feb 6, 1837 - John C. Calhoun Defends Slavery as a "Positive Good"

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In 1837, John C. Calhoun, a prominent Southern politician and advocate of states' rights, delivered a speech in the United States Senate in which he defended slavery as a "positive good" rather than a necessary evil. Calhoun argued that slavery was beneficial for both enslaved Africans, who he claimed received civilization and Christianity, and for the American economy, particularly in the agricultural South where it was integral to the production of cotton and other cash crops.

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