together on terms of social and political equality. And in as much as
they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the
position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in
favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say
upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to
have the superior position the negro should be denied everything. I do
not understand that because I do not want a negro woman for a slave I
must necessarily want her for a wife. My understanding is that I can just
let her alone. I am now in my fiftieth year, and I certainly never have
had a black woman for either a slave or a wife. So it seems to me quite
possible for us to get along without making either slaves or wives of
negroes. I will add to this that I have never seen, to my knowledge, a
man, woman, or child who was in favor of producing a perfect equality,
social and political, between negroes and white men. I recollect of but
one distinguished instance that I ever heard of so frequently as to be
entirely satisfied of its correctness, and that is the case of Judge
Douglas's old friend Colonel Richard M. Johnson. I will also add to the
remarks I have made (for I am not going to enter at large upon this
subject), that I have never had the least apprehension that I or my
friends would marry negroes if there was no law to keep them from it; but
as Judge Douglas and his friends seem to be in great apprehension that
they might, if there were no law to keep them from it, I give him the
most solemn pledge that I will to the very last stand by the law of this
State which forbids the marrying of white people with negroes. I will add
one further word, which is this: that I do not understand that there is
any place where an alteration of the social and political relations of
the negro and the white man can be made, except in the State
Legislature,--not in the Congress of the United States; and as I do not
really apprehend the approach of any such thing myself, and as Judge
Douglas seems to be in constant horror that some such danger is rapidly