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Electioneering
At The South |
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| ELECTIONEERING IN THE
SOUTH |
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| The illustration upon Page 468 is one of the
most significant possible. It shows the newly-enfranchised citizens of the United States
engaged in the discussion of political questions upon which they are to vote; and however crude
the arguments of the orator may be, they can not be more so than those which may be heard every
evening in the clubs of the "superior race" in the city of New York. The scene is wholly
characteristic. The eager attention of the listeners, and the evidently glib tongue of the
speaker, reveal that remarkable adaptability and readiness so observable in the colored race. They
take naturally to peaceful and lawful forms; they are naturally eloquent; and instead of scoffing
loftily at them as incompetent, their white brethren will find it necessary to bestir themselves, or
the "incompetent" class will be the better educated and more successful. Does any man
seriously doubt whether it is better for this vast population to be sinking deeper and deeper in
ignorance and servility, or rising into general intelligence and self-respect? They can not be
pariahs; they can not be peons; they must be slaves or citizens. The policy of enslaving them
has produced such results as we have seen; and we are now to see that liberty is truly conservative, and that honesty is the best policy. |
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