this award will be presented at book expo america in new york city at the end of may. ..

[applause] thank you. that is a gracious introduction. i am delighted to be here at the opening of this commemoration of the civil war. one of the reasons is for my new book. [laughter] because this is a prelude to the civil war.

when you think about it, that compromise 1850's prevented secession and civil war 10 years before happened and i am personally convinced, although i cannot prevent that had the self seceded in 1950, there would have made good there you -- made good on their independence if the united states would become did this united states and then it would break again and again and where would we be today? that is out important it was to work out a solution to the problem that seemed impossible to fix

slavery, the south pole culture and life was dependent on an institution the north wanted to see eliminated. while the men could work out agreements to prevent secession because that would bring civil war, that would be a bloody contest. in 1850's the south was way off with the mexican war. the north did not have nearly as much to do.

to be pretty on negative better prepared and the south survived how many victories there were. but the 10 years the compromise of 1850 provided allow the north to further industrialize itself. in order to have a sustained war conflict to put in and on the field that when the south lost men they could not replace them. they gave the law as 10 years for abraham lincoln to put the union back together

after it had been split apart. that is what the compromise did. so today the idea, of compromise is back in vogue. we feel compromised is the only way to achieve success and the benefit for the american people. you can have one side shoved down the throat of the other side what it wants to do and expected to last because once the other side is back into power, they will shove it down if the republicans

win in november in the house of representatives as some suggested it might don't you think one of the first things they will do is change the health care or me obliterated -- obliterate it? the president will veto a and with a two-thirds vote they could override that is no way to get things done and fortunately it is what henry clay understood because a situation presented itself in 1850 in which the country, having

defeated mexico to or from mexico, california, new mexico, arizona, parts of colorado, and the enormous tracts of land. and the south having done so much. felt it had a right to bring the slaves into that. slavery was protected under the constitution. to make it more of a package of compromises. they disagree. to take any issue of disagreement and if one side

imposes its will, you have to get both sides to agree. how you do that? so with a compromise there are no losers. every side past to learn that they are getting something that they need or want. that they have to agree for something that once. let me read what henry clay had to say about compromises. politics is not about its

ideological purity or moral self righteousness but it is about governing but then they could never govern effectively. all government, and all society is formed upon the principle of mutual confession, a concession politeness. wouldn't that be nice? courtesy. unless there is a compromise. when i broke my biography of henry clay i was calling to call it henry clay cover the great compromiser. in his lifetime also with a

great pacific cater it came back and said what? arthur schlesinger said don't use the word compromiser. the american people don't know what that means. they think it is about people who have no principles, have no real understanding who are ready to do anything that is what

you have a lasting. of the rise you have conflict. and with it the 1850's to

mattathias situation in the southerners felt i have a right to bring there slaves their property and that is offended and supported in the constitution. it was not there under mexican law. california was three. of mexico was three. because the south said as long as property is protected under the constitution, we can take our slaves there.

there is no argument so while they are a territory, the north said the congress can change that. before the mexican war ended , a man named ed david will launch. any territory acquired as a result of this war must be closed to slavery. and abolitionists went even further and the slave trade in the district of columbia has got to be ended.

tourists come here, foreign dignitaries for those to be bought and sold. we have to stop it in robert toombs of georgia said this is treating the south as though we're not part of the government. so we have to do what you want us to do. and you don't recognize that our way of life would be jeopardized. so we will leave. mississippi passed a resolution calling on all

the southern states to meet in convention in asheville tennessee with the first monday of june 1850 and they are setting up the machinery to take the south out of the union. think of how desperate they were. that is why we were really fortunate to have a man like henry clay in the house, in the senate actually, the speaker who had the vision and the determination and the love of this country to keep it together to try to work out a compromise.

knowing that what you have to do is one for you and one for you and back-and-forth. it has got to be important to enough for both sides to say for me to get what i'd not need. the pork man was in bad shape and the mississippi resolution had been inspired with john calhoun of south carolina that said the north is constantly harassing us. they don't understand what the situation is. there for the seven states need to come together to decide on a course of

action. and so the situation existed and henry clay for weeks weeks, it's not easy to find a solution. look, for example, with the relation between israel and palestine. do you think it can ever be resolved? it is one of those issues that seems impossible. claes said slavery in our time will never be ended. he had a recommendation of how he would go about it. he said ticket date, it does not matter may be 1860 or

1855 anybody born after that date we will automatically become free on reaching the age of 21. those born before the date will remain a slave until they die. this would be as low, a gradual, even nation. he did not want the slaves slaves, the freed slaves to remain in this country. he suggested they be sent back to liberia and many did return and today they have people seems to our

washington because clay thought that if the blacks remain in the country would do to the white people what the white people have done to them. he was trying to be realistic but at the same time he had to work out some means with that credit critical state and with those other radicals began arriving in nashville the plan to recommend that each state secede from the union. imagine what that would have meant the civil war in 1850 in the north is not prepared. with that little proviso

that passed in the house because of the overwhelming numbers but it died in the senate. and they blocked it. every session the proviso was brought up again and passed in the house and defeated in the senate. the one thing the seven years insisted on is if there is any mention of the will want proviso we will not buy it so clay realized that's not the way. the one solution that some people approved was called

popular sovereignty which was congress should not decide but the people who live in the district should decide if they once slavery or not. but in any event clay thought if i can only keep any mention of that condition at of the compromise the south may buy it. so he finally worked out eight resolutions. back and forth one for you. then on a cold, rainy and miserable night cover this pork man who was dying of tuberculosis, went to the

home of did bill webster. he had given such a wonderful speech back in the webster he investigate against a free and you know, the final comment? was inseparable now and forever. if you break this union it will not mean a thing. and clay thought do it again. and tell the members they must not succeed. think what happened to this country and he outlined the proposals and webster listened and marveled at

what clay had done. use see, ladies and gentleman it takes vision and if you haven't got it, you are the place. leadership means the speaker of the house you are not the speaker of your own party you are speaker of the house. that means both parties i of the historian of the house and i have to be non-partisan my office is there for both sides i hope this sounds as if i am not partisan. [laughter] and webster said he had the perfect order of secession

because he knew it would bring war and that rarely solves any problem. so clay went back and then in late january 1850 he got up in the senate and outlined and his proposals. they did that say if it would be a free say -- date is left up to society mexico would have a territorial status or california would skip the territorial state. because california's population zoomed from 6,000

over a year of 80,000. because they discovered gold in the sacramento valley and people came out to find it and take their share. as for the slave trade as d.c. is controlled by the congress as it does have that authority he said it would be inexpedient to outlaw slavery but it would be expedient to end the slave trade in d.c.. see the balance?

and for the south coast mexico and california would be free. every by the new that. what will the south get? a tougher fugitive slave law. slaves were constantly running away and getting help from northerners and her son they had to forbade their police about capturing those slaves and returning them to their owners. and that had to be stopped so that webster's argument

on the slave trade which northerners would hate is the argument that daniel webster will defend this is the law, it is property, a protected under the constitution you have the obligation to follow the law. it is not up to you to decide which laws to obey and which you won't. we have been through that with the nullification controversy when south carolina said the tariff laws you can do it. you cannot pick and choose and as far as these recommendations were concerned they were part of a package and in combination one depending on the other and the president zachary taylor wanted california to

be admitted as a state as a separate item and clay was opposed. you break the linkage and if you don't have the equal distribution and the problem would be met he could use the presidential veto to pick and choose the resolution. i will veto this is the proof that and then the compromise is gone. it all has to come together as one package. maybe not one bill but you

can remember one and not the other. another recommended that if all the eight bills go to a special committee to come back with a single bill and henry clay opposed that's coming they have to be separate but connected not part of the whole because then you give to the senators a choice, the whole or nothing. if they had separate boats they could go for one and against another aid to have a better chance it he said this is the omnibus bill bill, using the latest form of urban transportation.

that is what the bill was called the omnibus bill and the committee included people like daniel webster over henry clay. he worked not only those that supported a compromise but those who have reservations. that is what leadership does. in the meantime, john c. calhoun caught up to speak and was so ill and would die in a few weeks, that he could not read his speech and he gave it to john mason of virginia to read it for him.

and what he did was condemned the north for its harassment going back to the northwest ordinance were that was declared off-limits again and again this government has been high style and it needs to back off by fear secession is inevitable. and webster gotta with his famous speech in which he said i rise today to speak not as a northern man or a massachusetts man but as an american.

he blamed both sides for not recognizing the importance of the union doing everything he could have the outcome of course, was inevitable. the bill was brought to the senate floor and in the meantime, zachary taylor on the fourth of july came out here with they were dedicating the washington monument, a drink a lot of water and listened to a speech that in the heat of

july that went on for hours and he finally rushed back after words to the white house and drink more hours and then proceeded to die within the next few days. that got rid of the president because the vice president filmore was a great supporter and a good friend of henry clay clay and taylor never got along whenever clay came to the warehouse they said clay was the president because of the betty paid attention. not to zachary taylor. [laughter] who was a general he did not look like much except he was on a horse.

people would say let the secession come we have a man who is president who is a military general he will show us the south. is that what you want? reduced to a military conflict? so when the vote came in the senate, the whole package or nothing, it went down by defeat and henry clay collapsed in his seat. you cave the senators of choice the whole thing or nothing i cannot vote for a bill said one northerner northerner, for dave bill that for the fugitive slave owner let me pick and choose and i will vote in favor of

california, a new mexico and the resolutions of the district of columbia but i would never vote for the fugitive slave owner. pork clay he did not have much time to live. he tried to regain his health and fortunately the senator from illinois to a covert. he never proved that package deal because he said that unites the enemies of compromise. we need to unite the friends

and then he proceeded to have each one of the bills introduced and passed. and by the end of the summer of a compromise of 1850 and he admitted it was clay's compromise that was within the resolution, passed. then it went to the house where they would argue. during that discussion one man got up and lambasted thomas hart benton the senator from missouri. and took it so long and he

startled foot and foot kept backing up and backing up and tell the back was against the desk of the vice president. and dentin kept coming towards him and foot stack the hand in the jacket and pulled out a pistol and benton stopped dead in his tracks and said shoot you diem assassin. of course, the other senators stopped him but he said was just trying to protect myself but this was happening on the floor of the senate with there were so many of them there were fist fights and the sergeant at arms said if there had been an explosion it could not have been any worse.

but now the compromise had passed and everybody recognized that the south would not succeed so those attended the national convention argued in favor of secession and decided to allow congress to decide the issue so the south did not secede and for 10 years at north prepared itself so when it came again and henry clay was ted, who did they

have but james buchanan and phil more and franklin pierce all of those as buchanan said there is nothing i can do. they have a perfect right to secede. he should have done what andrew jackson did, threatened them i will make a frog pond to dispatch the shoulder -- soldiers there but then all of a sudden they found abraham lincoln. it is incredible he had two years' experience in the house of representatives he served in illinois and of course.

who knew that this man would have the talent, the leadership, he would have to do hard things. he did many unconstitutional things then went to the congress and said nothing i have done the you can give me the authority to do because it has to be done. in order to save the union. if to save the union to free the slaves i will do that. i will do whatever it takes to save the union. that is why eyes title the new book henry clay and the compromise that saved the union. thank you very much. [applause]

if you have any questions shall be glad to attempt to resolve. a if you would use the microphone so everybody can hear the of question. >> of the package of resolution did not pass and the senate's we voted in cherry picked then how did the compromise worked? >> the problem is if you take one away than the balance between what each section gets is thrown off then they will not accept it. >> when they read coded it was for all of it? >> it worked out that there

were enough votes for each one of those rebels -- resolutions together to get it passed with the enemies of compromise the separate bills united the people who wanted to save the union. >> how did it fall on clay to broker the compromise? what was it about him in the senate that led him to create that consensus? >> i think it was unique with this union and webster had it to. something about this country

he had such a vision that he could foresee it would be a powerful, industrialized nation. at one point* he developed the american system in which there is be tariffs to protect the infant industry and internal improvements the building of railroads and bridges and canals and the central bank so the currency and credit would be as strong as possible and andrew jackson vetoed a the bank. we did not have a central bank until we got the federal reserve. you need a central bank that

controls 90 and cs to it that the money is good >> i am from new york side may be biased. you are punny york as well? [laughter] leonard fillmore as you describe is an important ingredient from the compromise a you don't seem to think much of him or either do much historians. soap what do you see this hero of the compromise that fillmore is almost disparaged because of his reputation? >> i am not sure what you are asking.

>> that fillmore is attacked for implementing the henry clay compromise just because they focus on the one aspect of the fugitive slave law. so it seems that you praise henry clay, directly so but fillmore does not get much credit for the compromise compromise, with the enactment of it. >> true. i am just centering it on henry clay because he is the man who came up with the basic ideas. they all knew there were problems. one of the problems i didn't mention that he solved was the texas border. texas and new mexico quarreled over their border. texas was going to send troops and clay comes up

with a proposal that if texas will back off and surrender any claim through the mexico territory we will pay the texas debt acquired before indexation. said texas get something but it gives up something. is quite remarkable they could see how they were connected. cannot just deal with new mexico to say it will be a territory. texas will say that is mine.

you have to get them to back off. how do you do that? then this is what clade did. i am not sure i am answering your question maybe it is something i forgot to mention. >> excellent presentation. what about the comments that if the war had been fought years later the south probably would have won? >> it didn't happen. >> right. but you said that was because the north industrializes so much in the intervening 10 years. do you think the north north.deliberately got on dap footing or it was serendipitous? >> it was a process they had

the railroads and the industry they have the men and one of the things calhoun complained more people go to the north instead of coming to this house. now that is not our problem, that is the way things are. and once the number continues the industrialization, it has the means of sustaining an army on the field 100,000 again and again this south doesn't have the railroads or the depots. >> but look how well they defended themselves. >> using the population as a

whole thought the compromise was a permanent solution or short-term? >> it is hard to say but they knew it prevented at that time because the feeling some both sides had been so agitated things quieted negative own and everybody said we passed the crisis they knew eventually it would comeback and it did. when prophetic thing that was said that i think is true and foote said if henry clay had been alive in 1860 there would have been no civil war. i think that's true. he would have found a solution.

what did they do they came up with claes told the solutions like the missouri compromise is in line -- missouri compromise line. he knew that was a solution but it is not the same anymore. so they went to war. >> could you speak to the relationship of douglas a. and clay? he did not mention stephen douglas by maybe he did a lot of the legwork. >> stephen douglas by the way is the man whose

takeover after he left washington. their relationship, it wasn't close. douglas disagreed with the omnibus solution and said so and walked away from it that as soon as it went down to defeat he takes control to get all of the bills passed so he deserves a great deal of credit for the compromise of 1850 and as such he became a leading presidential candidate and then ran against abraham

lincoln and lost. thank god. [laughter] >> give then clay's perspective on slavery what was his relationship with the abolitionist? also i did not understand how slavery and the district of columbia became part of the resolution. i was under the impression that just prior to the "emancipation proclamation" i was surprised to hear that issue involving slavery with the district of columbia was part of the compromise. could you elaborate on that? i would appreciate it. >> claes said slavery in our time cannot be.

so for one thing with the american people, what they have spent doing year after a decade after decade even though it is not to their benefit, it is hard to give it up. in fact,, it is impossible and another reason is there was so much money in slavery. to produce the goods that were sold around the world. you have to recognize the south has a real argument that the government is not helping us it is helping the number, but slavery is

immoral, it is in it? what are you going to do? and it reminds me again and again what seems to be the impossible issues that face us today. and what is going to happen. i ran with a nuclear bomb? what will we do about that? what will israel do with the attack? i don't mean to create to. [laughter] >> to go through the eight parts or those that were most germane or what it was that the anti-slavery people gave up in a compromise and what it was the secession

people gave up? >> i thought that is what my talk was all about. [laughter] >> you did not go into the details. >> read my book. [laughter] [applause] >> why do you think senator clay in 1820 that had changed so much in those 30 years was it not president lincoln's position to continue on with the government of 1820? >> going back to the missouri compromise? again, it was the balance. the slave state detaches

itself from massachusetts and new balance that out as far as the question of slavery of the territories territories, the louisiana territory was reduced it was introduced by others. you had slavery opened up so that became a problem that the seveners recognize that the geography and in some areas like new mexico was such that they could not grow so to have a big force

of slaves to work it they were working against that was a loss reduced to a small area. that was impossible for them to accept, especially if they felt the government was doing what it could to help the north. >> we are out of time. thank you for coming. [applause]