The tariff of Abomination instigated the tension between nationalism and the states' rights. The Tariff of 1828 was a controversial protective tariff passed by the Congress of the United States ( Ratcliffe, 2000). It was designed to protect the industries in the northern U.S from low-priced imported goods. The tariff increased taxes for the imported goods in an attempt to discourage the people from consuming the products. The Southern States, however, opposed the measure because the region had almost no industries. The occupants engaged in agriculture and therefore the import taxes would only increase the prices of the goods imported by the southerners. The import taxes also reduced the exportation of British goods to the U.S, making it difficult for the British to pay for the cotton they imported from the southern region of the U.S.
The people of southern U.S anticipated a significant reduction of the taxes after the election of Andrew Jackson as the president. Andrew Jackson’s government, however, failed to address their concerns. The most profound faction of the state adopted the ordinance to nullify the tariff within South Carolina ( Brogdon, 2011) . John C. Calhoun, the Vice President, was a native of South Carolina. The split between the President and Calhoun elevated due to the fact Calhoun was the most active exponent of the constitutional theory of state nullification. The theory suggested that a state could nullify a federal law if it believed it was unconstitutional.
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The nullifiers declared that they would withdraw from the Union and form their government if the federal government tried to use the army against South Carolina. President Andrew Jackson, on the other hand, was a great believer of the federal union and saw the nullification as the beginning of the end for the nation. He addressed the nullifiers in a proclamation explaining that it was his duty as a president to enforce the laws of the land. While preparing to use military force, the president offered a platform for a peaceful settlement. He promised to reduce the import taxes that oppressed the residents of Southern U.S. In response, the delegates voted against the nullification.
References
Brogdon, M. S. (2011). Defending the Union: Andrew Jackson's Nullification Proclamation and American Federalism. The Review of Politics , 73 (2), 245-273.
Ratcliffe, D. J. (2000). The nullification crisis, southern discontents, and the American political process. American Nineteenth Century History , 1 (2), 1-30.
