Charleston's Controversial John C. Calhoun

While walking through one of the many beautiful graveyards of Charleston, I stumbled across John C. Calhoun's gravesite and was instantly captivated by how extravagant and intricate it looked. His gravesite is at the Saint Philips Episcopal Church Cemetery on Church Street and is definitely worth a visit to go to and find his grave as well as many other promise people of Charleston in the past. I'm very thankful that I was able to find his grave because he is such a prominent historical figure in Charleston and there was a lot that I learned about the city from researching him. 

John C. Calhoun was born in 1782 and lived until 1850 though his years were anything but boring and he created quite the title for himself during his lifetime. Most of his life he spent in politics and began when he was elected in the House of Representatives in 1810. He strongly supported the war of 1812 and was known as a strong republican and was also a leader of the War Hawk faction during that time, those who were in that group believed in war and supported many measures in order to prepare the country for war. Calhoun became the Vice President from 1824-1828 after he failed running for president. 

John C. Calhoun was known for many things, including what was stated above, and also his very controversial beliefs. He was known for being a proud supporter of slavery and fought for the rights of the south and fair treatment between the north and south. His opinions of course sparked tension over the years and finally resulted in him resigning vice presidency to become senator in South Carolina. Throughout the years before his death, he accomplished many political affairs. He died of tuberculosis in Washington D.C. and was buried in Charleston. 

His present reputation in Charleston is not exactly a pleasant one. There have been many arguments about his statue existing in Charleston and let alone having a very prominent presence in Marion Square. The main argument that people feel his statue should be taken down was opinion on slavery and how we outwardly favored it. Nowadays, that will of course cause tension. But considering his beneficial stance in politics, his statue has many other meanings which people should try to consider.

Portrait of John C. Calhoun 

John C. Calhoun's grave marker

 “John C. Calhoun .” Wikipedia , en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Calhoun

Berggren, Jason D. "The War Hawks of 1812", pdf,  http://www.bandyheritagecenter.org/Content/Uploads/Bandy%20Heritage%20Center/files/1812/The%20War%20Hawks%20of%201812.pdf

Waters, Dustin. “Looking Back at the Origins of Charleston's Most Controversial Monument.” Charleston   City Paper, Charleston City Paper, 7 Feb. 2018, www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheBattery/archives/2017/10/10/the-day-calhoun-rose-in-charleston.