The process of disintegration in the old Union may be expected to go on with almost absolute certainty if we pursue the right course. We are now the nucleus of a growing power which, if we are true to ourselves, our destiny, and high mission, will become the controlling power on this continent. To what extent accessions will go on in the process of time, or where it will end, the future will determine. So far as it concerns States of the old Union, this process will be upon no such principles of reconstruction as now spoken of, but upon reorganization and new assimilation. Such are some of the glimpses of the future as I catch them." - Meaning and context.">
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The process of disintegration in the old Union may be expected to go on with almost absolute certainty if we pursue the right course. We are now the nucleus of a growing power which, if we are true to ourselves, our destiny, and high mission, will become the controlling power on this continent. To what extent accessions will go on in the process of time, or where it will end, the future will determine. So far as it concerns States of the old Union, this process will be upon no such principles of reconstruction as now spoken of, but upon reorganization and new assimilation. Such are some of the glimpses of the future as I catch them.

— Alexander H. Stephens

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The process of disintegration in the old Union may be expected to go on with almost absolute certainty if we pursue the right course. We are now the nucleus of a growing power which, if we are true to ourselves, our destiny, and high mission, will become the controlling power on this continent. To what extent accessions will go on in the process of time, or where it will end, the future will determine. So far as it concerns States of the old Union, this process will be upon no such principles of reconstruction as now spoken of, but upon reorganization and new assimilation. Such are some of the glimpses of the future as I catch them." in the context of "" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#Alexander H. Stephens#process#future#union#power#upon#such#old#disintegration#reconstruction#reorganization#assimilation
Alexander H. Stephens

About Alexander H. Stephens

Alexander Hamilton Stephens (February 11, 1812 – March 4, 1883) was a Democratic politician and lawyer from the U.S. state of Georgia, and the Confederate vice president throughout the American Civil War. His "Cornerstone Speech" of March 1861 defended slavery as the Confederacy's cause in the most uncompromising terms, though after the war ended in a Confederate defeat, he tried to retract those statements and distance himself from his earlier sentiments. In the course of the war, Stephens became increasingly critical of Confederate President Jefferson Davis' policies, especially conscription and the suspension of habeas corpus. In February 1865, he was one of the commissioners who met with U.S. president Abraham Lincoln at the abortive Hampton Roads Conference to discuss peace terms. After his arrest by the U.S. for his part in the rebellion against the country, he was released and served in Congress, being elected Governor of Georgia shortly before his death.