Description:

Calhoun John

J.C. Calhoun Appointment as Secretary of State - incredible!

 

1p partly printed and partly handwritten document signed by newly appointed Secretary of State John C. Calhoun (1782-1850) as "J.C. Calhoun" on the very day of his appointment! We have never seen another. The cream watermarked paper is in near fine condition, and the signature is dark and decisive. Top and bottom margins have been folded, the sheet measuring 8" x 10.75."

 

This remarkable Circular, issued from the Department of State in Washington, DC on April 1, 1844, notified U.S. Consul Thomas M. Rodney that John C. Calhoun had "the honor to inform you that the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, has appointed me Secretary of State of the United States and that this day [I entered upon the duties of that office."

 

Fiery South Carolinian John C. Calhoun greatly shaped antebellum American politics. The Democratic-Republican prioritized states' rights and supported slavery, two issues that would lead to the Civil War. Calhoun had considerable congressional experience, and served as 7th Vice President under the Adams and Jackson administrations. He assumed the role of Secretary of State under John Tyler and later James Polk. Calhoun's 11-month tenure as Secretary of State was dominated by the question of annexing Texas. As any prospect of territorial expansion put the slavery question on the national stage, the Senate was divided. The bill regarding annexation tanked and Calhoun was soon replaced by James Buchanan.

 

Thomas McKean Rodney (1800-1874) was a Whig politician from Delaware who served as U.S. Consul in Matanzas, Cuba for three terms: 1822-1825; 1842-1845; and 1849-1853. Rodney also served in Havana.

 

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