On the record
In war between that power and the United States, without resort on our part to our mercantile marine the means of our enemy to inflict injury upon our commerce would be tenfold greater than ours to retaliate.
Source
gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
Pierce warns that without a strong mercantile marine, the U.S. would be at a severe disadvantage in wartime.
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In providing for the present you can hardly fail to avail yourselves of the light which the experience of the past casts upon the future.
We can afford to wait, but we can not afford to overlook the ark of our security.
Our present attitude and past course give assurances, which should not be questioned, that our purposes are not aggressive nor threatening to the safety and welfare of other nations.
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