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John C. Calhoun
If the time of the Senate permitted, I would feel it to be my duty to call
for the reading of the mass of petitions on the table, in order that we might
know what language they hold towards the slaveholding States and their
institutions; but as it will not, I have selected, indiscriminately from the
pile, two; one from those in manuscript, and the other from the printed, and
without knowing their contents will call for the reading of them, so that we may
judge, by them, of the character of the whole. [Here the Secretary read the two
petitions.]
Such ... is the language held towards us and ours. The peculiar institution
of the South?that, on the maintenance of which the very existence of the
slaveholding States depends, is pronounced to be sinful and odious, in the sight
of God and man; and this with a systematic design of rendering us hateful in the
eyes of the world?with a view to a general crusade against us and our
institutions. This, too, in the legislative halls of the Union; created by these
confederated States, for the better protection of their peace, their safety, and
their respective institutions;?and yet, we, the representatives of twelve of
these sovereign States against whom this deadly war is waged, are expected to
sit here in silence, hearing ourselves and our constituents day after day
denounced, without uttering a word; for if we but open our lips, the charge of
agitation is resounded on all sides, and we are held up as seeking to aggravate
the evil which we resist. Every reflecting mind must see in all this a state of
things deeply and dangerously diseased.
I do not belong ... to the school which holds that aggression is to be met by
concession. Mine is the opposite creed, which teaches that encroachments must be
met at the beginning, and that those who act on the opposite principle are
prepared to become slaves. In this case, in particular, I hold concession or
compromise to be fatal. If we concede an inch, concession would follow
concession?compromise would follow compromise, until our ranks would be so
broken that effectual resistance would be impossible. We must meet the enemy on
the frontier, with a fixed determination of maintaining our position at every
hazard. Consent to receive these insulting petitions, and the next demand will
be that they be referred to a committee in order that they may be deliberated
and acted upon.... If we yield, that will be followed by another, and we will
thus proceed, step by step, to the final consummation of the object of these
petitions. We are now told that the most effectual mode of arresting the
progress of abolition is, to reason it down; and with this view it is urged that
the petitions ought to be referred to a committee. That is the very ground which
was taken at the last session in the other House, but instead of arresting its
progress it has since advanced more rapidly than ever. The most unquestionable
right may be rendered doubtful, if once admitted to be a subject of controversy,
and that would be the case in the present instance. The subject is beyond the
jurisdiction of Congress?they have no right to touch
it in any shape or form, or to make it the subject of deliberation or
discussion.
In opposition to this view it is urged that Congress is bound by the
constitution to receive petitions in every case and on every subject, whether
within its constitutional competency or not. I hold the doctrine to be absurd,
and do solemnly believe, that it would be as easy to prove that it has the right
to abolish slavery, as that it is bound to receive petitions for that
purpose....}
As widely as this incendiary spirit has spread, it has not yet infected this
body, or the great mass of the intelligent and business portion of the North;
but unless it be speedily stopped, it will spread and work upwards till it
brings the two great sections of the Union into deadly conflict. This is not a
new impression with me. Several years since, in a discussion with one of the
Senators from Massachusetts (Mr. Webster), before this fell spirit had showed
itself, I then predicted that the doctrine of
the proclamation and the Force Bill,?that this Government had a right, in the
last resort, to determine the extent of its own powers, and enforce its decision
at the point of the bayonet, which was so warmly maintained by that Senator,
would at no distant day arouse the dormant spirit of abolitionism. I told him
that the doctrine was tantamount to the assumption of unlimited power on the
part of the Government, and that such would be the impression on the public mind
in a large portion of the Union. The consequence would be inevitable. A large
portion of the Northern States believed slavery to be a sin, and would consider
it as an obligation of conscience to abolish it if they should feel themselves
in any degree responsible for its continuance, ?and that this doctrine would
necessarily lead to the belief of such responsibility. I then predicted that it
would commence as it has with this fanatical portion of society, and that they
would begin their operations on the ignorant, the weak, the young, and the
thoughtless, ?and gradually extend upwards till they would become strong enough
to obtain political control, when he and others holding the highest stations in
society, would, however reluctant, be compelled to yield to their doctrines, or
be driven into obscurity. But four years have since elapsed, and all this is
already in a course of regular fulfilment....}
Already it has taken possession of the pulpit, of the schools, and, to a
considerable extent, of the press; those great instruments by which the mind of
the rising, generation will be formed.
However sound the great body of the non-slaveholding States are at present,
in the course of a few years they will be succeeded by those who will have been
taught to hate the people and institutions of nearly one-half of this Union,
with a hatred more deadly than one hostile nation ever entertained towards
another. It is easy to see the end. By the necessary course of events, if left
to themselves, we must become, finally, two people. It is impossible under the
deadly hatred which must spring up between
the two great sections, if the present causes are permitted to operate
unchecked, that we should continue under the same political system. The
conflicting elements would burst the Union asunder, powerful as are the links
which hold it together. Abolition and the Union cannot co-exist. As the friend
of the Union I openly proclaim it,?and the sooner it is known the better.... We
of the South will not, cannot surrender our institutions. To maintain the
existing relations between the two races, inhabiting that section of the Union,
is indispensable to the peace and happiness of both. It cannot be subverted
without drenching the country in blood, and extirpating one or the other of the
races. Be it good or bad, it has grown up with our society and institutions, and
is so interwoven with them, that to destroy it would be to destroy us as a
people. But let me not be understood as admitting, even by implication, that the
existing relations between the two races in the slaveholding States is an evil:?
far otherwise; I hold it to be a good, as
it has thus far proved itself to be to both, and will continue to prove so if
not disturbed by the fell spirit of abolition. I appeal to facts. Never before
has the black race of Central Africa, from the dawn of history to the present
day, attained a condition so civilized and so improved, not only physically, but
morally and intellectually. It came among us in a low, degraded, and savage
condition, and in the course of a few generations it has grown up under the
fostering care of our institutions, reviled as they have been, to its present
comparatively civilized condition. This, with the rapid increase of numbers, is
conclusive proof of the general happiness of the race, in spite of all the
exaggerated tales to the contrary.
In the mean time, the white or European race has not degenerated. It has kept
pace with its brethren in other sections of the Union where slavery does not
exist. It is odious to make comparison; but I appeal to all sides whether the
South is not equal in virtue, intelligence, patriotism, courage,
disinterestedness, and all the high qualities which adorn our nature. I ask
whether we have not contributed our full share of talents and political wisdom
in forming and sustaining this political fabric; and whether
we have not constantly inclined most strongly to the side of liberty, and been
the first to see and first to resist the encroachments of power. In one thing
only are we inferior?the arts of gain; we acknowledge that we are less wealthy
than the Northern section of this Union, but I trace this mainly to the fiscal
action of this Government, which has extracted much from, and spent little among
us. Had it been the reverse,?if the exaction had been from the other section,
and the expenditure with us, this point of
superiority would not be against us now, as it was not at the formation of this
Government.
But I take higher ground. I hold that in the present state of civilization,
where two races of different origin, and distinguished by color, and other
physical differences, as well as intellectual, are brought together, the
relation now existing in the slaveholding States between the two, is, instead of
an evil, a good?a positive good. I feel myself called upon to speak freely upon
the subject where the honor and interests of those I represent are involved. I
hold then, that there never has yet existed a wealthy and civilized society in
which one portion of the community did not, in point of fact, live on the labor
of the other. Broad and general as is this assertion, it is fully borne out by
history.... I fearlessly assert that the existing relation between the two races
in the South against which these blind fanatics are waging war, forms the most
solid and durable foundation on which to rear free and stable political
institutions. It is useless to disguise the fact. There is and always has been
in an advanced stage of wealth and
civilization, a conflict between labor and capital. The condition of society in
the South exempts us from the disorders and dangers resulting from this
conflict; and which explains why it is that the political condition of the
slaveholding States has been so much more stable and quiet than that of the
North. The advantages of the former, in this respect, will become more and more
manifest if left undisturbed by interference from without, as the country
advances in wealth and
numbers.... Be assured that emancipation itself would not satisfy these
fanatics:?that gained, the next step would be to raise the negroes to a social
and political equality with the whites; and that being effected, we would soon
find the present condition of the two races reversed. They and their Northern
allies would be the masters, and we the slaves; the condition of the white race
in the British West India Islands, bad as it is, would be happiness to ours....}
One thing alarms me?the eager pursuit of gain which overspreads the land, and
which absorbs every faculty of the mind and every feeling of the heart. Of all
passions avarice is the most blind and compromising?the last to see and the
first to yield to danger. I dare not hope that any thing I can say will arouse
the South to a due sense of danger; I fear it is beyond the power of mortal
voice to awaken it in time from the fatal security into which it has fallen.
Source: Articles from Bibliobase edited by Michael A. Bellesiles. Copyright
ⓒ 1998 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission.
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