Daniel Webster’s Infamous ‘Plea for Harmony and Peace’ Speech

Daniel Webster’s infamous March 7, 1850, “Plea for Harmony and Peace” speech, in which he claimed the U.S. Constitution protected the rights of slave owners to capture fugitive slaves and mandated that all citizens aid in the capture, dismayed abolitionists everywhere -- many of them colleagues of his in the Senate. Although he himself was opposed to slavery, Webster’s speech was defending the strengthened Fugitive Slave Act, which was a key component of the Compromise of 1850 he supported. Webster believed the compromise legislation was necessary in order to prevent a civil war ripping the nation apart over the slavery issue.

While his speech appalled many listeners, its rhetorical flourishes confirmed his standing as the great orator of his day. He began his speech with this famous line: “I wish to speak today, not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a Northern man, but as an American, and a member of the Senate of the United States…I speak today for the preservation of the Union.”

However, his words did not convince everyone that the U.S. Constitution protected the rights of slave owners to capture fugitive slaves, as shown by this remark New York Senator William H. Seward made on the floor of the Senate four days later, on March 11. In refuting Webster’s position, Seward gave a moving speech of his own, concluding with these stirring words.

Webster was a highly respected member of the U.S. Senate, but his March 7th speech subjected him to ridicule. Despite fierce opposition the Compromise of 1850 was passed, and one of its key components, the strengthened Fugitive Slave Act, became law. It was not well received in many parts of the country, as this Northern editorial expresses, and caused much suffering, as shown in this article, as well as this strange case. Support for the Fugitive Slave Act is expressed in this Southern editorial.