For a time, this movement resembled the growth of abolitionism at a later day, people holding that a secret society, which sought to paralyse courts, by closing the mouths of witnesses and otherwise unnerving the arm of justice, threatened the existence of popular government.
This comparison illustrates the perceived threat of secret societies to democratic governance, akin to later abolitionist sentiments.
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This reckless claim amazed his friends as much as it aroused his enemies, and he at once became the object of most cutting reproaches.
The act and the veto amounted to an appeal to the people, and in an instant the country was on fire.
He represented Republican principles and aims more fully than any man in the country, but Thurlow Weed, looking into the future through the eyes of a practical politician, disbelieved in Republican success.
An enthusiast broods over the oppression of a people, until he fancies himself commissioned by heaven to liberate them.
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