What Shall the South Do?

Authors

Newspaper Title

Daily Herald

Publication Date

12-5-1859

Publication Place

Wilmington, North Carolina

Event Topic

John Brown

Political Party

Opposition

Region

slave state

Disclaimer

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Quote

It is useless to disguise the fact, that the entireNorth and Northwest are hopelessly abolitionized.

Document Type

Article (Journal or Newsletter)

Full Text Transcription

The chief actor in the affair at Harper's Ferryhas expiated his crime upon the gallows. OldBrown has been hanged. What will be theresult of this enforcement of the law? Will the effectbe salutary upon the minds of the Northernpeople? Have we any reason to suppose that itwill cause them, for one moment only, to pause andreflect upon the course they have persistentlyfollowed towards the South and her institutions?

It is useless to disguise the fact, that the entireNorth and Northwest are hopelessly abolitionized. We want no better evidence than that presented tous by their course in this Harper's affair. With theexception of a few papers (among them we are proudto notice that sterling Whig journal, the New YorkExpress,) that have had the manliness to denouncethe act as it deserved, the great majority have eithersympathised with the offenders, or maintained anominous silence.

Let us look calmly at the case: A sovereign State,in the peaceful enjoyment of the rights guarantiedby the Constitution, has been invaded by an armedforce, not foreign mercenaries, but citizens of thesame Confederacy, and her people shot down in thepublic highways. The question is a natural one --Why is this thing done? Why is murder and rapinecommitted? -- And who are the perpetrators? --The answer is found in the fact, that the State whoseterritory has thus been invaded, is a Southern Statein which the institution of slavery exists accordingto the law and the gospel; and the actors in theterrible drama were but carrying out the precepts andteachings of our Northern brethren. The"irrepressible conflict" between the North and the Souththen, has already commenced; to this complexion itmust come at last. It is useless to talk of theconservatism of the North. Where has there been anyevidence of it? Meetings upon meetings have beenheld for the purpose of expressing sympathy formurderers and traitors; but none, no, not onesolitary expression of horror, or disapprobationeven, for the crime committed, have we yet seenfrom any State North of Mason & Dixon's line. Andyet they claim to be our brethren, speak the samelanguage, worship the same God. We yield to nonein our veneration for the Union, but it is not theUnion, now, as our Fathers bequeathed it to us. -- Then, the pulse that throbbed upon the snow-cappedmountains of New Hampshire, vibrated along theGulf and the marshes of theMississippi; then, therewas unison of feeling, brotherly kindness and affection,and the North and the South, in friendly rivalry,strove together how they could best promote thegeneral welfare. Now, all is changed. Do you askwhy? Watch the proceedings of Congress, readthe publications that are scattered by the Northbroadcast over the country, listen to the sentimentsexpressed at nearly all their public gatherings. Thestereotyped cry, that these things are the work offanatics only, will no longer answer; but if it be so,then fanaticism rules the entire North; for whathas been the result of the elections held during thepast summer? Ask Maine, New Hampshire,Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, -- ask Pennsylvania,Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and even thegreat State of New York; -- all, all, have given intheir adhesion to the "higher law" priniciple, andthe mandate for "irrepressible conflict." Do thesethings indicate affection, brotherly kindness, Union? There can be no union without affection, -- there canbe no Union unless this aggressive policy of theNorth is stopped.

We confess that we look forward with gloomyapprehension towards the future. If Congress fails toapply the remedy, then it behooves the South to acttogether as one man -- ship our produce direct toEurope, -- import our own goods, -- let the hum of thespinning-wheel be heard in our homes, as in thedays of the Revolution, -- manufacture our ownarticles of necessity or luxury, and be dependent uponthe North for -- nothing. If such a course does notproduce a different state of affairs, then set us downas no prophet, -- if such a course does not cause theConservatives of the North to give some tangibleevidence of their existence, then we must ofnecessity conclude, that that principle has no lodgment intheir midst.

Edited/Proofed by

Entered by Lloyd Benson.

Identifier

ncwhjb591205a

Recommended Citation

"What Shall the South Do?" (1859). Secession Era Newspaper Editorials. 109.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/secession-editorials/all/editorials/109

Rights

This item is in the public domain, and can be used by anyone without restriction.