e riding a horse to mill. From this he was called the
"Mill boy of the Slashes." At fourteen he was a clerk in a store but
he was made for better use.

He was put in the office of a famous lawyer who was a clerk in one
of Virginia's courts. He went to Richmond and studied law there. He
formed a debating club and was made leader. From here he went to
Lexington. There his rise in law was rapid, his fame grew and he was
known as a lawyer who seldom lost his case.

He was elected to the House of Representatives and was made speaker.
As speaker he helped to bring on the War of 1812.

INTRODUCTION: JOHN C. CALHOUN.

Calhoun was born in the same year as Webster, 1782. He was born in
South Carolina. His parents were Scotch-Irish. He learned more from
the woods than he did from books and filled his memory before people
could fill it. At the age of eighteen he began to prepare for college
with the aid of his brother-in-law, a Presbyterian minister. Two years
later he entered Yale College, studied hard and soon graduated with
much honor. He studied law for three years, a year and a half in his
own state and a year and a half in Connecticut. He began to practice
law in South Carolina. He did not have much success. Perhaps the law
was too dry for him or perhaps because he was soon to be elected to
Congress.

In 1811 he was married and elected to Congress.

Henry Clay (Speaker) immediately put Calhoun on an important
committee.

The next act will be John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster and Henry Clay
speaking of the war of 1812.

CLAY (speaker): Members of Congress and fellow citizens: England has
been at war with France for a number of years. France under Napoleon
has secured a large part of Europe. England has tried in various ways
to injure France by proclaiming that no ships of any nation shall
trade with France.

Napoleon retorted, issuing a decree that no ships shall trade with
Europe and these laws hurt American commerce. Shall we stand this or
demand our rights?

Gentlemen, I say we must fight. On to Canada!

MEMBER OF HOUSE: I think we should be very careful about going to war
with Great Britain. She has a thousand war vessels, while the United
States has only ten or twelve first-class vessels.

MEMBER OF CONGRESS: England's troops are numerous, well drilled and
have had much experience. Our troops are few and poorly disciplined
and unused to war. I think, all ma