Where, in the land of freemen, was the right of petition ever placed on the exclusive basis of morality and virtue?
William Seward: “Where, in the land of freemen, was the right of petition ever placed on the exclusive basis of morality and virtue?”
Editor's note · Context
Seward questions the moral basis for restricting the right to petition in a free society.
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The Chief Magistrate of a great and powerful nation, should never indulge in party feelings.
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