"I have often expressed the opinion that the success of a purely sectional party, organized upon any principle, sentiment or policy, in strong antagonism to the interests and sentiments of the opposing and defeated section, would deeply imperil the Union; nor did I believe, until the result of the October elections became known, that a majority of the Northern people would ever so far disregard the counsels and warnings of Washington as to elect the candidate of such a party, to the Presidency.
The election of Mr. Lincoln by a sectional party, organized and sustained upon the distinctive principle of opposition to Slavery, as it exists in the Southern States, and avowing the policy of its repression, and final extinction, (by prohibiting its extension into the Territories,) was a bold experiment upon the temper and forbearance of the South, and upon the strength of their loyalty to the Union.
This experiment, if not conceived in a spirit of disunion, was made with a reckless regard of consequences. No greater strain upon the ligaments which bind the two great sections of the country together could be devised, than the attempt to establish or inaugurate a permanent Government policy upon such principles." (John Bell, former 1860's Presidential candidate, December 12, 1860)
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