John C. Calhoun twice served as Vice President of the United States, serving one term for John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) and another term for Andrew Jackson (1829-1832).
Early Life
John C. Calhoun was born on March 18th, 1782 near Abbeville, South Carolina. He was an accomplished student who graduated with distinction from Yale College. Thereafter, Calhoun practiced law, but only for a short period of time. Instead, Calhoun pursued a career in politics, which began when he was elected to the South Carolina Legislature in 1808. He then joined the House of Representatives in 1811, where he later served as chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee. In this position, Calhoun was notorious for his role in leading the United States into war against Great Britain in 1812. These efforts came as no surprise since Calhoun was part of the “warhawks,” a group of congressmen who advocated for war against Great Britain. While serving in the House, Calhoun also advocated for protective tariffs and assisted in drafting legislation that would establish the Second Bank of the United States. These efforts stemmed from his desire to ensure that the nation would prosper without the aid of others.
After resigning from the House in 1817, Calhoun served as Secretary of War under the Monroe Administration. He was immensely successful in this role, as he helped reform the nation’s national defense system by reducing the war department’s debt from forty-five million dollars to three million dollars.
Vice Presidency
John C. Calhoun attempted to run for president in the 1824 presidential election. However, he was unsuccessful in his efforts since the South Carolina legislature elected to nominate William Lowndes over Calhoun. Despite this loss, Calhoun was elected to serve as vice president to the winner of the 1824 election, John Quincy Adams.
Calhoun faced many obstacles during both terms of his vice presidency. John Quincy Adams’ victory in the 1824 election sparked controversy, causing a rift between those opposing and supporting him. As Presiding Officer of the Senate, Calhoun sought to achieve balance by appointing officials who supported and opposed Adams to the Senate’s standing committees. These appointments, however, angered many of Adams’ supporters since those opposed to Adams obtained control over important matters. Calhoun also had disputes with both Adams and Jackson during his vice presidency. Calhoun collided with Adams because he opposed the president’s attempts to send delegates to Panama. Calhoun feared that doing so would extend diplomatic relations towards Haiti, which many people opposed. While serving as vice president to Jackson, Calhoun collided with both Jackson and Martin Van Buren, who were close allies. In response to their disagreements, Van Buren removed all of Calhoun’s supporters from Jackson’s cabinet. Calhoun then resigned from vice presidency in December of 1832.
Death
John C. Calhoun died in Washington D.C. on March 31st, 1850. The cause of death was tuberculosis.
