On the record
Those who led in the secession movement relied confidently upon the impossibility of overcoming a population inhabiting so great an expanse of territory.
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gutenberg.orgJames Blaine: “Those who led in the secession movement relied confidently upon the impossibility of overcoming a population inhabiting…”
Editor's note · Context
Blaine reflects on the overconfidence of secession leaders regarding their military capabilities against the Union.
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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.
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.
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.
Is any portion of the people bound to contribute their money or their blood to carry on a contest like that?
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