The State of Illinois extends. as its geography is known. from Lake Michigan to the union of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. It is connected by a navigable stream. by one of the great rivers of the West. with the Gulf of Mexico. and I anticipate a time when Lake Michigan will be connected with the Gulf by navigable waters. It is not. therefore. possible for me to regard the State of Illinois as being a part of the North. it is a part of the American Union. and it owes no allegiance to the Northeast. although many of its most valuable citizens are immigrants from Nev England and other States of the North and of the East. They are. however. thoroughly naturalized. they are Illinoisans. and they are proud of the State. they recognize its importance and its influence. and they are devoted to its interests. never ceasing. however. to remember their obligations to our common country. Therefore the argument of my colleague. based on his complaints of sectionalism in the pending bill. and his attempt to revive old controversies and old bitternesses. will be lost upon the people of our State.
Keywords matched
immigrants naturalized