I feel that I cannot succeed without the same Divine blessing
which sustained him; and on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance
for support. And I hope you, my friends, will all pray that I may
receive that Divine assistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with
which success is certain. Again I bid you an affectionate farewell."
At Indianapolis, that evening, the eve of his birthday anniversary,
after thanking the assembled thousands for their "magnificent welcome,"
and defining the words "Coercion" and "Invasion"--at that time so
loosely used--he continued: "But if the United States should merely hold
and retake her own Forts and other property, and collect the duties on
foreign importation, or even withhold the mails from places where they
were habitually violated, would any or all of these things be 'Invasion'
or 'Coercion'? Do our professed lovers of the Union, who spitefully
resolve that they will resist Coercion and Invasion, understand that
such things as these on the part of the United States would be
'Coercion' or 'Invasion' of a State? If so, their idea of means to
preserve the object of their great affection would seem to be
exceedingly thin and airy."
At Columbus, Ohio, he spoke in a like calm, conservative, reasoning way
--with the evident purpose of throwing oil on the troubled waters--when
he said: "I have not maintained silence from any want of real anxiety.
It is a good thing that there is no more than anxiety; for there is
nothing going wrong.
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