The 1776 Commission report says this about John C. Calhoun

In the PDF file (download here) for the 1776 Commission, a refutation of the 1619 Project, it says the following: (page 12)

Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina famously rejected the Declaration’s principle of equality as “the most dangerous of all political error” and a “self-evident lie.” He never doubted that the founders meant what they said.

To this rejection, Calhoun added a new theory in which rights inhere not in every individual by “the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God” but in groups or races according to historical evolution.

This isn't usually what is said about leaders from the South in three categories:

• 1 to 2 decades prior to the Civil War
• During the Civil War
• 1 to 2 decades after the Civil war

To be clear, I don't mean that this is what is said from the progressives. We know that the progressives believe without any doubt that all leaders during this time period loved and worshipped the Founding. We also know (because it is proven) that progressives lie. What I waht to know is if those who are not progressives but are Civil War buffs, where are they on this? This sort of history has been erased - the idea that there was in fact a rejection of the Founding in this region during this era that is not just limited to one or two irrelevant people. There needs to be more coverage on this and the 1776 Commission report is now probably the highest profile source illustrating this. The report isn't just 5 words which says "Nuh uh, they are lying!", it actually establishes a base timeline.

The Commission's final report does not contain footnotes, so if you want to see this fully Calhoun's comment can be found in the 1848 "Oregon Bill" speech.

I bring this up because I have in the past (again here) pointed out how Lincoln spoke glowingly of the Declaration and I was trying back then to make the point about the utter depravaty of the progressives' lies. Additionally, I also posted recently about how some unknown number of slave owners felt that Marx and Hegel better represented their views. which again, illustrates lies that progressives tell. I feel the need to show all of you that Lincoln did not (so it appears) just wake up one day and speak in a void. Additionally I wouldn't be doing what I need to do if I didn't follow up on these things. In this context, Lincoln was generally defending the Declaration against those who attacked it on what was a hot button issue in his day. In the Oregon Bill speech, Calhoun does in fact attack the Declaration of Independence, that's just what it is.

One thing I do not know entirely is the timeline: Did Lincoln mention the Declaration first, which led some leaders to say that the Declaration is a lie as a vessel or vehicle to attack Lincoln?(in other words, was this meant only as a personal attack or presidential campaign politics and not really an attack on the Founding) Or did the Declaration come under assault first and Lincoln responded in kind at some later date. I can see this speech is from 1848, well before Lincoln's election. Was there a break or was this a consistent narrative for over a decade? I do not know.

I have this nasty habit of reading more than just "the quotes", and that leads me to read full documents such as the 1776 Commission Report. Nobody else talked about this that I have seen, and it's an important thing to consider.

Please read the full 1776 Commission report. (download here)