The three most powerful individuals after the War of 1812 were Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun. Soon after the War of 1812, State’s rights became a very controversial issue. Regarding this issue, strong argument and arose from Clay of the West, Webster of the North, and Calhoun of the South. Although none of them was able to become a president, the collective impact they created in Congress was powerful as the president of United States. Each man represented their own regions in America and was the primary advocate for each of those region’s different interests. Therefore the interactions of the three men arose several regional conflicts and caused great impact on American political life. Each of these “Great Triumvirate”, John C. Calhoun from the South, Henry Clay from the West, and Daniel Webster from the North, came up with their individual tactics to benefit their own regions that they supported. The Great …show more content…
Calhoun, thinking that the South was being exploited by the tariffs, proposed the state’s right theory by attempting to enact nullification. As a representative of South Carolina, Calhoun was in favor of giving states the power to nullify laws that they saw unconstitutional, and violently opposed the protective tariff. The tariff system, Calhoun argued, favored the manufacturing interests in New England and divided the economy of the south and the north. Calhoun initiated the Nullification Crisis with his advocacy of the concept that states did not have to follow federal laws. Based on State’s Rights, Calhoun also argued that slavery is legal under the Constitution and anyone from other regions had no right to denounce it or try to eliminate it. He also believed that the South’s future lay in the hands of manufacturing of cotton and other products and they were responsible to protect themselves from anything that damaged their