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1851-1921 By Elmer Davis Originally published 1921 |
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shall wage no war except in defense of the constitution and against its foes. But we have a country and a constitutional government. We know its worth to us and to mankind, and in case of necessity we are ready to test its strength."
That sentiment guided the editorial course of The Times through the turbulent winter between Lincoln's election and the attack on Fort Sumter. Raymond deprecated, as all sensible men deprecated, any hasty aggression which might provoke to violence men who could still, perhaps, be brought back to reason; but he insisted that as a last resort the union must be maintained by any means necessary. To the proposals for compromise he was favorable, on condition that they did not compromise the essential issue - that they did not nullify the election of 186o and give back to the slave power the control of the national government which it had lost. Because no other compromise would have been acceptable the issue inevitably had to be fought out, and from Sumter to Appomattox The Times was unwavering in its support of Lincoln and its determination that the Federal union must and should be preserved. Its editorial comment on Lincoln's first inaugural address was an index of its position in the weeks just before war broke out. After reviewing Lincoln's program The Times observed: "If the dangers of the hour can be averted and the Union can be saved, this is the basis on which alone it can be accomplished. If the Union cannot be saved on this basis and consistently with these principles it is better that it should not be saved at all."
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