They believe slavery a sin, we do not, and there lies the trouble." - Meaning and context.">
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Henry Massey Rector, Speech to the Arkansas Secession Convention, 2 March 1861), partly cited in: David Yancey Thomas (1926), Arkansas in War and Reconstruction 1861-1874, p. 65
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The area of slavery must be extended correlative with its antagonism, or it will be put speedily in the 'course of ultimate extinction.'... The extension of slavery is the vital point of the whole controversy between the North and the South... Amendments to the federal constitution are urged by some as a panacea for all the ills that beset us. That instrument is amply sufficient as it now stands, for the protection of Southern rights, if it was only enforced. The South wants practical evidence of good faith from the North, not mere paper agreements and compromises. They believe slavery a sin, we do not, and there lies the trouble.

— American Civil War

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The area of slavery must be extended correlative with its antagonism, or it will be put speedily in the 'course of ultimate extinction.'... The extension of slavery is the vital point of the whole controversy between the North and the South... Amendments to the federal constitution are urged by some as a panacea for all the ills that beset us. That instrument is amply sufficient as it now stands, for the protection of Southern rights, if it was only enforced. The South wants practical evidence of good faith from the North, not mere paper agreements and compromises. They believe slavery a sin, we do not, and there lies the trouble." in the context of "Henry Massey Rector, Speech to the Arkansas Secession Convention, 2 March 1861), partly cited in: David Yancey Thomas (1926), Arkansas in War and Reconstruction 1861-1874, p. 65" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "American Civil War" (Quotes, Conflict Brewing: The Secession Crisis (1860–1861), State secession conventions and declarations (1860–1861)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 05, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
American Civil War

About American Civil War

The American Civil War (ACW), also known as the War of the Rebellion, the Great Rebellion, and several other names, was a civil war that was fought in the United States of America from 1861 to 1865. Fearing that the future of slavery was in jeopardy after the election of an anti-slavery U.S. president, eleven slave-holding U.S. states located in the southern United States declared their secession from the country and formed the Confederate States, also known as "the Confederacy", sparking war. Led by Democrat Jefferson Davis, they fought against the United States, also known as "the Union", led by Republican Abraham Lincoln, which consisted of every free U.S. state as well as five slave-holding states, known as "border states". In 1865, after four years of warfare, the Confederacy surrendered, and slavery was abolished in the United States with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution by three-fourths of the states.

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