Toombs, on his part, was anxious to continue
making the party of evasion play the great American game of
politics, and in his eagerness he perhaps overestimated his hold
upon the South. This, however, remains to be seen.
Already another faction had formed around William L. Yancey of
Alabama--a faction as intolerant of political evasion as the
Republicans themselves, and one that was eager to match the
sectional Northern party by a sectional Southern party. It had
for the moment fallen into line with the Toombs faction because,
like the Whigs, it had not the courage to do otherwise. The
question now was whether it would continue fearful, and whether
political evasion would continue to reign.
The key to the history of the next four years is in the growth of
this positive Southern party, which had the inevitable result of
forcing the Whig remainder to choose, not as in 1856 between a
positive sectional policy and an evasive nonsectional policy, but
in 1860 between two policies both of which were at once positive
and sectional.
CHAPTER III. THE POLITICIANS AND THE NEW DAY
The South had thus far been kept in line with the cause of
political evasion by a small group of able politicians, chief
among whom were Robert Toombs, Howell Cobb, and Alexander H.
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