A slave who became a preacher, Rev. Francis J. Grimké on why if ever US would collapse

"If the time ever comes when we shall go to pieces, it will not be from any desire or disposition on the part of the states to pull apart, but from inward corruption -- from the disregard of right principles, from the spirit of greed, from the narrowing lust of gold, f ... rom losing sight of the fact that “righteousness exalteth a nation, but that sin is a reproach to any people” [Proverbs 14:34]. It is here where our real danger lies – not in the secession of the States from the Union, but in the secession of the Union itself from the great and immutable principles of right, of justice, of fair play for all regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude…” See More