Compromise of 1850

Posted: January 10th, 2014

As you know by this point, the debates over the Compromise of 1850 proved vicious and intense. Below are three speeches about the Compromise of 1850, one penned by William Seward (a powerful New York politician), one penned by John C. Calhoun and one by Daniel Webster. Two are against the bill (Seward from an abolitionist perspective and Calhoun from that of slavery) and one is in favor of Clay’s bill (Daniel Webster’s). Read through all three of them before writing your paper. Make sure to address all three, to compare and contrast them, and to provide good historical insights.

The Higher Law Speech by William H. Seward
The Clay Compromise Measures by John C. Calhoun
On the Clay Compromise (Abridged) by Daniel Webster