A truly great Southern statesman (probably the greatest ever), gentleman, and brilliant political thinker. His like will probably never be seen again in this country. He is my political "hero". RIP, Sen. John Caldwell Calhoun.
Jon Harris @ Conversations That Matter YT channel sent me here. Thanks to Jon and Abbeville! “The only thing new in the world is the history you do not know.” ― Harry S. Truman.
Many view Calhoun as a symbol of Southern secession, but he was a Union man until the day he died, as you said. Nathaniel Beverly Tucker, who was an actual Southern secessionist, wrote to James Henry Hammond that "The man I most dread is Calhoun." November 20, 1848, and December 4, 1849. Calhoun never lived to see Southern secession, but his wife and daughter did and they saw the South lose the War. It must've been really painful for them to go through that.
Calhoun was required reading at my university many years ago. I was surprised that his arguments were so sophisticated, and they are not revealed here in any detail. I will not say he was right, just that it was not so simple and straightforward in 1840.
I've recently looked back into John C Calhoun. We were taught in middle school social studies to hate him. Now I know why. The slavery thing was just the way to make that argument. I found some of his comments on the dangers of the American Empire to be very prophetic. I, and a growing number among the right, call that modern American Empire today the Globalist American Empire. He's truly a great American statesman, who is sadly just one of many others who have been slandered.
As an African-American should I be equally an admirer of John C. Calhoun, someone who would have wanted my ancestors to still be enslaved? What if there was a statue of Louis Farrakhan in Chicago? Would you display the same outrage, the same indignation, for his statue to be brought down? How can one, you, say that they are not a racist, admiring a racist like John C. Calhoun? Did he do some great things, he most definitely did? However, so was Benedict Arnold. He was a great American. Read about his great accomplishments. Is this naivety of history so removed from our recent past? Y'all will excoriate President Biden for having a friendly, cordial political relationship with the racist James "Jim" Eastland. Rep. Eastland was the voice of the South! Y'all last generations of family and friends voted for these racist, bigots. Are y'all proud of them? Who would be proud of a Jim Eastland? There is no way y'all would have that same admiration for Calhoun if he were living today or in our recent past!
@@DoYourOwnResearch2725 the thing is you’re not supposed to be here at all. This isn’t your real country. Your ancestors should’ve been shipped back or given a separate piece of land as their own separate country. Either way, you aren’t my equal and I don’t consider you as a fellow countryman. Our only commonality comes from holding the same passport. So I don’t really care about your feelings on this issue.
@@f-86zoomer37 White built everything?! I guess you are going to tell me that Western Civilization built the pyramids, which required having knowledge of the Pythagorean theorem before Pythagoras. What about water irrigation? Nope, not hardly. Not even the alphabet! No legitimate scholar would dispute the fact that Western Civilization is a newborn relative to ancient history, even the Epic of Gilgamesh predates Beowulf. Go to the British museum and see what is stored in the basement, stolen treasure!!! Kill?! Let me see Hilter, Stalin, King Leopold II of Belgium, The Trail of Tears, Bleeding Kansas, and the destruction of the Osage Nation. What other people went from picking cotton to picking an African-American president? That is a great feat of meritocracy!!! So, don't blame others for your failed accomplishments. Just own up to it, you're a disgruntled, incompetent failure, living off of what Western Civilization has accomplished. You are probably divorced, children hate you, drunk, at least that would give you a little bit of explaining why you are a failed angry white guy.
Wow thank you for doing a dive into John, my mom is big into ancestry as am I and she was first to find that were kin to him, of course I can’t say I love that he was pro slavery but times were different and it’s understandable. I do love hearing so much good about this man. Proud to be related and proud to learn about him and his legacy. Sad to hear his alma mater and others have as I’d say “removed him from the history books” but videos like these will keep that from happening. Thanks again.
I’m not going to lie, I bust a gut when Trump showed up in a line-up featuring such giants as Paine, Washington and Franklin. I mean, as uncomfortable as I am with Calhoun, I can at least acknowledge that he had a brilliant mind. Even if he reasoned himself into rather problematic territory when it came to slavery, to say the least.
This is a good breakdown. Alot of folks don't know this history. It's unfortunate that Calhoun was right about elected leaders and these rediculous parties that are out of control. Many times, not always, folks like Calhoun were aware that some of the people behind abolishing slavery were only doing so to gain power and control, and not for the benefit of the slaves. General Lee, after his turn away from support of slavery, noted this very issue. He saw no need to have slaves be free only to then bar them from or keep them uneducated and uniformed so they could be demagogued for votes. He wanted them to learn, be educated, and be able to make informed decisions and think critically. It's unfortunate that they omit that part from his history, and the tactic he described is still in operation today. Good stuff.
“With us the two great divisions of society are not rich and poor, but white and black; and all the former, the poor as well as the rich, belong to the upper class, and are respected and treated as equals.” - John C. Calhoun
Could you guys make a video about Jefferson Davis, he is overlooked and no one really realizes he wasn't that bad at all in terms of racism. Anyway, great video as always!
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Indivisible. Dude, he was literally trying to divide the United States of America. You want a video about this guy?
@@erichodge567 The pledge of allegiance was written long after Calhoun's time by a socialist. I think we'd all be happier if the red and blue states separated. Republics work best when they're smaller. Our country has gotten so large and diverse that a single government cannot manage its needs. Besides the government has grown corrupt beyond belief.
@@erichodge567 "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which has connected them with another.....That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States, that they are absolved from all Allegiance.....and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy war, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do." Eric Hodge, you were in need of correction.
Davis was as strong an advocate of slavery as anyone else is the CSA _"It has been a conviction of pressing necessity, it has been a belief that we are to be deprived in the Union of the rights which our fathers bequeathed to us, which has brought Mississippi into her present decision. She has heard proclaimed the theory that all men are created free and equal, and this made the basis of an attack upon her social institutions; and the sacred Declaration of Independence has been invoked to maintain the position of the equality of the races."_ --Jefferson Davis' 1861 resignation speech to the senate. In fact, he advocated secession to preserve slavery in a speech to the Mississippi legislature as early as 1858 _"Whether by the House or by the people, if an Abolitionist be chosen president of the United States, you will have presented to you the question of whether you will permit the government to pass into the hands of your avowed and implacable enemies. Withoutt pausing for your answer, I will state my own position to be that such a result would be a species of revolution by which the purposes of the Government would be destroyed and the observances of its mere forms entitled to no respect. In that event, in such manner as should be most expedient, I should deem it your duty to provide for your safety outside of a Union with those how have already shown the will, and would have acquired the power, to deprive you of your birthright and to reduce you to worse than the colonial dependence of your fathers."_
Every one remembers when Lannie Guinier had her idea about cumulative voting as a way of protecting minority rights back when Bill Clinton nominated her to join the Attorney General's back in the nineties. What no one dared point out was this was a reheated version of Calhoun's ideas about "concurrent majorities". What no one wants to admit is that Calhoun's ideas are the best exposition of minority rights within a republic. Bar none.
As an African-American should I be equally an admirer of John C. Calhoun, someone who would have wanted my ancestors to still be enslaved? What if there was a statue of Louis Farrakhan in Chicago? Would you display the same outrage, the same indignation, for his statue to be brought down? How can one, you, say that they are not a racist, admiring a racist like John C. Calhoun? Did he do some great things, he most definitely did? However, so was Benedict Arnold. He was a great American. Read about his great accomplishments. Is this naivety of history so removed from our recent past? Y'all will excoriate President Biden for having a friendly, cordial political relationship with the racist James "Jim" Eastland. Rep. Eastland was the voice of the South! Y'all last generations of family and friends voted for these racist, bigots. Are y'all proud of them? Who would be proud of a Jim Eastland? There is no way y'all would have that same admiration for Calhoun if he were living today or in our recent past!
No matter how hard you try you can’t erase history. My 9 Great Grandfather came from England in 1619. He was on the same ship as the first slaves. He bought 6. History.
"..because of Calhoun's defense of slavery he's no longer recognized as one of the great leaders of the United States." - I wonder why ...maybe if you choose to defend the worst possible cause, people will judge you on that
It’s amazing to see how he is still held in such high esteem, meanwhile we’re still trying to find out what happened to he and Lizas son that he sold to slave owners in Texas… while his history can be seen, read about, honored… We, his black children, have to search through bills of sale, and DNA tests to give life to our “family tree”. He was part of a government that allowed him to own human beings like animals. He defended that government, said that it was a necessary good… how can a great man sell his own child to slave owners? Or have children with a 14yr old? Or own slaves?
I like your passion but slavery is still going on today. Everytime you shop at Walmart, buy Starbucks coffee or put on a pair of Nikes you are supporting slavery. Slavery still exists in Africa today. Both the Athenians and Spartans and Romans were slave societies yet we don't disregard their writings for if we did we would be plunging all of mankind into slavery. This is why you should read A Discourse on Government. Hope this makes sense.
@@libertycoffeehouse3944 If people are calling for bans or burnings of Calhoun's writings, I'm unaware. Critics are reconsidering whether to continue honoring his legacy via statues, busts, eponymous schools & awards, & a state holiday.
@@Tupelo927 Should we get rid of the statues of Moses? He had slaves. Do we get rid of the great Roman orator Cicero's statue? He had slaves. What about the Dahomey African tribe? The Dahomey tribe enslaved Africans and sold them to Europeans. They also participated in genocide of Africans. They also kept many slaves for their own use. Do we get rid of the "Oba of Benin Statue" which is in Benin's king square. Benin is the area where the Dahomey civilization existed. The Africans are displaying their former slave culture with pride. What is your response to this? You know they murdered Africans in mass rituals don't you? The African people were not innocents in African slavery. How come they are not taking down their statues. Why did the French have to force them to end slavery? Lets talk about what is going on today? Do you shop at Walmart? The goods are coming from slave labor? Why don't you demand an end to the Walmart corporation? Do you drink Starbucks coffee. They admitted they use child slave labor. Why don't you demand an end to Starbucks? Calhoun told us the government would eventually become consolidated and enslave us. This is going on today but for some reason your are oblivious. Calhoun's book provided answers that would help prevent slavery. The establishment families (Rockefellers, Rothschilds Barings Schiff's Warburgs etc. )don't want you to discover this history as it would make it more difficult to enslave you. Stop acting like your ancestors were inferior to you. It was on their shift that liberty was gained. It is on our shift that liberty and slavery are increasing. We need more people to read history not tear down statues. Hitler tore down statues. Stalin tore down statues. You want to tear down statures!
Nymiuria Lee. I have a few questions for you. Do you think Africans played a role in enslaving your ancestors? Your ancestors were enslaved first by African civilizations. These African civilizations kept some slaves for themselves. They sold the rest. If a European slave ship did not show up to port on time the Dahomey put those slaves to death in mass genocide. They made a religious ritual out of it. The Dahomey considered this moral because they did not have enough food to feed their tribe and the conquered tribes they enslaved. In the modern nation of Benin there are numerous statues referencing these ancestors. Yet they are not taking down these statues of Kings that enslaved others. The slaves that made it on the boat were lucky as they escaped death and genocide or slavery by other Africans. Today corporations that receive handouts from the government are involved in slavery. Walmart, Starbucks, Nike all use slave labor. Is this ok since they are not using black slaves? Would not an Irishman have a difficult time tracing their ancestors because the English enslaved some Irishman and sent them to the new world? Would a Frenchman not have a difficult time researching his ancestors because the Romans enslaved the Celts living in Gaul? I think you and I can agree on slavery is evil. Who would not agree with this. Where we differ is you think it is ok to erase history and you think slavery ended. Your not interested in ending slavery today but only in eliminating old statues that help us understand the past. You believe if Calhoun was flawed in owning slaves he could not have possibly written anything of value. Thus by this logic we must eradicate Cicero, Cato. We must eliminate Cleisthenes . We must get rid of Plato and Aristotle. We need to eliminate the Bible. We need to cast aside the wheel. The Mesopotamian's were involved in slavery and they invented the wheel. We must also take down statues of the Native Americans because they were involved in slavery. We would be left with nothing but what government and powerful corporations would tell us to believe. Now governments and corporations are controlled by factions. A faction is a group. According to Aristotle if the ruling group is benevolent and good to the people this is known as aristocracy. However, if this group becomes tyrannical to the people it is known as an oligarchy. The media does not represent you or me. They represent the Rothschild's and Rockefeller's. This is who is behind the eradicate western civilization which you have been hoodwinked into going along with. They want one world government which does not benefit you.
@@libertycoffeehouse3944 , You must be joking, cast aside the wheel??? Eliminate the Bible? Are you some blind atheist or just having fun making stupid statements?
Oh come on Abbeville Institute. Did you reall have to put Trumps photo in this video? You seemed to have labeled him as a statesman along with Paine, Washington and Franklin. He is/was a politician and is not concerned about the next generation, only himself. He was a bigger narcissist than Obama ever was. Brion McClanahan, you have even commented on your show how terrible he has been. I'm shocked that you would approve of this!
...and Thomas Jefferson was a thin-skinned heretic, but still a great statesman. Trump had his flaws, but anyone with eyes could see he was acting out of an entirely different mindset to everyone shown in the "politician" set of slides. He was head-and-shoulders above any president we've had since Coolidge just for not starting any new wars. He was cut from the same cloth as the other statesmen, even if if he is a few grades coarser than they were.
@@SwordAgainstChaos Trump didnt look Jeffersonian. He looked authoritarian more than anything. Banning bumpstocks, saying he liked taking guns first and giving due process later, bypassing Congress constantly. He didnt look any different that the rest
Looking for a modern Thomas Jefferson is like looking for another Theodore Roosevelt today. Classical Liberalism, as well as Progressive Conservatism while we’re at it, is in very short supply and barely understood by most today.
John Calhoun spent his entire political career as a salesman for slavery. His final speech in 1850 shortly before his death was full of demands for concessions for slavery, and even contained a bitter attack on the Ordinance of 1787 inspired by Thomas Jefferson, because it restricted slavery in the Northwest Territory. Unlike the founding fathers, he didn't merely tolerate slavery, own slaves, or consider slavery a regular part of society, he considered it a positive good and an essential aspect of society. He practically dedicated his life to singing its praises. The modern loathing he earns today is well deserved.
Yeah, this video downplays his importance for the institution of Slavery, and just how awful Slavery was. He was relentless in protecting slavery from the growing abolition movement even past the 1830s when Britain stopped the practice in their colonies, and he would even go against his principles from time to time just to protect the institution of Slavery such as the annexation of Texas, compared to his positions on Oregon. It wasn't the 1700s anymore. His theories on the concurrent majority, and trying to protect the minority was all about Slavery, and lived on with attempts to protect segregation during the Civil Rights movement. The Dixiecrat Uprising of 1948, and Maximum Resistance in Virginia which other Segregationist states followed were based on this. While Calhoun was prophetic about corruption in government and politicians the irony is that the door was opened for a lot more of that by political architects who were inspired by his very work. He was an influential thinker on Public Choice Theory, which was continued by the Virginia School of Economics through James M. Buchanan in particular (Calhoun's writings inspired him a great deal) which has led to Capitalism exploiting the lack of regulations now and the wealth gap has skyrocketed. As inefficient as Government is in distributing taxes appropriately it is still far better than the Private sector. That's why Government grew in the first place as History keeps repeating itself. These economists are also behind the deregulations that opened the door for more political corruption with politicians working for corporate interests instead of their constituents from both political parties. I think giving the minority protection and the states autonomy over the Federal Government is important, but historically it has mostly just been used to defend slavery, and segregation. And, today with the Supreme Court rolling back some federal protections like gutting the voting rights act many states have been enacting a lot of voter suppression bills. Calhoun was very concerned with the tyranny of the majority, but there needs to be a balance, and many scholars are pointing to a tyranny of the minority now. I think Calhoun should be remembered for the good things he did, but Slavery still is the most significant part of his legacy, and really can't be minimized. The Civil War may not have happened without him.
Yup. I think there is a point to expressing the important contributions Calhoun made to the American Experiment, but his crusade to hang onto slavery can't be minimized, which many of these comments are doing. America still has a lot of racial divisions in this country, and the South whitewashing the legacy of slavery through the Lost Cause narrative is aiding in holding us back from granting equality for African Americans like the Constitution has guaranteed.
Guys, get it through your heads...Those who owned slaves and defended slavery in a nation consecrated to human freedom can never be rehabilitated. Whatever virtues Calhoun may have had are as nothing when set against owning a human being, and denying him his full share in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I don't know why this is so hard to understand.
I dont know what's so hard to understand that his owning slaves and his words on Govt are completely different things. Only a fool would erase wisdom and replace it with emotional ignorance.
@@southerngent8162 , okay, let's try another path...You may be aware of the late evangelist and apologist Ravi Zacharias. He was a tremendous expositor of the Christian gospel, having written many persuasive books on religion. But it is all dust and ashes now that we know that he sexually abused many women, and lied about it to his grave. His own organization is currently in the process of clearing its shelves of its founder's works. Why? Because his crimes against the Gospel utterly (dare I use the word?) nullified, yes, nullified his witness to the Gospel. Let us hear no more from him. In the same way, Calhoun's witness with respect to American government was completely destroyed by his insistence in 1837 that slavery was "positive good". America = freedom. Full stop. Slavery is diametrically opposed to freedom, and thus, is opposed to America. Look, I'm not as dogmatic as some of you may think. George Washington owned slaves, but freed them in his will. Thus, on some level, he realized the wrong that he had done. Let him have his monument, and likewise for those whose deeds cut against their prior support for the "peculiar institution". But I am unaware that Calhoun ever apologized in way for the crime against humanity that he personally visited upon scores of human beings. No monuments for him.
@@erichodge567 Again, if there is wisdom that is what you look to, not someones deeds. His actions had nothing to do with his words. Especially since most of the world practiced slavery in those days. Africans still to this day enslave other Africans and sell them off juat as they did back then. Should Africa be forgotten and erased? Wise up! Learn something instead of letting your emotions control your ignorance.
@@southerngent8162 , Emotions? Ignorance? I think what I made was an argument based on historical precedent. I gave a rather generous criterion for accepting an historical figure as being worthy of honor. As for the rest, I would certainly not cancel "Africa" over slavery, but would certainly shun any African over involvement in the enslavement of other human beings. Anyway, I hope that I've cleared things up.
Great content, but come on, Brion! Couldn't you at least *memorize* your own script? I can see your eyes ticking back and forth, reading off a teleprompter, and your face is so dead pan it sucks all the drama out of your presentation. Huge fan, love your work, but I don't think you're above some constructive criticism. The Internet is not like the classroom, you have to sell me the urgency of the problem and the prudency of the solution. This kind of dry, stoic delivery just doesn't cut it on youtube.
Perhaps we need to move beyond "drama, bells and whistles, and flashing lights" when presenting ideas. If those things are required to present material--particularly material as serious as the ideas and character of Calhoun--it is doubtful that the people for whom that juvenile pageantry is directed would understand it anyway.
Just read his Disquisition on Government book. Was very prophetic of what we are seeing today. Is there a sequel to it?
No. It was published after his death. He never finished it.
Not really a sequel, but his “Discourse” is also well worth reading
A truly great Southern statesman (probably the greatest ever), gentleman, and brilliant political thinker. His like will probably never be seen again in this country. He is my political "hero". RIP, Sen. John Caldwell Calhoun.
I pray that a authoritarian bigot like him will never show their face in this country again
He was a racist cunt even for his time and held the US back in time for years lol
Keep up the good work Abbeville! Greetings from New Jersey!!!!!
Thanks!
Love the work the Abbeville Institute does. John C Calhoun needs a 50,000 volt gate around his statues
Well Done. John C. Calhoun and Brian McClanahan are great Americans.
John C Calhoun wanted to overthrow Congress and preserve slavery forever. How was he a great American?
Jon Harris @ Conversations That Matter YT channel sent me here. Thanks to Jon and Abbeville!
“The only thing new in the world is the history you do not know.” ― Harry S. Truman.
Many view Calhoun as a symbol of Southern secession, but he was a Union man until the day he died, as you said. Nathaniel Beverly Tucker, who was an actual Southern secessionist, wrote to James Henry Hammond that "The man I most dread is Calhoun." November 20, 1848, and
December 4, 1849. Calhoun never lived to see Southern secession, but his wife and daughter did and they saw the South lose the War. It must've been really painful for them to go through that.
Calhoun was required reading at my university many years ago. I was surprised that his arguments were so sophisticated, and they are not revealed here in any detail. I will not say he was right, just that it was not so simple and straightforward in 1840.
Rebuild his statues ten feet taller!
@@GiordanDiodato Why call a person names?
@@GiordanDiodato “pick me”
Never
Democrat
Well done, Brion. Calhoun deserved a full throated defense condensed to five minutes as you have done. Keep up the good work.
My 5th Great Grandfather. He was so much more than you guys think!
I've recently looked back into John C Calhoun. We were taught in middle school social studies to hate him. Now I know why. The slavery thing was just the way to make that argument. I found some of his comments on the dangers of the American Empire to be very prophetic. I, and a growing number among the right, call that modern American Empire today the Globalist American Empire. He's truly a great American statesman, who is sadly just one of many others who have been slandered.
As an African-American should I be equally an admirer of John C. Calhoun, someone who would have wanted my ancestors to still be enslaved? What if there was a statue of Louis Farrakhan in Chicago? Would you display the same outrage, the same indignation, for his statue to be brought down? How can one, you, say that they are not a racist, admiring a racist like John C. Calhoun? Did he do some great things, he most definitely did? However, so was Benedict Arnold. He was a great American. Read about his great accomplishments. Is this naivety of history so removed from our recent past? Y'all will excoriate President Biden for having a friendly, cordial political relationship with the racist James "Jim" Eastland. Rep. Eastland was the voice of the South! Y'all last generations of family and friends voted for these racist, bigots. Are y'all proud of them? Who would be proud of a Jim Eastland? There is no way y'all would have that same admiration for Calhoun if he were living today or in our recent past!
@@DoYourOwnResearch2725 the thing is you’re not supposed to be here at all. This isn’t your real country. Your ancestors should’ve been shipped back or given a separate piece of land as their own separate country. Either way, you aren’t my equal and I don’t consider you as a fellow countryman. Our only commonality comes from holding the same passport. So I don’t really care about your feelings on this issue.
@@f-86zoomer37 However, how does it feel to be an inferior xenophobic?
@@DoYourOwnResearch2725 I wouldn’t know. Whites built everything you use today. Your kind never did anything for humanity except to steal and kill.
@@f-86zoomer37 White built everything?! I guess you are going to tell me that Western Civilization built the pyramids, which required having knowledge of the Pythagorean theorem before Pythagoras. What about water irrigation? Nope, not hardly. Not even the alphabet! No legitimate scholar would dispute the fact that Western Civilization is a newborn relative to ancient history, even the Epic of Gilgamesh predates Beowulf. Go to the British museum and see what is stored in the basement, stolen treasure!!! Kill?! Let me see Hilter, Stalin, King Leopold II of Belgium, The Trail of Tears, Bleeding Kansas, and the destruction of the Osage Nation. What other people went from picking cotton to picking an African-American president? That is a great feat of meritocracy!!! So, don't blame others for your failed accomplishments. Just own up to it, you're a disgruntled, incompetent failure, living off of what Western Civilization has accomplished. You are probably divorced, children hate you, drunk, at least that would give you a little bit of explaining why you are a failed angry white guy.
Wow thank you for doing a dive into John, my mom is big into ancestry as am I and she was first to find that were kin to him, of course I can’t say I love that he was pro slavery but times were different and it’s understandable. I do love hearing so much good about this man. Proud to be related and proud to learn about him and his legacy. Sad to hear his alma mater and others have as I’d say “removed him from the history books” but videos like these will keep that from happening. Thanks again.
I’m not going to lie, I bust a gut when Trump showed up in a line-up featuring such giants as Paine, Washington and Franklin. I mean, as uncomfortable as I am with Calhoun, I can at least acknowledge that he had a brilliant mind. Even if he reasoned himself into rather problematic territory when it came to slavery, to say the least.
This is a good breakdown. Alot of folks don't know this history. It's unfortunate that Calhoun was right about elected leaders and these rediculous parties that are out of control. Many times, not always, folks like Calhoun were aware that some of the people behind abolishing slavery were only doing so to gain power and control, and not for the benefit of the slaves. General Lee, after his turn away from support of slavery, noted this very issue. He saw no need to have slaves be free only to then bar them from or keep them uneducated and uniformed so they could be demagogued for votes. He wanted them to learn, be educated, and be able to make informed decisions and think critically. It's unfortunate that they omit that part from his history, and the tactic he described is still in operation today.
Good stuff.
At the time of revolution, New Englanders had a more robust attitude to slavery than their descendants.
“With us the two great divisions of society are not rich and poor, but white and black; and all the former, the poor as well as the rich, belong to the upper class, and are respected and treated as equals.” - John C. Calhoun
Could you guys make a video about Jefferson Davis, he is overlooked and no one really realizes he wasn't that bad at all in terms of racism. Anyway, great video as always!
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Indivisible.
Dude, he was literally trying to divide the United States of America. You want a video about this guy?
Yeah
@@erichodge567 The pledge of allegiance was written long after Calhoun's time by a socialist. I think we'd all be happier if the red and blue states separated. Republics work best when they're smaller. Our country has gotten so large and diverse that a single government cannot manage its needs. Besides the government has grown corrupt beyond belief.
@@erichodge567 "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which has connected them with another.....That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States, that they are absolved from all Allegiance.....and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy war, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do." Eric Hodge, you were in need of correction.
Davis was as strong an advocate of slavery as anyone else is the CSA
_"It has been a conviction of pressing necessity, it has been a belief that we are to be deprived in the Union of the rights which our fathers bequeathed to us, which has brought Mississippi into her present decision. She has heard proclaimed the theory that all men are created free and equal, and this made the basis of an attack upon her social institutions; and the sacred Declaration of Independence has been invoked to maintain the position of the equality of the races."_ --Jefferson Davis' 1861 resignation speech to the senate.
In fact, he advocated secession to preserve slavery in a speech to the Mississippi legislature as early as 1858
_"Whether by the House or by the people, if an Abolitionist be chosen president of the United States, you will have presented to you the question of whether you will permit the government to pass into the hands of your avowed and implacable enemies. Withoutt pausing for your answer, I will state my own position to be that such a result would be a species of revolution by which the purposes of the Government would be destroyed and the observances of its mere forms entitled to no respect.
In that event, in such manner as should be most expedient, I should deem it your duty to provide for your safety outside of a Union with those how have already shown the will, and would have acquired the power, to deprive you of your birthright and to reduce you to worse than the colonial dependence of your fathers."_
Another great and informational video
Every one remembers when Lannie Guinier had her idea about cumulative voting as a way of protecting minority rights back when Bill Clinton nominated her to join the Attorney General's back in the nineties. What no one dared point out was this was a reheated version of Calhoun's ideas about "concurrent majorities". What no one wants to admit is that Calhoun's ideas are the best exposition of minority rights within a republic. Bar none.
Great video I love it.
Lol, I doubt if I would have included Trump in the picture when talking about "statesmen."
I must learn more about this amazing man.
And so glad I found your content.
God Bless Dixie.
As an African-American should I be equally an admirer of John C. Calhoun, someone who would have wanted my ancestors to still be enslaved? What if there was a statue of Louis Farrakhan in Chicago? Would you display the same outrage, the same indignation, for his statue to be brought down? How can one, you, say that they are not a racist, admiring a racist like John C. Calhoun? Did he do some great things, he most definitely did? However, so was Benedict Arnold. He was a great American. Read about his great accomplishments. Is this naivety of history so removed from our recent past? Y'all will excoriate President Biden for having a friendly, cordial political relationship with the racist James "Jim" Eastland. Rep. Eastland was the voice of the South! Y'all last generations of family and friends voted for these racist, bigots. Are y'all proud of them? Who would be proud of a Jim Eastland? There is no way y'all would have that same admiration for Calhoun if he were living today or in our recent past!
Politics is exactly the same today. People have not changed.
He was a demon
Keep Calhoun and 86 McConnell, Pelosi plus every POTUS since JFK? What could be more fair?
My favorite antebellum opportunist
Calhoun was a traitor and opposed the federal government but he also was a hero and defender of southern white culture and States Rights.
Andrew Jackson allowed Calhoun to live and learned regret 🎶
Calhoun Hong Kong was off limits for liberty ......
No matter how hard you try you can’t erase history. My 9 Great Grandfather came from England in 1619. He was on the same ship as the first slaves. He bought 6. History.
"..because of Calhoun's defense of slavery he's no longer recognized as one of the great leaders of the United States." - I wonder why ...maybe if you choose to defend the worst possible cause, people will judge you on that
this is vid is basically a meme
Well done sir! Well done!
Kennedy only said nice things about Calhoun because he was simping for his biographer Margaret Coit (thanks for the recommendation Bri!)
Oh my god... this is the most depressing thing I've watched all week.
Why? Calhoun shows us how to reign in our out of control government. He shows us how to protect the rights of the minority.
john c calhoun is my direct relative he is in my family tree
It’s amazing to see how he is still held in such high esteem, meanwhile we’re still trying to find out what happened to he and Lizas son that he sold to slave owners in Texas… while his history can be seen, read about, honored… We, his black children, have to search through bills of sale, and DNA tests to give life to our “family tree”. He was part of a government that allowed him to own human beings like animals. He defended that government, said that it was a necessary good… how can a great man sell his own child to slave owners? Or have children with a 14yr old? Or own slaves?
I like your passion but slavery is still going on today. Everytime you shop at Walmart, buy Starbucks coffee or put on a pair of Nikes you are supporting slavery. Slavery still exists in Africa today. Both the Athenians and Spartans and Romans were slave societies yet we don't disregard their writings for if we did we would be plunging all of mankind into slavery. This is why you should read A Discourse on Government. Hope this makes sense.
@@libertycoffeehouse3944 If people are calling for bans or burnings of Calhoun's writings, I'm unaware.
Critics are reconsidering whether to continue honoring his legacy via statues, busts, eponymous schools & awards, & a state holiday.
@@Tupelo927 Should we get rid of the statues of Moses? He had slaves. Do we get rid of the great Roman orator Cicero's statue? He had slaves. What about the Dahomey African tribe? The Dahomey tribe enslaved Africans and sold them to Europeans. They also participated in genocide of Africans. They also kept many slaves for their own use. Do we get rid of the "Oba of Benin Statue" which is in Benin's king square. Benin is the area where the Dahomey civilization existed. The Africans are displaying their former slave culture with pride. What is your response to this? You know they murdered Africans in mass rituals don't you? The African people were not innocents in African slavery. How come they are not taking down their statues. Why did the French have to force them to end slavery? Lets talk about what is going on today? Do you shop at Walmart? The goods are coming from slave labor? Why don't you demand an end to the Walmart corporation? Do you drink Starbucks coffee. They admitted they use child slave labor. Why don't you demand an end to Starbucks? Calhoun told us the government would eventually become consolidated and enslave us. This is going on today but for some reason your are oblivious. Calhoun's book provided answers that would help prevent slavery. The establishment families (Rockefellers, Rothschilds Barings Schiff's Warburgs etc. )don't want you to discover this history as it would make it more difficult to enslave you. Stop acting like your ancestors were inferior to you. It was on their shift that liberty was gained. It is on our shift that liberty and slavery are increasing. We need more people to read history not tear down statues. Hitler tore down statues. Stalin tore down statues. You want to tear down statures!
Nymiuria Lee. I have a few questions for you. Do you think Africans played a role in enslaving your ancestors? Your ancestors were enslaved first by African civilizations. These African civilizations kept some slaves for themselves. They sold the rest. If a European slave ship did not show up to port on time the Dahomey put those slaves to death in mass genocide. They made a religious ritual out of it. The Dahomey considered this moral because they did not have enough food to feed their tribe and the conquered tribes they enslaved. In the modern nation of Benin there are numerous statues referencing these ancestors. Yet they are not taking down these statues of Kings that enslaved others. The slaves that made it on the boat were lucky as they escaped death and genocide or slavery by other Africans. Today corporations that receive handouts from the government are involved in slavery. Walmart, Starbucks, Nike all use slave labor. Is this ok since they are not using black slaves? Would not an Irishman have a difficult time tracing their ancestors because the English enslaved some Irishman and sent them to the new world? Would a Frenchman not have a difficult time researching his ancestors because the Romans enslaved the Celts living in Gaul? I think you and I can agree on slavery is evil. Who would not agree with this. Where we differ is you think it is ok to erase history and you think slavery ended. Your not interested in ending slavery today but only in eliminating old statues that help us understand the past. You believe if Calhoun was flawed in owning slaves he could not have possibly written anything of value. Thus by this logic we must eradicate Cicero, Cato. We must eliminate Cleisthenes . We must get rid of Plato and Aristotle. We need to eliminate the Bible. We need to cast aside the wheel. The Mesopotamian's were involved in slavery and they invented the wheel. We must also take down statues of the Native Americans because they were involved in slavery. We would be left with nothing but what government and powerful corporations would tell us to believe. Now governments and corporations are controlled by factions. A faction is a group. According to Aristotle if the ruling group is benevolent and good to the people this is known as aristocracy. However, if this group becomes tyrannical to the people it is known as an oligarchy. The media does not represent you or me. They represent the Rothschild's and Rockefeller's. This is who is behind the eradicate western civilization which you have been hoodwinked into going along with. They want one world government which does not benefit you.
@@libertycoffeehouse3944 , You must be joking, cast aside the wheel??? Eliminate the Bible? Are you some blind atheist or just having fun making stupid statements?
Oh come on Abbeville Institute. Did you reall have to put Trumps photo in this video? You seemed to have labeled him as a statesman along with Paine, Washington and Franklin. He is/was a politician and is not concerned about the next generation, only himself. He was a bigger narcissist than Obama ever was. Brion McClanahan, you have even commented on your show how terrible he has been. I'm shocked that you would approve of this!
...and Thomas Jefferson was a thin-skinned heretic, but still a great statesman. Trump had his flaws, but anyone with eyes could see he was acting out of an entirely different mindset to everyone shown in the "politician" set of slides. He was head-and-shoulders above any president we've had since Coolidge just for not starting any new wars. He was cut from the same cloth as the other statesmen, even if if he is a few grades coarser than they were.
I noticed that too. Especially when he was authoritarian in how he placed his policies.
Agree, but Trump looks Jeffersonian compared to so called “conservatives”. Granted, that’s not saying much.
@@SwordAgainstChaos
Trump didnt look Jeffersonian. He looked authoritarian more than anything. Banning bumpstocks, saying he liked taking guns first and giving due process later, bypassing Congress constantly. He didnt look any different that the rest
Looking for a modern Thomas Jefferson is like looking for another Theodore Roosevelt today. Classical Liberalism, as well as Progressive Conservatism while we’re at it, is in very short supply and barely understood by most today.
Even if he impregnated minor slaves and sold the children to other slavers; should that be enough to cast doubt on his legacy?
John Calhoun spent his entire political career as a salesman for slavery. His final speech in 1850 shortly before his death was full of demands for concessions for slavery, and even contained a bitter attack on the Ordinance of 1787 inspired by Thomas Jefferson, because it restricted slavery in the Northwest Territory. Unlike the founding fathers, he didn't merely tolerate slavery, own slaves, or consider slavery a regular part of society, he considered it a positive good and an essential aspect of society. He practically dedicated his life to singing its praises. The modern loathing he earns today is well deserved.
Yeah, this video downplays his importance for the institution of Slavery, and just how awful Slavery was. He was relentless in protecting slavery from the growing abolition movement even past the 1830s when Britain stopped the practice in their colonies, and he would even go against his principles from time to time just to protect the institution of Slavery such as the annexation of Texas, compared to his positions on Oregon. It wasn't the 1700s anymore. His theories on the concurrent majority, and trying to protect the minority was all about Slavery, and lived on with attempts to protect segregation during the Civil Rights movement. The Dixiecrat Uprising of 1948, and Maximum Resistance in Virginia which other Segregationist states followed were based on this. While Calhoun was prophetic about corruption in government and politicians the irony is that the door was opened for a lot more of that by political architects who were inspired by his very work. He was an influential thinker on Public Choice Theory, which was continued by the Virginia School of Economics through James M. Buchanan in particular (Calhoun's writings inspired him a great deal) which has led to Capitalism exploiting the lack of regulations now and the wealth gap has skyrocketed. As inefficient as Government is in distributing taxes appropriately it is still far better than the Private sector. That's why Government grew in the first place as History keeps repeating itself. These economists are also behind the deregulations that opened the door for more political corruption with politicians working for corporate interests instead of their constituents from both political parties. I think giving the minority protection and the states autonomy over the Federal Government is important, but historically it has mostly just been used to defend slavery, and segregation. And, today with the Supreme Court rolling back some federal protections like gutting the voting rights act many states have been enacting a lot of voter suppression bills. Calhoun was very concerned with the tyranny of the majority, but there needs to be a balance, and many scholars are pointing to a tyranny of the minority now. I think Calhoun should be remembered for the good things he did, but Slavery still is the most significant part of his legacy, and really can't be minimized. The Civil War may not have happened without him.
Whitewashing. Y'all, please look up more info on this man. He was not a nice guy.
Yup. I think there is a point to expressing the important contributions Calhoun made to the American Experiment, but his crusade to hang onto slavery can't be minimized, which many of these comments are doing. America still has a lot of racial divisions in this country, and the South whitewashing the legacy of slavery through the Lost Cause narrative is aiding in holding us back from granting equality for African Americans like the Constitution has guaranteed.
Guys, get it through your heads...Those who owned slaves and defended slavery in a nation consecrated to human freedom can never be rehabilitated. Whatever virtues Calhoun may have had are as nothing when set against owning a human being, and denying him his full share in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I don't know why this is so hard to understand.
So we can't admire Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Mason, Monroe, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, etc. Got it.
I dont know what's so hard to understand that his owning slaves and his words on Govt are completely different things. Only a fool would erase wisdom and replace it with emotional ignorance.
@@southerngent8162 , okay, let's try another path...You may be aware of the late evangelist and apologist Ravi Zacharias. He was a tremendous expositor of the Christian gospel, having written many persuasive books on religion. But it is all dust and ashes now that we know that he sexually abused many women, and lied about it to his grave. His own organization is currently in the process of clearing its shelves of its founder's works. Why? Because his crimes against the Gospel utterly (dare I use the word?) nullified, yes, nullified his witness to the Gospel. Let us hear no more from him. In the same way, Calhoun's witness with respect to American government was completely destroyed by his insistence in 1837 that slavery was "positive good". America = freedom. Full stop. Slavery is diametrically opposed to freedom, and thus, is opposed to America.
Look, I'm not as dogmatic as some of you may think. George Washington owned slaves, but freed them in his will. Thus, on some level, he realized the wrong that he had done. Let him have his monument, and likewise for those whose deeds cut against their prior support for the "peculiar institution". But I am unaware that Calhoun ever apologized in way for the crime against humanity that he personally visited upon scores of human beings. No monuments for him.
@@erichodge567
Again, if there is wisdom that is what you look to, not someones deeds.
His actions had nothing to do with his words. Especially since most of the world practiced slavery in those days.
Africans still to this day enslave other Africans and sell them off juat as they did back then. Should Africa be forgotten and erased?
Wise up! Learn something instead of letting your emotions control your ignorance.
@@southerngent8162 , Emotions? Ignorance? I think what I made was an argument based on historical precedent. I gave a rather generous criterion for accepting an historical figure as being worthy of honor. As for the rest, I would certainly not cancel "Africa" over slavery, but would certainly shun any African over involvement in the enslavement of other human beings. Anyway, I hope that I've cleared things up.
Great senator of his time but avidly racist.
You totally missed the point. You need to open your mind.
@@f-86zoomer37 What the fuck does that even mean?
John C. Calhoun was the greatest man just above Jeff Davis and just under President Trump to ever live
Trump is the greatest man to ever live?
ua-cam.com/video/BwSts2s4ba4/v-deo.html
@@johnweber4577Love it.
Great content, but come on, Brion! Couldn't you at least *memorize* your own script? I can see your eyes ticking back and forth, reading off a teleprompter, and your face is so dead pan it sucks all the drama out of your presentation. Huge fan, love your work, but I don't think you're above some constructive criticism. The Internet is not like the classroom, you have to sell me the urgency of the problem and the prudency of the solution. This kind of dry, stoic delivery just doesn't cut it on youtube.
These videos are intended to be serious and "stoic."
Perhaps we need to move beyond "drama, bells and whistles, and flashing lights" when presenting ideas. If those things are required to present material--particularly material as serious as the ideas and character of Calhoun--it is doubtful that the people for whom that juvenile pageantry is directed would understand it anyway.
That's a silly criticism. Getting the script right and making it compact is the important thing.
Burning in hell or the south...whats the difference?