Editing John C. Calhoun (section)

===War of 1812===
With a base among the Irish and Scotch Irish, Calhoun won election to [[South Carolina's 6th congressional district]] of the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] in [[1810 and 1811 United States House of Representatives elections|1810]], defeating [[John Archer Elmore]]. He immediately became a leader of the [[War Hawk]]s, along with Speaker [[Henry Clay]] of Kentucky and South Carolina congressmen [[William Lowndes (congressman)|William Lowndes]] and [[Langdon Cheves]]. Brushing aside the vehement objections of both anti-war New Englanders and ardent [[Democratic-Republican Party|Jeffersonians]] led by [[John Randolph of Roanoke]], they demanded war against Britain, claiming that American honor and republican values had been violated by the British refusal to recognize American shipping rights.<ref name="John C. Calhoun, 7th Vice President (1825–1832)" />{{sfn|Perkins|1961|p=359}} As a member, and later acting chairman, of the [[United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs|Committee on Foreign Affairs]], Calhoun played a major role in drafting two key documents in the push for war, the Report on Foreign Relations and the War Report of 1812. Drawing on the linguistic tradition of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], Calhoun's committee called for a declaration of war in ringing phrases, denouncing Britain's "lust for power", "unbounded tyranny", and "mad ambition".<ref>"War Report of 1812," ''Papers of John C. Calhoun,'' 1:110</ref>

The United States [[United States declaration of war upon the United Kingdom|declared war on Britain]] on June 18, inaugurating the [[War of 1812]]. The opening phase involved multiple disasters for American arms, as well as a financial crisis when the Treasury could barely pay the bills. The conflict caused economic hardship for Americans, as the [[Royal Navy]] blockaded the ports and cut off imports, exports, and the coastal trade. Several attempted invasions of [[Canada]] were fiascos, but the U.S. in 1813 seized control of [[Southwestern Ontario|Lake Erie]] and broke the power of hostile Indians in battles such as the [[Battle of the Thames]] in Canada in 1813 and the [[Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)|Battle of Horseshoe Bend]] in Alabama in 1814. These Indians had, in many cases, cooperated with the British or [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] in opposing American interests.{{sfn|Stagg|2012|pp=117, 161}}

Calhoun labored to raise troops, provide funds, speed logistics, rescue the currency, and regulate commerce to aid the war effort. One colleague hailed him as "the young Hercules who carried the war on his shoulders".<ref name="John C. Calhoun, 7th Vice President (1825–1832)" /> Disasters on the battlefield made him double his legislative efforts to overcome the obstructionism of John Randolph, [[Daniel Webster]], and other opponents of the war. By 1814 the British were thwarted at the [[Battle of Plattsburgh|invasions of New York]] and [[Battle of Baltimore|Baltimore]], but [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]] capitulated, meaning America would now face Britain's formidable reinforcement with units previously committed to Europe if the war were to continue. British and American diplomats signed the [[Treaty of Ghent]] undertaking a return to the borders of 1812 with no gains or losses. Before the treaty reached the Senate for ratification, and even before news of its signing reached New Orleans, a British invasion force was decisively defeated in January 1815 at the [[Battle of New Orleans]], making a national hero of General [[Andrew Jackson]]. Americans celebrated what they called a "second war of independence" against Britain. This led to the beginning of the "[[Era of Good Feelings]]", an era marked by the formal demise of the Federalist Party and increased nationalism.{{sfn|Langguth|2006|pp=375, 387}}