THE GREAT TRIUMVIRATE & KEY SECTIONAL POLITICAL ISSUES A new wave of outstanding political leaders came into national view immediately following the War of 1812—Daniel Webster and John Quincy Adams of the North; John C. Calhoun and William H. Crawford in the South; and Henry Clay and Thomas Hart Benton from the West. Other key figures, either less notable or emerging somewhat later, included the North’s DeWitt Clinton and Martin Van Buren; William Henry Harrison of the West; and Andrew Jackson, whose appeal was in both the West and the South, though his southern support waned considerably during his second White House term. ♦     ♦     ♦     ♦     ♦ South Carolina's JOHN C. CALHOUN began his political career as a nationalist. He once declared, “Our true system is to look to the country and to support such measures and such men, without regard to sections, as are best calculated to advance the general interest.” Later, his views narrowed significantly as he became more and more passionate about states’ rights. Legend has it that Calhoun once tried to write a poem. He started with “Whereas.” After staring at it for several minutes, he gave up. As a politician, he was likewise unable to grasp the essence of the human condition. Thus, his base position on slavery: “There never has yet existed a wealthy and civilized society in which one portion of the community did not…live on the labor of the other.” Calhoun became the first Vice-President to resign the position, owing to his active part in the Nullification Crisis and political clash with President Andrew Jackson. He headed two Cabinet departments, War and State. Most people considered Calhoun a loner with a cold personality. When he died in 1850, North and South alike seemed less willing to accept compromise and increasingly bent on political victory at all costs. Calhoun's prophetic last words were, "The South, the poor South." Today the Clemson University campus occupies the site of his plantation, Fort Hill. Kentucky politician HENRY CLAY liked to play poker. According to story, Clay once won $40,000 from one man in a poker game, and then cheerfully told him that a note for $500 would suffice. Another tale is of a condescending New England woman with a Puritanical background who once asked of Mrs. Clay, “Isn’t it a pity your husband gambles so much?” Mrs. Clay quickly replied, “Oh, I don’t know. He usually wins.” In the political realm, as well, Clay was a marked wheeler-dealer from the outset (he was the major benefactor in the so-called “corrupt bargain” election of 1824). There was perhaps never a prominent politician who lusted more for the White House who did not reach it—three times Clay was denied the presidency. The best he could do was Speaker of the House and Secretary of State. His “American System” (developed in the 1820s) called for a vast program of federal aid for road and canal construction, a protective tariff, and a national bank. While not recognized as a master of intellect, Clay was instrumental in solving several apparent political stalemates; as chief architect of both the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850, Clay reflected his desire to maintain the Union. His headstone reads simply: “I know no North—no South—no East—no West.” Clay was the first person to lie in state in the United States Capitol. This tale about DANIEL WEBSTER is said to have been told by Abraham Lincoln. When Webster was a boy in school, he was not noted for his tidiness. In despair, his teacher finally informed him that if he should come to school again with such dirty hands he would be punished. When young Webster soon did appear in the same condition, the teacher told him to hold out his hand. Webster quickly spat on his palm, rubbed it on the seat of his trousers, and extended it for inspection. The teacher looked at his hand, then in disgust said, “Daniel, if you can find me another hand in this school dirtier than that, I will let you off.” With that, Webster promptly held out his other hand. Such was his innate skill as a politician. Webster possessed a first-rate mind, but it can be argued that he did not fulfill his potential. During his four decades in national politics, he served in the House of Representatives for 10 years (representing New Hampshire) and the Senate for 19 years (representing Massachusetts). He was appointed Secretary of State under three Presidents. Webster believed in upholding the Constitution. One of his most notable accomplishments was the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842. When Webster passed away in late 1852, the Great Triumvirate became history. ♦     ♦     ♦     ♦     ♦ The "Search for the Five Greatest Senators" (The New York Times Magazine, April 14, 1957) came to fruition just after noontime on March 12, 1959, when a festive crowd jammed the Capitol's Senate Reception Room to induct five former members into a senatorial "hall of fame." Four years earlier, the Senate had formed a special committee to identify outstanding former members, no longer living, whose likenesses would be placed in five vacant portrait spaces in the Reception Room. Heading the five-member committee was a 38-year-old freshman who had recently written a book about courageous senators. That book, published in early 1956 under the title Profiles In Courage, later earned Senator John F. Kennedy the 1957 Pulitzer Prize in biography. The committee also included Democrats Richard Russell (Georgia) and Mike Mansfield (Montana), and Republicans John Bricker (Ohio) and Styles Bridges (New Hampshire). The Kennedy Committee struggled to define senatorial greatness. Should they apply a test of "legislative accomplishment" to the possible choices? Perhaps, in addition to positive achievement there should be recognition of, as they put it, "courageous negation." What about those senators who consistently failed to secure major legislation, but in failing, opened the road to success for a later generation? Personal integrity? That might exclude the chronically indebted Daniel Webster. National leadership? That would eliminate great regional spokesmen like John C. Calhoun. The unanimous respect of one's colleagues? That would doom the anti-slavery leader Charles Sumner. The Kennedy Committee's established criteria nicely evaded these questions. It agreed to judge candidates "for acts of statesmanship transcending party and State lines" and to define "statesmanship" to include "leadership in national thought and constitutional interpretation as well as legislation." The committee further agreed that it would not recommend a candidate unless all its members agreed to that choice. An advisory committee of 160 scholars offered 65 candidates. Sixty-five names for five spaces! Senator Kennedy quipped that sports writers choosing entrants to the Baseball Hall of Fame had it easy by comparison. As its top choice, the scholars' committee named Nebraska's Progressive Republican George Norris, a senator from 1913 to 1943. Senate panel member Bridges, who had served with Norris from the late 1930s, harbored many ill feelings from that association and consequently, along with support from Nebraska’s two incumbent senators, blocked his further consideration. On May 1, 1957, the Kennedy Committee reported to the Senate its choices: the so-called "Great Triumvirate" of John C. Calhoun (South Carolina), Henry Clay (Kentucky), and Daniel Webster (Massachusetts); plus Robert Taft (Ohio) and Robert La Follette, Sr. (Wisconsin). In 2004, the Senate added Arthur Vandenberg (Michigan) and Robert Wagner (New York) to this distinguished company.

REGION & POLITICIAN	PROTECTIVE TARIFF	NATIONAL BANK	FED'L FUNDING OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS	CHEAP WESTERN LAND	SLAVERY QUESTION	INDIAN REMOVAL POLICY
NORTHEAST	Generally supported	No definitive position	Generally supported	NO	NO	Generally supported
John Quincy ADAMS   (Massachusetts)	Open-minded	YES	YES	No definitive position	NO!	YES1
DeWitt CLINTON   (New York)	YES	Generally supported	YES	Generally supported	NO	No definitive position
Martin VAN BUREN   (New York)	Continual equivocation	Generally opposed	Generally opposed	Did not oppose	Tacitly supported	YES
Daniel WEBSTER   (New Hamp / Mass)	NO 2	YES 3	NO	NO	NO	NO

1 Personally opposed but acquiesced per political expediency and expansionism practicality.  2 Prior to 1816 and after 1828.  3 After 1828.

REGION & POLITICIAN	PROTECTIVE TARIFF	NATIONAL BANK	FED'L FUNDING OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS	CHEAP WESTERN LAND	SLAVERY QUESTION	INDIAN REMOVAL POLICY
SOUTH	Generally opposed	No definitive position	No definitive position	NO	YES	YES
John C. CALHOUN   (South Carolina)	NO!1	YES	NO 2	No definitive position	YES!	YES!
Wm. H. CRAWFORD   (Georgia)	Open-minded	YES	Generally supported	No definitive position	YES	YES

1 After 1824.  2 After 1828.

REGION & POLITICIAN	PROTECTIVE TARIFF	NATIONAL BANK	FED'L FUNDING OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS	CHEAP WESTERN LAND	SLAVERY QUESTION	INDIAN REMOVAL POLICY
WEST	Generally opposed	Generally opposed	YES	YES	Border states supported	YES
Thomas Hart BENTON   (Missouri)	YES1	NO	YES!	YES!	YES 2	YES
Henry CLAY   (Kentucky)	YES 3	YES	YES	Generally supported	YES 4	YES
Wm. Henry HARRISON   (Ohio)	YES	No definitive position	Generally supported	No definitive position	No definitive position	YES!
Andrew JACKSON   (Tennessee)	Open-minded	NO!	Generally opposed	No definitive position	YES!	YES!

1 Personally opposed.  2 Became increasingly uncomfortable with the practice.  3 Took opposite position in 1832 presidential election campaign.  4 Politically tolerant of slavery though personally abolitionist.