In the U.S. Senate, packed galleries cheer Senator Benjamin of Louisiana's defiant speech

Senator Judah Benjamin of Louisiana gave a speech in support of secession on the floor of the United States Senate.  The galleries were filled with secessionist supporters who cheered noisily his concluding words that the South will never be subjugated and that "you can never degrade them to a servile and inferior race; never, never, never!"  Benjamin resigned his seat on February 4, 1861 when Louisiana completed its break with the Union.  (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"An Exciting Day in Washington, " New York Times, January 1, 1861.
 Orville J. Victor, The History, Civil, Political, and Military, of the Southern Rebellion ... Volume I (New York: James D. Torrey, 1861), 151.
    Date Certainty
    Exact
    Type
    Lawmaking/Litigating
    How to Cite This Page: "In the U.S. Senate, packed galleries cheer Senator Benjamin of Louisiana's defiant speech," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/34833.