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Calhoun's Speech on the Compromise
of 1850
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Calhoun discussed all the different problems that divided the union during President Jackson's "reign". The biggest of those being slavery. He believed it was not furthering the division because people wanted to further their personal interests, it was because the political parties were so divided in their ideas for slavery. Democrats and Whigs were so different and unwilling to cooperate to solve a political and moral issue, they pushed the gap even further apart. Another problem was the equilibrium in government being destroyed. Many presidents and other governmental leaders before President Jackson had worked their hardest to keep the branches balanced and all sections of the country represented. By the time Andrew Jackson had his turn as president, the government began to favor the Northern section. The North was far more densely populated than the South, or West, giving them more representation in the House of Representatives. Plus, they received most of the revenue earned and put it towards manufacturing, taking it all for themselves. Calhoun makes the point that if the government just stops favoring the North and its businesses, the division could heal itself. He suggests that by giving the Southern states what they wanted, the union could be preserved, and they did not ask for much.
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Washington's Farewell Address warned
against all of these division, as he said
it would split the country apart. He was
right in the fact that the Civil War
started based on these division. He also
wanted the country to remain united.
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