LAD #13

In John C. Calhoun's "The Clay Compromise Measures," the grievances of the Southern states were explained. According to Calhoun, the Federal government was biased towards the Northern states. This accounted for the favorable terms of key pieces of legislation in the eyes of the North. The Ordinance of 1787, the Missouri Compromise, and the "Tariff of Abominations" all appeared to push a Northern agenda and ultimately caused the population difference between the two regions. The Northern states gained more land from the Louisiana Purchase and other United States annexations than than the South. The Northern states, namely the manufactorers, benefited from protective tariffs which were ultimately a financial burden on the South. As a result, money from the South flowed continuously to the North and encourged immigrants to settle in the North as opposed to the South. This created the population inequality. All of this political leverage in Congress was being used to restrict slavery and the Southern states could not stand for this.

Becasue of these injustices, Calhoun argued that the Southern states would have no choice to but to secede from the Union. Unhappy with Northern domination and offended by the Northern view that their way of life was immoral, the Southern states had given up too much and could not give up anymore to preserve the Union. If the Union was to be preserved, the North would have to extend a diplomatic hand.