Politics
Cartwright jumped into politics as a Democrat. Twice a member of the Illinois legislature, he ran for the United States Congress in 1846, but was defeated by the Springfield Whig, Abraham Lincoln.
Politically, Cartwright was a Jacksonian Democrat who trusted in the ability of the common man. He opposed slavery and advocated use of moral suasion rather than political action to end it, fearing that political action would threaten the federal union, another core element of national identity. Cartwright also supported expansionism both to spread American values and to increase economic opportunity. To him, manhood was demonstrated by singleness of purpose despite all obstacles and by economic independence.
Read more about this topic: Peter Cartwright (revivalist)
Famous quotes containing the word politics:
“The will to change begins in the body not in the mind
My politics is in my body, accruing and expanding with every act of resistance and each of my failures.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)
“The politics of the exile are fever,
revenge, daydream,
theater of the aging convalescent.
You wait in the wings and rehearse.
You wait and wait.”
—Marge Piercy (b. 1936)
“Until politics are a branch of science we shall do well to regard political and social reforms as experiments rather than short-cuts to the millennium.”
—J.B.S. (John Burdon Sanderson)