“I will not undertake to offer an opinion on the capacity of Hindustan to produce cotton. The region is large, and the soil and climate various, the population great and wages low; but I must be permitted to doubt the success of the experiment of driving us out of the market, though backed and patronized by English capital and energy.”

American statesman and political theorist

John C. Calhoun was an American statesman and political theorist, and the seventh vice president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1832. He is remembered for the force of his ideas as much as for the offices he held. Calhoun began as a nationalist who favored a stronger federal government and protective tariffs, then became a leading voice for states' rights, limited government, nullification, and opposition to high tariffs. He also became an outspoken defender of slavery, and his arguments later shaped Southern thinking about secession from the Union.