On the other side are the simple and legitimate claims of the Union under the Constitution of the United States.
Editor's note · Context
Sumner contrasts the legitimate claims of the Union with the usurpations of state rights.
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Far above any flickering light or battle-lantern of party is the everlasting sun of Truth, in whose beams are the duties of men.
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.
As the Brotherhood of Man is practically recognized, it becomes impossible to restrict the feeling within any exclusive circle of country, and to set up an unchristian distinction of honor between civil war and international war.





