Document C: Representative
Roger Griswold, one of the finest Federalist spokesman in the House, gave n
anti- Louisiana speech in 1803.
It is, in my opinion, scarcely possible for any gentleman on this floor to advance an opinion that the President and Senate may add to the members of the union by treaty whenever they please, or, in the words of this treaty, may "incorporate in the union of the United States a foreign nation who, from interest or ambition, may wish to become a member of our government. Such a power would be directly repugnant to the original compact between the states, and a violation of the principles on which that compact was formed.
The incorporation of a foreign nation into the Union, so far from tend~g to preserve the Union, is a direct inroad upon it. It destroys the perfect union contemplated between the original parties, by interposing an alien and a stranger to share the powers of government with them . . .
This subject was much considered during the last session of Congress, but it will not be found . . . that any individual entertained the least wish to obtain the province of
Louisiana. Our views were then confined to New Orleans and the Florida, and, in my judgment, if would have been happy for the country if they were still confirmed within those limits. The vast and unmanageable extent which the accession of Louisiana will give to the United States; the consequent dispersion of our population; and the destruction of that balance which it is so important to maintain between the Eastern and
Western states, threatens, at no very distant day, the subversion of our Union.
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It is, in my opinion, scarcely possible for any gentleman on this floor to advance an opinion that the President and Senate may add to the members of the union by treaty whenever they please, or, in the words of this treaty, may "incorporate in the union of the United States a foreign nation who, from interest or ambition, may wish to become a member of our government. Such a power would be directly repugnant to the original compact between the states, and a violation of the principles on which that compact was formed.
The incorporation of a foreign nation into the Union, so far from tend~g to preserve the Union, is a direct inroad upon it. It destroys the perfect union contemplated between the original parties, by interposing an alien and a stranger to share the powers of government with them . . .
This subject was much considered during the last session of Congress, but it will not be found . . . that any individual entertained the least wish to obtain the province of
Louisiana. Our views were then confined to New Orleans and the Florida, and, in my judgment, if would have been happy for the country if they were still confirmed within those limits. The vast and unmanageable extent which the accession of Louisiana will give to the United States; the consequent dispersion of our population; and the destruction of that balance which it is so important to maintain between the Eastern and
Western states, threatens, at no very distant day, the subversion of our Union.
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1. What is the main idea of this document?
2. Is this document primary or secondary source?
3. What important facts can I learn from this document?