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VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English on theVoice of America.

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In the spring of eighteen-twenty,President James Monroe faced a difficult decision. His first fouryears as president were coming to an end. He wanted to be electedagain. But he had to decide something that might force thepresidential electors to choose another man. Congress, after muchbitter debate between north and south, had approved a bill givingstatehood to Missouri....A part of the Louisiana Territory. Southernlawmakers wanted Missouri to permit slavery. The northerners wantedno slaves in Missouri. A compromise was reached. Missouri could haveslaves. But nowhere else in the northern part of the Louisianaterritory would slavery be permitted.

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Many southerners were not satisfied. The compromise closed thedoor against slavery entering large new areas of land. Southerners-- like all other Americans -- had a right to settle in the newterritory. President Monroe was a slave-owner. He understood thefeelings of the south. His friends urged him to veto the compromisebill, because it limited slavery in the territory. Monroe believedthe compromise was wrong -- but not because it kept slaves out ofthe territory. The president did not believe the Constitution gaveCongress the right to make such conditions. Monroe even wrote a vetomessage explaining why he could not approve the compromise. But hedid not use the veto. He also understood the strong feelings ofthose opposed to slavery. He believed there might be civil war if herejected the compromise. So Monroe signed the bill. Missouri hadpermission to enter the union as a slave state.

VOICE ONE:

The crisis seemed ended. But a few months later, a new problemdeveloped. Missouri wrote a state constitution that it sent toCongress for approval. One part of this constitution did not permitfree black men to enter the state. The constitution was immediatelyopposed by a number of congressmen. They charged that it violatedthe United States Constitution. The United States Constitution saidcitizens of each state had the rights of citizens of each of theother states. And since free black men were citizens of some states,they should have the right to be citizens of Missouri. The debateover this lasted several months. Former House Speaker Henry Clayfinally proposed a compromise that both sides accepted. Missouricould become a state if its legislature would make this promise: Itwould never pass any law that would violate the rights of anycitizen of another state. This second compromise ended the disputeover slavery in Missouri and the Louisiana Territory.

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The compromise of eighteen-twenty settled the crisis of slaveryfor more than twenty years. But everyone knew that the settlementwas only temporary. Former President Thomas Jefferson used thesewords to explain his feelings about the compromise: "This question-- like a fire bell in the night -- awakened and filled me withterror. I understood it at once as the threat of death to the union.It is hushed, indeed, for the moment. But," said Jefferson, "This isa reprieve only. . . Not a final settlement." Monroe's decision toapprove the compromise did not hurt his election chances ineighteen-twenty. There was at this time really only one party -- theRepublican -- and he was its leader. The opposition Federalist partywas dead. It was no longer an election threat. Monroe was the onlypresidential candidate in the election of eighteen-twenty. Hereceived the vote of every elector, but one. William Plumer of NewHampshire voted for John Quincy Adams. He explained later thatGeorge Washington had been the only president to get all theelectoral votes. Plumer said he did not want anyone to share thishonor given to Washington.

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Monroe's first four years as president had been successful. Hehad increased the size of the United States. Florida now was part ofthe country. And the problem of slavery had been temporarilysettled. There had been economic problems -- some of the worst inthe nation's history. But the situation was getting better. Thenation was growing. As it grew, new problems developed between itsdifferent sections. There were really three separate areas with verydifferent interests. The northeastern states had become theindustrial center of the nation. The southern states wereagricultural with large farms that produced cotton, rice, andtobacco. Much of the work on these farms was done by slave labor.The western states were areas of small farms where grain wasproduced with free labor. It was a place where a man could make anew start. . . Could build a new life. The land did not cost much.And the fruits of a man's labor were his own.

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This division of the nation into different sections with opposinginterests ended the one-party system of Monroe's administration. Theindustrial northeast wanted high taxes on imported products toprotect its industry from foreign competition. This part of thecountry also believed the national government should pay for roadsand waterways to get their products to markets. The south did notagree to high import taxes. These taxes raised the prices on allgoods. And import taxes on foreign goods might cause foreign nationsto raise import taxes on southern cotton and tobacco. The south alsoopposed spending federal money for roads and canals. The mountainsthrough the southern atlantic states would make road-buildingdifficult and canals impossible. The western states supportedgovernment aid in the building of roads and canals. The Ohio andMississippi Rivers were the only inexpensive transportation systemsfor moving their products to markets. The westerners also supportedhigh taxes on imports, because they believed such taxes would raisethe prices of their agricultural products.

VOICE ONE:

The separate interests of thesedifferent sections produced an exciting presidential electioncampaign in eighteen-twenty-four. Each section had at least onecandidate. Several had more than one. The campaign began almost assoon as Monroe was elected for the second time. At one time, as manyas sixteen men thought of themselves as presidential possibilities.By eighteen-twenty-two, the number had been reduced to six men.Three of them were members of Monroe's cabinet: Secretary of StateJohn Quincy Adams, Treasury Secretary William Crawford, andSecretary of War John C. Calhoun. Adams was the only northerncandidate. He was an extremely able man. There were few jobs ingovernment he could not do, and do well. But he was not the kind ofman that people liked. He was cold, questioning, and had a sharptongue. His father was John Adams, the second president of theUnited States.

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Treasury Secretary Crawford was asoutherner -- born in Virginia -- and a large land-owner in Georgia.Crawford had received some votes when the Republicans chose Monroeas their presidential candidate in eighteen-sixteen. He was a goodpolitician and was supported by most southern Republicans. WarSecretary Calhoun also was a southern candidate. But he had muchless support than Crawford. His home state -- South Carolina --first named another man as its candidate. When that man died, theynamed Calhoun. The west had two candidates in the election ofeighteen-twenty-four. One was Henry Clay of Kentucky -- "Harry ofthe West" -- a great lawyer, congressman, Speaker of the House, andsenator. The other was Andrew Jackson -- "Old Hickory" -- the heroof New Orleans [battle of New Orleans during the war of 1812].Jackson was poorly educated, knew little about government, and had aterrible temper. He was a fighter, a man of the people. The sixthcandidate was Dewitt Clinton of New York. He was governor of thatstate and leader of the commission that built the Erie Canal. ButNew York presidential electors were chosen by the legislature, whichwas controlled by Clinton's enemies. So Clinton's chances were poor.

VOICE ONE:

Treasury Secretary Crawford was clearly the leading candidate twoyears before the election. But he had a serious illness in theautumn of eighteen-twenty-three. He could not meet with the cabinetfor months. He could not sign official papers. Crawford did go backto work. But he was only a shadow of the man he had been. "He walksslowly, like a blind man," wrote one reporter. So that tookSecretary Crawford out as a possible candidate for the comingelection.

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VOICE TWO:

You have been listening to the Special English program, THEMAKING OF A NATION. Your narrators were Steve Ember and Sarah Long.Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. THE MAKING OF A NATIONcan be heard on Thursdays.