ATUARY .. [ALL 
 
 : v/. . ; , 
 
 OF REPRESENTATIVES 
 
 IFTiON, AND 
 
 OF SOUTH CAROLINA 
 
 '* ATUE OF 
 
 DN. JOHN C. CALHOUN 
 
 MARCH 12. 1910

 
 JJotpt G 
 
 ERECTED IN STATUARY HALL 
 
 OF THE CAPITOL AT 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN STATUARY HALL AND 
 IN THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF 
 REPRESENTATIVES ON THE OCCASION 
 OF THE UNVEILING. RECEPTION, AND 
 ACCEPTANCE OF THE STATUE FROM 
 THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA 
 
 COMPILED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE 
 JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
 1910
 
 CONCURRENT RESOLUTION. 
 
 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring}, That 
 there be printed and bound the proceedings in Congress, together with 
 the proceedings at the unveiling in Statuary Hall, upon the acceptance 
 of the statue of John C. Calhoun, presented by the State of South Caro- 
 lina, sixteen thousand five hundred copies, of which five thousand shall be 
 for the use of the Senate and ten thousand for the use of the House of 
 Representatives, and the remaining one thousand five hundred copies shall 
 be for the use and distribution of the Senators and Representatives in 
 Congress from the State of South Carolina. 
 
 The Joint Committee on Printing is hereby authorized to have the copy 
 prepared for the Public Printer, who shall procure suitable copper-process 
 plates to be bound with these proceedings. 
 
 Passed March 24, 1910. 
 2
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 Ceremonies in Statuary Hall 7 
 
 Prayer by Rev. James H. Tavlor 7 
 
 Address by Governor M. F. Ansel 8 
 
 Address by Hon. W. L. Mauldin 1 1 
 
 History of movement for erection of statue 19 
 
 Proceedings in the Senate 23 
 
 Prayer by Rev. Ulysses G. B. Pierce 23 
 
 Governor's letter of presentation of statue 24 
 
 Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts . . . . : 27 
 
 Address of Mr. Smith, of South Carolina 47 
 
 Proceedings in the House 57 
 
 Address of Mr. Johnson, of South Carolina 59 
 
 Address of Mr. McCall, of Massachusetts 65 
 
 Address of Mr. Lever, of South Carolina 75 
 
 Address of Mr. Ellerbe, of South Carolina 85 
 
 Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 89 
 
 Address of Mr. Aiken, of South Carolina 99 
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 121 
 
 206752*
 
 of 
 of 
 Joljn (L OIall|ott
 
 CEREMONIES IN STATUARY HALL 
 
 MARCH 12, 1910. 
 
 The exercises took place at n o'clock a. m., and were 
 presided over by Governor M. F. Ansel, of South Carolina. 
 
 Prayer by Rev. James H. Taylor, Pastor of the Central 
 Presbyterian Church, Washington, D. C. 
 
 O God, Our Father in Heaven, who hast so greatly blessed 
 our country and hast preserved our land and institutions 
 through so many years, we thank Thee for Thy mercies and 
 offer our gratitude for Thy providence. We thank Thee 
 for the men who have borne so large a part in the history of 
 our nation, these choice spirits and heroic souls who have put 
 into the nation's life and thought ideals of truth and honor 
 and virtue which have borne fruit a hundredfold to succeeding 
 generations. We thank Thee for their loyalty to truth, their 
 allegiance to conviction, their devotion to honor, their sacrifice 
 for the public good, and their fidelity to public service and 
 private duty. 
 
 As we review the lives of these great men, may there come 
 to us the inspiration of their example, urging us to give to the 
 demands of our country the very best of service and honor 
 and love. May the standards for which they strove be ours 
 also, and may we never count ourselves to have attained. 
 May the fire which glowed in their hearts burn in ours also, and 
 may we never let this fire go out. Help us, O God, to serve 
 our nation gladly, to love our land sincerely, and to honor 
 Thee supremely.
 
 8 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 As we contemplate the life of this rare man, endowed with 
 most unusual gifts of mind and spirit, who towered above 
 his fellows, may we be inspired to higher ideals and nobler 
 service. We thank Thee for the heritage of his life, for the 
 inspiration of his service to the state and to the people. 
 
 May the image of this man cut in stone, standing in full view 
 of the nation, be to all who gaze upon it an invitation to a life 
 in the service of honor and duty. May the invincible spirit 
 of this heroic soul kindle in us a like power and heroism, and 
 may he, being dead, yet speak to us of things lovely and of 
 good report. So may we, when life is finished, leave behind 
 us, as he has done, the memory of faithful service and an 
 unsullied name. 
 
 All our thanks we offer Thee through Christ the Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 Address of Governor M. F. Ansel 
 
 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : The Congress of the United States 
 in the year 1864 passed an act which has been embodied in the 
 Revised Statutes of the United States as section 1814, which 
 reads as follows : 
 
 The President is authorized to invite all the States to provide and 
 furnish statues, in marble or bronze, not exceeding two in number for each 
 State, of deceased .persons who have been citizens thereof and illustrious 
 for their historic renown or for distinguished civic or military services, 
 such as each State may deem to be worthy of this national commemora- 
 tion; and when so furnished the same shall be placed in the old Hall of 
 the House of Representatives, in the Capitol of the United States, which 
 is set apart, or so much thereof as may be necessary, as a national Statuary 
 Hall for the purpose herein indicated. 
 
 In obedience to this invitation on the part of the President 
 of the United States, the legislature of the State of South 
 Carolina made an appropriation for the purpose of having 
 erected a statue of one of her greatest citizens and statesmen,
 
 Ceremonies in Statuary Hall 
 
 JOHN C. CALHOUN, and a commission was appointed to carry 
 out the purpose of the appropriation. A commission, consist- 
 ing of Hon. W. L. Mauldin, Hon. J. A. Banks, Mrs. R. Moultrie 
 Bratton, state regent of the Daughters of the American Revo- 
 lution, and Miss Maggie A. Gist, keeper of the records of King's 
 Mountain Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolu- 
 tion, was appointed to carry out the provisions of the act of 
 the legislature, and we are here to-day for the purpose of 
 unveiling the statue and of presenting it to the people of the 
 United States of America. 
 
 JOHN C. CALHOUN was one of the greatest men this country 
 has produced. He was born in the county of Abbeville, in the 
 State of South Carolina, on the i8th of March, 1782, and died 
 on the 3ist day of March, 1850. He was of Scotch-Irish 
 descent, and was twice Vice- President of the United States. 
 In 1811 he was elected to Congress and sat m the very hall in 
 which we are now standing, where his voice was first heard in 
 the counsels of the Nation. It is a coincidence thaj: the statue 
 of him now stands facing that of one of his colleagues while a 
 member of the United States Senate, to wit, that of Daniel 
 Webster, of Massachusetts. CALHOUN, Clay, and Webster are 
 three of the great lights who did valiant service for the United 
 States of America. In March, 1817, JOHN C. CALHOUN became 
 a member of President Monroe's Cabinet, having been appointed 
 Secretary of War. He showed great ability in the administra- 
 tion of that department of the Government, which at that 
 time was in the utmost disorder. In 1824 he was first elected 
 Vice-President of the United States and reelected in 1828. 
 He resigned as Vice-President and was elected United States 
 Senator from the State of South Carolina. He declined reelec- 
 tion to the United States Senate in 1843, and in March, 1844, 
 was appointed Secretary of State. In 1845 he was again in
 
 io Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 the Senate from South Carolina and there remained until his 
 death, in 1850. His name and his fame are world- wide and the 
 great work he did for this Nation is known to all readers of 
 history. 
 
 It is fit and proper that a statue of this great and good 
 man should adorn Statuary Hall, and I am proud to know that 
 the State of South Carolina has honored herself by placing this 
 statue within these walls. It is not my purpose, however, to 
 make an address on this occasion. 
 
 The Daughters of the American Revolution in South Caro- 
 lina have taken great interest in the erection of this statue, 
 and honor should be given to them for first inaugurating the 
 movement which led to the appropriation being made, and 
 they have worked faithfully until the present day. 
 
 It is now my great pleasure to present Mrs. R. Moultrie 
 Bratton, state regent of the Daughters of the American Revo- 
 lution of South Carolina, and Miss Maggie A. Gist, keeper of 
 the records ^of King's Mountain Chapter, to whom more than 
 any one else credit should be given for inaugurating the plans 
 for the erection of this statue and who will unveil the same. 
 
 The statue of JOHN C. CALHOUN was then, amid great ap- 
 plause, unveiled by Mrs. R. Moultrie Bratton and Miss Maggie 
 A. Gist. 
 
 After the unveiling of the statue, the Governor, in a few 
 remarks, introduced the Hon. W. L. Mauldin, of South Caro- 
 lina, a member of the commission, as the orator of the day. 
 Mr. Mauldin was received with loud applause and delivered the 
 following address :
 
 Ceremonies in Statuary Hall n 
 
 Address of Hon. W. L. Mauldin 
 
 Mr. CHAIRMAN, LADIES, AND GENTLEMEN: The accredited 
 representatives of the State of South Carolina stand here to-day, 
 in this presence, to pay a long-deserved and well-merited tribute 
 to her great Senator and illustrious citizen. The magic touch 
 of the gifted sculptor has transmuted from the cold and silent 
 marble an almost speaking image of his great subject. It is 
 proper to say that the culmination of this statue is due in a 
 large measure to the ardent and insistent work of the Daughters 
 of the American Revolution. Their patriotic work inspired the 
 purposes of their countrymen. JOHN CALDWEIX CALHOUN was 
 born in Abbeville district, South Carolina, March 18, 1782. 
 After receiving the best advantages possible in the country 
 schools of the then sparsely settled neighborhood, he entered 
 Yale College and graduated therefrom with decided merit. 
 After a short service in the general assembly of his own State, 
 he entered the lower House of the Federal Congress in the year 
 1810; two years later he was found at the head of the impor- 
 tant Committee on Foreign Relations. Serious disagreements 
 were then existing with Great Britain and he eagerly espoused 
 the war feeling of his own country. He introduced a resolu- 
 tion declaring war against the mother country and was success- 
 ful in having it adopted. The satisfactory result of the war 
 that followed added renown to the glory of our land and estab- 
 lished the proper rights of American seamen for all time. In 
 i "8 1 7 he entered upon the discharge of the duties of Secretary 
 of War, and so well did he perform the responsible obligations 
 of that position that General Bertrand, a distinguished French 
 officer who had served under Napoleon, likened him, in his 
 administrative ability, to his great master. In 1825 he became 
 Vice-President, to which position he was again chosen four
 
 12 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 years later. Irreconcilable differences arose between himself 
 and President Jefferson, causing him to resign, whereupon he 
 was elected to the United States Senate. It is a coincidence 
 that the offices of President and Vice-President should have 
 been occupied at the same time by two citizens who were born 
 on the soil of South Carolina, who were descended from the 
 same foundation stock, and who both rendered able and dis- 
 tinguished services to their common country. In 1843 he 
 resigned his seat in the Senate and sought the repose of a quiet 
 life, but in 1844 he was called to the position of Secretary of 
 State, where his great ability was again plainly manifested. 
 Again, in 1846, he obeyed the call of his State and was returned 
 to the Senate, where he remained until his death, in Washing- 
 ton, on March 29, 1850. Thus he served his country almost 
 continuously for a period of nearly forty years, in perhaps the 
 most momentous period of her constructive history. The 
 student of history will draw valuable lessons from Mr. CAI,- 
 HOUN'S public and private life. His life was marked by serious, 
 sincere convictions of his public responsibilities. He was in no 
 sense of the word a timeserver. His hold upon the people of 
 his own State was not obtained by personal clamor or by any 
 ordinary political methods. He led public thought by logical 
 appeals to reason and by the purity and honesty of his pub- 
 lic and private life. In all his public acts he was above 
 reproach and no whisper of improper motives or selfish ambition 
 ever touched his name or fame. The intensity of his nature 
 often caused misrepresentation, and by many who thought, or 
 affected to think, that he favored a dissolution, of the Union, 
 but such was not the case. He was an ardent lover of the Union 
 and its institutions, only pleading in his manly and outspoken 
 way for a strict observance and just interpretation of the con- 
 stitutional and binding obligations of our federal compact. His
 
 Ceremonies in Statuary Hall 13 
 
 whole life was spent in the service of his country. His prophetic 
 soul was alarmed at what he believed was the coming and dire- 
 ful aggressions that would sorely distress the South he loved so 
 well. All great men are subjected to the evil forces of envy, 
 jealousy, and misrepresentation. Oftentimes this is a tribute 
 which is unwittingly paid to the great, the pure, and the just. 
 Washington, Jefferson, Buchanan, Lincoln, and McKinley had 
 a like experience. Mr. CALHOUN was plain in manner, some 
 thought too austere, but to those who came in close contact 
 with him his personality was most charming and engaging. He 
 coveted no title and was known to all his neighbors and friends 
 as "Mr. CALHOUN." The South has been criticised with being 
 over fond of titles, and perhaps this more or less applies and 
 is largely for home use. It can be fairly said that our people 
 in the South have not so far acquired the mania for foreign titles 
 that are often obtained for value received and result in grievous 
 disappointments. Mr. CALHOUN represented the highest aspira- 
 tions of his people, and while there was a strong and respectable 
 minority in his own State that differed with him in a strict in- 
 terpretation of the sovereign rights of the States there were none 
 who doubted his disinterested motives or questioned the recti- 
 tude of his conduct. Mr. CALHOUN 's forbears were of that mili- 
 tant Scotch race who early settled in upper South Carolina and 
 contributed so largely to the cause of the colonial rebellion 
 against the mother country. They were active participators in 
 the struggle for freedom, and while the colony of South Carolina 
 had no special grievance against the mother country she lent a 
 willing ear to the far cry of her New England brethren and cast 
 her lot with those not so well favored. Naturally Mr. CALHOUN 
 inherited the love for freedom and the rights of his people. He 
 seemed to foresee, with almost prophetic vision, the danger to 
 the special institutions of the South. Slavery, which had
 
 14 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 proven unprofitable, was gradually being abandoned in the 
 Northern States, and the effort to abolish it throughout the 
 Union was being fiercely urged by an intense abolition element. 
 It seems plain now, after the lapse of many years, that slavery 
 must disappear as an institution. The result of a mighty and 
 frightful war between the two sections settled that question 
 for all time to come. The South does not lament it. She feels 
 that she has been liberated from a responsibility that was vast 
 and heavy. Slavery was established in this country through 
 the greed of the English Kings, supplemented by the shipowners 
 of our own land. Perhaps now the thoughtful people of our 
 own country can read in the record that the negro was brought 
 to this land through the instrumentality of an all-wise Provi- 
 dence. The South has a great problem to solve, and no man 
 can now foresee the issue. Slavery was largely a measure of 
 involuntary servitude, and the relations that existed between 
 the master and slave were greatly of a patriarchal nature, and 
 this condition humanized and fitted the negro for duties which 
 he is to assume in later life. The act of Congress which imme- 
 diately after the manumission of the negro declared him com- 
 petent to perform the duties of an American citizen was a con- 
 scious or unconscious tribute to the beneficial influences of the 
 institution of slavery to this race of people. 
 
 The South has long ago accepted fully the results of the 
 war, and while she is given a problem to solve, greater than 
 has been given to any people in all modern history, she accepts 
 it without fear and is not dismayed. She realizes that great 
 people are alone given great issues to decide. The negro 
 having been faithful- to his owners during the civil war, will 
 be treated by them in a humane and Christian way, and every 
 opportunity will be given them to improve their human con- 
 dition. It is realized that the two races can not be made
 
 Ceremonies in Statuary Hall 15 
 
 socially or politically equal in this country, and the highest 
 thought of Southern people will be directed to the effort to 
 preserve the purity and superiority of the white race. Mr. 
 CALHOUN'S character and life work for his country will stand 
 forth with greater sublimity the more closely it is scrutinized. 
 The Scotch race, from which he sprang, has contributed most 
 greatly to the history of this country. Their intelligence, 
 activity, and aggression has made itself evident in every land 
 and in every clime. They are tenacious of their opinions and 
 lovers of personal liberty. Andrew Jackson and JOHN C. 
 CALHOUN were both descended from this race of people. Alike 
 in many characteristics, yet there were vast differences between 
 the two men. Jackson's mind had very little intellectual train- 
 ing, and it was but natural that they should differ as to the 
 limitations at law. Jackson was imperious in his nature, and 
 did not have that apparent regard for lawful restrictions that 
 preeminently characterized Mr. CALHOUN'S nature. They were 
 both great men, and both rendered at nearly the same time 
 in the history of their country most valuable services. It 
 would be fair to say that during the time of Mr. CALHOUN'S 
 political control of his State that there was a large and intelli- 
 gent element that opposed his doctrines. In the early his- 
 tory of his State a large colony of Irish Quakers attracted by 
 the salubrity of the climate and the fertility of the soil, estab- 
 lished themselves near Newberry, S. C. There they grew and 
 prospered greatly, but gradually becoming dissatisfied with 
 the institution of slavery, they finally disposed of their pos- 
 sessions and moved to Ohio. A few families remained. There 
 was born from one of these families, shortly after Mr. CAL- 
 HOUN'S birth, a child who was named John Belton O'Neall, 
 who afterwards became the distinguished chief justice of the 
 State. Judge O'Neall was perhaps the greatest law judge
 
 16 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 the State ever had, and was regarded everywhere for his great 
 learning and high character. He was an ardent Union man 
 and differed with Mr. CALHOUN in politics all his life, but yet 
 in that most valuable book, O'Neall's Bench and Bar, which 
 he contributed to the history of his State, he pays the highest 
 testimonial to Mr. CALHOUN, after his death. Judge O'Neall 
 was an ardent lover of his State and cherished her sovereign 
 rights, but in my opinion would have been willing to give up 
 his slaves rather than see the Union dissolved. While owning 
 a large number of slaves he had conscientious scruples as to 
 the rightfulness and righteousness of slavery, and regarded 
 them more in a condition of servitude than of absolute slavery. 
 In an address that Judge O'Neall delivered after Mr. CAL- 
 HOUN 's death, he said he 
 
 could almost behold the great leader of South Carolina, in all her political 
 warfare, holding the Constitution of the United States high above his 
 head, point to its violated pages, and hear him in indignant honesty speak 
 a people's wrongs with all the brilliancy and clearness of Fox, and the 
 deep and graceful reasoning of Burke. Honesty, morality, genius, love of 
 country, and devoted service for forty years entitle him to the universal 
 love of his countrymen. The deference which men of all classes pay to 
 great abilities and incorruptible integrity is a tribute due to a sense of the 
 immortality of the soul and to the eminent superiority of virtue. Envy, 
 itself, which always accompanies the steps of the good man and detracts 
 from his fame and misconstrues his motives, worn out in the contest, 
 perishes on his grave. 
 
 The work of this commission is accomplished. In honoring 
 Calhoun's memory the State feels that she has honored herself, 
 and that she has also honored this Union of coequal States. 
 On another occasion abler voices will speak of Mr. Calhoun's 
 wonderful work and of, his patriotic services to our common 
 country. Across this hall stands also the effigy of the mighty 
 Webster, of Massachusetts. In life they faced each other in
 
 Ceremonies in Statuary Hall 17 
 
 many intellectual combats with equal respect and regard for 
 each other. Their lives and services are carved in the history 
 of their country, and are alike imperishable. Their names 
 and fame belong to history, and is a valuable heritage of an 
 imperishable union of imperishable States. 
 
 After the address delivered by Mr. Mauldin, the Governor 
 arose and thanked the very large and intelligent audience, 
 which was composed of many United States Senators, Members 
 of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of War, repre- 
 sentatives of the National Daughters of the American Revo- 
 lution, and many other distinguished persons, for honoring the 
 State by their presence on this occasion. He stated that it 
 was his pleasure to announce that two of the grandsons of 
 JOHN C. CALHOUN, to wit, Mr. John C. Calhoun, of New York, 
 and Mr. Patrick Calhoun, of California, were present, as well 
 as six of the great grandchildren and many other relatives of 
 this great man. 
 
 They were all invited to attend the exercises of acceptance 
 of the statue by the Senate of the United States and by the 
 House of Representatives. This ended the exercises on the 
 part of the State. 
 
 43796 10 2
 
 HISTORY OF MOVEMENT FOR ERECTION OF 
 THE STATUE 
 
 j< 
 
 At the January meeting, 1906, of the Kings Mountain Chapter 
 Daughters of the American Revolution, Yorkville, S. C., Miss 
 Margaret A. Gist, historian of the chapter, proposed that this 
 chapter should inaugurate a movement in the State to secure 
 the placing of the statute of JOHN C. CALHOUN in the Statuary 
 Hall of the Capitol at Washington. The chapter unanimously 
 and enthusiastically agreed to undertake the work. Plans were 
 formulated and the work was begun immediately. The Daugh- 
 ters gave freely of their means, time, and ability. The success 
 of the work, and the splendid executive ability of the regent, 
 Mrs. W. B. Moore, was a large factor in its accomplishment. 
 
 Hon. J. Steele Brice, State senator from York County, and 
 Hon. J. H. Saye gave the Daughters their cordial cooperation 
 and warm words of encouragement. Gov. D. C. Heyward urged 
 the legislature, in his last message, to make the appropriation 
 asked for, and Governor-elect Ansel also strongly recommended 
 it in his inaugural address. The bill was introduced in the 
 'house of 1907 by Hon. J. H. Saye, representative from York 
 County. It was passed without a dissenting vote. Senator 
 Brice introduced it in the senate, and it was there passed unani- 
 mously. Great credit should be given to these gentlemen for 
 the successful passage of the bill through the general assembly. 
 In appointing the JOHN C. CALHOUN Statue Commission, 
 Governor Ansel recognized the work of the Daughters of the 
 
 19
 
 20 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 American Revolution by appointing two of them Miss Margaret 
 A. Gist, historian of Kings Mountain Chapter, and Mrs. R. 
 Moultrie Bratton, State regent of the Daughters of the American 
 Revolution of South Carolina, members of the commission. 
 This is the first time a woman was ever placed on a commission 
 by the State of South Carolina. It is but just to state that 
 the Daughters could not have successfully carried through the 
 work without the cooperation of the United Daughters of the 
 Confederacy organization and that of the womens clubs of South 
 Carolina.
 
 An* pianr? of 
 of 
 ffl.
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE 
 
 JANUARY 12, 1910. 
 
 Mr. TILLMAN. I submit a concurrent resolution, and ask 
 that it be read and lie on the table subject to call. 
 
 The PRESIDING OFFICER. The concurrent resolution will be 
 read. 
 
 The Secretary read the concurrent resolution (S. C. Res. 20), 
 as follows : 
 
 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring}, That 
 the statue of JOHN C. CALHOUN, presented by the State of South Carolina, 
 to be placed in Statuary Hall, is accepted in the name of the United States, 
 and that the thanks of Congress be tendered to the State for the contribu- 
 tion of the statue of one of its most eminent citizens, illustrious for the 
 purity of his life and his distinguished services to the State and Nation 
 
 Second. That a copy of these resolutions, suitably engrossed and duly 
 authenticated, be transmitted to the governor of the State of South 
 Carolina. 
 
 The PRESIDING OFFICER. The concurrent resolution will 
 lie on the table, subject to call, at the request of the Senator 
 from South Carolina. 
 
 MARCH 12, 1910. 
 
 The Chaplain, Rev. Ulysses G. B. Pierce, D. D., offered the 
 following prayer: 
 
 Glory, honor, and praise we render unto Thee, Our Father, 
 for all Thy wondrous works toward the children of men. We 
 thank Thee that Thou hast so loved us that Thou hast provided 
 that Thy spirit of wisdom shall in all ages enter into faithful 
 souls, making them Thy friends and leaders of the people. 
 Grant, Our Father, that the memory of such may be ever in the 
 
 23
 
 24 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 imagination, the thoughts, and the hearts of this people, Chat 
 we may incline our minds unto Thee and keep Thy command- 
 ments forever. And unto Thee, from whom cometh all glory, 
 we render all praise; now and forever more. Amen. 
 
 Mr. SMITH, of South Carolina. Mr. President, I beg leave to 
 submit to the Senate the communication which I send to the 
 desk. 
 
 The VICE-PRESIDENT. The Senator from South Carolina 
 presents to the Senate a communication, which the Secretary 
 will read. 
 
 The Secretary read the communication as follows: 
 
 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 
 
 EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, 
 Columbia, March 12, 1910. 
 To the Honorable the Senate and House of . 
 
 Representatives of the United States, Washington, D. C.: 
 It gives me great pleasure, as governor of the State of South Carolina, 
 to present to the Congress of the United States a marble statue of JOHN 
 C. CALHOUN, a native of South Carolina, and one whose name is honored 
 wherever known. 
 
 JOHN C. CALHOUN was one of the greatest men that this country has 
 produced, and a statesman of renown who has left his impress upon this 
 Nation, and whose name is indelibly inscribed upon the pages of history, 
 both national and state. 
 
 The State of South Carolina begs now to present through me, as her 
 governor, to the Congress of the United States, as the representative of 
 the people of the United States, this beautiful statue of a great and 
 good man. 
 
 Respectfully, M.'F. ANSEL, 
 
 Governor of South Carolina. 
 
 The VICE-PRESIDENT. The communication will lie on the 
 table. 
 
 Mr. SMITH of South Carolina. Mr. President, I call up, in 
 the absence of my colleague [Mr. Tillman], who is -detained
 
 Proceedings in the Senate 25 
 
 from the Senate on account of illness, Senate concurrent reso- 
 lution No. 20, submitted by him on the i2th of January, and 
 I ask for its adoption. 
 
 The concurrent resolution was read, considered by unani- 
 mous consent, and agreed to, as follows: 
 
 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That 
 the statue of JOHN C. CALHOUN, presented by the State of South Carolina 
 to be placed in Statuary Hall, is accepted in the name of the United States, 
 and that the thanks of Congress be tendered to the State for the contribu- 
 tion of the statue of one of its most eminent citizens, illustrious for the 
 purity of his life and his distinguished services to the State and Nation. 
 
 Second. That a copy of these resolutions, suitably engrossed and duly 
 authenticated, be transmitted to the governor of the State of South 
 Carolina.
 
 Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 
 j* 
 
 Mr. PRESIDENT: When the senior Senator from South Caro- 
 lina [Mr. Tillman], whose illness we all deplore, did me the honor 
 to ask me to take part in the ceremonies connected with the 
 reception of the statue of Mr. CALHOUN I was very much gratified 
 by his request. In the years which preceded the civil war 
 South Carolina and Massachusetts represented more strongly, 
 more extremely, perhaps, than any other States the opposing 
 principles which were then in conflict. Now, when that period 
 has drifted back into the quiet waters of history it seems par- 
 ticularly appropriate that Massachusetts should share in the 
 recognition which we give to-day to the memory of the great 
 Senator from South Carolina. If I may be pardoned a personal 
 word, it seems also fitting that I should have the privilege of 
 speaking upon this occasion, for my own family were friends and 
 followers in successive generations of Hamilton and Webster 
 and Sumner. I was brought up in the doctrines and beliefs of 
 the great Federalist, the great Whig, and the great Republican. 
 It seems to me, I repeat, not unfitting that one so brought up 
 should have the opportunity to speak here when we commemo- 
 rate the distinguished statesman who, during the last twenty- 
 five years of his life, represented with unrivaled ability those 
 theories of government to which Hamilton, Webster, and 
 Sumner were all opposed. 
 
 From 1787 to 1865 the real history of the United States is to 
 be found in the struggle between the forces of separatism and 
 those of nationalism. Other issues and other questions during 
 that period rose and fell, absorbed the attention of the country, 
 
 27
 
 28 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 and passed out of sight, but the conflict between the nationalist 
 spirit and the separatist spirit never ceased. There might be 
 a lull in the battle, public interest might turn, as it frequently 
 did, to other questions, but the deep-rooted, underlying contest 
 was always there, and finally took possession of every passion 
 and every thought, until it culminated at last in the dread 
 arbitrament of arms. The development of the United States 
 as a nation, in contradistinction to a league of states, falls 
 naturally into four divisions. The first is covered by the 
 administrations of Washington and Adams, when the Govern- 
 ment was founded by Washington and organized by Hamilton, 
 and when the broad lines of the policies by which its conduct 
 was to be regulated were laid down. When Washington died, 
 the work of developing the national power passed into the hands 
 of another great Virginian, John Marshall, who, in the cool 
 retirement of the Supreme Court for thirty years, steadily and 
 surely, but almost unnoticed at the moment, converted the Con- 
 stitution from an experiment in government, tottering upon the 
 edge of the precipice which had engulfed the Confederation, 
 into the charter of a nation. While he was engaged upon this 
 work, to which he brought not only the genius of the lawyer and 
 the jurist, but of the statesman as well, another movement went 
 on outside the court room, which stimulated the national life to 
 a degree only realized in after years, when men began to study 
 the history of the time. 
 
 By the Revolution we had separated ourselves from England 
 and established nominally our political independence. But that 
 political independence was only nominal. The colonial spirit 
 still prevailed. During the two hundred years of colonial life 
 our fortunes had been determined by events in Europe. It was 
 no mere metaphor which Pitt employed when he said he would 
 "conquer America upon the plains of Germany," and the idea
 
 Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 29 
 
 embodied in the words of the Great Commoner clung to us even 
 after the adoption of the Constitution, for habits of thought, im- 
 palpable as air, are very slow to change. The colonial spirit re- 
 sisted Washington's neutrality policy when the French Revolu- 
 tion broke out, and as the years passed was still strong enough 
 to hamper all our movements and force us to drift helplessly 
 upon the stormy seas of the Napoleonic wars. The result was 
 that we were, treated by France on one side and by England on 
 the other in a manner which fills an American's heart with indig- 
 nation and with shame even to read of it a hundred years after- 
 wards. And then in those days of humiliation there arose a 
 group of young men, chiefly from the South and West, who made 
 up their minds that this condition was unbearable; that they 
 would assert the independence of the United States; that they 
 would secure to her due recognition among the nations; and 
 that rather than have the shameful conditions which then ex- 
 isted continue they would fight. They did not care much with 
 whom they fought, but they intended to vindicate the right of 
 the United States to live as a respected and self-respecting in- 
 dependent nation. Animated by this spirit, they plunged the 
 country into war with England. 
 
 They did not stop to make proper preparations; their legis- 
 lation was often as violent as it was ineffective; the war was 
 not a success on land, and was redeemed only by the victory 
 at New Orleans and by the brilliant fighting of our little navy. 
 On the face of the treaty of Ghent it did not appear that we 
 had gained a single one of the points for which we went to war, 
 and yet the war party had really achieved a complete triumph. 
 Through their determination to fight at any cost we were recog- 
 nized at last as an independent nation, and, what was far more 
 important, we had forever destroyed the colonial idea that the 
 politics and the peace of the United States were to veer hither
 
 30 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 and thither at the bidding of every breeze which blew from 
 Europe. Such work could not have been done without a vigor- 
 ous growth of the national spirit and of the national power, 
 and the group of brilliant men who brought on the war were 
 entirely conscious that in carrying out their policy they were 
 stimulating the national the American spirit to which they 
 appealed. Chief among the leaders of that group of young 
 men who were responsible for the origin and conduct of the 
 war of 1812 was JOHN C. CALHOUN. 
 
 As the war, with its influences and results, sank back into 
 the past, domestic questions took possession of the field, and the 
 conflict between the separatist and national forces which had 
 been temporarily obscured forged again to the front, but under 
 deeply altered conditions. When John Marshall died in 1835, 
 his great work done, the cause which he had so long sustained 
 had already entered upon its third period the period of debate 
 and the task which had fallen from the failing hands of the great 
 Chief Justice was taken up in another field by Daniel Webster, 
 who for twenty years stood forth as the champion of the propo- 
 sition not that the Constitution could make a nation, but that, 
 as a matter of fact, it had made a nation. Against, him was 
 CALHOUN, and between the two was Henry Clay. The twenty 
 years of debate which then ensued are known familiarly as the 
 days of Clay, Webster, and CALHOUN. The names of the Presi- 
 dents who occupied the White House during most of that time 
 have faded, and the era of debate in the history of the parlia- 
 mentary struggle between the national and the separatist prin- 
 ciples is not associated with them but with the great Senators 
 who made it illustrious. As the century passed its zenith all 
 three died, closely associated in death as they had been in 
 life. The compromise which Clay and Webster defended and 
 of which CALHOUN despaired was quickly wrecked in the years
 
 Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 31 
 
 which followed, and then came war and the completion of the 
 work begun by Washington, through the life and death of 
 Abraham Lincoln and the sacrifices and the tragedy of four 
 years of civil war. 
 
 To have been, as CALHOUN was, for forty years a chief figure 
 in that period of conflict and development first a leader among 
 the able men who asserted the reality of the national inde- 
 pendence and established the place of the United States among 
 the nations of the earth, and afterwards the undisputed chief of 
 those who barred the path of the national movement implies a 
 man of extraordinary powers both of mind and character. He 
 merits not only the high consideration which history accords, but 
 it is also well that we should honor his memory here, and, turn- 
 ing aside from affairs of the moment, should recall him and his 
 work that we may understand what he was and what he meant. 
 He was preeminently a strong man, and strong men, leaders of 
 mankind, who shape public thought and decide public action are 
 very apt to exhibit in a high degree the qualities of the race 
 from which they spring. CALHOUN came of a vigorous race 
 and displayed the attributes, both moral and intellectual, which 
 mark that race, with unusual vividness and force. On both 
 sides he was of Scotch descent. His name is a variant of the 
 distinguished Scotch name Colquhoun. It was a place name, 
 assumed at the beginning of the thirteenth century, when they 
 came into possession of certain lands, by the noble family which 
 was destined to bear it for many generations. Judged by the 
 history of the knights who in long succession held the estates 
 and the title, the Colquhouns or Calhouns, who spread and mul- 
 tiplied until they became a clan, were a very strong, very able, 
 very tenacious stock. They had great need of all these qualities 
 in order to maintain themselves in power, property, and position 
 during the five hundred years which elapsed before the first
 
 32 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 Calhoun and the first Caldwell started on the migration which, 
 after a brief pause in the north of Ireland, carried Patrick Cal- 
 houn and some of the Caldwells over the ocean to South Carolina. 
 Both families were typical of their race, for the Colquhouns are 
 spoken of as a Gaelic clan, while the Caldwells were Lowlanders 
 from the Solway. In order to understand these types we must 
 go back for a moment into those dim, almost uncharted, regions 
 of history which disclose to us the tribes of the Germanic forests 
 pouring down upon the wreck of the Roman Empire. When 
 the successive waves of Teutonic invasion broke upon Britain 
 they swept up to the mountains of the North, driving the native 
 Picts and Scots before them, and no part of their conquest was 
 more thoroughly Danish and Saxon than the lowlands of Scot- 
 land. But the Highlander, who represented the survival of the 
 Celts, and the Lowlander, who represented the invaders, were 
 quickly welded together in a common hostility to their great and 
 grasping neighbor of the South. The Celtic blood mingled with 
 that of the descendants of the Teutonic tribes. They quarreled, 
 they fought side by side, they intermarried ; they modified each 
 other and gradually adopted each other's customs and habits 
 of thought. We have but to read "Rob Roy" to learn that 
 although the Highlander looked down upon the Lowlander as a 
 trader and shopkeeper, and the Lowlander regarded the High- 
 lander as wild and barbarous, the ties of blood and common 
 suffering were strong between them <and that they were all 
 Scotchmen. It is a remarkable history, that of Scotland, one 
 of the most remarkable in the annals of men. Shut up in 
 that narrow region of mountain and of lake, a land of storm 
 and cold and mist, with no natural resources except a meager 
 soil and a tempestuous sea to yield a hard-earned living; poor 
 in this world's goods, few in number, for six hundred years 
 these hardy people maintained their independence against their
 
 Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 33 
 
 powerful foe to the southward and only united with him at last 
 upon equal terms. For six hundred years they kept their place 
 among the nations, were the allies of France, were distinguished 
 for their military virtues on the Continent of Europe, and cher- 
 ished a pride of race and country to which their deeds gave 
 them an unclouded title. They did all these things, this little 
 people, by hard fighting. For six hundred years they, fought, 
 sometimes in armies, sometimes in bands, always along the 
 border, frequently among themselves. It was a terrible training. 
 It did not tend to promote the amenities of life, but it gave 
 slight chance of survival to the timid or the weak. It pro- 
 duced the men who fell with their King at Flodden. They could 
 die there where they stood beneath the royal standard, but they 
 could not be conquered. 
 
 Those six centuries of bitter struggle for life and independ- 
 ence, waged continuously against nature and man, not only 
 made the Scotch formidable in battle, renowned in every camp 
 in Europe, but they developed qualities of mind and character 
 which became inseparable from the race. For it was not 
 merely by changing blows that the Scotch maintained their 
 national existence. Under the stress of all these centuries of 
 trial they learned to be patient and persistent, with a fixity of 
 purpose which never weakened, a tenacity which never slack- 
 ened, and a determination which never wavered. The Scotch 
 intellect, passing through the same severe ordeal, as it was 
 quickened, tempered, and sharpened, so it acquired a certain 
 relentlessness in reasoning which it never lost. It emerged at 
 last complete, vigorous, acute, and penetrating. With all these 
 strong qualities of mind and character was joined an intensity 
 of conviction which burned beneath the cool and calculating 
 manner and of which the stern and unmoved exterior gave no 
 sign, like the fire of a furnace, rarely flaming, but giving forth 
 
 43796 10 3
 
 34 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 a fierce and lasting heat. To this somewhat rare combination 
 we owe the proverbial phrase of the "perfervidum ingenium 
 Scotorum," an attribute little to be expected in a people so 
 outwardly calm and self-contained. To them, in the struggle 
 of life, could be applied the words in which Macaulay described 
 Cromwell's army: "They marched to victory with the precision 
 of machines, while burning with the wildest fanaticism of Cru- 
 saders." After the union, under Queen Anne, peace came 
 gradually to the long-distracted land, broken only by the 
 Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745, and then the Scotch intellect 
 found its opportunity and began to flower. In the latter part 
 of the eighteenth and the first part of the nineteenth century 
 Scotland gave to poetry Scott and Burns and Campbell; to 
 history Hume and Robertson; to metaphysics Hamilton, Reid, 
 and Stuart; to fiction Smollet and the "Author of Waverly;" 
 to political economy Adam Smith ; and these are only the great- 
 est luminaries in a firmament of stars. Edinburgh became one of 
 the intellectual centers of western civilization, and the genius 
 of Scotland was made famous in every field of thought and 
 imagination. It was just at this time that JOHN CALDWELL 
 CALHOUN came upon the stage, for the Scotch intellect, trained 
 and disciplined through the darkness and the conflicts of six 
 hundred years, blossomed in the New World as in the Old 
 when once the long pressure was removed, when the sword 
 needed no longer to be kept always unsheathed and men could 
 sleep without the haunting fear that they might be awakened 
 at any moment by the light of burning homesteads and the 
 hoarse shouts of raiders from over the border whose path was 
 ever marked by desolation and bloodshed. 
 
 In the inadequate description which I have attempted of the 
 Scotch character and intellect, slowly forged and welded and 
 shaped by many stern, hard-fighting generations, I think I have
 
 Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 35 
 
 set forth the mental and moral qualities of Mr. CALHOUN. He 
 had an intellect of great strength, a keen and penetrating mind; 
 he thought deeply and he thought clearly; he was relentless in 
 reasoning and logic; he never retreated from a conclusion to 
 which his reasoning led. And with all this he had the charac- 
 teristic quality of his race, the "perfervidum ingenium," the 
 intensity of conviction which burned undimmed until his heart 
 ceased to beat. Thus endowed by nature and equipped with 
 as good an education as could then be obtained in the United 
 States, Mr. CALHOUN entered public life at the moment when 
 the American people were smarting under the insults and 
 humiliations heaped upon them by France and England, and 
 were groping about for some issue from their troubles and some 
 vindication of the national honor and independence. CALHOUN 
 and his friends, men like Henry Clay, and like Lowndes and 
 Cheves, from his own State, came in on the wave of popular 
 revolt against the conditions to which the country had been 
 brought. Wavering diplomacy, gunboats on wheels, and even 
 embargoes, which chiefly punished our own commerce, had 
 ceased to appeal to them. They had the great advantage of 
 knowing what they meant to do. They were determined to 
 resist. If necessary, they intended to fight. 
 
 They dragged their party, their reluctant President, and their 
 divided country helplessly after them. The result was the 
 war of 1 8 1 2 . With war came not only the appeal to the national 
 spirit, which was only just waking into life, but the measures 
 without which war can not be carried on. The party which 
 had opposed military and naval forces, public debts, tariffs, 
 banks, and a strong central government now found themselves 
 raising armies, equipping and building a navy, borrowing money, 
 imposing high import duties, sustaining the bank, and develop- 
 ing in all directions the powers of the Government of the United
 
 36 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 States. The doctrines of strict construction, which had been 
 the idols of the ruling party, looked far less attractive when 
 invoked by New England against their own policies, and the 
 Constitution, which Jefferson set aside, as he thought, to acquire 
 Louisiana, became most elastic in the hands of those who had 
 sought to draw its bands so tightly that the infant nation 
 could hardly move its limbs. Mr. CALHOUN, with his mind set 
 on the accomplishment of the great purpose of freeing the 
 United States from foreign aggression, and thus lifting it to its 
 rightful place among the nations of the earth, did not shrink 
 from the conclusions to which his purpose led. His mind was 
 too clear and too rigidly logical to palter with or seek to veil 
 the inevitable results of the policy he supported. As he wished 
 the end, he was too virile, too honest in his mental processes, 
 not to wish the means to that end. The war left a legacy of 
 debts and bankruptcy, and in dealing with these problems it 
 was CALHOUN who reported the bill for a new bank of the United 
 States, who sustained the tariff of 1816, defended the policy 
 of protection to manufactures, and advocated a comprehen- 
 sive scheme of internal improvements. 
 
 Then it was that he declared in the House on the 3ist of 
 January, 1816, when he reported the bill setting aside certain 
 funds for internal improvements, after urging an increase of 
 the army, that 
 
 As to the species of preparation * * * the navy most certainly, 
 in any point of view, occupies the first place. It is the most safe, most 
 effectual, and cheapest mode of defense. 
 
 In 1814 (Annals of Congress, p. 1965) he said in regard to 
 manufactures that 
 
 He hoped at all times and under every policy they would be protected 
 with due care.
 
 Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 37 
 
 Two years later he returned to the subject as a part of his 
 theory of the national defense and said: 
 
 In regard to the question how far manufactures ought to be fostered, 
 it is the duty of this country, as a means of defense, to encourage its domes- 
 tic industry, more especially that part of it which provides the necessary 
 materials for clothing and defense * * *. The question relating to 
 manufactures must not depend on the abstract principle that industry, 
 left to pursue its own course, will find in its own interests all the encourage- 
 ment that is necessary. Laying the claims of manufacturers entirely out 
 of view, on general principles, without regard to their interests, a certain 
 encouragement should be extended, at least to our woolen and cotton 
 manufactures. 
 
 At the close of the same year, December 16, 1816 (Annals of 
 Congress, 1816-17, PP- 853, 854), he said: 
 
 Let it not be forgotten, let it be forever kept in mind, that the extent of 
 our Republic exposes us to the greatest of all calamities, next to the loss 
 of liberty, and even to that in its consequence disunion. We are great, 
 and rapidly I was about to say fearfully growing. This is our pride 
 and danger, our weakness and our strength. Little does he deserve to be 
 intrusted with the liberties of this people who does not raise his mind to 
 these truths. We are under the most imperious obligation to counteract 
 every tendency to disunion * * . *. If * * * we permit a low, 
 sordid, selfish, and sectional spirit to take possession of this House, this 
 happy scene will vanish. We will divide, and in its consequence will 
 follow misery and despotism. 
 
 A little more than a month later, broadening his theme, to 
 which he constantly recurred, and speaking of internal improve- 
 ments (February 4, 1817), he said: 
 
 It is mainly urged that Congress can only apply the public money in 
 execution of the enumerated powers. I am no advocate for refined argu- 
 ments on the Constitution. The instrument was not intended as a thesis 
 for the logician to exercise his ingenuity on. It ought to be construed 
 with plain good sense; and what can be more express than the Constitu- 
 tion on this point? * * * If the framers had intended to limit the 
 use of the money to the powers afterwards enumerated and defined, nothing
 
 38 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 could have been more easy than to have expressed it plainly. * * * 
 But suppose the Constitution to be silent; why should we be confined in 
 the application of moneys to the enumerated powers? There is nothing 
 in the reason of the thing that I can perceive why it should be so restricted ; 
 and the habitual and uniform practice of the Government coincides with 
 my opinion. * * * In reply to this uniform course of legislation I 
 expect it will be said that our Constitution is founded on positive and 
 written principles and not on precedents. I do not deny the position, but 
 I have introduced these instances to prove the uniform sense of Congress 
 and the country for they have not been objected to as to our powers; 
 and surely they furnish better evidence of the true interpretation of the 
 Constitution than the most refined and subtle arguments. Let it not be 
 argued that the construction for which I contend gives a dangerous extent 
 to the powers of Congress. In this point of view I conceive it to be more 
 safe than the opposite. By giving a reasonable extent to the money power 
 it exempts us from the necessity of giving a strained and forced construc- 
 tion to the other enumerated powers. 
 
 From the House of Representatives he passed to the Cabinet 
 of President Monroe, where he served from 1817 to 1825 as 
 Secretary of War, showing high capacity as an administrator. 
 He took the department avowedly as a reformer, for the lesson 
 of our unreadiness and our lack of military preparation had 
 been burned into his mind by the bitter experiences of the war 
 of 1812. The army was reduced by Congress during his tenure 
 of office, but organization, discipline, and efficiency were all 
 advanced by his well-directed efforts. 
 
 In 1825 Mr. CALHOUN was elected Vice-President, and was 
 reelected four years later. In 1832 he resigned the Vice-Presi- 
 dency to become Senator from South Carolina. His resignation, 
 followed by his acceptance of the Senatorship, marks his public 
 separation from the policies of his earlier years and the formal 
 devotion of his life to the cause of states rights and slavery. 
 The real division had begun some years before he left the Vice- 
 Presidency. His change of attitude culminated in his support
 
 Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 39 
 
 of nullification and in his bitter quarrel with Jackson, which 
 was all the more violent because they were of the same race and 
 were both possessed of equal strength of will and intensity of 
 conviction. 
 
 I have thus referred to the change in Mr. CALHOUN'S position 
 solely because of its historical significance, marking, as it does, 
 the beginning of a new epoch in the great conflict between the 
 contending principles of nationalism and separatism. In his 
 own day he was accused of inconsistency, and the charge was 
 urged and repelled with the heat usual to such disputes. Noth- 
 ing, as a rule, is more futile or more utterly unimportant than 
 efforts to prove inconsistency. It is a favorite resort in debate, 
 and it may therefore be supposed that it is considered effective 
 in impressing the popular mind. Historically, it is a charge 
 which has little weight unless conditions lend it an importance 
 which is never inherent in the mere fact itself. If no man ever 
 changed his opinions, if no one was open to the teachings of 
 experience, human progress would be arrested and the world 
 would stagnate in an intellectual lethargy. Inconsistency 
 Emerson has declared to be the bugbear of weak minds, and this 
 is entirely true of those who, dreading the accusation, shrink 
 from adopting an opinion or a faith which they believe to be 
 true, but to which they have formerly been opposed. Mr. 
 CALHOUN defined inconsistency long before the day when the 
 charge was brought against him with that fine precision of 
 thought which was so characteristic of all his utterances. 
 
 Men can notgo straight forward 
 
 He said in the House in 1814 
 
 but must regard the obstacles which impede their course. Inconsistency 
 consists in a change of conduct when there is no change of circumstances 
 which justify it.
 
 40 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 Tried by this accurate standard, Mr. CALHOUN is as little to 
 be criticised for his change of position as Mr. Webster for his 
 altered attitude in regard to the system of protection. With 
 the new conditions and new circumstances both men changed 
 on important questions of policy, and both were justified from 
 their respective points of view in doing so. That Mr. CALHOUN 
 went further than Mr. Webster, changing not only as to a policy 
 but in his views of the Constitution and the structure of gov- 
 ernment, does not in the least affect the truth of the general 
 proposition. The very measures which he had once fostered 
 and defended had brought into being a situation which he felt 
 with unerring prescience portended the destruction of the funda- 
 mental principles in which he believed and of a social and 
 economic system which he thought vital to the safety and 
 prosperity of the people whom he represented. The national 
 force which he had helped to strengthen, the central govern- 
 ment which he had so powerfully aided to build up, seemed to 
 him to have become the creation of Frankenstein, a being which 
 threatened to destroy its creators and all he personally held 
 most dear. It was inevitable that he should strive with all 
 his strength to stay the progress of what he thought would 
 bring ruin to the system in which he believed. Once committed 
 to this opinion, he was incapable of finding a halfway house 
 where he could rest in peace or a compromise which he could 
 accept with confidence. His reason carried him to the inevita- 
 ble end which his inexorable logic demanded, and to that reason 
 and that logic he was loyal with all the loyalty of strong con- 
 viction and an honest mind. There is no need to discuss either 
 the soundness or the validity of the opinions he held. That is 
 a question which has long since passed before the tribunal of 
 history. All that concerns us to-day is to recall the manner 
 in which CALHOUN carried on his long struggle of twenty-five
 
 Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 41 
 
 years in behalf of principles to which he was utterly devoted. 
 He brought to the conflict extraordinary mental and moral 
 qualities, deep conviction, an iron will, a powerful mind, an 
 unsparing logic, and reasoning powers of the highest order. 
 Burr said that anyone who went onto paper with Alexander 
 Hamilton was lost. Anyone who admitted Mr. CALHOUN'S 
 premises was lost in like fashion. Once caught in the grasp of 
 that penetrating and relentless intellect, there was no escape. 
 You must go with it to the end. 
 
 He fought his fight with unbending courage, asking no quar- 
 ter and giving none. He flinched from no conclusion; he faced 
 every result without change or concession. He had no fear 
 of the opponents who met him in debate. He felt assured in 
 his own heart that he could hold his own against all comers. 
 But he must have known, for he was not a man who ever 
 suffered from self-deception, that the enemies whom he could 
 not overcome were beyond the range of argument and debate. 
 The unconquerable foes were the powerful and silent forces of 
 the time of which the great uprising of 1848 in behalf of politi- 
 cal liberty was but a manifestation. The world of civilized 
 man was demanding a larger freedom, and slavery, economically 
 unsound, was a survival and an anachronism. Even more 
 formidable was the movement for national unity, which was 
 world wide. It was stirring in Germany and was in active life 
 in Italy. The principle of separatism, of particularism, was at 
 war with the spirit of the time. The stars in their courses 
 fought against Sisera, and CALHOUN, with his keen perceptions, 
 must have known in his heart that he was defending his cause 
 against hopeless odds. But he never blenched and his gallant 
 spirit never failed or yielded. When the crisis of 1850 came, 
 Clay brought forward his last and most famous compromise, 
 which was supported by Webster. The two Whig leaders were
 
 42 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 filled with dread as they contemplated the perils which at that 
 moment menaced the Union and were ready to go far on the 
 road of concession. CALHOUN, then nearing his death, had no 
 faith in the compromise. He saw with that clearness of vision 
 which nothing could dim that in the existing state of public 
 thought, in the presence of the aspirations for freedom and 
 national unity which then filled the minds of men throughout 
 the world of western civilization, no compromise such as Clay 
 proposed could possibly endure. He had his own plan, which 
 he left as a legacy to his country. But his proposition was no 
 compromise. It settled the question. It divided the country 
 under the forms of law and made the National Government only 
 a government in name. The solution was complete, but it was 
 impossible. Clay's compromise, as everyone knows, was 
 adopted. There was a brief lull, and then the mighty forces 
 of the age swept it aside and pressed forward in their inevitable 
 conflict. 
 
 I think CALHOUN understood all this, which is so plain now 
 and was so hidden then, better than either of his great oppo- 
 nents. If they realized the situation as he did, they at all events 
 did not admit it. Clay, with the sanguine courage which always 
 characterized him, with the invincible hopefulness which never 
 deserted him, gave his last years to his supreme effort to turn 
 aside the menace of the time by a measure of mutual concession. 
 Webster sustained Clay, but with far less buoyancy of spirit or 
 of hope. Thus, just sixty years ago, they all stood together 
 for the last time, these three men who gave their names to an 
 epoch in our history and who typified in themselves the tenden- 
 cies of the time. Before two years more had passed they had 
 all three gone, and the curtain had fallen on that act of the 
 great drama in which they had played the leading parts. It is 
 a moment in our history which has always seemed to me to
 
 Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 43 
 
 possess an irresistible attraction. Not merely are the printed 
 records, the speeches that were then made, and the memoirs 
 then written of absorbing interest, but the men themselves not 
 only filled but looked their parts, which is far from common in 
 the case of actors in the never-ending drama of humanity. They 
 all look in their portraits as imagination tells us they should look, 
 and I share the faith of Carlyle in the evidence of portraiture. 
 Over the vigorous, angular, and far from handsome features of 
 Henry Clay is spread that air of serenity and of cheerfulness 
 which was one among the many qualities which so drew to him 
 the fervent affection of thousands of men. We can realize, as 
 we look, the fascination which attracted people to him, the 
 charm which enabled him, as one of his admirers said: 
 To cast off his friends as the huntsman his pack, 
 For he knew when he pleased he could whistle them back. 
 
 A gallant soul, an inspiring leader, a dashing, winning, im- 
 pulsive nature, brilliant talents I think one can see them all 
 there in the face of Henry Clay. Turn to the latest portraits 
 of Webster and CALHOUN, and you pass into another world. 
 They are two of the most remarkable heads, two of the most 
 striking, most compelling faces in the long annals of portraiture. 
 They are widely different, so far as the outer semblance is con- 
 cerned. The great leonine head of Webster, charged with 
 physical and mental strength, the massive jaw, the eyes, as 
 Carlyle said, glowing like dull anthracite furnaces beneath the 
 heavy brows, seem at the first glance to have no even remote 
 resemblance to the haggard face of CALHOUN, with the dark, 
 piercing, yet somber, eyes looking out from cavernous orbits, 
 the high, intellectual forehead, the stern, strong mouth and 
 jaw, all printed deep with the lines of suffering endured in 
 silence. But if we look again and consider more deeply we 
 can see that there is a likeness between them. The last photo-
 
 44 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 graphs of Webster, the last portraits of CALHOUN, show us a 
 certain strong resemblance which is not, I think, the mere 
 creation of a fancy bred by our knowledge of the time. Both 
 are exceptionally powerful faces. In both great intellect, great 
 force, and the pride of thought are apparent, and both are 
 deeply tragic in their expression. It is not the tragedy of dis- 
 appointment because they had failed to attain the office which 
 was the goal of their ambition. That was the shallow explana- 
 tion of excited contemporary judgment. Personal disappoint- 
 ment- does not, and can not, leave the expression we find in 
 those two faces. There is a "listening fear in their regard;" 
 not a personal fear they were too great for that but a dread 
 because they heard, as other men could not hear, the hand of 
 fate knocking at the door. The shadow of the coming woe 
 fell darkly across their last years, and the tragedy which weighed 
 them down was the tragedy of their country. It was thus that 
 Webster looked when, in the 7th of March speech in the great 
 passage on "peaceable secession, " he cried out in agony of spirit : 
 
 What States are to secede? What is to remain American? What am 
 I to be? An American no longer? Am I to become a sectional man, a 
 local man, a separatist, with no country in common with the gentlemen 
 who sit around me here, or who fill the other House of Congress ? Heaven 
 forbid ! Where is the flag of the Republic to remain ? Where is the eagle 
 still to tower? Or is he to cower and shrink and fall to the ground ? 
 
 However Webster and CALHOUN disagreed, they both knew 
 that the Union could not be lightly broken. They knew the dis- 
 ruption of the States would be a convulsion. They foresaw 
 that it would bring war, the war which Webster predicted, and 
 they both turned with dread from the vision which haunted 
 them. 
 
 We catch the same note in the words of CALHOUN on karch 
 5, 1850, when he declared, "If I am judged by my acts, I 
 trust I shall be found as firm a friend of the Union as any man
 
 Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 45 
 
 within it." Despite all he had said and done, he still clung 
 to the Union he had served so long, and when as the month 
 closed and he lay upon his deathbed the thought of the future, 
 dark with menace, was still with him, and he was heard to 
 murmur : "The South ! The poor South ! God knows what will 
 become of her." 
 
 So they passed away, the three great Senators, and the vast 
 silent forces which moved mankind and settled the fate of 
 nations marched forward to their predestined end. 
 
 We do well to place here a statue of CALHOUN. I would that 
 he could stand with none but his peers about him and not 
 elbowed and crowded by the temporarily notorious and the 
 illustrious obscure. His statue is here of right. He was a 
 really great man, one of the great figures of our history. In 
 that history he stands out clear, distinct, commanding. There 
 is no trace of the demagogue about him. He was a bold as well 
 as a deep thinker, and he had to the full the courage of his 
 convictions. The doctrines of socialism were as alien to him as 
 the worship of commercialism. He "raised his mind to truths." 
 He believed that statesmanship must move on a high plane, 
 and he could not conceive that mere money making and money 
 spending were the highest objects of ambition in the lives of 
 men or nations. 
 
 He was the greatest man South Carolina has given to the 
 Nation. .That in itself is no slight praise, for from the days of 
 the Laurenses, the Pinckneys, the Rutledges, from the time of 
 Moultrie and Sumter and Marion to the present day, South 
 Carolina has always been conspicuous in peace and war for 
 the force, the ability, and the character of the men who have 
 served her and given to her name its high distinction in our 
 history. But CAL,HOUN was much more even than this. He was 
 one of the most remarkable men, one of the greatest minds
 
 46 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhouu 
 
 that American public life can show. It matters not that before 
 the last tribunal the verdict went against him, that the extreme 
 doctrines to which his imperious logic carried him have been 
 banned and barred, the man remains greatly placed in our 
 history. The unyielding courage, the splendid intellect, the 
 long devotion to the public service, the pure, unspotted private 
 life are all there, are all here with us now, untouched and 
 unimpaired for after ages to admire. [Applause on the floor 
 and in the galleries.]
 
 Address of Mr. Smith, of South Carolina 
 
 j 
 
 Mr. PRESIDENT: It is with a feeling of pride that every South 
 Carolinian has met to-day to do honor to this great statesman, 
 and it is with particular sadness that the occasion should be so 
 incomplete in not having with us to-day the senior Senator from 
 our State [Mr. Tillman], who takes such a pride in the history of 
 his State and especially in that of CALHOUN. The senior Senator 
 was to have had charge of these ceremonies. 
 
 A man is largely the product of his environment. The period 
 at which the life, of JOHN C. CALHOUN began was, perhaps, the 
 most momentous in the history of the civilized nations of the 
 world. 
 
 The immigration here was by those who sought an asylum 
 from the oppressions and wrongs of those governments of the 
 Old World which refused or were incapable of adjusting them- 
 selves to the growing sense of the sovereignty of the individual, 
 which sense was being fostered by the rapid spread of educa- 
 tion, and this was largely the cause of the production at the 
 time of the American Revolution and the years immediately 
 subsequent thereto of those great characters which, in military 
 and civil affairs, stand out as possessing such wonderful powers 
 of mind and character. Chief among these is he whose statue 
 we unveil to-day in the Hall of Fame. 
 
 Born March 17, 1782, his childhood was spent among those 
 scenes and under those influences which contributed largely 
 to his future career. 
 
 According to the record, his opportunities for education, in 
 an academic sense, were limited, but in the sense of the period 
 in which he lived were, perhaps, the most fortunate that could 
 
 47
 
 48 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 befall a mind and character such as his. He came at a time 
 to which all the lines of the past converged and from which 
 were to radiate the influences that were to mold the future. 
 The colonies of America had thrown off the yoke of oppression 
 of the mother country, because they had agreed that the right 
 of the governed to a voice in the government was inherent and 
 inalienable, and that the peace, prosperity, and progress of the 
 human race could only be brought about by securing to each 
 individual the right of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi- 
 ness;" that no man no majority of men had any right, 
 divine or human, to invade this inalienable right. 
 
 He was born in the closing years of the struggle for Ameri- 
 can independence, for the establishment of a democratic form 
 of government. His childhood and youth were spent during 
 those years when the genius of mankind was attempting to 
 solve the vexed problem of the ages the problem of a govern- 
 ment of the people, for the people, and by the people. 
 
 The different States, which at that time formed the thirteen 
 original colonies, had met and formulated in convention that 
 wonderful instrument known as the Constitution of the United 
 States. 
 
 All history testifies to the fact that the labors of these men 
 were directed to one main essential point the framing of an 
 instrument so in accord with the inherent right of liberty- 
 loving men that the oppressions they had been subjected to in 
 the past should not be repeated in the future, and that this in- 
 strument should be so worded and so guarded at every point 
 that the weakest individual, as well as the weakest community, 
 should be protected in all the sacred rights that by nature they 
 were entitled to. 
 
 Each State delegated such powers to the General Government 
 as in its opinion was essential to the general protection and
 
 Address of Mr. Smith, of South Carolina 49 
 
 welfare, reserving to each State those powers which, in its 
 sovereign capacity, it was better qualified to exercise for itself. 
 
 This was the school the preparatory school in which the 
 young South Carolinian was being trained for his future career. 
 How marvelously he had absorbed the cardinal principles of the 
 times his future career wonderfully attests. Perhaps no one 
 of all the illustrious men who make this epoch of our history 
 famous embodied and became the exponent of the spirit of the 
 time as did CALHOUN. This is due to the fact that he belonged 
 to that section of the Union which represented the oppressed, 
 and consequently called forth the same protest that gave rise to 
 the Revolution and the Constitution. 
 
 As I have said, his academic opportunities were limited, but 
 with singular application he availed himself of such opportu- 
 nities as came within his reach. At the age of 19 he entered 
 Yale College, graduating two years later with distinction. He 
 studied law at Litchfield, Conn., and in Charleston, S. C. He 
 was elected to the legislature in 1809, serving two years in that 
 body. In 181 1 he was elected a Member of Congress and imme- 
 diately began that brilliant career which suffered no diminution 
 or abatement, but grew and expanded with the years until cut 
 short by death March 31, 1850. From 1817 to 1825 he was Sec- 
 retary of War in President Monroe's Cabinet. He brought to 
 that department that same devotion to truth, to the discovery of 
 the principles that underlie and control the perfection of every 
 department or division of life or government, and out of the 
 chaos that then engulfed this arm of the Government he per- 
 fected that system which has resulted in the present efficient 
 state of this department. 
 
 Chosen to the Vice-Presidency in 1825, he discharged the func- 
 tions of that office with the same distinction and power that had 
 characterized his previous career. In 1832 he resigned the Vice- 
 
 43796 10 4
 
 50 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 Presidency to become a factor as a Senator of the United States 
 in resisting what he believed was an encroachment upon the 
 sacred compact of the Constitution of the United States. And 
 here on the floor of this, the highest tribunal of the rights of the 
 people on the globe, no voice has ever been raised, nor argument 
 formulated, nor logic so irresistible, as his in the defense of the 
 weak against the encroachment of the strong. 
 
 His interpretation of the Constitution was according to the 
 spirit that gave it birth; the unjust taxation of England was 
 the occasion of the revolt of the colonies; and the triumph of 
 liberty against this oppression was the cause and opportunity of 
 the writing of that sacred instrument. And when the same 
 methods were being used to enrich one section of the Union at 
 the expense of another, CALHOUN plead with all the power of his 
 earnest and loyal soul for the right of his section to enjov the 
 benefits of that that had been given it by God and that he sup- 
 posed had been guaranteed to her by the Constitution, as the 
 colonies had plead for their rights under God and their charter. 
 
 No clearer exposition of the theory of human government has 
 ever been written than his marvelous disquisition on govern- 
 ment. He touches the keynote of all that has embroiled nation 
 against nation in civil strife when he says that human selfish- 
 ness unrestrained leads to the disastrous a"buse of power. His 
 sense of justice and right was so acute, his own conception of 
 truth so clear, that he could not for a moment tolerate the 
 sophistry of those who, under the guise of the liberal construc- 
 tion of the Constitution, were attempting to enrich themselves 
 and their section at the expense of another and less populous 
 section of the Union. 
 
 In his famous debate with the great Webster on the question 
 of states rights he plead for that construction of the Constitu- 
 tion which was in accord with the spirit of its birth and which
 
 Address of Mr. Smith, of South Carolina 51 
 
 was intended to guarantee to each State and community the 
 fullest possible measure of local self-government. He believed, 
 and with resistless logic proved, that there was no power granted 
 in the Constitution to coerce a State in accepting a law which 
 unjustly discriminated against her enjoyment of every right and 
 privilege enjoyed by another. 
 
 He has been criticised for having changed his attitude on the 
 subject of a protective tariff. It is true that the first protective 
 tariff of 1816 he did advocate, as every loyal American did, for 
 the reason that he believed that in the emergency of war our 
 country, being new and unprepared in manufacturing enter- 
 prises, was unable to supply her people with those articles neces- 
 sary for their comfort and convenience, and that in case of a 
 blockade or an embargo, such as we had just experienced, great 
 suffering would result. Consequently he advocated fostering 
 and hastening the efficiency of such enterprises as would render 
 us independent in case of a repetition of a like experience. He 
 realized full well the danger of such an experiment, for none 
 knew more perfectly than he the power of human greed, but, 
 relying upon the good sense, experience, and patriotism of 
 Americans, he believed that when the fostering care of the 
 Government had insured the establishment of these enterprises 
 it would not tolerate the extremes to which their greed subse- 
 quently led. No more than his South Carolina forefathers 
 did he believe in ratifying the Constitution that it would be used 
 as an instrument to coerce his State in paying, as they believed, 
 an unjust tribute to this protected greed. As he favored the one 
 for patriotic reasons, so he resisted the other for the same high 
 reason. However subsequent events may have resulted, there 
 is no one to deny the fact that the course of Mr. CALHOUN was 
 consistent and his logic irresistible.
 
 52 Statue of Hon. John C . Calhoun 
 
 He loved the Union, and it vexed his soul to know that the 
 pride and honor of his State was being so humiliated that he 
 foresaw that unless some measure could be adopted by which 
 the oppression might be relieved, it would lead to disunion, 
 which, to him, was the greatest of all possible calamities. 
 
 The two great questions involved taxation and the aboli- 
 tion of slavery though in the minds of the protectionists and 
 abolitionists they may have been disassociated from any refer- 
 ence to sections of the country, yet, in their application finan- 
 cially, socially, and commercially, the South was the section 
 that was to bear the brunt of the entire loss and the necessary 
 suffering consequent therefrom. Therefore, as to the tariff, 
 South Carolina passed her famous ordinance of nullification. 
 Under the teachings of Mr. CALHOUN it was believed that so 
 radical a step would bring those advocating this measure to a 
 realization of the wrong that they were perpetrating; and for 
 a time it did have this effect. Mr. Clay interposed his great 
 influence and brought about a compromise, which for a time 
 allayed the friction engendered by this legislation. 
 
 The other question, that of slavery, involved far different 
 elements. It was true that there was a seeming inconsistency 
 in democratic America legalizing slavery within her borders. 
 The institution of slavery did, perhaps, tend to create an aris- 
 tocracy, in fact if not in name, which our Constitution took 
 pains to provide against. There was also a moral element in- 
 volved which was at variance with the avowed spirit of the 
 New World. 
 
 But notwithstanding this, a slave was the only property 
 recognized and provided for by the Constitution. And Mr. 
 CALHOUN plead for the right of the South, under the Constitu- 
 tion, to maintain her own institutions and to solve the eco- 
 nomic and domestic questions that arose within each State by
 
 Address of Mr. Smith, of South Carolina 53, 
 
 virtue of the reserved powers claimed and held by each State 
 under the Constitution. 
 
 The institution of slavery may have been, and perhaps was r 
 a moral and political wrong, but it was also recognized by Mr, 
 CALHOUN as a moral and political wrong for those who could 
 not and did not profit by this institution, and who had recog- 
 nized it in the organic law of the land to attempt to coerce the 
 South and to disturb the balance of power between the two 
 sections by refusing the admission into the Union of any State 
 that was likely to be a slaveholding State. There was another 
 element involved in this great controversy between the sections 
 which was not properly understood and which to-day is begin- 
 ning to be realized by those whom fanaticism and passion had 
 rendered incapable of appreciating and understanding the facts, 
 and that was the nature of the negro himself. The people of 
 the South understood that he was incapable of appreciating 
 those higher traits of character and of life that would make 
 him a fit subject for the exercise of the functions of citizenship. 
 
 Mr. CALHOUN speaks this clearer than I may hope to do, 
 when, on August 12, 1849, he gave utterance to these words: 
 
 I have now stated my reasons for believing that the abolition agitation 
 will never stop of itself, nor ever will be stopped through the presidential 
 election or the action of this Government, and that nothing short of the 
 united and fixed determination of the South to maintain her rights at 
 every hazard can stop it. Without this, the end must be emancipation 
 in the worst possible form -far worse than if done by our own voluntary 
 act, instead of being compelled to adopt it at the bidding of a dominant 
 section whose interest and sympathy for them, and hostility to us, would 
 combine to reverse the present relations between the two races in the 
 South by raising the inferior to be the favored and superior and sinking 
 the superior to be the inferior and despised. 
 
 The horrors of reconstruction, the alienation of the races, the 
 intensifying of the natural antipathy, the long weary years of 
 humiliation and suffering attest his prophetic power.
 
 54 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 That he foresaw the result of these false principles intro- 
 duced into our real life is marvelously revealed in the facts of 
 to-day. In speaking on the question of a protective tariff, in 
 1842, in reference to the tariff, he said: 
 
 The question in what manner the loss and gain of the system distribute 
 themselves among the several classes of society is intimately connected 
 with that of their distribution among the several sections. Few subjects 
 present more important points for consideration. No system can be 
 more efficient to rear up a monied aristocracy. Its tendency is to make 
 the poor poorer and the rich richer. Heretofore in our country this 
 tendency has displayed itself principally in its efforts as regards the 
 different sections. But the time will come when it will produce the same 
 results between the several classes in the manufacturing States. After 
 we are exhausted the contest will be between capital and operatives, for 
 into these two classes it must, ultimately, divide society. 
 
 Do the strikes, labor troubles that have convulsed our in- 
 dustrial life from time to time since this remarkable declara- 
 tion, and of which we are having a fearful example just now 
 in a neighboring State and city, attest the wisdom and pro- 
 phetic power of this statesman and patriot? Was he not in 
 the highest sense a patriot and a statesman when pleading for 
 the defeat of an act which, once incorporated into law, he fore- 
 saw would grow into that gigantic abuse which would lead to 
 the disasters that have followed? 
 
 In the light of the legislation and the discussions incident 
 thereto that occupied the first half of the present Congress, I 
 can not refrain from quoting his summing up of the same 
 principles involved in the debate of 1842. He says: 
 
 On what ground do they ask protection? Protection against what? 
 Against violence, oppression, or fraud? If so, government- is bound to 
 afford it. If it comes within the sphere of its powers, cost what it may, 
 it is the object for which government is instituted; and if it fails in this, 
 it fails in the highest point of duty. No; it is against neither violence, 
 oppression, nor fraud. There is no complaint of being disturbed in property
 
 Address of Mr. Smith, of South Carolina 55 
 
 or pursuits, or of being defrauded out of the proceeds of industry. Against 
 what, then, is protection asked? It is against low prices. The manufac- 
 turers complain that they can not carry on their pursuits at prices as low 
 as the present, and that unless they can get higher they must give up 
 manufacturing The evil, then, is low prices, and what they ask of 
 government is to give them higher; but how do they ask it to be done? 
 Do they ask government to compel those who want to purchase to give 
 them higher? No; that would be a hard task and not a little odious; 
 difficult to be defended on the principles of equity, justice, or the Consti- 
 tution, or to be enforced, if it could be. Do they ask that a tax should be 
 laid on the rest of the community and the proceeds divided among them 
 to make up for low prices? Or, in other words, do they ask for a bounty? 
 No; that would be rather too open, oppressive, and indefensible. How, 
 then, do they ask it to be done? By putting down competition; by the 
 imposition of taxes on the part of others, so as to give them the exclusion 
 of the market, or at least a decided advantage over others, and thereby 
 enable them to sell at higher prices. Stripped of all disguise, this is their 
 request, and this they call protection. Call it tribute, levy, exaction, 
 monopoly, plunder; or, if these be too harsh, call it charity, assistance, 
 aid anything rather than protection, with which it has not a feature in 
 common. 
 
 This was his exposition of the theory of protection. 
 
 How fittingly might these words have been spoken in the year 
 1909! Foreseeing as he did the tremendous lengths to which 
 unrestrained greed might go, and the frauds that it might per- 
 petrate, and the dangers to our Government it might entail, as 
 a true statesman and patriot he brought to bear his powers 
 and logic and reasoning to avert the wrong. 
 
 To sum it all up, what was the theme of all his speeches? 
 To what great principles was his life devoted ? It was the great 
 aim of struggling humanity through all the ages, culminating in 
 the war of the Revolution, and approaching its nearest perfect 
 expression in the Constitution of the United States : Equal 
 rights to all, under the law, and special privileges to none. 
 For this in every department of life he plead. To him truth,
 
 56 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 honor, righteousness, equity, and justice were the basis of all 
 proper personal character, the foundation of all enduring gov- 
 ernments. And so long as free institutions shall exist, so long 
 as humanity shall battle to overcome the weaknesses of human 
 selfishness, so long will the name of JOHN C. CALHOUN be 
 revered and honored. And in the Hall of Fame there can be 
 erected no monument in free democratic America more fitting, 
 more expressive of the principles upon which her government is 
 founded, and the practical application of which, God willing, 
 she will ultimately attain, than the statue of JOHN C. CALHOUN, 
 the South Carolina patriot and statesman. [Applause on the 
 floor and in the galleries.]
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE 
 
 MARCH 12, 1910. 
 
 The SPEAKER. The Clerk will read the order for to-day. 
 The Clerk read as follows : 
 
 Resolved, That exercises appropriate to the reception and acceptance 
 from the State of South Carolina of the statue of JOHN C. CALHOUN, 
 erected in Statuary Hall in the Capitol, be made the special order for 
 Saturday, March 12, 1910. 
 
 The SPEAKER. There is but one Member [Mr. Ellerbe], as the 
 Chair is informed, of the South Carolina delegation present. 
 They held the ceremonies in Statuary Hall at n o'clock. After 
 consulting with the Member present, it was suggested, if it 
 meets the approval of the House, that the ordinary business of 
 the House proceed until 3 o'clock, and then that the committee 
 rise, should it be in session, and the order be executed. Is there 
 objection ? 
 
 There was no objection. 
 
 ***** 
 
 The SPEAKER. The Chair lays before the House the following 
 resolution which the Clerk will report. 
 
 The Clerk read as follows : 
 
 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That 
 the statue of JOHN C. CALHOUN, presented by the State of South Carolina 
 to be placed in Statuary Hall, is accepted in the name of the United States, 
 and that the thanks of Congress be tendered to the State for the contribu- 
 tion of the statue of one of the most eminent citizens, illustrious for the 
 purity of his life and his distinguished services to the State and Nation. 
 
 Second. That a copy of these resolutions, suitably engrossed and duly 
 authenticated, be transmitted to the governor of the State of South Carolina. 
 
 57
 
 58 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 The SPEAKER. The gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. Fin- 
 ley] will take the chair. 
 
 Mr. JOHNSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I desire to 
 send to the Clerk's desk and have read the following communi- 
 cation. 
 
 The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the com- 
 munication. 
 
 The Clerk read as follows : 
 
 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 
 
 EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, 
 
 Columbia, March 12, 1910. 
 To the honorable the Senate and House of 
 
 Representatives of the United States, Washington, D, C. : 
 
 It gives me great pleasure, as governor of the State of South Carolina, 
 to present to the Congress of the United States a marble statue of JOHN C. 
 CALHOUN, a native of South Carolina, and one whose name is honored 
 wherever known. 
 
 JOHN C. CALHOUN was one of the greatest men that this country has 
 produced, and a statesman of renown, who has left his impress upon this 
 Nation, and whose name is indelibly inscribed upon the pages of history, 
 both national and state. 
 
 The State of South Carolina begs now to present through me, as her gov- 
 ernor, to the Congress of the United States, as the representative of the 
 people of the United States, this beautiful statue of a great and good man. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 M. F. ANSEL, 
 
 Governor of South Carolina.
 
 Address of Mr. Johnson, of South Carolina 
 > 
 
 Mr. SPEAKER: I have arisen from a sick bed in order that by 
 my presence at least I might attest my appreciation of the most 
 distinguished man that South Carolina has produced. Although 
 sickness has prevented any preparation, I feel constrained to 
 submit a few observations upon this illustrious man, but I shall 
 not give a biographical sketch of his life. Other gentlemen, who 
 have made that full preparation which the subject and the occa- 
 sion demand, will go with sufficient minuteness into all dates and 
 events of his great career. He is the one man in American his- 
 tory who needs no flattery. The simple truth will establish 
 his fame among men. He is not understood. He has been 
 more harshly and unjustly criticised than any other man in our 
 public life. 
 
 That is due to the fact that one of the great constitutional 
 principles for which he stood preeminently above all of his 
 fellows became involved in a great moral question, which was 
 answered not by logic but by the passions and the power of 
 numbers. It is well to remember that JOHN C. CALHOUN was not 
 the author but the tragic victim of the institution of slavery. 
 He was a man of transcendent ability. This is evidenced by the 
 fact that, born and reared in a sparsely settled country with 
 few school facilities, yet in two years from the time he entered 
 a country academy and began to study Latin grammar he was 
 prepared to enter the junior class in Yale College. 
 
 Two years thereafter he was graduated from that institution 
 with distinction. The eminent Doctor Dwight, who differed 
 
 59
 
 60 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 radically from him in his political convictions, admired greatly 
 his intellect, and expressed the opinion that CALHOUN had the 
 capacity to be President of the United States, and predicted that 
 he would be. 
 
 I have said that CAivHOUN is misunderstood and unjustly criti- 
 cised, many people believing that the only great question that 
 he ever discussed was that which was swallowed up in the civil 
 war. In truth he investigated, mastered, and discussed every 
 important question of legislation and administration from 1810 
 until March 31, 1850, when his great soul took its flight, his 
 eloquent tongue was silenced, and the master brain, which for 
 analysis had had no peer since Paul the Apostle, ceased its 
 activities. 
 
 When he came here, in 1810, between the oppression of France 
 on the one hand and England on the other the independence of 
 the United States was nominal only. He took his place as the 
 leader of that set of young statesmen who brought on the war 
 of 1812, which gave us real independence on the land and on 
 the sea and finally settled our place among the nations of the 
 earth. His first great speech in the House of Representatives 
 was made in reply to John Randolph, of Virginia. He spoke 
 upon a resolution which he had presented from the Committee 
 on Foreign Relations. By that effort he. at once established 
 himself as one of the great thinkers of the age, and the Rich- 
 mond Dispatch of that day gave him credit for being one of the 
 most prominent and promising young men in public life. 
 
 He was intimately identified with all legislation growing out 
 of the war, and after the war was over and our finances and 
 currency were in miserable plight, he was made chairman of 
 the Committee on Banking and Currency. He investigated the 
 currency and the finances from every possible standpoint, and 
 was more instrumental than any other man in getting the
 
 Address of Mr. Johnson, of South Carolina 61 
 
 finances properly adjusted and the country brought to a specie 
 basis. 
 
 In 1817 he passed from the House of Representatives into 
 the Cabinet of Mr. Monroe as Secretary of War, a position 
 which he held until he was elected Vice- President of the United 
 States. He took charge of the War Department and brought 
 system out of chaos. 
 
 In 1825 he became Vice- President of the United States, and 
 was again elected in 1828, but subsequently 1832 he resigned 
 as Vice- President to become a Senator in Congress from South 
 Carolina. And here I may remark, in passing, lest I forget it, 
 that there never was a day when there was not a seat in the 
 Senate of the United States for JOHN C. CALHOUN if he desired 
 to occupy it. Whether he occupied a place in the Cabinet or 
 as presiding officer of the Senate, the moment he indicated his 
 willingness to resign there was an immediate resignation of 
 some Senator from South Carolina in order that CALHOUN might 
 have the seat. That has happened in the life of no other man 
 in the history of this Republic. I may say, in this connection, 
 that only one time in all his public life did he meet with serious 
 opposition at the hands of the electorate in South Carolina. 
 
 In 1824, after he had voted to give Members of Congress a 
 yearly compensation, on returning to South Carolina he found 
 his vote exceedingly unpopular. Most of the Members of Con- 
 gress who voted for that measure were never returned. CAI,- 
 HOUN'S friends urged him to apologize to the electorate of his 
 district and acknowledge that he was wrong and ask their indul- 
 gence. But that he refused to do. Not believing that he 
 was wrong, he could not apologize. All he desired was to be 
 heard by the people. He went upon the stump, and he presented 
 with that precision and that logic for which he was noted his 
 reasons for his vote, and was triumphantly elected to Congress.
 
 62 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 That was the first and only time, Mr. Speaker, in all his forty 
 years of public life that he ever met opposition at the hands of 
 the people of South Carolina. 
 
 When he retired from the Vice-Presidency he entered the 
 Senate in what is characterized as the "debating era" of this 
 Government. There he found as colleagues Thomas Hart Ben- 
 ton, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster. Even the names of 
 many of the men in public life at that time have passed from 
 recollection, but these great intellectual giants stand out pre- 
 eminently in our history and are known to every schoolboy. It 
 is not necessary to say that as CALHOUN had taken the lead in 
 the House of Representatives in that set of young statesmen 
 who brought on the war of 1812 and established our independ- 
 ence upon the sea, in fact as well as in name, in the other end 
 of the Capitol he was likewise among the foremost. 
 
 As I have already said, he discussed all the great questions 
 from 1810 to 1850; and while his life went out as a great 
 tragedy, his place in history is secure. 
 
 It is a remarkable coincidence, Mr. Speaker, that just a hun- 
 dred years after JOHN C. CALHOUN was elected a Representative 
 in Congress, the people of South Carolina, through the general 
 assembly, accepting the invitation of Congress to place in Statu- 
 ary Hall in bronze or marble the effigy of one of her most emi- 
 nent citizens, has sent to this place the immaculate CALHOUN. 
 Pure, white, and spotless as is the marble statue which was this 
 day unveiled, it is not whiter, it is not purer, it is not more spot- 
 less than was JOHN C. CALHOUN as he tabernacled in the flesh. 
 [Applause.] 
 
 And so, Mr. Speaker, South Carolina presents to the American 
 people in lasting, enduring form, the statue of her greatest citizen; 
 and as I heard an eminent scholar in another body say to-day, 
 that of itself is no small compliment, for in war or in peace she
 
 Address of Mr. Johnson, of South Carolina 63 
 
 has always occupied a conspicuous place in our history. She 
 presented in 1810, arid has presented in every period of our 
 history, some of the most eminent men in the life of the Republic. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, I have not the time to dwell upon and develop 
 the thought, but I wish to mention it in passing, that South 
 Carolina has come to be the greatest cotton manufacturing State 
 in the Union save Massachusetts; but the protection sentiment 
 in that State is negligible. What an eloquent tribute is this 
 to JOHN C. CALHOUN ! 
 
 Take our greatest and most eminent citizen in spotless marble 
 as the heritage of all the people, and let his pure life be an 
 inspiration to pure living and high thinking. [Applause.]
 
 Address of Mr. McCall, of Massachusetts 
 jd 
 
 Mr. SPEAKER: Statuary Hall is, somewhat ambitiously, I 
 think, often called our national Pantheon, where a. place is 
 given to the statues of the great men of the Nation. The 
 collection doubtless belongs to the Nation, but in no other 
 sense except in a peculiar one can it be called a national gal- 
 lery. The selections are made by no national authority, but by 
 the separate States, which are given the equal right to choose 
 two men whose statues shall appear there. The hall is thus 
 primarily a gallery for the States, and that fact must be borne 
 clearly in mind in order to understand the meaning of the col- 
 lection. The States have usually done themselves justice, and, 
 with very few exceptions, have made the best selections they 
 could make, but as they are far from equal in fertility as 
 mothers of great men it is inevitable that there will be far 
 greater men not represented in the collection than some of those 
 who are there. Virginia, for instance, is a very nurse of lions. 
 She has already presented her two statues, and yet, if she 
 were given the right to add to the number, she has in reserve 
 Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall and 
 James Madison, any one of whom many of the States would 
 be proud to make their first choice. It is then a gallery of the 
 great men of the States rather than of the Nation. 
 
 But it is fortunate that we have a collection formed in this 
 way, because of the breadth of the portrayal which it really 
 gives to our history. Instead of witnessing there a single his- 
 torical tone, as we should if the gallery were filled by the choice 
 of New England, or the West, or the South, or possibly by some 
 central authority, we have the local and sectional coloring; 
 
 43796 10 5 65
 
 66 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 the choice of the different States gives us a blending of charac- 
 ters standing for different and even opposite shades of thought, 
 and we see there side by side the men out of whose conflicts 
 with each other has been evolved the America of to-day. [Ap- 
 plause.] How vastly better and broader this than to have none 
 but safe and orthodox statues illustrating a single constitu- 
 tional school, statesmen who advocated the same doctrines, 
 soldiers who always fought the same battles, with no suggestion 
 of the fierce internal struggles by which the Nation was molded. 
 Statuary Hall thus has a high value as a gallery of history with 
 the different sides of our great struggles represented. It is per- 
 haps too much to hope that it should also be a gallery of art. 
 
 The pending resolution formally accepts from the State of 
 South Carolina the statue of JOHN C. CALHOUN and thanks the 
 State for the gift. I think in this gift that she has done herself 
 full justice, and is presenting the statue of her most distin- 
 guished son, who played a great part in the development or our 
 national history. He was born and educated in the State and 
 was identified with her throughout his whole life. For nearly 
 forty years he was connected with the Government of the Nation 
 in the most responsible positions. He held the offices of Rep- 
 resentative and Senator from South Carolina, of Secretary 
 of War and of State, and of Vice-President. He was practi- 
 cally in continuous service from 1811 to 1850, when he died in 
 Washington while a Member of the Senate. In point of intel- 
 lect and in purity of character he ranks among the very greatest 
 of our statesmen, and, although his name is more conspicu- 
 ously identified than any other name with the theory of nulli- 
 fication, a theory to which his extraordinary power of logic 
 gave practical force as a political principle, more than once in 
 critical times he devoted himself to the work of preventing a 
 rupture between the central and the state governments and of
 
 Address of Mr. McCall, of Massachusetts 67 
 
 maintaining the Union. He was throughout his whole life 
 devoted to his native State. His first recollection was of South 
 Carolina as a completely sovereign republic except for the 
 Articles of Confederation which had little or no binding force. 
 He was nurtured in the idea that his State was his country, 
 and in his political philosophy his primary allegiance was to 
 her, and through her he derived his more remote and less affec- 
 tionate relations with the Federal Government. 
 
 He was fortunate in his education, considering the times. 
 His early boyhood was taken up with the reading of a very few 
 good books. For two years, which seems to have been almost 
 the entire time of his schooling in South Carolina, he attended 
 a famous school which was held in the woods with the boys 
 living in log cabins and farmhouses nearby, and every morning 
 at sunrise the master would summon them to work with a blast 
 upon a hunter's horn. He was a serious-minded boy, and re- 
 mained of a serious temperament throughout his life. 
 
 His biographer, Mr. Hunt, tells us that he rarely read poetry, 
 and that when he once essayed to write some verses every 
 stanza began with "whereas." His two years spent in Doctor 
 Waddell's school fitted him for the junior class at Yale College, 
 from which, after two more years of study, he graduated. He 
 then took a two years' course in a law school in Connecticut. 
 Thus, of six years spent at school, he was for four years in the 
 North. We should expect that his residence there would have 
 affected his views upon the great constitutional question with 
 which he was afterwards identified. And this is not at all 
 unlikely, for the theories that were kindred with nullification 
 were probably as rife at that day in Connecticut as they were in 
 South Carolina. And there is evidence that one of his law 
 teachers was of opinion in 1804 that the time had arrived for 
 New England to separate from the Union.
 
 68 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 When he entered Congress nearly all the leaders of the Revo- 
 lutionary period had passed from the stage and the affairs of 
 the Nation were soon to be directed by men of the next genera- 
 tion. During the next forty years Congress was to be largely 
 dominated by three men or, at least three men stood out so 
 conspicuously from their associates as to form a class by them- 
 selves; they were of such heroic proportions as to cause us even 
 to this day to look back upon that period of our congressional 
 history as upon a golden age. CALHOUN was one of that trium- 
 virate, and the others, it is hardly necessary to add, were Daniel 
 Webster and Henry Clay. 
 
 CALHOUN'S service at Washington divides itself into two 
 periods. From 1811 to 1828 he was a national statesman. He 
 declared in the House of Representatives that he was not there 
 to represent a State alone, but that he would contend for the 
 interest of the whole people. It was a theory of his at that 
 time that the "Constitution is not a thesis for the logician to 
 exercise his casuistry on." He declared that woolen and cotton 
 manufacturing should have a moderate but permanent protec- 
 tion. In his first term in Congress he brought in the resolution 
 for war against Great Britain, a war which, except for the 
 brilliant success of our few ships, was neither a glorious nor a 
 decisive war. As Secretary of War he was a member of the 
 same Cabinet as John Quincy Adams, and worked with that 
 critical statesman in a way to gain his admiration. With the 
 possible exception of Henry Clay, he was as thoroughgoing a 
 national statesman as could be found in Washington during his 
 first fifteen years of service. 
 
 We now come to the second period of his service, and in 
 what I shall say concerning this period I shall confine myself 
 to a few observations upon the subject which presents the most 
 important aspect of his career. He was by far the foremost
 
 Address of Mr. McCall, of Massachusetts 69 
 
 representative of the idea of state sovereignty and of the right 
 of a State to veto national laws, and it is in that relation that 
 he becomes a great historical character, imperishably associ- 
 ated with the overshadowing constitutional struggle of our 
 history. His position upon this issue was first clearly apparent 
 in 1828. The operation of the protective tariff had proved bur- 
 densome to South Carolina, which was almost purely an agri- 
 cultural State, with a system of slave labor unfavorable to the 
 development of manufactures. Extreme hostility to the tariff 
 led, under the loosely formed constitutional notions of that 
 time, to the development of the nullification programme. 
 
 CALHOUN found a sentiment of opposition to this unpopular 
 law widely prevalent in his State, and was influenced by it, but 
 that alone was not responsible for his position. He believed the 
 State to be sovereign. Our history at that time was full of 
 instances, which might serve him as precedents, where the 
 authority of the Central Government, as against the States, had 
 been questioned. The Virginia resolutions, which had been 
 drawn by Madison, one of the fathers of the Constitution; the 
 Kentucky resolutions, which were the work of Jefferson; the 
 proceedings of the Hartford convention, which had been par- 
 ticipated in by nearly all of the New England States, gave basis 
 for the claim that the States might nullify an unconstitutional 
 law of the Nation. CALHOUN attempted to justify the attitude 
 of his State in its hostility to a national law, and drew up the 
 famous Exposition of 1828, which strongly asserted the doctrine 
 of nullification and attempted to give it constitutional form. 
 
 He declared that each State might nullify a national law 
 which it regarded as in violation of the Constitution, and that 
 the State itself was the judge whether a law was. constitutional 
 or not. It is probable that at that moment CALHOUN was rather 
 a follower than a leader, and that he reluctantly accepted an
 
 yo Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 opinion that was rapidly acquiring revolutionary force. The 
 State definitely took its place as the leader of nullification, and 
 there was never afterwards within her borders a real division 
 upon that question. The court of appeals, which held the 
 official oath unconstitutional because it did not include the 
 National Constitution, was legislated out of existence, and the 
 great Union leaders were driven into exile and identified them- 
 selves with other States. 
 
 CALHOUN resigned the Vice-Presidency and took his seat in 
 the Senate in December, 1832, and in the following February he 
 made perhaps his most remarkable speech, occupying two days, 
 in which he amplified the doctrine of nullification with a re- 
 markable power of statement and analysis and with an intense 
 and remorseless logic, pressing to conclusions from which it 
 appears difficult to escape, but from which one instinctively 
 recoils. He declared that the Constitution was a compact be- 
 tween the States, which remained sovereign, and that the 
 Central Government possessed none of the attributes of sov- 
 ereignty, but only exercised powers delegated to it by the 
 States; and that upon the question whether the National Gov- 
 ernment had encroached upon the reserved rights of the State, 
 the latter alone was the rightful judge. He argued that to per- 
 mit the National Government to decide finally upon the con- 
 stitutionality of its own laws would be ultimately to destroy the 
 States. Yet in its practical effect it was clear that his doc- 
 trine that the States were the rightful judges of the constitu- 
 tionality of national laws, which they assumed the power to 
 nullify, would as effectively destroy the National Government or 
 reduce it to a mere shadow. To this speech a reply was imme- 
 diately made by Webster, who showed the chaos that would 
 result from the application of the theory, and who maintained 
 that the basis of the National Government was not a compact,
 
 Address of Mr. McCall, of Massachusetts 71 
 
 but a Constitution binding all the States and the people within 
 its sphere and forming a Union which revolution alone could 
 overthrow. 
 
 The theory of nullification, however, had received in the 
 speech of Hayne in the Senate its most popular presentation 
 while CALHOUN was yet Vice-President, but after South Carolina 
 had adopted the exposition which codified it and for the first 
 time gave it a definite form. That speech was one of the most 
 brilliant in the annals of our Congress. It was not so philo- 
 sophical nor so closely reasoned as were CALHOUN'S speeches, 
 but it presented the theory with great force, and it contained a 
 slashing attack upon New England and upon some of her public 
 men. It was a brilliant fighting speech, worthy of the place it 
 holds in our greatest debate. Hayne rendered his country a real 
 practical service in the personal and sectional passages of his 
 speech, because they served as a whip to arouse the combative 
 instincts of one of the statesmen of New England. Daniel Web- 
 ster was then a Member of the Senate. He doubtless would 
 have made a great constitutional argument if he had been at- 
 tempting to reply to a coldly constitutional and logical speech, 
 such as CALHOUN would have made, for Webster had at that 
 time won the place which he held unchallenged for a quarter of a 
 century as the leader of the American bar. But the dashing 
 personal and sectional attack which Hayne had delivered moved 
 the large and somewhat sluggish nature of Webster to some- 
 thing more than a constitutional argument. It thoroughly 
 awakened him and kindled his passion so that while his reply 
 vindicated the cause of the Union and the supremacy of the 
 National Constitution with amazing power, it did much more. 
 It glowed with the warmth of passion, it displayed a superb 
 irony and invective; in the declamatory passages it spread out 
 the colors of a gorgeous rhetoric; in brief, it presented the great
 
 72 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 argument in a popular form, something that gave it much of 
 the tremendous influence which it was destined to exert in 
 molding popular opinion. This speech planted the idea of na- 
 tionality broadcast, and it was time that that was done. There 
 was scarcely a school boy in the North in the quarter of a cen- 
 tury before the civil war who did not declaim it. It built up, if 
 it did not create, the sentiment of nationality. Much has been 
 said about the decisive battles of the world. One needs to be 
 cautious in using the superlative, but I think it can at least 
 fairly be said that this speech of Webster's is one of the very 
 few decisive speeches of the world, and that it is largely due 
 to it that the cause of Union finally triumphed. 
 
 The oratorical duel to which I have referred between CALHOUN 
 and Webster in 1833, while not so dramatic nor of nearly so 
 popular a character as the debate between Webster and Hayne, 
 gave the most complete discussion of the question that it ever 
 received. While much was afterwards spoken upon the subject, 
 but little, if anything, was added to the argument. 
 
 CALHOUN died in 1850. There was after all a warm spot in 
 his heart for the Union, and in the last days of his life he was 
 struggling to compromise the situation and to keep the Union 
 running, although he was profoundly pessimistic as to the out- 
 come. At the same time, Webster was setting the Union above 
 everything else and alienating many of his friends at home by 
 the sacrifices which he was willing to make for it. Neither of 
 them lived to witness the final appeal to the tribunal of war. 
 That tribunal rendered a decree, the justice and wisdom of 
 which are beyond question, in favor of nationality, and it 
 decreed also that as we have an indestructible Union, so, in the 
 lofty language of the Supreme Court, spoken since the civil war, 
 it is an indestructible Union of indestructible States. [Applause.] 
 Unless by new amendments the powers of the National Govern-
 
 Address of Mr. McCall, of Massachusetts 73 
 
 ment can be augmented only by usurpation, which would be no 
 less repugnant to Webster's constitutional theory than was 
 nullification itself. There is danger that we may forget the 
 fundamental importance of maintaining the balance established 
 between the States and the National Government. Undoubt- 
 edly the tendency of our time has been toward the absorption 
 by the National Government of the reserved powers of the 
 States. We are tugging at the fetters of our written Constitu- 
 tion as at a chain, and by a species of governmental hypocrisy 
 we have more than once pretended to exercise a power which is 
 granted in order really to wield some power which is not granted. 
 It is for us to see to it that the system, which secures Union 
 while it safeguards liberty, and which war and argument have 
 done their best to establish, shall not be disturbed by state nul- 
 lification on the one hand nor by national usurpation on the 
 other. [Applause.] 
 
 But we of to-day are separated from their time by one of the 
 most colossal of wars. While they had their fears, they did 
 not know what was to come. They were struggling in a peace- 
 ful forum for the conflicting views of our system. And as the 
 realism of art perpetuates the past and projects it vividly into 
 the present, so in a hall in this Capitol, which more than once 
 rang with their eloquence, the foremost champion of nullifica- 
 tion and the great defender of the Union may still be seen con- 
 tending with each other and fighting over again in marble the 
 great battle of the Constitution. [Loud applause.]
 
 Address of Mr. Lever, of South Carolina 
 J> 
 
 Mr. SPEAKER: Tender as a mother in solitary vigil over her 
 first born, for more than half a century the State of his nativity 
 has kept loving watch over the sepulchered ashes of her most 
 illustrious citizen. For forty years she intrusted him with a 
 confidence akin to idolatry, and the vicissitudes of two genera- 
 tions of men and measures have not sufficed to lessen that 
 veneration nor to bring disloyalty to his memory. His influ- 
 ence upon the standard of political morality and official purity 
 in his State is as vital to-day as when he drew the drapery of 
 his couch about him and laid down to pleasant dreams. 
 
 The auspicious events of this day, recording the verdict of 
 exact and impartial history, mark the consummation of tribute 
 of a reunioned people. The Nation, removed from the bitter- 
 ness, strife, and misunderstanding of his distinguished activi- 
 ties, here welcome the opportunity to join South Carolina in 
 canceling a long-standing debt of gratitude, in paying proper 
 homage to his loyal and unselfish patriotism. The Nation 
 honors itself; the fame of JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN, always 
 secure, now happily commands its national recognition. 
 
 Our Hall of Fame, filled with the testimonials of a people's 
 love and gratitude to their great dead, holds none which de- 
 serves them more than that unveiled to-day. No encomium 
 the Nation may pay to him can compensate for the life he 
 devoted to her service. The matchless probity of his imperial 
 character, his undoubted love for the institutions of his coun- 
 try, are a lesson and an inspiration inestimable in influence 
 
 75
 
 76 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 upon generations yet to come. To quote the measured lan- 
 guage of Mr. Webster, his greatest compeer, Mr. Calhoun was 
 "a man of undoubted genius and commanding intellect, of 
 unspotted integrity, of unimpeached honor." "He has lived 
 long enough, he has done enough, and he has done it so well, 
 so successfully, so honorably, as to connect himself for all time 
 with the records of his country." Aye, in truth, his endeavors 
 alone have builded a monument imposing beyond the power of 
 man to devise. His other great compeer, Mr. Clay, refers to 
 his "transcendent talents; clear, concise, compact logic; his 
 felicity in generalization surpassed by none." In like vein 
 spoke all of his great contemporaries, each eulogizing him as a 
 man of spotless character, unsurpassed genius, unalloyed devo- 
 tion to duty and country. Mr. Elaine, himself the most daz- 
 zling political leader of his time, in his admirable work, Twenty 
 Years of Congress, pays him the tribute, "History will adjudge 
 him to have been single-hearted and honest in his political 
 creed." "His life was eminently pure, his career exceptional, 
 his fame established beyond the reach of calumny, beyond 
 the power of detraction." This prophecy is fulfilled; history 
 has adjudged; its decree is writ; imperishable is the fame of the 
 great South Carolinian ! [Applause.] 
 
 The most vital period in a nation's history a nation whose 
 institutions rest upon written constitutions is that which may 
 be called "the period of interpretation." In the annals of time 
 no assemblage of men contained more w : sdom, more devoted 
 patriotism, more comprehensive reach into the future than that 
 which framed our Federal Constitution. Even it builded wiser 
 than it knew. A broader, more pregnant, and all-embracing 
 instrument was never conceived in the wisdom of mankind. 
 Out of it has grown the glory of the Nation and upon it is 
 predicated her greatness for the future. This "the work of the
 
 Address of Mr. Lever, of South Carolina 77 
 
 ages, chief classic in the literature of freedom," stands without 
 parallel in the history of human government as man's greatest 
 work for freedom of men. [Applause.] 
 
 The inherent potentiality of a written instrument is measured 
 by the wisdom of its interpretation. As through the centuries 
 the destiny of England has been shapen in her traditions the 
 course of these United States is mapped in the interpretation 
 of its written Constitution. The searchlights of ships, breaking 
 the gloom of the trackless deep, point the pathway of safety; 
 interpretation, illuminating the dark, pathless way of the ship of 
 state, marks her course for weal or woe. 
 
 The interpreters of the Constitution have exerted an influence 
 greater, certainly not less, than its framers in determining the 
 character of our institutions. Free government is a growth, 
 a development, a process of evolution, the resultant of wise in- 
 terpretations as well as correct and sound fundamentals. The 
 Constitution was but dumb, unliving parchment until touched 
 by the genius of interpretation. In hallowing the sages who 
 wrought it into form let us not forget the services of the philoso- 
 phers and prophets whose transcendent intellectualities infused 
 into it life and power by the masterful sagacity of their inter- 
 pretations.. 
 
 During this period, the building upon the foundation, the 
 transition stage, the most perilous of all others, the rock fatal 
 in the career of republics, the combat of giants, the charge and 
 recoil of master spirits, the sons of South Carolina shone bright- 
 est in the firmament of national ideals and carried her flag 
 farthest to the front in the field of thought and influence. 
 No State of this Union ever contributed, at any one time, a 
 greater array of brilliant leaders than did South Carolina, in 
 her William Lowndes, Langdon Cheves, Robert Y. Hayne, 
 William C. Preston, George McDuffie, JOHN C. CALHOUN.
 
 78 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 [Applause.] Great as were all these great characters, power- 
 ful as was the impress of each upon the thought of his age, 
 popular in State and Nation as they were, preeminent in learn- 
 ing and eloquence, devoted and unswerving to country and a 
 high sense of duty, Mr. CALHOUN stands above and beyond 
 them all in the completeness of his character, the fullness of 
 his wisdom, the matchless splendor of his mind. In moral and 
 intellectual grandeur he was without peer among all these 
 great men, whose brilliant accomplishments have brought so 
 rich a luster to the history of South Carolina. 
 
 From his entrance into her legislature to the day of his 
 death his power in the State was substantially absolute. Her 
 destiny she willingly committed to his keeping. And out of 
 this arose the charge that his predominance in her affairs had 
 crushed the spirit of her independence, moving the celebrated 
 ex-Governor Perry to say: 
 
 I thought, after the death of Mr. CALHOUN the people of South Caro- 
 lina could think more independently. 
 
 What higher tribute can be paid any force of character or 
 power of intellectuality than to admit they held so complete 
 and welcomed mastery over so proud and independent a people ! 
 
 The power of Mr. CALHOUN in the State was the indirect 
 effect of his commanding preeminence in the affairs of the 
 Nation. It was in this forum that his great wisdom, his won- 
 derfully acute analytical powers, his marvelous grasp of public 
 questions, his prophetic vision, his personal and political integ- 
 rity, gave him a place enjoyed by few surpassed by none in 
 this most important pivotal period of interpretation. From 
 his advent into the national arena until the close of his momen- 
 tous life, the impress of his mighty mind, in conjunction with 
 those only who ever approached him in intellectual force and 
 influence Webster, Clay, and Benton stamped itself upon 
 every page of- the history of that period.
 
 Address of Mr. Lever, of South Carolina 79 
 
 CALHOUN, Webster, Clay, Benton, each greater, each 'less 
 than the other, this roll call sounds the depth of the Nation's 
 intellectual pride. [Applause.] The legislative history of 
 civilization fails to furnish a quartette comparable with this in 
 the variety of its talents, the magnitude of its genius, the wis- 
 dom of its leadership, and the clearness of its prophecy. Eng- 
 land's masterful triumvirate Burke, Fox, Pitt measured by 
 the standard of comparative abilities and attainments, must 
 give place to our more masterful four. 
 
 In no other country has any like combination of men com- 
 manded a firmer grip upon or a more thorough conception of 
 the problems of the present, nor exerted upon those of the 
 future a greater or more lasting influence. During all their 
 long service none arose powerful enough to dispute their dom- 
 inancy in the forum of their activity. In this field they were 
 supreme, all-powerful, overshadowing every other and all 
 others history's greatest Senators. Here they were the 
 embodiment of the thought, policies, ambitions, and prophe- 
 cies of the Nation. Their lives are the history of that genera- 
 tion; their philosophy, teachings, and interpretations the 
 bases upon which the institutions of government rest even to 
 this day. 
 
 Of this splendid galaxy, this inseparable quartette of political 
 philosophers, none eradiated a more conspicuous and constant 
 brilliancy than Mr. CALHOUN. It is true he did not possess the 
 enormous knowledge of Mr. Benton, nor the highly developed 
 perception and penetration of Mr. Clay, nor the rich imagery 
 and almost divine prophecy of Mr. Webster; but in the domain 
 of speculative philosophy and metaphysics he was greater than 
 all combined. He was not so practical as Mr. Benton, nor so 
 dashing a parliamentary leader as Mr. Clay, nor so incompa- 
 rable an orator as Mr. Webster; but as a logician he is unrivaled 
 among the sons of men.
 
 80 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 Mr. CALHOUN was not a great orator. He was a great speaker 
 and an unerring analyst. He addressed the intellect, not the 
 emotion. The marked characteristic of his mind was its power 
 of analysis, a faculty which when fully developed constitutes 
 the highest order of human genius. His was not the meteoric 
 genius that dazzles only to blind, but the kind which resolves 
 abstrusest problems into simplest elements. No mind was 
 ever better equipped for the peculiar task which engaged it 
 than was his in unfolding the novelty of an untried democracy. 
 The paucity of precedents of that day forced its statesmanship 
 upon its own resources and opened the most inviting field for 
 the philosopher and the metaphysician. The Constitution gave 
 only general principles to be resolved into their constituent 
 parts, each to be applied to existing circumstances. The 
 wisest and most original thinker could only speculate as to the 
 results. It was the period of interpretation, the especial field 
 of the analyst. 
 
 The stage setting, actors, the drama itself, conspired to pro- 
 voke the fullest exercise of Mr. CALHOUN'S characteristic 
 talents, and he played the role of interpreter as no man in our 
 history ever played it save Mr. Webster alone. Mr. Webster 
 did not excel him. Upon the intricate questions of this time, 
 so full of complexities, he brought to bear his great power of 
 simplification, direct thinking, resistless deduction, sustained 
 concentration. In such circumstances his power of reasoning, 
 of breaking the mass of things into self-evident first principles, 
 of bringing order out of chaos, of illuminating for others, with 
 the mighty light of his own intellectuality, the dark and appar- 
 ent impenetrable, gave him first rank among the master minds 
 of this important epoch. 
 
 It was this power of concentration, this ability to see beyond 
 the intervening rubbish the one object for investigation, this 
 almost superhuman directness of perception, that was his great-
 
 Address of Mr. Lever, of South Carolina 81 
 
 est strength and yet his greatest weakness. In the telescopic 
 operations of his great mind, the subtle precision of his reason- 
 ing, the complete absorption of all his faculties in the subject 
 of immediate investigation, it is said, caused him at times to 
 overlook the present correlated influences or to appreciate their 
 ultimate effect upon the practical results of his final conclu- 
 sions. Within the limits of his vision he was without peer; 
 but it is asserted that the safety of his leadership and the 
 soundness of his theories were impaired by the narrowness of 
 that vision. 
 
 He saw the ship of state swinging down the encliffed channel 
 of the future, saw it with a clearness approaching the super- 
 natural; saw the placid waters upon which it floated; saw the 
 hidden rocks, the dangerous shoals, the roaring cataract; saw 
 them as no other man of his time saw them, and devoted his 
 energies, his wonderful powers, his life itself, to giving her safe 
 voyage. For him the Constitution had marked that channel, 
 for him the Constitution was that ship's compass; beyond that 
 he could not and did not see the pilotage of none other would 
 he trust. In his own language, "To restrict the powers of this 
 Government within the rigid limits prescribed by the Constitu- 
 tion," this was the chart of his interpretation, the embodiment 
 of his attitude. By this he followed his course, formulated his 
 policies, directed his activities, predicated his prophecies. All 
 other considerations were subservient; to keep "within the rigid 
 limits prescribed by the Constitution" was the supremest 
 thought of his mind, the dearest object of his heart. If to fol- 
 low the teachings of the fathers is weakness, who but glories 
 in the charge. 
 
 "The rigid limits prescribed by the Constitution" words how 
 full of meaning, how pregnant with the combat of master minds, 
 with history, with destiny itself! They hold the long, illustrious 
 life story of JOHN C. CALHOUN. They contain his doctrine of 
 
 43796 10 6
 
 82 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 nullification the word he wished inscribed upon his tomb 
 they comprise the tragic events of secession; they embody the 
 doctrine of States rights, which yet lives in its virgin strength, 
 shedding its beneficent influences upon the statesmanship of this 
 generation. To him these words meant liberty, union, and the 
 Constitution, one and inseparable, if that might be; but liberty 
 and the Constitution inseparable forever. 
 
 To the preservation of these he concentrated his abilities with 
 a devoutness bordering upon fanaticism. Considerations of self 
 were buried in the unflinching struggle. Ambition was sacrificed 
 upon the altar of principle to keep intact and pure these price- 
 less jewels. In the zeal of his guardianship is found explana- 
 tion for the seeming inconsistencies of his career. Viewed in 
 the light of this indisputable history, the mists of misunder- 
 standing, which for two generations have dimmed the splendor 
 of his character, begin to roll away and unveil him to us the 
 purest, most unselfish, most devoted patriot. 
 
 A course moved by such ends necessarily brought maledic- 
 tions upon him and necessitated that independence of party 
 trammels which have made those who love a man admire him 
 most. He refused to bow to the caprice of unthinking constitu- 
 encies, ready at all times to relinquish his commission to those 
 whom he honored to represent. Others might compromise their 
 convictions for the commendation of the hour, others might 
 swerve from the path of duty to avoid its dangers, others 
 might flee from the wrath of public opinion, others might be 
 deaf to the pleadings of the seers, others might quail before the 
 lightning flash of the hastening storm, others might temporize 
 and hesitate, but not this man of rugged' courage and iron 
 independence. 
 
 He, like a solid rock by seas inclosed, 
 To raging winds and roaring waves exposed, 
 From his proud summit looking down disdains 
 Their empty menace, and unmoved remains. 
 
 [Applause.]
 
 Address of Mr. Lever, of South Carolina 83 
 
 Upon his monument, in historic St. Phillip's Churchyard are 
 engraven the words, "Truth, Justice, and the Constitution." 
 Fittingly they comprehend the ideals for which he wrought. In 
 his toilsome pursuit of them, he disdained the allurements of 
 ambition, scorned the groveling practices of smaller men, 
 endured without murmur the darts of misunderstanding, the 
 shafts of misrepresentation, and the malignant arrows of fanat- 
 ical hate. Unawed and unmoved by the fury of conflicting 
 ideals, unterrified by the menace of lowering clouds, unseduced 
 by the beckoning hand of preferment, he strode forward, some- 
 times the popular idol, sometimes alone, always self-reliant in 
 the strength of his mighty gianthood the defender of truth, 
 the champion of justice, the protagonist of a strict and literal 
 interpretation of the Constitution. [Loud applause.]
 
 Address of Mr. Ellerbe. of South Carolina 
 ,* 
 
 Mr. SPEAKER : The occasion which has to-day brought together 
 this concourse of patriotic citizens is one which has found its 
 precedent in history, from the first gray dawn of civilization 
 down to the present day. 
 
 Excavators have discovered on the banks of the Tigris, where 
 they have been buried for ages, slabs of alabaster which ex- 
 hibit in relief the forms and faces of the men who governed 
 the East in that remote period. 
 
 It has been the custom of most nations to erect bronze or 
 marble statues in commemoration of their great men. 
 
 There is the fond desire, always in the hearts of the living, to 
 perpetuate the forms of those who have been distinguished in 
 the service of God and man, or of those whose hearts have 
 beat in unison with our own, and we seek to express this de- 
 sire in the immortality of art. 
 
 The great Carolinian, to honor whom we come to-day, sleeps 
 in his own loved Dixie. The stately pines lift their heads 
 proudly around his tomb and whisper to each other the story 
 of his pure and patriotic life. His fame is secure, for it is 
 guarded by his own good works. We know that we can add 
 nothing to that fame, for 
 
 His grandeur he derived from Heaven alone, 
 For he was great ere fortune made him so; 
 And strifes, like mists that rise against the sun, 
 Made him but greater seem not greater grow. 
 
 [Applause.] 
 
 85
 
 86 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 But the spontaneous love of southern hearts has placed this 
 statue in the halls which have echoed to the words of his elo- 
 quence, because they desire to have their children and their 
 children's children know how South Carolina loves and honors 
 her greatest son. [Applause.] 
 
 JOHN C. CALHOUN 
 
 This is not the hour in which to measure his labors or inter- 
 pret his ideas. Looking back through the years we realize that 
 his large experience and broad forecast gave him notice of 
 national dangers, as the wires of the telegraph flash news of 
 startling import unknown to the slumbering villages through 
 which they pass. 
 
 With CALHOUN there was never a thought of self. His great 
 heart was filled to overflowing with love of his State, and with- 
 out hesitation he gave up the second, and surrendered all hope 
 of the first, office in the country to defend South Carolina in 
 her solitary attitude of opposition to protective policy. [Ap- 
 plause.] 
 
 The grandeur of his intellect, the purity of his patriotism, 
 and the blamelessness of his life were appreciated fully by his 
 great rivals in the Senate, and his glory only shines the brighter 
 in conjunction with those rivals. 
 
 CALHOUN, Clay, and Webster, what a triumvirate! Everett 
 says: 
 
 They can but be named in alphabetical order; what other precedence 
 could be given them? CAUHOUN, the great thinker; Clay, the great 
 leader; Webster, the great orator. 
 
 Distance can not destroy nor time diminish the simple splen- 
 dor of CALHOUN'S life. It shines, and is a guidance to admiring 
 posterity. 
 
 And now, when the grateful task of placing here this statue 
 is complete, we hand it over as a gift to the Nation.
 
 Address of Mr. Ellerbe, of South Carolina 87 
 
 The stranger approaching this sacred spot shall linger and 
 gaze upon the form of South Carolina's greatest son, and shall 
 realize that he still lives in the heart of his people and the his- 
 tory of his State. [Applause.] 
 
 May this statue stand firmly upon its pedestal as long as the 
 Dome of the Capitol rises in grandeur above it. 
 
 May it inspire in youthful hearts the desire to give the best 
 that is in them to the service of their country, even as did JOHN 
 C. CALHOUN. [Loud applause.]
 
 Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 
 
 Mr. SPEAKER: CALHOUN'S speech in reply to Webster, delivered 
 in the Senate on the 26th of February, 1833, was never answered. 
 Mr. Webster followed with a few remarks, expressing kind feel- 
 ing for Mr. CALHOUN for it is well known that their personal 
 relations were most cordial but he never answered the real 
 questions at issue. Mr. Stephens, in his work The War Between 
 the States, says ; 
 
 This speech of CAI^HOUN was not answered then; it has not been answered 
 since; and, in my judgment, never will be, or can be answered while truth 
 has its legitimate influence and reason controls the judgment of men. 
 
 There can be no doubt that this speech modified the views 
 of Mr. Webster, for his subsequent speech before the Supreme 
 Court in 1839, as well as his Capron Springs speech in Virginia in 
 1851, tend strongly to demonstrate this fact. If this be true, 
 what a tribute to the genius of CALHOUN, as well as the intellect 
 and character of Webster. In our schoolboy days we never called 
 the name of one without thinking of the other. 
 
 Three public men of that day we were taught to reverence. 
 The great triumvirate we called them Clay, Webster, CALHOUN. 
 We heard their names around the fireside ; we listened to extracts 
 from their speeches in the Richmond papers; we listened with 
 intense interest to debates between the old Whig and Democratic 
 parties; we saw old men weep like children when Clay was de- 
 feated for the Presidency; we saw the war clouds gather as pre- 
 dicted, and were soon reading of the conflict and victories in 
 Mexico; we read that CALHOUN had refused to vote for war and 
 
 8 9
 
 9 o Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 declared "that the President and Congress were behaving in 
 a manner most unconstitutional." He said: 
 
 Every Senator knows that I oppose the war, but none save myself knows 
 the depth of that opposition. For the first time in my public life I can not 
 see the future. 
 
 He also added : 
 
 It has closed the first volume of our political history under the Constitu- 
 tion and opened the second, and no mortal can tell what will be written 
 upon it. 
 
 It may be said that the second volume of the history of the 
 United States was opened by Mr. CALHOUN himself on February 
 9, 1847, when he presented resolutions covering the whole 
 ground of the slave question with regard to the Territories. To 
 this volume of American history Mr. CALHOUN contributed his 
 part ably, earnestly, and eloquently. About this time he uttered 
 a sentiment that recalls the language of Clay when he said, "I 
 had rather be right than President." It was this: 
 
 For many a year, Mr. President, I have aspired to an object higher than 
 the Presidency, and that is to do my duty under all circumstances * * * 
 in reference always to the prosperity of my country. 
 
 In this he spoke correctly, for his sense of duty was the staff 
 upon which he leaned as he went down into the shadow. March 
 4, 1850, Mr. Mason, of Virginia, read for him his last speech. 
 This speech was both pathetic and prophetic. I forbear to 
 quote. The readers of these addresses to-day will do well in 
 some leisure hours to read the closing pages of the second volume 
 of American history and glance at the opening of another. There 
 are a few here on both sides of this Chamber who helped to make 
 the history contained in the third volume, but we are too modest 
 to speak of it often, and prefer to keep it for the most part out of 
 the RECORD. On the last day of March, 1850, the news of
 
 Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 91 
 
 CALHOUN'S death spread from one end of the country to the 
 other. His last words were : 
 
 The South! The poor South! God knows what will become of her! 
 
 Here let me add, by way of parenthesis, that I listened only 
 an hour ago in another Chamber to one of the most scholarly 
 addresses I ever heard, where this dying expression of Mr. 
 CALHOUN was quoted and beautifully commented on by the 
 Speaker, who represented a school of philosophy entirely differ- 
 ent from that taught by Mr. CALHOUN. 
 
 Did his prophetic soul in the very hour of dissolution catch a 
 glimpse of the awful catastrophy that was coming to the land 
 he loved and the homes he cherished ? A minor prophet could 
 even then see the cloud no larger than a man's hand, but he could 
 not foresee its momentum and destructive force. It was given to 
 this prince among men to utter a lamantation for his people to 
 which we find no parallel, save in the utterances of Jeremiah 
 when, picturing the condition of his countrymen, he exclaimed 
 in the bitterness of his heart : 
 
 Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our 
 reproach. Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. 
 We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers areas widows. * * * serv- 
 ants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their 
 hand. 
 
 Reasoning from cause to effect, CALHOUN'S logical and 
 prescient mind caught a glimpse of the future the man on 
 horseback; shattered and broken Commonwealths; the shock of 
 battle, charge and countercharge; the dead and dying like 
 sheaves of wheat lying on open plains where luxuriant grain 
 had waved in beauty. A land in mourning; orphans crying in 
 the street; widows refusing to be comforted. Suffering sorrow, 
 Death ! Hell ! All that these suggest of human calamity weighed 
 on the mind and heart of this political prophet as in agony he 
 exclaims, "God knows what will become of her."
 
 92 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 And God did know and has wonderfully ordained for out 
 of His law of compensation as unfailing as the law of gravita- 
 tion has come a miracle for the people whom JOHN C. CALHOUN 
 loved so well and served so faithfully. Time would fail to tell 
 through what instrumentalities this miracle has been wrought 
 or by what sacrifices the marvelous results have been reached. 
 Enough to say that the citizen soldiery of the South, whose 
 achievements in war will survive in song and story while 
 courage has an altar or virtue a shrine have shown them- 
 selves greater heroes in peace than ever they were in war. To 
 them and their sons must be attributed the wonderful growth 
 and development of the South. True they are falling more 
 rapidly than they fell in battle, and the brave men who met 
 them in deadly conflict and by whose deeds of valor they may 
 well measure their manhood and chivalry are passing at the 
 rate perhaps of 300 each month. These survivors of the might- 
 iest conflict that ever shook a continent have solved many prob- 
 lems that taxed to the uttermost their courage, their patience, 
 and endurance. In time the South will solve others that seem 
 now almost insurmountable. The unseen power invoked in the 
 dying words of JOHN C. CALHOUN has furnished a law of com- 
 pensation the miracle goes on. The unseen forces are the 
 strongest and most impelling. For all we know the spirit of 
 JOHN C. CALHOUN catches a view of a happy land and a pros- 
 perous people. And for ourselves fettered in our caskets of 
 clay and hindered by our limitations we can only rejoice, "That 
 beauty has been given for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and 
 the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." 
 
 Mr. Speaker, my friends and colleagues from South Caro- 
 lina have requested me to present some views on the life and 
 character of JOHN C. CALHOUN. I wish their choice had fallen 
 on some abler and less busy member of the Virginia delegation,
 
 Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 93 
 
 for Virginia's estimate of the noble South Carolinian deserves 
 a better tribute than I am able to pay in the limited time I 
 have had for preparation, as well as the time that due regard 
 for the proprieties of the situation warrant me in using on 
 this occasion. 
 
 In Virginia we regard JOHN C. CALHOUN as a grand son of the 
 Old Commonwealth for his father, of revolutionary fame and 
 achievement, emigrated from Ireland before the Revolutionary 
 war, and settled in what is now Wythe County, Va., where he 
 married a lady of the name of Caldwell, the mother of JOHN C. 
 CALHOUN, and whose family also came from Ireland. Patrick 
 Calhoun was driven by the Indians from the western part of 
 Virginia. In 1756 he removed to Abbeville District, in South 
 Carolina, where JOHN C. CALHOUN was born on the i8th of 
 March, 1782, being the youngest of five children four sons and 
 one daughter. 
 
 He was named for his uncle, Maj. John Caldwell, who was 
 assassinated by the Tories in the Revolutionary war. Stories 
 of this Revolutionary hero were told me around the fireside in 
 my childhood, and a graphic recital of his encounter with and 
 slaying a Cherokee chief that came to my notice only two days 
 ago recalled the history of Virginia and South Carolina as 
 taught me by my father about the time of the death of JOHN 
 C. CALHOUN. Perhaps of all these who will to-day speak of this 
 patriot and statesman I am the only one who recalls his death 
 and the tribute that was paid to his life and character by Vir- 
 ginia, as well as South Carolina. I shall never forget the com- 
 ments made by my father and his neighbors, and the tributes 
 the Virginia papers paid to his memory. 
 
 None can question the selection by South Carolina of JOHN C. 
 CALHOUN to occupy an honored place in the Hall of America's 
 most famous men. CALHOUN'S title to this honor is spread on
 
 94 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 page after page of the history of his State and the history of 
 this Nation. 
 
 In private and in public life, in character, genius, and suc- 
 cessful achievement of great tasks he stamped himself a man 
 to be honored and remembered, and South Carolina does well 
 to place his statue here. 
 
 His worship of truth, his sincerity, and his sterling integrity 
 were never questioned. No charge of corruption or intrigue 
 ever stained his public life. America claims no statesman 
 whose private life and moral character stands higher; none 
 whose genius and ability can greatly overshadow . him. His 
 State may well be proud of him, this Nation may well honor 
 him, and history must justly place him in the front rank of great 
 men of any age or country. 
 
 His was a mind combining in rare degree those qualities that 
 constitute an intellect of the highest order. As a logician he 
 has been ranked with Chief Justice Marshall, and, like Marshall, 
 believed that the true art of logic was in rightly stating the first 
 proposition. 
 
 No less prominent was his great moral courage, and his per- 
 fect reliance on the power of truth and the capacity of the 
 people to be convinced of it. Often in advance of the times, he 
 suffered in prospects and political honors in defense of opinions 
 that he lived to see successfully adopted by his opponents, yet 
 never hesitating to avow his opinions, however unpopular at 
 the moment, confidently stating that he never knew the time 
 when the American people could not be made to see the truth. 
 
 He was not learned, in the general acceptation of the term, 
 for leisure and opportunity for the details of scholarship were 
 not afforded him. He gathered vast stores of information from 
 every available source, especially from contact and exchange of 
 views with other men.
 
 Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 95 
 
 With true genius he separated the true and the valuable from 
 the false and erroneous. His mind worked with wonderful 
 speed and rare accuracy. 
 
 CALHOUN richly deserved the tribute of Winthrop, when he 
 said that 
 
 There was an unsullied purity in his private life; there was an inflexible 
 integrity in his public conduct; there was an indescribable fascination in 
 his familiar conversation; there was a condensed energy in his formal dis- 
 course; there was a quickness of perception, a vigor of deduction, a direct- 
 ness and devotedness of purpose in all that he said or wrote or did; there 
 was a Roman dignity in his whole Senatorial deportment, which, together, 
 made up a character which can not fail to be contemplated and admired to 
 the latest posterity. 
 
 CALHOUN as a statesman was unquestionably one of the most 
 brilliant of this country. To devoted patriotism he added 
 sturdy independence, disdaining to calculate the consequences 
 of the faithful discharge of his duty. Fortified by conscious 
 rectitude and purity of motive, he firmly and boldly followed 
 his convictions with an ability, force, and persistence that noth- 
 ing could withstand. Never timid, never timeserving, he vig- 
 orously and ably pursued a course purely national, regardless of 
 mere sectional or local interest. Farseeing and sagacious, advo- 
 cating measures for the good of his country before their neces- 
 sity was commonly apparent and approved, he constantly 
 sought to lead and mold the public thought rather than wait 
 to follow it in inglorious safety and popularity. [Applause.] 
 
 A devoted worshiper of republican institutions, he aimed to 
 give firmness and durability to our form of government and to 
 demonstrate to the world its superiority over all other forms of 
 government. An ardent student of its principles, he labored 
 incessantly for means and measures to preserve and perpetuate 
 them. Though an active and conspicuous leader in party ex- 
 citement and strife, all concur in ascribing to him none but the 
 most patriotic, conscientious, and disinterested motives.
 
 96 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 It has been well said that there are two classes of politicians : 
 
 The one consists of mere men of precedent, the blind and indiscrimina- 
 ting followers of any path, whether made by folly or wisdom, and whether 
 strewn with ruins or covered with trophies; the other, of mere men of 
 theory, who, regardless of the settled habits of the community, erect in 
 their own minds an ideal phantom of perfection, at whose voracious shrine 
 all existing establishments are offered up, however endeared by habits or 
 consecrated by time. 
 
 Between these two extremes stood CALHOUN,. pursuing that 
 middle course that his own wisdom, profound knowledge, and 
 clear foresight of the needs of his country dictated. To this, in 
 large measure, is due his career of such conspicuous usefulness. 
 
 CALHOUN was in truth a great American. No one more thor- 
 oughly understood those principles of human liberty which it 
 was the mission of our people to spread over a vast continent 
 and in time become an object lesson for the human race. And 
 still he was the Southerner, for he understood and appreciated 
 to the full the social organization peculiar to the South. 
 
 His love of truth, of freedom, and of his country, coupled 
 with a thorough scorn of everything base and groveling, con- 
 stituted his ruling passions. In private life he was singularly 
 cheerful, amiable, and fascinating. His friends, his foes, his 
 rivals, the very abolitionists themselves, rendered him tribute 
 and acknowledged his private virtues, his public worth, and his 
 conspicuous ability in every sphere in life. 
 
 While some of his political sentiments differed from those of 
 the great and good of the age, he was absolutely sincere, and 
 asserted his beliefs with all the earnestness of an enthusiastic 
 nature. It has often been said that he wished to sever the 
 Union. He loved the Union and strove to preserve it. On this 
 point a contemporary of his said: 
 
 Because he foresaw and frankly said that certain effects must result 
 from certain causes, does this prove that he desired these effects?
 
 Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 97 
 
 In his last speech he spoke of disunion as a "great disaster." 
 While he called on the South for union, he did not fail to warn 
 the North of the danger to the Union arising from their wild 
 and misguided philanthropy, which, in order to sustain abstract 
 principles, loses sight of the welfare and happiness of every 
 class of society. 
 
 CALHOUN has been accused of inconsistency that at one time 
 he was for a protective tariff, at another for almost absolute 
 free trade. 
 
 In this he was not different from many statesmen of his 
 period. In the early history of this country, when we had few 
 manufacturers, it was necessary to protect our infant industries. 
 During these years Mr. CALHOUN was for protection. When the 
 infants were approaching maturity he clearly saw the injustice 
 to his own agricultural section of fostering enterprises that 
 would lay tribute on one section to build up the wealth and 
 industries of another. A writer in the International Magazine 
 of 1843 puts this question of consistency so strongly that I 
 gladly insert, for the observation applies as well to-day as it 
 did over half a century ago: 
 
 Nothing is more inconsistent than to persist in a uniform belief when 
 changing circumstances demand its modification. How absurd to pre- 
 serve a law which in the progress of society has become null and obso- 
 lete; for instance, granting to a criminal "the benefit of clergy." 
 
 Nothing 
 
 Says a distinguished English writer 
 
 is so revolutionary as to attempt to keep all things fixed when, by the very 
 laws of nature, all things are perpetually changing. Nothing is more 
 arrogant than for a fallible being to refuse to open his mind to conviction. 
 When Mr. CALHOUN altered his opinion, consistency itself required the 
 change. 
 
 [Loud applause.] 
 
 43796 10 7
 
 Address of Mr. Aiken, of South Carolina 
 j* 
 
 Mr. SPEAKER: Doubtless many a "mute inglorious Milton" 
 is unknown to fame for lack of an inspiring preceptor. Doctor 
 Waddell tfnd the little school, located years ago in the western 
 portion of Abbeville County, known as Willington Academy, 
 owed their great prominence largely to the fact that JOHN CALD- 
 WELL CALHOUN received there his first scholastic training; but 
 to this great preceptor, it may be truthfully said, Mr. CALHOUN 
 owed his all. If this master preceptor had not applied the 
 spark, the fires of genius would most likely never have kindled. 
 The teacher who confines his lessons to the narrow compass of 
 text-books does not understand aright his mission. We ascribe 
 to Doctor Waddell this part in Mr. CALHOUN'S career for the 
 reason that we assume that the boys who came under his tui- 
 tion were presumably not far above the average American boy, 
 generally speaking, and yet we find in a long list of those who 
 received their early training from him such other names as 
 James L. Petigru, Judge A. B. Longstreet, George McDuffie, 
 W. H. Crawford, W. D. Martin, Hugh S. Legare, George W. 
 Crawford, D. L. and F. H. Wardlaw, and N. P. and P. M. 
 Butler, all of whom attained great distinction in the service of 
 their State and the Nation. 
 
 But the fires kindled in the heart of young CALHOUN mounted 
 higher than an academic education, and so, in 1802, he entered 
 Yale College, from which he graduated two years later. He 
 was 20 years of age at the time he entered Yale, having been 
 born in Abbeville County March 18, 1782. 
 
 99
 
 TOO Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 I have the honor to represent that district of South Carolina 
 from which Mr. CALHOUN was sent to Congress, taking his seat 
 November 4, 1811. My home in the city of Abbeville is but a 
 few blocks removed from the spot where he began the practice 
 of law shortly after graduation from Litchfield, Conn. I there- 
 fore feel it peculiarly incumbent upon me to undertake to por- 
 tray some of those characteristics which marked him a national 
 and international figure. It is not false modesty to say that 
 the more I have studied his career the less I have felt equal to 
 its proper portrayal. 
 
 In the narrow compass of this discourse I shall omit the 
 recital of events of Mr. CALHOUN'S early life and of his service 
 in the legislature of his native State. These belong to the 
 domain of history and here would be nothing more than cum- 
 bering repetition. Nor may I attempt to enter into details in 
 reviewing his service to the Republic, covering, as it does, a 
 period of more than forty years. For the events of his life 
 were not mere contributions to history; they were the well- 
 spring of much of the history of that day, and gave color to all 
 contemporaneous events. Mr. CALHOUN made history. 
 
 A marked characteristic of Mr. CALHOUN'S mind was his 
 ability to read the future in the trend of the present. One is 
 impressed with this in reading his speeches in the light of sub- 
 sequent events. If we may pass any criticism on the quality 
 of his mind, which measured so nearly up to perfection, it 
 would be that he read his duty in the plain letter of reason, 
 without due regard to external circumstances affecting it. 
 
 Candor compels the admission that in carrying his theories of 
 government to a perfectly logical conclusion, a conclusion war- 
 ranted in every detail by the Constitution of the United States, 
 he developed latent forces, that with the gathering storm, could 
 end only in the separation of North and South. Long before
 
 Address of Mr. Aiken, of South Carolina 101 
 
 he came into public notice, however, this storm was brewing. 
 Heard first in subdued mutterings, .it soon gathered with inky 
 blackness about the national capital. He did not create the 
 storm, but let his real friends not attempt to cover the true 
 events of history; his logical mind, like the electric volt, did 
 part and illumine the riven cloud. 
 
 Virginia, Kentucky, and the parties to the Hartford conven- 
 tion had vaguely outlined the right of a State, in the last ex- 
 tremity, to take measures for its own protection; but it was 
 only through the clear irresistible logic of Mr. CALHOUN that 
 men realized, however inexpedient or undesirable nullification 
 might be, it was not inconsistent with the strict meaning of the 
 original compact, and the Constitution based thereon. It is 
 perhaps as well that force finally supplied the omissions in that 
 instrument, for after all, the people are reunited, and the will ot 
 a united people is superior to any written instrument. But 
 Mr. CALHOUN must be judged in the light of the written instru- 
 ment, for sentiment was then about equally divided. The right 
 of a State to nullify an unconstitutional act of Congress was 
 made so plain in his speech on the Force bill, which we may 
 remark in passing was his greatest speech, that the North 
 American Review, a strong advocate of the federal doctrine, 
 admitted "that Mr. CALHOUN had successfully maintained the 
 point that the Constitution was a compact between the States," 
 which admission conceded the pivotal point of his contentions, 
 after which his other contentions followed in natural and logical 
 sequence. Mr. Webster, under other circumstances, had spoken 
 of the union of the States as a compact, of which fact Mr. CAL- 
 HOUN reminded him, in replying to him later. 
 
 Mr. CALHOUN maintained in this speech and established, in 
 so far as reason alone can establish, that the sovereign States, 
 in their compact for protection and government, were bound
 
 102 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 to the limit and in the strict terms of the Constitution, as rati- 
 fied by the States; that the ratification was by the individual 
 of the States and not by the individual of the Union ; that the 
 States through the Constitution granted to the Federal Govern- 
 ment the right to raise revenue, which was a right conceded; 
 that it also required all taxes to be u'niform, which was a right 
 retained. He maintained that the tariff act of 1828 levied the 
 burden mainly on one section and distributed the proceeds 
 mainly in another. 
 
 As this violated the reserved rights of the State, under the 
 Constitution, that taxes should be uniform, he believed that it 
 was subject to the State's veto. Just how far Mr. CALHOUN 
 looked into the future of the unequal collection and partisan, 
 as well as sectional, distribution of government revenue we can 
 not know. We are rather of the opinion that he was combating 
 the principle, and that he seized upon the tariff act of 1828 as 
 illustrative of the trend of events. Certain it is that the ques- 
 tion is still an open one that is no nearer solution by reason of 
 one party domination. 
 
 No real student of history would seriously deny that Mr. 
 CALHOUN took from the Constitution the fact of nullification and 
 molded it into form. At this distance the error of his method 
 of combating a public evil from the standpoint of expediency 
 and public policy is palpable; his purpose, judged in the light 
 of subsequent extortions from the people under that doctrine, 
 just then taking root, seems to indicate almost prophetic fore- 
 sight. The doctrine of nullification had its origin in the events 
 following the tariff act of 1 828. Then, as now, this question was 
 the bone of contention between the two great political parties, 
 Republican (now Democratic) and the Federalists. 
 
 In 1816 Mr. CALHOUN, though opposed to protective tariff, 
 advocated a protective rate on wool, cotton, and iron, with the
 
 Address of Mr. Aiken, of South Carolina 103 
 
 avowed purpose of extinguishing a large war debt incurred in 
 the war of 1812. He has been severely criticised for subse- 
 quently taking such strong ground against protective legisla- 
 tion as inconsistent with his former position. An impartial 
 reading of his speech in advocacy of the act of 1816 lends no 
 color to this charge. In this he justified excessive revenue rates 
 on the ground that extraordinary demands were upon the Treas- 
 ury in consequence of the war, and there was no danger for 
 years of accumulating a surplus in the Treasury. A surplus he 
 dreaded as inviting extravagance and waste. In this same 
 speech he made a masterly argument advocating enlargement 
 and increased efficiency of the navy. He pointed out the futility 
 of this Government attempting to fortify the thousands of miles 
 of its coast, maintaining that with a much less sum the navy 
 could be so strengthened as to be effectual in defense. This, it 
 is true, would have increased the public debt and would have 
 entailed the collection of additional revenues, but the defense 
 of the country by the most practical method was, to his mind, 
 of first importance; even his favorite theories were subordinate 
 to this. While in this speech he deprecated the necessity for 
 the high tariff, he advocated a gradual reduction, in order not 
 to destroy infant industries brought into existence and abnor- 
 mally flourishing because of the exclusion of foreign goods 
 during the war. While this, too, was contrary to his policy 
 under ordinary circumstances, it goes to show that he was not 
 radical in his views when dealt with fairly. But his plea was 
 for necessary revenue and not protection, then as ever after- 
 wards; his dread was of a surplus taken unlawfully from the 
 pockets of the people, inviting wasteful, if not unlawful, appro- 
 priations. 
 
 Some have attributed his violent opposition to the tariff of 
 1828 to personal animosity toward General Jackson, then Presi-
 
 104 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 dent. Of this number may be mentioned Mr. Benton, of Mis- 
 souri. It would be well to remember that Mr. Benton and Mr. 
 CALHOUN were not friends, and while the former would not mis- 
 state a fact, he would perhaps unduly color a circumstance. 
 
 As this is a notable period in the careers of both Mr. CALHOUN 
 and President Jackson, it may not be amiss to review some of 
 the facts leading up to their disagreement. ' 
 
 These men, since they were first associated in public life, had 
 been fast friends. It is said that General Jackson's admiration 
 for Mr. CALHOUN bordered on idolatry. Mr. CALHOUN, after a 
 service of six years in the lower House, which was marked by 
 the leading part he took in reporting the war resolution of 1812, 
 and by other services of like import, had displayed such marked 
 ability that, without his seeking, in December, 1817, even after 
 his reelection to Congress, he was invited by Mr. Monroe, the 
 newly elected President, to take a place in his Cabinet as Secre- 
 tary of War. 
 
 A little digression here will serve to show that his great 
 powers of analysis and generalization, the metaphysical charac- 
 teristic of his mind, which some are pleased to assert rendered 
 him impractical, were fully equaled by his capacity for business 
 details. When he took charge of the War Department it was 
 in utter confusion. There were outstanding debts of over 
 $40,000,000, in the nature of past-due claims, which he reduced 
 during his administration to less than $3,000,000. After a few 
 months' observation of conditions, he drafted an entirely new 
 set of regulations, reorganizing the entire department. 
 
 These regulations were practically unchanged for a quarter of 
 a century. He found the annual cost per man, including officers 
 in the service, more than $451 per annum, and he left the cost 
 less than $287 per annum. When he came into office the annual 
 expenditure on the army was $4,000,000. He reduced this
 
 Address of Mr. Aiken, of South Carolina 105 
 
 $1,300,000. And yet it is said that the army had never been 
 better provided or paid. There is not an instance on record 
 during his entire public career where he has advocated a parsi- 
 monious policy, but he dreaded wastefulness. So perfect was 
 the system devised by him that he was able to report to Con- 
 gress in 1823 that 
 
 of the entire annual appropriation of money drawn from the Treasury for 
 military service, including pensions amounting to $4,571,961.94, although 
 it passed through the hands of 291 disbursing officers, there has not been a 
 single defalcation nor the loss of a single cent to the Government. 
 
 No mere theorist could have wrought such wonderful changes 
 in that disorganized department. 
 
 But let us recur to the main point. It happened while Mr. 
 CALHOUN held the position of Secretary of War that the Semi- 
 nole Indians made frequent incursions into the territory of the 
 United States, and General Jackson was sent to drive them into 
 the interior of the Spanish possessions. It seems that the Presi- 
 dent and Mr. CALHOUN had secretly given General Jackson more 
 latitude than they could consistently make public, and acting 
 on this he had gone into the interior of the Spanish possessions 
 and had seized and fortified several Spanish forts, which he 
 claimed had sheltered the enemy. In this it is contended by 
 some that he exceeded even his secret authority, and especially 
 when he executed Arbuthnot and Ambrister, two English 
 subjects. It is stated, it appears on very good authority, that 
 in a Cabinet meeting Mr. CALHOUN advised that "he (Jackson) 
 should be punished or reprimanded" for his conduct in this 
 execution. 
 
 This circumstance was not known to General. Jackson until 
 after Mr. CALHOUN had served for one term as Vice- President, 
 himself being President. There was never afterwards any 
 friendship between them; but we can not agree with those who
 
 106 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 believe that this incident accounts for Mr. CALHOUN'S opposition 
 to the protective system and the bold stand he ultimately took 
 for states rights. The fact is it was scarcely possible for a man 
 whose every act found its origin in a logical cause, as was the 
 case with Mr. CALHOUN, to long agree with a man whose ideas, 
 however correct, often originated in impulse, however well 
 meant, and were executed with military promptness, as was the 
 case with General Jackson. When President Jackson was 
 elected the second time Mr. CALHOUN looked forward to this 
 event for the reduction of duties, and so advised his friends; and 
 it was only after disappointment in this quarter that he ad- 
 vised the nullification proceedings taken by his State. 
 
 Mr. CALHOUN never indulged in personal invective except in 
 repelling an attack, and then he confined himself strictly to the 
 record, and in language absolutely free of grossness. His at- 
 tacks were on principles, not men. And while we have the 
 greatest veneration for General Jackson as one of the noblest of 
 South Carolina's sons, in the light of Mr. CALHOUN'S entire 
 career, which dealt with principles, not men, we can but con- 
 clude that his remark in the Cabinet was but the reluctant ad- 
 mission of his sense of right, affecting, as it did, even his friend. 
 No one knows how much the expression was warped or its ap- 
 plication changed. It was finally reported by an enemy of Mr. 
 CALHOUN. 
 
 Whatever may have been the feeling of the President for Mr. 
 CALHOUN, it is gratifying that he cherished no unkind feeling for 
 the people of his native State, though arrayed with the Nation 
 against the stand they had taken. Hear just this short extract 
 from his memorable nullification proclamation: 
 
 Fellow-citizens of my native State, let me not only admonish you as the 
 first magistrate of our common country, not to incur the penalty of its 
 laws, but use the influence that a father would over his children whom he 
 saw rushing to certain ruin.
 
 Address of Mr. Aiken, of South Carolina 107 
 
 It must be acknowledged that, entertaining such contrary 
 opinions as to the attitude of the State, his course -was moder- 
 ate. It is well worth remembering, however, that the State of 
 South Carolina had attempted to settle the question at issue in 
 the United States court and had been denied this redress by a 
 resolution of Congress. Force was considered the safer way by 
 the Nation, and so force was threatened. Here was a striking 
 circumstance. South Carolina was at variance with the Nation ; 
 she contending for the right of the State to exercise its veto 
 power, to set aside acts of Congress which she conceived to be 
 unconstitutional. This claim was based on the contention that 
 the union of the States was nothing more than a compact, 
 agreed to by the citizens of the States as such, and not as indi- 
 viduals composing the Union ; that their allegiance to the Union 
 was binding no further than the rights conceded. 
 
 The Federalists contended that the Constitution was adopted 
 by the people as a whole, through the States, and that the indi- 
 vidual owed allegiance direct to the Federal Government, not 
 through the States, and that the State had not the right to limit 
 or specify the extent of that allegiance. 
 
 There can be little doubt that the question of states' rights 
 was well founded in logic, and that it was set aside by force 
 rather than by regular process through the courts. There is one 
 consolation to the State, however, and that is that the contro- 
 versy was raised and settled by her own sons. 
 
 There are those who, either through perverseness or misin- 
 formation, have questioned the fact that General Jackson was a 
 native of South Carolina. For the benefit of such I can not re- 
 frain, even at the cost of breaking the connection here of my 
 discourse, from inserting some facts gleaned from history. 
 
 Andrew Jackson, sr., was a Scotchman who lived in the north 
 of Ireland. With his wife and two sons, Hugh and Robert, he
 
 io8 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 came direct from Ireland to Charleston, S. C., in 1765. Later 
 he purchased a tract of land about 45 miles above Camden, 
 S. C., which was known as the Waxhaw settlement, and here in 
 South Carolina young Andrew Jackson was born March 15, 
 1 767. It seems that these facts, coupled with his own statement, 
 which has been quoted, should forever set this question at rest. 
 
 Mr. CALHOUN'S speech on the force bill was positively unan- 
 swerable. Mr. Webster undertook to reply to it, not by answer- 
 ing the argument, but by asserting a diametrically opposite view, 
 which was at variance with his own opinion, previously ex- 
 pressed, which fact was noted by Mr. CALHOUN in his reply. 
 Mr. CALHOUN'S reply to Mr. Webster was perhaps the most mas- 
 terful speech of its kind ever delivered in the United States 
 Senate. The contest was a contest of giants. The issue was the 
 burning question of the day. 
 
 We have thought that as light appears brighter when en- 
 veloped in darkness, so the ability of these men was accentuated 
 by a background of the uneducated masses at that time. In 
 this we were in error. A careful study of their careers leads 
 one to the conclusion that they would tower above the repre- 
 sentative men of this Government at any stage of its develop- 
 ment. The contest was a contest of the two sections of the 
 United States, about equally divided as to population, and each 
 voicing its sentiment through its ablest representative. Great 
 was the question involved, and equally great the master minds, 
 driven by opposing forces to solve it. It was a test between 
 the broadsword of Richard and the scimitei of Saladin. Of 
 the long career of these two men in the Senate, this was the 
 single occasion recognized as a decisive engagement; and there 
 can be no doubt that Mr. Webster's elegance of diction and 
 force of eloquence, which he possessed as perhaps no other man 
 ever possessed, went down before Mr. CALHOUN'S power of analy-
 
 Address of Mr. Aiken, of South Carolina 109 
 
 sis and his capacity to force a question irresistibly to its logical 
 conclusion. This was admitted by the North American Review, 
 a strong supporter of the federal doctrine, which then as now 
 was ably edited. It was practically admitted by Mr. Webster 
 himself, who, after Mr. CALHOUN'S speech, "sat in sullen silence," 
 and never attempted to reply. It was on this occasion that 
 John Randolph, a past master in the art of sarcasm and invec- 
 tive, so feeble that he could hardly rise from his seat, said to 
 some one near by: "Take away that hat; I want to see Webster 
 die muscle by muscle." 
 
 As no account of Mr. CALHOUN'S life work would be complete 
 without reference to Mr. Webster, so would it be incomplete 
 without reference to Mr. Clay. Undoubtedly he ranked with 
 the greatest men of the Nation; but just here it is sufficient to 
 say that he possessed more of the elements of the astute rea- 
 soner than Mr. Webster and more of the elements of the orator 
 than Mr. CALHOUN, with perhaps less stability of purpose than 
 either. He was a powerful speaker, and because of his superior 
 capacity for organization he was perhaps the most formidable 
 of the three as an antagonist. 
 
 While Mr. CALHOUN, Mr. Webster, and Mr. Clay were seldom 
 all united on public issues, it is a little remarkable, if not amus- 
 ing, that on a notable occasion the powers of the three were 
 outwitted by a little by-play of politics, linked with "Old 
 Hickory's" never-failing popularity with the people, right or 
 wrong. 
 
 Resolutions offered by Mr. Clay had passed the Senate con- 
 demning the President for arbitrarily removing the government 
 deposits from the National Bank. Mr. Benton, of Missouri, 
 alone voted against the resolution. On three separate occasions 
 afterwards Mr. Benton undertook to have the Senate expunge 
 the resolution, but it would not hear to the proposition. While
 
 no Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 Mr. CALHOUN never cordially supported the existing banking sys- 
 tem, it had the sanction of Congress, and his respect for order 
 and for the Constitution precluded his sanction of the act of 
 President Jackson in arbitrarily removing by force the govern- 
 ment deposits. He dreaded the crash in the financial system, 
 but he dreaded more executive usurpation, however well meant. 
 In this view he was cordially supported by both Mr. Clay and 
 Mr. Webster. 
 
 Another turn was given to the affair. Friends of the Presi- 
 dent, knowing his great popularity with the people, had many 
 of the States to instruct their Senators to vote for the expung- 
 ing resolution. With this number to build on, Mr. Benton, by 
 wining and dining and nursing a few who were weak-kneed, 
 finally got together a majority. At the earliest possible hour it 
 was determined that the work should be done. It was antici- 
 pated that a storm would be raised and that the three giants 
 would undertake to speak the resolution to death. Mr. Benton 
 prepared for this exigency. He provided one of the committee 
 rooms with turkey, ham, and other inviting dishes, with plenty 
 to wash them down. They prepared for a siege, and determined 
 not to adjourn until the expunging resolutions had passed. As 
 expected, Mr. Webster, Mr. Clay, and Mr. CALHOUN all spoke 
 with great feeling of the act that was about to be perpetrated, 
 subordinating the legitimate authority of the Senate to the arbi- 
 trary power of the Executive. Mr. Clay's speech was a perfect 
 masterpiece of its kind. But none of this counted against the 
 ham and turkey and the small majority who had sworn to do 
 their work before adjournment. 
 
 And so this array of logic, eloquence, and force went down at 
 a late hour of the night before the tactics of the gentleman from 
 Missouri. 
 
 Mr. CALHOUN and Mr. Webster were personal friends through- 
 out their public association, though they were separate "as far
 
 Address of Mr. Aiken, of South Carolina in 
 
 as pole from pole" on vital public issues. Mr. CALHOUN and 
 Mr. Clay in the beginning were members of the same political 
 party, and while their views were not often seriously divergent 
 on vital public questions, they had personal differences later in 
 life, no doubt growing out of aspirations which each enter- 
 tained to become President. There are storms in the higher as 
 well as the lower atmospheres. Jealousy is the handmaid of 
 ambition, and it is rare that the mistress enters the human 
 heart alone. "A man's a man for a' that." 
 
 Was it a mere coincidence that these men, each a star of the 
 first magnitude and each resplendent in his own sphere, should 
 have risen at a critical period of the Nation's history, to light 
 the way for the millions to a full understanding of the antago- 
 nistic principles which must eventually disrupt the Govern- 
 ment and overturn existing institutions? Here was a colossal 
 scene in drama of the universe. Amid the cold, bleak hills of 
 New England a son was born, the greatest of American orators, 
 and ere long he found his way to the center of the national 
 stage. In his suite were millions of American people, clamoring 
 for centralization of government and executive power. During 
 the same calendar year, in the sunny South, that section which 
 even yet has not felt the congestion of alien blood, another son 
 was born, the greatest of American debaters. A little earlier 
 than the first he found his way to the center of the national 
 stage, and in his suite were millions of American people demand- 
 ing equality of administration under the Constitution and 
 recognition of the reserved rights of the component States. And 
 then, from a State divided in sentiment as it was afterwards 
 divided in actual secession, a State which had itself more than 
 hinted at the doctrine of nullification, came a third son, whose 
 position was also near the front and near the footlights. He 
 entered along with the Southerner. As scene followed scene in
 
 ii2 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 course, culminating in nullification and the force bill, a crisis 
 was imminent. It was then that the great compromiser stepped 
 between contending forces, and by astute statesmanship forced 
 a truce. By him the climax was changed, but it took no prophet 
 to see that the drama was soon to be rewritten in a nation's 
 blood. The truce could not last. The cause was rooted in 
 antagonistic principles of government, involving the destruction 
 of institutions older than the Constitution itself; they were 
 deeper than the thoughts and intents of men; they were taught 
 in the schools and sanctioned in the church; they were imbibed 
 with the mother's milk ; they were in the blood, and could ulti- 
 mately find settlement only in the shedding of that blood. 
 Men's destinies were involved, but only as so many pawns under 
 the master hand. For explanation of the purpose, the plan, 
 the results, we have learned to look through the vista of mar- 
 shaled events beyond the creature to the creature's God. 
 
 The scene has changed. Southern and northern blood, flow- 
 ing in a common stream, has washed away forever the system 
 of slavery, a system for which they were equally responsible, 
 but for which only the South has paid, and over its ruins they 
 have builded new systems, displaying industrial development 
 that has astounded the world. But the principles that set in 
 motion this destruction of systems have not changed. They 
 are coterminal with the Government itself, the one tending 
 toward centralization, monopoly, and imperialism; the other 
 toward constitutional government and equality of privilege to 
 the individual citizen. [Applause.] 
 
 Mr. CALHOUN 's last speech in the Senate, which, contrary 
 to his custom, he reduced to writing, and which because of his 
 enfeebled condition was read by a colleague, will be, in the 
 years to come, a beacon light calling all true Americans, with- 
 out reference to section or party, from their mad lust for power 
 to anchor again in the Constitution.
 
 Address of Mr. Aiken, of South Carolina 113 
 
 Mr. CALHOUN loved the Union, but he loved a constitutional 
 Union. If there was one feature more pronounced in nullifica- 
 tion as a remedial measure than another it was that it was con- 
 servative of the Union. His last public utterance looked to the 
 preservation of the Union by amendment to the Constitution 
 and without bloodshed. "His devotion to the South was not 
 sectional so much as it was the natural consequence of his views 
 with reference to the theories of government." His champion- 
 ship of her interests was only for a child's just share of the 
 maternal inheritance, strictly in accordance with the will. Hear 
 this statement, the closing lines of his last speech, to which 
 we have previously referred. Remember that at that very 
 moment the hand of death was upon him ; and divested of every 
 earthly consideration, he spoke to his people North and South. 
 He said: 
 
 Having faithfully done my duty to the best of my ability, both to the 
 Union and my section, throughout the whole of this agitation, I shall 
 have the consolation, let what will come, that I am free from all respon- 
 sibility. 
 
 It has perhaps never occurred to the sectional partisan who 
 has attributed traitorous motives to this greatest of American 
 statesmen that a calm, unbiased consideration of his views, and 
 their adoption in good faith by the Nation, might have averted 
 that terrible struggle, involving the loss of countless lives and 
 billions of property. The fact is overlooked that a constitu- 
 tional union, such as was the dream of Mr. CALHOUN'S life and 
 to which he looked in every measure that he proposed touching 
 this subject, is the only real union that could give each member 
 of the family an equitable share in the common inheritance. 
 Union and force are not compatible words. Instead of this Gov- 
 ernment now being a union of States, with each State retaining 
 its proper degree of sovereignty, we are rapidly becoming a
 
 ii4 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 Nation with few rights reserved to the States other than such as 
 the Federal Government does not see fit to usurp. At a critical 
 time in our history, when the sober judgment of the masses had 
 not yet given place to passion, there lay before us two ways of 
 finally adjusting our differences. One was through this body 
 and the courts, which would have respected and adjusted prop- 
 erty rights and preserved that comity of interest due between 
 sovereign though united States. The other, conceived in mu- 
 tual jealousies, fanned by hate, could but leave its trail of blood 
 and carnage. To the everlasting credit of Mr. CALHOUN be it 
 said that his great heart, filled with aspirations for the young 
 Republic, and constant in devotion to the Union, sought solution 
 in the way of peace. He saw the distant breakers, and had 
 others been as astute the old ship might have been steered 
 around them without loss of rigging or mutiny of her crew. 
 
 Mr. CALHOUN stood for government in accordance with the 
 Constitution. In this, rather than in centralized wealth or im- 
 perialism, he believed reposed our strength and continuous exist- 
 ence. It may be said, and with some color of warrant, that in 
 the early years of his public service he often yielded to what 
 seemed to be for the public good without strict reference to the 
 Constitution; but for the last twenty years of his life, his eye 
 was ever on the Constitution, and no scheme, however promis- 
 ing, however enticing, could receive his sanction if, viewed in 
 the light of that instrument, it reflected the slightest shadow. 
 
 We may but mention the branches of public service in which 
 Mr. CALHOUN 's talents were engaged. So prominent and so full 
 of events were his services, in whatever capacity, that we must 
 leave the recital of details largely to history. He served first in 
 the House for six years, then as Secretary of War in the Cab- 
 inet of Mr. Monroe. He was elected Vice-President in 1 824, and 
 reelected. He was chosen United States Senator in December,
 
 Address of Mr. Aiken, of South Carolina 115 
 
 1832, and was reelected to succeed himself. Owing to the death 
 of Mr. Upsher, Secretary of State in President Tyler's adminis- 
 tration, Mr. CALHOUN was called to that position, which place 
 he filled with eminent ability, being the leading spirit in the an- 
 nexation of Texas. Shortly after retiring from the office of Sec- 
 retary of State, he was again elected to the Senate, bringing his 
 great talents into that body just in time to avert war with 
 England and to make possible the peaceable annexation of Ore- 
 gon in 1846. Here, in the arena best suited to his great talents, 
 he died in his seventieth year, March 31, 1850. 
 
 While Mr. CALHOUN in the early part of his service belonged 
 to the Republican (Democratic) party, h^ would not be bound 
 to a party measure which his judgment could not fully accept. 
 In advocating the war of 1812 his course was rather against the 
 policy of his party, but the soundness of his views was after- 
 wards developed. He opposed, almost alone in his party, the 
 embargo, the nonimportation, and nonintercourse acts. Subse- 
 quent events justified, beyond question, the logic of his position. 
 He opposed the banking plan of 1814-15, himself suggesting a 
 plan containing many of the features of the present national 
 banking system. He pointed out so clearly the fallacy of the 
 system proposed and the utter folly of the Government borrow- 
 ing its own credit from the bank that the measure, though a 
 party measure, was defeated. But he was big enough and 
 broad enough to divest a question of its party origin, and with- 
 out selfish purpose, either for himself or for his locality, to 
 view it with an eye single to the good of the whole people. It 
 is often a dangerous policy for men of less ability to undertake 
 to follow his example. If he was inconsistent in party alle- 
 giance, he was rarely inconsistent in party principles. 
 
 In personal appearance, Mr. CALHOUN was a striking figure. 
 A lady traveling in this country, seeing him for the first time,
 
 n6 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 spoke of him as "the cast-iron man, who seemed never to have 
 been born." No one ever saw him without having the impres- 
 sion that he was possessed of marked ability. His features in 
 repose were irregular, but in debate his animation was such as 
 to throw a light about his countenance. His eyes, a deep blue, 
 large and brilliant, were most striking. In repose they glowed 
 with a steady light, while in action they fairly emitted flashes 
 of fire. If he had been endowed with less integrity of purpose 
 and more policy, he could surely have been President. That 
 great honor, we believe he laid down, because he would be the 
 tool of no man and because its acceptance would have sacri- 
 ficed principles, the establishment of which had consumed the 
 greater part of his life. He possessed pride of character in a 
 marked degree, and if anything, his pride of opinion was even 
 more marked. He was firm and* prompt, manly and independ- 
 ent. It may truly be said of him, that however radical he may 
 have considered the views of another, he never attacked them, 
 except in respectful language, and with cold logic. A cause 
 that could not be maintained on this basis could not receive his 
 sanction. At the time of Mr. CALHOUN'S death, admiration for 
 his great qualities was not confined to the South. The legisla- 
 tures of New York and Pennsylvania, in solemn assembly, 
 passed resolutions deploring his death. Nor were they alone 
 in this; men everywhere recognized his ability and conceded 
 his honesty of purpose. But cruel war, carrying death into 
 so many homes, left its prejudice in the minds of the people, 
 and those who stood in the forefront of the events leading up 
 to that war were marked for sectional hate. Men forgot the 
 virtues of the great in the passions of the hour. 
 
 But may we not call from the past the testimony of his co- 
 temporaries ? Can there be any question of the sincerity of Mr. 
 Webster, or of his capacity to judge of his merits, when, after 
 admitting their opposite views on principle, he said :
 
 Address of Mr. Aiken, of S>outh Carolina 117 
 
 Mr. President, he had the basis, the indispensable basis of all high 
 character, and that was unspotted integrity unimpeached honor and 
 character. If he had aspirations, they were high, honorable, and noble. 
 There was nothing low or meanly selfish that came near the head or 
 the heart of Mr. CALHOUN. Firm in his purpose, perfectly patriotic and 
 honest, as I am sure he was, in the principles that he espoused and in 
 the measures that he defended, aside from that large regard for that 
 species of distinction that conducted him to eminent stations for the 
 benefit of the Republic, I do not believe that he had a selfish motive or 
 a selfish feeling. 
 
 Can there be any question of the sincerity of Mr. Clay, who, 
 for personal reasons, had not sustained cordial relations with 
 Mr. CALHOUN in the latter part of his life, when he said: 
 
 Sir, he has gone! No more shall we witness from yonder seat the 
 flashes of that keen and penetrating eye of his darting through this 
 Chamber. No more shall we be thrilled by that torrent of clear, concise, 
 compact logic poured out from lips which, if it did not always carry 
 conviction to our judgment, always commanded our great admiration. 
 Those eyes and those lips are closed forever! And when, Mr. President, 
 will that great vacancy which has been created by the event to which 
 we are now alluding, when will it be filled by an equal amount of ability, 
 patriotism, and devotion to what he conceived to be the best interest of 
 his country? 
 
 Undoubtedly Mr. CALHOUN was one of the great men of this 
 Nation. But men are judged, unfortunately, by the success or 
 failure of their greatest undertaking. Judged from this point of 
 view, the popular voice is against him. But there is philosophy 
 in that line from Tennyson : 
 
 He makes no friends, who never made a foe. 
 
 The two most conspicuous figures and those who will sur- 
 vive longest in the memory of mankind of that great contest 
 over the conflicting theories of our Government are JOHN C. 
 CALHOUN and Abraham Lincoln. The achievements of Mr. Lin- 
 coln are viewed through the glamour of success and the halo 
 of the martyr, while the cause for which Mr. CALHOUN labored
 
 u8 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 the perpetuation of the Union as it came from the hands of the 
 fathers went down in defeat. Had Lincoln failed, he would 
 have been censured by disinterested nations for the effort to 
 subvert and suppress the constitutional rights of free States by 
 force of arms; censured for invading and undertaking to destroy 
 the property rights of a people in open violation of both the 
 spirit and letter of the Constitution. Success threw a halo 
 about these events, and prosperity, smiling upon the stricken 
 land, aided by time, has done much to banish the sense of 
 injuries suffered and to throw the mantle of charity over those 
 scenes. 
 
 Notwithstanding defeat and disasters attended upon the work 
 of CALHOUN, he continues to be regarded as the Aristotle of 
 American politics; and with the mind of a seer and the heart 
 of a hero he survives in the respect of his countrymen, wept, 
 honored, and sung. His great compatriot and colaborer, Henry 
 Clay, is immortalized by the sentiment he expressed, that he 
 would rather be right than to be President. Mr. CALHOUN was 
 right in principle, and the office of President could have added 
 nothing to his renown. 
 
 It can not be that passion and sectional strife will hover 
 even over the grave. When these have vanished and when we 
 view Mr. CALHOUN merely as a citizen of our common country, 
 we will learn to appreciate him at his true value and we will 
 inscribe his name on the first page of the book of immortal 
 memories. Nearly all the glory of ancient Greece that has 
 survived "Decay's effacing fingers" may be summed up or 
 narrated in the biography of her great men. The time will 
 come in the history of our own country when our people, with- 
 out reference to section or party, will cherish the memory of 
 those of our great men who have risen as the tall oak from the 
 level of the forest, and who, while standing more conspicuously
 
 Address of Mr. Aiken, of South Carolina 119 
 
 in the glow of public life, have likewise borne the greater shock 
 and burden of the storms that swept the young Republic. 
 
 Mr. CALHOUN never attacked the Union, but, on the contrary, 
 he always defended it. Whether or not his plans of preserva- 
 tion would have solved the problem, we do not know. We 
 believe they were founded in a good purpose. Because he 
 pulled the veil of the future further apart than any man of his 
 time, actually foretelling the fratricidal strife that must follow 
 the then unchanged current of events, some have come to think 
 of him as the author of that struggle. So strikingly have 
 events justified his forebodings that it is not strange that some, 
 like the Israelites of old, have placed the origin of their troubles 
 at the feet of the prophet pronouncing them. 
 
 Each setting sun dims the career of that public servant who 
 has used his opportunities only as a means of advancement; 
 but it is only in the afterglow of the centuries that the career 
 of the unselfish patriot and statesman may be justly measured. 
 These develop side lights that the passions of the present shut 
 out. At this distance Aristides was never greater than when 
 writing his own order of banishment on the voting shell of his 
 fellow-countryman. 
 
 If Mr. CALHOUN hastened secession, he did it by no incon- 
 sistent or unconstitutional course. If he hastened secession, 
 perhaps it was better than that the smoldering fires should have 
 broken in greater fury from being longer pent up. If this 
 Nation was to be convulsed, its domestic systems upturned, 
 and a new and changed order of things inaugurated, some 
 master mind, under the providence of God, had to give definite 
 human shape to the plan of reversal. May he not have been 
 the instrument? 
 
 It is a fitting tribute to the memory of that great man that 
 his beloved State has set his statue here, beside those the
 
 120 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 events of whose lives were interlaced with his. I feel as though 
 we are giving him back to the Republic, after the mist of sec- 
 tional prejudice has risen. His purity of life, his power and 
 sublimity of thought, must find responsive appreciation in that 
 higher sphere of American thought where the qualities of mind 
 and heart are considered. I can but believe that the day is 
 dawning when the Nation will again take him to her bosom; 
 that she in truth welcomes his statue into the circle of those 
 who in their lives molded and defended her, and who, standing 
 here in enduring marble, will keep their silent vigil over her 
 destinies throughout the coming ages. [Loud applause.]
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 
 * 
 
 Mr. SPEAKER: Leaders of men are born, and not made; they 
 are, however, developed by circumstances. It is impossible to 
 think of Alexander the Great in any other capacity than as a 
 leader of men. Nor is it conceivable that Hannibal and Napo- 
 leon might have been weaklings and followers, not leaders. 
 As this is true of warriors, it is equally true of philosophers 
 and statesmen. In the classic days of Greece and Rome it is 
 said that it was a difficult matter to decide whether to accord 
 more liberal praise and greater honor to her warriors or to her 
 statesmen. In the history of nations we find that some men 
 are indelibly stamped with genius and to a transcendent degree 
 with the attributes of greatness; consequently they rise higher 
 than their fellows, so much higher, in fact, that the number of 
 the company and their competitors is very small. The history 
 of the United States shows no exception to this rule. In the 
 war of the Revolution there is no competitor of the great Wash- 
 ington. Probably the figure that will live longest and possibly 
 in time rank highest in the second war of independence, that 
 of 1812, is the hero of the battle of New Orleans, Andrew Jack- 
 son; in the Mexican war, Winfield Scott, although General 
 Taylor, the conqueror of Santa Ana in the battle of Buena 
 Vista, received his great reward, the Presidency, shortly after- 
 wards; in the war between the States, General Grant on the 
 one side and General Lee on the other; in the war with Spain, 
 Admiral Dewey.
 
 122 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 At the beginning of the Revolutionary war this country may 
 be said to have literally teemed with great men orators, phi- 
 losophers, and statesmen. I remember, when a boy, reading of 
 the great characters who conducted the Government during 
 that bloody and trying period, what admiration and rev- 
 erence I felt for those who constituted the Continental Congress. 
 As a man of letters and statesman, Jefferson, the author of the 
 Declaration of Independence, easily the first, but along with 
 him a host of others, who, in point of patriotism and ability, 
 were entitled to sit beside him in a congregation of great men. 
 After the war the 13 Colonies found themselves in a most 
 distracted and impoverished condition. The Colonies by coop- 
 eration and force of all against Great Britain won, yet in the 
 treaty of peace with the mother country the acknowledgment 
 was made separately for each, and when the war was over 
 we had 13 separate and independent sovereignties of what had 
 been the 13 Colonies, and which by the treaty of peace had 
 been acknowledged as independent sovereign States. It is true 
 there was a nominal coalition between all the Colonies, but the 
 action of the federation was not binding on any of the 13 
 without the voluntary consent of the individual State. This 
 was followed by an effort to bring about a closer and more 
 perfect union between the States, and resulted in the conven- 
 tion which framed the Constitution in 1787. After its adoption 
 by three-fourths of the States, the young Nation, or "federa- 
 tion," as it was then called by many, claimed for itself a place 
 in the family of nations. For many years, on account of the 
 conditions brought about by the war of the Revolution, the 
 United States found itself beset by difficulties on every hand. 
 
 The debts of the States and Nation were enormous, considering 
 the ability to pay. The Constitution was little understood by 
 the average citizen, and the obligations imposed by it were to a
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 123 
 
 large extent little regarded by the people. It has been erro- 
 neously asserted so often and for so long a time that JOHN 
 CALDWELL CALHOUN, of South Carolina, was the author of the 
 doctrine of nullification, which resulted later in the assertion 
 of the right of secession, that to-day this error is a matter 
 of common belief among the people of this country. As a ma- 
 ter of fact, he was not the author of the doctrine of nullifi- 
 cation. 
 
 From the first there were two parties in this country. 
 While it is true that both claimed and practiced allegiance to 
 Washington during the two terms he was President, this homage 
 was personal rather than political. Even in his day the division 
 was sharp between the two parties, and it required all of his 
 great influences to keep the peace even in his official family. 
 Some idea of this can be conjectured by considering how impos- 
 sible of agreement on practically all great questions there 
 was to be had between Jefferson and Hamilton. The former 
 a Democrat of the strictest school, believing with all his heart 
 in the necessity and justice of a republican form of govern- 
 ment with the people the source of all power, and Hamilton 
 believing in reality that a limited monarchy was the best form 
 of government even for this country. The formation of two 
 great parties was not only to be expected, but was a matter of 
 necessity the one to assert, the other to combat. First, the 
 Federal party in power, with John Adams as second President, 
 elected in 1796. The Federalist party, amongst other laws that 
 were objectionable to the followers of Jefferson and many who 
 were not, passed the alien and sedition laws. The passage of 
 these laws laid the foundation that resulted in events which 
 terminated in the first declaration of the doctrine of nullifica- 
 tion of a federal law by a State being advanced, and this as a 
 natural sequence resulted later on in the doctrine of secession 
 being advocated.
 
 124 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 On November 16, 1798, the State of Kentucky, through its 
 legislature, on account of opposition to these and other federal 
 laws, passed a resolution signed by the governor and attested by 
 the secretary of state embodying the principles of nullification. 
 In the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, by Warfield (p. 76), it 
 it is declared : 
 
 That whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, 
 its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force: That to this compact 
 each State acceded as a State, and is an integral party, its co-States forming 
 as to itself the other party: That the Government created by this compact 
 was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers dele- 
 gated to itself; since that w r ould have made its discretion, and not the 
 Constitution, the measure of its powers; but that as in all cases of com- 
 pact among parties having no common judge, each party has an equal 
 right to judge for itself, as well of infractions as of the mode and measure 
 of redress. 
 
 And in the third resolution (p. 78) it is declared : 
 That therefore the act of the Congress of the United States passed 
 on the i4th day of July, 1798, entitled "An act in addition to the act 
 for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States," which 
 does abridge the freedom of the press, is not law, but is altogether void 
 and of no effect. 
 
 And in the fourth resolution (p. 79) it is declared : 
 "An act concerning aliens," which assumes power over alien friends 
 not delegated by the Constitution, is not law, but is altogether void 
 and of no force. 
 
 The third of the Virginia resolutions, passed in 1798, writings 
 of James Madison (vol. 6, p. 345), is as follows: 
 
 That this assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it 
 views the powers of the Federal Government as resulting from the com- 
 pact to which the States are parties, as limited by the plain sense and inten- 
 tion of the instrument constituting that compact as no further valid than 
 they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact; and that 
 in cases of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of other powers, 
 not granted by the said compact, the States who are parties thereto have
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 125 
 
 the right and are in duty bound to interpose for arresting the progress of 
 the evil, and for maintaining within their respective limits the authorities 
 rights, and liberties appertaining to them. 
 
 These are plain declarations that an act of Congress, which 
 assumes power over a subject-matter not delegated to it by the 
 Constitution, is null and void. It was for a long time claimed, 
 and I believe has been finally settled, that Jefferson was the 
 author of the original draft of the Kentucky resolutions, and also 
 that Henry Clay was his willing disciple. These resolutions were 
 transmitted to the various States. In the house of delegates 
 of Virginia these resolutions were the work of James Madison. 
 
 Of course it has been denied time and again that the Ken- 
 tucky and Virginia resolutions form any basis whatever for the 
 doctrine of nullification, afterward set up by CALHOUN. The 
 reading of the resolutions, however, show conclusively that 
 these resolutions declare certain acts of Congress null and void. 
 
 And in the case of the Virginia resolutions the claim is dis- 
 tinctly made that the States have the right and are in duty 
 bound to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil. CAL- 
 HOUN'S view was that one State might interpose for this purpose. 
 The passage of the embargo act and other acts in restraint of 
 commerce, prohibiting foreign shipments during the latter part 
 of Mr. Jefferson's second administration on account of the high- 
 handed and unwarranted acts of Great Britain in seizing our 
 merchantmen and imprisoning American sailors on the high 
 seas was a very unpopular law in New England. As a result of 
 this, when persons were arrested and tried for a violation of the 
 embargo act in one of the New England States, notwithstanding 
 the fact that the law had been held to be constitutional by a 
 United States district court, the plea was made to the juries that 
 the act was unconstitutional and the defendants were found not 
 guilty on this ground. Here was a practical nullification of an 
 act of Congress in a court of law.
 
 126 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 It is a well-known historical fact that during this period, and 
 also during the continuance of the war of 1812, during which 
 time the Hartford convention was held, the doctrine was 
 preached and concurred in by a large number of the Federalist 
 party that the time had come for the separation of New England 
 from the other States. The war of 1812 was very unpopular 
 throughout New England, and separation or secession was 
 largely advocated. In fact, the right of a sovereign State to 
 secede was conceded up to 1828 by a majority of the people in 
 this country. It is true that John Quincy Adams did not hold 
 to this view, and it is also true that Andrew Jackson, during his 
 second administration, most emphatically denied that a State 
 had a right to secede from the Union. I have stated these facts 
 in order to show that CALHOUN was not the author of the doc- 
 trine of nullification. He was never at any time a secessionist, 
 and this leads up to what may be properly termed a historical 
 sketch of his life. 
 
 Born March 18, 1782, in Abbeville district, South Carolina. 
 His parents, Patrick and Martha Caldwell Calhoun, were both 
 of Scotch descent. From this fact may be explained his main 
 characteristics his severity, lack of humor, and rather dog- 
 matic opinions. These characteristics are strikingly illustrated 
 in the later years of his life. The clear, consistent logic by which 
 he arrived at conclusions and the intensity of convictions with 
 which he supported them are the main elements which consti- 
 tuted his strength and character of statesmanship. 
 
 His early views were no doubt largely influenced by his father, 
 Patrick Calhoun, who was a Whig before and during the Revo- 
 lution of the most ardent type, and very self-opinionated in his 
 views. His rough frontier life had inculcated in him an un- 
 quenchable desire for liberty and a feeling of opposition to any- 
 thing tending in the least toward curtailing that liberty. It is
 
 Address of Mr. Finley,of South Carolina 127 
 
 related of Patrick Calhoun that, some thirty years before his 
 death, the right of himself and neighbors to vote being denied 
 by the low country, he and his neighbors shouldered their rifles 
 and marched to within 23 miles of Charleston, when the right to 
 vote was not only accorded to them, but Patrick Calhoun was 
 elected a member of the colonial legislature, and as such served 
 for thirty years thereafter. 
 
 Much of this feeling his son imbibed and retained all through 
 his life. Up to the age of 13 Mr. CALHOUN'S only education 
 was what he had been able to pick up and to learn from his 
 father and mother. At this time he was placed under the care 
 of his brother-in-law, Doctor Waddell, a Presbyterian minister, 
 who maintained an academy in Columbia County, Ga. Here he 
 remained for a year, when the death of his father took place; 
 and upon the subsequent death of his sister, a few months later, 
 Doctor Waddell discontinued his school, and the boy's educa- 
 tion was for the time at an end. His mother brought him back 
 to the plantation in Abbeville district, where he remained for 
 four years engaged in out-of-door pursuits. The time was not 
 lost, however, for he was building up the frame that was to 
 support his massive brain through a long public service. When 
 he was 18 years of age, at the instance of his older brother, 
 James, he again resumed his studies and returned to Doctor 
 Waddell, who reopened his academy. 
 
 Here were educated some of the greatest Carolinians of their 
 time, such as George McDuffie, Hugh S. Le Gare, and James 
 Louis Petigru. Doctor Waddell was a teacher of most unusual 
 force and ability, and has well been called "Father of classical 
 education in Georgia and the upcountry of South Carolina." 
 The progress made by Mr. CALHOUN was so rapid that in two 
 years he entered Yale College and two years later graduated 
 with distinction. After leaving Yale Mr. CALHOUN studied law
 
 128 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 under Judge Gould and Mr. Reeve, two eminent jurists of 
 Litchfield, Conn., -and after a year of study returned to South 
 Carolina, where he read law in the office of Mr. Dessausure and 
 was admitted to the bar in 1807. He entered upon a very 
 lucrative practice in Abbeville district, and no doubt his great 
 talents would have attained for him a high degree of distinc- 
 tion, but politics and not the law held for him the only goal 
 worth striving for and he early entered the service of his country. 
 At a public meeting held in Abbeville district in 1807 Mr. 
 CALHOUN was appointed to draw up a set of resolutions con- 
 demning the action of the English frigate Leopard in firing on 
 the American frigate Chesapeake, and so well was his work per- 
 formed that he was asked to address the meeting. He did so 
 with such credit to himself that in the next election he was sent 
 to the state legislature at the head of the ticket. Here his 
 public life begins, and from this time until his death is coincident 
 with the history of his country. He immediately came into 
 public notice by a very able speech which he made against the 
 renomination of George Clinton as the party candidate for Vice- 
 President of the United States. He served with distinction in 
 the general assembly for two sessions, and so highly were his 
 services esteemed that in the election of Members for the Twelfth 
 Congress, in which selection was made chiefly with a view to the 
 approaching war with Great Britain, Mr. CALHOUN was demanded 
 as a candidate, and in 1810 was elected and took his seat in the 
 National House of Representatives. The period was one of the 
 most critical in the country's history. War was but a few months 
 off and as yet no one was ready for it. The President was striv- 
 ing strenuously for peace and Congress was a disunited body of 
 factions, each cutting the other's throat and at variance as to 
 what was the proper course to pursue. The chief source of 
 power lay in the House, and here were gathered the greatest
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 129 
 
 minds from all over the country. Henry Clay, at the age of 34, 
 was Speaker of the House, and as chairman of the Ways and 
 Means Committee he appointed Langdon Cheves, of South Caro- 
 lina, who was only a year older than himself. William Lowndes, 
 also of South Carolina, and at the time only 29 years of age, 
 was chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs, and CALHOUN, 
 29 years old also, was given the second place in the Committee 
 on Foreign Relations. 
 
 In 1814 Langdon Cheves became Speaker upon the withdrawal 
 of Clay to go upon his mission abroad, and CALHOUN became 
 chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations. We can see 
 the preponderance of power which South Carolina wielded at 
 this time in Congress. The voice of no other State in the 
 Union was of greater weight in the counsels of the Nation. In 
 speaking of the able men assembled at this time, Henry Clay, 
 in his eulogy on CALHOUN, said: 
 
 In all the Congresses with which I have had any acquaintance since my 
 entry into the Federal Government, in none, in my opinion, has been 
 assembled such a galaxy of eminent and able men as were those Congresses 
 which declared the war and which immediately followed the peace. 
 
 CALHOUN'S first effort in the House was on December 1 1 , 181 1 , 
 just a month after taking his seat, and whatever doubts his 
 friends may have entertained as to how he would bear himself in 
 his new sphere of action were immediately dispelled. He spoke 
 in defense of the resolutions emanating from his committee by 
 which immediate preparations for war were recommended. 
 
 It was the enthusiastic speech of a young man, full of fire 
 and national patriotism, calling his country to arms. His 
 speech was in the nature of a reply to that of the eloquent 
 John Randolph, who had condemned the policy outlined in the 
 resolutions. Mr. CALHOUN'S maiden effort was enthusiastically 
 received, not only by the House, but by the whole country, and 
 
 43796 10 9
 
 130 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 he was immediately brought into prominence. In a House the 
 leadership of which was vested in the young men, he was at 
 once assigned a place of great prominence. Even at this junc- 
 ture he was hailed as "one of the master spirits who stamp 
 their names upon the age in which they live." 
 
 In the main, Mr. CALHOUN was a supporter of the adminis- 
 tration. Republican principles were deeply ingrained within 
 him, but he was not bound by any political ties. He relied 
 upcn his judgment, and when that differed from the course of 
 his party he always obeyed the dictates of his conscience. He 
 early acquired a reputation for fearlessness and sincerity of 
 conviction that never left him. He was broad in his outlook 
 and always considered the interests of the whole country. In 
 his own words, found in his first speech, he said: 
 
 I am not here to represent my own State alone. I renounce the idea, 
 and I will show by my vote that I contend for the interests of the whole 
 people of this community. 
 
 The young men leaders of the House were in favor of the 
 war, and after six months' time, during which the country had 
 sanctioned their policy, they waited upon the President and 
 declared that they were ready for war. 
 
 Accordingly on the ist of June the President sent his war 
 message to Congress. It was referred to the Committee on 
 Foreign Relations, of which CALHOUN was temporarily in charge, 
 and on June 3 he reported the recommendation of the commit- 
 tee that war be declared. This famous document was very long 
 and presented one of the strongest cases against Great Britain 
 ever written. A year later, on June 16, 1813, he made a speech 
 in defense of the war measure, which has been pronounced "the 
 strongest defense it ever received." He bitterly denounced the 
 Federalists as being unpatriotic and selfish. It was not their 
 country's welfare they were seeking, he said, but her harm, and 
 he. severely criticised them for their attitude in wishing to stop
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 131 
 
 the war. Nevertheless upon occasions when he thought the 
 policy of the Federalists better in other matters he did not hesi- 
 tate to vote with them. In the matter of the remission of dues 
 on goods imported before the declaration of war he voted with 
 the Federalists and made a strong speech in favor of remitting 
 the dues. The question had become almost one of party im- 
 portance, but Mr. CALHOUN and Mr. Cheves both took the 
 broader view that whatever was against the spirit of the law 
 was wrong, and the confiscation of goods amounting to millions 
 of dollars and the property of a large class of citizens was cer- 
 tainly never intended when the law governing the case was 
 passed. Neither did he think that a compromise should be 
 made and the goods made to become a forced loan to the Gov- 
 ernment. Either the law should be complied with and the goods 
 confiscated or the duties should be remitted entire ; there could 
 be no middle ground. 
 
 The result of his speech in favor of remitting the tax on these 
 goods, together with that of his colleague, Mr. Cheves, was 
 sufficient to carry the measure, and the forfeiture was remitted 
 upon condition that the customary war duties on the goods 
 should be paid. 
 
 This is only one instance, however, in which Mr. CALHOUN 
 showed his courage in adhering to his convictions rather than 
 party ties. He, along with his distinguished colleagues, Mr. 
 Cheves, Mr. Lowndes, and Mr. Clay, advocated an increase in 
 the navy a policy the soundness of which later generations 
 have approved and followed. This, too, was opposed by the 
 great majority of the Republican party, and it took great cour- 
 age to vote against that organization at a time when party 
 spirit was at its highest point. This broader view of things and 
 loyalty to his convictions is characteristic of CALHOUN through- 
 out, and can be shown in many instances later in his life. His 
 position, too, at this time was almost unparalleled a young
 
 132 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 man with almost no legislative experience, he was thrust at the 
 head of the most important committee in the House, and to his 
 judgment were left questions of national scope and importance. 
 It was under circumstances like these that he dared to go con- 
 trary to the older leaders of his party, but so well did he sup- 
 port his views and sustain himself that he not only merited 
 nothing of blame, but acquired great honor and reputation 
 from the way in which he discharged his duties. 
 
 In two or three other very important measures he differed 
 from the policy of his party and succeeded in carrying out his 
 views. To the restrictive policy of the administration he was 
 violently opposed. Mr. CALHOUN saw that the time was ripe 
 for the repeal of the embargo, and accordingly introduced a 
 bill to that effect. This, by reason of his strong arguments 
 supporting it, passed. 
 
 At the beginning of the next session, 1814-15, he opposed 
 the bill which his party advocated for the establishment of a 
 national bank. His objection to it was that it was intended 
 only to give aid to the Government through its ability to bor- 
 row money, and he also opposed the bill introduced by Daniel 
 Webster as a substitute. Another bill was introduced by the 
 administration, but this, too, failed of passage by the timely 
 arrival of the treaty of peace, on the day of its third reading. 
 CALHOUN had been widely criticised for his opposition to the 
 bill, but his wisdom now became apparent, and the country 
 -was saved from being committed to a policy ruinous to its 
 interests. At the next session, in recognition of his ability to 
 handle financial affairs, CALHOUN was placed at the head of 
 the Committee of the Currency. He now framed and suc- 
 cessfully carried through a bank bill which provided for the 
 establishment of a federal bank and regulated the disordered 
 currency.
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 133 
 
 He was much gratified at the successful outcome of the war, 
 in that he, as much as anyone else in Congress, had been instru- 
 mental in precipitating it. The tariff bill of 1816, introduced 
 by Mr. Lowndes, was heartily approved by him, and while he 
 has been credited with its introduction, and even called the 
 author of the "protective system," nothing is further from the 
 truth. He was in full sympathy with it, but was engaged with 
 his own bill on the establishment of a bank, and made only an 
 offhand speech in favor of the new tariff. 
 
 He did, however, take an active and prominent part in the 
 effort for construction of a system of roads and canals by the 
 Central Government. This policy was recommended to Con- 
 gress by Mr. Madison, and in December, 1816, Mr. CALHOUN 
 introduced a bill, in which it was provided that the profits of 
 the United States Bank should be devoted to these improve- 
 ments. This bill was passed by Congress, but was vetoed by 
 the President as being unconstitutional. Mr. CALHOUN later 
 changed his views. This was among the last important con- 
 gressional efforts of Mr. CALHOUN- in the House of Representa- 
 tives. Upon a summary of his work in the House, completed 
 in six short years and at one of the most trying periods of the 
 country's history, we find a summary of it to be: He was 
 highly instrumental in bringing on the war, and in this he was 
 right. Had the Federalists been given free rein the country 
 would have continued to submit to outrages and a feeling of 
 disaffection engendered for a government which so poorly con- 
 ducted affairs. There would have grown up a party within the 
 Union which would have split the country, and possibly a part 
 of it fallen again the prey of Great Britain. In this policy of 
 the war he was preeminently right. He opposed the embargo, 
 and in this he was right. He secured the establishment of a 
 banking system which rescued the country from ruin and placed
 
 134 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 financial matters on a firm basis. He advocated a programme 
 of naval extension which later generations have approved and 
 followed. 
 
 Finally he proposed the construction by the Government of 
 canals and roads, and in this he permitted an intense national- 
 ism to commit him to a policy which he later repudiated. 
 
 So, that out of five great measures advocated by Mr. CALHOUN, 
 four have proven uncontrovertibly right, although at the time 
 some of these were opposed even by his own party. In this 
 light the work of the young statesman must seem remarkable; 
 such judgment and ability to prosecute his ideas showed, even 
 at this early period, that he was a statesman of broad vision 
 and qualified to exercise a potent influence on the country's 
 history. 
 
 The second period of Mr. CALHOUN'S political activity began 
 in December, 1817, when, upon the organization of his admin- 
 istration, Mr. Monroe offered him the post of Secretary of War. 
 Mr. CALHOUN accepted this position much against the wishes 
 of his friends in Congress, who thought his powers legislative 
 rather than executive, and advised him against entering a field 
 of activity in which success seemed so doubtful. The War 
 Department was in the greatest disorder. 
 
 Mr. CALHOUN 's knowledge of miltary affairs was very limited, 
 and it seemed unlikely that with his inexperience he could 
 bring order out of chaos. Nevertheless he determined to 
 accept the position. So well did he master the difficulties of 
 his new situation that at the end of three months he brought 
 forward a bill, which he himself had drawn up, providing for a 
 complete reorganization of the department, and though the 
 bill had considerable opposition he succeeded in getting it 
 through Congress. He formulated a system by which the 
 department was to be governed by bureaus, and so well did his
 
 Address of Mr. Finley,of South Carolina 135 
 
 system work that with changes it has been maintained up to the 
 present day. He aided the President in the selection of heads 
 for each of these bureaus, and further drew up a code of rules 
 for the department which were productive of great efficiency 
 in his subordinates. The unliquidated debts in the War 
 Department when he assumed control amounted to $40,000,000; 
 he reduced them to less than three million in a comparatively 
 short time. The annual expenses of the department he reduced 
 from $4,000,000 to $2,500,000 without reducing the pay of the 
 men in the army or in the matter of supplies. He established 
 an efficient basis for the Military Academy at West Point and 
 secured proper legislation for its enlargement and reorganiza- 
 tion. He had made an accurate survey of the frontier, and planned 
 a scheme embracing a line of coast defense, but this plan was 
 thwarted by politicians. Another measure which was inau- 
 gurated by Mr. CALHOUN, and has since been widely copied, 
 especially by England, is the order which he gave to all surgeons 
 of the United States Army stationed at military posts over the 
 country to report to the department all diseases, their treat- 
 ment, changes of the temperature, moisture, and winds. The 
 result has been a large collection of very important data regard- 
 ing this phase of our country's development. 
 
 The credit for this very enlightened policy must always go to 
 Mr. CALHOUN. So completely and ably did he reorganize his de- 
 partment that General Bernard, who was chief of the board of 
 engineers under Mr. CALHOUN and had been on the staff of the 
 great Napoleon, declared that the executive ability of Mr. CAL- 
 HOUN was fully equal to that of his former chieftain. This was 
 a very high compliment to Mr. CALHOUN'S administration as 
 Secretary of War, and is an indication of the efficiency with 
 which he discharged the duties of the office. It was during his 
 second term of office as Secretary of War that his name was
 
 136 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 placed in nomination for the Presidency. There were before the 
 people six candidates for the office Mr. Adams, Mr. William H. 
 Crawford, General Jackson, Mr. Clay, Mr. William Lowndes, 
 and Mr. CALHOUN. The rather unusual spectacle was presented 
 of two friends from the same State being placed in nomination 
 and still continuing a very warm friendship. Mr. Lowndes 
 was nominated by the legislature of South Carolina and Mr. 
 CALHOUN by his friends in Pennsylvania, neither gentleman 
 being aware of the fact until their nominations had been 
 made. Within a year, in the prime of life and the midst of 
 great usefulness, Mr. Lowndes died, and upon the nomination 
 of General Jackson, Mr. CALHOUN, foreseeing that he could not 
 be elected, withdrew his name from the race and permitted 
 himself to be nominated for the Vice-Presidency. He was 
 elected by a very large majority, and on March 4, 1825, took 
 the oath of office as Vice- President along with John Quincy 
 Adams, who had been elected to the first place. 
 
 Why Mr. CALHOUN permitted himself to be removed from 
 an active participation in events has never been fully deter- 
 mined. Possibly because of the proximity of the office to that 
 of President. However, no Executive had died during his term 
 of office, and it was always the great desire of Mr. CALHOUN'S 
 life to become President, and when he saw that the candi- 
 dates in public life were cutting each others' throats, no doubt 
 he thought more advantage might come from his withdrawal 
 from the arena for a few years. Be that as it may, he ac- 
 cepted the office and his duties as presiding officer of the Sen- 
 ate, which duties, contrary to the custom of the time, he was 
 scrupulous to perform. The principal incident of his term of 
 office was the rather remarkable correspondence which he 
 carried on with the President through the columns of the news- 
 papers. Several Senators were never careful as to the violence
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 137 
 
 of their language in attacking the administration, and as Mr. 
 CALHOUN though it out of his province to call them to order, 
 the President indulged in a series of very bitter denunciations 
 directed against the Vice- President, to which Mr. CALHOUN re- 
 plied with equal vigor. The result was a drawn battle. The 
 Senate passed a rule authorizing the presiding officer to call 
 to order a Senator for words spoken on the floor; thus Mr. 
 Adams gained his point. Nevertheless, the Senate deemed it 
 necessary to make this rule giving the Vice- President the power; 
 so it was evident that the power had not existed prior to the 
 rule, and in this Mr. CALHOUN was also justified. 
 
 CALHOUN was very strongly in favor of the election of General 
 Jackson as Mr. Adams's successor, and was again placed second 
 on the ticket as the party's nominee for Vice- President. His 
 reason for favoring General Jackson was that he believed the 
 general in sympathy with the people of South Carolina (his 
 native State) and the other States who were being ruined by 
 the high protective tariff then in force and were equally de- 
 sirous of its reduction. The tariff of 1824 was a great advance 
 over that of 1816, which Mr. CALHOUN had aided in passing and 
 which was a matter of indifference to the then prosperous people 
 of South Carolina. In 1824, when the tariff bill was passed 
 by Congress, the legislature of South Carolina passed a resolu- 
 tion to the effect that the bill was contrary to the Constitution 
 and an unwarrantable exercise of federal power. The indus- 
 tries of the State were languishing, the income of the State was 
 being each year diminished, and its citizens impoverished. It 
 was impossible that a people should favor a tariff which brought 
 about such conditions. No people ever yet courted economic 
 ruin, and it was to be expected that their representatives would 
 share their feelings.
 
 138 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 The products of the Northern States \vere protected, and 
 those States were growing prosperous under a policy which 
 threatened the ruin of the South. Naturally the South was in- 
 dignant, and demanded the reduction of a tariff which favored 
 only one section of the country. South Carolina had protested 
 against the tariff of 1824 as injurious to the industries of the 
 State and therefore unconstitutional; but when, in 1827, a 
 still higher tariff was proposed it was felt that something must 
 be done. Up to this time CALHOUN had remained somewhat 
 neutral, but now he took his first decisive step and cast in his 
 lot with the antitariff party. Feeling at this time in South 
 Carolina was very intense. Led by Doctor Cooper, president of 
 the South Carolina College, a party was being formed which 
 was strongly antitariff in character. Doctor Cooper was a man 
 of great learning, ability, and influence. He was pronounced 
 by Thomas Jefferson to be the "greatest man in America," and 
 by John Quincy Adams "a learned, ingenious, scientific, and 
 talented madcap." Doctor Cooper addressed an antitariff 
 meeting held in Columbia, and in 1824 wrote a pamphlet in 
 which he said that the action of Congress in passing a tariff 
 act so injurious to a large section of the country was "cal- 
 culated to bring on the dangerous inquiry," Was the South 
 benefited by being in the Union, which used her only as a trib- 
 utary to another section of the country? Public sentiment was 
 rapidly crystallizing in South Carolina, and CALHOUN was forced 
 by necessity to take a stand upon this issue. 
 
 In 1828 the tariff known as the "tariff of abominations" 
 was passed, and feeling in South Carolina was brought to a high 
 pitch. When asked what should be done, CALHOUN frankly said 
 that no relief could be expected from Congress. He counseled 
 moderation and placed his hopes in the election of General 
 Jackson, who, he thought, could and would be able to bring
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 139 
 
 about a reduction of duties to a revenue standard. Should 
 this change of administration not give the desired relief, only 
 one course appeared to be open, and that was the interposition 
 by the State of the veto. This, however, was a last resort 
 and to be used only in a case of the greatest emergency. CAL- 
 HOUN had not yet mapped out his programme nor had he come 
 to a conclusion as to the proper method of dealing with this 
 question. When Congress adjourned on May 26, 1828, he re- 
 turned to his home in Pendleton, where he spent the summer in 
 an exchange of ideas with the leading men of the State. In July 
 he was not a nullifier, but by October he had come to a conclu- 
 sion. He had worked out his theory and from now on his life 
 was devoted to this single aim the successful establishment of 
 this theory. Meanwhile the legislature of 1828-29 was about 
 to convene. Propositions to call a state convention were coming 
 thick and fast, and this would mean violent measures, for the 
 action of such a convention could readily be foreseen. As a 
 check to such a movement, the committee on federal relations, 
 led by William C. Preston, who was afterwards a Member of 
 the United States Senate, reported a document, which had been 
 obtained from CALHOUN. This document contained the theory 
 he had recently worked out as to the nature of the trouble and 
 the remedy that should be applied. It was the great exposition 
 of 1828. 
 
 The legislature at once had 5,000 copies printed and dis- 
 tributed and gave to it the title of "The South Carolina Expo- 
 sition and Protest on the Subject of the Tariff." It became the 
 platform upon which all future action in South Carolina was 
 based, and was to the now distracted State a document almost 
 inspired. From now on CALHOUN'S position is defined and his 
 purpose fixed. For just a moment let us see what his true 
 sentiments were.
 
 140 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 The following statement is given in Jenkin's Life : 
 
 First. He believed that the Federal Constitution was a com- 
 pact adopted and ratified by and between the States in their 
 sovereign capacity as States. 
 
 Second. That the General Government contemplated and au- 
 thorized by this Constitution was the mere agent of the States 
 in the execution of certain delegated powers in regard to the 
 extent of which the States themselves were the final judges. 
 
 Third. That when the reserved powers were infringed by the 
 General Government or the delegated powers abused, its prin- 
 cipals, the States, possessed the right of state interposition or 
 nullification; otherwise, there would be no remedy for any usur- 
 pation of the reserved or abuse of the delegated powers. 
 
 Mr. CALHOUN'S theory as outlined above was based directly 
 upon the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions, although he car- 
 ried his theory further than these resolutions. 
 
 The Kentucky and Virginia resolutions were called forth by 
 the passage through Congress of the obnoxious acts known 
 as the alien and sedition laws. The alien law gave the Presi- 
 dent power to remove from the country or to imprison any 
 alien he deemed a dangerous or treasonable person, thus con- 
 ferring upon him despotic power. The sedition law provided 
 that anyone should be imprisoned who should "write, print, 
 utter, or publish" anything detrimental to the Government 
 either House of Congress or the President. These two remark- 
 able acts appeared to be only the first steps toward a complete 
 centralization of power. It was against such laws as these 
 that the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions were directed. 
 The Virginia resolutions declared that in the States alone lay 
 the right of interference whenever the powers reserved by 
 them were endangered, and that they had the right to maintain 
 "within their respective limits the authorities, rights, and
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 141 
 
 liberties appertaining to them." This stated very clearly the 
 attitude of Virginia on the question, but even more definite 
 were the Kentucky resolutions, as written by Mr. Jefferson. 
 
 Such was the text of the Kentucky resolutions as drawn up 
 by Jefferson, and so clearly did they conform to the view later 
 and independently promulgated by CALHOUN as to be the basis 
 for his doctrine of nullification. These alone, with the report of 
 Mr. Madison on the Virginia resolutions mentioned above, were 
 taken by the States Rights party as the foundation for their 
 doctrine. Their opponents denied the" construction placed upon 
 these documents and also that the Kentucky resolutions ema- 
 nated from Mr. Jefferson. This last became a point of great 
 importance and was not settled until March 13, 1832, when Mr. 
 Ritchie, the editor of the Richmond Enquirer, published a state- 
 ment that in some papers of Mr. Jefferson were found two copies 
 of the Kentucky resolutions in his own handwriting, which ap- 
 peared to be the original draft. Such, then, was the foundation 
 upon which Mr. CALHOUN based his theory, and it would seem 
 very difficult of contradiction. The construction he placed upon 
 them was that the Central Government, including Congress, was 
 a creature of the States and the Constitution only a compact 
 between them ; that any assumption of powers by Congress which 
 had not been delegated by the States was an infringement of 
 the compact ; and the States, being the supreme authors of the 
 compact, were the ones to pass judgment upon the matter. 
 
 Nothing in the way of statement could be more explicit, and 
 from this CALHOUN derived the authority for his construction 
 of the Constitution. In essence his conviction was this: The 
 Constitution was made for the States, not the States for the 
 Constitution; the Government was made for the people, not the 
 people for the Government. His argument ir beautifully clear 
 in all respects. In 1843, about fifteen years after the famous
 
 142 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 exposition of 1828, in which he laid down the platform for his 
 future conduct, he began to embody his views of government 
 and construction of the Constitution in a treatise to which he 
 gave the name of A Disquisition on Government. Following 
 this, he started A Discourse on the Constitution and Govern- 
 ment of the United States, which, however, owing to his death in 
 1850, was never finished. The underlying principle of the 
 Disquisition on Government is that government by the majority 
 always results "in despotism on the minority unless each class 
 or community in the State has a check upon the acts of the 
 majority." 
 
 He says that 
 
 Each, in consequence, has a greater regard for his own safety or 
 happiness than of others; and, where these would come in opposition, 
 is ready to sacrifice the interests of others to his own. 
 
 So that it is only in the natural course of events that the party 
 in power would continue a tariff which, though ruinous to the 
 interest of the minority, is beneficial to them. To give some 
 protection to the minority, he considers a check of some sort 
 necessary; and from where can this come but from the States 
 themselves? In this way he justifies nullification, and cites as 
 a precedent the sentiments embodied by Jefferson in the Ken- 
 tucky resolutions. Such, in brief, is the CALHOUN doctrine, to 
 the furtherance of which the great nullifier devoted the remain- 
 der of his life. 
 
 But to resume the narrative of events: In December, 1829, 
 the first message of President Jackson to Congress gave no hope 
 to the enemies of the tariff in South Carolina; nor did 'succeed- 
 ing events give more than a flickering ray of hope, which served 
 only by disappointment to intensify the feeling. The State 
 saw that nothing could be expected by a permanent distribu- 
 tion of the surplus revenue, made possible by a perpetual pro-
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 143 
 
 tective tariff, and this, too, when the only necessity for such a 
 tariff was the selfish interests of the party in power. There- 
 fore the States Rights party in South Carolina determined on 
 action. The election was conducted upon the great issue of 
 whether the States Rights or Union party should obtain the 
 necessary majority in the house. It was required that two- 
 thirds of the members of the legislature must vote for the 
 calling of a convention, and in the election more than this num- 
 ber were returned to the house by the States Rights party. 
 Accordingly a convention of the State was called, which, on 
 November 24, 1832, passed the ordinance of nullification, 
 accompanied by an address to the people of South Carolina and 
 also to their co States, setting forth the reason for their action. 
 The time was one of great excitement and the termination 
 of events very uncertain. A vacancy was made in the Senate 
 by the resignation of General Hayne to become governor of 
 South Carolina, and Mr. CALHOUN was elected by the legislature 
 to fill that position. His task was one of the greatest difficulty. 
 Deserted by all his former political friends, he and the State 
 of South Carolina stood alone. Surrounded on all sides by 
 enemies, threatened with treason and military subjection by a 
 hostile President, isolated on all sides, he stood to fall or rise 
 with his State. His journey to Washington was one of mingled 
 feelings. Great crowds gathered to see him pass, and when he 
 entered the Senate Chamber it was crowded with curious and 
 eager spectators. Many expected immediate arrest, and all 
 were curious to see how he would conduct himself. He soon 
 fulfilled their expectations by a resolution calling upon the 
 President to lay before the Senate the ordinance of nullification, 
 and in this way the matter was brought under consideration. It 
 was understood by Mr. CALHOUN that President Jackson would 
 in two or three days' time send to the Senate a message on the
 
 144 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 subject, but when CALHOUN entered the Chamber the next day 
 and found the Secretary of the Senate reading a communication 
 from the Chief Executive it was a great surprise and found him 
 unprepared. Nevertheless, at its conclusion, he arose, and in a 
 vigorous and very creditable speech replied to the message. The 
 message was referred to the Committee on Judiciary, which soon 
 reported a bill giving the President greatly increased powers as 
 to money and men. It empowered him to employ force in the 
 execution of the tariff law, and was known in history as the 
 force bill. In other words, it brought matters to a crisis. In 
 reply CALHOUN offered three resolutions: 
 
 1. That the States were parties to the Constitution and the 
 Union as separate sovereignties. 
 
 2. That they had delegated certain defined powers and no 
 more to the Federal Government, and when powers not dele- 
 gated were exercised the acts were null and void, the judges 
 of the infraction being the parties to the compact. 
 
 3. That the idea that the people of the United States formed 
 a nation was a present and historical fallacy. 
 
 If the Senate had admitted the truth of the resolutions, 
 CALHOUN would have made good his justification of nullification. 
 However, the 'Senate would not consent to a consideration of 
 the resolutions, and after tabling them proceeded to a discus- 
 sion of the force bill. The debate was well conducted on both 
 sides, but the titanic battle was between Webster and CALHOUN. 
 Mr. CALHOUN was forced to open up the duel, which he did in 
 an able and masterly manner, avoiding, however, a discussion 
 of anything but the most general principles embodied in the 
 resolutions, in order that he might have an opportunity of reply- 
 ing to Webster. That gentleman followed him in the debate 
 on the force bill, and with characteristic ability went into an 
 investigation of the principles and the Government's foundation,
 
 Address of Mr. Finley,of South Carolina 145 
 
 defending his view with consummate skill, and sharply attack- 
 ing Mr. CALHOUN'S position. At Mr. CALHOUN'S request the 
 Senate appointed a day on which he was to reply to Mr. Web- 
 ster, and accordingly, on February 15, he arose to make the 
 greatest effort of his life. He spoke for two hours, and stream 
 after stream of relentless logic flowed from his lips, perfect in 
 its consistency and logic. He defended his own and his State's 
 positions, and more than fulfilled his friends' highest expecta- 
 tions. The following is a condensed portion of his speech : 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 He said 
 
 had not claimed a right to annul the Constitution, nor to resist laws made 
 in pursuance of the Constitution, but those made without its authority. 
 She claimed no right to judge of the delegated powers of the Constitution, 
 but of the powers which were expressly reserved to the respective States. 
 The reservation was against the United States, and extended, of course, 
 to the judiciary, as well as to the other departments of the Government. 
 He defended himself from the charge of having been a protectionist in 1816. 
 The tariff then adopted had been primarily a revenue measure, framed with 
 reference to the need of reducing the public debt. 
 
 He goes on to explain the errors of the bill, and asks if by 
 this one act he had forever committed himself to a policy which 
 had been extended into a system of oppression, by which one 
 section of the country was prospering at the expense of another. 
 He continued with an analysis of the tariff, and concluded with 
 an exposition of the Constitution. 
 
 The speech will undoubtedly rank as one of the greatest 
 efforts in history, and surpassed any speech previously or sub- 
 sequently made by Mr. CALHOUK. 
 
 In the duel of words which followed between Mr. CALHOUN 
 and Mr. Webster much eloquence was evinced on both sides. 
 With the clearness of vision and fairness characteristic of the 
 
 43796 10 10
 
 146 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 man, Mr. Webster granted that if the Constitution was a com- 
 pact between the States, then CALHOUN'S position was proved, 
 and nullification and secession were justified. Consequently, 
 Mr. CALHOUN directed all his energies toward establishing the 
 fact, and he was generally conceded to have proved his point. 
 Mr. Randolph, who was present in the Senate Chamber for the 
 last time during this speech, congratulated Mr. CALHOUN, and 
 stated that he regarded his arguments as unanswerable. 
 
 The force bill passed, but shortly afterwards a compromise 
 tariff bill was introduced by Mr. Clay, which was agreed to by 
 Mr. CALHOUN. It surrendered the protective principle and 
 established the ad valorem principle, which was the point of con- 
 tention with Mr. CALHOUN. It provided for a gradual decrease 
 in duties until they should reach the revenue standard, and this 
 also was agreed to by Mr. CALHOUN. He recognized the impos- 
 sibility of suddenly withdrawing protection from industries 
 which had been accustomed to its aid, and, so long as the pro- 
 tective principle was surrendered, was willing that the reduction 
 should be gradual. In South Carolina the compromise act was 
 not popular at first, but when Mr. CALHOUN arrived and advised 
 the legislature all opposition was withdrawn. This ended the 
 memorable nullification controversy in South Carolina. It had, 
 from the standpoint of Mr. CALHOUN and his followers, been a 
 success. The principle for which they contended had been 
 established, though gradually; the State had emerged from the 
 contest with honor unimpaired and Mr. CALHOUN himself with 
 glory beyond any he had ever known before. 
 
 We now enter upon the third and last period of his career. 
 Through his connection with the nullification controversy he 
 was to become the leader of the entire South. Nullification 
 had not actually been carried through, but by a threat of it 
 Congress had been forced to alter the tariff in accordance with
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 147 
 
 one State's wishes and a precedent had been established. Hence- 
 forth nullification was to be absorbed into the larger doctrine 
 of state sovereignty, popularly called "States rights," from 
 which it had emanated, and of this party CALHOUN was to 
 become the undisputed leader. His standing, both as to purity 
 of motives and ability, was higher than it had been at any 
 previous time and the work he had done was a great one for 
 the South. The effect of South Carolina's stand was to be of 
 great benefit to the country. Had the revenue been allowed to 
 flow into the Treasury in such a great stream power must 
 eventually have been centralized at Washington. Thus South 
 Carolina's act assumed patriotic proportions in the eye of the 
 country, as it had always done in the State, and the prestige 
 of CALHOUN was consequently increased. His first work in 
 the Senate after the passing of the storm of nullification was 
 the part he took in censuring President Jackson for removing 
 the Government's deposits from the Bank of the United States 
 to a number of state banks. This measure was regarded as a 
 high-handed measure by the entire Senate, and even the friends 
 of the administration tried to justify it only on the strength 
 of its expediency. CALHOUN'S knowledge of financial affairs was 
 very clear, owing to the careful study he had made during his 
 service in the House twenty years before; his remarks were 
 listened to with great respect. He predicted the panic which 
 followed a few years later. He advocated a complete separa- 
 tion of the Government from the banks and approved of the 
 Independent Treasury bill. This bill was not passed, but it was 
 the forerunner of the system later adopted. Mr. CALHOUN voted 
 for the bill introduced by Mr. Webster to recharter the United 
 States Bank for six years, although it lacked much of meeting 
 with his approval. Much of this period was devoted to a con- 
 troversy with General Jackson, and the fight was waged with
 
 148 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun^ 
 
 great bitterness on both sides. His relations with the President 
 had long since ceased to be friendly, and when he voted for the 
 resolution of Mr. Clay, censuring the President for miscon- 
 duct in regard to the banks, the duel was opened. He made a 
 number of withering speeches upon the course pursued by the 
 President, and in this connection denounced the spoils system 
 he had inaugurated. 
 
 This system of the President had no support in Congress, and 
 when CALHOUN moved the appointment of a committee of Sen- 
 ators to inquire into the extent of the executive power and devise 
 a method of reducing it, it met with no opposition. Mr. CALHOUN 
 himself was made chairman of this committee, and the report 
 was so heartily approved by the Senate that 10,000 copies were 
 ordered printed for distribution throughout the country. 
 CALHOUN'S course of action in regard to Jackson was enthusias- 
 tically received in the city of Washington, and he was strongly 
 supported by public opinion in his debate with Mr. Benton. 
 The latter violently attacked CALHOUN, who had severely 
 arraigned the spoils system of the administration. The debate 
 was conducted by CALHOUN with great dignity, and in the out- 
 come he was easily victorious. 
 
 The next great question which occupied the attention of Mr. 
 CALHOUN was the reception of the abolition petitions. Societies 
 had been formed throughout the Northern and Central States, 
 praying, through their Representatives, for the abolition of 
 slavery in the District of Columbia. It threatened the security 
 and peace of the slave-holding States, and Mr. CALHOUN re- 
 garded it as an attack on one of the outposts of slavery which 
 must by all means be repulsed. Accordingly, on the I2th of 
 April, 1836, he made a forceful speech declaring that the peti- 
 tions should not even be received. Congress, however, decided 
 that such a course of action would appear to be a denial of the
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 149 
 
 right of petition by the people and favored the reception of the 
 petitions. Mr. CALHOUN made another speech, and so convinc- 
 ing were his arguments that the petitions, after having been 
 received, were laid on the table. 
 
 Shortly afterwards, in 1837, as Mr. CALHOUN had foreseen 
 and predicted, came the great crash, flooding the country with 
 financial ruin. Mr. Van Buren, the President, recommended a 
 complete separation of the Government from the banks, and in 
 this policy was supported by Mr. CALHOUN. He advocated his 
 views in a strong speech made on the 3d day of October, at the 
 special session called to consider the financial status of the 
 country. It was not until late in July that a satisfactory bill 
 passed both House and Senate and, after receiving the Presi- 
 dent's signature, became a law. The Independent Treasury bill, 
 as it was called, received the hearty support of Mr. CALHOUN, 
 and for this course of action he was greatly criticised. What 
 he did was entirely consistent with his former course of action, 
 for he had always emphatically declared that he was the parti- 
 san of no class or party. Whatever he saw was for the best 
 interest of the country he supported, and he had pursued this 
 course; hence when attacked for having gone over to the admin- 
 istrative party he indignantly denied the ground for such an 
 attack. Of the criticisms of the press he took no notice, but 
 when called to account by Mr. Clay on the floor of the Senate, 
 he replied in a speech which, for eloquence, has never been sur- 
 passed in that body. His words bore a striking resemblance to 
 the De Corona of Demosthenes, and were in much the same 
 strain. He denied the charge that he had been unfaithful to 
 his party; he had given no organization his allegiance, and 
 therefore he could desert none. 
 
 What the motive was for his change of views, he was willing for time 
 to disclose. The imputation sinks to the earth with the groundless charge
 
 150 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 on which it rests. I stamp it with scorn in the dust. I pick up the dart, 
 which fell harmless at my feet. I hurl it back. What the Senator charges 
 me with unjustly, he has actually done. He went over on a memorable 
 occasion, and did not leave it to time .to disclose his motive. 
 
 This last shot drove home, for he was alluding to Mr. Clay's 
 action in 1825 in connection with the election of Mr. Adams 
 and his acceptance of the office of Secretary of State. The 
 speech continued in this vein of fiery eloquence, and completely 
 justified Mr. CALHOUN'S conduct. He refuted Mr. Clay's charge, 
 and clearly defined his own position with a manner so impas- 
 sioned and effective as to leave his listeners spellbound. 
 
 Against one party in particular was Mr. CALHOUN'S wrath 
 aroused the Abolitionists. He believed them capable of more 
 mischief and of more dangerous tendencies than any other sect 
 in the country. At the session of 1837-38 he offered a set of 
 resolutions on the subject of abolitionism, and followed them 
 up by a series of speeches defining his position on the slavery 
 question. Possibly it would be well to give a few leading prin- 
 ciples of Mr. CALHOUN'S belief, as he has been greatly misrepre- 
 sented. He viewed it as a political institution, whose existence 
 began before the Constitution was formed and was recognized 
 in that document. The framers of the Constitution considered 
 slaves as property, and acknowledged the right of ownership of 
 them. Consequently, under rights of property, the States were 
 bound by a pledge to abstain from all interference, and that in 
 the District of Columbia and States not excluded by the Mis- 
 souri Compromise, being the common property of all the States, 
 the owner of slaves was entitled to the safe protection of his 
 property should he emigrate there with his slaves, that is, on 
 common soil; also the rights of property should be protected. 
 Slavery was defended in the South on account of existing con- 
 ditions. Where the races, almost equal in number, existed side 
 by side, one must always be subject to the other.. Besides, of
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 151 
 
 what value, he asks, were political rights when they were exer- 
 cised, as he saw, in the case of thousands of voters in the North, 
 who were under the domination of powerful monopolies, and 
 were forced to vote according to dictation ? Mr. CALHOUN was 
 active on all important questions coming before the Senate, and 
 took a prominent part in all debates, making several very note- 
 worthy speeches. 
 
 In March, 1843, Mr. CALHOUN resigned his place in the Sen- 
 ate and retired to his estate at Fort Hill, in the neighborhood of 
 Pendleton Court-House. His private affairs had suffered 
 greatly from his protracted absence in Washington, and he was 
 forced to give them his attention. 
 
 It was impossible for him, however, to long refrain from 
 active participation in affairs, so when, in February of the next 
 year, the President offered him the position of Secretary of 
 State, made vacant by the death of William Upshur, he again 
 entered the arena. During his term of office he was instru- 
 mental in securing the annexation of Texas as an integral part 
 of the Union. In fact, he was the most powerful agent in secur- 
 ing this important measure. Upon the election of Mr. Polk he 
 resigned his position in the Cabinet, as he was not in entire 
 accord with the administration's views in regard to the Oregon 
 difficulty. He was offered the mission to England by Mr. 
 Polk, but this he declined and again retired to private life. 
 Here, at Fort Hill, he enjoyed a short rest and devoted himself 
 to the work he was writing on political economy. It has been 
 said that if CALHOUN had devoted his life to authorship, he 
 would have been one of the most original and philosophical 
 writers this country has ever produced. To show the esteem 
 in which he was held, in 1845, when he made a journey to 
 Memphis to the convention for the purpose of considering the 
 development of the natural resources of the South and West,
 
 152 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 his progress was made an occasion for ovations along his entire 
 route, and his reception, even in Jackson's own country, were 
 equal to the earlier demonstrations in honor of the old general. 
 
 He was not, however, to be allowed to remain in private life. 
 His friends thought his presence in Washington necessary; 
 accordingly, upon the resignation of Judge Huger from the 
 Senate, he again entered that august body, in the service of which 
 he was destined to die. He was immediately plunged into ques- 
 tions of the greatest moment. Polk seemed to desire a war 
 with Mexico and was intent upon precipitating it. At the same 
 time he laid claim to "all Oregon" and forced on the country 
 a most alarming situation. We could ill afford a war with 
 England, and never with England and Mexico combined. 
 Accordingly, it was left to the Senate to extricate the country 
 from this dilemma, and CALHOUN was pushed to the front. He 
 offered resolutions to the effect that contradictory claims to the 
 territory might be settled by treaty. Thus, by a policy of "wise 
 and masterly inactivity," he sought to delay events until the 
 outcome of the struggle with Mexico could be seen. Never since 
 the days of his early career, before his advocation of nullifica- 
 tion, had Mr. CALHOUN enjoyed a national reputation so great 
 or his views held in such reverence. 
 
 He was the preeminent statesman of the day, and to him the 
 Nation looked for deliverance from her difficulties. The British 
 minister offered to make the forty-ninth parallel the boundary 
 of the disputed territory, and the compromise was accepted by 
 the Senate, which had been left solely in charge of the treaty. 
 On March 16, 1846, CALHOUN made his great speech on the 
 treaty, and recommended its acceptance. The Senate was 
 crowded, and the Senators listened eagerly as the great states- 
 man spoke his message. The speech advised compromise, and 
 the advice was followed. The forty-ninth degree of latitude was
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 153 
 
 accepted as the northwest boundary of the disputed Oregon 
 Territory, and the cry of "54, 40, or fight" was at an end. 
 
 Its termination was most fortunate for this country, for five 
 days after the negotiations were concluded hostilities broke out 
 with Mexico, and this would have given a different turn to the 
 situation. Mr. CALHOUN was opposed to the war with Mexico, 
 and if he had been given a chance, might have prevented it. He 
 was overwhelmed, however, by popular feeling, and the war 
 went forward. Had he followed the advice of his friends, and 
 only acquiesced in the course events were taking, he would have 
 remained the foremost man in the United States, and perhaps 
 triumphantly ridden into the presidency. Such a thing, how- 
 ever, was foreign to his nature, for he could never sacrifice his 
 convictions of what seemed to him to be right. By this act 
 he threw away his great chance to satisfy his life's ambition, 
 and the fact must always remain a monument to him, greater 
 than the office could ever have been. 
 
 Soon the results of the war, which CALHOUN had seen to be 
 fatal to the South, were apparent. A great territory was 
 wrested from Mexico, and it was believed that the administra- 
 tion favored the annexation of the whole country. In January, 
 1848, CALHOUN made a speech, which he thought put an end to 
 this idea, but the fact remained that much territory had been 
 acquired, and some disposition had to be made of it as regards 
 slavery. 
 
 Accordingly, the Wilmot proviso was introduced on February 
 19, 1847, by the party in power, providing that no slavery should 
 exist in the territory recently acquired from Mexico. This was 
 what CALHOUN had foreseen, and he opposed it with all his 
 might. He offered a set of resolutions, which provided that 
 Congress had no right to legislate to the discrimination of any 
 of the States of the Union, or to deprive any citizen emigrat-
 
 I 5 4 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 ing to the new States of the right of property, or to dispose of 
 conditions before the States in question should be admitted to 
 the Union and given a voice in the matter. He spoke in defense 
 of his resolution, and gave the position of his whole career in a 
 few brief sentences. The free States already had a majority 
 of votes in the electoral college, there was a majority in the 
 House, and the Senate was evenly divided. Should more States 
 be formed from time to time, and all of them free, then the 
 balance of power would be on the side of the free States. Could 
 they be intrusted to safeguard the rights of the slave States, 
 who were in the minority ? Certainly not, and a course would be 
 followed that would be ruinous to the slave States. Eventu- 
 ally, then, in the nature of things, the South would withdraw 
 from a union of so little advantage to her. Sentiment never 
 yet bound together a nation. There must be advantages accru- 
 ing to both sections or civil war would come. This was CAL- 
 HOUN'S great life work to prevent the disruption of the States 
 and to preserve the Union. To do this he contended the balance 
 of power must be preserved. Slavery, as an institution of the 
 South and a form of property guaranteed by the Constitution, 
 must be upheld or it would prove the rock on which the Union 
 would split. The last years of his life were spent in preaching 
 this doctrine. He was the almost undisputed leader of the 
 South, and to him every man of his party came for instructions 
 as to a great master. His great life work was to lead his people 
 past the impending doom that threatened them and to preserve 
 an unbroken Union, just in its recognition of the rights of all 
 sections, with "equal rights to all and special privileges to 
 none." His health was fast failing, and it was evident that 
 the great statesman could last only a little longer. 
 
 In January, 1850, he fell ill with pneumonia, and grew stead- 
 ily worse. On February 18 he was in his place once more, but
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 155 
 
 after that was confined to his rooms. His one desire was to go 
 back into the Senate, if for only an hour. He had one last speech 
 to deliver, the great message of his life, and he could not die 
 with it left unsaid. Accordingly, on the 4th of March, he was 
 in the Chamber, though so ill that he was obliged to act on his 
 friends' advice and to give his speech to his friend, James M. 
 Mason, of Virginia, to read. As the voice of the Virginia orator 
 rang out over the Senate Chamber, CALHOUN sat with features 
 as of a stone image, his eyes shining with the intensity of his 
 purpose. 
 
 It was his last great message to the country, and was awe- 
 inspiring in the accuracy with which it foretold future events. 
 It has been pronounced by eminent critics, and of a disposition 
 unfavorable to CALHOUN, as the most important speech made 
 before the war by any southern leader in its power to mold 
 public sentiment. 
 
 He began by reiterating the doctrine that he had preached all 
 his life the Union must be preserved, and to save it, agitation of 
 the slavery question must cease. The South must be allowed 
 her rights of property, guaranteed under the Constitution, or the 
 question will end in disunion. The equilibrium of power be- 
 tween the sections must be preserved and the South given an 
 equal share in the voice of the Government. If the Union is to 
 be preserved the South must be conceded an equal share in the 
 recently acquired territory, the agitation of the slave question 
 must stop, and an amendment made to the Constitution estab- 
 lishing again the balance of power. If the North intended to do 
 this, let her say so. If not, let the States depart in peace. He 
 ended by a last statement of his position : He had striven always 
 to stop the agitation of slavery and save the Union; if this 
 should be impossible, then his efforts would be to save the South,
 
 156 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 where he lived, and upon whose side was justice and the Con- 
 stitution. 
 
 Such was the last great speech of the great leader. He spoke 
 once more in the Senate, on the /th of March, in reply to 
 Webster, who declared that the Union could not be destroyed. 
 CALHOUN answered that it could, and by "great moral causes." 
 This was his last appearance. He was confined to his room 
 by a cough and by racking pains, and with his body growing 
 weaker every day. 
 
 Not so his mind, for he was in the full possession of all his 
 mental faculties, and his massive brain was as vigorous as ever. 
 He busied himself to the last with public affairs and his papers. 
 He believed that the South and the Union were doomed for de- 
 struction unless he saved them, and he clung desperately to 
 every moment in which he could work for their salvation. 
 During his last days he dictated to his secretary a set of resolu- 
 tions which he intended introducing to the Senate as the ulti- 
 matum of the South. They recited that the Southern States 
 could not lawfully be deprived of equal rights in the territory 
 acquired from Mexico or from any other source ; that the people 
 of a Territory had no right to form a constitution and a State 
 without the permission of Congress, and the action of Cali- 
 fornia was consequently void; that Congress had no right to 
 give validity to California's constitution; that the Wilmot 
 Proviso was an attempt to deprive the South of its rights by a 
 palpably unconstitutional method, and that the time had ar- 
 rived when the Southern States owed it to themselves and the 
 other States of the Union to settle forever the question at issue 
 between them. 
 
 These resolutions were merely the summing up of CALHOUN'S 
 views on the whole matter. When he had finished their dicta- 
 tion he wished for "one time more to speak in the Senate. I
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 157 
 
 can do more than on any past occasion in my life." Still, in 
 dying, his last thought was to save the Union and how to do it. 
 He never wished for secession so long as there was any way to 
 prevent it. To the last his mind wrestled with the problem. 
 As has been said : " It was a Senator rather than a man who was 
 dying." His thoughts were concentrated on the country to the 
 last, and with his mind still on the problem he passed from the 
 sphere of earthly action into eternity. On the morning of the 
 3ist of March, 1850, the great statesman breathed his last, and 
 the long battle was ended. 
 
 Of his private life it is unnecessary to speak other than to 
 say that it was pure and blameless. He spent forty years in the 
 public service as a member of the general assembly of South 
 Carolina; three times elected to Congress; for eight years Sec- 
 retary of War; twice elected Vice-President of the United 
 States, in 1824 and 1828; United States Senator; Secretary of 
 State in Tyler's Cabinet; and after that United States Senator 
 until the time of his death. During these four decades in pub- 
 lic service, faithful to every trust, patriotic in every fiber of his 
 being, devoted to the Union, but believing with all his heart 
 that its perpetuation depended upon preserving to the States 
 their rights under the Constitution, a philosopher and states- 
 man of the highest order, orator, and author, he served the 
 nation and his State faithfully and well No man has ever 
 been so honored by South Carolina as was JOHN CALDWELL 
 CALHOUN, the State's greatest and most gifted son. From 1832 
 to the time of his death the people of South Carolina received 
 his counsel and followed his lead implicitly. As true as they 
 were to him he was to them and to their best interest as he 
 saw it. 
 
 When he passed away at half -past 7 o'clock Sabbath morning, 
 March 31, 1850, the highest honors were paid him at the Capitol
 
 158 Statue of Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 
 of the Nation, and throughout the country there was genuine 
 and sincere regret that one who was most worthy to sit in the 
 seats of the mighty was no more. But it was reserved for the 
 people of his native State, without any division, to do honor to 
 his memory as befit those who loved him with a sincere devo- 
 tion and whose political idol he was. 
 
 These honors did not cease when his body was consigned to 
 the tomb. The women of South Carolina, whose virtue and 
 patriotism have ever been the chief glory of the State, under- 
 took the work of erecting to him a monument in granite and 
 marble that would bespeak in some measure South Carolina's 
 appreciation and pride in her favorite son. On the 26th of 
 April, 1887, the CALHOUN monument was unveiled at Charleston, 
 S. C., in the presence of patriotic thousands and hundreds of 
 distinguished citizens from all over the country. The monu- 
 ment stands more than 50 feet high, and cost $60,000. The 
 oration was delivered by that prince of orators, L. Q. C. Lamar. 
 Nearly sixty years have elapsed since the death of the great 
 states-rights champion. In this period have occurred events 
 of the first moment and involving the very existence of the 
 Nation. The civil war occurred, as CALHOUN predicted might 
 be; the slaves were freed, given the franchise, and in the South 
 placed in political power, as CALHOUN had predicted as one of 
 the possibilities of the future. This, however, was for only a 
 comparatively short period of time, and the South did not drop 
 to the level of Haiti or Santo Domingo, as CALHOUN had intimated 
 might be the case. The civil war is a matter of history. One 
 of its results was to forever set at rest the questions of nullifica- 
 tion and secession, and the establishment for all time of the 
 doctrine that the Union is indivisible and indestructible. The 
 bitter and sectional passions engendered by the war have 
 almost entirely passed away. The man who in either branch
 
 Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 159 
 
 of the American Congress to-day would undertake to make a 
 violent, abusive, and sectional speech would find himself soli- 
 tary and alone engaged in a vain effort to revive issues which 
 have been finally buried. The time is and will be when the 
 American people throughout this country will look upon the par- 
 ticipants in that great struggle North and South \vith a com- 
 mon pride that can only be likened to and compared with the 
 pride felt by the English people for those who participated in 
 the wars between the House of York and the House of Lancaster, 
 commonly called the "war of the roses." A nation can not be 
 great unless patriotism abounds and a common sympathy binds 
 all the people together. The war with Spain demonstrates con- 
 clusively that in none of these essentials of greatness is the 
 United States wanting. 
 
 The statue of JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN stands in Statuary 
 Hall, the old Hall of Representatives, the scene of his first 
 efforts and labors in the service of the Nation, placed there by 
 the State of South Carolina, and none more worthy than he to 
 be so honored. [Applause.]