Calhoun: American Heretic

Calhoun: American Heretic
ISBN-10
046509645X
ISBN-13
9780465096459
Series
Calhoun
Category
Biography & Autobiography
Pages
400
Language
English
Published
2021-02-16
Publisher
Basic Books
Author
Robert Elder

Description

A new biography of the intellectual father of Southern secession—the man who set the scene for the Civil War, and whose political legacy still shapes America today. John C. Calhoun is among the most notorious and enigmatic figures in American political history. First elected to Congress in 1810, Calhoun went on to serve as secretary of war and vice president. But he is perhaps most known for arguing in favor of slavery as a "positive good" and for his famous doctrine of "state interposition," which laid the groundwork for the South to secede from the Union—and arguably set the nation on course for civil war. Calhoun has catapulted back into the public eye in recent years, as some observers connected the strain of radical politics he developed to the tactics and extremism of the modern Far Right, and as protests over racial injustice have focused on his legacy. In this revelatory biographical study, historian Robert Elder shows that Calhoun is even more broadly significant than these events suggest, and that his story is crucial for understanding the political climate in which we find ourselves today. By excising Calhoun from the mainstream of American history, he argues, we have been left with a distorted understanding of our past and no way to explain our present.

Other editions

  • Calhoun
    • 2015-03-02
    • 128 pages
    • Ebook
    • Arcadia Publishing
  • Calhoun
    • 2015
    • 128 pages
    • Paperback
    • Arcadia Publishing

Similar books

  • Calhoun: American Heretic
    By Robert Elder

    Describes the life of the American statesman and political theorist who served as Vice President under John Quincy Adams and argued in favor of slavery and laid the groundwork for the South to secede the Union.

  • The Great Triumvirate: Webster, Clay, and Calhoun
    By Merrill D. Peterson

    At once a sweeping narrative and a penetrating study of non-presidential leadership, this book offers an indelible picture of this conservative era in which statesmen viewed the preservation of the legacy of free government inherited from ...

  • Kid Calhoun: A Novel
    By Joan Johnston

    Texas Ranger Jake Kearney was astonished to discover that the "Kid" Calhoun he stalked, the same outlaw who saved him from ambush, was a woman--and an irresistible one at that!

  • Tales of Calhoun County
    By Terry Allen

    I wrote this book to ensure that this part of our history would not be lost or forgotten. Although some parts of the stories have been embellished and names changed, they are based on actual events.

  • The Papers of John C. Calhoun
    By John Caldwell Calhoun

    Vols. 2-9: Edited by W. Edwin Hemphill; v. 10: Edited by Clyde N. Wilson and W. Edwin Hemphill; v. 11-18, 20-22: Edited by Clyde N. Wilson; v. 23-27 edited by Clyde N. Wilson and Shirley Bright CookVols. 10-15, 22: Published by the ...

  • Susan Wiggs The Calhoun Chronicles Books 1-3: A Regency Romance
    By Susan Wiggs

    He befriends Abigail as a means to a political end, but somewhere along the way the plan goes awry. First laughter and then love take them completely by surprise in this wildly romantic story.

  • John C. Calhoun: Selected Writings and Speeches
    By John Caldwell Calhoun

    Selected Writings and Speeches John Caldwell Calhoun H. Lee Cheek. Ericson , David F. The Shaping of American Liberalism : The Debates Over Ratification , Nullification and Slavery . Chicago : University of Chicago Press , 1993 .

  • The Gilded Age: Perspectives on the Origins of Modern America
    By Charles William Calhoun

    Broad in scope, The Gilded Age brings together sixteen original essays that offer lively syntheses of modern scholarship while making their own interpretive arguments.

  • As Calhoun: Lilah
    By Nora Roberts, Ana Rodrigues

    O mistério e o perigo ainda rondavam a mansão das Calhoun. As esmeraldas perdidas continuavam a atrair curiosos, caçadores de tesouros, e - criminosos - Lilah sabia que algo estava...

  • Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis
    By Ada Calhoun

    Every second of the day, no matter what else was going on, my brain was looping: “It's Slinky! It's Slinky! For fun, it's a wonderful toy! It's Slinky! It's Slinky! It's fun for a girl and a ...