Cornerstone Speech facts for kids
Alexander H. Stephens, the deliverer of the speech
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| Date | March 21, 1861 |
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| Location | The Athenaeum, Savannah, Georgia |
| Participants | Alexander H. Stephens |
The Cornerstone Speech was a famous talk given by Alexander H. Stephens. He was the Vice President of the Confederate States of America. He gave the speech in Savannah, Georgia, on March 21, 1861. This was just a few weeks before the Civil War officially started.
In his speech, Stephens defended slavery. He claimed that Black people were not equal to white people. He said that slavery was their "natural and normal condition." He also explained why the Confederacy was leaving the United States. He believed their new government was built on the idea of white people being superior.
Contents
What Was the Cornerstone Speech?
Why Is It Called the Cornerstone Speech?
The speech is called the "Cornerstone Speech" because Stephens used the word "cornerstone." He said the Confederacy was built on the "great truth" that Black people were not equal to white people. He believed slavery was their natural state.
Stephens used a Bible idea to explain this. He said that the idea of Black people being enslaved was like a "cornerstone" for their new country. He meant it was the most important foundation.
Key Ideas in the Speech
When Was the Speech Given?
Stephens gave his speech after several Southern states had already left the United States. These states included South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. This was also less than three weeks after Abraham Lincoln became the 16th President of the United States.
The Civil War had not yet fully begun. The first major battle, the Battle of Fort Sumter, happened a month later. Stephens pointed out that the states had left the Union without any major fighting so far.
Slavery as the "Cornerstone"
Stephens clearly stated that disagreements over slavery were the main reason for the Southern states leaving the Union. He said the new Confederate Constitution had solved all questions about "African slavery."
He argued that earlier American leaders, like Thomas Jefferson, thought slavery was wrong. But Stephens claimed these ideas were "fundamentally wrong." He said they were based on the false idea that "all men are created equal."
Stephens believed that new scientific ideas proved that people were not equal. He said that the enslavement of Black people was right and even matched Bible teachings. He proudly stated that the Confederacy was the first country ever founded on the idea of white supremacy.
He also said that the Confederacy's belief in human inequality followed the "laws of nature." He thought that their system was the first government truly in line with nature's plan for human society.
After the Confederacy lost the Civil War and slavery ended, Stephens tried to change his story. He later said that the war was not about slavery. He claimed it was about differences in how the government should work.
How the Confederate Constitution Was Different
Stephens also talked about how the Confederate Constitution was different from the U.S. Constitution.
Economic Differences
One big difference was about money. The Confederate Constitution got rid of tariffs (taxes on imported goods). It also stopped the central government from spending money on things like roads or canals within states. Stephens believed that if a harbor needed improving, the local businesses that used it should pay. This was part of a "states' rights" idea. It meant states should have more power than the central government.
Government Rules
Another change was about how the government worked. Stephens liked that cabinet members (like the Secretary of the Treasury) could speak in Congress. In the U.S. system, they could not. He thought this would make them more accountable.
Also, the Confederate President would serve one six-year term. Stephens hoped this would stop presidents from trying to get re-elected and focus more on their job.
The Confederacy's Size and Future
Stephens believed the seven states that had left the Union were strong enough to form a successful country. He said they had a population of five million people (including enslaved Black people). Their land area was larger than France, Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom combined.
He also expected more states to join the Confederacy soon. He thought North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas would join. He also believed Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri would eventually become members.
Stephens hoped for peace. He wanted the U.S. Army to leave their forts in the South, like Fort Sumter. He accused the Republicans of being hypocrites. He said they were against slavery but did not want to let slave states leave the Union. He thought they just wanted the money from slave labor.
What Happened After the Speech?
The Cornerstone Speech became very important. It showed what the Confederacy truly stood for.
During the war, a Union official named Benjamin Butler reminded the Confederates of Stephens's words. He said their government was built on the idea of owning people. Frederick Douglass, a famous abolitionist, also spoke about the speech. He said Stephens clearly showed the difference between the U.S. and Confederate governments. One believed in freedom, the other in enslaving Black people.
Historian Harry V. Jaffa wrote about the speech in his book A New Birth of Freedom. He said the speech showed the true heart of the Confederacy. He also said it showed the ideas behind the later Jim Crow laws in the South. Jaffa even compared Stephens's ideas about race to those of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.
Stephens gave the speech without a script. Reporters wrote down what he said. After the war, Stephens tried to say that reporters had misquoted him. He claimed that constitutional issues, not slavery, were the real cause of the war. But many historians do not believe him. His own private diary, which he never expected to be published, said that the reporter's notes were "very imperfect" and that he "hastily corrected" them.
There is a common idea that Jefferson Davis, the leader of the Confederacy, was angry about Stephens's speech. This is because Davis was trying to get support from other countries that did not like slavery. However, there is no real proof that Davis was upset. This idea seems to have come from a book written in 1959.
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Alexander H. Stephens, the deliverer of the speech
