We make a great mistake in supposing all people are capable of self-government. — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
War may make us great, but let it never be forgotten that peace only can make us both great and free. — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
I am impressed with the belief that our naval force ought not to cost more in proportion than the British. In some… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
Without thinking or reflecting, we plunge into war, contract heavy debts, increase vastly the patronage of the Executive, and indulge in every… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
So long as the Oregon question is left open, Mexico will calculate the chances of a rupture between us and Great Britain,… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
Once established with Great Britain, it would not be difficult, with moderation and prudence, to establish permanent peace with the rest of… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
There is but one nation on the globe from which we have anything serious to apprehend, but that is the most powerful… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
It is but too common, of late, to condemn the acts of our predecessors and to pronounce them unjust, unwise, or unpatriotic… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
Our government is deeply disordered; its credit is impaired; its debt increasing; its expenditures extravagant and wasteful; its disbursements without efficient accountability;… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
I will not attempt to show that it would be a great evil to increase the patronage of the Executive. It is… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
I will not undertake to offer an opinion on the capacity of Hindustan to produce cotton. The region is large, and the… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
In its exterior relations - abroad - this government is the sole and exclusive representative of the united majesty, sovereignty, and power… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
Let a durable and firm peace be established and this government be confined rigidly to the few great objects for which it… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
With such irresistible evidence before us of the great and rapid progress of abolitionism without the slightest indication of abatement, he is… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
The two great agents of the physical world have become subject to the will of man and have been made subservient to… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
I know that there is a great diversity of opinion as to who, in fact, pays the duties on imports. I do… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
What we want, above all things on earth in our public men, is independence. It is one great defect in the character… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
The danger in our system is that the general government, which represents the interests of the whole, may encroach on the states, which represent… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
Of the two, I considered it more important to avoid a war with England about Oregon than a war with Mexico, important as I… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
The error is in the assumption that the General Government is a party to the constitutional compact. The States ... formed the compact, acting… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
There is not an example on record of any free state holding a province of the same extent and population without disastrous consequences. The… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
It is a remarkable fact in the political history of man that there is scarcely an instance of a free constitutional government which has… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
“Nothing is more difficult than to equalize the action of the government in reference to the various and diversified interests of the community; and… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
I am not one of those who believe that we are bound to vote supplies to cover a deficiency in the treasury whenever called… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various and powerful interests, combined into one… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
It has been lately urged in a very respectable quarter that it is the mission of this country to spread civil and religious liberty… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
Let a durable and firm peace be established and this government be confined rigidly to the few great objects for which it was instituted,… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
Once established with Great Britain, it would not be difficult, with moderation and prudence, to establish permanent peace with the rest of the world,… — John C. Calhoun Copy Share Image
