I still hold the same opinions; and, although highly respecting the purity of intention of those who object, on constitutional grounds, to the exercise of this power, it is with heartfelt satisfaction that I perceive those objections gradually yielding to the paramount influence of the general welfare.
Seward expresses his belief in the importance of the general welfare over constitutional objections.
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Let it be remembered, that it has ever been the pride and the boast of America, that the rights for which she contended were the rights of human nature.
But power, confessedly derived from the people, must be exercised in obedience to their will, and must be resigned to them again, at least in death.
For the rest, the work of emancipation abides the action, whether it be slow or fast, of the moral sense of the American people.
The recital of heroic actions loses its chief value, if we cannot discover the principles in which they were born.
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