Shall the people that saved this country rule it? Shall the men who
saved the old flag hold it? Shall the men who saved the ship of state
sail it? or shall the rebels walk her quarter-deck, give the orders
and sink it? That is the question. Shall a solid South, a united South,
united by assassination and murder, a South solidified by the shot-gun;
shall a united South, with the aid of a divided North, shall they
control this great and splendid country? Well, then, the North must
wake up. We are right back where we were in 1861. This is simply a
prolongation of the war. This is the war of the idea, the other was the
war of the musket. The other was the war of cannon, this is the war of
thought, and we have got to beat them in this war of thought, recollect
that. The question is, Shall the men who endeavored to destroy this
country rule it? Shall the men that said, This is not a nation, have
charge of the nation?