(b. March 18, 1782; d. March 31, 1850) Antebellum statesman; served as vice president and secretary of war; strong spokesman for the southern states.

Although best remembered as the leading spokesman for the South in the controversies leading up to the Civil War, John C. Calhoun played a substantial role in the history of American society in relation to many aspects of war. In a national career of forty years, he was U.S. representative and senator, vice president, secretary of war, and secretary of state. Elected representative from South Carolina in 1811, he immediately became one of the leading "War Hawks," the coalition determined to vindicate the honor of the new United States by armed resistance to British insults and depredations. In 1812 Calhoun wrote Congress's declaration of war against England. His support for the war was not merely verbal. He was so active and energetic in legislative support...