ABSTRACT
Calhoun s relationship to the two-party system, like his relationship to many other aspects of his time, was independent and unique. That he maintained a major national presence and influence for forty years is remarkable when it is realized that for most of his career he was either alienated from both parties or at odds with the leadership of the party with which he was collaborating. His alliances shifted several times, though the shifts were always in pursuit of principle. As he pointed out, he never moved from the weak to join the strong, but always from the strong to join the weak.
