Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Texas. Page: 259 of 1,110
vii, 9-1011 p. incl. ill., ports. : ports. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
HISTOR Y OF DALLAS COUNTY.
tions, and deeper than political motive, discuss
with you certain problems upon the wise
and prompt solution of which depends the
glory and prosperity of the South.
But why, for let us make our way slowly,
why the South? In an indivisible Union,
in a republic against the integrity of which
sword shall never be drawn or mortal hand
uplifted, and in which the rich blood gathering
in the common heart is sent throbbing
into every part of the body politic, why is
one section held separated from the rest in
alien consideration? We can understand
why this should be so in a city that has a
community of local interests, or in a State still
clothed in that sovereignty of which the debates
of peace and the storm of war have not
stripped her. But why should a number of
States, stretching from Richmond to Galveston,
together by no local interests, held in no
autonomy, be thus combined and drawn into
a common center? That man would be absurd
who declaimed in Buffalo against the
wrongs of the Middle States, or who demanded
in Chicago a convention for the West, to
consider the needs of that section. If then
it be provincialism that holds the South together,
let us outgrow it; if it be sectionalism
let us root it out of our hearts; but if it be
something deeper than these and essential to
our system, let us declare it with frankness,
consider it with respect, defend it with firmness
and in dignity abide its consequence.
What is it that holds the Southern States,
though true in thought and deed to the Union,
so closely bound in sympathy to-day? For a
century these States championed a governmental
theory, but that, having triumphed in
every forum, fell at last by the sword. They
maintained an institution, but that having
been administered in the fullest wisdom of
men, fell at last last in the higher wisdom ofGod. They fought a war, but the prejudices
of that war have died, its sympathies
have broadened and its memories are already
the priceless treasure of the republic that is
cemented forever with its blood. They looked
out together upon the ashes of their
homes and the desolation of their fields; but
out of pitiful resources they have fashioned
their homes anew, and plenty rides on the
springing harvests. In all the past there is
nothing to draw them into essential or lasting
alliance, nothing in all that heroic record
that cannot be rendered unfearing froin provincial
hands into the keeping of American
history.
But the future holds a problem, in solving
which the South must stand alone, in dealing
with which she must come closer together
than ambition or despair have driven her,
and on the outcome of which her very existence
depends. This problem is to carry
within her body politic, two separate races,
equal in civil and political rights, and nearly
equal in numbers. She must carry these
races in peace, for discord means ruin. She
must carry them separately, for assimilation
means debasement. She must carry them in
equal justice, for to this she is pledged in
honor and in gratitude. She must carry
them even unto the end, for in human probability
she will never be quit of either. This
burden no other people bears to-day; on none
hath it ever rested. Without precedent or
companionship the South must bear this problem,
the awful responsibility of which should
win the sympathy of all human kind and the
protecting watchfulness of God, alone, even
unto the end. Set by this problem apart
from all other peoples of the earth, and her
unique position emphasized rather than relieved,
as I shall show hereafter, by her material
conditions, it is not only fit but it is also
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Lewis Publishing Company. Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Texas., book, 1892; Chicago, Illinois. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20932/m1/259/?rotate=270: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Public Library.