2/12/2014
The Great Triumvirate
Clay, Calhoun, & Webster
Henry Clay
John C. Calhoun
“The Great Compromiser”
•
1777 - Born in Hanover County, VA
•
1782 - Born in in Abbeville, S.C.
•
1797 - moved to Lexington, KY
•
1811 – 1817 - House of Representatives
•
1806 – 1807 - U.S. Senate
•
1810 – 1811 - U.S. Senate
•
1811 –1814 - Speaker of the House
•
•
– Member of War Hawks who called for war
with Britain in 1812.
•
1817-1825 Sec. of War for James Monroe
– sought censure of Andrew Jackson for
overstepping his authority by invading
Spanish Florida in 1818
negotiated Treaty of Ghent
•
1825 – 1829 - Vice-President for J.Q. Adams
•
1829 – 1832 - Vice-President for Jackson
1815 – 1825 Speaker of the House
•
•
American System
Missouri Compromise
– issued Doctrine of Nullification, resigns in
Dec 1832
•
1825 - 1829 Sec. of State for J.Q. Adams
•
1832 – 1843 - U.S. Senate
•
1831 – 1842 - U.S. Senate
•
1844 – 1845 - Secretary of State for Tyler
•
1845 – 1850 - U.S. Senate
•
•
•
created the compromise tariff to end
the Nullification Crisis
– Completed the annexation of Texas
1849 – 1852 - U.S. Senate
•
Compromise of 1850
1824, 1832, 1844 – Ran for President
– Compromise of 1850
•
“I’d rather be right than
president” - Henry Clay
Daniel Webster
•
1782 - Born in Salisbury, New Hampshire
•
1813 – 1817 - House of Representatives
•
1816 - 1823 - Lawyer in Boston, MA
• defended the Bank of the U.S. and won
– 1824 – Gibbons vs. Ogden
• defended Gibbons and supported the idea
that transportation is part of commerce
1823 – 1827 - House of Representatives
•
1827 – 1841 – U.S. Senate
1836 – Ran for President
•
1841 – 1843 – Sec. of State for Tyler
1845 – 1850 - U.S. Senate
– supported the Compromise of 1850
against the wishes of his supporters
•
1850 – 1852 – Sec. of State for Fillmore
Henry Clay
John C Calhoun
Daniel Webster
• they left a lasting
legacy on
American politics
– Webster-Ashburton Treaty, 1842, settled
the boundary between Maine and Canada
•
“In looking back, I see
nothing to regret and little
to correct.”
- John C. Calhoun
The Great Triumvirate
• Between 1812
and 1850 had
more impact on
American
government than
any three
politicians in
American
history.
• none were ever
elected president
– spoke against nullification in the WebsterHayne Debates
•
argued to support slavery and the rights of
slave holders; died before the final votes on
the parts of the Compromise make it law.
llll
“Defender of the Union”
– 1819 – McCulloch vs. Maryland
•
“Champion of States’ Rights”
“Liberty and Union,
now and forever,
one and inseparable”
– Daniel Webster
– more than the
presidents of their
day could match.
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2/12/2014
Country
pulled into
3 sections
• Northeast, South, &
West
Regions
argued
over 3 major
economic issues
• Public land sale
• Internal
improvements
• Tariffs
Congress
passed high tariff
under J.Q. Adams
Nullification debate grew in the U.S. Senate:
Webster-Hayne Debate
• Proposed by Martin van Buren
Vice-President John C. Calhoun claimed
“states should have final authority on
whether to follow acts of Congress”
South hated it
• They were forced to sell cotton @
low prices to be competitive
• Pay high prices for manufactured
goods
Southern
Congressman
proposed the doctrine of
nullification
• Alien and Sedition acts as the
model
South hoped for Jackson’s
support since he was a
supporter of states’ rights
He felt states had the right to judge
if a law is constitutional
Congressmen from South Carolina
defended & promoted secession
Jackson
left Calhoun off his
ticket in the 1832 election
• Chose Martin van Buren as his
Vice President
Jackson opposed nullification
but wanted to save the Union
“Our Federal Union: It must
be preserved.”
Jackson
got the Force Bill
passed
• The President could use force
to enforce acts of Congress
South Carolina passed the
Nullification Act and continued
to threaten secession
“Yes I have; please give my compliments to my friends in your State and say to
them, that if a single drop of blood shall be shed there in opposition to the laws of
the United States, I will hang the first man I can lay my hand on engaged in such
treasonable conduct, upon the first tree I can reach.”
Henry
Clay proposed a
smaller Compromise Tariff
in the Senate
• Congress passed it and S.C.
accepted the new tariff
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