John C. Calhoun: Biography, Quotes, Beliefs, Facts, Timeline, U.S. History (1994)

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John Caldwell Calhoun (March 18, 1782 – March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent of a strong national government and protective tariffs. After 1830, his views shifted and he became a greater proponent of states' rights, limited government, nullification and free trade, as he saw these means as the only way to preserve the Union. He is known for his strong defense of free trade and slavery, his distrust of majoritarianism, and for leading the South toward secession from the Union. Calhoun served as a member of the House of Representatives and Senate, as the seventh Vice President of the United States, and as Secretary of War and State. As a "war hawk", he strongly supported the War of 1812 to defend American honor against Britain. As Secretary of War under President James Monroe, he reorganized and modernized the War Department. He ran for president in 1824, but decided to run for vice-president instead early in the election, and won. He served one term under John Quincy Adams and continued under Andrew Jackson, who defeated Adams and his running-mate Richard Rush in 1828, making him the second vice-president to have served under two presidents. However, Calhoun had a difficult relationship with Jackson due primarily to disagreements concerning the Nullification Crisis and Peggy Eaton Affair. Calhoun resigned in 1832, and entered the Senate. This made Calhoun the first of two vice-presidents to resign. He sought the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1844, but lost to surprise nominee James K. Polk. He served as Secretary of State under John Tyler from 1844 to 1845. He then returned to the Senate, where he opposed passage of the Compromise of 1850 shortly before his death. Calhoun often served as a virtual party-independent who sided with Democrats and Whigs at different times. Calhoun, nicknamed the "cast-iron man" for his ideological rigidity,[1][2] built his reputation as a political theorist. His concept of republicanism emphasized approval of slavery and minority rights, with the Southern states the minority in question. To protect minority rights against majority rule, he called for a concurrent majority whereby the minority could sometimes block proposals that it felt infringed on their liberties. To this end, Calhoun supported states' rights and nullification, through which states could declare null and void federal laws viewed as unconstitutional. He was a strong proponent of slavery, which he defended as a "positive good" rather than as a "necessary evil."[3] Calhoun's positions are credited with influencing Southern secessionists. Calhoun was one of the "Great Triumvirate" or the "Immortal Trio" of Congressional leaders, along with his Congressional colleagues Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. In 1957, a Senate Committee selected Calhoun as one of the five greatest U.S. Senators of all time. In the 1997 film Amistad, Calhoun is portrayed by Arliss Howard.[90] In the 2015 film The Gettysburg Address, Calhoun is voiced by actor Gary Busey. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Calhoun