Minn. lake named for slavery supporter draws fire

A Minneapolis man hopes to change the name of Lake Calhoun because it's named after an ardent supporter of slavery.

John C. Calhoun was a prominent statesman in the 1800s. He was the secretary of war under President James Monroe and a vice president under two other presidents. As a U.S. senator from South Carolina, he said slavery was not evil but a positive good.

John Winters spoke out at a park board hearing in April, then filed a petition with the board this week. He says the lake should be renamed for the late Vice President Hubert Humphrey, a former Minneapolis mayor and civil rights supporter.

South Carolina historian Walter Edgar says it's true Calhoun defended slavery but that he also was one of the nation's great political thinkers.