One of the dramatic stories of that period was the agony of the surviving Jacksonians (eg, Francis Blair, Sam Houston, Thomas Hart Benton) navigating the national divorce. Some of them remained pro-slavery, but for the most part, they were loudly anti-secession.
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Their dilemma was, in its own way, a similar story re-enacted in each generation: men who found themselves suddenly without a party as their old friends abandoned the principles they had committed their careers to.
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The Jacksonians ranged from comfortable with slavery to active proponents of its expansion. But what united & drove their movement was not South vs North; it was a national vision. They were horrified to see the monster of secssionism that had grown out of their own movement.
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Those were some fascinating men. They had their good sides and bad sides. But they were amazing Americans. I don't think that we have anyone of their caliber today.
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And I mean it’s even hard to say Lincoln was an equivalent until he ran for president(or won). The men mentioned had mostly been national figures for decades. Just very poor timing that they all passed at the same time and it was too late when Lincoln showed up.
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Lincoln I always considered our most important American
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That vacuum was mostly filled by Stephen A. Douglas. Perhaps the absence of strong leaders was because of the Whigs demise. It's crazy - but there was no set of issues that could rally a viable opposition to the Franklin Pierce-James Buchanan Democrats.
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