"Personal Explanation of the Hon. W. R. W. Cobb, of Alabama," an address delivered in the United States House of Representatives.
View
@ Alabama Department of Archives and History, 624 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36130
Description
In his address Cobb insists that the slavery question, the central issue influencing the pending secession of the South, was not answered by the recent presidential election: "But gentlemen say they cannot do anything. They say that the edict went forth on the sixth day of November last; that the people decided such and such questions involving certain principles in reference to the slavery question. I deny that the jury empaneled at that time gave any such verdict. There were other questions in issue which entered into that canvass. I tell you what I believe is the truth, and I tell the country what I believe is right; and I say I do not believe the question of slavery was the only question that was submitted to the people, but that other questions entered into that contest which went far to influence the result." While opposed to a hasty secession, he is prepared to support the South fully when the matter is settled: "If the South have [sic] a constitutional right that slave property, the same as all other property, should be protected within the scope of the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, and the North will not submit to such a constitutional guarantee, in justice and fair dealing, the South ought not to be held to submit to the bonds of union. When it is determined that the North will not live by the Constitution, can it be claimed in fairness that the South shall? If not, then it...
Text
600 Ppi Tiff
1861 January 7 1831 01 07
This material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research. Though ADAH has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.;
