Worksheet # 67 Home Questions Puzzle Links Next

REGIONALISM: CLAY, CALHOUN AND WEBSTER

How strange it all seems that some spoke of leaving,

-- With the homeland war-torn, to plan for its cleaving!

But when the fray was won, and the combat all done,

Good folks from all reaches felt more solidly one.

-- Yet feelings are fleeting, and, alas, discord is fate,

Sharp tensions soon rise -- you need only to wait.

And like youngsters still growing and feeling those pains,

The spurts in one part cause the others new strains.

In those days, you recall, how the West was expanding,

With more states and new towns, and attentions demanding.

While the mills North and East, and up New England way,

Had concerns over trade, and some steep bills to pay.

And so on Capitol Hill, where our laws take form,

A strong voice from each quarter came to stir up a storm.

Like quick-tongued Daniel Webster, who could argue and cavil,

-- And with a flash of his eyes throw fear in the devil!

Who spoke out for the North, a cheerleader of sorts,

For the placement of tariffs on all foreign imports.

Which brought smiles most bright to the mill towns and makers,

Whose higher priced goods did solicit new takers.

Ah, but to buyers, of course, a new tax was no boon,

And met the fiercest of critics in John C. Calhoun,

Who did roar like a cannon, a great blast from the south,

Demanding state's rights with each lash from his mouth.

As that land they call Dixie, the parts he hailed from,

Enjoyed cheap British goods, and thought tariffs quite dumb!

-- While the great western leader, hardly matched in his day,

Was both charming and tough -- yes, that man Henry Clay.

Who planned to use tariffs to build roads and canals,

And encourage more trade into western locales...

-- So, you see how needs differ, by the region your from:

With some shouting for peaches and others pleading for plum...