Pray Excuse Me. I Cannot Take It.

For An Enemy So Relentless In The War For Our Subjugation, We Could Not Be Expected To Mourn; Yet, In View Of Its Political Consequences, It Could Not Be Regarded Otherwise Than As A Great Misfortune For The South.

The Contest Is Not Over, The Strife Is Not Ended. It Has Only Entered On A New And Enlarged Arena.

Our Government Is An Agency Of Delegated And Strictly Limited Powers. Its Founders Did Not Look To Its Preservation By Force; But The Chain They Wove To Bind These States Together Was One Of Love And Mutual Good Offices.

I Will Admit No Bond That Holds Me To A Party A Day Longer Than I Agree To Its Principles. When Men Meet Together To Confer, And Ascertain Whether Or Not They Do Agree, And Find That They Differ - Radically, Essentially, Irreconcilably Differ - What Belongs To An Honorable Position Except To Part? They Cannot Consistently Act Together Any Longer.

I Tried All In My Power To Avert This War. I Saw It Coming, For Twelve Years I Worked Night And Day To Prevent It, But I Could Not. The North Was Mad And Blind; It Would Not Let Us Govern Ourselves, And So The War Came, And Now It Must Go On Unless You Acknowledge Our Right To Self Government. We Are Not Fighting For Slavery. We Are Fighting For Independence.