At the Edge of the Precipice
In America, compromises are known to be the backbone of the political system. As a historian of the Jacksonian period, Robert V. Remini wrote a mini-biography of Henry Clay, a Kentucky senators, in the book “At the Edge of the Precipice: Henry Clay and the Compromise That Saved the Union”. The compromise of 1850 reflects the life of Clay during the debate over territorial expansion and slavery in 1850 in the American Congress. Remini takes cautious to criticize and give credit to lay in his successful work to prevent division between the Northern and Southern politician, which consequently adjourned the civil war for ten years. Remini’s excellent narrative technique to historical events is present and brings a clear picture of the events of 1850.
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson bought the territory of Louisiana from France. This was the main cause of the 1850 crisis. This was mean to increase the size of the country. Missouri curved from this territory and demanded to be registered to the Union as a slave state. This move triggered conflict in the congress in 1819. According to Remini (18), Missouri’s registration into the union as a slave state would interfere with the equilibrium between slave states and free groups in the Congress. The Northerners who were against the slave trade got furious. Consequently, Representative, James Tallmadge, proposed an act that would make Missouri a state and, finally, a free state. He ordered for the abolishment of slavery and said slave children above the age of twenty-four should be released.
Fights over territories were common in America. This also contributed to heated arguments over boundaries which resulted to war (Venet 34). Many residents had an interest on the territory of Texas. However, Texas managed to win their land against Mexico and the Mexican president, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was forced to sign the treaties of Velasco, which declared Reo Grande as the official boundary of Texas. In 1845, the United States assimilated the republic of Texas making it one of its states. It claimed ownership of Texas territories including Nueces River and Reo Grande. This angered Mexico and it resulted to the war between America and Mexico. The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war in 1848.
James Tallmadge abolition of slave trade made southerners bitter towards Northerners. The South was in strong support of slavery. Southerners argued for the Congress’ rights to legislate slavery and also the right to abolish slavery in all of Louisiana territory. A discussion concerning the abolition resulted to a serious confrontation between Tallmadge and Representative Thomas Cobb of Georgia, on the floor of Congress (Mitchell 36). Henry Clay, a speaker of the house, condemned Tallmadge amendments on abolition of slavery. He argued that the amendment violated the constitution terms of property ownership. Denying Missouri ownership of slaves would be denying them their properties. He was a leader of the American Colonization Organization whose aim was to return African slaves to Africa and colonize them from there. However, Clay presented a report of admission to Missouri on the conditions that black peoples’ rights should be protected.
Although the Missouri compromise helped to evade civil war in 1820, it never solved slavery problems. In 1821, Denmark Vesey, a free mulatto, led a slave’s resistance war which occurred in South Carolina (Venet 32). They had the will to redeem themselves but lacked enough strength. The militia defeated them due to their superior weapons. In 1831, Slaves attacked Southeastern Virginia, where they slaughtered sixty whites. The whites revenged by killing all the black people they encountered, innocent or not (McPherson 45). In 1833, Abolitionists formed organizations which would meet and plan on the way they could escape. This included building an underground railroad to aid in their safe journey to freedom. In 1846, a war broke out between the Mexicans and American shoulders over the Grande land. America won and 75,000 Mexican citizens were dislocated.
Remini defines Henry Clay as a man of self-controversy. He was against slavery, yet he owned his slaves. Clay argues that slavery violated the human rights and betrayed American free government. Clay was one of the most popular men in the United States, but his attempts to become the president failed. However, having made other compromises in the past, for example, the Missouri Compromise in 1820, Clay believed that he could, also, succeed on the compromise of 1850. People knew him as a great statesman who lacked discipline and could not be trusted (Freehling 32). He had tinted his name when he made a corrupt agreement he had made with John Quincy Adams in 1824, which enabled him to secure the secretarial seat. People were not sure about Clay’s dedication to the concept of the perpetual union of the people.
Although Stephen A. Douglas, Illinois Senator, proposed the passing of the separate bill which became the compromise of 1850, it was Henry Clay who helped to shape the proposals by Northern and southern politicians into acceptable ideas (Foos 26). He then argued courageously on the Senate floor assuring the people of peace and the restoration of harmony in every part of the distracted land. Remini saw it best to break the debate into three pieces for the reader’s better understanding. Henry Clay gave his compromise as a speech but he never put them down on one bill. He was at the verge of death, thus he could not address the congress. He requested Senator Stephen Douglas to divide the bills into smaller parts and pass them separately.
After the Mexican war, the union saw the need to absorb the Mormon territory in Utah, California, and New Mexico. The Northerners advocated for the freedom of the territories. On the other hand, Southerners advocated for slavery extension (Shi 23). The North was composed of the capitalist who saw slavery as a threat to their businesses. Slaves never received any payments, and that meant that they could not buy from them. Many slaves depended on their land produces to sustain their livelihood (Foner 38). Clay came back to the Senate at an old age because he saw the need for an urgent compromise which would help to reduce the tension between the North and South thus preventing war. Clay’s aim was to combine some sovereignty in for the new America. Clay proposed for the payment of Texas’ debt and the Settlement of their territories. Secondly, the District of Colombia was required to abolish the slave trade and to form the Fugitive slave law. The law required officials in American states who support slave trade to assist in the search for slaves who had escaped and return them to their masters. Anyone who let a slave to escape was charged a fine of 1,000 dollars. Suspected slaves were captured and they were not allowed to testify for themselves in court. The southerners’ congress were strong opponents of this bill but they were defeated. Next, the slavery non specification in the newly created Utah territories, and New Mexico.
Clay’s compromise helped to maintain peace from 1850 to 1860 when civil war broke. However, this ten years gave the North time to grow financially, technologically, and they had undefeated military strength. The southern economy, on the other hand, was deteriorating despite the expansion of cotton farming (Remini 19). The North had gained more power as compared to Southerners. During those ten years, the North elected a reliable and potential leader, Abraham Lincoln, who courageously led them throughout the war. It is, therefore, believed that if Henry Cray was still alive in 1860, the civil war could not have occurred. The compromise of 1850 opened the door for other discords in the future. In 1854, there emerged a similar demand for a similar compromise for Kansas Territory. Also, the introduction of the Slave Act triggered mixed reactions, because it contributed to strong opposition from antislavery advocates.
Compromises play a prominent role in maintaining law and orders in the society. It ensures maximum utilization of human rights. It is the present day constitution which acts as pillar for political and social cohesion. Having clear land laws and boundary helps to reduce inter-countries war over land ownership. Leaders, today, should emulate Henry Clay’s leadership qualities to create a just and peaceful society.
Works Cited
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Foos, Paul. A Short, Offhand, Killing Affair: Soldiers and Social Conflict During the Mexican-
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Foner, Eric. Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the
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McPherson, James M. The Struggle for Equality: Abolitionists and the Negro in the Civil War
and Reconstruction. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1992. PRINT.
Mitchell, Thomas G. Antislavery Politics in Antebellum and Civil War America. Westport, Conn.
USA: Praeger, 2007. PRINT.
Remini, Robert V. At the Edge of the Precipice: Henry Clay and the Compromise That Saved the
Union. New York: Basic Books, 2010. Internet resource. PRINT.
Shi, David E, and George B. Tindall. America: A Narrative History. , 2016. PRINT.
Venet, Wendy H. Neither Ballots nor Bullets: Women Abolitionists and the Civil War.
Charlottesville USA: Univ. Press of Virginia, 1991. PRINT.
