LAD #11 - John C. Calhoun

John C. Calhoun in his speech, read by another senator, said he has tried without success to adopt some measure to prevent "such a disaster", aka the possibility of succession or Civil War. Calhoun asks the Senate: "How can the Union be preserved?" Evidently the roots of division between the different sections of the United States were slavery and sectionalism, primarily in the North and South. In addition to slavery, the warring political parties in the South were pushing the Union farther apart. The South was unhappy because the North had more power and was therefore the dominating power in most political decisions. At the birth of the nation, power was equal between the North and South. As years wore on, the United State began to expand to the West, creating a unfavorable balance in population and political power. Consequentially, the North contained about 3/4 of the nation while the South only had 1/4. Also the South vehemently opposed tariffs, since they were the ones who bought the most British goods and therefore the section who paid the most according to the tariff. Calhoun believed that one disagreement cannot lead to the destruction of the Union. Yet, the United States was suffering from multiple symtoms. So thus according to Calhoun, the only way the Union could be preserved was if the larger, more dominant power, the North, became the bigger person, and satisfied the wants and needs of the lesser section, the South. Essentially giving up some of its holdings, in order to preserve the country as a whole.