302
WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1861
South. Sectional prejudices, sectional hate, sectional aggrandize- ment, and sectional pride, cloaked in the name of the Govern- ment and Union, stimulate the North in prosecuting this war. Thousands are duped into its support by zeal for the Union, and reverence for its past associations; but the motives of the Ad- minisfration are too plain to be misunderstood. The time has come when a man's section is his · country. I stand by mine. All my hopes, my fortunes, are centered in the South. When I see the land for whose defence my blood has been spilt, and the people whose fortunes have been mine through a quarter of a century of toil, threatened with invasion, 'I can but cast my lot with theirs and await the issue. For years I have been denounced on account of my efforts to save the South from the consequences of the unhappy measures which have brought destruction upon the whole country. When, in the face of almost my entire section, and a powerful Northern strength, I opposed the Kansas and Nebraska bill, the bitter- ness of language was exhausted to decry and villify me. When I pictured· the consequences of that measure, and foretold its effects, I was unheeded. Now, when every Northern man who supported that measure is demanding the subjugation of the South, our people can see the real feelings which actuated them in supporting it. Devoted as I was to peace and to the Union, I have struggled against the realization even of my own prophe- cies. Every result I foresaw has already occurred. It was to bring peace and strength to the South. It has brought war, and spread free soil almost to the northern border of Texas. All we can now do is to stand firm by what we have, and be more wise in the future. The trouble is upon us; and no matter how it came, or who brought it on, we have to meet it. Whether we have opposed this secession movement or favored it, we must alike meet the consequences. I sought calm and prudent action. I desired a united and prepared South, if we must leave the Union. Entire cooperation may not now be possible, but we have ample strength for the struggle if we husband it aright. We must fight now whether we are prepared or not. My position was taken months since. Though I opposed seces- sion for the reasons mentioned, I saw that the policy of coercion could not be permitted. The attempt to stigmatize and crush out this revolution, comprehending States and millions of peo- ple, as a rebellion, would show that the Administration at Wash- ington did not comprehend the vast issues involved, or refused
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