In this extract, Senator Hayne was telling the truth, which is also necessary to great oratory. The part of South Carolina in the Revolution was all that he claimed for her. filial affection: here, the affection of a child for its parents. SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE UNION I shall make no profession of zeal for the interests and honor of South Carolina. If there be one state in the Union that may challenge comparison with any other, for a uniform, zealous, ardent, and uncalculating 5 devotion to the Union, that state is South Carolina. From the very commencement of the Revolution up to this hour, there is no sacrifice, however great, she has not cheerfully made, no service she has ever hesitated to perform. She has adhered to you in your 10 prosperity; but in your adversity she has clung to you with more than filial affection. No matter what was the condition of her domestic affairs, though deprived of her resources, divided by parties, or surrounded with difficulties, the call of the country has 15 been to her as the voice of God. Domestic discord ceased at the sound; every man became at once reconciled to his brethren, and the sons of Carolina were all seen crowding together to the temple, bringing gifts to the altar of their common country. 20 What was the conduct of the South during the Revolution? I honor New England for her conduct in that glorious struggle. But great as is the praise which belongs to her, I think at least equal honor is due the South. They espoused the quarrel of their brethren with a generous zeal which did not suffer them to stop to calculate their interest in the dispute. Favorites of the mother country, possessed of neither 5 ships nor seamen to create a commercial rivalship, they might have found in their situation a guaranty that their trade would be forever fostered and protected by Great Britain. But, trampling on all considerations either of interest or of safety, they rushed 10 into the conflict, and, fighting for principle, periled all in the sacred cause of freedom. Never were there exhibited in the history of the world higher examples of noble daring, dreadful suffering, and heroic endurance than by the Whigs of Carolina during the 15 Revolution. The whole state, from the mountains to the sea, was overrun by an overwhelming force of the enemy. The fruits of industry perished on the spot where they were produced, or were consumed by the foe. 20 The "plains of Carolina" drank up the most precious blood of her citizens. Black and smoking ruins marked the places which had been the habitations of her children. Driven from their homes into the gloomy and almost impenetrable swamps, even there the spirit 25 of liberty survived, and South Carolina, sustained by the example of her Sumters and her Marions, proved, by her conduct, that, though her soil might be overrun, the spirit of her people was invincible. QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Who made this speech? Tell what you know of him. 2. For what theory of American government did Mr. Hayne stand? What did he believe a state had a right to do? 3. How did "The Great Debate" arise? 4. Explain your understanding of what Mr. Hayne believed. 5. Explain your understanding 6. When, where, and under 12. 8. What claims does he make for South Carolina? Show 13. that they were true. 9. What generous praise does he give to New England? 10. What does Mr. Hayne mean by saying that the people of the South were favorites What campaigns of the After you have understood It is better to be unborn than untaught; for ignorance is the root of misfortune. PLATO REPLY TO HAYNE DANIEL WEBSTER The following selection is an extract from Webster's "Reply to Hayne" in "The Great Debate." You will notice in Webster's "Reply" the same simplicity of language that is found in Hayne's speech. Webster's "Reply" is considered one of the noblest flights of eloquence ever uttered by any orator. The following description by Charles W. March gives a vivid picture of this debate: "Those who had doubted Mr. Webster's ability to cope with and overcome his opponents were fully satisfied of their error before he had proceeded far in his speech. "Ah! who can ever forget, that was present to hear, the tremendous, the awful burst of eloquence with which the orator spoke of the Old Bay State! or the tones of deep pathos in which the words were pronounced! "What New England heart was there but throbbed with vehement, tumultuous, irrepressible emotion as he dwelt upon New England sufferings, New England struggles, and New England triumphs during the War of the Revolution? There was scarcely a dry eye in the Senate; all hearts were overcome; grave judges and men grown old in dignified life turned aside their heads to conceal the evidences of their emotion. "No one who was not present can understand the excitement of the scene. No one, who was, can give an adequate descrip tion of it. No word painting can convey the deep, intense enthusiasm, the reverential attention, of that vast assembly, nor painter transfer to canvas their earnest, eager, awe-struck countenances. "Much of the instantaneous effect of the speech arose, of course, from the orator's delivery, the tones of his voice, his countenance and manner. These die mostly with the occasion that calls them forth; the impression is lost in the attempt at transmission from one mind to another. They can only be described in general terms. "The exulting rush of feeling with which he went through the peroration threw a glow over his countenance like inspiration. Eye, brow, each feature, every line of the face, seemed touched as with a celestial fire. All gazed as at something more than human. So Moses might have appeared to the awe-struck Israelites as he emerged from the dark clouds and thick smoke of Sinai, his face all radiant with the breath of divinity! "His voice, exerted to its utmost power, penetrated every recess or corner of the Senate, penetrated even the anterooms and stairways as he pronounced in deepest tones of pathos these words of solemn significance. "The speech was over, but the tones of the orator still lingered upon the ear, and the audience, unconscious of the close, retained their positions. There never was a deeper stillness not a movement, not a gesture had been made, not a whisper uttered. Silence could almost have heard itself, it was so supernaturally still. The feeling was too overpowering to allow expression by voice or hand. It was as if one was in a trance, all motion paralyzed. "But the descending hammer of the Vice President awoke them with a start, and with one universal, long-drawn, deep breath, with which the overcharged heart seeks relief, the crowded assembly broke up and departed." The meanings of the following words used by Mr. Webster will help you: |