aught and charge of these ultimate enemies when they shall be ready to
come on, and the word of command for them to advance shall be given. I say
this "Douglas popular sovereignty"; for there is a broad distinction, as I
now understand it, between that article and a genuine popular sovereignty.

I believe there is a genuine popular sovereignty. I think a definition of
"genuine popular sovereignty," in the abstract, would be about this: That
each man shall do precisely as he pleases with himself, and with all
those things which exclusively concern him. Applied to government, this
principle would be, that a general government shall do all those things
which pertain to it, and all the local governments shall do precisely as
they please in respect to those matters which exclusively concern them. I
understand that this government of the United States, under which we live,
is based upon this principle; and I am misunderstood if it is supposed
that I have any war to make upon that principle.

Now, what is judge Douglas's popular sovereignty? It is, as a principle,
no other than that if one man chooses to make a slave of another man
neither that other man nor anybody else has a right to object. Applied in
government, as he seeks to apply it, it is this: If, in a new Territory
into which a few people are beginning to enter for the purpose of making
their homes, they choose to either exclude slavery from their limits or to
establish it there, however one or the other may affect the persons to be
enslaved, or the infinitely greater number of persons who are afterwards
to inhabit that Territory, or the other members of the families of
communities, of which they are but an incipient member, or the general
head of the family of States as parent of all, however their action may
affect one or the other of these, there is no power or right to interfere.
That is Douglas's popular sovereignty applied.

He has a good deal of trouble with popular sovereignty. His explanations
explanatory of explanations explained are interminable. The most lengthy,
and, as I suppose, the most maturely considered of this long series of
explanations is his great essay in Harper's Magazine. I will not attempt
to enter on any very thorough investigation of his argument as there made
and presented. I will nevertheless occupy a good portion of your time here
in drawing your attention to certain points in it. Such of you as may
have read this document will have pe