John Caldwell Calhoun
(18 March 1782-31 March 1850)
(Painting By Henry F. Darby (21 August 1829-17 July 1897)
Property Of United States Senate Collection.)

Noted Lawyer, U.S. Senator From South Carolina, Secretary Of War, Secretary Of State, Vice-President For Two Terms, And A Brilliant Orator, John Caldwell Calhoun (18 March 1782-31 March 1850) Was The Premier Spokesman For States' Rights and Nullification In The Antebellum Congress. He Believed Strongly In The Union, Literal Interpretation Of The Constitution, And The Rights Of Southern People. He Was A Major Influence On The Southern Politicians That Followed Him, And Although Often At Odds, He Was Regarded A Gentleman By His Northern Counterparts.

     I have great respect for my Confederate ancestors and the beliefs for which they fought and died: home, family, and the establishment of a Constitutional Republic more centralized on a local level. These were the ideals that their grandfathers laid down their lives for in the American Revolution (1775-1783) and the words laid down on paper in the Articles Of Confederation.

     The successive U.S. Constitution was intended to better define the purpose of the national government. However, that document's original design greatly reflected the push for expansion and consolidation on the part of the Federalists. The individual states and private citizens were left with hardly a say, and very few "checks and balances" were emplaced to keep the national government from becoming the autocratic "empire" it is now. Thankfully, there were "some" safeguards fought for by the Anti-Federalists, most importantly the Bill Of Rights, but still many loopholes for interpretation, corruption, and usurpation remained (and still do today).

     For the next 73 years, advocates of literal and interpretive views of the document fought bitterly over slavery, taxation, territorial expansion, state and individual rights, and what the extent of national government control over such should be. Those conflicting opinions brought compromises that weren't honored, enhanced regional animosities (North and South), and in lieu of the election of a sectional party president (Lincoln), the secession of the South.

     Influenced by the prior works and incidents, the Southern delegation in 1861 forged their own Confederate Constitutions. Although heavily inspired by the U.S. version, major exceptions were devised to further limit subversion of power by the national government, president, or courts.

     Some political and legal minds have argued that the Permanent Confederate version (sans slavery clauses) is the most complete "Covenant" of republican government. I leave that to your own opinion.

"All that the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, should be preserved; and that the government, as originally organized, should be administered in purity and truth."
-Robert Edward Lee (January 5, 1866)

Constitutional Documents And Viewpoints

Articles Of Confederation (1778-1787)-The Legislative Document In Use During The Revolutionary War Era (1775-1783) By The Newly Formed United States Of America.

Constitution Of The United States Of America (1787-1865)-The United States Constitution As It Was Known In The Years Leading Up To (And During) The War Between The States.

Confederate Constitutions And Viewpoints-The Provisional And Permanent Constitutions Of The Confederate States Of America, As Well As The Post-War Viewpoint Of One Of The Framers.