I can, and Southern free white people either slave owning or non-slave owning, who live night and day surrounded by millions of potential deadly slaves lead by hostile abolitionists, that is a burden on the mind and nerves. Fear is a powerful motivator and in 1860 I cannot find where any Southerner could have any peace of mind. Compared to their Northern counterparts who spent the summer picnicking or enjoying life in the large cities, Southerners were living life on the edge of madness, starvation and destuction in that record heat of 1860.
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David Upton