On the contrary, all the great political influences of the section were
arrayed against excitement, and exerted to the utmost to keep the people
quiet. The great mass of the people of the South were divided, as in the
other section, into Whigs and Democrats. The leaders and the presses of
both parties in the South were very solicitous to prevent excitement and
to preserve quiet; because it was seen that the effects of the former
would necessarily tend to weaken, if not destroy, the political ties
which united them with their respective parties in the other section.
Those who know the strength of the party ties will readily appreciate
the immense force which this cause exerted against agitation, and in
favor of preserving quiet. But, great as it was, it was not sufficient
to prevent the wide-spread discontent which now pervades the section.
No; some cause, far deeper and more powerful than the one supposed, must
exist, to account for discontent so wide and deep. The question then
recurs: What is the cause of this discontent? It will be found in
the belief of the people of the Southern States, as prevalent as
the discontent itself, that they cannot remain, as things now are,
consistently with honor and safety, in the Union.
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