American Biography – John C. Calhoun (1782 –
1850)
John was born on this father’s farm in the hillside
country of South Carolina. His father owned a few
slaves and was a local political leader. John was a
first generation American as his parents had
emigrated from Ireland.
His early schooling was very limited. He was
largely self-educated. However, after he was 18, he
spent two years being taught by his brother-in-law,
Reverend Moses Waddel, in a “log college”. At
20, John entered Yale University. He graduated
with distinction in 1804. He studied law in
Charleston, South Carolina and, after finishing his
studies at a law school in Connecticut, he began
practicing in his home state (1807).
In 1808 and 1809 he was elected to the legislature of South Carolina. He took
part in the development of a constitutional compromise in the state. Within the state
there existed two distinct regions, the hill country (in the north) and the low-country
(in the south). The farmers of the hill-country had smaller farms, while the low-country
was dotted by large plantations. There were also more people in the southern than in
the northern part of the state. To satisfy the interests of both groups, it was agreed
that the government of the state should be based on “concurrent” rather than
“numerical” majorities. This meant that there had to be majorities in both regions to
have legislation passed rather than a simple majority for the entire state.
In 1811, John married his cousin, Floride Bonneau Calhoun, the daughter of a
wealthy plantation owner. John now became a member of “southern aristocracy”. His
economic future was secure. In that same year, he entered the House of
Representatives.
John’s political influence continued to rise. In 1817-1825, he was the Secretary
of War in the cabinet of James Monroe. In 1824, he was elected Vice-President to
John Quincy Adams. However, John soon realized that Andrew Jackson would
probably be elected president in 1828, so he deserted Adams and began to support
Jackson. Indeed, in 1828, Jackson was overwhelmingly elected president – with John as
his Vice-President!
However, relations between Calhoun and Jackson soon broke down. Finally, the
issue of a high protective tariff, the “Tariff of Abomination”, drove the two men apart.
John wrote several documents (“Exposition and Protest”, 1828 and the “Fort Hill
Letter”, 1831) in which he argued that the Union was based on a compact between the
states. Therefore, the states still retained the right to judge on the constitutionality of
acts passed by the federal government. If they believed that an act went beyond the
powers of the federal government, the states could declare it illegal within their state
boundary. In 1832, South Carolina declared the tariff null and void within its state.
President Jackson responded to these developments as if he were engaged in a duel. He
threatened to arrest John. In response, John resigned as Vice-President and returned to
his home state.
In the next year, John was elected to the Senate by South Carolina. Over the next
seventeen years he became the most vigorous and outspoken spokesperson on behalf of
states’ rights, the protection and expansion of slavery, and agricultural interests.
He wrote several books during these years in which he argued that liberty and
equality were incompatible because by forcing all men to be equal, their individualism
would be destroyed. He also suggested that the principle of concurrent majorities
should be applied to national politics to safeguard the interests of the South as well as
those of the North. In practical terms, he believed that there should be two Presidents,
one representing the South, the other the North, each with a veto.
During these years as well, John was instrumental in establishing a new political
party in opposition to the party of Andrew Jackson. The party was called the Whigs. In
1840, the Whigs were able to elect General Harrison as President. (However, he died
one month later and succeeded by his Vice-President, John Tyler, a former Democrat).
In 1844, John was appointed Secretary of State by
President Tyler. In this position, he was responsible for
securing the entry of Texas into the Union in 1845. Later
in the year he returned to the Senate where he played a
leading role in fashioning the tariff of 1846. Calhoun
opposed the war against Mexico, the Wilmot Proviso,
and the entry of California into the Union. The reason for
his opposition was the same in all cases – he believed that
the rights of the slave states were threatened. He was
convinced that there was no hope for political equality
between the North and the South. He was convinced that
the Compromise of 1850 was a waste of time.
The debate over the Compromise had worn him out.
His last speech to the Senate had to be read by another
senator because he was too weak to speak. He warned
that the “dissolution of the Union is the heaviest
blow that can be struck at civilization and
representative government”. To prevent that from
happening, he recommended that a sectional veto should
be added to the Constitution, even if that meant the
establishment of a dual presidency. He died a month
later.
John was the spokesperson and philosopher of the
South. He laid the political foundations for the southern
“lost cause” in defense of slavery, states’ rights, and
protection of agriculture, especially southern crops like
cotton and tobacco. Eleven years after his death, the South seceded from the Union. It
justified its action on the basis of the arguments that John had advanced.
Question for thought:
Using Calhoun’s biography and information from the text, assess his role in the
political and social development of the United States during the almost fifty
years of his involvement.