The Nullification Crisis

By CynthiaGarcia88

  • The Tariff of Abominations

    Because European countries sold their products for such low prices, this tariff was made to protect the north and west manufacturers by raising the rates of imported goods to up to 50%. This tariff enraged the south because it made the cost of living there too high and they relied on European trade, without it they suffered.

  • The South Carolina Exposition

    Written by John C. Calhoun, (Calhoun did not admit he was the author until 1832) the exposition was in favor of nullifying the tariffs, his main arguments for this were:
    The tariff was unconstitutional because it favored manufacturing over agriculture and commerce.
    Tariff power could only be used to generate revenue, not to protect U.S. industries from foreign competition.
    The people of a state had the power to veto any act of the federal government which violated the Constitution.

  • The Tariff of 1832

    Put into action under President Jackson, the Tariff of 1832, was written as a way to try and appease Southern states, specifically South Carolina, after the outrage that The Tariff of 1828 brought up. But the southern states were not pleased with this tariff wither because it only reduced the rates by a minimal amount.

  • The Ordinance of Nullification

    South Carolina adopted The Ordinance of Nullification after the Tariff of 1832 was put into action. It claimed that both the Tariff of 1828 and 1832 null and void. South Carolina threatened to secede from the Union if the federal government did not fix the tariffs. They were the only state that invoked nullification even though the other southern states did not like the tariffs.

  • The Nullification Proclamation

    Written by Edward Livingston and issued by President Jackson, the proclamation was a hasty response to South Carolina's ordinance of nullification. In the proclamation, he threatened to send federal troops to any state that threatened to nullify federal laws, he stated federal laws were the supreme law of the land. He tried to convince congress to pass a force bill so he could send military troops to enforce the tariffs.

  • Haynes' Counter Proclamation

    Haynes stated that the states had the right to claim federal laws void and null if they violated the constitution. When Jackson started collecting troops to send to South Carolina, Haynes reacted by continuing to claim tariffs and laws null.

  • The Force Bill

    The Force Bill, passed by congress, allowed Jackson to use the army and navy to enforce the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 in South Carolina. South Carolina only claimed this law null too. It is stated that Jackson also believed that the tariffs were too high, but he mainly did this because he was outraged by South Carolina threatening him with secession.

  • The Compromise Tariff

    Also known as the Tariff of 1833, the tariff was proposed by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun as a way to resolve the Nullification Crisis because they felt if Jackson kept on sending troops into South Carolina, a war would break out. The plan was to slowly reduce the rate of the tariff of 1832 over a ten-year timespan to eventually get to 20% like in the Tariff of 1816. South Carolina and the other southern states approved of this proposal and started to back down.

  • South Carolina's Repeal of Nullification

    South Carolina repealed their Proclamation of Nullification and Congress repealed their tariffs on South Carolina. The state's right to nullify federal laws was taken away. It was the end of the Nullification Crisis but it did not solve the major differences between the North and South, it actually exemplified it. This crisis would later be one of the causes of the civil war.