"Those who tell you that the territorial question is an abstraction, that you can never colonize another territory without the African slavetrade, are both deaf and blind to the history of the last sixty years"

This quote by Robert Toombs is a criticism of those who reject the value of the territorial question in the context of the African servant trade. Toombs argues that those who claim the territorial question is an abstraction are both deaf and blind to the history of the last sixty years. He is indicating that the territorial concern is not an abstraction, but rather a very genuine and essential consider the African servant trade. Toombs is recommending that those who reject the value of the territorial question are ignorant of the history of the last sixty years, which has seen the growth of the slave trade into brand-new areas. He is likewise implying that the African servant trade can not be separated from the territorial concern, as the two are inextricably connected. Toombs is making a powerful statement about the importance of the territorial concern in the context of the African servant trade, and the requirement to recognize its significance in order to comprehend the history of the last sixty years.