It was the ruling wish, intention, and purpose of the loyal people after rebellion was suppressed, to have an end to the entire cause of that calamity by forever putting away the system of slavery and all its incidents.
Douglass describes the post-Civil War objective of loyal Americans to eradicate slavery and its associated practices, which were seen as the root cause of the conflict.
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He was called upon not merely to administer the government, but to decide, in the face of terrible odds, the fate of the Republic.
We could not but believe that there existed at the South a latent and powerful Union sentiment which would assert itself at last.
It had no interest in recognizing or preserving any of the ties that bind families together or to their homes.
Our very lack of preparation for the conflict disposed us to look for some other than the way of blood out of the difficulty.