John C. Calhoun Book

This monumental biography of John Caldwell Calhoun illustrates a dying art in American historical writing, in which the grandness of the subject is treated with equally grand prose. Margaret L. Coit sings of the exploits of an epic figure in American history with sufficiently epic style and has produced a masterpiece of classic history.

From the humble origins of his family to the indelible mark he left upon the troubled American Union, Coit captures the full sweep of Calhoun's life, from his intimate moments with family to his electrifying addresses before the nation. In this approach Coit harkens to a more traditional style of American biography; if some scenes are imagined for effect or anecdotes of dubious provenance are inserted, they are only meant to emphasize the mythic scope of the personage under consideration.

Such an approach is anathema to modern scholarship, which would also find fault with the lack of social context provided in this work; Calhoun is the sole consideration of the author and long discourses on the times in which he lived are largely absent: Coit frames Calhoun in his time but does not feel the need to excoriate that time. If anything, she is able to paint a better picture of America by illustrating how Calhoun represented it than how it shaped him. Modern readers will likely be especially put off by Coit's assessment of Calhoun's views on race and slavery, which she largely accepts without comment as just another example of his perspective on the world.

I would highly recommend John C. Calhoun: American Portrait for anyone looking for a dense and beautifully written biography of a major American figure.