ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS
THE SOUTH AND THE PUBLIC DOMAIN[1]
(1850)
Born in 1812, died in 1883; elected to Congress in 1843-59; opposed Secession in 1860; Vice-President of the Confederacy in 1861-65; imprisoned in Boston Harbor from May to October, 1865; elected United States Senator in 1866, but not seated; Member of Congress in 1873-82; elected Governor of Georgia in 1883.
A public domain has been acquired by the common blood and common treasure of all, and the South, which is charged with endeavoring to control the government for its purposes, asks nothing but that the common territory which is the public property may be opened to the entry and settlement and equal enjoyment of all the citizens of every part of the Republic, with their property of every description; while it is the North which comes here and demands that the whole of this common domain shall be set apart exclusively for itself, or for itself and such persons from the South as will strip themselves of a certain species of their property, and conform their views to the policy of the North. I submit it to every candid man in this House, and to every intelligent and candid man in the world, outside of the House, if this is not a fair
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- ↑ From a speech in the House of Representatives, August 6, 1850.
