ABSTRACT
Rousseau's notions of the purity of morals in savage nations and the earliest ages of civilized nations are mere chimeras. Helvetius and Rousseau preached to the French nation liberty, till they made them the most mechanical slaves; equality till they destroyed all equity; humanity till they became weasels and African panthers; and fraternity till they cut one another's throats like Roman gladiators. The turpitude, the inhumanity, the cruelty, and the infamy of the African commerce in slaves have been so impressively represented. Every measure of prudence, therefore, ought to be assumed for the eventual total extirpation of slavery from the United States. A firm Union will be of the utmost moment to the peace and liberty of the States, as a barrier against domestic faction and insurrection. The utility of a Confederacy, as well to suppress faction and to guard the internal tranquility of States, as to increase their external force and security, is in reality not a new idea.
