Politics,--nothing more. Missouri would break the
balance of power if she came alone and unpaired as a slave state,
so the North paired her with Maine, and let her in, with a string
tied to her! Slavery already existed here, as in all these other
states that had been admitted with it existent. What the North
tried to do was to abolish slavery where it had _already_ existed,
legally, and under the full permission of the Constitution. All of
the Louisiana Purchase had slavery when we bought it, and under the
Constitution Congress could not legislate slavery _out_ of it."
The younger men of the party listened to him gravely, even eagerly.
Regarding the personal arbitrament of arms which they now faced,
they were indifferent; but always they were ready to hear the
arguments pro and con of that day, when indeed this loosely
organized republic had the giant wolf of slavery by the ear.
"But they claimed the right of the moral law!" said Dunwody finally.
"The moral law! Who is the judge of that? Governments are not run
by that.
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