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John C. Calhoun Facts & Worksheets

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John Caldwell Calhoun (1782-1850) was an American politician from South Carolina. He was known for his pro-slavery stance and as the defender of the South. The “cast-iron man” served as a Congressman, Secretary of War, Secretary of State, and Vice President. 

For more information on John C. Calhoun read the fact file below or download our comprehensive worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

EARLY AND PERSONAL LIFE

  • John Caldwell Calhoun was born on March 18, 1782, in Abbeville District, South Carolina. He was the fourth child of Patrick Calhoun of Scotch-Irish lineage and Martha Caldwell.
  • His father was an Indian fighter, planter, and politician. As a member of the South Carolina legislature, Patrick Calhoun opposed the ratification of the Constitution, and he believed that a federal Constitution would suppress personal liberties and states’ rights. 
  • At the age of 14, young John took over the management of their farm after his father’s death. He stopped attending formal education and focused on hunting, farming, and fishing for a time. When the academy in Appling, Georgia, reopened, John resumed his studies. 
  • In 1802, his brothers financed his education at Yale College in Connecticut. Yale’s president and a Federalist, Timothy Dwight, became his mentor after many debates regarding the Jeffersonian democratic belief and republicanism. Two years later, he graduated valedictorian and continued his studies at the Tapping Reeve Law School in Litchfield, Connecticut.
  • In 1807, Calhoun was admitted to the South Carolina bar. 
  • On January 11, 1811, John Calhoun married Floride Bonneau Colhoun, with whom he had 10 children. Before his marriage, Calhoun was not religious despite being raised as an orthodox Presbyterian. However, after being married, he and his wife attended the Episcopal Church. By 1821, Calhoun was a founding member of All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington. 

POLITICAL CAREER

  • In 1810, Calhoun’s political career began after being elected to the House of Representatives as South Carolina’s delegate. Along with Henry Clay from Kentucky and William Lowndes of South Carolina, he became one of the leaders of the War Hawks.
  • As a nationalist seeking to preserve American honor, Calhoun’s Committee on Foreign Affairs drafted the report which led to the War of 1812 against Britain. The committee denounced Britain’s “lust for power” and “mad ambition.”
  • On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war on Britain. Calhoun was instrumental in raising the army, funding troops, and regulating commerce. The war ended with the Treaty of Ghent. For the Americans, they won the second war of independence against Britain. 
  • He became President James Monroe’s Secretary of War until 1825. Calhoun proposed national reforms such as infrastructure, the advancement of the navy, the expansion of a standing army, and a system of internal taxation. 
  • In 1824, Calhoun created the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which sought to manage treaty negotiations and trade with Native Americans. Under President James Monroe, Calhoun adopted the plan to relocate eastern Native Americans to western reservations without government interference. As secretary, Calhoun sealed 40 treaties with Native American nations. 
  • In 1818, Calhoun opposed General Andrew Jackson’s initiative invasion of Spanish Florida. In December, the Missouri crisis broke out. Calhoun mentioned to then-Secretary of State John Quincy Adams that if the crisis led to the dissolution of the Union, the South would seek an alliance with the British. 
  • In 1824, Calhoun sought the presidential post and Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and William Crawford. The outcome was that John Quincy Adams won the presidency, while the Electoral College elected Calhoun as vice president. In 1828, Calhoun was re-elected as the Vice President after supporting Andrew Jackson’s presidential bid.
  • As vice president, Calhoun opposed President Adams’ foreign affairs, specifically South and Central American affairs. Moreover, he was also a critic of the administration’s high tariff policies and the centralization of the government. On June 4, 1826, Calhoun wrote Andrew Jackson of his support for the presidential election in 1828. 
  • Calhoun composed the ” South Carolina Exposition and Protest ” out of frustration with President Adams’ “Tariff of Abominations” Calhoun composed the “South Carolina Exposition and Protest” rejecting the tariff system favoring the North. Specifically, it promoted the principle of nullification. 

“…That, in a contest between the State and the General Government, if the resistance be limited on both sides to the civil process, the State, by its inherent sovereignty, standing upon its reserved powers, will prove too powerful in such a controversy, and must triumph over the Federal Government, sustained by its delegates and limited authority…”

An excerpt from Calhoun’s “The South Carolina Exposition and Protest”

  • In 1828, the tandem of Jackson and Calhoun defeated Adams and running mate Richard Rush. 
  • President Jackson supported the states’ rights but opposed secession and nullification. Jackson and Calhoun have never been close, and their relationship further deteriorated due to differing views. 
  • After the Nullification Crisis, he resigned as vice president to become a senator filling in the seat of South Carolina Senator Robert Y. Hayne. 
  • On December 29, 1832, Calhoun took his seat in the Senate. He was affiliated with the Whig Party, and he accused Jackson of being ignorant about financial matters and his capacity to destroy the Bank War. In 1834, Calhoun voted for the censoring of Jackson’s removal of the funds. 
  • By 1837, Calhoun did not support the inauguration of Jackson’s successor, Martin Van Buren, but later cooperated to restore his stature. He endorsed the combat efforts against the Panic of 1837 and promoted the establishment of the Independent Treasury.
  • In 1840, he refused to support the candidacy of Whig William Harrison, who was a supporter of high tariffs. In 1844, after gaining very little support from the South, Calhoun quit his presidential ambition. 
  • By April 10, 1844, Calhoun was appointed as Secretary of State by President John Tyler, who succeeded after President Harrison’s sudden death. On April 22, Calhoun signed the treaty of annexing Texas. Still, when the terms of the negotiations were leaked to the press through the Pakenham letter, the Tyler-Texas treaty became unpopular. On June 8, 1844, the Senate rejected the treaty by a vote of 16-35. 
  • Upon the exposure of proslavery extremism, President Van Buren denounced the annexation of Texas. As a result, his popularity declined in favor of a pro-Texas politician, James K. Polk. With the assurance of Polk’s support of the annexation and opposition to the Tariff of 1842, Calhoun endorsed Polk’s candidacy.
  • He opposed the Mexican-American War during his second term in the Senate in 1845. Calhoun believed that the event would bring non-white people into the US, thus distorting national character. 
  • In 1846, Calhoun also opposed the Wilmot Proviso, which aimed to prohibit slavery in all newly acquired territories. The proviso was passed in the House of Representatives many times but not in the Senate. 
  • In 1850, Calhoun helped organized the Nashville Convention, which discussed Southern secession following the Compromise proposed by Henry Clay and Stephen Douglas. 

LEGACY AND DEATH

  • In Calhoun’s political career, he led the proslavery faction. Like his father, he believed one’s social standing depended on the ownership of enslaved people. For Calhoun, the South had the right to secede from the Union due to Northern subjugation and opposition to slavery. In his speech on February 6, 1837, Calhoun asserted that slavery was a “positive good.”
  • John C. Calhoun died on March 31, 1850, at the age of 68, in Washington D.C due to tuberculosis. His body was interred at St. Philip’s Churchyard in Charleston, South Carolina. 
  • In Uptown, New Orleans, streets were named after the immortal trio: John Calhoun, Daniel Webster, and Henry Clay.
  • In 1957, the Kennedy Committee, composed of future president JFK, Democrats Richard Russell and Mike Mansfield, and Republicans Styles Bridges and John Bricker, chose the “Famous Five” or five former senators to the hall of fame. Out of 65 candidates, the committee hailed Henry Clay of Kentucky, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, Robert Taft of Ohio, and Robert La Follette, Sr. of Wisconsin. 
  • In 2017, in response to years of protests, Yale president Peter Salovey announced the renaming of Calhoun College to Grace Murray Hopper. 
  • In June 2020, his name was removed from the Clemson University Calhoun Honors College in response to the petitions of NFL stars DeAndre Hopkins and Deshaun Watson. Hopkins and Watson are Clemson alumni and supporters of the George Floyd protests. 
  • On June 24, 2020, the long-contested monument of Calhoun in Marion Square in Charleston, South Carolina, was removed. 

John C. Calhoun Worksheets

This bundle contains 11 ready-to-use John C. Calhoun Worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more about John Caldwell Calhoun (1782-1850) who was an American politician from South Carolina. He was known for his pro-slavery stance and as the defender of the South.

Download includes the following worksheets:

  • John C. Calhoun Facts
  • The Cast-iron Man
  • Calhoun Presidents
  • What a Crisis
  • Ticking Clock
  • Out of the Box
  • Calhoun and Slavery
  • Speech Analysis
  • Kennedy’s Hall of Fame
  • Controversies Today
  • Picture Me

Frequently Ask Questions

What was John C. Calhoun’s view on slavery?

John C. Calhoun spent the rest of his life defending states’ rights and slavery. For Calhoun, slavery was a “positive good.”

What is the significance of John C. Calhoun?

Calhoun was a staunch defender of slavery and states’ rights. He supported the nullification and opposed the Compromise of 1850. Calhoun was also known for criticizing high tariffs. 

What was John C. Calhoun’s greatest accomplishment?

As Secretary of War, Calhoun was instrumental in reorganizing and modernization of the navy and army. He secured funds through a system of taxation. 

Why did Calhoun defend slavery?

John C. Calhoun believed that a person’s social standing depended on the number of enslaved people he owned. For Calhoun, the expansion of slavery decreases the possibility of conflict. Moreover, he firmly believed that the institution of slavery was the key to America’s success. For him, slavery is not a “necessary evil” but a “positive good.”

Was there a president Calhoun?

None. John C. Calhoun was only a candidate in the presidential election in 1824, and he served as vice president to John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. 

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