Stephen Cornerstone's Speech Summary

The speech given by Stephens is significant because it idolizes his idea that men, especially African American men are not equal to the white men. The white man in this case was always going to be superior to the Negros. It implies that although the northern states have committed to the idea of fixing slavery and creating equality for them, it was, “insanity” (Stephen, Cornerstone Speech) for them to think that “the Negro is equal…and he is entitled to equal privileges and rights with the white man.” (Stephen, Cornerstone Speech) This lead to the cornerstone which is the boundary drawn between the North and the South. In the North slavery was being abolish and no longer accepted whereas the South had trouble because it relied heavily on slavery.