Beschreibung:

All entitled Speech of T.N. Crumpler of Ashe, On Federal Relations, Delivered in the House of Commons, Jan. 10, 1861, Raleigh, N.C., printed at the office of the Raleigh Register, 8vo in self wraps, hand-sewn bindings, 16pp. He points out at the beginning: "One State has declared herself out of the Union; others are threatening to make the same declaration. Even while I stand here speaking, they have have consummated their secession ordinances. A revolution seems to have commenced, and as yet, no effectual barrier to its progress has been erected." With communication as it was, he could not have known that Mississippi had seceded the day before, and Florida was voting to do so as he spoke; Alabama followed suit the following day. Crumpler's speech has the tone of a "conspiracy theory." He blames the "Fire-Eaters," especially William Yancey (sometimes known as the "Orator of Secession"), for conspiring to secede. He suggests that they set up the conditions for secession (notably election of a Republican), then worked to bring that about by splitting the Democratic party, thereby insuring a Republican would be elected. He also blames the abolitionists in the North. Crumpler assures the House that the general feeling of the people of North Carolina is to remain in the Union. And, indeed, North Carolina was the last to leave the Union, well after the others who left following Lincoln's call for troops on April 15, three days after Fort Sumter fell. He makes a number of cases for preserving the Union. New York and Pennsylvania, two of the largest states, seemed inclined to preserve the rights of the South. He notes that secessionists give as a reason to get rid of the aggressions of the North. They also held that the fugitive slave law was not being enforced. "What sot of remedy for these evils would a dissolution of the Union be?...The North would be a foreign government, and we would have no sort of claim upon it to return our fugitives....Our slaves would only have to step across the line, and they would be free." He goes on to say that he suspects other motivations for secession. South Carolina had been opposing tariffs, desiring to open trade with the world through Charleston. He suspects some want to reopen the African slave trade to drive down the price of slaves. Yancey is quoted as saying: "'I insist that there should be no more discrimination by law against the slave trade than against the nutmeg trade. Let it be governed by the law of supply and demand alone.If we do not want the negroes, then do not have them; if we do want them, then we can get them.'" He also calls into question the idea of convening a convention to decide the issue of secession. Should this be decided by representatives of the people, the small number of whom could be influenced relatively easily? Or should the issue be decided by all voting residents of the state? in which case Mr. Crumpler is convinced they will vote to remain in the Union. Condition: All with toning along edges, darkening in print area. Otherwise excellent.