LAD #13 - John Calhoun's Speech

Summary of Calhoun's The Clay Compromise Measures

On March 4, 1850, John C. Calhoun's most famous speech was delivered by another senator due to Calhoun being too ill.  Calhoun believes that the issue of slavery will be the cause of a disunited America.  His thoughts go largely ignored, so he then asks how the union can be saved and what has endangered the Union.  Calhoun believed the main factor of the division between the North and South was slavery.  The North and South were like polar opposites, and Calhoun though that the differences could be traced back to the act of owning and selling slaves.  Additionally, the North's representation in the Senate was increasing as America expanded and gained more states.  Calhoun stated that slavery was necessary and it was the South's right to have slaves.  Neither the new economical system nor immigrants were beneficially impacting the South. The Union could be preserved if the North just restored the balance that was once between the two areas.