The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-01-12

openly ayowed that the commit
tee recommended the measures now
before the house. as a preparation
for war" and maintained that the
national honor and the safety of the Cit
liens lives and property demanded the
use of force. The efforts of Clay, CAL
hOun and the other young republicans
forced a declaration of war, and Cal
hOun was one of the main supporters
of the war in congress He differed
from the majority, however, in favor
ing the repeal of all the restrictive
acts Of nOn-imp0rtation and embargo.
He felt that I'VE are a people essen
tally active No passive sys-
TEN can suit such a people. in action
superior 30 all Others in patient endur-
ance inferior to none. Nor does it suit
the genius Of our government. Our
government is founded on freedom and
hates coercion. To make the restrict
i've system requires the most arbitrary
laws"
After the war we find Calhoun. now
recognized as a leader in the house, de-
Tending the treaty-making power from
assaults by other republicans and in
PRODUCING measures for the establish
ment of a United States bank He did
not discuss the constitutional question,
but. accepting the validity of the power
to charter a bank as an established
fact, he made an exhaustive argument
TO the point that such a bank would
be favorable to the administration of
the finances of the government"
With other such sentiments he closed
his career in the house Of representa-
tives and became MonrOe's secretary of
war in 1917. He found the administra-
ton of that department chaotic He
reduced its methods and accounts to
due order and effected considerable
saving of the public money. Men now
began to speak of Calhoun as a can
didate for the presidency, but finding
himself Outclassed by other candidates
in the election of 1924, when persons.
not principles, were issues, he an
nOunCed himself as candidate for the
vice presidency and was easily elect
ed to that position. There he acquitted
himself with ability. In one case he
refused to leave his seat when a tie
vote was expected on a question whose
decision might cost him some support
ers. He had been elected by support
ers Of both Adams and Jackson. and
yet during the administration of the
former. he felt himself drawing con-
stantly away from the president and
from such old associates as Clay and
coming more and more 70 a strict con-
III.
election of 1928 we find him on the
JacksOnian ticket and note that he was
reelected by a great majority as vice
president Doubtless he hoped to be
JacksOn's political heir: doubtless he
was the natural leader OF the new Dem
Ocratic party after jackson, and doubt
less personal matters, such as the I'M
reasonable grudge which Jackson bore
TO the man who supported a just CEN
sure on some of Jackson's early acts
and who would not receive JacksOn's
friends as his, were potent causes in de-
strOying his hope of having Jaekson's
assistance, which aid was transferred
to Van Buren, But that such consid-
Grafton, and the fact that he found
that popularity in South Carolina
would follow most easily an anti-na-
tiOnal attitude we're the chief motives
Of Calhoun's new position, cannot be
believed. That these influences were
not without their effect is undoubted,
but the change in front of so keen and
conscientious a thinker as Calhoun
cannot be explained by such influences
alone. In the twelve or fifteen years
since he had left congress he had I'M
derg0ne one of those subtle and grad
ua1 changes Of feeling which often lead
men to conclusions diametricaHS oppo-
site to those with which thev began
That his two positions were incOnsist-
ent may be granted easily. but incon-
! sistency is often another name for
; growth. The maintenance of slavery
and of the plantation system of his
state became so important in his eyes
that all else sank into q secondary
place. and unconsciousIy to himself his
point Of view had changed from a ma
tiOnal TO a sectional one. Calhoun adj
mitted that a state had no right TO op-
I pose the execution Of an admittedly
constitutional law, but the state vas
I the judge as to whether she would ad-
NIT the constitutionality of the law. II
the law was of doubtful constitution
ality. or clearly unconstituuonal-an
the test in both cases lay in the hands
of the state-it might be declared null