... timely and thought-provoking ... A biographer intent on a livelier narrative might devote more space than Mr. Elder does to the events leading up to this moment and the tension that followed from it. Calhoun’s decision to resign the vice presidency for a seat in the Senate, where he eventually negotiated a compromise that averted civil war, receives exactly one sentence. But what interests Mr. Elder is ideas, and Calhoun’s ideas were pointing him toward the fateful path he would follow ... Attempts to make Calhoun fit neatly into our current politics miss the message of this much-needed biography..
Coming so soon after a neoconfederate mob rampaged through the Capitol, a respectful biography of the ideological father of the Confederacy may feel as welcome as an exhumed corpse. But the young historian Robert Elder has given us just that in Calhoun — an illuminating account of the life of the notorious white supremacist as well as his complex afterlife in American political culture ... In his lucid book about this complex and contradictory figure, Robert Elder wisely refrains from assigning Calhoun to a stationary spot along the political spectrum. He points out that echoes of Calhoun’s ideas have not come exclusively from the right ... Elder finished writing this valuable book too soon to add that with Donald Trump’s brazen effort to overturn election results where Black voters — so long disenfranchised by heirs of Calhoun — helped determine the outcome, the cause of states’ rights suddenly became the cause of the left.
... expertly recounts the life and times of John C. Calhoun ... In addition to detailing Calhoun’s substantial career, Elder delves into his subject’s political philosophy and influences. Elder gives ample space to Calhoun’s personal life, including his marriage, children, illnesses, and constant financial struggles. He also assesses the politician’s controversial legacy and the dismantling of his reputation ... This well-researched book offers a definitive account of Calhoun, and will appeal to anyone interested in early American history.
... balanced and fair in its assessments of the man and his imprint on our nation’s history ... Elder and Basic Books are to be applauded for their courage and devotion to historical truth ... presents an unvarnished portrait of one of the nation’s most powerful political figures during the decades leading up to the Civil War ... Elder is careful to consider Calhoun’s perspectives and conduct within the historical framework of mid-19th century America, without downplaying their moral failings.
... gives the very palpable but muffled sense that the author isn’t quite saying what he means ... [Elder] is extremely versed in the period and its huge personalities, and throughout the book he uses a vividly readable prose style. His narration of Calhoun’s political life makes for unfailingly gripping reading ... A smart, bristling new life of Calhoun is no bad or redundant thing, and Elder’s book is a very worthy modern companion to Bartlett’s from 70 years ago...The only problem is the author’s murky justification for presenting the book in the first place, which is an admittedly trivial problem ... The world-wide Black Lives Matter protests of the summer of 2020 - the inescapable candidate for what’s on Elder’s mind here - do not demonstrate in some contorted way that the ghost of John C. Calhoun still somehow dominates the country; the protests demonstrate just the opposite. Calhoun was indeed a dark foil of American progress and freedom, an extreme racist lunatic in his own day, and an extreme racist lunatic today. Good as Elder’s biography is, let’s hope it’s Calhoun’s last.
... comprehensive ... Elder scrutinizes Calhoun’s creative interpretations of the U.S. Constitution and forthrightly documents his deep-rooted belief in white supremacy, but understates his political failings, including his knack for turning allies into enemies and the single-mindedness that doomed his presidential ambitions and contributed to his brief and ineffectual tenure as secretary of state in 1844–1845. Still, Elder is a graceful writer who persuasively argues that the beliefs and policies Calhoun amplified continue to shape American politics. Readers with a keen interest in the pre–Civil War era and a strong stomach for objectionable viewpoints will gain insight from this expert account.
