I personally have a lot of sympathy for his political stances on such matters as 'majority rule' and 'natural rights'. Also, to be frank, I think it's perfectly understandable as to why he was such an ardent defender of slavery, given that southern society and its economy was underpinned by the institution, and its abolition (if it were carried out in the way that plenty of northern abolitionists wished it to be done) would have had (and did have) severe adverse effects upon the south. I wouldn't argue in any way that slavery was a 'positive good', as he did, but then I can understand his reasons for believing that. In addition, of course, he seems to have been a fairly decent guy in terms of his private life, so that's another tick in my book.
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