Calhoun: American Heretic

National Archives Museum
Online

John C. Calhoun is among the most notorious and enigmatic figures in American political history. 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. In his new biography, Robert Elder shows that Calhoun is even more broadly significant than these events suggest, and that his story is crucial for understanding today’s political climate.