 After the death of his parents when he was 18, he moved to Decatur, Georgia to live with his older brother Ezkiel N. Calhoun who was a lawyer.He began studying law in 1831 and passed the bar February 22, 1832.Politically, Calhoun was a Whig in a largely Democratic district but was still elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1837 from DeKalb County, and to the State Senate in 1851.