Question
Source: Excerpt from a speech by Senator Henry Clay, February 5, 1850 (U.S. Senate)
“I wish to speak today not as a Northern man, nor as a Southern man, but as an American, looking to the interests of the whole country. It is our solemn duty to preserve this Union. Let us not be swayed by local passion or sectional interests. California should come in as a free state, but let us also provide just protection for the rights of the South, including the return of fugitive slaves. We must adjust all existing questions of slavery and avoid the further agitation that threatens to tear this nation apart.”
What is Senator Clay’s main purpose in this speech?
*
1 point
To encourage compromise to preserve the Union
To promote sectional interests of the North
To call for the immediate abolition of slavery
To argue for California to enter as a slave state
“I wish to speak today not as a Northern man, nor as a Southern man, but as an American, looking to the interests of the whole country. It is our solemn duty to preserve this Union. Let us not be swayed by local passion or sectional interests. California should come in as a free state, but let us also provide just protection for the rights of the South, including the return of fugitive slaves. We must adjust all existing questions of slavery and avoid the further agitation that threatens to tear this nation apart.”
What is Senator Clay’s main purpose in this speech?
*
1 point
To encourage compromise to preserve the Union
To promote sectional interests of the North
To call for the immediate abolition of slavery
To argue for California to enter as a slave state
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The main purpose of Senator Clay's speech is **to encourage compromise to preserve the Union**. He emphasizes the need to look beyond sectional interests and suggests a balanced approach concerning the status of California and the rights of the South, indicating a desire to maintain national unity.