John C. Calhoun 1782- 1850 - Research Paper Example

?John C. Calhoun 1782- 1850 Introduction In 1843 the Honorable John C. Calhoun made his last major bid for the presidency of the United s. His slogan was not exactly a catchy one, but stressed what he pronounced to be the important priorities of his politics. “FREE TRADE; LOW DUTIES; NO DEBT; SEPARATION FROM BANKS; ECONOMY; RETRENCHMENT, AND STRICT ADHERENCE TO THE CONSTITUTION.” as quoted by Clemson University ( 2013). No mention there of slavery, yet its advocacy would be a major feature of Calhoun’s political platform, despite the fact that at age thirteen he had memorised several pages of Thomas Paine's "The Rights of Man."( Zabarain, undated). The Political Life of John Calhoun and his Pro-Slavery Stance John Caldwell Calhoun was in American politics for 40 years. Wilson, in the introduction to Coit (1977, page vii, ) tells reader how ,together with Daniel Webster and Henry Clay , he made up the Great Triumvirate which was such a strong force in American politics for his whole career. Henry Clay was seen by President Andrew Jackson as being politically untrustworthy. He thought of him as being opportunistic and over - ambitious , even self-serving. Jackson would beat Clay to the presidency 1832. Jackson also established a political rivalry with a second member of the Triumvirate, his chosen Vice-President, John C. Calhoun, and eventually leading to the vice-president’s resignation. His antagonism to Calhoun was not based upon purely political rivalry. According to ‘The Age of Jackson , ( 2013) Jackson's animosity feelings were exacerbated by the Mrs. Calhoun's treatment socially of the wife of John Eaton, Secretary of War in Jackson’s cabinet.. As well as being a leading politician Calhoun was also very much part of the life of the southern American states, a society which was at that time based economically and socially upon slavery. Rehuse ( 2002) describes slavery as defining “ Southern social, political, and cultural life.” Calhoun’s ideas on the topic of slavery had two main aspects . Firstly he felt that the political rights of the minority southern states required special protection within the federal union. The second part of his argument, a topic on which he frequently expounded his views, was the now highly controversial argument that presented slavery as being an institution that benefited everyone involved – both black and white. He seem s to have honestly believed that black people were better off as slaves in America than when living free in Africa. Although he was never elected as President his career as a politician distinguished Calhoun as a revered statesman in his day. On the other hand some saw him as its greatest villain (Wilson in Coit, 1977, page viii). Born in Virginia as the third son in his family, he was raised in South Carolina, as the son of a farmer and Indian fighter, his father having emigrated from Ireland. Calhoun was brought up as a Calvinist, which suited his tendency to have a rather bleak view of mankind (Ulbrich, 2013). He felt that life was a continuous fight against evil forces ( Coit, 1977, page 2,) He would later become a Unitarian and a graduate of Yale University. After training as a lawyer, he was admitted to the bar in 1808. He worked for a short time as both lawyer and as a farmer, and he was elected as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1808 ( University of Virginia, 2013). Calhoun had grown up during a time of great expansion in the cotton trade, an industry based upon slave labor. He was elected to Congress, and served both in the House and Senate. He was a supporter of President James Madison's attempts to declare war on Britain in 1812, having advocated this as early as 1807 ( Bio True Story, 2013) . He also served as a member of the cabinet, under President James Monroe. He served as secretary of war from 1817 to 1825, covering the whole time that Monroe held the presidency. It was a task he seems to have carried out with great success, Rehuse ( 2002) quotes a federal officer as having said of him at that time :- If ever there was perfection carried into any branch of the public service,' one was that which Mr Calhoun carried into the War Department. Others outside the military considered that his plans were too grandiose. It was said of him in Congress:- 'His schemes are too grand and magnificent…If we had a revenue of a hundred million, he would be at no loss how to spend it.( Quoted by Rehuse, 2002) In 1824 Calhoun attempted to run for the presidency , but when he realized that he stood little chance against men such as John Quincy Adams ,and Andrew Jackson , he withdrew from the race. Freedom of speech was important to him. He is quoted as having said :- It will ever to me be a proud reflection, that I have been thought worthy of suffering in a great cause, . . . the freedom of debate, a cause more sacred than even the liberty of the press. ( Quoted by United States Senate, 2013 ). Calhoun was not rigid in his politics, but was willing to move his opinions . During his time in the Senate, he ceased to be a nationalist and became an outspoken defender of slavery and the South. Yet he was criticized by some southerners. He cautiously supported the 1816 tariff , which was a point of contention between North states and those in the South. This tariff a source of income needed to replenish the Federal treasury after the war. The tariff was advocated by northern manufacturers who had enjoyed the favored status they had appreciated during the British blockade as compared with the south . In 1824 Thomas Cooper, the president of the South Carolina state college, published an attack on Calhoun saying “ He spends the money of the South to buy up influence in the North. “ ( quote by Rehuse, 2002) Calhoun could not ignore this widely circulated pamphlet and the ideas it put forth. He recognized that continuing his association with Adams ,whose ideas were disliked in the South, would be a political mistake. For this reason, when Democrat Andrew Jackson began preparing to offer a challenge Adams in the presidential election of 1828, he switched parties. Calhoun had spent the majority of his political service either away from the two party American system, or he would be at odds with the majority in the party with which he was supposed to be identified. Calhoun changed sides, what is sometimes described as walking across the floor. As a result the Democrats made their vice presidential candidate and went on to win the ensuing election. The issue of slavery gradually came ever more important American politics, and the Southern states found themselves more and more on the defensive. There was large scale investment in agriculture based upon slave labor, and so it was felt that any attack on the concept of slavery was a direct attack on the economy of the Southern minority of states. They saw the Northern states as enjoying increasing political power and representation because of the rapid increase in population in the north. Negative feelings were festering, and would eventually erupt. In 1848 Zachary Taylor, a member of the Whig Party was elected president. Slavery in the states taken from Mexico was an important issue, if not the most important at that time. New Mexico and California were under the rule of military governors but the new president wanted them to join the United States. The situation became even more complicated when the people of those states gave their approval approved to rules forbidding slavery. Calhoun therefore led the faction in Congress which opposed the admission of both California and New Mexico. Calhoun was elected as vice president twice, serving two different administrations. The first of these terms was began in 1824was under the presidency of John Quincey Adams after a very difficult election with many contenders. The election was decided by the Senate and went against the popular vote. In 1832 , when serving once again as vice-president , Calhoun resigned the position after three years in office . He cited his political differences with the then President Andrew Jackson, as he found himself politically isolated from national affairs. He also had a desire serve in the South Carolina senate. He was the first person to resign from the vice-presidency. For the rest of his life, Calhoun continued to defend the southern the slave-plantation system against the free states with their increasing anti-slavery position. In the early 1840s, while serving as secretary of state under the presidency of John Tyler, he was able to bring about the admission of slave state Texas as part of the Union . He was strongly with the south in its longing to hold on to slavery. Rafuse 2002 , went as far as saying that he caused the Civil War. In 1837 he stated :- Let me not be understood as admitting, even by implication, that the existing relations between the two races in the slaveholding States is an evil:--far otherwise; I hold it to be a good, as it has thus far proved itself to be to both, and will continue to prove so if not disturbed by the fell spirit of abolition. I appeal to facts. Never before has the black race of Central Africa, from the dawn of history to the present day, attained a condition so civilized and so improved, not only physically, but morally and intellectually. (quoted by Teaching American History .org 2012 ) His attempts to promote the rights of individual states to decide for themselves about slavery led to the Nullification Crisis of the early 1830s. So important was this idea to him that , even when he was clearly a dying man, he struggled to the platform to make a speech in opposition to the compromise of 1850 (Library of Congress,, Today in History, 2013) which attempted to place limits on states where slavery would be permissible. So weak was he that he needed help to get to his seat, and the speech had to be read not by Calhoun but by a colleague. Despite his weakness it so important to him that he was present through all 42 pages.. The speech was delivered on the 18th of March 1850, and Calhoun was dead before the month was out. Calhoun was known for two political ideas "states' rights" and "nullification,". He used both of these terms when he wanted to support his long term opposition to tariffs on manufacturing and his life-long defence of slavery as a positive thing. He did not live to see the Civil War , but he predicted it:- The day that the balance between two sections of the country-the slaveholding states and the non-slaveholding states is destroyed, is a day that will not be far removed from political revolution, anarchy, civil war, and widespread disaster. ( quoted by Zabarain, undated ) Sometime later, in 1844, President John Tyler appointed Calhoun as the secretary of state, a position he only held for a year. He was elected to the Senate once more in 1845 and continued to serve there until his death in 1850. Politics was his life’s work. Conclusion Although important in his day, Calhoun is all but forgotten today. Few in the 21st century will know who he was, nor would many agree with his political views on some subjects, especially his promotion of slavery. That doesn’t take away from Calhoun’s importance as a catalyst for change in American Society, in particular bringing on the Civil War. The American Civil War did not occur for some years after Calhoun’s death, but the pro-slavery advocates took up Calhoun’s arguments once more about slavery being a positive force, so he might have died, but his political ideas took rather longer to be overcome. Works Cited Coit, M., John C, Calhoun, American Portrait, Boston, Houghton Miffin Company, 1977 John C. Calhoun, biography, bio.truestory,2013, , 28th March 2013 John C. Calhoun, Clemson University, 2013. , 28th March 2013< http://www.clemson.edu/about/history/calhoun-clemson/johnccalhoun.html> Calhoun, J., Slavery a Positive Good, February 6th 1837, Teaching American History 2012, , 28th March 2013 Library of Congress,, Today in History, March 18th , John C. Calhoun, , 28th March 2013 Rahuse, E., John C. Calhoun: He Started the Civil War, Civil War Times, 2002, History. net.com, 28th March 2013 The Age of Jackson, U.S. Pre-Columbian to the New Millenium,2013, 28th March 2013 Ulbrich, H. ,John C. Calhoun, Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography , 2013, 28ht March 2013 United States Senate, John C. Calhoun, 7th Vice President (1825-1832), 2013, , 28th March 2013 University of Virginia, James Monroe 2013, , 28th March 2013 Zabarain, A., Defense of slavery, John C.Colhoun, ( undated ) , 28th March 2013 Read More