标题: The 1850 Compromise [打印本页] 作者: choi 时间: 7-20-2012 11:59 标题: The 1850 Compromise The following two are book reviews on Fergus M Bordewich, America's Great Debate. Henry Clay, Stephen A Douglas, and the compromise that preserved the Union. Simon & Schuster, 2012.
Note:
(a) The review said, "Sectional passions ran so high then that there was a real danger of secession, perhaps even civil war."
section (n): "a distinct part of a territorial or political area, community, or group of people <the historic section of the city>" www.m-w.com
(b) Henry Clay http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Clay
(1777-1852; US senator from Kentucky four times, the last being 1849-1852)
(c) Stephen A Douglas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_A._Douglas
(1813-1861; Democrat; US senator from Illinois 1847-1861; section 6 Debating Lincoln, 1858)
(d) The review remarked, "The proximate cause of the crisis of 1850 was America’s lopsided victory in the Mexican War (1846-48), which resulted in a huge accession of land."
accession (n): "increase by something added"
(e) Missouri Compromise http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Compromise
(1820; maps)
(f) The review stated, "Mexico, the loser whose land the United States had ingested, had abolished slavery."
Abolition of slavery timeline
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolition_of_slavery_timeline
(1820: Mexico formally abolishes slavery)
(g) Daniel Webster http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Webster
(1782-1852; US senator from Massachusetts 1827-1841 and 1845-1850)
(h) John C Calhoun http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Calhoun
(1782-1850; US senator from S Carolina 1832-1843 and 1845-1850)
(i) William H Seward http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Seward
(1801-1872; US senator from New York 1849-1861; US secretary of state 1861-1869)
(j) The review mentioned "Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, Calhoun’s follower in the Gadarene rush to secession."
* Jefferson Davis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Davis
(1808-1889; Us senator from Mississippi 1847-1851 and 1857-1861; President of the Confederate States of America 1861-1865)
* Gadarene (adj; often capitalized; from the demon-possessed Gadarene swine in Matthew 8:28 that rushed into the sea; First Known Use 1922):
"HEADLONG, PRECIPITATE <a gadarene rush to the cities>"
* Gadara (Geographic name): "town of ancient Palestine SE of Sea of Galilee"
bargain (n): "a transaction, situation, or event regarded in the light of its results <a bad bargain>"
作者: choi 时间: 7-21-2012 11:38
(continued from (1))
(n) The review at last conended, "Their colleagues wallowed in fustian and threats: Henry Foote of Mississippi drew a pistol on Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri on the Senate floor; but after a full dose of Benton, who could blame him?"
Quote: "With troubled conscience, in 1849 he declared himself 'against the institution of slavery,' putting him against his [Democratic] party and popular opinion in his state. In April 1850, during heated Senate floor debates over the proposed Compromise of 1850, Benton was nearly shot by pistol-wielding Mississippi Senator Henry S Foote, who had taken umbrage to Benton's vitriolic sparring with Vice-President Millard Fillmore. Foote was wrestled to the floor where he was disarmed."
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(2) David S Reynolds, Statesmanship In a Divided Era; Fisticuffs on the floor of Congress, Southern threats of secession, saber-rattling over slavery in new states. And then: compromise. Wall Street Journal, Apr 22, 2012. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 50313501109238.html
Note:
(a) nothing less than: "downright; truly"
All definitions are from Collins English dictionary, unless otherwise noted.
(b) fire-eater (n):
"1. a performer who simulates the swallowing of fire
2. a belligerent person"
(c)
(i) hatchet-faced (adj): "Someone who is hatchet-faced has a thin, hard and unpleasant face" http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/hatchet-faced
(ii) hatchet-face (adj): "a face with narrow dimensions and sharp features"
(d) The review stated, "Meanwhile, the Venezuela-born soldier Narciso López, having consulted with several proslavery leaders, invaded Cuba with a "filibustering" expedition—as such freelance military forays were known—in a failed attempt to win that Spanish island for the South."
(e) The review said, "Clay proposed a broad-ranging measure that made concessions to both sides. (It was called the 'omnibus bill' because it was compared to a bus carrying different types of passengers.)."
(i) omnibus (adj):
"1829, 'four-wheeled public vehicle with seats for passengers,' from Fr. (voiture) omnibus '(carriage) for all, common (conveyance),' from L. omnibus 'for all,' dative plural of omnis "all" (see omni-). Introduced by Laffitte in Paris, 1820. In reference to legislation, the word is recorded from 1842."
Online Etymology Dictionary, undated. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=omnibus
(ii) omnibus bill http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnibus_bill
(f) Kansas-Nebraska Act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas-Nebraska_Act
(the acts "created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska[, and] allow[ed] settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty whether they would allow slavery within each territory; The acts was designed by Democratic Senator Stephen A Douglas of Illinois; The result was that pro- and anti-slavery elements flooded into Kansas with the goal of voting slavery up or down, leading to a bloody civil war there)
(g) Dred Scott http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dred_Scott
(1795-1858; section 2 Life)
(h) The review talked about "a mulish adherence to long-held views."
The adjective mulish--of mule--is defined as "stubborn; obstinate; headstrong."