John Calhoun Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Leading American politician and theorist, John Caldwell Calhoun (1782–1850) served as a South Carolina state representative, U.S. representative, U.S. senator, secretary of war and of state, and vice president of the United States. Calhoun’s political writings reflect his responses to the great political problems of nineteenth-century America: the conflict over the Tariff Acts of 1828 and 1832, the slavery crisis, and the concentration of political power in the national government under President Andrew Jackson. All of these convinced Calhoun that America’s constitutional foundations were in danger.

Calhoun addresses these dangers in his primary political writings. A Disquisition on Government (1851) looks at the nature of man and government in addition to expounding the doctrine of the concurrent majority—the right of significant interests to have a veto over the enactment or implementation of a public law. A Discourse on the Constitution and Government of the United States (1851) traces the constitutional foundation for the concurrent majority within the American political tradition and argued for its restoration. By recognizing and incorporating natural social divisions into a coherent whole, Calhoun contended that the concurrent majority ameliorates social and political tensions through deliberation and compromise, distinguishing it from the numerical majority that deals with these tensions through force.

Calhoun believed that the numerical majority fails to consider a political community’s natural diversity. As a result, it can only assess preference through overall electoral victory, which overrates the homogeneity of the political environment. Moreover, the majority system supposes that the apparatus of voting can resolve all conflict, even when no consensus of opinion exists. The numerical majority attempts to control government at any cost by emphasizing political party at the expense of constitutional principles, and the numerical majority’s inability to assess the true preferences of the citizenry threatens to undermine the electoral and constitutional foundations of republican government.

Calhoun’s critique has been interpreted as evidence of a lack of concern for popular rule. He is seen as the protector of particular interests, especially slaveholders, and his defense of slavery as a “positive good” instead of a necessary evil is thought to derail America’s liberal tradition. Calhoun is seen as overthrowing America’s Lockean origins through a purposeful rejection of James Madison’s politics, especially the emphasis on natural rights. But his defense of slavery is neither the most important nor the most consuming aspect of his political thought.

Focusing on the relationship between the Disquisition and the Discourse shows that Calhoun’s focus is on liberty, the nature of the American union, constitutionalism, and states’ rights. British philosopher and political theorist John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) applauds Calhoun’s understanding of federal representative government as a means of providing for greater participation while avoiding conflict. Calhoun also provides a disincentive to the growth of a corruptive central governing authority. Lord Acton (1834–1902), British historian and moralist, finds in Calhoun’s presentation of an authentic constitutional tradition a defense of democratic theory and the American union. Calhoun’s political thought is central to an understanding of America’s constitutional tradition.

Bibliography:

Coit, Margaret L. John C. Calhoun. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1970.
Hemphill, Edwin W., ed. Papers of John C. Calhoun, 24 vols. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1969.
Lence, Ross M. The Political Philosophy of John C. Calhoun. Indianapolis, Ind.: Liberty Fund, 1992.
von Holst, Herman E. John C. Calhoun. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1970.
Wilson, Clyde N. The Essential Calhoun. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 2000.