smaller politicians in both sections,
poor old John Brown would not have been regarded as a murderer by the
South nor as a martyr by the North. He would have been an object of pity
to the sensible men of both sections.

But the state of public opinion was such at that time, that this
ridiculous venture of a crazy old man was a tremendous shock to the
South. It contributed more largely than any other event to alarm the
people of this section, and to turn their minds to secession as a relief
from, and a remedy for, such attacks upon the peace and good order of
society. It was a great stimulant to those who had long been in favor of
disunion, as well as to those at the North who were ready to get rid of
slavery by violence. Following this raid, public opinion both North and
South became so violently agitated, that the voices of conservative men
could not be heard above the storm. It was the hour of the agitator and
the extremist, and they made the most of it. The Democratic Convention,
to nominate a candidate for President and Vice-President, met in
Charleston on the 23d of April, 1860, and remained in session until the
second day of May. The confused state of public opinion was shown by the
turbulent division in that convention.

At a moment when the wise men of the Democratic party, or of any party,
ought to have taken hold of affairs and made their influence felt, they
seemed to be unequal to the occasion. The members of the convention
could not agree, and the body adjourned to meet in Baltimore. But the
division continued and grew wider. The differences could not be settled.
One faction nominated Douglas and Johnson, and the other nominated
Breckinridge and Lane. The result was the election of Lincoln and Hamlin
as the candidates of the Republican party.

[Illustration: Georgia Politics 264]

In Georgia three of the ablest men still stood for the Union,--Alexander
H. Stephens, Herschel V. Johnson, and Benjamin H. Hill. But they were
unable to stem the tide. The vote of the State for members of the
convention that passed the ordinance of secession showed a majority
of only thirteen thousand for disunion; but Toombs, Thomas R. R. Cobb,
Howell Cobb, and others seized the advantage that events gave them, and,
in a whirlwind of passion, swept aside all the arguments and appeals
of the more conservative men. But, of all those who were in favor of
secession, Toombs was at that time the most powerful and influential.
He so