Excerpt

Excerpt from Thomas Hart Benton's Remarks to the Senate on the Expunging Resolution, by Thomas Hart Benton

Mr. President:

It is now three years since the resolve was adopted by the Senate,
which it is my present motion to expunge from the journal. At the
moment that this resolve was adopted, I gave notice of my intention to
move to expunge it; and then expressed my confident belief that the
motion would eventually prevail. That expression of confidence was not
an ebullition of vanity, or a presumptuous calculation, intended to
accelerate the event it affected to foretell. It was not a vain boast,
or an idle assumption, but was the result of a deep conviction of the
injustice done President Jackson, and a thorough reliance upon the
justice of the American people. I felt that the President had been
wronged; and my heart told me that this wrong would be redressed! The
event proves that I was not mistaken. The question of expunging this
resolution has been carried to the people, and their decision has been
had upon it. They decide in favor of the expurgation; and their
decision has been both made and manifested, and communicated to us in a
great variety of ways. A great number of States have expressly
instructed their Senators to vote for this expurgation. A very great
majority of the States have elected Senators and Representatives to
Congress, upon the express ground of favoring this expurgation. The
Bank of the United States, which took the initiative in the accusation
against the President, and furnished the material, and worked the
machinery which was used against him, and which was then so powerful on
this floor, has become more and more odious to the public mind, and
musters now but a slender phalanx of friends in the two Houses of
Congress. The late Presidential election furnishes additional evidence
of public sentiment. The candidate who was the friend of President
Jackson, the supporter of his administration, and the avowed advocate
for the expurgation, has received a large majority of the suffrages of
the whole Union, and that after an express declaration of his
sentiments on this precise point. The evidence of the public will,
exhibited in all these forms, is too manifest to be mistaken, too
explicit to require illustration, and too imperative to be disregarded.
Omitting details and specific enumeration of proofs, I refer to our own
files for the instructions to expunge--to the complexion of the two
Houses for the temper of the people--to the denationalized condition of
the Bank of the United States for the fate of the imperious
accuser--and to the issue of the Presidential election for the answer
of the Union.

All these are pregnant proofs of the public will, and the last
pre-eminently so: because, both the question of the expurgation, and
the form of the process, were directly put in issue upon it....

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Explanation

Detailed Explanation of Thomas Hart Benton’s Remarks to the Senate on the Expunging Resolution

Context & Background

Thomas Hart Benton (1782–1858) was a U.S. Senator from Missouri and a staunch ally of President Andrew Jackson. This speech was delivered in 1837, during a heated political battle over the Expunging Resolution, which sought to remove a censure resolution against Jackson from the Senate’s official records.

In 1834, the Senate (controlled by Jackson’s opponents, particularly supporters of the Second Bank of the United States) had censured Jackson for removing federal deposits from the Bank, which they saw as an abuse of power. Jackson, a populist who distrusted the Bank as an elitist institution, had vetoed its recharter in 1832 and redirected funds to state banks. The censure was a symbolic rebuke, but Jackson’s allies, including Benton, saw it as an unjust political attack.

By 1837, Jackson’s Democratic Party had regained control of the Senate, and Benton—who had long promised to reverse the censure—introduced a motion to expunge (erase) the resolution from the Senate journal. His speech justifies this action by arguing that the American people had overwhelmingly rejected the censure and that justice demanded its removal.

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Themes in the Excerpt

1. Justice & Redress of Wrongs

   • Benton frames the expunging as a moral necessity, not just a political maneuver. He argues that Jackson was wronged by a partisan Senate and that the people’s will now demands correction.
   • "I felt that the President had been wronged; and my heart told me that this wrong would be redressed!" → This emotional appeal suggests that the censure was not just a policy dispute but a personal and national injustice.

2. Populism & the Will of the People

   • Benton repeatedly invokes public opinion as the ultimate authority, claiming that elections, state instructions, and the decline of the Bank prove the people’s support for expunging.
   • "The question of expunging this resolution has been carried to the people, and their decision has been had upon it." → He portrays the Senate’s earlier censure as undemocratic, imposed by elites (Bank supporters) against the people’s chosen leader.

3. Political Triumph & the Decline of the Bank

   • The Bank of the United States (a key opponent of Jackson) is depicted as a fallen power, now "denationalized" and unpopular.
   • "The Bank... has become more and more odious to the public mind, and musters now but a slender phalanx of friends." → Benton suggests that history has vindicated Jackson, as the Bank’s influence has collapsed.

4. Legacy & Historical Judgment

   • The speech is not just about the present but about how history will remember Jackson. Benton argues that the expunging will restore Jackson’s reputation and correct a false narrative.
   • The 1836 election of Martin Van Buren (Jackson’s successor, who supported expunging) is cited as proof that the people endorsed Jackson’s policies.

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Literary & Rhetorical Devices

1. Ethos (Appeal to Authority & Credibility)

   • Benton presents himself as a steadfast defender of justice, not a partisan hack. He claims his confidence in expunging was not "vanity" but "deep conviction."
   • He also invokes the authority of the people, framing their support as irrefutable.

2. Pathos (Emotional Appeal)

   • "My heart told me that this wrong would be redressed!" → This personal, almost prophetic language makes the issue feel moral rather than merely political.
   • The repeated emphasis on injustice and redress appeals to a sense of fairness.

3. Logos (Logical Argument)

   • Benton builds a step-by-step case using multiple forms of evidence:
     • State instructions to Senators
     • Election results (Van Buren’s victory)
     • Decline of the Bank’s influence
     • Public sentiment against the censure
   • He treats these as undeniable proofs, leaving little room for counterargument.

4. Parallelism & Repetition

   • "A great number of States have expressly instructed... A very great majority of the States have elected... The Bank... has become more and more odious..." → The accumulation of evidence in similar structures reinforces his argument.
   • "Too manifest to be mistaken, too explicit to require illustration, too imperative to be disregarded." → The triple repetition of "too" emphasizes the inescapable nature of the people’s will.

5. Metaphor & Imagery

   • "The Bank... musters now but a slender phalanx of friends." → A military metaphor (phalanx = a tight formation of soldiers) suggests the Bank’s supporters are weak and outnumbered.
   • "Pregnant proofs" (meaning full of meaning/evidence) → Implies that the evidence is undeniable and fertile with truth.

6. Antithesis (Contrast for Effect)

   • Benton contrasts the past (when the Bank was powerful and Jackson was censured) with the present (where the Bank is weak and the people demand expunging).
   • "The imperious accuser" (the Bank) vs. "the answer of the Union" (the people’s verdict).

7. Appeal to Historical Justice

   • By framing the expunging as a correction of the historical record, Benton suggests that future generations will judge the Senate’s earlier action as unfair.

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Significance of the Speech

1. Political Victory for Jacksonian Democracy

   • The expunging was a symbolic triumph for Jackson’s populist movement, reinforcing the idea that the people’s will should prevail over elite institutions (like the Bank).
   • It also cemented Jackson’s legacy as a champion against financial aristocracy.

2. Precedent for Senate Procedure

   • The expunging was controversial—some saw it as an attempt to erase history. Benton’s argument that the Senate must reflect the people’s current will set a precedent for how institutional records could be altered.
   • Later, in 1844, the censure was physically scratched out of the Senate journal with black lines, a rare act of institutional revisionism.

3. Rhetorical Mastery & Persuasion

   • Benton’s speech is a model of political oratory, blending emotional appeal, logical evidence, and moral urgency.
   • His confident tone ("I was not mistaken") and relentless accumulation of proof make the case feel inevitable.

4. Reflection of 19th-Century Political Struggles

   • The conflict over the Bank and Jackson’s censure was part of a larger battle between democracy and elitism in early America.
   • Benton’s speech captures the populist energy of the era, where public opinion was increasingly seen as the ultimate arbiter of political disputes.

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Key Takeaways from the Text Itself

• Benton does not deny the Senate’s original right to censure—he argues that circumstances have changed, and the people have reversed the judgment.
• His repetition of "the people" (e.g., "their decision," "the public will") reinforces the idea that democracy is the true sovereign.
• The Bank is portrayed as a villain—its decline is proof that Jackson was right.
• The 1836 election is treated as a referendum on the censure, giving Benton’s argument democratic legitimacy.
• The tone is triumphant yet measured—he avoids gloating, instead presenting the expunging as an act of justice, not revenge.

Conclusion

Benton’s speech is a powerful blend of moral conviction, political strategy, and rhetorical skill. It transforms a procedural debate (whether to erase a Senate resolution) into a grand narrative of justice, democracy, and historical vindication. By framing the expunging as the people’s will, he makes opposition seem anti-democratic. The speech remains a classic example of how political language can shape institutional memory—turning a controversial act into a moral necessity.