Rarely in history does a national crisis revolve squarely around two people but that is exactly what happened with the Nullification Crisis. Three decades before Fort Sumter and secession, the fate of the union was in serious doubt. What started as a debate over the so-called Tariff of Abominations transformed into a debate over federal power and states' rights. And at the center of the dispute were two of the leading personalities of the era - Andrew Johnson and John C. Calhoun.
Oh, did I forget to mention that Jackson and Calhoun were the president and vice-president of the United States when the crisis began?
Oh, did I forget to mention that Jackson and Calhoun were the president and vice-president of the United States when the crisis began?
John C. Calhoun vs. Andrew Jackson
In an effort to protect the economies of northern and western states and gain needed northern votes to secure election in 1828, allies of Andrew Jackson proposed a large tariff in 1828. Jackson won election and the Tariff was passed over southern objections. The debate over the tariff was reignited two years later in a debate between South Carolinian Senator Robert Hayne and Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster. Hayne and other southern leaders proposed the concept of nullification - the right of the states to nullify federal actions - and even suggest secession. despite serving as President Jackson's Vice-President, John C. Calhoun emerged as a vocal leader of opposition to the Tariff of Abominations! When Calhoun resigned to run for the Senate in order to better oppose federal action, President Andrew Jackson responded with the "force bill" and civil war loomed in the 1830s.
To avoid more conflict and embarrassment, President Jackson turned to the Great Compromiser Henry Clay to avoid disaster and bloodshed.
To avoid more conflict and embarrassment, President Jackson turned to the Great Compromiser Henry Clay to avoid disaster and bloodshed.
* * * Discussion Questions * * *
1. In what ways did the Nullification Crisis resemble the Virginia & Kentucky Resolves thirty years earlier? How were they different?
2. In what ways did the Nullification Crisis foreshadow the gathering storm of secession thirty years later? How were they different?
2. In what ways did the Nullification Crisis foreshadow the gathering storm of secession thirty years later? How were they different?
Primary Sources
On November 24, 1832, South Carolina declares the tariffs of 1828 & 1832 to be unconstitutional and prepares to take measures to resist.
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Published in 1831, John C. Calhoun delivered his argument for states' rights in opposition to the Tariff of Abominations. His opponent Daniel Webster described the address as "the ablest and most plausible, and therefore the most dangerous vindication of that particular form of Revolution".
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James Madison, Father of the Constitution and co-author of the Virginia & Kentucky Resolves, shares his support with Senator Daniel Webster in opposing secession and nullification.
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From January 19-27, 1830, Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster and South Carolina Senator Robert Hayne engaged in a series of impassioned debates addressing the issues of the Tariff of Abominations, nullification, and secession. It was these debates which re-ignited the furor over the tariffs and led to the eventual crisis two years later. their efforts helps clearly define the argument between Union and States' Rights that would continue for the next thirty years.
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