CONFEDERATE STATES. 



129 



peculiar institutions African slavery as it ex- 

 ists among us the proper atatus of the negro 

 iu our form of civilization. This was the im- 

 mediate cause of the late rupture and present 

 revolution. Jefferson, imhis forecast, had an- 

 ticipated this, as the 'rock upon which the 

 old Union would split,' Be was right. What 

 was conjecture with him, is now a realized 

 fact. But whether he fully comprehended the 

 great truth upon which that rock stood and 

 stands, may be doubted. The prevailing ideas 

 entertained by him and most of the leading 

 statesmen at the time of the formation of the 

 old Constitution were, that the enslavement of 

 the African was in violation of the laws of 

 nature; that it was wrong in principle, so- 

 cially, morally, and politically. It was an evil 

 they knew not well how to deal with; but 

 the general opinion of the men of that day was, 

 that, somehow or other, in the order of Provi- 

 dence, the institution would be evanescent and 

 pass away. This idea, though not incorpo- 

 rated in the Constitution, was the prevailing 

 idea at the time. The Constitution, it is true, 

 secured every essential guarantee to the insti- 

 tution while it should last, and hence no argu- 

 ment can be justly used against the constitu- 

 tional guarantees thus secured, because of the 

 common sentiment of the day. Those ideas, 

 however, were fundamentally wrong. They 

 rested upon the assumption of the equality of 

 races. This was an error. It was a sandy 

 foundation, and the idea of a Government built 

 upon it was wrong when the ' storm came 

 and the wind blew, it fell.' 



" Our new Government is founded upon ex- 

 actly the opposite ideas ; its foundations are 

 laid, its corner-stone rests upon the great truth 

 that the negro is not equal to the white man ; 

 that slavery, subordination to the superior race, 

 is his natural and moral condition. This, our 

 new Government, is the first in the history of 

 the world, based upon this great physical, phil- 

 osophical, and moral truth. This truth has 

 been slow in the process of its development, 

 like all other truths in the various departments 

 of science. It is so even amongst us. Many 

 who hear me, perhaps, can recollect well that 

 this truth was not generally admitted, even 

 within their day. The errors of the past gen- 

 eration still clung to many as late as twenty 

 years ago. Those at the North who still cling 

 to these errors with a zeal above knowledge, 

 we justly denominate fanatics. All fanaticism 

 springs from an aberration of the mind ; from a 

 defect in reasoning. It is a species of insanity. 

 One of the most striking characteristics of in- 

 sanity, in many instances, is forming correct 

 conclusions from fancied or erroneous premises ; 

 so with the anti-slavery fanatics : their conclu- 

 sions are right if their premises are. They as- 

 sume that the negro is equal, and hence con- 

 clude that he is entitled to equal privileges and 

 rights with the white man. If their premises 

 were correct, their conclusions would be logical 

 and just ; but their premises being wrong, their 

 9 



whole argument fails. I recollect once of hav- 

 ing heard a gentleman from one of the North- 

 ern States, of great power and ability, announce 

 in the House of Representatives, with imposing 

 effect, that we of the South would be compelled, 

 ultimately, to yield upon this subject of sla- 

 very ; that it was as impossible to war success- 

 fully against a principle in politics, as it was 

 in physics or mechanics. That the principle 

 would ultimately prevail. That we, in main- 

 taining slavery as it exists with us, were war- 

 ring against a principle a principle founded 

 in nature, the principle of the equality of man. 

 jtThe reply I made to him was, that upon his own 

 grounds we should succeed, and that he and 

 his associates in their crusade against our insti- 

 tutions would ultimately fail. The truth an- 

 nounced, that it was as impossible to war suc- 

 cessfully against a principle in politics as well 

 as in physics and mechanics, I admitted, but 

 told him 'that it was he and those acting with 

 him who were warring against a principle. 

 They were attempting to make things equal 

 which the Creator had made unequal. 



" In the conflict thus far, success has been 

 on our side, complete throughout the length 

 and breadth of the Confederate States. It is 

 upon this, as I have stated, our social fabric is 

 firmly planted ; and I cannot permit myself to 

 doubt the ultimate success of a full recognition 

 of this principle throughout the civilized and 

 enlightened world. 



" As I have stated, the truth of this princi- 

 ple may be slow in development, as all truths 

 are, and ever have been, in the various branches 

 of science. It was so with the principles an- 

 nounced by Galileo it was so with Adam 

 Smith and his principles of political economy. 

 It was so with Harvey, and his theory of the 

 circulation of the blood. It is stated that not 

 a single one of the medical profession, living 

 at the time of the announcement of the truths 

 made by him, admitted them. Now they are 

 universally acknowledged. May we not there- 

 fore look with confidence to the ultimate uni- 

 versal acknowledgment of the truths upon 

 which our system rests ? It is the first Gov- 

 ernment ever instituted upon principles in strict 

 conformity to nature, and the ordination of 

 Providence, in furnishing the materials of hu- 

 man society. Many Governments have been 

 founded upon the principles of certain classes ; 

 but the classes thus enslaved, were of the same 

 race, and in violation of the laws of nature. 

 Our system commits no such violation of na- 

 ture's laws. The negro by nature, or by the 

 curse against Canaan, is fitted for that condi- 

 tion which he occupies in our system. The 

 architect, in the construction of buildings, lays 

 the foundation with the proper material the 

 granite then comes the brick or the marble. 

 The substratum of our society is made of the 

 material fitted by nature for it, and by expe- 

 rience we know that it is the best, not only for the 

 superior but for the inferior race, that it should 

 be so. It is, indeed, in conformity with the 



