Source: Waving the Bloody Shirt

Ladies and gentlemen: This is in my opinion the grandest and best country in the world ... And when I speak of "Our country" I mean the North, East, and West. There are parts of this country that are not yet civilized. There are parts of this country in which the people do not believe in the great principle of self-government. ...

I want you to know that every man that thinks the State is greater than the Union, is a Democrat. Every man that declared [in favor of) slavery was a Democrat. Every man that signed an ordinance [declaration] of secession was a Democrat. Every man that lowered our flag from the skies was a Democrat. Every man that bred bloodhounds was a Democrat. Every preacher that said that slavery was a divine institution was a Democrat. Recollect it! Every man that shot a Union soldier was a Democrat. Every wound borne by you Union soldiers is a souvenir of a Democrat. You got your crutches from Democrats. Every man that starved a Union soldier was a Democrat. ... The keepers of Andersonville and Libby [camps for Union prisoners of war), those two wings that will bear the Confederacy to eternal infamy, were all Democrats. ... The men who attempted to spread yellow fever in our Northern cities were all Democrats. The men who proposed to give our Northern cities to the flames were all Democrats! ... The men who wanted to assassinate Northern Governors were Democrats.

Now all I ask you to do is what you believe to be right. If you really think liberty of speech, the ballot box, [and] the revenue are safer with the South than with the North, then vote the Democratic ticket early and often. If you believe it is better to trust the men who fought against the country than the men who fought to preserve it ... then vote the Democratic ticket. ...

... The Democrats now have both houses of Congress. If they get the Executive they'll have the whole; they'll annul the legislation of the war. They'll make Unionism disreputable. They'd make a Union soldier ashamed to say he lost a leg on the field of glory and make him say he lost it in a thrashing machine. ... I don't want to see them have that pleasure. The Rebel possessions and claims don't amount to anything in dollars and cents. Liberty is cheap at any price. ... I want my government to be proud and free. Liberty is a thing wherein extravagance is economy.