LAD#10: Calhouns Speech

In his speech, Calhoun focused around one central idea, which was the issue of slavery and that in order to preserve the union which was high priority for him, they would follow what ever the south demanded. He supported his argument by declaring the fact that the south was taxed more because of its "nature of its residents," which the taxes were then sent to the north. Following this statement he argued that no one agreed with anything the south had to say. He states that in order to preserve unity and happiness, the north and west should follow what the south wants. He also feels that while these situations can be dealt with, if they were to get out of hand, then they should secede. This statement probably had a great deal of influence over American society at this time. Throughout his speech Calhoun asks several questions then answers them which leads to another questions. This strange format was effective in getting his point across regarding preserving the Union by satisfying the south in many ways which are all listed at the end of his speech.