On the record
This was the first territory of which the General Government had exclusive control, and the prompt prohibition of slavery therein by the Ordinance of 1787 is an important and significant fact.
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gutenberg.orgJames Blaine: “This was the first territory of which the General Government had exclusive control, and the prompt prohibition of…”
Editor's note · Context
Blaine highlights the significance of the Ordinance of 1787 in prohibiting slavery in the first territory under U.S. control.
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More from James Blaine
The right of the General Government to preserve itself in its whole constitutional vigor by repelling a direct and positive aggression upon its property or its officers cannot be denied.
Under such circumstances, to send a military force into any State, with orders to act against the people, would be simply making war upon them.
All these provisions are made to protect the States, not to authorize an attack by one part of the country upon another; to preserve the peace, and not to plunge them into civil war.
You can use force only to repel an assault on the public property and aid the Courts in the performance of their duty.
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