What is the significance of John C. Calhoun?

John C. Calhoun was a very significant individual in the
South and in our country. John C. Calhoun was a young war hawk that got elected to
Congress. He favored going to war with Great Britain in the War of
1812.

He is most known for his views on the protective
tariff, states’ rights, secession, and slavery. Calhoun was very concerned that the
protective tariff was hurting the South while it helped the North. He believed that a
state had a right to nullify a law if it the law hurt the state while it helped another
state. This concept, called nullification, was a key belief of John C.
Calhoun.

John C. Calhoun also believed in the concept of
secession. He said a state could withdraw or leave the Union if a state couldn’t nullify
a law and was being hurt by that law. Calhoun was a big believer in the concept of
states’ rights. He felt the states should have more power than the federal government.
He also was a strong supporter of slavery. He believed there should be slavery in the
South. South Carolina threatened to secede over the tariff and slavery issues. When the
tariff issue was eventually settled, slavery continued to be a key issue. While John C.
Calhoun died in 1850, South Carolina followed through on the idea of secession when the
state eventually seceded after Lincoln won the election of 1860 fearing that slavery
would end in the United States.