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John C. Calhoun, excerpt from "A Disquisition on Government," 1851
"But now we are a mob," wrote Emerson in "Self-Reliance." How are we, then, to shape democracy so that majority rule does not become mob rule? This question vexed many in the early part of the nineteenth century, including Cooper, Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Twain, and Calhoun. To address it, Calhoun framed the concept of a "concurrent majority." He recognized "interest groups" and asserted that a majority within an interest group should have the right to accept or reject a law within its sphere. Strongly recommended. 6 pages.
Discussion questions
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What in Calhoun's view is the relationship between power and liberty? |
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How do Calhoun's views of equality and inequality compare with those of Cooper and Jackson? |
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How does Calhoun's vision of democracy compare with Jackson's? |
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How does the theory of the "concurrent majority" relate to the theory of nullification that Calhoun propounded twenty years earlier when he was Jackson's vice-president? |
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For Calhoun, what is the purpose of political power?
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