War crushes with bloody heel all justice, all happiness, all that is Godlike in man. In our age there can be no peace that is not honorable; there can be no war that is not dishonorable.
Charles SumnerFrom the beginning of our history the country has been afflicted with compromise. It is by compromise that human rights have been abandoned.
Charles SumnerThe slave power dares anything, and it can be conquered only by the united masses of the people. From Congress to the people, I appeal.
Charles SumnerThere is the National Flag. He must be cold, indeed, who can look upon its folds rippling in the breeze without pride of country. If he be in a foreign land, the flag is companionship and country itself, with all its endearment...The very colors have a language which was recognized by our fathers; white is for purity; red, for valor; blue, for justice. And altogether, bunting, stripes, stars, and colors, blazing in the sky, make the flag of our country, to be cherished by all our hearts, to be upheld by all our hands.
Charles Sumner