Editing John C. Calhoun (section)

==First term in the U.S. Senate==
[[File:John C. Calhoun.jpeg|thumb|upright|A portrait of Calhoun from 1834 by [[Rembrandt Peale]]|alt=Oil painting at aged 52, slightly heavier than earlier images, hair slightly gray, white scarf.]]
When Calhoun took his seat in the Senate on December 29, 1832, his chances of becoming president were considered poor due to his involvement in the [[Nullification Crisis]], which left him without connections to a major national party.<ref name="John C. Calhoun, 7th Vice President (1825–1832)" /> After the implementation of the [[Compromise Tariff of 1833]], which helped solve the Nullification Crisis, the [[Nullifier Party]], along with other anti-Jackson politicians, formed a coalition known as the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]]. Calhoun sometimes affiliated with the Whigs, but chose to remain a virtual independent due to the Whig promotion of federally subsidized "internal improvements".{{sfn|Ashworth|1995|p=203}}

From 1833 to 1834, Jackson was engaged in removing federal funds from the [[Second Bank of the United States]] during the [[Bank War]]. Calhoun opposed this action, considering it a dangerous expansion of executive power.{{sfn|Wilentz|2006|p=397}} He called the men of the Jackson administration "artful, cunning, and corrupt politicians, and not fearless warriors".{{sfn|Niven|1988|p=42}} He accused Jackson of being ignorant about financial matters. As evidence, he cited the economic panic caused by [[Nicholas Biddle (banker)|Nicholas Biddle]] as a means to stop Jackson from destroying the Bank.{{sfn|Niven|1988|p=42}} On March 28, 1834, Calhoun voted with the Whig senators on a successful motion to [[censure]] Jackson for his removal of the funds.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Senate_Reverses_A_Presidential_Censure.htm |title=Senate Reverses a Presidential Censure |publisher=United States Senate |access-date=August 20, 2017}}</ref> In 1837, he refused to attend the inauguration of Jackson's chosen successor, Van Buren, even as other powerful senators who opposed the administration, such as Webster and Clay, did witness the inauguration.{{sfn|Remini|1984|p=422}} However, by 1837, Calhoun generally had realigned himself with most of the Democrats' policies.{{sfn|Ashworth|1995|p=203}}

To restore his national stature, Calhoun cooperated with Van Buren. Democrats were hostile to national banks, and the country's bankers had joined the Whig Party. The Democratic replacement, meant to help combat the [[Panic of 1837]], was the [[Independent Treasury]] system, which Calhoun supported and which went into effect.{{sfn|Niven|1988|pp=62–63}} Calhoun, like Jackson and Van Buren, attacked finance capitalism and opposed what he saw as encroachment by government and big business. For this reason, he opposed the candidacy of Whig [[William Henry Harrison]] in the [[1840 United States presidential election|1840 presidential election]], believing that Harrison would institute high tariffs and therefore place an undue burden on the Southern economy.<ref name="John C. Calhoun, 7th Vice President (1825–1832)" /> Calhoun resigned from the Senate on March 3, 1843, four years before the expiration of his term, and returned to Fort Hill to prepare an attempt to win the Democratic nomination for the [[1844 United States presidential election|1844 presidential election]].<ref name="John C. Calhoun – Clemson">{{cite web |url=http://www.clemson.edu/about/history/calhoun-clemson/johnccalhoun.html |title=John C. Calhoun |publisher=Clemson University |access-date=January 9, 2016 |archive-date=February 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215201904/http://www.clemson.edu/about/history/calhoun-clemson/johnccalhoun.html }}</ref> He gained little support, even from the South, and quit.<ref name="James K. Polk: The Campaign and Election of 1844">{{cite web |url=https://millercenter.org/president/polk/campaigns-and-elections |title=James K. Polk: Campaigns and Elections: The Campaign and Election of 1844 |publisher=University of Virginia Miller Center |access-date=May 4, 2016}}</ref>