slavery

is interwoven with our very political existence, is guaranteed by our Constitution, and its consequences must be borne by our northern brethren as resulting from our system of government, and they cannot attack the system of slavery without attacking the institutions of our country, our safety, and our welfare.

For example, in the important 1830s congressional debates over whether antislavery peti_tions should be received and read by Congress, Representative Henry Wise of Virginia summed up what the majority of contemporary white leaders thought about their new nation: "Sir, slavery is interwoven with our very political existence, is guaranteed by our Constitution, and its consequences must be borne by our northern brethren as resulting from our system of government, and they cannot attack the system of slavery without attacking the institutions of our country, our safety, and our welfare." p.12

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Henry Wise