Ava's AP American Blog: Lad #13

In Calhoun's speech he addresses the pressing matter that was slavery. It became apparent that the north was quickly gaining the upper hand in terms of representation due to the 3/5 compromise that had become to favor the north, giving them more power. He articulates that for a countries power to be given to a single party all that needs to happen is for said party to have senate control and majority population. Due to the new territories that the north was about to gain it would further tip the scales. Not to mention that the tariff benefitted the north as well. Lastly, the slavery issue was taking a large hit in terms of further dividing the country. Calhoun's end opinions summarize the views that for conflict to lessen the north will need to give some rights to the south of the new acquired territory, and to end the disagreements over the morality of slavery, including returning fugitive slaves. All of which would decrease the changes of secession. Ultimately, the compromise in 1850 defused a four-year political confrontation between slave and free states regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848).


This relates to Calhoun's speech because he expressed the tensions between North and the South. This helped create tensions that lead to the civil war and 'the divided nation' in 1861-65.