LAD #11- John Calhoun Speech

In John Calhoun's speech, his main idea was clear. He believed that the nation was being pursued by an increasing threat of disunion. He urges compromises as a way to preserve the union and keep it together as a whole. In his speech, Calhoun stated that the cause of the widespread unhappyness was the differences in beliefs between the North and the South; issues he concluded that would only continue to grow as the North began to prosper more and more. By stating that the representation in government is unequal, Calhoun also gets his message across that the cause of this disunion is in part, the government's fault. In his compromise, Calhoun suggests that the only way to appease both divisions would be to grant the South rights to the land that has been acquired and to get rid of the idea that the south MUST chose between abolition in slavery; it simply cannot be done if the preservation of unity is the main goal. Lastly, Calhoun states that making these necessary changes and having the North accomodate for some of the Southern grievances will inevitabley decrease the threat of disunion to a certain extent.