The Green Ba Vol. XI.
No. 5.
BOSTON.
CALHOUN
AS
A
LAWYER
May, 1899.
AND
STATESMAN.
I. By Walter L. M1ller of the South Carol1na Bar. JOHN C. CALHOUN was born and bred in what was then known as Abbeville District, South Carolina, but the divi sions formerly denominated districts are now called counties. He was born in March, 1782. His father was a farmer and was, comparatively speaking, a poor man, and was not able to give his children many edu cational advantages. It seems, too, that he was opposed to his son John entering one of the learned professions. The consequence was that the boy determined to become a planter. His father having died when John was thirteen years old, the latter spent the following four years on his mother's farm, looking after it in the absence of his elder brothers. In this way he became quite fond of agriculture, and this fondness continued throughout his life. After he entered poli tics, he owned a farm at Fort Hill, that be ing the name of his residence. It was located near Pendleton in the upper part of the State. When his public duties permitted him to be at home, he devoted a good deal of atten tion to his farm. The first thing he did every morning after rising at daybreak was to walk over his place. Nor was he a theoretical, impractical sort of a farmer, like George McDuffie, but he was a good manager and knew how to make fine crops without spend ing too much money on them. He was a member of an agricultural society at Pen dleton. He introduced into his section Ber muda grass for grazing purposes, and he was the first to import blooded cattle, especially the*English red Devon cows. He was the
first, too, to introduce hill-side ditches in his part of the country, himself superintending the surveying and laying them out. He had the experiences common to most farmers. On one occasion, a gentleman passing Fort Hill saw Mr. Calhoun and his negroes out in the woods fighting fire. He was fond of meeting the farmers of the neighborhood and of discussing with them agricultural matters. But I started out to write of Mr. Calhoun as a lawyer and as a statesman, and not as a farmer; so I must get back to my subject. As we have already seen, he had made up his mind to adopt agriculture as his pursuit. The change which was made in his plans and life-work was due principally to the sug gestion and influence of his brother James. The latter had been in business in Charles ton, and, while there, no doubt had become impressed with the advantage which a young man who has studied a profession, usually has over his fellows. At any rate, we find him returning to his home in Abbeville and advising his brother John to study a pro fession. The latter took to the suggestion kindly, provided certain obstacles in the way could be removed. Four years before, while a pupil of his brother-in-law, Dr. Waddell, he had availed himself of a small circulating library and read extensively for a mere boy. He discarded novels and devoted himself prin cipally to historical reading, such as Rollin's "Ancient History," Voltaire's " Charles XII," and Robertson's "Life of Charles V " and "History of America." In this way he ■97
