John C. Calhoun Is Born

On March 18, 1782, John C. Calhoun was born near Abbeville, South Carolina.

Calhoun served as a congressman, senator, secretary of war, secretary of state, and vice president of the United States.

A formidable theorist, Calhoun is remembered for his determined defense of the institution of slavery. During the course of his career, he reversed his stand as a nationalist and advocated states' rights as a means of preserving slavery in the South. As a South Carolina senator, Calhoun used the argument of states' rights to protect slavery in what is known as the Nullification Crisis of 1832-1833.

John Caldwell Calhoun (March 18, 1782 – March 31, 1850) was the 7th Vice President of the United States and a leading Southern politician from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun was an advocate of slavery, states' rights, limited government, and nullification.

He was the second man to serve as Vice President under two administrations, (as a Democratic-Republican under John Quincy Adams and as a Democrat under Andrew Jackson), the first Vice President born after the American Revolution and the first Vice President to resign from office.