The Seventh of March Speech

   “Now, Sir, upon the general nature and influence of slavery there exists a wide difference of opinion between the northern portion of this country and the southern. It is said on the one side, that, although not the subject of any injunction or direct prohibition in the New Testament, slavery is a wrong; that it is founded merely in the right of the strongest; and that is an oppression, like unjust wars, like all those conflicts by which a powerful nation subjects a weaker to its will; and that, in its nature, whatever may be said of it in the modifications which have taken place, it is not according to the meek spirit of the Gospel. It is not "kindly affectioned"; it does not "seek another's, and not its own"; it does not "let the oppressed go free".

     The Seventh of March Speech is a controversial speech about preserving the union, it touched on the issue of slavery.   Webster argues that the issue of slavery was already addressed, he believed that if slavery already existed, it could not be banned and it could not be take root in the new states.

     The North and the South had clear ideas of what each one believed, Webster was trying to preserve the Union by setting aside the issue of slavery.  Webster saw no reason for the North and South to separate, he was appalled by the idea of the secession.  We often feel so right about what we believe, we fight so hard for that goal, that “truth”, that we forget the effect it has on others, we only see what we think is right and forget that what others believe it might be equally important. The North and the South are dependent on each other economically and everything that could be lost because of secession outweighs the benefits of separation.