John C. Calhouns Defense of Slavery as a Positive Good for America

Abstract

Why does John C. Calhoun argue that slavery is a positive good? Slavery serves as the backbone of the American Economy. Slaves provided America with labor availability in their demanding farms, whose production positively impacted the American economy. Maintaining such slaves, therefore, remained an issue of relevance that leads white American political figures like John. C. Calhoun to fight for legal enslavement of people defining their existence in America as a "Positive good." Within this essay, a detailed analysis of John C. Calhoun's arguments will be provided to offer a better understanding of why he fought tirelessly for the legalization of slavery within America. Being an American statesman gave Calhoun an excellent opportunity to influence other Americans on his proposals regarding the legalization of slavery, terming it an act of peace for the blacks and the whites within the United States. John C. Calhoun is among the white southern politician whose influence in defense of slavery legalization is well defined. In his speech in the U.S senate dated back in 1837, Calhoun argued that “slavery is indispensable to the peace and happiness of both the whites and blacks (55)”. Calhoun expresses his white supremacy assumption by defining blacks as a population from an inferior race compared to the dominating white race. For their racial inferiority, Calhoun believed that they should be held as slaves regardless of the respect for the constitutional protection of slavery. Unfortunately, race proves to be a potential determinant of the blacks’ definition as slaves within a white dominating nation of the United States of America. Calhoun further argued that the antislavery campaigns from Northern America would result in conflicts between the southern and the northern if no measures to legalize slavery became enforced by the ruling Union. Such argument is well reflected in his opinion in the protection of the American governing Unions citing that " as widely as this antislavery spirit has spread, it has not yet infected this body or the great mass of intelligent and business portion of the North; but unless it is speedily stopped, it will spread and work upwards till it...