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Tariff of 1828
Passed by then-president John Quincy Adams, the Tariff of 1828 placed additional taxes on materials that were manufactured or imported to the States. Many at the time called this the "Tariff of Abominations." The reasoning for this was that this law put in place benefitted farmers in the West and Northeast, but negatively impacted the farms in the South and New England. The Southern farms were fairly dependent on imports because their revenue mainly came from cotton. -
South Carolina Exposition and Protest
Stemming from the protests taking place in the South caused by the Tariff of 1828, this article was made by the South Carolina state legislature, pointing out the tariff's unconstitutionality. The Vice President during this time, John Calhoun, anonymously assisted in this draft where the state filed their grievances. -
Tariff of 1832
Taking the claims from the South Carolina Exposition and Protest, this tested whether or not the "concurrent majority" power of the states would be respected. As a response, and also as a way to calm the Southern states, this tariff was passed by Congress, only slightly lowering the taxes. South Carolina reacted to this tariff by devising a nullification convention. -
Ordinance of Nullification
In response to the Tariff of 1832, the Ordinance of Nullification was a meeting among those in the South Carolina legislature concerning these extra taxes. In addition to this, they also threatened to secede if the government forced them to be taxed again. -
Jackson's Nullification Proclamation
Seeing the Ordinance of Nullification meeting as a threat to the federal government and the country's unity, Jackson gave a speech to South Carolina saying that threatening to secede was an act of treason. To argue against the theory of states' rights that Calhoun advocated for, Jackson claimed that the Constitution meant all states together in unity. -
Calhoun's Resignation and States' Rights Theory
Somewhere during the point in time when South Carolina threatened secession if they were to have more taxes forced upon them, John Calhoun resigned from his position as vice president. In his resignation, he advocated for the rights of individual states and called out the federal government's unconstitutional acts during this time. -
Force Bill
Because of South Carolina's defiance when it came to the enforced taxes, this bill was passed by Congress to allow the military to aid in enforcing tax payments in the states. This was passed to prevent any further rebellion, and eventually led to South Carolina retreating. Though nationalists thought Jackson was a great leader and president, the events that ensued throughout the Nullification Crisis made the Southern states feel powerless.