Many Northern men had opposed the purchase of the territory from France, believing it to be unconstitutional; and they dreaded the introduction of senators and representatives from territory which they considered foreign.
Blaine highlights the concerns of Northern politicians regarding the constitutional implications of acquiring new territory and its representation in Congress.
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Durant speaks of no duty, apparently thinks of none resting upon Southern Union men.
I refer myself not to the men of my time, but to the judgment of history.
This ratio of influence went into the Electoral College, and gave to the white men of South Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana double the power of that enjoyed by white men in New York, Illinois and California.
In turn, the course of the National Administration would certainly be influenced, and its fate in large degree determined, by the conduct of the Southern men, in whom the President was placing unbounded trust.
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