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The famous "irrepressible conflict" speech...
The famous "irrepressible conflict" speech...
Item # 683605
November 13, 1858
DAILY NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER, Washington, D.C., Nov. 13, 1858
* William H. Seward on slavery
* Irrepressible Conflict speech
Nearly three columns on page 2 are taken up with the: "Speech Of Mr. Seward, of New York, delivered at a political meeting held in Rochester on the 25th of October, 1858".
This speech, although harmful to his political career, put the slavery issue on the front burner. One way or another, it had to be resolved.
Before becoming Lincoln’s Secretary of State and one of his most trusted advisors, William Seward was the favorite to win the Republican nomination for president in 1860. During the 1858 midterm elections, Seward spoke to a crowd in Rochester delivering what was arguably the most impressive, yet politically disastrous, speech of his career.
Seward claimed that an “irrepressible conflict” was brewing over slavery and that the United States, as a result, must sooner or later become all slave or all free. The Democratic Party was the party of the slave power, Seward argued, its survival dependent on the support of the slave interest. The Republican Party had to replace it. But Seward’s fiery rhetoric and uncompromising attitude earned him the reputation throughout the South, and even in parts of the North, as a war-monger. (credit: TeachingAmericanHistory)
The notable paragraph is in the first column: "...Shall I tell you what this collision means? They who think that it is accidental, unnecessary, the work of interested or fanatical agitators, and therefore ephemeral, mistake the case altogether. It is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces, and it means that the United States must and will, sooner or later, become either entirely a slave-holding nation or entirely a free-labor nation...".
This is one of the more significant political speeches on the slavery issue in America. And 2 1/2 years the "irrepressible conflict" would become a reality.
Four pages, a few minor archival mends at margins, archival strengthening at the top portion of the blank spine with a bit of spine missing (not close to any text), very nice condition.
Great to have such a notable political speech in this famous newspaper from the nation's capital.
Category: Pre-Civil War
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