Chapter 22
Big Time Players
The purpose of this chapter is to identify people who have managed to transcend their time period and have an influence on other people, philosophies, or ideas. Obviously, this is a very subjective list, but these are the consensus of over a dozen historians and/or teachers from various fields and backgrounds. Rather than focusing on learning as much as possible about as many people as possible, I have found it far more successful to highlight the salient aspects of each person’s philosophy. For example if a person knows 5 significant facts about Benjamin Franklin then they should be capable of writing an essay over any topic pertaining to Franklin or they are able to use that information as part of a broader essay.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-90)
In 1736, Benjamin Franklin started work as a clerk in the Pennsylvania Assembly. He continued to work in the Assembly for the next fifteen years watching and learning from other politicians. During this time he became very well known and much respected in Philadelphia. In 1748 he retired from his business interests to dedicate himself to politics.
He was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1751 and found himself selected to be the representative at the Albany Congress in 1754. Franklin presented his plan of union for the 13 colonies, and although the plan was not adopted it did contain many of the elements that would become part of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. In 1757 he traveled to England to negotiate an end to the Penn family proprietorship and did not return to the colonies until 1775.
In London, Franklin moved in the highest social and political circles where he became a spokesman for the colonies. With the Stamp Act (1765), Franklin turned his attention and energy to the colonial protest movement. Initially he opposed the Stamp Act, but later recommended that the colonies comply with the act. The following year he was asked to appear before the House of Commons to address the issue of taxation in the colonies. Franklin was well prepared and voiced the opinion that the Stamp tax was not collectable. Consequently, Franklin quickly became recognized as a leading spokesman for colonial rights.
Franklin returned to America in 1775, as a sixty-nine year old man, and was elected to the Second Continental Congress. He worked with Jefferson and Adams to draft the Declaration of Independence. In 1776 he made a disappointing trip to Canada to see if there was any interest in the Canadians joining the thirteen colonies in their fight against English tyranny. The same year he was appointed minister to France, a position he held until 1785. Franklin loved France and the French culture. As the leading embodiment of the American spirit he was able to cultivate the commercial and military alliance in 1778 that secured French aid in the Revolutionary War. At the end of the war he helped Adams and Jay negotiate the Treaty of Paris (1783).
In 1785 Franklin returned to Pennsylvania where he was elected president of the Pennsylvania Executive Council. When the Constitutional Convention was convened in 1787, Franklin asked to be included in the Convention. At 81 years old, he was seen as the one of the most respected political figures in the world. Working with Washington and other leading delegates he helped draft the Constitution.
Aaron Burr (1756-1836)
Born into a wealthy New Jersey family Aaron Burr enjoyed all the trappings of an affluent lifestyle. Trained as a lawyer, he joined the patriot army in Boston in 1775. By all accounts Burr loved military life and was an excellent soldier. During the war Burr participated in the attack on Quebec by Benedict Arnold, but in the process enhanced his own rank and reputation. He was appointed to work with general Washington, but the two never liked each other and Burr transferred to work for General Putnam. He animosity between Burr and Washington remained long after the war.
After the war he moved to New York and practiced law. In 1788, Burr entered politics as an anti-federalist. He served as a senator for the state from 1791 to 1797 having defeated Alexander Hamilton’s father-in-law for the position. In the election of 1800 Burr was chosen by as Jefferson’s running mate because it was believed Burr could carry New York. But when the votes were counted the two leading figures both had 73 votes. The decision was turned over to the House of Representative. The House selected Jefferson as president and Burr as vice president.
When his term as vice president was coming to a close, Burr decided to run for the governorship of New York. But his old nemesis Hamilton was equally determined to stop him. Some of Hamilton’s comments were printed in a newspaper and Burr quickly jumped at the chance to redeem himself by challenging Hamilton to a duel. Hamilton was killed, but equally important, it also signaled the end of Burr’s political career.
Burr moved west and became involved with James Wilkinson and together they plotted to capture Texas and/or possibly Mexico. The act was not treasonous, but given Burr’s reputation it was easy for leading political figures to criticize him. Burr was arrested and put on trial for treason. He was acquitted of treason on a technicality. But with his name and reputation ruined he was forced to leave the country and venture to Europe.
He returned to Boston in 1812 using a false name and wearing a disguise. He moved south to New York and opened a law office and with the help of friends was able to make a living.
Patrick Henry(1736-99)
Patrick Henry entered the Virginia House of Burgesses in May 1765, the same year the British government passed the Stamp Act. Almost immediately he proposed the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions and with most of the members absent, Henry was able to get his proposal accepted. The Resolutions was easily the most anti-British statement that had been made up until that time. The British called them treasonous.
Since he had received little formal education many of his speeches and much of his writing lacked the traditional formal style of the day. Instead Henry tended to make impassioned pleas to support his arguments. Consequently he became a very popular politician and one of the most radical and outspoken political figures of his time. He is credited with the famous quote, “Give me liberty or give me death!”
After the Revolutionary War, Henry became a vocal critic of the Constitution, believing that the government had been given too much power. He worked tirelessly to get the Bill of Rights passed to correct some of the perceived abuses of the Constitution. His criticism at the Virginia Ratifying Convention of 1788 clearly shows his shows that he was an advocate for states’ rights.
He became the first governor of Virginia and served five terms. His loyalty and love of the state led him to turn down several key appointments including Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. His personal dislike towards Thomas Jefferson led him to support the platform of the Federalists.
Alexander Hamilton(1755-1804)
Alexander Hamilton was born the illegitimate son of a Scottish immigrant on the island of Nevis in the British West Indies. He moved from the island to New York in 1773 and applied to Princeton, but was rejected. He attended King’s College, New York and made a reputation for himself by writing articles in newspapers and magazine. Many of the articles were in support of the revolutionary cause.
As a 19-year old he was commissioned as a captain in the Revolutionary Army and served without distinction until 1777, when he was appointed aide-de-camp to General Washington. Washington liked Hamilton and the two continued to work together after the war. After the war he returned to Albany, New York to resume his law career.
In 1786 he was selected to be a representative at the Annapolis Convention and he proposed a second meeting be held the following year – this became the Constitutional Convention. After returning to New York he worked diligently to make sure the Constitution was ratified. He published a series of letters with John Jay and James Madison, which later became The Federalist, arguing for a strong federal government. Hamilton wrote most the letters and when the New York ratifying convention was held in 1788, the Constitution was ratified.
In 1789, Washington appointed Hamilton secretary of the treasury a position which he attacked with enthusiasm. His first objective was to secure and stabilize the nation’s finances. He insisted on full payment of the nation’s debt, that the federal government assume the war debts of the individual states, and an even and fair taxation system. He proposed the creation of a national bank and the implementation of a protective tariff to help domestic industry.
As the government started to split into political groups – Federalists and Republicans, Hamilton emerged as a leader of the Federalists. His main opponent was Thomas Jefferson. The feud between these two would last their whole lives. Hamilton was a strong advocate of conservatism and had no problem interfering in other peoples’ business, especially Jefferson’s. When broke out between England and France, it was Hamilton who persuaded Washington to issue the Neutrality Proclamation, much to the annoyance of Jefferson.
In 1800, in an attempt to prevent John Adams from being elected, Hamilton wrote a defamatory letter, which was later circulated without Hamilton’s permission. When Electoral votes were counted there was a tie between Jefferson and Burr. Hamilton sided with his old enemy Jefferson simply because he hated Burr even more.
In 1804 Burr and Hamilton ran for the governorship of New York. Hamilton won and Burr challenged him to a duel in which he shot and killed Hamilton.
John Marshall (1755-1835)
John Marshall grew up on the Virginia frontier in a fairly wealthy family, but he had little formal education. When the Revolutionary War broke out he enlisted in the Continental army until 1779. After the war he started to improve his education by studying law for a short time. He practiced law, but gradually became more involved in politics. After several terms in the Virginia legislature, Washington offered Marshall the position of U.S. attorney for Virginia. Marshall declined and stayed in Virginia.
Between 1797 and 1798 Marshall was in France as one of the commissioners working on Jay’s Treaty. While there he was also part of the infamous XYZ Affair. In 1799 he ran as a Federalist and was elected to the House of Representatives. The following year he was offered the position of secretary of war, by Adams, but again declined.
In 1801, in what was part of the “midnight judges,” President Adams named Marshall chief justice of the Supreme Court. This time Marshall accepted and approved by the Senate, but had to wait until the Jefferson administration was in office to be sworn-in. He would hold the position for the next 34 years.
Marshall believed it was his duty to interpret the law to make the national government strong and effective. His first major case was Madison vs. Marbury. Marbury had been another one of President Adams’s midnight judges, but he had not received his commission. Marbury sued for the commission from President Jefferson, and the case made its way to the Supreme Court. Marshall ruled that Marbury had a valid claim, but the Judiciary Act of 1789 conflicted with the Constitution’s interpretation of the powers of the Supreme Court and so the claim was invalid.
Over the length of his term in office Marshall continually tried to adhere to his guiding principles as a Federalists to make the new country a great nation.
Henry Clay(1777-1852)
In 1803 Henry Clay was elected to the state legislature for Kentucky as a Jeffersonian Republican. He was selected to the represent the state in the House of Representatives in 1810 and almost immediately became Speaker of the House. As an aggressive War Hawk he pushed resolutely for war with Britain. When the war was drawing to a conclusion Clay participated on the peace commission in 1814.
With his eyes on the presidency he developed his American System, which would involve protective tariffs, internal improvements, and a national bank. But it was during the debate over the Missouri Compromise that Clay really rose to national prominence as a mediator. His overall objective was to preserve the Union and that philosophy steered his political decisions during the tumultuous age of sectionalism.
In 1825 John Quincy Adams appointed him secretary of state, but the charges of a “corrupt bargain” stuck with him for the rest of his political career. His was also defeated on his second bid for the presidency while running as a Whig candidate in 1832. After the election he returned to the Senate and became the leader of the opposition to Van Buren.
In 1833 he orchestrated what was perhaps his greatest political achievement in getting both sides in the nullification crisis to accept compromise. As a loyal Whig he accepted the nomination of Harrison for the 1840 election, even though he had expected to receive the nomination himself. He supported the administration until Tyler opposed Clay’s plan to re-charter the Second Bank of America, which was a vital part of his American System. In 1842 he resigned his Senate seat over the issue.
Two years later he was again nominated for the presidency but his objections over the annexation of Texas caused him to lose out to the expansionist policies of Polk. He returned to the Senate in 1849 where he proposed his famous Omnibus Bill, which in turn led to the Compromise of 1850.
John C. Calhoun(1782-1852)
John Caldwell Calhoun grew up in the South Carolina backcountry before attending Yale in 1802. At Yale, a stronghold of anti-Federalist sentiment, Calhoun soon stood apart from his peers. He graduated in 1804 and started to study law in Charleston. However, he soon hungered for more and to satisfy his desire to be the best he moved back to Connecticut for more studies.
In 1807 Calhoun led a small group of South Carolinians in denouncing the British attack on the frigate Chesapeake. His criticism and subsequent resolutions against the British atrocities thrust Calhoun into the spotlight as an advocate of nationalism and allowed him to gain a place in the state legislature. He won election to Congress in 1810 with a platform advocating westward expansion and war with Britain. He quickly established a reputation as a War Hawk.
After the war Calhoun focused on national reforms such as the need for a national bank and a protective tariff. In 1817, President Monroe appointed him secretary of war, a position that he filled with enthusiasm and efficiency. Calhoun, still not content, turned his attention to the election of 1824. When he realized that victory was not possible he opted for the vice-presidency. When the allegations of the “corrupt bargain” that had allowed John Quincy Adams to win the election surfaced, Calhoun was shocked and turned to support Andrew Jackson. His loyalty paid of when he was rewarded with a second term as vice-president in 1828, this time for Andrew Jackson.
The unfortunate and petty events over the next few years laid out the path for the rest of Calhoun’s career. Any real chance of becoming President slipped away when Floride Calhoun, his wife snubbed Peggy Eaton, the wife of the secretary of war. The snubbing infuriated Jackson who took it as a personal attack and never forgave Calhoun for the actions of his wife. Calhoun resigned and went back to his plantation in South Carolina.
As a southern planter, Calhoun had long been a vocal critic of the protective tariffs intended to protect northern producers. He anonymously wrote “The South Carolina Exposition and Protest” in which he stated that his doctrine of nullification. Calhoun knew he had to be careful otherwise he would damage his reputation and career; equally he realized the southern states would need some form of protection. Jackson saw Calhoun’s doctrine as a possible attack on the Union; Calhoun saw the doctrine a necessary to preserve the Union. Calhoun worked closely with Henry Clay to find an acceptable compromise and then to make sure the legislature accepted the compromise.
Between 1832 and 1841, Calhoun worked tirelessly for states’ rights in the Senate. Henry Clay and Daniel Webster who together with Calhoun formed a triumvirate of the greatest scholarly minds of the day ably assisted him. In 1844 he was appointed secretary of state in the Tyler administration and secretly worked on the annexation of Texas. The following year Calhoun returned to the Senate where he opposed war with Mexico. However he could not stop the war.
After the war he focused on the growing controversy between the north and the south over the issue of slavery. He opposed the addition of California to the Union, believing it would destroy the balance between free and slave states. Calhoun believed the Union might be saved if the north left the southern states alone and did not interfere in the matter of slavery.