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John C. Calhoun (1825-1829)
John Caldwell Calhoun was born March 18, 1782, near Abbeville, South Carolina. He graduated from Yale College in 1804 and was admitted to the South Carolina bar in 1807, setting up a practice in Abbeville. Calhoun was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1808 and then served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democratic-Republican from 1811 to 1817. In the House, Calhoun distinguished himself as one of the 'War Hawks,' who supported President James Madison's efforts to declare war on Britain in the War of 1812.
President James Monroe appointed Calhoun secretary of war, and he served for the entirety of Monroe's two administrations, from 1817 to 1825. As secretary of war, he was considered an able administrator, overseeing a review of the department's operations and accounts. In 1824 election, Calhoun was elected vice president. When no presidential candidate won an electoral majority, the House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams as President. Adams then picked Speaker of the House Henry Clay as his secretary of state. Many people decried this 'corrupt bargain,' alleging that Clay had engineered Adams's election in the House in exchange for his appointment. The 'corrupt bargain' deeply offended Calhoun. Calhoun and Adams also agreed politically on few issues and had a tense relationship, which deteriorated during the administration.
In the election of 1828, Calhoun was reelected as vice president on a ticket with Andrew Jackson. At first Jackson and Calhoun seemed to work together more smoothly but that situation was short lived. They disagreed over policy, specifically the policy of nullification. In response to a tariff that negatively impacted the rural South, Calhoun advocated the idea that the United States was a compact between states and if a state disagreed with federal policy, it could veto any federal act that intruded on state sovereignty. President Jackson vehemently disagreed. Jackson was also upset when he learned that Calhoun, during his tenure as secretary of war, had encouraged President Monroe to censure Jackson after he invaded Spanish Florida in1818.
Calhoun also had a personal falling out with President Jackson over Secretary of War John Eaton and his wife Peggy. Scandalous stories had circulated about Peggy Eaton, whose first husband had died under mysterious circumstances not long before her marriage to Eaton. Rumors circulated that the first husband committed suicide over his wife's dalliance with Eaton. Cabinet wives, including Calhoun's wife Floride, regarded Mrs. Eaton with abhorrence and conspicuously shunned her. In the snubbing of Mrs. Eaton, President Jackson saw the kind of vicious persecution that he believed had hounded his own wife Rachel to her death. Jackson came to blame Calhoun for the shunning of Mrs. Eaton. The President accused Calhoun of treachery, initiating an angry correspondence that ended with the severing of social relations between the two. This situation allowed Martin Van Buren to win favor with President Jackson and replace Calhoun as vice president in the 1832 election.
Calhoun became the first vice president to resign his position in December 1832, and he then served in the U.S. Senate from 1832 to 1843. During his years in the Senate, he moved from being a nationalist to becoming a staunch sectionalist and an outspoken defender of slavery and the South. In 1844, President John Tyler appointed Calhoun secretary of state, and Calhoun served in that position for one year. He was reelected to the Senate in 1845 and served until his death on March 31, 1850.
President James Monroe appointed Calhoun secretary of war, and he served for the entirety of Monroe's two administrations, from 1817 to 1825. As secretary of war, he was considered an able administrator, overseeing a review of the department's operations and accounts. In 1824 election, Calhoun was elected vice president. When no presidential candidate won an electoral majority, the House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams as President. Adams then picked Speaker of the House Henry Clay as his secretary of state. Many people decried this 'corrupt bargain,' alleging that Clay had engineered Adams's election in the House in exchange for his appointment. The 'corrupt bargain' deeply offended Calhoun. Calhoun and Adams also agreed politically on few issues and had a tense relationship, which deteriorated during the administration.
In the election of 1828, Calhoun was reelected as vice president on a ticket with Andrew Jackson. At first Jackson and Calhoun seemed to work together more smoothly but that situation was short lived. They disagreed over policy, specifically the policy of nullification. In response to a tariff that negatively impacted the rural South, Calhoun advocated the idea that the United States was a compact between states and if a state disagreed with federal policy, it could veto any federal act that intruded on state sovereignty. President Jackson vehemently disagreed. Jackson was also upset when he learned that Calhoun, during his tenure as secretary of war, had encouraged President Monroe to censure Jackson after he invaded Spanish Florida in1818.
Calhoun also had a personal falling out with President Jackson over Secretary of War John Eaton and his wife Peggy. Scandalous stories had circulated about Peggy Eaton, whose first husband had died under mysterious circumstances not long before her marriage to Eaton. Rumors circulated that the first husband committed suicide over his wife's dalliance with Eaton. Cabinet wives, including Calhoun's wife Floride, regarded Mrs. Eaton with abhorrence and conspicuously shunned her. In the snubbing of Mrs. Eaton, President Jackson saw the kind of vicious persecution that he believed had hounded his own wife Rachel to her death. Jackson came to blame Calhoun for the shunning of Mrs. Eaton. The President accused Calhoun of treachery, initiating an angry correspondence that ended with the severing of social relations between the two. This situation allowed Martin Van Buren to win favor with President Jackson and replace Calhoun as vice president in the 1832 election.
Calhoun became the first vice president to resign his position in December 1832, and he then served in the U.S. Senate from 1832 to 1843. During his years in the Senate, he moved from being a nationalist to becoming a staunch sectionalist and an outspoken defender of slavery and the South. In 1844, President John Tyler appointed Calhoun secretary of state, and Calhoun served in that position for one year. He was reelected to the Senate in 1845 and served until his death on March 31, 1850.