Calhoun and Popular Rule: The Political Theory of the Disquisition and Discourse

by H. Lee Cheek Jr.

Although John C. Calhoun (1782-1850) remains one of the major figures in American political thought, many of his critics have tried to discredit him as merely a southern partisan whose ideas were obsolete even during his lifetime. In Calhoun and Popular Rule, H. Lee Cheek, Jr., attempts to correct such misconceptions by presenting Calhoun as an original political thinker who devoted his life to the recovery of a "proper mode of popular rule". He argues that Calhoun had a coherent, systematic view of human nature and society and made a lasting contribution to the theory of constitutionalism and democracy.Cheek suggests that Calhoun was not a political or philosophical aberration, but an authentic exponent of American constitutionalism. He contends that Calhoun's view of democracy forms part of a philosophy of humankind and politics that has relevance beyond the American experience. Although his idea of popular rule was original, it was also related to earlier attempts in America and elsewhere to limit the power of the majority and protect minority interests. According to Cheek, Calhoun stood in the American political tradition and attempted to rearticulate some of its central elements. He explains Calhoun's idea of the concurrent majority and examines how it has been presented by Calhoun's critics, as well as his followers.

As the first combined evaluation of Calhoun's most important treatises, The Disquisition and The Discourse, this work merges Calhoun's theoretical position with his endeavors to restore the need for popular rule. It also compares Calhoun's ideas with those of other great political thinkers such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison -- while explaining what istruly unique about Calhoun's political theories.

Calhoun's philosophy -- his understanding of the need for ethical and political restraint and for institutional means for obtaining concurrence -- is still relevant today, especially given the current growing ethnic and cultural conflict of the Western world. Scholars of government and political thought, as well as those interested in understanding "popular rule" and its theoretical and practical impact on modern American government, will find this groundbreaking work to be of great value.

Genres: History

Hardcover

First published June 30, 2001

About the author

Dr. H. Lee Cheek, Jr., is Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of Political Science at East Georgia State College. He received his bachelor's degree from Western Carolina University, his M.Div. from Duke University, his M.P.A. from Western Carolina University, and his Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America. He previously served as Dean of the School of Social Sciences at Gainesville State University (University of North Georgia); Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Athens State University in Alabama; and, Vice-President for College Advancement and Professor of Political Science at Brewton-Parker College in Mt. Vernon, Georgia.

Reviews

[Drew Norwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lee Cheek succeeds in providing context and explaining the main political contributions of John C. Calhoun. Calhoun's understanding of popular rule is really important for today. Several key elements to republican government have been lost and are in need of being restored (and none of them are tied to, or bound up with, slavery). This book highlights several of those missing components, such as: the quality of restraint/limitation essential to healthy government (in government by Constitution, and "concurrent measures," and in society by social norms and a code of moral values, familial authority, education, and civic involvement), the importance of local control and subsidiarity, and the dangers of allowing popular rule to be assessed only through a numerical majority (thus leading to the tyranny of the majority), and others.

[Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cheek politely replaces Spain's text and thereby introduces Calhoun to a new generation of scholars. I cannot give this text any higher praise than was bestowed on it than Dr. Clyde Wilson: "definitive".