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.

"The slave of Italy and France could be emancipated and soon all records of his former state would perish, but unfortunately the emancipated black carries a mark which no time can erase, he forever wears the mark of his inferior condition, the Ethiopian cannot change his skin, nor the leopard his spots".

4

2 Calhoun's argument was placed on economic foundations as well. Accepting Dew's interpretation of slavery within an American context (immigration), he viewed the "peculiar institution" as the underpinning of economic prosperity and political stability. In his estimation labor relations in the North were a form of wage slavery. Northern working conditions were more detrimental, for the factory extracted the employees' last drop of blood cruelly ignoring them in their later years. Southern slavery however, ensured a life time of care for black laborers, due to the owners' concern to protect their investment. Slavery represented the best relationship possible between master and servant. Since negroes were classified as property, planters had a financial stake in their humane and compassionate treatment

4

3 Calhoun recognized that history moved forward as a result of social strife. A forerunner to Marx, he pointed out the antagonistic relationship between the ruler and the ruled. He distinguished between two classes, capitalists and operatives which would inevitably end up in a historic clash. Calhoun realized capital's tendency to destroy the instruments of labor leaving no alternative to workers but a violent uprising. Southern society represented a counterbalance against worrisome Northern political tensions. In the South, a lack of antagonistic labor relationships coupled with an increased sense of community contributed to social and economic harmony. Calhoun viewed the South Atlantic Region as a totality of plantation communities where master and slave worked for a common purpose 4

4 4

2 Ibid., p. 190. 4

3 Richard Hofstadter, The American Political Tradition (New York: W. W. Norton, 1965), p. 103. 4

4 Ibid., p. 107. 109