Compromise of 1850

Clay appeals to pathos through the personification of the Union in his speech as a woman, arguably a sacred one. Specifically, in his appeal directly to the South, Clay uses the pronoun “her” four times in the same sentence, creating an image of the country as a woman who needs saving. In this instance, the country is an altar at the same time: “Let us go to the altar of our country and swear […] that we will stand by her; that we will support her; that we will uphold her Constitution; that we will preserve her union” (Paragraph 4). Notably, he seems to open his appeal in this paragraph by referring to “all the South” as a singular “Sir” (Paragraph 4), further suggesting the sense of a Southern Christian gentleman performing chivalry.

Repetition plays an important role in Clay’s clarity and ability to establish associations between concepts. Keeping in mind that his words were meant to be delivered orally, parallel structure is also key in the way that Clay frames his content so that his listeners can follow along, absorb, and remember his points. Both aspects are especially clear in his definition of compromise at the start of the speech: “It is a work of mutual concession—an agreement in which there are reciprocal stipulations—a work in which, for the sake of peace and concord, one party abates his extreme demands in consideration of an abatement of extreme demands by the other party: it is a measure of mutual concession—a measure of mutual sacrifice” (Paragraph 1). In this case, the repetition of terms such as “mutual,” “concession,” and “abate” helps to emphasize the features of compromise that Clay most wants to highlight. The parallel structure in the definition, in turn, suggests the very nature of compromise, that is, the give-and-take balance that Clay wants the senators to accept.