Page:The World's Famous Orations Volume 9.djvu/114

CALHOUN I ON THE EXPUNGING RESOLUTION^ (1837) Born in 1782, died in 1850; elected to Congress in 1811; Secretary of War in 1817; Vice-President in 1825; United States Senator in 183a-43; Secretary of State in 1844; again elected United States Senator in 1845. The gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Eives] says that the argument in favor of this Expun- ging Resolution has not been answered. Sir, there are some questions so plain that they can not be argued. Nothing can make them more plain; and this is one. No one, not blinded by party zeal, can possibly be insensible that the measure proposed is a violation of the Constitution. The Constitution requires the Senate to keep a jour- nal ; this resolution goes to expunge the journal. If you may expunge a part, you may expunge the whole : and if it is expunged, how is it kept ? The Constitution says the journal shall be kept ; this resolution says it shall be destroyed. It does the very thing which the Constitution declares shall not be done. That is the argument, the 1 From a speech in the United States Senate in January, 1837. For Benton's speech on the same subject and the purport of the resolution, see volume eight. 104