In his first major speech in Congress, Edward Everett attacked the proposed amendment to the Constitution, holding the existing system for electing the President “a complete success.” Attempting to allay Southern fears that the electoral system might some day imperil their peculiar institution, Everett declared that he would willingly “buckle a knapsack to my back, and put a musket on my shoulder” to help Southerners put down a slave insurrection ( Register of Debates in Congress , 19 Cong., 1 sess., 2:1570–1596). CFA thought Everett’s oration contained “some strange positions” but praised it as “a very argumentative and eloquent effort” (CFA to JA, 12 Mar. 1826, Adams Papers).