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The Seventh of March Speech

"Mr. President, in the excited times in which we live, there is found to exist a state of crimination and recrimination between the North and South. There are lists of grievances produced by each; and those grievances, real or supposed, alienate the minds of one portion of the country from the other, exasperate the feelings, and subdue the sense of fraternal affection, patriotic love, and mutual regard" (Webster).

            In this quote, Webster is describing the acrimony between the North and the South. He talks about how both sides have complaints against each other and this animosity is threatening the unity of the country and dividing it. Webster goes on to discuss a specific grievance that the South has from the North, his opinion on which I found disappointing especially coming from a man who only thirty years prior to this speech stated that an “African slave-trader is a pirate and a felon; and in the sight of Heaven, an offender beyond the ordinary depth of human guilt” (Plymouth Oration).

            I chose this quote because the sentiments Webster is referring to sound all too familiar given the current political climate of our nation. Although the two opposing sides are no longer North and South but rather the political parties, the sense of division and resentment is one that has grown over the past year or so. This parallel between our current political climate and the political climate of this country more than a century ago is one I found fascinating, albeit disheartening.


References:
Webster, Daniel. "The Seventh of March Speech." The Seventh of March Speech (March 7, 1850). March 7, 1850.
Webster, Daniel. "Plymouth Oration." The Plymouth Oration (December 22, 1820). December 22, 1820.

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