To
accept Douglas and the idea that somehow territorial legislatures
were free to do what Congress could not do, or to reject Douglas
and endorse Davis's ultimatum--that in substance was the issue.
"In this convention where there should be confidence and
harmony," said the "Charleston Mercury", "it is plain that men
feel as if they were going into a battle." In the committee on
resolutions where the States were equally represented, the
majority were anti-Douglas; they submitted a report affirming
Davis's position that territorial legislatures had no right to
prohibit slavery and that the Federal Government should protect
slavery against them. The minority refused to go further than an
approval of the Dred Scott case and a pledge to abide by all
future decisions of the Supreme Court. After both reports had
been submitted, there followed the central event of the
convention--the now famous speech by Yancey which repudiated
political evasion from top to bottom, frankly defended slavery,
and demanded either complete guarantees for its continued
existence or, as an alternative, Southern independence. Pugh
instantly replied and summed up Yancey's speech as a demand upon
Northern Democrats to say that slavery was right, and that it was
their duty not only to let slavery alone but to aid in extending
it.
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