The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-03-07
SPEECH OF JOHN c. CALHOUN.
Tx SENATE, MONDAY March 4, 1850.
TUE DANGER TO THE UNION-IIS NATURE,
CAUSES, AND REMEDY.
Mr.. CALHOUN rose and said

Mr.. CALHOUN rose and said
lndisposed as have been, Senators, have felt
it my duty to express my opinions on the great
question which has agitated the country and occu-
pied your attention. | am under particular obi
cations to the Senate for the very courteous man
ner in which they have afforded NE an opportunity
Of being heard to-day. ! had hoped il would have
been in my power during the last week to have
delivered my sentiments upon this subject but
was prevented by being attacked by The prevailing
cold, which retarded the recovery of my strength.
Acting under the advice of friends and appre-
hending it might not he in my power to deliver
my sentiments before the termination Of this de-
bate, have reduced what | had intended to say
to writing. Without further remark, will ask
the favor of my friend behind me Mr.. Mason to
read it for me-
Mr.. MASON. | shall comply very cheerfully
with the request of my friend from South Caro-
lima.
The manuscript reads thus:
have, Senator'S believed from the first that the
agitation of the subject of slavery would if not
prevented by some timely and effective measure,
end in disunion. Entertaining this opinion, |
have, on oil proper occasions, endeavored to call
tho at,nntias Or Lssh 80 "a. w. r.~-. pos esvp
which divide the country, to adopt some measure
to prevent no great disaster but without success
The agitation has been permitted to proceed, with
|
period when it can no longer be disguised or de-
MED that the Union is in danger. You have thus
had forced upon you the greatest and the gravest
question that can ever come under your consider.
ation-IIow can the Union be preserved
To give q satisfactory answer to this mighty
question, it is indispensable to have an accurate
and thorough knowledge Of the nature and the
character of the causc by which the Union is en-
dangered. Without such knowledge il is impos-
sible to pronounce, with any certainty, by what
measure it can be saved-just as it would be i'm
possible for physician to pronounce in the case
Of some dangerous disease, with any certainty, by
what remedy the patient could be saved, without
similar knowledge of the nature and character of
the cause Of the disease The first question, then,
presented for consideration in the investigation
propose to make in order TO obtain such knowledge,
is-What is it that has endangered the Union q?
To this question there can be but one answer:
that the immediate cause is the almost universal
discomfort which pervades all the States compos-
ing the Southern section Of the Union. This
widely extended discomfort is not of recent origin
Ii commenced with the agitation Of the slavery
question, and has been increasing ever since.
The next question, going one step further back,
isWhat has caused this widely difiused and al
most universal discontent2
IL Is a great mistake to suppose, as Is by some
that il originated with demagogues, who excited
the discomfort with the intention Of aiding their
personal advancement, or with the disappointed
ambition of certain politicians, who resorted to it
AZ the means Of retrieving their fortunes. On the
contrary, all the great political influences Of the
section were arrayed against excitement, and ex-
erted to the utmost to keep the people quiet. The
great of the people of the South were divided
as in the other section, into Wings and Democrats.
The leaders and the presses Of both parties in the
South were very soicitous to prevent excitement
and to preserve quiet because IL was seen that
the effects of the former would necessarily tend
to weaken, if not destroy the political ties which
united them with their respective parties Ia the
other section. Those who know the strength Of
party ties will readily appreciate the immense
force which this cause exerted against agitation,
and In favor of preserving quiei. But, as great
az il was IL not sufficiently 80 to prevent the
wide spread discomfort which now pervades the
section. No; some cause, far deeper and more
powerful than the one supposed, must exist, TO ac
count for discomfort 80 wide and deep. The ques-
tion then recurs--What is the cause Of this dis
content2 IL will he fonnJ In the ho,i"' 81 .ha
people Of the Southern States, AS prevalent as the
itself, that they cannot remain, as
things now are, consistently with honor and
safety, in the Union. The next question to be
considered is-What has caused this belief
One Of the causes is, undoubtedly, to be traced
to the long continued agitation Of the slave ques-
ton on the part of the North, and the many ag-
gressions which they have made on the rights Of
the South during the time. will not enumerate
them at present. us it will be done hereafter In It's
proper place.
There Is another lying back of it, with which
this is intimately connected, that may be regard
ed as the great and primary cause. That is to be
found in the fact that the equilibrium between
the two sections in the Government as IL stood
when the Constitution was ratified and the Govern
ment put in action, has been destroyed. At that
time, there was nearly perfect equilibrium be-
tween the two, which afforded ample means to
each TO protect itself against the aggression OF the
other; but, AZ II now stands, one section has the
exclusive power Of controlling the Government,
which leaves the other without any adequate
means Of protecting itself against it's encroachment
and oppression To place this subject distinctly be-
fore you, have, Senators, prepared brief sta
tistical statement, showing the relative weight
of the two sections In the Government under
the first census Of 1870 and the last census Of
1910 --------------
According to the former, the population Of the
United States, including Vermont, Kentucky, and
Tennessee, which then were In their incipient
condition Of becoming States, but were not ac-
tually admitted, amounted TO 1928, s27 or this
number, the Northern States had ,977 500, and
the Southern, ,952 ,072-making difference OF
only IS ,S27 In favor Of the former Statea The
number Of States, including Vermont, Kentucky,
and Tennessee, was sixteen Of which eight, In
GLIDING Vermont, belong to the Northern section,
and eight, including Kentucky and Tennessee, to
the Southern-making an equal division OF the
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