Rev. Beriah Green, one of the most devoted among Abolitionists, wrote from Whitesborough, New York:—
“Such massive, enduring truth! uttered so clearly, definitely, fully! The argument so perspicuous, compact, conclusive! The illustrations so apt, so fresh, so sparkling! The conclusions so weighty, grand, impressive! Every paragraph pervaded, radiant, with scholarly beauty. When did literature, our own or other, ever more willingly, more generously, come, all vigorous and graceful, to the aid of any of her sons?
“I bless God, and thank you, for the deep-toned, comprehensive humanity which pervades, which consecrates and hallows your paragraphs. I found myself, as I moved on step by step through your trains of thought, quickened and encouraged, inspired and refreshed. The impression which the speech as a whole made upon my innermost spirit it is my privilege to cherish and retain. I shall, I trust, be more fraternal in my regards for all my fellows forever, for your brave, manly utterances. Blessings on your head, heart, and estate!”
Rev. Thomas C. Upham, author, professor, and devoted friend of Peace, wrote from Bowdoin College, in Maine:—
“Your history in Congress has been a providential one. I do most fully believe that the hand of God has been in it from the beginning. I thought that the blow which struck you down in the Senate was destined, through the overrulings of Providence, to break the chains of the slave, and I think so still. Allow me to congratulate you, in connection with multitudes of others, on your return to the country and the Senate, and on the utterance of great and true and kind words which will have an influence on the hearts of thinking men throughout the nation.”
Rev. Henry M. Dexter, religious editor, and zealous historian of the Plymouth Pilgrims, wrote:—
“I cannot help feeling, my dear Sir, that you have made the most effective argument which the country has yet listened to on the general subject of the evils of that horrible system under which our nation is reeling like a giant poisoned by an adder. God bless you for your faithfulness, so calm, so dignified, so just, so overwhelming in its logical results, and grant that in ‘the good time coming’ your voice may often be lifted in that Senate House to more appreciative and coöperative auditors!”
Rev. Joseph P. Thompson, the eminent divine and eloquent preacher, wrote from New York:—
“My first duty as a Christian is to thank God that he has restored you to the Senate with physical and mental vigor equal to the great debate in which you have just borne so noble a part. My first duty as a patriot is to thank you for a speech which meets fully, squarely, ably, eloquently, conclusively, the one issue upon which our national welfare now depends. My first duty as a friend is to express the high satisfaction with which I have read the speech throughout, every line and letter of it, and the peculiar pleasure with which I have observed your self-control and avoidance of personalities under provocation, and your fearless and searching exposure of the barbarism and criminality of Slavery under the very eye of its bullying champions and in the very place where you had suffered its deadly malice. I am ashamed of the timid comments, almost deprecating indeed, of the Tribune and Post upon the only speech in the Senate which has reached the core of the question. If the Republican party is to seek success by blinking the real issue of the right or wrong of Slavery, I am prepared to witness its defeat without regret.”