If they had not existed--if the South
had retained all the capital which had been extracted from her by the
fiscal action of the Government; and, if it had not been excluded by
the ordinance of 1787 and the Missouri compromise, from the region lying
between the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers, and between the Mississippi
and the Rocky Mountains north of 36 deg. 30'--it scarcely admits of a
doubt, that it would have divided the emigration with the North, and
by retaining her own people, would have at least equalled the North in
population under the census of 1840, and probably under that about to
be taken. She would also, if she had retained her equal rights in those
territories, have maintained an equality in the number of States with
the North, and have preserved the equilibrium between the two sections
that existed at the commencement of the Government. The loss, then, of
the equilibrium is to be attributed to the action of this Government.
But while these measures were destroying the equilibrium between the two
sections, the action of the Government was leading to a radical change
in its character, by concentrating all the power of the system in
itself.
Pages:
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152