...State to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that balance of power on which the...perfection and endurance of our political fabric depend." For a discussion of the operation of the Fugitive Slave Act, see Stanley W. Campbell, The Slave Catchers:...

...essential to that balance of powers on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric depends; and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force...under what pretext, as among the gravest of crimes. . , in a country with a Republican president, fled to South Carolina before Lincoln's inauguration...

...back into the Union. Reading from the Republican Party platform, Lincoln reminded his listeners that "we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of...State or Territory, no matter under what pretext," and he offered support for constitutional amendments like that proposed by the Peace Convention. He...

...State to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that balance of power on which the...under what pretext, as among the gravest of crimes. "... Having taken the oath to support the Constitution, he could not retract. Those words would cause...