Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 1.djvu/50

16 the free-soil Know-Nothing must work his way. It is certain that the nativistic movement will be wrecked on this rock of inconsistency. But there is danger that the anti-slavery movement will be weakened by it. Only the South can be consistent in both questions, and unite the strength of two formidable agitations. It will not be long before the slave States become the headquarters of the nativistic movement and there it will remain. This will suffice to secure the rights of the foreign elements in the North. I am convinced, moreover, that we have nothing further to fear from the Know-Nothings, except a weakening of the anti-slavery movement; this would be all the more deplorable because that movement is already so well under way.

The slavery question reveals itself in so many different aspects to him who has recently come to America, that he finds it difficult to work his way through the confusion of considerations and interests, especially where the existence of the Union is involved. After studying all the arguments I could find, with the exception of those in the Bible, I have at length come to the final conclusion that, whatever may be the considerations that demand compromise, there can be but one question of freedom, and the faithful adherence to that principle is, on the whole, more practical than it sometimes seems. It is not the philanthropic side of the question which has brought me to this conclusion, but the direct and indirect effect of the system upon the whole Government of the United States, the aristocratic character of Southern society, the demoralising influence of the slave-power upon the politicians of the North; the consequent partisanship of all political ideas of justice and especially the influence upon our foreign policy. When you ask me, “When will the United States interfere practically in the interest of the freedom of the peoples of the world?” I answer without