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 SumnerWar is a positive, precise and specific evil, of gigantic proportions ...making within the sphere of its influence all true grandeur impossible.
Charles SumnerWhether the Union stands or falls, I believe the profession of arms will henceforth be more desirable and more respected than it has been hitherto.
Charles SumnerNothing from man's hands, nor law, nor constitution, can be final. Truth alone is final.
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