The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-09-20
THE MAKERS
 OF THE NATION
ARTICLE X.
Calhoun, the Champion of State sov
 eraipntv

touch the Constitution itself and were not only matters of discussion and com promise In the framing of that great Tn. strument. but have furnished basis of disagreement and contest in the inter pretation of 1t, some of them down to the present day. One of the most im- ing the relations of the General Govern ment to the individual States.
 When the convention met in Philadei- phta in 1TS7 and began the work of for mulating a Constitution 1t was at once discovered that there was a marked diff ference of opinion as to how strong and extensive that Government should be. The States were jealous of their inde- pendence. and fearful that the establish ment of any Government with real power to enforce it's will might result in depriv- ing the States of that cherished liberty for which they had fought so long and sacrificed so much. This was particularly true of the small States. So strong was this feeling that some delegates favored giving to the General Government only the power to regulate commerce and raise a revenue. This would have left in force the old Articles of Confederation, modified only in these two particulars. Thus the smaller and larger States would have been equal in power. and the General Government would have had practically no authority over the States as such. But it was felt that this arrangement would not remedy the evils that all acknowl- edged to exist, After long discussion the question was compromised the smaller States agreeing to accept representation proportionate to population in the lower of the two houses of Congress, provided an equal voice were given in an upper house.
 The great champion of State sov- ereignty during the second quarter of the Calhoun. Born in 17S2 in South Carolina. graduated from Yale College with very high honors at the age of twenty-two, student of law for three years, a short oiu f0 hn Traatt0a nf hfu yrnfaG- sion, a brief service in the State Legisla- ture and in 1911, when twenty-nine years old. a member of Congress-this tells the story of his early life until he came upon the broad field of national politics. In the House of Representatives MT. Calhoun at once took an active and prominent part At this time the attitude of Eng land toward the United States was pecu- liarly irritating. The orders in council" issued by the Government of England to it's navy to search neutral vessels for French goods, with which nation England was then at war, fell with especial force upon America, whose commerce was Gl- most destroyed. England had also for years been putting her pet theory of the right of search" into practice with an insolence that today is incomprehensible This was the theory that 'once an Eng lishman always an Englishman," on the basis Of which English men-of-war had high seas and forcibly carried off sailors on the alleged charge that they were de- serters from English ships. Protests had been of no avail. and the continuance Of these practices had become humiliating and unbearable.
 When Calhoun entered Congress he found there other young men of his party of great ability, who were ready to join with him in leading the country into war in order to put forcible stop to these aggressions. Among these was Henry Clay. Madison, the president was in- clined to peace, but Calhoun and Clay, the hot-headed young sons of thunder. gave Mir Madison to understand that If he desired second term he must be- come a war president Such an argument is usually convincing. and 1t proved to be in this instance MT. Madison was al- ways a good logician. He loved peace much. but he loved the office more The term.
 In the early part of his congressional career Calhoun favored a moderate pro- tective tariff and made a speech on that side of the irrepressible question which was never surpassed for the strength and ingenuity of it's arguments by the most famous productions of the most ar dent advocates of this doctrien. When he saw, however. that the operation of such a tariff worked injury to his section and State; when he realized that a pro- tective tariff fell heavily upon South Carolina and tended to enrich New Eng land and New England manufacturers at the expense of southern planters. he op- posed such a policy as unconstitutional III pTlnClple ana DernlClOuS m praCuCe. It is easy to see how he based his oppo- sition on his theory of States rights. He believed that the imposition of a high tariff resulted in unfair and injurious dis crimination against agricultural commit mites for the benefit of manufacturing communities. Such discrimination was, in his judgment, contrary to the spirit and intent of the Constitution. Believing the Constitution to be compact between sovereign States, from which any State might withdraw whenever the compact was broken, when the tariff law of 1882 was passed. although the duties imposed to which the South objected was retain ed. he saw no consistent course to advise but qualification and perhaps ultimate withdrawal from the Union.
 It Is not quite proper to denounce Cal houn as unpatriOtic and reasonable be- cause he fought a protective tariff even to the point of advocating notification and perhaps secession. He was no more unpatriotic than Daniel Webster. who at first advocated freer trade in the interest of the merchants of Boston and later fa- vorod a protective tarin in the interests of the manufacturers Of Massachusetts. In the former attitude Webster represent ed Boston in the lower house; in the lat ter he was Senator from Massachusetts. In both instances he acted for the sec ton which he represented. That is pre- cisely what Calhoun did. The high tariff fell very heavily upon the South. ''The planters complained that they had to
  out enjoying it's benefits, that the things they had to buy had become dearer, while the things produced and exported found a less market" It seemed to them a great injustice that the interests of the planters should be sacrificed to the monopolists of the North" That was the way they looked at the matter. and Cal houn was their advocate In the halls of legislation. Was he taking any different course in principle from that taken by almost every member of either house of Congress? Is 1t not true to this day that a Senator takes the position on any im- portant question which he believes to rep resent the people who sent him to the Senate? If he should do otherwise, he might be accused of betraying his trust. That is precisely what John c. Calhoun did. How could he do otherwise. espe- cially when by expressing the will of the South he at the same time gave utter ance to his own convictions? For he agreed with his constituents on these questions. We must not think this was a mere time-server. He was man of profound convictions and he would stand fast to those convictions though the heavens should fall and hell yawn. We are not now discussing the question of whether his views were mistaken. On that we do not argue. But having his views. the path lay straight before him and he would walk therein though. to use Martin Luthers phrase, there were as many devils in the way as there were
 Copyright, 1900l