The Tariff Of 1828 : The Main Cause Of The Nullification Crisis

As we already noted – in the 1800s expediency of slavery was disputed. While industrial North almost abandoned bondage, by the early 19th century, slavery was almost exclusively confined to the South, home to more than 90 percent of American blacks (Barney W., p. 61). Agrarian South needed free labor force in order to stimulate economic growth. In particular, whites exploited blacks in textile production. This conditioned the differences in economic and social development of the North and South, and opposing viewpoints on the social structure. “Northerners now saw slavery as a barbaric relic from the past, a barrier to secular and Christian progress that contradicted the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and degraded the free-labor aspirations of Northern society” (Barney W., p. 63).

The Nullification Crisis was a revolt by the citizens against Andrew Jackson and the Union, whereby they sought liberty and the state of being free, including various social, political, and economic privileges. This attempt to revolt against Jackson failed, and their seceding from the country was not granted. In these efforts to secede, they sought liberty and worked together as a state to gain what they believed to be free and include various privileges they rightfully have.

Philip D. Morgan argues that although masters continued to “emphasize order and authority, they were more inclined emphasize their solicitude toward and generous treatment of their dependents.” (Morgan). With this being said, it exemplifies that not only did the apparent shift affect slaves, but also the master’s children. In a typical 18th century household, the man saw over everyone,

The Nullification Crisis was significant. The Nullification Crisis started in 1828 when the Congress passed a very high tariff on manufactured goods from Europe. The Southerners started protesting against tariffs and called to secede from the United States. Since anger of tariffs continued to build in the South, the Congress passed a new, lower tariff in 1832, hoping that the protest in the South would die down. However, the South Carolina legislature passed the Nullification act, an act refusing to pay the “illegal” tariffs of 1828 and 1832. If the federal government interfered then the South will continue calling for secession and the union will split apart. The significance of the Nullification Crisis was that it caused President Jackson

Nullification crisis of 1832 helped to divide further the South from the North. The Southern reaction to the passing of the Tariff of Abominations (1828) and the Tariff of 1832 was swift. In 1832, the South Carolinian legislature declared the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null and void with the Nullification Ordinance, because it felt that the tariffs benefited northern industry.

During the late 1820s, John C. Calhoun believed that the tariff of 1816 was responsible for the decline of the South Carolina economy. Calhoun believed that if he developed the Theory of Nullification people in his home state would view him differently. The Theory of Nullification is the idea that states (unions) have the rights to void any law that is created by the government that is seen unconstitutional. States are the foundation of the Union, so they have the power to refuse any unconstitutional laws, and really states usually have the final say. What really caused the Nullification Crisis were many series of Protective Tariffs. Protective Tariffs are taxes placed on imported goods that are from foreign countries and their duty is to raise the price of foreign goods, making them less attractive to consumers protecting them from foreign competition such as; The Tariff of 1816 that placed a 20-25 percent tax on foreign goods, The Tariff of 1824 which placed a 35 percent duty tax on imported iron, wool, hemp, and cotton, finally the Tariff of 1828 which is also known as the Tariff of Abominations it was the third protective tariff and increased taxes to almost 50 percent.

The Nullification Crisis of 1832 is one of the crises that would eventually lead to the Civil War. Following the suffering of an economic downturn throughout the 1820s, the United States government passed several new tariffs. When the Tariff of 1828 was passed by the Congress of the United States on May 19, 1828, it sparked the debate over states’ rights and highlighted the growing sectional difference between the South and the North in America.

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

Paternalism is the idea that slavery benefits African Americans because they are unable to take care of themselves. However, even if this is to be assumed true it is not because African Americans are genetically or otherwise biologically inferior to caucasians but rather that they have been manipulated to appear weaker. For example, African American slaves appeared to be unintelligent because they often spoke broken English and were illiterate. While some may have interpreted this to mean that African Americans were not intelligent enough to "speak properly," their verbal skills were a reflection of their lack of formal education. It would be asinine to presume slaves could learn these skills on their own, especially considering that it was often illegal to educate

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.

Starting from a slave’s birth, this cruel process leads to a continuous cycle of abuse, neglect, and inhumane treatment. To some extent, slave holders succeed because they keep most slaves so concerned with survival that they have no time or energy to consider freedom. This is particularly true for plantation slaves where the conditions of slave life are the most difficult and challenging. However, slave holders fail to realize the damage they inadvertently inflict on themselves by upholding slavery and enforcing these austere laws and attitudes.

“Indentured servitude declined over the century, and most of these domestic servants were now either free women or slave women” (Coryell, pg. 104). Those who worked in a servitude role were indentured servants, who had the ability to work a number of service years in order to earn their freedom and they would be given a small plot of land, afterwards, to continue to thrive. Eventually, in order to compensate for the growing American need of lower overall costs to purchase labor workers, longer time in servitude, and to decrease the need to give land lots, the term of indentured servant changed to slave, which limited potential freedoms and humanity. This demand for labor changed the owner and slave relationship. “Owners began providing minimal clothing and food. Owners viewed all of slaves’ labor as their own” (Coryell, pg. 105). By forcing a dependent relationship, owners were able to maintain their

The Nullification Crisis was a major political crisis that began with the Tariff of Abominations of 1828, which occurred during the presidency of Andrew Jackson involving a conflict with the United States Federal Government and South Carolina. South Carolina felt the Tariff was unconstitutional and

In American history, every event and person plays a part in the future. For example, rich plantation owners helped America advance their economy. However, that would not have been at all possible without the help of their slaves. The time and institution of slavery is a time of historical remembrance. It played a primary role during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. The treatment, labor conditions, and personal stories of these slaves’ treatment and labor conditions are all widely discussed around the world to this day.

Slavery, especially in America, has been an age old topic of riveting discussions. Specialist and other researchers have been digging around for countless years looking for answers to the many questions that such an activity provided. They have looked into the economics of slavery, slave demography, slave culture, slave treatment, and slave-owner ideology (p. ix). Despite slavery being a global issue, the main focus is always on American slavery. Peter Kolchin effectively illustrates in his book, American Slavery how slavery evolved alongside of historical controversy, the slave-owner relationship, how slavery changed over time, and how America compared to other slave nations around the world.