Time might have restored the party to harmony, but at the very height of the factional contest the representatives of both sections were hurried forward to the National Convention of 1860, with principle subordinated to passion, with judgment displaced by a desire for revenge.
Blaine discusses the chaotic state of the Democratic party during the 1860 National Convention, driven by passion rather than principle.
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I believe that if it should pass it will receive the sanction of nineteen-twentieths of the loyal people of the country.
Such an opportunity would have been a menace to the public credit, and would have proved a constant source of corruption.
The feeling in many portions of the country toward the emancipated slaves, especially among the ignorant and uneducated, is one of vindictive and malicious hatred.
In my judgment our sole authority for the acts which we have done during the last four years was the authority communicated to Congress by the Constitution to suppress insurrection.
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