FOREWORD
BY DR. WM. W. PENNELL
As a native of Holmes County and one of
its resi-
dents for many years, my earliest
recollections cling to
the things that claimed the attention
of its people at a
very interesting period.
Among these were the threat of war
between the
North and South if Lincoln should be
elected president;
runaway slaves; and the story, Uncle
Tom's Cabin.
These were not peculiar to that county;
conditions there
could have been duplicated a thousand
times. The
threat had no deterring effect on
political activity, but
the story seemed to crystallize the
hatred for slavery.
The presidential election of 1860 was
triangular.
Slavery had become an offense to
humanitarians; it was
opposed to the principles sealed in the
corner-stone of
American liberty. The Democratic party,
so long dom-
inant, had come to the parting of the
ways between its
northern and southern wings. Not the
least cause of
this parting was the enactment of the
Fugitive Slave
Law. The Republicans united in
nominating Lincoln,
who opposed the extension of slavery;
but the Demo-
crats, divided, could not heal their
differences. The
northern wing nominated Douglas who was
opposed to
slavery and favored the preservation of
the Union; the
southern wing nominated Breckenridge
who favored
southern interests, but their
organizations lacked that
enthusiasm which characterized that of
the Repub-
licans.
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