And therefore I am brought to the precise point, that, whatever the rank of our country in the world, and how much soever we may be entitled, at all courts where our representatives are, to the highest precedence, yet, such is human nature, our position is impaired by the title of the agent we send.
Editor's note · Context
Sumner discusses how the rank of diplomatic agents affects their influence and the perception of the country they represent.
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Controlled by such a code, employing such representatives, sustained by such agencies, animated by such Furies, and producing such fruits of tears and bitterness, it must be open to question.
Without yielding to any of these extreme views with regard to the mischiefs or the benefits of party, all should agree that the only true and legitimate object of such an association is to uphold, advance, and develop certain principles…
It is clear that the only question of present practical interest arises from the usurpations of the Slave Power and the efforts to extend Slavery.
They belong to a system so essentially irrational, that all the admitted virtues of many of its agents cannot save it from judgment.





