Neither the constitutional theory nor the personal hate of their lives could be changed in a day, but both were alike impotent; and having been forced to abandon the war, they longed for the blessings which any peace on any terms might be expected to bring in its train.
Reid reflects on the inability of the defeated South to quickly change their mindset after the Civil War.
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Congress is supreme, and, for all the purposes of this department, has all the powers of the people of the United States, except such as have been expressly or by implication reserved in the prohibitions of the Constitution.
We must, then, be prepared with a policy for maintaining it ourselves.
But, in the main, they are surprisingly orderly, and cases of serious violence among them are quite rare.
Our national experience has demonstrated that public order reposes most securely on the broad base of universal suffrage.