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 Nowhere else was the attitude of the South on these burning questions stated so promptly and so emphatically as in the once famous Alabama Platform, first presented by Mr. Yancey, February 14, 1848, to a great political convention assembled in the capitol. The scene was historic, and is thus described by his biographer, Mr. DuBose:

"At this stage in the proceedings Mr. Yancey rose. The galleries were crowded with ladies and their escorts; the floor, lobbies, and rotunda were packed with men. He drew from his pocket his own resolutions and read them He spoke at length A vote was taken, and Yancey's resolutions were adopted, without even one opposing voice, amidst the most enthusiastic cheering on the floor and in the lobbies, the ladies in the galleries waving their handkerchiefs in the contagion of joy."

It was a characteristic example of his keen political foresight and also of the wonderfully persuasive eloquence that set his hearers on fire. No orator ever combined more perfectly closeness of reasoning with the fire of earnestness and an irresistible personal magnetism. The capitol, old Estelle Hall, every public place in the city, rang with the mellow tones of his voice; his debates with Hilliard were attended by throngs never equaled in the