Disunion Feed

Richmond Enquirer @RichmondEnquirerFeb 16, 1854 · Richmond, Va.

This is no time for inaction. There has never been before, and perhaps will never occur again, a conjuncture so favorable for the re-conquest of the position the South has lost by successive compromises of its rights.

Original passage & context
"This is no time for inaction. [...] There has never been before and perhaps there will never occur again, a conjuncture of circumstances so favorable for the re-conquest of the position which the South has lost by successive compromises of its rights."

The Enquirer is not defending the Missouri Compromise repeal as a restoration of calm but urging it as an opportunity — a chance to recover ground the South believed it had given away in 1820 and 1850. It presses Southern readers to organize meetings and petitions rather than rely on Congress alone.

Next in order

Federal Union @FederalUnion · Milledgeville, Ga.

Every day it becomes more manifest that the South will be forced to act as a unit on her right to enter the territories. This must inevitably change the aspect of Parties as they have hitherto existed. Throughout the North, the Whigs and free-soil Democrats will coalesce.

Original passage & context
"Every day it becomes more and more manifest that the South will be forced to act as a unit when the issue shall be made up on her constitutional right to enter and enjoy the territories of this Union [...] Throughout the North, the Whigs and free-soil Democrats will coalesce."

A Georgia paper forecasting the realignment while the bill is still in the House: Whigs and free-soil Democrats fusing in the North, the South voting as a bloc. It expected a large share of Northern Democrats to hold with the South, which is the half of the prediction that did not hold.

Where this sits

America has argued itself to the edge before. The words come from 1854–1861; the arguments are the ones we are still having.

One passage from the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Jan 6, 1854 – May 29, 1854 — 11 posts, each linked to its primary source.

Part of 134 verified passages across 5 flashpoints, Jan 6, 1854 – Apr 13, 1861 — read the feed from the start.

How this was made