"Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition." — Alexander H. Stephens, Cornerstone Speech, March 1861
Stephens delivered this speech in the immediate context of:
- A
The fall of Fort Sumter and outbreak of military hostilities
- B
Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation
- C
Sherman's March to the Sea through Georgia
- Dcheck_circle
The recent secession of seven Deep South states and adoption of the Confederate Constitution
Explanation
Stephens spoke in March 1861, weeks after the Deep South states seceded and adopted the Confederate Constitution but before Fort Sumter (April 1861) triggered war.