John Sherman

But General Grant was the head, the front, the selected leader; and therefore his name is the impersonation of that power in the war which broke the old south, and preserved our Union to your children, and I trust your children's children…

And so, in all our history, the south, misnamed a democracy, did furnish to the United States many of their leading lights, and the highest saints in our calendar.

Among the brightest names in the American diadem were many men of the south--at the head of whom, and at the head of all mankind, was the name of Washington.

Very much like the democracy of the barons of Runnymede, who, when they met together to dictate Magna Charta to King John, guarded fully their own privileges as against the king, but cared but little for the rights of the people.

The south was very much such a democracy as Rome and Greece were at some periods of their history; a democracy founded upon the privileges of the few and the exclusion of the many.

More than another third were deprived, by the nature of the institutions among which they lived, of many of the advantages absolutely indispensable to the highest civilization.

One-third of the people of the south were slaves.

Still we may hope very much even from the present signs of the times and upon what the south ought to be if not upon what it is.

It is to us, and, I fear, will be for generations to come, one of those problems which tax the highest abilities of statesmen.

If they are false, stamp them with the brand of ignominy; if they are true, deal with the facts proven as you think is just and right.

If it is false, then you should punish the men who started these charges and you should vindicate the men who have been unjustly arraigned.

Whether sufficient has been said here to put you upon an inquiry, the fact remains that the people of Ohio believe, that in the election of my colleague, there was the corrupt use of money sufficient to change the result.

The Interstate Commerce Commission organized under these laws was invested with extraordinary powers and its action has been beneficial to the public, but in many cases has seriously crippled many railroad corporations, and bankrupted some…

Some guards against fraud at elections have been adopted, notably the Australian ballot, but the best security is to impress succeeding generations with the vital importance of honest elections, and to punish with relentless severity all…

We must do our part to advance and improve our condition by wise legislation and by the moral influences of education and religion.

Ohio can justly claim to be the equal of any other in the sisterhood of states, central in location, rich in resources, the common pathway of all the states, containing over three millions of people as happy in their surroundings as those…

I assure you, gentlemen, that, without recalling that I am elected by a party, I will go back to Washington with the earnest desire to perform the duties that you have assigned me, with the hope to contribute, to the best of my abilities…

I can have no motive of selfishness or ambition to turn me from a faithful performance of every duty attached to the office.

I accept the office as a trust to be performed under the active vigilance of political adversaries and the partial scrutiny of friends, but with the sole object of promoting the honor and prosperity of the United States.

And now, gentlemen, for the future term of service to which you have elected me, I can only, with increased experience, do what I have done in the past, and, with every motive that can influence any man, seek to preserve the favor and…

Such trust and confidence reposed in me by the people of Ohio, through their chosen representatives, imposes upon me an obligation of duty and honor, more sacred than any words or promises can create.

When all has been said that one can say, there is still something wanting to convey an adequate expression of gratitude and obligation.

I have often, in a somewhat busy life, felt how feeble are words to express the feelings of the heart.

But an individual sense of responsibility on the part of each of us, and a stern determination to perform our duty well, must give us place among those who have added, in their day and generation, to the glory and prosperity of our beloved…

To subordinate these to the narrow advantages of partisanship, or the accomplishment of selfish aims, is to violate the people's trust and betray the people's interests.