Data di Pubblicazione:
2015
Citazione:
Stati e Costituzione : il federalismo autentico di John C. Calhoun (1782-1850) / L.M. Bassani. - In: EUNOMIA. - ISSN 2280-8949. - 4:1 N.S.(2015), pp. 291-318.
Abstract:
This article is a brief exposition of the theory of federalism adopted by John C. Calhoun as a
defense of the Southern States between 1828-1838. For Calhoun, the United States were something more
than, and different from, a simple league of states, but should never become a centralized democracy
ruled by absolute majorities. Government by majority rule at all levels meant abandonment of all
constitutional guarantees. The right of a state to judge, as a last resort, constitutional limits imposed on
the federal government should be defended at all costs; otherwise the United States would be destroyed,
becoming first a full-grown modern State and then a dictatorship of the executive. While Calhoun’s
political thought is in perfect harmony with the American founding, it was at odds with subsequent
evolution of the federation: Government by judiciary has been the peculiar American answer to the
problems posed, and never solved, by the logic of authentic federalism.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Keywords:
federalism; political theory; John C. Calhoun; US history 1828-1838; US Constitution; nullification; secession
Elenco autori:
L.M. Bassani
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