ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
AP U.S. History: A Positive Good 1 Views
Share It!
Description:
John Calhoun's argument that slavery was "a positive good" meant that he thought that
More Video DetailsTranscript
- 00:02
Oh Okay Pushers Third of three on John Calhoun the
- 00:10
humanist John Calhoun's argument that slavery was a positive good
- 00:13
meant that he thought that what Well let's see As
- 00:20
the abolitionist movement grew in the North the pro slavery
- 00:23
movement kept a strong grip in the South As the
Full Transcript
- 00:25
debate Gruen intensified the controversy turned into a deeper issue
- 00:28
related to the distinct Southern identity against that of the
- 00:31
North The Southern pro slavery movement began arguing that slavery
- 00:34
was good for society based on economic moral and theological
- 00:38
grounds Slavery economically benefited the South because it kept its
- 00:41
economy balanced and strong It was considered morally acceptable because
- 00:45
well as slave owners like Calhoun liked argue slaves benefited
- 00:49
from slavery as the system improved them not only physically
- 00:53
but morally and intellectually important Biblical figures such as Abraham
- 00:56
were slaveholders which the South used as a religious argument
- 00:59
for slavery Because while clearly all that New Testament stuff
- 01:03
and old was about loving your neighbor as you love
- 01:05
yourself it didn't count when it came to slaves Okay
- 01:08
so that's See anyway is the right answer Slavery was
- 01:11
good for society based on economic moral and ideological grounds
- 01:14
Right Loser role Well before the controversy about slavery between
- 01:16
South and North intensified during the first half of the
- 01:19
nineteenth century some Southern politicians thought that slavery was a
- 01:22
necessary evil solely based on economic grounds so get rid
- 01:25
of be However the argument expanded to morality and religion
- 01:28
as tensions grew like they just kind of made up
- 01:31
arguments to prove a point Conversely it was northern abolitionist
- 01:34
who thought that slavery was wrong for society based on
- 01:37
economic moral and theological crowns They argued that slavery weakened
- 01:40
the South's economy by making it overly dependent on cotton
- 01:44
Finally the fact that Calhoun referred to slavery as a
- 01:46
positive good is enough to tell us that well he
- 01:48
didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all
Up Next
Ever heard of a "living document"? They eat and breathe just like the rest of us! They even walk around on their own two legs. Okay, fine—maybe t...
Related Videos
If the Puritans had gotten their way, religion would play a much larger role in lawmaking these days. Want to know more? Watch the video for all th...
What happened between the creation of the Articles of Confederation and the ratification of the current U.S. Constitution? This video analyzes the...
The Modernists thought the world had a lot of problems, and they were intent on fixing them—or at least talking about fixing them. Unfortunately,...
This video explains Federalism and the quest for a fair balance between state and national power. It covers the progression and compromises of Fede...