Nullification Crisis

By Uryel

  • Tariff of Abomination (Tariff of 1828)

    The tariff raised the cost of imported goods to support industries in the Northeast. The tariff outraged southerners because it was thought that the tax on imports was targeted toward the south. This caused an economic crisis in the South because they weren’t a manufacturing center. Southerners were found at a disadvantage because of the high prices of New England states’ products. The tariff reduced trade between the south and Britain due to their difficulty in affording cotton from the south.

  • Tariff of 1823

    This is a bill created to lower some of the duties on imported goods like the Tariff of 1828. It was in order to address the Southern’s outcries. However, southerners did not please the southerners.

  • Ordinance of Nullification

    John C. Calhoun, US Vice-President, Robert Hayne, US Senator, and James Hamilton Jr, South Carolina Governor, called for a state convention in Columbia. This convention was called to respond to the Tariff of 1832. The convention created the Ordinance of Nullification. This document declared the Tariff of 1828 and of 1832 null and void due to being unconstitutional. It stated if the national government tried to send the military into the state, South Carolina will secede from the Union.

  • Force Bill

    This bill was passed to give power to Jackson to use the military to collect and enforce the tariffs. The bill was created after South Carolina’s Ordinance of Nullification and after President Jackson declared that no states are allowed to nullify. The bill was just a precautionary measure to be used by President Jackson.

  • Compromise Tariff

    This was a compromise bill created by Henry Clay. It stated that the tariffs and duties upon imports will gradually decrease over the next decade. It was a way for southerners and South Carolinians to have their voices heard.

  • Repeal of Nullification

    The southerners and people of South Carolina accepted the Compromise Tariff and decided to repeal their Ordinance of Nullification. This stopped South Carolina from ceding the Union and prevented a Civil War.