Scope and Contents Note From the Collection: 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...