Brilliant and Ever Combative, John C. Calhoun Argued for Nullification
Historic significance: John C. Calhoun was a political figure from South Carolina who played a major role in national affairs during the early 19th century.
Calhoun was at the center of the Nullification Crisis, served in the cabinet of Andrew Jackson, and was a senator representing South Carolina. He became iconic for his role in defending the positions of the South.
Calhoun was considered a member of the Great Triumvirate of senators, along with Kentucky’s Henry Clay, representing the West, and Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, representing the North.
Life span: Born: March 18, 1782, in rural South Carolina;
Died: At the age of 68, on March 31, 1850, in Washington, D.C.
Early Political career: Calhoun entered public service when he was elected to the South Carolina legislature in 1808. In 1810 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
As a young congressman, Calhoun was a member of the War Hawks, and helped steer the administration of James Madison into the War of 1812.
In the administration of James Monroe, Calhoun served as secretary of war from 1817 to 1825.
In the disputed election of 1824, which was decided in the House of Representatives, Calhoun was elected vice president to president John Quincy Adams. It was an unusual circumstance as Calhoun had not been running for the office.
In the election of 1828, Calhoun ran for vice president on the ticket with Andrew Jackson, and he was again elected to the office. Calhoun thereby had the unusual distinction of serving as vice president to two different presidents (who happened to politically oppose and personally despise each other).
Jackson grew estranged from Calhoun, and Calhoun began to express his theories of “nullification.” He wrote a document, published anonymously, called the “South Carolina Exposition” that advanced the idea that an individual state could refuse to follow federal laws.
Calhoun was thus the intellectual architect of the Nullification Crisis.
Calhoun resigned from the vice presidency in 1832 and was elected to the U.S. Senate, representing South Carolina. In the Senate he attacked the abolitionists in the 1830s, and by the 1840s he was a constant defender of the institution of slavery.
In 1843 he served as secretary of state in the final year of the administration of John Tyler. Calhoun, as secretary of state, at one point wrote a controversial letter to a British ambassador in which he defended slavery.
In 1845 Calhoun returned to the Senate, where he was again a forceful advocate for slavery. He opposed the Compromise of 1850, as he felt it abridged the rights of slave holders to take their slaves into new territories in the West.
He died in 1850 before the passage of the Compromise of 1850, and was the first of the Great Triumvirate to die. Henry Clay and Daniel Webster would die within a few years, marking the end of a distinct period in the history of the U.S. Senate.
Calhoun was at the center of the Nullification Crisis, served in the cabinet of Andrew Jackson, and was a senator representing South Carolina. He became iconic for his role in defending the positions of the South.
Calhoun was considered a member of the Great Triumvirate of senators, along with Kentucky’s Henry Clay, representing the West, and Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, representing the North.
Life span: Born: March 18, 1782, in rural South Carolina;
Died: At the age of 68, on March 31, 1850, in Washington, D.C.
Early Political career: Calhoun entered public service when he was elected to the South Carolina legislature in 1808. In 1810 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
As a young congressman, Calhoun was a member of the War Hawks, and helped steer the administration of James Madison into the War of 1812.
In the administration of James Monroe, Calhoun served as secretary of war from 1817 to 1825.
In the disputed election of 1824, which was decided in the House of Representatives, Calhoun was elected vice president to president John Quincy Adams. It was an unusual circumstance as Calhoun had not been running for the office.
In the election of 1828, Calhoun ran for vice president on the ticket with Andrew Jackson, and he was again elected to the office. Calhoun thereby had the unusual distinction of serving as vice president to two different presidents (who happened to politically oppose and personally despise each other).
Calhoun and Nullification
Jackson grew estranged from Calhoun, and Calhoun began to express his theories of “nullification.” He wrote a document, published anonymously, called the “South Carolina Exposition” that advanced the idea that an individual state could refuse to follow federal laws.
Calhoun was thus the intellectual architect of the Nullification Crisis.
Calhoun resigned from the vice presidency in 1832 and was elected to the U.S. Senate, representing South Carolina. In the Senate he attacked the abolitionists in the 1830s, and by the 1840s he was a constant defender of the institution of slavery.
Calhoun Defended the South
In 1843 he served as secretary of state in the final year of the administration of John Tyler. Calhoun, as secretary of state, at one point wrote a controversial letter to a British ambassador in which he defended slavery.
In 1845 Calhoun returned to the Senate, where he was again a forceful advocate for slavery. He opposed the Compromise of 1850, as he felt it abridged the rights of slave holders to take their slaves into new territories in the West.
He died in 1850 before the passage of the Compromise of 1850, and was the first of the Great Triumvirate to die. Henry Clay and Daniel Webster would die within a few years, marking the end of a distinct period in the history of the U.S. Senate.
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