Grave of John C. Calhoun

Yale graduate. Law degree from Litchfield, Connecticut. U.S. congressman. Senator. Secretary of War. Secretary of State. Early advocate of federal governmental power. Alexander Hamilton? Daniel Webster? No; he’s not a Northerner. We’re talking about South Carolinian John Caldwell Calhoun. Born in the upcountry in 1782, Calhoun morphed from ardent nationalism to strident sectionalism. When Congress passed a high tariff in 1828, Calhoun protested, contending that the measure would cripple the Southern economy. He went so far as to argue that Southern states could nullify laws they viewed as unconstitutional. When sectional rivalry became centered on slavery, Calhoun sought federal protections of the South’s “peculiar institution.” Through his intellectually acute writing and powerful oratory, Calhoun all but predicted the South’s eventual need to leave the Union. He died in 1850, a decade before his native state bore out his predictions. He is buried here, in front of St. Philip’s Church.

This is the caption as printed in 100 Significant Civil War Photographs: Charleston in the War. It has not yet been through this site’s research and fact-checking pass.