John Sherman: “Why not let the Republican administration be inaugurated in peace and quiet?”

Canada and Mexico as independent republics will be more valuable to the United States than if carved into additional states.

Though my grateful thanks are due to them and have been often expressed, yet I have felt, as they do, that my duty was to the whole country.

The events of the future are beyond the vision of mankind, but I hope our people will be content with internal growth, and avoid the complications of foreign acquisitions.

The Union already embraces discordant elements enough without adding others.