Robert Winthrop delivered this speech supporting the candidacies of John Bell, Edward Everett, and Abraham Lincoln at the Ratification Meeting in Boston on September 25, 1860. In it, he gives a prolonged and impassioned plea for a restoration of national harmony, saying that it is more important than slavery or party unity.

The text of this speech is followed by a letter from Mr. Walley addressed to L. Saltonstall. In it, he gives his support to the candidates because they stand for moderation and compromise toward maintaining the unity of the nation. These texts are printed in three columns on both sides of a large broadside.