Senator Seward gives his famous "irrepressible conflict" speech in Rochester, New York
In one of the famous speeches of the decade, Senator William Seward of New York gave his views that slavery was the root cause of an "irrepressible conflict" in the country. Speaking in Rochester, New York, he concluded that this could only end with the United States becoming completely slave-holding or completely free. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
William Jennings Bryan, ed.,The World’s Famous Orations, Vol. IX. America: II1818-1865, (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1906)