Reader letters: Making the case to keep Calhoun's name on square as council readies to vote

Editor's note: Savannah City Council is expected to vote Thursday on whether to remove John C. Calhoun's name from a downtown Savannah square.

Savannah Council ignoring laws on Calhoun Square debate

Last week the Savannah City Council took an unofficial vote to remove the Calhoun name from the square. There was no discussion of facts, history or legal issues.

The council said slaves were buried in the square, when they know that is simply not true. The city even paid for a study that is on their website that says that is not true. It reviewed ground penetrating radar results that also do not support the statement. Yet council continued to repeat it. You can only assume they are using the inaccuracy to cover up something else.

Opinion: Calhoun Square name change - right idea, wrong way to do it

What they may be covering up is the lack of legality in the city unilaterally changing the name of a public structure. They are not voting based on the city’s ordinance because there is no current valid petition before the council as required by the ordinance. If the city arbitrarily chooses to ignore its own rules and law, then we have no government, but simply the rule of man.

Since the state’s “monument” statute covers the removal of a “structure name,” the ordinance is not the only law they are ignoring. Just last week the Georgia Supreme Court in a lengthy opinion (Henry County et. al.) said that a taxpayer has standing to sue a city for injunctive relief under the statute. The statute and case were ignored.

The Calhoun removal straw poll was just a popularity contest with much pontificating and grandstanding. Over 400 signatures were filed opposing the change. It was a sad performance.

John H. Maclean, Savannah

John C. Calhoun was more than a pro-slavery advocate

Talk about being marginalized: The process of renaming Calhoun Square is a classic example.

John Caldwell Calhoun (1782-1850) was one of the greatest statesman to ever serve our nation. In 1811 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served four terms. He resigned in 1817 to become secretary of war under President James Monroe, a position he held until 1825 when he became vice president under John Quincy Adams.

Calhoun Square to lose its name?: What to know about latest plans to address controversy

In 1828 Calhoun was again elected vice president under Andrew Jackson. No vice president in history has ever served under two different presidents. He resigned the vice presidency in 1832 and was elected to the U.S. Senate where he served until 1843. Calhoun then became secretary of state in the final year of President John Tyler’s administration. In 1845 he returned to the U.S. Senate serving until his death in 1850.

is statesmanship is why he has been honored. But alas, in spite of these accomplishments, he has been marginalized to only being a farmer and planter who utilized and defended domestic slave labor, which remained lawful until 1865.

As a Southerner, a historian, a Calhoun family member, and a believer in honesty and integrity, I maintain that once the city fathers made the commitment to name the square, they should not later yield to a wave of political correctness and revisionism. The city of Savannah should honor its commitment and keep the Calhoun Square name in place.

Andrew P. Calhoun, Jr., Savannah

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Calhoun Square name strip to come by Savannah City Council vote