The Cornerstone Speech

Alexander H. Stephens was known as the Vice President of Confederacy. As you know the Confederacy was a strong supporter of the idea of enslavement of Africans. They also believed that there was not any moral issues because they were not actual people. We today however know that this is completely incorrect. Alexander Stephens will eventually give a speech addressing the Confederate named the Cornerstone. This speech was very dynamic however would cause much uproar because of its content. Stephens believed that the cornerstone of the Confederacy was indeed slavery. You might ask what exactly he meant by that? He specified that the government was founded on the principles of slavery. That and other objectives of the Cornerstone speech are what …show more content…
In his own words, “The great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. However, according to the Declaration of Independence published in 1776 he is entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Slavery is not something anyone is entitled or restricted to. It’s a sad realization that they lived in. Their mentality on the value of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was highly flawed Vice President Alexander supports his argument by using “logic”. He says that if it was meant for them to be equals it would be that way and that the Creator made this unequal for a particular reason. However, that is contradicting because they are the ones who made them slaves to begin with. Unless he is implying they are the “Creator”. He also states that the North is inferior in comparison to the South and the Confederacy. His speech in general is was very controversial and he threw a lot of people under the bus, the North …show more content…
On one side it depicted Lincoln in a dress with the words PEACE written across it. He also is holding a scale with two people equal which was his goal. As for the Southern view of Lincoln, they saw him as a white man hating savage. The picture shows with is foot in the chest of a slave owner. Both of the pictures however, were extremely exaggerated in the attempt to influence the North and South. Our great state of Texas would cause the North the most of problems. “They were ready to fight on the accession of Texas, and are equally ready to fight now on their secession.” The United States was not ready nor willing to lose a state like Texas so they would go through anything to keep it. As far as any other state it was not at the top of the Union’s priority list. Stephens did not show much respect to African Americans at all especially the ones that were enslaved. They did not even look at them as people but as property. In reference to women, society as a whole did not have respect for their gender. They were tolerated but not shown sensitivity or compassion. Some could almost compare them to the African Americans with the exception that they were not enslaved. In either situation it was not a good place and time for the African Americans nor