John C. Calhoun of South Carolina possessed a powerful intelligence. He was a staunch nationalist during the era of the War of 1812 and in fact was one of the "war hawks." He was elected vice president twice under two different presidents but resigned the post over differences with Andrew Jackson. He served in both houses of Congress and held the positions of Secretary of War and Secretary of State.
To keep his home base in South Carolina solid, he had to move in the direction of states' rights, which made him the foremost spokesman of the southern cause, but less and less a viable candidate for president. His critics claimed that no human blood ran in his veins, but he could be powerfully persuasive in the Senate and in various offices which he held. A staunch defender of Southern interests, he argued eloquently for the rights of slave-owners, whom he saw as under attack from abolitionist groups in the North.
Note: The careers of Calhoun, Clay and Webster were so Intertwined that they became known as the "Great Triumvirate." All three men had great power and influence, though none became president.43
Additional figures include William H. Crawford of Georgia, the great manipulator and states Tighter, whose stroke in 1824 took him out of the presidential race; Thomas Hart Benton, a colorful expansionist who supported homestead legislation and internal improvements, but who vehemently opposed all banks—he was the champion of small western farmers; William Henry Harrison, winner of the Battle of Tippecanoe; elected president in 1840 he served only 30 days as he died from complications from pneumonia, allegedly contracted during his inaugural speech (at two hours, the longest inaugural address ever); and John Tyler of Virginia, a one-time Democrat who broke with Jackson over states' rights and was the first vice president to succeed to the White House (on the death of Harrison.)
World History
