Excerpt from The State of the Country: An Oration Delivered at Buffalo, July 4th, 1862I have thought, therefore, fellow citizens, that I might best ao complish the grateful task to which your good will has called me to day, by avoiding all the common places which have made this anniversary so fantastic in former times, and setting before you an earnest, and so far as I can make it, a thorough exposition of the present state of the country.What is the meaning of this huge and frightful revolt which has driven the States of the South into madness, and treason and war?Has our once united and happy country come so soon to its death struggle? Is Time the enemy of freedom, and are Republics the children of disease, doomed to a brief existence and a violent end? Are the powers of inevitable destruction setting in from the South? Or is the mighty life of the North, rushing with a gene rous impetuosity into the distempered members, and ooding the whole body of the State with a new vitality? What is the his toric significance, and what the true solution of this great National convulsion? To such inquiries we devote the present hour.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition.

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