Many reasons for secession given before the Negro issue was first addressed..
But for those that indeed like to read, and read the entire speech, here it is, minus the snippets and cherry picking but including the "etc, etc, etc" that you chose to over look.
Worth pointing out here that I too gave the link to the whole speech so folks could read it, not expecting them to assume that it really went "dot dot dot space" as I quoted
OK, what does "cornerstone" mean in the metaphorical sense of the word as used in this speech, and what other factors are elevated to that level?
Worth noting again that the cornerstone of the Southern economy was cotton, and everybody knew you needed slaves to produce cotton.
No wonder ol' Stephens went through such verbal contortions. Can you imagine what it must have been actually like to derive your wealth from the labor of chattel slaves? The sweat of other men imprisoned for life? Almost all of the Confederate leadership lived that lifestyle.
And a cautionary tale in that; how easily our moral judgements are swayed by our wallets.
Birdwatcher
