John Caldwell Calhoun (March 18, 1782 – March 31, 1850) was an American politician and political theorist during the first half of the 19th century. Hailing from South Carolina, Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent of a strong national government and protective tariffs. After 1830, his views shifted and he became a greater proponent of states' rights, limited government, nullification and free trade; as he saw these means as the only way to preserve the Union. He is known for his intense and original defense of slavery as a positive good, his distrust of majoritarianism, and for leading the South toward secession from the Union.