Causes
What is the increase of tariffs over the course of 12 years from 1816 to 1828?
20% rate in 1816 increased to 50% in 1828
What is the Tariff Bill of 1828?
A very high protective tariff designed to protect northern and western agricultural products from competition with foreign imports.
What did Calhoun encourage the people of South Carolina to do after the implementation of the Tariff of 1828?
Declare it null and void within their borders
What are the short term effects of the Tariff Nullification Crisis?
Deep divisions between the North and the South
What is the intended purpose of the Tariff of 1828?
It was designed to protect industry in the northern US, which were being driven out of business by low-priced imported goods by putting a tax on them
What is the tariff of abominations?
The South's label for the Tariff of 1828 because of the negative effects it had on the antebellum Southern economy
What actions did South Carolina threaten with if the federal government attempted to collect the Tariffs of 1828 by force?
South Carolina threatened ceding from the Union.
What are the long term effects of the Tariff Nullification Crisis?
The Split of the Union and secession, leading to the civil war.
Why did the South dislike Tariffs while the north liked Tariffs?
Since more Americans would be buying less foreign goods, the south feared that European nations would retaliate by buying less southern cotton, negatively affecting the southern economy. The North Like tariffs because they greatly profited from more Americans buying US goods.
What is the "Force Bill"?
Passed by congress, this bill gave Jackson the right to use military force against South Carolina.
What is Calhoun's argument for the theory of nullification?
Since the authority of the federal government derived from the consent of the states, states could nullify any federal law they considered unconstitutional
How did the Tariff Nullification Crisis change American's views of President Jackson?
Nationalists viewed Jackson as a hero while Southerner's minority position became exacerbated as they were more aware of their vulnerability towards the northern majority with their presence in the union.
What did Calhoun take inspiration from when he declared the Tariff of 1828 null and void in the Nullification Ordinance?
The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of Jefferson and Madison
What is the Nullification Proclamation?
Jackson’s response to South Carolina that denied the right of a state to nullify a law of the United States
What was the argument against the theory of Nullification?
It was the Supreme Court, not the states, that had the ultimate authority to declare federal legislation unconstitutional.
Was South Carolina effective in persuading other states to join their cause of nullification?
In its attempts to have other Southern states join in nullification, South Carolina met with total failure. On March 1, 1833, Congress passed the Force Bill. South Carolina’s isolation, coupled with Jackson’s determination to employ military force if necessary, ultimately forced South Carolina to retreat.
What is the underlying causes of South Carolina's rejection of the Tariff of 1828?
The majority of South Carolina's population was African American, causing them to fear efforts for abolition by the federal government. Thus, they attacked tariffs as a means of discouraging federal power from attacking slavery.
What was the Compromise Tariff of 1832?
Created by Henry Clay, the act gradually reduced the tariff throughout the next decade until, by 1842, they matched the levels set in the Tariff of 1816.
What is Jackson's view on the Theory of Nullification?
Supported states’ rights but viewed nullification as a prelude to secession, opposing any measure that could potentially break up the Union.
What is the precedent that the Tariff Nullification Crisis set?
Southern planters and slaveholders would continue to use the doctrine of states' rights to protect institutions, like slavery, as well as reject federal law, threatening to cede every time federal policy was seen as against the interests of the South.