John C. Calhoun Quotes
Irresponsible power is inconsistent with liberty, and must corrupt those who exercise it.
Calhoun, John C. "Speech on the Appointing and Removing Power." 13 Feb. 1835. The Works of John C. Calhoun, edited by Richard K. Crallé, vol. 2, D. Appleton and Company, 1853, p. 446.
There was a rumor that Napoleon BonaparteII, Emperor of the French, was seriously ill, and when asked what the complaint was, a distinguished foreign guest remarked:
Arguing the need to limit the power of the legislature:
Madison went on to observe that in a democracy, the real power may reside in the majority of the population, and in such a case the tyranny of the majority is the danger.
John Caldwell Calhoun was an American politician and political theorist from South Carolina who held many important positions including being the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832, while adamantly defending slavery and protecting the interests of the white South when its residents were outnumbered by Northerners. He began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent of a strong national government and protective tariffs. In the late 1820s, his views changed radically, and he became a leading proponent of states' rights, limited government, nullification, and opposition to high tariffs. He saw Northern acceptance of those policies as a condition of the South remaining in the Union. His beliefs and warnings heavily influenced the South's secession from the Union in 1860–1861.
