John Caldwell Calhoun (b. Mar. 18, 1782, Abbeville, S.C.-d. Mar. 31, 1850, Washington, D.C.) was a prominent United States politician in the first half of the 19th century. A pro-slavery advocate, his staunch determination earned him the nickname the "cast-iron man". Calhoun served South Carolina in the United States Senate and also in the House of Representatives, and as Secretary of State, Secretary of War, and the seventh Vice President. His party affiliation was Democratic-Republican. John Calhoun received his bachelor''s degree from Yale in 1804. In 1810 he was elected to Congress, and became one of the War Hawks who, led by Henry Clay, agitated for what became the War of 1812. After the war, he proposed a Bonus Bill for public works. In 1817 he was appointed Secretary of War under James Monroe. After the odd election of 1824, Calhoun became Vice President under John Quincy Adams. He soon broke with Adams and the National Republicans, who seemed to favor northern interests. He also became Andrew Jackson''s running mate in the election of 1828, and again was Vice President. Calhoun had developed a theory of nullification that states (or minorities) could nullify federal legislation, based on the fact that individual states had ratified the Constitution. In this he disagreed with Jackson, who opposed the idea of nullification. This opened a rift between Calhoun and Jackson, which was exacerbated by the Eaton Affair. In 1832, the theory of nullification was put to the test when South Carolina passed an ordinance that claimed to nullify federal tariffs. The "Nullification Crisis" almost degenerated into violence, but coercion by US Navy warships in Charleston averted secession. During the crisis, Jackson said in a famous toast, "Our federal Union-it must and shall be preserved." In Calhoun''s toast, he replied, "Our Union; next to our liberties most dear." The break between Jackson and Calhoun was complete, and Calhoun was not Jackson''s running mate in 1832. On December 28, 1832 he became the first Vice President to resign from office, having accepted election to the United States Senate from his native South Carolina. The Force Bill was proposed by Congress prohibiting states from nullifying federal laws. The Compromise of 1833 settled the matter for a number of years. Calhoun led the pro-slavery faction in the senate in the 1830s and 1840s, opposing both abolitionism, and attempts to limit the expansion of slavery into the western territories. In this, he played a major role in deepening and entrenching the growing divide between the northern and southern states on this issue, wielding the threat of southern secession to back slave-state demands. He was a major advocate of the Fugitive Slave Law, which enforced the co-operation of Free States in returning escaping slaves. Slavery as an issue was also to split both the Methodist and Baptist churches in America along north-south lines, divisions in which Calhoun had a significant influence. In 1844 he was reappointed Secretary of State by John Tyler, and signed the treaty annexing Texas. Calhoun returned to the Senate in 1848 and died in 1850 in Washington, DC. He was buried in St. Phillips Churchyard in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1957, United States Senators honored Calhoun as one of the "five greatest senators of all time", and was later among the "seven greatest" named in 2000 Senate resolution.
From the description of Calhoun, James C. (James Caldwell), 1782-1850 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10679529
