John C. Calhoun

Von Holst considers Calhoun's words little more than agitation created to build up sectional animosity and conflict. Von Holst offers Calhoun's speeches justifying slavery, such as when the Southerner made impassioned, if not logical, arguments that slavery was a "positive good" for African-Americans. The institution, according to Calhoun, had a civilizing effect and further, it led to better race relations in the South than was the case in the North. Von Holst notes that this position and these statements about slavery were the core of Calhoun's worldview, and shaped his entire political outlook. Calhoun's doctrine of Nullification was ultimately subordinated to his firm views on slavery. Calhoun is also portrayed as a man without any clear party loyalty, a politician who easily switched allegiances and formed alliances based upon tactical advantages. Von Holst notes that he usually united with others in opposition to rather than in support for a particular issue. Consequently, the 'pro-slavery fanatic', as Von Holst calls him, became quite skilled in fomenting political gridlock and obstruction. While von Holst is careful to reject the idea that Calhoun's motivations were based solely or even largely upon a desire to be president of a new Southern union of states when it became obvious to himself that he would never be president of the United States, he nevertheless condemns the man as the prophet of an immoral, diseased, and highly dangerous political cause.