Slave Holding in the South Isaac & Rosa slave children from New Orleans Disunion the Doom of Slavery Hon, W.W. Boyce of South Carolina, in 1851, speaking of the hostile spirit of the age to the institution of slavery said—“Secession, separate nationality with all its burdens, is no remedy. It is no redress for the past; it is no security for the future. It is only a magnificent sacrifice to the present, without any wise gaining in the future. For various reasons I have stated, I object in strong terms as I can, to the secession of South Carolina. Such is the intensity of my conviction on this subject, that if secession should take place—of which I have no idea, for I cannot believe in the existence of such a stupendous madness— I shall consider the institution of slavery as doomed, and that the Great God, in our blindness, has made us the instruments of its destruction.” 1863 Emancipated Slaves from New Orleans   Slave...

LeLand Stanford CEO of the Central Pacific Railroad  May 11, 1869 The NY Sun A bond issued to help finance the Railroad          If you had asked the rail barons pushing to build a transcontinental railroad, "Will you make a profit selling tickets? Will you make a profit hauling farm crops and manufactured goods?" they would answer, "Certainly." If they were being utterly candid, though, they'd add, "Of course, that's not where the really big and quick money is."      A transcontinental railroad was proposed in the early 1840s.  Before the war with Mexico, its route would have been from Chicago and St Louis to the coast of Oregon. Southern senators and representatives in Congress opposed this, fearing it would simply bring more anti-slavery immigrants into the northern plains, creating more free soil states and breaking the grip minority pro slavery states had on Congress.       Adding Texas and the land gained by the...

  Harper's Weekly was one of the most influential publications of its day. The editorial below touches on so many issues of the day and many of which relate to today's opinions by contrast. The editorial original is in italics; my added commentary and background in   blue  and  not in italics.  Harper’s Weekly, Saturday April 24, 1858 THE PACIFIC RAILROAD Mr. Benjamin seems to have given this measure its quietus. The Senate, may, of course, reconsider the vote by which it has deferred further consideration of Sen. Green’s bill till December next, but it is not likely. Small as the majority was in favor of Mr. Benjamin’s motion, it is a majority which is likely to swell. (Sen. Judah P. Benjamin D-LA, a leader in New Orleans’ Jewish community and later the only intelligent member of the Confederate cabinet.  Last seen at the end of the Civil War in a row boat heading for a blockade runner with the remnants of the Confederate treasury. A brilliant lawyer,...