Three Men and a Union
Jan 19, 2016
Three Men and a Union
A Delicate Balance
• 15 free states, 15 slave states
• Westward expansion + Slavery = Civil War
• From 1812 to 1850 three senatorial giants were the glue that held the union together.
Is that a Hattori Hanzo sword, Grasshopper?
The West: Henry Clay
• Whig from Kentucky
• The Great Compromiser
• Missouri Compromise
• Compromise tariff of 1833
• Brilliant dancer, gambler, ladies man
• Engineered Compromise of 1850
1.21 Jiggawatts!
The South: John Calhoun
• Democrat/Whig, South Carolina
• The Great Nullifier
• Constitution protects the minority interest
• Calhoun’s son-in-law was Thomas Green Clemson (University)
Cheap, Cheap! Fun, Fun!
The North: Daniel Webster
• Whig, Massachusetts
• Greatest orator of his day
• “…the states revolving in harmony around a common center.”
• Gives in to Fugitive Slave Act in the name of compromise
IF CLAY AND WEBSTER HAD A CHILD….
Compromise of 1850
• North: California enters as a free state
• North: Abolition of slave trade in D.C.
• South: Fugitive Slave Act
• South: New Mexico & Utah subject to popular sovereignty
• South: Texas awarded $10 million in settlement claims
Death of Compromisers
• Clay, Calhoun & Webster are all dead by 1852
• Extremists in North: Freesoilers
• Extremists in South: Fire Eaters
• No practicioners of compromise left
• Guess what happens next, son?!