
 spirit in which they have made it4     
,these have been such as most of us1 ,i 
venture to say1 did not by any means    
expect4 ,if reparation were made at all1
 of which few of us felt more than a    

hope1 we thought that it would have been
 made obviously as a concession to      
prudence1 not to principle4 ,we thought 
that there would have been truckling to 
the newspaper editors and supposed      
fire-eaters who were crying out for     
retaining the prisoners at all hazards4 
,we expected that the atonement1 if     
atonement there were1 would have been   
made with reservations1 perhaps under   
protest4 ,we expected that the          
correspondence would have been spun out1
 and a trial made to induce ,england to 
be satisfied with less2 or that there   
would have been a proposal of           
arbitration2 or that ,england would have
 been asked to make concessions in      
return for justice2 or that if          
submission was made1 it would have been 
made1 ostensibly1 to the opinions and   
wishes of ,continental ,europe4 ,we     
expected anything1 in short1 which would
 have been weak and timid and paltry4   
,the only thing which no one seemed to  
expect1 is what has actually happened4  

,mr4 ,lincoln's ,government have done   
none of these things4 ,like honest men1 
they have said in direct terms1 that our
 demand was right2 that they yielded to 
it because it was just2 that if they    
themselves had received the same        
treatment1 they would have demanded the 
same reparation2 and that if what seemed
 to be the ,american side of a question 
was not the just side1 they would be on 
the side of justice2 happy as they were 
to find after their resolution had been 
taken1 that it was also the side which  
,america had formerly defended4 ,is     
there any one1 capable of a moral       
judgment or feeling1 who will say that  
his opinion of ,america and ,american   
statesmen1 is not raised by such an act1
 done on such grounds8 ,the act itself  
may have been imposed by the necessity  
of the circumstances2 but the reasons   
given1 the principles of action         
professed1 were their own choice4       
,putting the worst hypothesis possible1 
which it would be the height of         

injustice to entertain seriously1 that  
the concession was really made solely to
 convenience1 and that the profession of
 regard for justice was hypocrisy1 even 
so1 the ground taken1 even if           
insincerely1 is the most hopeful sign of
 the moral state of the ,american mind  
which has appeared for many years4 ,that
 a sense of justice should be the motive
 which the rulers of a country rely on1 
to reconcile the public to an unpopular1
 and what might seem a humiliating act2 
that the journalists1 the orators1 many 
lawyers1 the ,lower ,house of ,congress1
 and ,mr4 ,lincoln's own naval          
secretary1 should be told in the face of
 the world1 by their own ,government1   
that they have been giving public       
thanks1 presents of swords1 freedom of  
cities1 all manner of heroic honors to  
the author of an act which1 though not  
so intended1 was lawless and wrong1 and 
for which the proper remedy is          
confession and atonement2 that this     
should be the accepted policy 7supposing

 it to be nothing higher7 of a          
,democratic ,republic1 shows even       
unlimited democracy to be a better thing
 than many ,englishmen have lately been 
in the habit of considering it1 and goes
 some way towards proving that the      
aberrations even of a ruling multitude  
are only fatal when the better          
instructed have not the virtue or the   
courage to front them boldly4 ,nor ought
 it to be forgotten1 to the honor of    
,mr4 ,lincoln's ,government1 that in    
doing what was in itself right1 they    
have done also what was best fitted to  
allay the animosity which was daily     
becoming more bitter between the two    
nations so long as the question remained
 open4 ,they have put the brand of      
confessed injustice upon that rankling  
and vindictive resentment with which the
 profligate and passionate part of the  
,american press has been threatening us 
in the event of concession1 and which is
 to be manifested by some dire revenge1 
to be taken1 as they pretend1 after the 

nation is extricated from its present   
difficulties4 ,mr4 ,lincoln has done    
what depended on him to make this spirit
 expire with the occasion which raised  
it up2 and we shall have ourselves      
chiefly to blame if we keep it alive by 
the further prolongation of that stream 
of vituperative eloquence1 the source of
 which1 even now1 when the cause of     
quarrel has been amicably made up1 does 
not seem to have run dry4 #a   #a4 ,i do
 not forget one regrettable passage in  
,mr4 ,seward's letter1 in which he said 
that if the safety of the ,union        
required the detention of the captured  
persons1 it would be the right and duty 
of this ,government to detain them4 ,i  
sincerely grieve to find this sentence  
in the dispatch1 for the exceptions to  
the general rules of morality are not a 
subject to be lightly or unnecessarily  
tampered with4 ,the doctrine in itself  
is no other than that professed and     
acted on by all governments--that       
self-preservation1 in a ,state1 as in an

 individual1 is a warrant for many      
things which at all other times ought to
 be rigidly abstained from4 ,at all     
events1 no nation which has ever passed 
laws of exception1 which ever suspended 
the ,habeas ,corpus ,act or passed an   
,alien ,bill in dread of a ,chartist    
insurrection1 has a right to throw the  
first stone at ,mr4 ,lincoln's          
,government4  ,let us1 then1 without    
reference to these jars1 or to the      
declamations of newspaper writers on    
either side of the ,atlantic1 examine   
the ,american question as it stood from 
the beginning2 its origin1 the purpose  
of both the combatants1 and its various 
possible or probable issues4  ,there is 
a theory in ,england1 believed perhaps  
by some1 half believed by many more1    
which is only consistent with original  
ignorance1 or complete subsequent       
forgetfulness1 of all the antecedents of
 the contest4 ,there are people who tell
 us that1 on the side of the ,north1 the
 question is not one of slavery at all4 

,the ,north1 it seems1 have no more     
objection to slavery than the ,south    
have4 ,their leaders never say one word 
implying disapprobation of it4 ,they are
 ready1 on the contrary1 to give it new 
guarantees2 to renounce all that they   
have been contending for2 to win back1  
if opportunity offers1 the ,south to the
 ,union by surrendering the whole point4
  ,if this be the true state of the     
case1 what are the ,southern chiefs     
fighting about8 ,their apologists in    
,england say that it is about tariffs1  
and similar trumpery4 ,they say nothing 
of the kind4 ,they tell the world1 and  
they told their own citizens when they  
wanted their votes1 that the object of  
the fight was slavery4 ,many years ago1 
when ,general ,jackson was ,president1  
,south ,carolina did nearly rebel 7she  
never was near separating7 about a      
tariff2 but no other ,state abetted her1
 and a strong adverse demonstration from
 ,virginia brought the matter to a      
close4 ,yet the tariff of that day was  

rigidly protective4 ,compared with that1
 the one in force at the time of the    
secession was a free-trade tariff3 ,this
 latter was the result of several       
successive modifications in the         
direction of freedom2 and its principle 
was not protection for protection1 but  
as much of it only as might incidentally
 result from duties imposed for revenue4
 ,even the ,morrill tariff 7which never 
could have been passed but for the      
,southern secession7 is stated by the   
high authority of ,mr4 ,h4 ,c4 ,carey to
 be considerably more liberal than the  
reformed ,french tariff under ,mr4      
,cobden's treaty2 insomuch that he1 a   
,protectionist1 would be glad to        
exchange his own protective tariff for  
,louis ,napoleon's free-trade one4 ,but 
why discuss1 on probable evidence1      
notorious facts8 ,the world knows what  
the question between the ,north and     
,south has been for many years1 and     
still is4 ,slavery alone was thought of1
 alone talked of4 ,slavery was battled  

for and against1 on the floor of        
,congress and in the plains of ,kansas2 
on the slavery question exclusively was 
the party constituted which now rules   
the ,united ,states3 on slavery ,fremont
 was rejected1 on slavery ,lincoln was  
elected2 the ,south separated on        
slavery1 and proclaimed slavery as the  
one cause of separation4  ,it is true   
enough that the ,north are not carrying 
on war to abolish slavery in the ,states
 where it legally exists4 ,could it have
 been expected1 or even perhaps desired1
 that they should8 ,a great party does  
not change suddenly1 and at once1 all   
its principles and professions4 ,the    
,republican party have taken their stand
 on law1 and the existing constitution  
of the ,union4 ,they have disclaimed all
 right to attempt anything which that   
constitution forbids4 ,it does forbid   
interference by the ,federal ,congress  
with slavery in the ,slave ,states2 but 
it does not forbid their abolishing it  
in the ,district of ,columbia2 and this 

they are now doing1 having voted1 ,i    
perceive1 in their present pecuniary    
straits1 a million of dollars to        
indemnify the slave-owners of the       
,district4 ,neither did the             
,constitution1 in their own opinion1    
require them to permit the introduction 
of slavery into the territories which   
were not yet ,states4 ,to prevent this1 
the ,republican party was formed1 and to
 prevent it1 they are now fighting1 as  
the slave-owners are fighting to enforce
 it4  ,the present government of the    
,united ,states is not an ,abolitionist 
government4 ,abolitionists1 in ,america1
 mean those who do not keep within the  
constitution2 who demand the destruction
 7as far as slavery is concerned7 of as 
much of it as protects the internal     
legislation of each ,state from the     
control of ,congress2 who aim at        
abolishing slavery wherever it exists1  
by force if need be1 but certainly by   
some other power than the constituted   
authorities of the ,slave ,states4 ,the 

,republican party neither aim nor       
profess to aim at this object4 ,and when
 we consider the flood of wrath which   
would have been poured out against them 
if they did1 by the very writers who now
 taunt them with not doing it1 we shall 
be apt to think the taunt a little      
misplaced4 ,but though not an           
,abolitionist party1 they are a         
,free-soil party4 ,if they have not     
taken arms against slavery1 they have   
against its extension4 ,and they know1  
as we may know if we please1 that this  
amounts to the same thing4 ,the day when
 slavery can no longer extend itself1 is
 the day of its doom4 ,the slave-owners 
know this1 and it is the cause of their 
fury4 ,they know1 as all know who have  
attended to the subject1 that           
confinement within existing limits is   
its death-warrant4 ,slavery1 under the  
conditions in which it exists in the    
,states1 exhausts even the beneficent   
powers of nature4 ,so incompatible is it
 with any kind whatever of skilled      

labor1 that it causes the whole         
productive resources of the country to  
be concentrated on one or two products1 
cotton being the chief1 which require1  
to raise and prepare them for the       
market1 little besides brute animal     
force4 ,the cotton cultivation1 in the  
opinion of all competent judges1 alone  
saves ,north ,american slavery2 but     
cotton cultivation1 exclusively adhered 
to1 exhausts in a moderate number of    
years all the soils which are fit for   
it1 and can only be kept up by          
travelling farther and farther westward4
 ,mr4 ,olmsted has given a vivid        
description of the desolate state of    
parts of ,georgia and the ,carolinas1   
once among the richest specimens of soil
 and cultivation in the world2 and even 
the more recently colonized ,alabama1 as
 he shows1 is rapidly following in the  
same downhill track4 ,to slavery1       
therefore1 it is a matter of life and   
death to find fresh fields for the      
employment of slave labor4 ,confine it  

to the present ,states1 and the owners  
of slave property will either be        
speedily ruined1 or will have to find   
means of reforming and renovating their 
agricultural system2 which cannot be    
done without treating the slaves like   
human beings1 nor without so large an   
employment of skilled1 that is1 of free 
labor1 as will widely displace the      
unskilled1 and so depreciate the        
pecuniary value of the slave1 that the  
immediate mitigation and ultimate       
extinction of slavery would be a nearly 
inevitable and probably rapid           
consequence4  ,the ,republican leaders  
do not talk to the public of these      
almost certain results of success in the
 present conflict4 ,they talk but       
little1 in the existing emergency1 even 
of the original cause of quarrel4 ,the  
most ordinary policy teaches them to    
inscribe on their banner that part only 
of their known principles in which their
 supporters are unanimous4 ,the         
preservation of the ,union is an object 

about which the ,north are agreed2 and  
it has many adherents1 as they believe1 
in the ,south generally4 ,that nearly   
half the population of the ,border      
,slave ,states are in favor of it is a  
patent fact1 since they are now fighting
 in its defence4 ,it is not probable    
that they would be willing to fight     
directly against slavery4 ,the          
,republicans well know that if they can 
restablish the ,union1 they gain        
everything for which they originally    
contended2 and it would be a plain      
breach of faith with the ,southern      
friends of the ,government1 if1 after   
rallying them round its standard for a  
purpose of which they approve1 it were  
suddenly to alter its terms of communion
 without their consent4  ,but the       
parties in a protracted civil war almost
 invariably end by taking more extreme1 
not to say higher grounds of principle1 
than they began with4 ,middle parties   
and friends of compromise are soon left 
behind2 and if the writers who so       

severely criticize the present          
moderation of the ,free-soilers are     
desirous to see the war become an       
abolition war1 it is probable that if   
the war lasts long enough they will be  
gratified4 ,without the smallest        
pretension to see further into futurity 
than other people1 ,i at least have     
foreseen and foretold from the first1   
that if the ,south were not promptly put
 down1 the contest would become         
distinctly an antislavery one2 nor do ,i
 believe that any person1 accustomed to 
reflect on the course of human affairs  
in troubled times1 can expect anything  
else4 ,those who have read1 even        
cursorily1 the most valuable testimony  
to which the ,english public have       
access1 concerning the real state of    
affairs in ,america--the letters of the 
,times' correspondent1 ,mr4             
,russell--must have observed how early  
and rapidly he arrived at the same      
conclusion1 and with what increasing    
emphasis he now continually reiterates  

it4 ,in one of his recent letters he    
names the end of next summer as the     
period by which1 if the war has not     
sooner terminated1 it will have assumed 
a complete anti-slavery character4 ,so  
early a term exceeds1 ,i confess1 my    
most sanguine hopes2 but if ,mr4        
,russell be right1 ,heaven forbid that  
the war should cease sooner2 for if it  
lasts till then1 it is quite possible   
that it will regenerate the ,american   
people4  ,if1 however1 the purposes of  
the ,north may be doubted or            
misunderstood1 there is at least no     
question as to those of the ,south4     
,they make no concealment of their      
principles4 ,as long as they were       
allowed to direct all the policy of the 
,union2 to break through compromise     
after compromise1 encroach step after   
step1 until they reached the pitch of   
claiming a right to carry slave property
 into the ,free ,states1 and1 in        
opposition to the laws of those ,states1
 hold it as property there2 so long1    

they were willing to remain in the      
,union4 ,the moment a ,president was    
elected of whom it was inferred from his
 opinions1 not that he would take any   
measures against slavery where it       
exists1 but that he would oppose its    
establishment where it exists not1--that
 moment they broke loose from what was1 
at least1 a very solemn contract1 and   
formed themselves into a ,confederation 
professing as its fundamental principle 
not merely the perpetuation1 but the    
indefinite extension of slavery4 ,and   
the doctrine is loudly preached through 
the new ,republic1 that slavery1 whether
 black or white1 is a good in itself1   
and the proper condition of the working 
classes everywhere4  ,let me1 in a few  
words1 remind the reader what sort of a 
thing this is1 which the white oligarchy
 of the ,south have banded themselves   
together to propagate and establish1 if 
they could1 universally4 ,when it is    
wished to describe any portion of the   
human race as in the lowest state of    

debasement1 and under the most cruel    
oppression1 in which it is possible for 
human beings to live1 they are compared 
to slaves4 ,when words are sought by    
which to stigmatize the most odious     
despotism1 exercised in the most odious 
manner1 and all other comparisons are   
found inadequate1 the despots are said  
to be like slave-masters1 or            
slave-drivers4 ,what1 by a rhetorical   
license1 the worst oppressors of the    
human race1 by way of stamping on them  
the most hateful character possible1 are
 said to be1 these men1 in very truth1  
are4 ,i do not mean that all of them are
 hateful personally1 any more than all  
the ,inquisitors1 or all the buccaneers4
 ,but the position which they occupy1   
and the abstract excellence of which    
they are in arms to vindicate1 is that  
which the united voice of mankind       
habitually selects as the type of all   
hateful qualities4 ,i will not bandy    
chicanery about the more or less of     
stripes or other torments which are     

daily requisite to keep the machine in  
working order1 nor discuss whether the  
,legrees or the ,st4 ,clairs are more   
numerous among the slave-owners of the  
,southern ,states4 ,the broad facts of  
the case suffice4 ,one fact is enough4  
,there are1 ,heaven knows1 vicious and  
tyrannical institutions in ample        
abundance on the earth4 ,but this       
institution is the only one of them all 
which requires1 to keep it going1 that  
human beings should be burnt alive4 ,the
 calm and dispassionate ,mr4 ,olmsted   
affirms that there has not been a single
 year1 for many years past1 in which    
this horror is not known to have been   
perpetrated in some part or other of the
 ,south4 ,and not upon negroes only2 the
 ,edinburgh ,review1 in a recent number1
 gave the hideous details of the burning
 alive of an unfortunate ,northern      
huckster by ,lynch law1 on mere         
suspicion of having aided in the escape 
of a slave4 ,what must ,american slavery
 be1 if deeds like these are necessary  

under it8--and if they are not necessary
 and are yet done1 is not the evidence  
against slavery still more damning8 ,the
 ,south are in rebellion not for simple 
slavery2 they are in rebellion for the  
right of burning human creatures alive4 
,but we are told1 by a strange          
misapplication of a true principle1 that
 the ,south had a right to separate2    
that their separation ought to have been
 consented to1 the moment they showed   
themselves ready to fight for it2 and   
that the ,north1 in resisting it1 are   
committing the same error and wrong     
which ,england committed in opposing the
 original separation of the thirteen    
colonies4 ,this is carrying the doctrine
 of the sacred right of insurrection    
rather far4 ,it is wonderful how easy   
and liberal and complying people can be 
in other people's concerns4 ,because    
they are willing to surrender their own 
past1 and have no objection to join in  
reprobation of their great-grandfathers1
 they never put themselves the question 

what they themselves would do in        
circumstances far less trying1 under far
 less pressure of real national         
calamity4 ,would those who profess these
 ardent revolutionary principles consent
 to their being applied to ,ireland1 or 
,india1 or the ,ionian ,islands4 ,how   
have they treated those who did attempt 
so to apply them8 ,but the case can     
dispense with any mere argumentum ad    
hominem4 ,i am not frightened at the    
word rebellion4 ,i do not scruple to say
 that ,i have sympathized more or less  
ardently with most of the rebellions1   
successful and unsuccessful1 which have 
taken place in my time4 ,but ,i         
certainly never conceived that there was
 a sufficient title to my sympathy in   
the mere fact of being a rebel2 that the
 act of taking arms against one's       
fellow-citizens was so meritorious in   
itself1 was so completely its own       
justification1 that no question need be 
asked concerning the motive4 ,it seems  
to me a strange doctrine that the most  

serious and responsible of all human    
acts imposes no obligation on those who 
do it of showing that they have a real  
grievance2 that those who rebel for the 
power of oppressing others1 exercise as 
sacred a right as those who do the same 
thing to resist oppression practised    
upon themselves4 ,neither rebellion nor 
any other act which affects the         
interests of others1 is sufficiently    
legitimated by the mere will to do it4  
,secession may be laudable1 and so may  
any other kind of insurrection2 but it  
may also be an enormous crime4 ,it is   
the one or the other1 according to the  
object and the provocation4 ,and if     
there ever was an object which1 by its  
bare announcement1 stamped rebels       
against a particular community as       
enemies of mankind1 it is the one       
professed by the ,south4 ,their right to
 separate is the right which ,cartouche 
or ,turpin would have had to secede from
 their respective countries1 because the
 laws of those countries would not      

suffer them to rob and murder on the    
highway4 ,the only real difference is   
that the present rebels are more        
powerful than ,cartouche or ,turpin1 and
 may possibly be able to effect their   
iniquitous purpose4  ,suppose1 however1 
for the sake of argument1 that the mere 
will to separate were in this case1 or  
in any case1 a sufficient ground for    
separation1 ,i beg to be informed whose 
will8 ,the will of any knot of men who1 
by fair means or foul1 by usurpation1   
terrorism1 or fraud1 have got the reins 
of government into their hands8 ,if the 
inmates of ,parkhurst ,prison were to   
get possession of the ,isle of ,wight1  
occupy its military positions1 enlist   
one part of its inhabitants in their own
 ranks1 set the remainder of them to    
work in chain gangs1 and declare        
themselves independent1 ought their     
recognition by the ,british ,government 
to be an immediate consequence8 ,before 
admitting the authority of any persons1 
as organs of the will of the people1 to 

dispose of the whole political existence
 of a country1 ,i ask to see whether    
their credentials are from the whole1 or
 only from a part4 ,and first1 it is    
necessary to ask1 ,have the slaves been 
consulted8 ,has their will been counted 
as any part in the estimate of          
collective volition8 ,they are a part of
 the population4 ,however natural in the
 country itself1 it is rather cool in   
,english writers who talk so glibly of  
the ten millions 7,i believe there are  
only eight71 to pass over the very      
existence of four millions who must     
abhor the idea of separation4 ,remember1
 we consider them to be human beings1   
entitled to human rights4 ,nor can it be
 doubted that the mere fact of belonging
 to a ,union in some parts of which     
slavery is reprobated1 is some          
alleviation of their condition1 if only 
as regards future probabilities4 ,but   
even of the white population1 it is     
questionable if there was in the        
beginning a majority for secession      

anywhere but in ,south ,carolina4       
,though the thing was pre-determined1   
and most of the ,states committed by    
their public authorities before the     
people were called on to vote2 though in
 taking the votes terrorism in many     
places reigned triumphant2 yet even so1 
in several of the ,states1 secession was
 carried only by narrow majorities4 ,in 
some the authorities have not dared to  
publish the numbers2 in some it is      
asserted that no vote has ever been     
taken4 ,further 7as was pointed out in  
an admirable letter by ,mr4 ,carey71 the
 ,slave ,states are intersected in the  
middle1 from their northern frontier    
almost to the ,gulf of ,mexico1 by a    
country of free labor--the mountain     
region of the ,alleghanies and their    
dependencies1 forming parts of          
,virginia1 ,north ,carolina1 ,tennessee1
 ,georgia1 and ,alabama1 in which1 from 
the nature of the climate and of the    
agricultural and mining industry1       
slavery to any material extent never    

did1 and never will1 exist4 ,this       
mountain zone is peopled by ardent      
friends of the ,union4 ,could the ,union
 abandon them1 without even an effort1  
to be dealt with at the pleasure of an  
exasperated slave-owning oligarchy8     
,could it abandon the ,germans who1 in  
,western ,texas1 have made so           
meritorious a commencement of growing   
cotton on the borders of the ,mexican   
,gulf by free labor8 ,were the right of 
the slave-owners to secede ever so      
clear1 they have no right to carry these
 with them2 unless allegiance is a mere 
question of local proximity1 and my next
 neighbor1 if ,i am a stronger man1 can 
be compelled to follow me in any lawless
 vagaries ,i choose to indulge4  ,but   
7it is said7 the ,north will never      
succeed in conquering the ,south2 and   
since the separation must in the end be 
recognized1 it is better to do at first 
what must be done at last2 moreover1 if 
it did conquer them1 it could not govern
 them when conquered1 consistently with 

free institutions4 ,with no one of these
 propositions can ,i agree4  ,whether or
 not the ,northern ,americans will      
succeed in reconquering the ,south1 ,i  
do not affect to foresee4 ,that they can
 conquer it1 if their present           
determination holds1 ,i have never      
entertained a doubt2 for they are twice 
as numerous1 and ten or twelve times as 
rich4 ,not by taking military possession
 of their country1 or marching an army  
through it1 but by wearing them out1    
exhausting their resources1 depriving   
them of the comforts of life1           
encouraging their slaves to desert1 and 
excluding them from communication with  
foreign countries4 ,all this1 of course1
 depends on the supposition that the    
,north does not give in first4 ,whether 
they will persevere to this point1 or   
whether their spirit1 their patience1   
and the sacrifices they are willing to  
make1 will be exhausted before reaching 
it1 ,i cannot tell4 ,they may1 in the   
end1 be wearied into recognizing the    

separation4 ,but to those who say that  
because this may have to be done at     
last1 it ought to have been done at     
first1 ,i put the very serious          
question--,on what terms8 ,have they    
ever considered what would have been the
 meaning of separation if it had been   
assented to by the ,northern ,states    
when first demanded8 ,people talk as if 
separation meant nothing more than the  
independence of the seceding ,states4   
,to have accepted it under that         
limitation would have been1 on the part 
of the ,south1 to give up that which    
they have seceded expressly to preserve4
 ,separation1 with them1 means at least 
half the ,territories2 including the    
,mexican border1 and the consequent     
power of invading and overrunning       
,spanish ,america for the purpose of    
planting there the peculiar institution 
which even ,mexican civilization has    
found too bad to be endured4 ,there is  
no knowing to what point of degradation 
a country may be driven in a desperate  

state of its affairs2 but if the ,north 
ever1 unless on the brink of actual     
ruin1 makes peace with the ,south1      
giving up the original cause of quarrel1
 the freedom of the ,territories2 if it 
resigns to them when out of the ,union  
that power of evil which it would not   
grant to retain them in the ,union--it  
will incur the pity and disdain of      
posterity4 ,and no one can suppose that 
the ,south would have consented1 or in  
their present temper ever will consent1 
to an accommodation on any other terms4 
,it will require a succession of        
humiliation to bring them to that4 ,the 
necessity of reconciling themselves to  
the confinement of slavery within its   
existing boundaries1 with the natural   
consequence1 immediate mitigation of    
slavery1 and ultimate emancipation1 is a
 lesson which they are in no mood to    
learn from anything but disaster4 ,two  
or three defeats in the field1 breaking 
their military strength1 though not     
followed by an invasion of their        

territory1 may possibly teach it to     
them4 ,if so1 there is no breach of     
charity in hoping that this severe      
schooling may promptly come4 ,when men  
set themselves up1 in defiance of the   
rest of the world1 to do the devil's    
work1 no good can come of them until the
 world has made them feel that this work
 cannot be suffered to be done any      
longer4 ,if this knowledge does not come
 to them for several years1 the         
abolition question will by that time    
have settled itself4 ,for assuredly     
,congress will very soon make up its    
mind to declare all slaves free who     
belong to persons in arms against the   
,union4 ,when that is done1 slavery1    
confined to a minority1 will soon cure  
itself2 and the pecuniary value of the  
negroes belonging to loyal masters will 
probably not exceed the amount of       
compensation which the ,united ,states  
will be willing and able to give4  ,the 
assumed difficulty of governing the     
,southern ,states as free and equal     

commonwealths1 in case of their return  
to the ,union1 is purely imaginary4 ,if 
brought back by force1 and not by       
voluntary compact1 they will return     
without the ,territories1 and without a 
,fugitive ,slave ,law4 ,it may be       
assumed that in that event the          
victorious party would make the         
alterations in the ,federal             
,constitution which are necessary to    
adapt it to the new circumstances1 and  
which would not infringe1 but           
strengthen1 its democratic principles4  
,an article would have to be inserted   
prohibiting the extension of slavery to 
the ,territories1 or the admission into 
the ,union of any new ,slave ,state4    
,without any other guarantee1 the rapid 
formation of new ,free ,states would    
ensure to freedom a decisive and        
constantly increasing majority in       
,congress4 ,it would also be right to   
abrogate that bad provision of the      
,constitution 7a necessary compromise at
 the time of its first establishment7   

whereby the slaves1 though reckoned as  
citizens in no other respect1 are       
counted1 to the extent of three fifths  
of their number1 in the estimate of the 
population for fixing the number of     
representatives of each ,state in the   
,lower ,house of ,congress4 ,why should 
the masters have members in right of    
their human chattels1 any more than of  
their oxen and pigs8 ,the ,president1 in
 his ,message1 has already proposed that
 this salutary reform should be effected
 in the case of ,maryland1 additional   
territory1 detached from ,virginia1     
being given to that ,state as an        
equivalent3 thus clearly indicating the 
policy which he approves1 and which he  
is probably willing to make universal4  
,as it is necessary to be prepared for  
all possibilities1 let us now           
contemplate another4 ,let us suppose the
 worst possible issue of this war--the  
one apparently desired by those ,english
 writers whose moral feeling is so      
philosophically indifferent between the 

apostles of slavery and its enemies4    
,suppose that the ,north should stoop to
 recognize the new ,confederation on its
 own terms1 leaving it half the         
,territories1 and that it is            
acknowledged by ,europe1 and takes its  
place as an admitted member of the      
community of nations4 ,it will be       
desirable to take thought beforehand    
what are to be our own future relations 
with a new ,power1 professing the       
principles of ,attila and ,genghis ,khan
 as the foundation of its ,constitution4
 ,are we to see with indifference its   
victorious army let loose to propagate  
their national faith at the rifle's     
mouth through ,mexico and ,central      
,america8 ,shall we submit to see fire  
and sword carried over ,cuba and ,porto 
,rico1 and ,hayti and ,liberia conquered
 and brought back to slavery8 ,we shall 
soon have causes enough of quarrel on   
our own account4 ,when we are in the act
 of sending an expedition against       
,mexico to redress the wrongs of private

 ,british subjects1 we should do well to
 reflect in time that the ,president of 
the new ,republic1 ,mr4 ,jefferson      
,davis1 was the original inventor of    
repudiation4 ,mississippi was the first 
,state which repudiated1 ,mr4 ,jefferson
 ,davis was ,governor of ,mississippi1  
and the ,legislature of ,mississippi had
 passed a ,bill recognizing and         
providing for the debt1 which ,bill ,mr4
 ,jefferson ,davis vetoed4 ,unless we   
abandon the principles we have for two  
generations consistently professed and  
acted on1 we should be at war with the  
new ,confederacy within five years about
 the ,african slave-trade4 ,an ,english 
,government will hardly be base enough  
to recognize them1 unless they accept   
all the treaties by which ,america is at
 present bound2 nor1 it may be hoped1   
even if de facto independent1 would they
 be admitted to the courtesies of       
diplomatic intercourse1 unless they     
granted in the most explicit manner the 
right of search4 ,to allow the          

slave-ships of a ,confederation formed  
for the extension of slavery to come and
 go free1 and unexamined1 between       
,america and the ,african coast1 would  
be to renounce even the pretence of     
attempting to protect ,africa against   
the man-stealer1 and abandon that       
,continent to the horrors1 on a far     
larger scale1 which were practised      
before ,granville ,sharp and ,clarkson  
were in existence4 ,but even if the     
right of intercepting their slavers were
 acknowledged by treaty1 which it never 
would be1 the arrogance of the ,southern
 slave-holders would not long submit to 
its exercise4 ,their pride and          
self-conceit1 swelled to an inordinate  
height by their successful struggle1    
would defy the power of ,england as they
 had already successfully defied that of
 their ,northern countrymen4 ,after our 
people by their cold disapprobation1 and
 our press by its invective1 had        
combined with their own difficulties to 
damp the spirit of the ,free ,states1   

and drive them to submit and make peace1
 we should have to fight the ,slave     
,states ourselves at far greater        
disadvantages1 when we should no longer 
have the wearied and exhausted ,north   
for an ally4 ,the time might come when  
the barbarous and barbarizing ,power1   
which we by our moral support had helped
 into existence1 would require a general
 crusade of civilized ,europe1 to       
extinguish the mischief which it had    
allowed1 and we had aided1 to rise up in
 the midst of our civilization4  ,for   
these reasons ,i cannot join with those 
who cry ,peace1 peace4 ,i cannot wish   
that this war should not have been      
engaged in by the ,north1 or that being 
engaged in1 it should be terminated on  
any conditions but such as would retain 
the whole of the ,territories as free   
soil4 ,i am not blind to the possibility
 that it may require a long war to lower
 the arrogance and tame the aggressive  
ambition of the slave-owners1 to the    
point of either returning to the ,union1

 or consenting to remain out of it with 
their present limits4 ,but war1 in a    
good cause1 is not the greatest evil    
which a nation can suffer4 ,war is an   
ugly thing1 but not the ugliest of      
things3 the decayed and degraded state  
of moral and patriotic feeling which    
thinks nothing worth a war1 is worse4   
,when a people are used as mere human   
instruments for firing cannon or        
thrusting bayonets1 in the service and  
for the selfish purposes of a master1   
such war degrades a people4 ,a war to   
protect other human beings against      
tyrannical injustice2 a war to give     
victory to their own ideas of right and 
good1 and which is their own war1       
carried on for an honest purpose by     
their free choice--is often the means of
 their regeneration4 ,a man who has     
nothing which he is willing to fight    
for1 nothing which he cares more about  
than he does about his personal safety1 
is a miserable creature1 who has no     
chance of being free1 unless made and   

kept so by the exertions of better men  
than himself4 ,as long as justice and   
injustice have not terminated their ever
 renewing fight for ascendancy in the   
affairs of mankind1 human beings must be
 willing1 when need is1 to do battle for
 the one against the other4 ,i am far   
from saying that the present struggle1  
on the part of the ,northern ,americans1
 is wholly of this exalted character2   
that it has arrived at the stage of     
being altogether a war for justice1 a   
war of principle4 ,but there was from   
the beginning1 and now is1 a large      
infusion of that element in it2 and this
 is increasing1 will increase1 and if   
the war lasts1 will in the end          
predominate4 ,should that time come1 not
 only will the greatest enormity which  
still exists among mankind as an        
institution1 receive far earlier its    
coups de grce than there has ever1 until
 now1 appeared any probability of2 but  
in effecting this the ,free ,states will
 have raised themselves to that elevated

 position in the scale of morality and  
dignity1 which is derived from great    
sacrifices consciously made in a        
virtuous cause1 and the sense of an     
inestimable benefit to all future ages1 
brought about by their own voluntary    
efforts4