1812, so I should have taken other ground than his had I been born and
old enough to have opinions in the stirring _ante-bellum_ days of the
fifties. And yet, as hindsight makes our vision clearer than foresight,
it is impossible to say definitely what our opinions would have been
under other conditions, and there can, at any rate, be no question of the
absolute sincerity of the man who, from his youth up, had placed the
welfare of his beloved country above every other consideration except his
duty to his God.

It would take a keen student of the political history of this country to
determine how far the opinions and activities of those who were in
opposition on questions of such prime importance as slavery, secession,
and unrestricted immigration, served as a wholesome check on the radical
views of those who finally gained the ascendancy. The aftermath of two of
these questions is still with us, for the negro question is by no means a
problem solved, and the subject of proper restrictions on foreign
immigration is just now occupying the attention of our Solons.

That Morse should make enemies on account of the outspoken stand he took
on all these questions was to be expected, but I shall not attempt to sit
in judgment, but shall simply give his views as they appear in his
correspondence. At any rate he was not called upon to state and maintain
his opinions in the halls of Congress, for, in a letter of November 10,
1854, to a friend, he says at the end: "I came near being in Congress at
the late election, but had _not quite votes enough_, which is the usual
cause of failure on such occasions."



CHAPTER XXXV