Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1993. [Vol. 1.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 21)

STUDIES - András Tamóc: The Politics of a Cast-Iron Man. John C. Calhoun and His Views on Government.

Calhoun and "the peculiar institution" No effort of analyzing Calhoun's intellectual and political legacy would be complete without a look at his opinion on slavery. The issue of slavery had been one of the most divisive elements of American public discourse. During the 1830's this Southern arrangement came under heavy fire from Northern abolitionists. One of the most enthusiastic leaders of the anti-slavery movement was William Lloyd Garrison, a newspaperman and publicist. He established a journal entitled "The Liberator". The publication became the abolition movement's mouthpiece, spreading Garrison's radical message all over the country. When the magazine found its way to the South, Dixie became frightened. Southern fears reached record heights in 1831 following the aborted Nat Turner slave rebellion. The whole region was abound with rumors concerning Northern complicity and Garrison's paper was singled out as a prime instigator.

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0 As a response to an apparent threat to the Southern "lifestyle", a bizarre school of thought developed with an express aim of defending slavery. One of the notable representatives of the pro-slavery movement was Thomas R. Dew. Dew based his defense on the idea that slaves and their masters could not be separated. Since abolition was only possible through removal of blacks from America and Southern finances made cost of transportation prohibitive, furthermore because negroes were "unfit for freedom", slavery became a "necessary condition". Slaves were considered to be "indelible immigrants", unable to assimilate into mainstream America. Slavery as an immigration dilemma gave rise to institutionalized separation within the region, contributing to the emergence of America's first ghettoes.

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1 Dew discarded emancipation arguing the skin color of slaves would be an eternal reminder of their servitude. His words speak for themselves: 4

0 George Brown Tindall and David E. Shi, America (New York: W. W. Norton, 1984) p. 366. 4

1 Daniel J. Boorstin, The Americans. The National Experience.(New York: Vintage Books, 1965), p. 188. 108