On the record
I should have affirmed then, as, undeterred by what has occurred since then, I affirm now, that secession was a right, that separation is a fact, and that reconstruction is an impossibility." Mr.
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gutenberg.orgJames Blaine: “I should have affirmed then, as, undeterred by what has occurred since then, I affirm now, that secession was a right…”
Editor's note · Context
Blaine asserts his belief in the right of secession and the challenges of reconstruction post-Civil War.
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But this is a totally different thing from an offensive war to punish the people for the political misdeeds of their State Government, or to enforce an acknowledgment that the Government of the United States is supreme.
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