Jackson vs. Calhoun and the Nullification Crisis

One of the main supporters for the nullification of the tariff was Jackson’s Vice President, John C. Calhoun, who was from the South. Calhoun saw the tariff as unconstitutional and wanted it nullified. Now Jackson’s had even more to mend since his own Vice President was disagreeing with him.

He pleaded Henry Clay, an old friend, to draft a solution with him. Clay developed a compromise proposal, which lowered the high tariffs by ten percent over eight years. The Compromise Tariff of 1833 barely passed through Congress, but it significantly changed the tariff. These new rates were not nearly as low as the Southerners had hoped they would be, but it was a better compromise than the Force Bill had offered. South Carolina’s legislature voted to recede their efforts to nullify the tariff acts, but they did attempt to nullify the Force Bill. Even though their nullification of the Force Bill was insignificant, it allowed South Carolina to feel slightly victorious.

John C. Calhoun was not only a United States statesman, but also a nationalist and outspoken supporter of the slave and plantation system in the pre-Civil War South. In his early days as a War Hawk and congressman, Calhoun helped to guide the United States into war with Great Britain. He also had a hand in establishing the Second Bank of the U.S. He was in staunch opposition to President Polk's Mexican-American War and admitting California as a free state. He was a very vocal and well known leader in the fight to have slavery as a secure institution in the South, if not the whole United States. In the late 1820's, Calhoun drafted an Exposition and Protest for the South Carolina legislative body, thus beginning the Nullification Crisis faced

When Andrew Jackson took office in 1829, he was forced to respond to the growing conflict over tariffs. Vice President John C. Calhoun joined his fellow southerners in protest when Congress passed the Tariff of Abominations. In response to the tariff, Calhoun drafted the South Carolina Exposition and Protest. It urged states to nullify the Tariff of Abominations and used it to argue that since the states created the national government they decided when the national laws apply. Calhoun’s theory was controversial, and it drew some fierce challengers. Many of them were from the northern states that had benefited from increased tariffs. These opponents believed that the American people, not the individual states, made up the Union. Conflict between the supporters and the opponents of nullification deepened. The issue of nullification was intensely debated in the Senate, between Robert Y. Hayne and Daniel Webster. Hayne, senator from South Carolina, defended states’ rights. He argued that nullification gave states a way to lawfully

State’s rights were the main interest of John C. Calhoun during the nullification crisis. He argued that states had the right to nullify a law or an act passed by the government, such as a tariff, and render it void. Through a convention held in South Carolina discord arose as the result of the convention clearly expressed that the tariff’s taxes were not to be collected within that state. Although it was Calhoun that approved the convention’s ruling, it was the majority that favored the idea of stronger state’s rights, and the ability to nullify what they viewed as unconstitutional. Consequently this resulted in a swift response from Jackson in the form of the Force Bill, allowing the use of military to enforce the acts in South

South Carolina then threatened to secede from the union. While Jackson was pro-state’s rights he was against secession. Andrew Jackson threatened to send troops to South Carolina to prevent secession. Thankfully, a compromise proposed by Henry Clay in which tariffs will be reduced over the course of 10 years to which South Carolina agrees.

The north was becoming increasingly industrialized while the south was still mainly agricultural. Congress passed a tariff that benefitted the producers of cloth, mostly north, however it shrunk the demand for southern raw cotton. The south were infuriated and looked to Vice President, John C. Calhoun, for support against the "tariff of abomination." Calhoun supported the first tariff, however, if he ever wanted a future political career he needed to rethink his position. Calhoun proposed the idea that the power of states should be greater than the federal. South Carolina then believed they had the right to nullify the tariff. Jackson who did not approve of nullification threatened to send troops in. He also forced Calhoun into resigning his position. Meanwhile, South Carolina threatened to secede the union. Jackson was granted a bill from congress to enact and send troops in, however, Henry Clay revised the tariff before armed confrontation was

After having the votes from the people and the Electoral College he wins against John Quincy Adams. Jackson emerged new political parties, the Whigs and the Democrats (Binkiewicz). During his presidency, Jackson had the second national bank, did not like the high tariffs but kept them, and the Indian Removal Act 1830 was passed by Congress. During this time Jackson vetoed twelve bills. One of these was the first "pocket veto" in American history. His messages were a direct link to the voters, because of the powerful language. In other ways, too, Jackson expanded the scope of presidential authority. He dominated his cabinet, forcing out members who would not execute his commands. Jackson was a matured politician and had great political philosophy. He cherished having the national debt because it meant having more credit for the country. Which is why he kept the tariff high, although he didn’t like it because it meant the debt was still there and his credit would be getting better. The tariff was greatly opposed by the southerners. South Carolina’s nullification bothered Jackson because he felt that he was not doing his job. South Carolina withdraws the nullification of the old tariff because they state that it does not apply to them therefore, they will not obey it. Jackson states that not matter what they say they have to obey it because it is federal law and they will be punished if they do not obey

Nullification Crisis was a political crisis that happen back in 1812 to 1813 in the United States. Andrew Jackson’s vice president and a native of South Carolina, proposed the theory of nullification, which declared the tariff unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable The Nullification Crisis created tensions because they raised prices on manufactured goods, which benefited the domestic manufacturing industry in the North but was bad for Southern slaveholders, who had to pay higher prices for goods was a problem between South Carolina and the federal government. Sothern’s said that the Tariffs of 1832 were unconstitutional and therefore and they have to be annulated. The Nullification Crisis happen because the United States had a bad moment in the economy since it went down in the late 1820’s. They also feared that foreign countries would enact higher tariffs on raw materials produced in the South. Moreover, because the British reduced their exports to the United States in response to the tariff, they had less money to pay for US imports, especially cotton from the South. The tariff of 1828 raised taxes on imported manufactures to reduce foreign competition with American manufacturing. Southerners, argued that the tariff enhanced the interests of the Northern manufacturing industry at their expense. In 1828, during the presidency of John Quincy Adams, the first protective tariff was passed, the first legislation that included an even higher tariff,

Jackson began his proclamation by outlining the reasons and reservations that led South Carolina to pass the ordinance. The major concerns for the Southerners were the tariffs. “ I, Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, have thought proper to issue this my PROCLAMATION, stating my views of the Constitution and laws applicable to the measures adopted by the Convention of South Carolina”

Only one U.S. president has been censured by the United States Senate and this was Andrew Jackson for what the senate believed to be abuse of presidential power during the Bank War. Andrew Jackson should be removed from the $20 bill. While Jackson was the 7th president of the united states and a national war hero after defeating the British in New Orleans during the War of 1812 he got rid of a whole government program because it didn't go along with his viewpoints. In 1816 the second bank of the United States was created five years after the First bank's charter expired. The bank had been run by a board of directors with ties to industry and manufacturing, however Jackson disagreed with the ways that the federal money was being spent as well

Everyone was hoping Andrew Jackson would lower tariffs once he became president. When Andrew Jackson did not address tariffs South Carolina decided to take charge. A convention place in South Carolina in 1832. It ruled that the tariffs of 1828 and and 1832 were unconstitutional and not enforceable in South Carolina after February 1, 1833. Just before this date Andrew Jackson created a force bill that allowed him to use military forces against South Carolina. He then created a new negotiated tariff for South Carolina, which was passed by congress.

The Tariff of 1828 raised taxes and the Southerners did not like this at all. South Carolina threatened to leave the union if the taxes were not lowered. Calhoun wanted to nullify the taxes in South Carolina, but Jackson threatened to bring military forces to South Carolina to solve the problem.

He promised the south a reduction in the taxes and duties they were enduring to the levels first established in1828. These set levels were acceptable to the southerners as opposed to the higher rates enforced since then. In 1832 Jackson reduced these rates by a small margin, not nearly as much as his original promise. Regardless of South Carolina upset, in 1833 Jackson passed the Force Bill. This coerced them into paying the tariff no matter what.4

At the time of Jackson's election, there existed a protective tariff that aided big businesses and domestic transportation initiatives. However, the tariff was met unfavorably by the South, which felt that the tariff's ultimate purpose was to strengthen the industrial north at the expense of the agrarian south. Jackson's vice president, John Calhoun, campaigned on behalf of the South and attempted to nullify the tariff law within the South Carolina state borders. His premise was based on a provision settled in 1798 declaring