own case; and I present the matter in
that light in which I am willing, as an individual member of Congress,
to be judged by civilized humanity. I say then, that, according to true
history, the slave-holding interest in this country has not been a
disfavored interest; it has not been disfavored by the North. The North
has concurred to bring in these five slave-holding States out of newly
acquired territory, which acquisitions were not at all in the
contemplation of the Convention which formed the Constitution, or of the
people when they agreed that there should be a representation of three
fifths of the slaves in the then existing States.

Mr. President, what is the result of this? We stand here now, at least I
do, for one, to say, that, considering there have been already five new
slave-holding States formed out of newly acquired territory, and only
one non-slave-holding State, at most, I do not feel that I am called on
to go further; I do not feel the obligation to yield more. But our
friends of the South say, You deprive us of all our rights. We have
fought for this territory, and you deny us participation in it. Let us
consider this question as it really is; and since the honorable
gentleman from Georgia proposes to leave the case to the enlightened and
impartial judgment of mankind, and as I agree with him that it is a case
proper to be considered by the enlightened part of mankind, let us see
how the matter in truth stands. Gentlemen who advocate the case which my
honorable friend from Georgia, with so much ability, sustains, declare
that we invade their rights, that we deprive them of a participation in
the enjoyment of territories acquired by the common services and common
exertions of all. Is this true? How deprive? Of what do we deprive them?
Why, they say that we deprive them of the privilege of carrying their
slaves, as slaves, into the new territories. Well, Sir, what is the
amount of that? They say that in this way we deprive them of the
opportunity of going into this acquired territory with their property.
Their "property"? What do they mean by "property"? We certainly do not
deprive them of the privilege of going into these newly acquired
territories with all that, in the general estimate of human society, in
the general, and common, and universal understanding of mankind, is
esteemed property. Not at all. The truth is just this. They have, in
their own States, peculiar laws, which create property in per