Address on the annexation of Texas, and the aspect of slavery in the United States, in connection therewith: delivered in Boston November 14 and 18, 1845 Page: 37 of 56
View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
37
ties, that seems to me to make the duty most imperative to
speak of all concerned as their conduct, rather than their
reputation, deserves. The mob was sufficiently disgraceful;
the " sixty Kentucky gentlemen " achieved a title to infamy,
which, if they can die and not be forgotten, will not be coveted
by their posterity; but still more disgraceful was the
mockery of a trial by which the mob was acquitted, and
preeminent in infamy, as history should exhibit them, were
the court and jury, who, with the law in their hands, and
under oath to administer it, could suffer such a crime to
escape unpunished. I say there are those who seem not
fully to understand what this case means; and I therefore
dwell upon it to remark, that, when, at the close of a halfcentury,
under the circumstances which I have described,
in the midst of so much light reflected alike from the present
and the past, with the subject of slavery so constantly
in the minds of men and in the hearts of women, with so
much to show it to be expedient for both to make the master
and the slave free, -when, in this age of benevolence, and
in this professedly republican and Christian country, the
attempt of an individual to discuss the subject of slavery in
the Slave State supposed to be the most prepared for freedom
can result only in such unrestrained violence of a
" respectable mob," and in such co6peration of a court and
jury to overthrow the rights of the press, of person, and of
property, the conclusion is at least a rash one, that slavery
in Kentucky is on the point of dissolution.
I am not unmindful that, CASSIUS M. CLAY still lives,that
his press is reestablished, -and that, beyond the reach
of the mob, and beyond the jurisdiction of the court, he still
speaks to Kentucky througi his press, and will be heard.
May God spare his life, and spare his press, and give him
an increasing measure of the wisdom and firmness which
his' position demands ! I can appreciate his efforts, and
believe that it will be his lot to derive precious encouragement
and an exalted fame from the first fruits of his labors ;
but I adopt his conviction, when I declare it as my own, that
none other than political, moral, and religious means, and
these only after a long, and arduous, and dangerous struggle,
will effect the overthrow of slavery in Kentucky.
In treating thus fully the condition of slavery in Virginia,
Maryland, and Kentucky, it may be supposed that I have
not sufficiently met the point of the argument which it becomes
me to answer. It is argued, that, because these States
are and can only be grain-growing States, it will not long
4
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Phillips, Stephen C. Address on the annexation of Texas, and the aspect of slavery in the United States, in connection therewith: delivered in Boston November 14 and 18, 1845, book, January 1, 1845; Boston. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2361/m1/37/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.