On the record
At that early day, I believed that it was the duty of Congress to confiscate the slaves in the seceding states as the natural result of the war.
Source
gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
Sherman expresses his belief that Congress should confiscate slaves in seceding states as a wartime measure.
Share
More from John Sherman
If that party had been content with the compromise of 1850, and had faithfully observed the pledges in its platform, there would have been no Civil War.
Confiscation is not only justified by the laws of war, by the practice of many nations, but it is practiced by our enemies in the most obnoxious way.
The legality of this legislature was denied by the great majority of the people who never acquiesced in or obeyed its enactments, thus taking the only course open to them to secure a lawful government.
It seems to me that in the present condition of our finances there is no necessity for conferring these large powers on the Secretary of the Treasury.
Other voices in this conversation
