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The Peril of the Republic of the United States of America - Percy T. Magan

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Chapter 2<br />

<strong>The</strong> Crisis <strong>of</strong> 1861<br />

In <strong>the</strong> dark times which preceded <strong>the</strong> crisis <strong>of</strong><br />

‘61, gloomy shades, as <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> last days <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>Republic</strong>, stealthily attempted to draw <strong>the</strong>ir weird<br />

forms across <strong>the</strong> land.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Civil war between <strong>the</strong> North and <strong>the</strong> South<br />

was a struggle over principle. In <strong>the</strong> famous<br />

Gettysburg address, Abraham Lincoln stated this<br />

principle in immortal prose as follows:--<br />

“Fourscore and seven years ago our fa<strong>the</strong>rs<br />

brought forth on this continent a new nation,<br />

conceived in liberty, and dedicated to <strong>the</strong><br />

proposition that all men are created equal.<br />

“Now we are engaged in a great Civil war,<br />

testing whe<strong>the</strong>r that nation, or any nation so<br />

conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We<br />

are met on a great battle-field <strong>of</strong> that war. We have<br />

come to dedicate a portion <strong>of</strong> that field as a final<br />

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