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Audience

A Disqusition on Government

Digging Deeper

The Disquisition on Government

Many people during this time era would have been a practical audience for this article. People back then were more articulate and used a wider range of vocabulary then the people of today unfortunately and thus this article was most likely able to be comprehended on a larger scale. Politicians and other people holding important places in office whether it be state or country most definitely fit the build when describing what sort of individuals would be likely to read and or enjoy this article by Calhoun.

Audience

Annual Message To Congress

A Disquisition On Government

Purpose

Calhoun’s theory on concurrent majority was to protect the interests of the South against the possibility of the national government taking action against slavery. Although his stance on slavery was not specifically mentioned in the document as the driving force behind his theory on concurrent majority it was, nonetheless, implied.Without slave hands to work the plantations, economic productivity in the South would take a beating. He declared that individual states, therefore, should have the right to veto any and all measures that affected such state’s rights or vital interests (Foner 397) to protect its structural and political integrity

Although it may have been geared towards protecting the institution of slavery but it was also aimed at protecting minority rights, notwithstanding that his definition of minority included the Southern plantation owners. Additionally, while concurrent majority derives its right “by the right through proper organism,” absolute majority derives its sense of community by the “right of suffrage” alone.

Absolute majority is essentially just a number. It gets people voted to office but it is the concurrent majority which ultimately governs and decides “to give to each interest or portion of the community a negative on the others. It is this mutual negative among its various conflicting interests, which invests each with the power of protecting itself;…. Without this, there can be no constitution.” Conversely, the constitution provides for these measures, check and balance, veto, (the negative power), to keep those entrusted with the reins of the government from abusing, in principle, the power vested in them.

The document was also an attempt at asserting the United States’ voice in the international political arena, acting as the “protector” for the newly independent states of Latin America, such that any aggression towards them would be viewed as an aggression towards the United States, which in turn would force the hand of the United States to act accordingly.

To thwart the plans of the holy alliance of Austria, Prussia, and Russia, to reconquer for Spain her colonies that had revolted, President James Monroe delivered in his annual message to Congress what is now known as the Monroe Doctrine (which was formulated by John Quincy Adams). It laid out the United States’ position on matters threatening her sovereignty as an independent nation and that of her newly independent neighboring Latin American states, thus “the American continents are not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.” The Western Hemisphere had now been officially closed to European intervention.

The Monroe Doctrine’s intended audience was mainly France and Spain but also Great Britain. He geared the Doctrine toward the European countries that held power over Central and South America prior to their independence. The doctrine warned European countries not to interfere with the Western Hemisphere for if they did it would be considered a hostile act towards the United States. Yet, John Quincy Adams Secretary of State thought Spain would try to regain their colonies in Latin America. (Foner 386) Rumors suggested that Spain wanted to reclaim its once vast empire.

Great Britain on the other hand, agreed with the United States. They wanted to end the Spanish colonialism. The British Foreign Minister George Canning wanted Great Britain and the United States to form a pact that neither of them would interfere with Central and South America. However, John Quincy Adams thought Great Britain had imperial motives due to their sudden interest in Latin America colonies. (Office of the Historian) As a result Monroe states, “ The American continents… are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers” (Office of the Historian). He denied joining forces with Great Britain, and also announced to Spain, France and Russia that the United States would no longer consider the Western Hemisphere open to new colonization. The Monroe Doctrine signified the United States willingness to stand for independence and broadcast not only to Europe, but to its own population, that that it was ready to fight if other countries (primarily in Europe) attempted to regain control of the newly independent colonies.

Meet the Authors

Annual Message To Congress

Purpose

Raised as an ardent nationalist who believed on preserving individual liberty and freedom, John C. Calhoun, saw his nationalist principles crumbled to the ground when Congress passed the “Force Bill” which gave the President the authority to enforce federal law in the South (home of the nullifiers). He realized that it was possible for the federal government to override power inherent to the states. The incident forced him to reevaluate his nationalist principles and to take a closer inspection of the nature of the Constitution itself. Calhoun argued it was the individual sovereign states which created the national government and therefore, the states retained whatever rights each individual state had prior to the creation of a national government. This argument plus his theory on concurrent majority which the minority could act on to preserve its rights formed the basis for his work, “Disquisition on Government.”

Digging Deeper

Annual Message To Congress

James Monroe

James Monroe, author of the Annual Message to Congress also known as the Monroe Doctrine, was born into an average family. His father ran a successful plantation, which Monroe inherited, along with its slave workers, after his father's death.He went on to study law under Thomas Jefferson. Monroe never finished college instead he joined the military where he served under George Washington. Later, he came to be our fifth president and served in office during the period known as "the era of good feelings." Monroe tended to ignore the old party lines, which reduced political tensions.

There is much controvery over who is the "real" author of the Monroe Doctrine because most people agree that it was actually written by John Adams. However, Monroe signed the document and presented it to Congress in 1823. The Annual Message to Congress is one of Monroe's greatest and most memorable contributions to history and yet he was not even the writer.

John Calhoun

John C. Calhoun was a phenomenal writer of his time. He was a normal man, who had a passion for law including state’s rights, free trade and limited government. One of his most popular pamphlets was “South Carolina; Exposition and Protest” for which he wrote to explain the rights’ of each individual state against what the federal law had to say. He wrote under many presidents including Quincy Adams, Jackson and Monroe, who under Monroe, he was elected secretary of war.

The document by Calhoun most definitely represents what kind of man he was. It is very well written and has hardly any grammatical or spelling errors. It uses very precise words and the center idea of federal and state government being separate flows throughout the article. Although Calhoun seemed to be very smart and have good opinions towards this subject of state and government, I feel as if it may be under looked because of his ignorance to the topic of slavery and their “need” for it. It can be compared to how the founding fathers wanted the freedom they deserved from England, yet the slaves didn’t deserve the same freedom from oppression and slavery? It doesn’t make any sense at all. Why have all the knowledge in the world, yet not be practical enough to use it wisely and apply it cautiously?

Monroe, by taking a stand for and in behalf of Latin America before the conglomerate of European powers, laid the foundation which would ultimately establish the role the United States would eventually assume in world politics. This is not to say that this role is a popular one within or outside the United States given the current political atmosphere. Nonetheless, it provided the groundwork for the foreign policy of the United States.

Fast forward to the 21st century, whereas Monroe put forward the policy of non-involvement, the United States of today has taken on a bigger role in the global politics. In the home front, the federal government has the center stage, with the negative power established in the Constitution breathing down her neck to keep her in check (hopefully).

John Calhoun

James Monrow

Context

A Disquisition on Government

Compare & Contrast

The document was written during Jackson’s administration and slavery was at its highest at this time. Calhoun was a huge supporter of slavery and didn’t see anything wrong with it at all. Calhoun died 11 years before the start of the civil war, but apparently was an inspiration for many involved in the war who agreed with his view of slavery as a “positive good” rather than a “necessary evil”.

A Disquisition on Government

By John Calhoun

&

Annual Message to Congress

By James Monroe

Comparing President James Monroe and John C. Calhoun from the two articles, both have one thing in common and that was the decision of the United States to stay out of European affairs. Calhoun states that the United States government uses a constitutional majority and that “regards interests as well as number; considering the community as made up of different and conflicting interests, as far as the action of the government is concerned” (Calhoun.1st paragraph). The two articles talk about two completely different topics and the context is somewhat different; however they both tie in together given that many have different views and interests in the United States and still came to a majority decision to stay out of European affairs.

Context

Annual Message To Congress

President James Monroe’s “Annual Message to Congress”, mentions how the United States should continue to not take part of European wars since it is the policy of the United States to not do such things. “In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do so” (Monroe.2nd paragraph). Monroe’s message speaks is regards to foreign governments.

John C. Calhoun, “A Disquisition on Government” (ca. 1845), states two different types of majority, one is the absolute majority and the second is constitutional majority. Calhoun talks about the United States government and how it uses the term majority. “When the term majority is used in political discussions, it is applied exclusively to designate the numerical (absolute majority)” (Calhoun.1st paragraph).

During the nineteenth century many things were happening, the French Empire had been defeated, along with their allies in the Napoleonic War. Latin America began to break free from Spain, which eventually would lead to the Latin American Wars of Independence. With Latin America’s new independence, the United States felt that intervention would be necessary to preserve the independence of the Americas from European rule. The solution was found in a document called the Monroe Doctrine.

The War of 1812 involved America, Great Britain and France. Britain and France were at war, while neutral America was providing France with arms. As a result Great Britain imposed trade restrictions for America. The United States felt they should be entitled to free trade, as they were a neutral party in the conflict. This was one of the main contributing factors as to why the United States entered the War of 1812. The events within and leading up to the War of 1812 created some of the foundations for belief that the United States and other colonies in the Americas should be separate from European intervention.

The Latin American Wars of Independence resulted in the freedom of countries in Latin America such as, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru. For many years, war such as the Spanish American Revolution continued in South America. As each country established independence The United States thought it would be a good opportunity to assist South America. At. In 1823 The Monroe Doctrine was created following the events in Latin America and a desire to assist with their independence from Spain. The Monroe doctrine was the first time the administration reached out to the new republics in Latin America. Within the document Monroe warned Europe not to colonize or interfere with independent nations with the Americas. In addition to assisting in their independence, the United States hoped to gain an economic advantage with the newly independent Latin America by replacing Britain’s role (Foner 368).

Both articles address important matters involving the state and federal union. Monroe was president during the life of Calhoun and Calhoun was secretary of war under Monroe, meaning they probably were friends and had a good relationship. They also shared similar political views, thus their articles having much in common.

Sources

A Disquisition On Government

Summary

  • Give Me Liberty, Eric Foner
  • “Explainer: The Monroe Doctrine
  • U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian http://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/monroe
  • Ayn Rand Lexicon. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. http://aynrandlexicon.com/
  • Calhoun, John C. "Disquisition on Government." Teaching American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. http://teachingamericanhistory.org/.
  • Fawcett, James W. "The Origin and Text of the Famous Monroe Doctrine." Editorial. Washington Star 19 Feb. 1939: 74-77. EBSCO. Web. 21 Nov. 2013
  • Monroe, James. "Monroe Doctrine." Teaching American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. http://teachingamericanhistory.org.
  • Explainer: The Monroe Doctrine(youtube.com)

Calhoun’s address “A Disquisition on Government, starts off with a basic comprehension of a man and his inability to thrive without other human beings; he applies that concept to how a society cannot function without government. Calhoun continues to say that society and government are fully dependent on one another and one cannot thrive without the other having been created. They balance each other out and where society doesn’t live for order or control, government does. Alsowhere the government keeps society in line, the Constitution keeps the government in line.

Annual Message To Congress

Summary

Chapter 10 Documents

By Alyssa Jackson, Jennifer Bunting, Sumiko Burnett, Alo Faaeteet, and Maria Nenita Abaeo

What came to be known as the Monroe Doctrine was the product of the political minds of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and later on, John Quincy Adams. The historical pronouncement against foreign interference, however, was not originally conceptualized by them but was suggested by then British Foreign Minister George Canning, who later became the Prime Minister of Great Britain. The essence of the Monroe Doctrine was one of distancing the United States from the management or interference in a foreign nation’s conduct of its internal affairs (which is something Calhoun would have probably preferred the Jackson administration extended to his South in his defense of the state’s right to govern itself), and for issuing the principles why the Western Hemisphere was to be considered closed to European intervention.

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