Реферат: John C Calhoun Essay Research Paper John

one expected him to act like a candidate. [Bartlett 237] He occasionally gave a

some hints as to his intentions. For instance, he made it a point to join the Irish

Immigrant Society of New York in order to emphasize his pride in being the son

of an Irish immigrant. It pulled great weight with the working class in New York.

[Bartlett 238] He declared his candidacy in 1843 but withdrew to accept

appointment as secretary of state for the last year of John Tyler’s term. [Niven

264] During his service to Tyler, Calhoun wrote a letter to the British minister in

Washington, arguing that annexation was necessary to protect slavery in the U.

S. A. and making it a point to show that freed Negroes are deaf, dumb, blind,

and insane in far higher proportions than those in slavery. This letter didn’t help

his cause in Congress and the first treaty for the annexation of Texas didn’t pass

Congress. [Von Holst 241] In 1844, Texas was admitted into the Union by a

joint resolution of Congress. This kept sectional balance in the union by

enlarging the slavery area of the U. S. A. [Netscape 1]

Calhoun returned to the Senate in 1845, where he first opposed the war

against Mexico and then the Wilmot Proviso, which would have prohibited

slavery in all territories acquired from Mexico by that war. Calhoun called

Mexico the “forbidden fruit.” He knew that if America had a war with Mexico, it

would be fought for all the wrong reasons. [Bartlett 341] During his stay in the

Senate, he was able to secure passage of the Gag Rules, which forbade the

discussion of slavery on the floor of Congress. He denounced the Compromise

of 1850, which did not guarantee the right of Southerners to take their slave into

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all territories of the Union. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to see the

Compromise of 1850 adopted. [Niven 293]

It was his tragedy to become the spokesman for the dying institution of

slavery. [Morris 268] “His fierce defense of the South made him the hero of his

own region. At the same time, it made him hated in the North during this period

when sectional enmity grew increasingly bitter.” [Faber 79]As one author wrote,