colonies, and which met in Philadelphia, September 5, 1774, was a slave
owner from a slave state, Peyton Randolph. The only secretary that
congress ever had, was a slave owner from a slave state, Charles
Thompson. The gentleman who was chairman of the committee of the whole,
on Saturday, the 8th of June, 1776, and who, on the morning of the 10th
reported the resolutions, that the thirteen colonies, of right ought to
be free and independent _states_, was a slaveholder from a slave state,
Benjamin Harrison. The same gentlemen again, as chairman of the
committee of the whole, reported the Declaration of Independence in
form; and to which he affixed his signature, on Thursday, July 4, 1776.
The gentleman who wrote the Declaration of Independence, was a slave
owner, from a slave state, Thomas Jefferson. The gentleman who was
selected to lead their armies, as commander-in-chief, and who did lead
them successfully, to victory and the independence of the country, was a
slave owner, from a slave state, George Washington. The gentleman who
was president of the convention, to form the constitution of the United
States, was a slave holder, from a slave state, George Washington. The
gentleman who wrote the constitution of the United States (making it the
best government ever formed on earth), was a slave owner, from a slave
state, James Madison. The first president of the United States, under
that constitution, and who, under God gave it strength, consistency and
power before the world, was a slave owner, from a slave state, George
Washington; and these were all white men and slave owners; and whatever
of peace, prosperity, happiness and glory, the people of the United
States have enjoyed under it, have been from the administration of the
government, by presidents elected by the people, of _slave holders_,
from _slave states_. Whenever the people have elected a president from a
non-slaveholding state, commencing with the elder Adams, and down to Mr.
Lincoln, confusion, wrangling and strife have been the order of the day,
until it culminated in the greatest civil war the world has ever beheld,
under the last named gentleman. Why this has been so is not in the line
of our subject. We mention it as a matter of history, to confirm the
Bible fact, _that God always_ selects _slaveholders_, or from a
_slaveholding_ nation, the media through which he confers his blessings
on mankind. Would it not be wisdom to heed it now?

One reflection a