Copy the following on NB p. 65.
Sectional Issues
Cheap Public
Land
Internal
Improvements
Higher
Tariffs
North
Favored or
opposed and
why
Favored or opposed
and why
Favored or
opposed and
why
South
Favored or
opposed and
why
Favored or opposed
and why
Favored or
opposed and
why
West
Favored or
opposed and
why
Favored or opposed
and why
Favored or
opposed and
why
Lesson 12.3: Conflict Over States’
Rights
Today’s Essential Question: How did a
sectional argument over a tariff law almost
lead to a civil war in 1832?
Vocabulary
• sectional – referring to one region or
area instead of the whole nation
• tariff – a tax on imported goods
• states’ rights – powers and privileges
possessed by the states
• nullification – cancelling out or making
something powerless
• crisis – turning point or dangerous
situation
Check for Understanding
• What is today’s Essential Question?
• Why doesn’t the U.S. government
charge a tariff on wine grapes grown
in Temecula?
• What is a crisis that an 8th grader
might face?
What We Already Know
During the battle for
ratification of the
Constitution, many
Americans were
concerned that too much
power was being taken
from the states and given
to the federal
government.
What We Already Know
In the Kentucky and
Virginia
Resolutions,
Thomas Jefferson
and James Madison
anonymously
declared that states
do not have to
enforce laws that
they believe are
unconstitutional.
What We Already Know
Southerners disliked tariffs
because they increased the
cost of foreign manufactured
goods that Southerners
frequently imported.
When President Jackson took office in
1829, three economic issues were
pulling the nation apart:
• the sale of public lands,
• internal improvements,
• and tariffs.
Check for Understanding
A ask B: What three issues were pulling
the nation apart along sectional lines
in the late 1820s?
The three issues that were pulling the nation
apart along sectional lines in the late 1820s
the sale of public lands, internal
improvements, and tariffs.
Be sure to re-state the question in your response!
The Sale of Public Lands
• Northeasterners did not want the lands in the
West to be sold at low prices.
• They were concerned that the cheap land
would attract workers
who were needed in
the Northeastern
factories.
Westerners wanted low prices
for public land.
• Cheap land would attract more settlers.
• More people meant more political
power for the West.
Southerners had no strong
opinion about the issue.
Because they
owned slaves,
Southerners did
not need to fear
the loss of their
labor force to the
West.
Internal Improvements
• Internal improvements is a term that usually
refers to roads, canals, bridges, and other
structures that aid transportation.
• The Northeast and West wanted the government to
spend money on transportation to help move
agricultural products and manufactured goods.
Southerners opposed internal
improvements.
• The new roads and canals would connect
the West and the Northeast, and would not
help the Southern economy at all.
• Also, Southerners knew the money to pay
for the improvements would come from
tariffs, and Southerners did not want an
increase in tariffs.
Check for Understanding
B ask A: What are internal improvements?
Internal improvements are roads, canals,
bridges, and other structures that aid
transportation.
Be sure to re-state the question in your response!
Check for Understanding
A ask B: Which two sections wanted the
government to spend more money on
internal improvements?
The Northeast and the West wanted the
government to spend more money on
internal improvements.
Be sure to re-state the question in your response!
Check for Understanding
B ask A: Why did the Northeast and the
West want the government to spend
more money on internal improvements?
The Northeast and West wanted the government
to spend money on internal improvements to
make it easier to move agricultural products
and manufactured goods from one region to
another.
Be sure to re-state the question in your response!
Check for Understanding
A ask B: For what two reasons did the South
oppose spending government money on
internal improvements?
The South opposed spending government
money on internal improvements because
the new roads and canals would not help
the Southern economy at all, and would
cause a rise in tariff rates.
Be sure to re-state the question in your response!
Northerners supported higher tariffs.
• Tariffs are taxes on imported goods.
• The North supported tariffs because they
protected U.S. manufacturers from foreign
competition, and the revenue would pay for
internal improvements.
Southerners opposed tariffs.
• The Southern economy was based on foreign
trade, and higher tariffs made imported goods
more expensive for Southerners.
• The tariff revenue wouldn’t help the South,
which needed no internal improvements.
The West also favored raising
tariffs.
• Westerners bought most of their manufactured
goods from New England factories, so higher
prices for manufactured goods didn’t affect them.
• The tariff revenue would help the West because it
would pay for the internal improvements the West
needed for transporting factory products.
Check for Understanding
B ask A: What is a tariff?
A tariff is a tax on imported goods.
Be sure to re-state the question in your response!
Check for Understanding
A ask B: Why did the Northeast and the West
support raising tariff rates?
The Northeast and the West supported raising
tariff rates because the tariffs would raise
revenue for internal improvements, and
would protect American manufacturers from
foreign competition.
Be sure to re-state the question in your response!
Check for Understanding
B ask A: Why did the South oppose
higher tariffs?
The South opposed higher tariffs
because its economy was based on
foreign trade, and higher tariffs
made imported goods more
expensive for Southerners, who
didn’t need internal improvements.
Be sure to re-state the question in your response!
Get your whiteboards
and markers ready!
8. How did the issue of tariffs lead to
sectional differences?
A. The issue of tariffs caused hostility
between the North and the South.
B. The issue of tariffs caused hostility
between the North and the West.
C. The North believed tariffs would protect
U.S. products from foreign competition and
raise money for internal improvements.
D. The South opposed higher tariffs because
they would make imported goods more
expensive for Southerners.
E. The West opposed tariffs because they
need no internal improvements.
Choose all that are true!
The ‘Tariff of Abominations’ (1828)
• In 1828, a new high tariff was being
debated in Congress.
• Since the tariff hurt the South but helped
the North, angry Southerners felt the
government was being unfair.
• Southerners hated the Tariff of 1828 so
much they referred to it as the Tariff of
Abominations.
• Some Southerners began to say their
states should leave the Union (i.e.,
secede).
Check for Understanding
• A ask B: Why did the tariff make
Southerners feel the national
government was being unfair?
The tariff make Southerners feel the
national government was being unfair
because it would increase the cost of
foreign manufactured goods that
Southerners frequently imported.
Be sure to restate the question in your answer!
Check for Understanding
• B ask A: What threat were
some Southerners starting to
make?
Some Southerners began to
threaten that their states should
leave the Union.
Be sure to restate the question in your answer!
Get your whiteboards
and markers ready!
9. Why did Southerners call the Tariff of
1828 the Tariff of Abominations?
A. It made European imports too expensive.
B. It lowered the prices they could charge
for cotton.
C. It lowered the tariff to the levels they had
been in 1800.
D. It reduced the amount of cotton foreign
countries could purchase from
Southerners.
John C. Calhoun wanted to keep
South Carolina from seceding.
• Calhoun had to calm
Southerners’ fears about the
tariff and their loss of
influence in the government.
• He also needed to find a
way for the South to avoid
collecting the Tariff of
Abominations.
Calhoun developed the doctrine of
nullification from different sources.
• The first was the compact theory of government.
• Constitution created a compact (or contract)
between the states and the federal government.
• If the federal government breaks that contract,
the states have the right to ignore the
government.
Calhoun developed the doctrine of
nullification from different sources.
• The second was Thomas
Jefferson’s Kentucky
Resolution.
• The Kentucky Resolution
said that states did not
have to enforce a law that
they felt was unconstitutional or outside the
government’s expressed
powers.
Check for Understanding
• A ask B: According to the compact
theory, what was the relationship
between the states and the federal
government based on?
According to the compact theory, the
relationship between the states and the
federal government was based on a
contract between the states and the
federal government.
Be sure to restate the question in your answer!
Check for Understanding
• B ask A: What did the Kentucky
Resolution say states could do if
Congress passed a law the states
felt was unconstitutional?
If Congress passed a law they felt was
unconstitutional, the Kentucky
Resolution said that states did not have
to enforce it.
Be sure to restate the question in your answer!
The Doctrine of Nullification
• State legislatures have the
authority to determine if a
law is constitutional.
• If the legislature declares a
federal law unconstitutional,
then that law is nullified
(i.e., not legal) within that
state’s borders
• Calhoun published his
doctrine anonymously in a
document called “South
Carolina Exposition and
Protest.”
Threats of Secession
Should the need
arise, states have
the right to secede
from the Union
and become
independent.
Check for Understanding
• A ask B: According to the doctrine of
nullification, who had the authority to
determine if a law is constitutional?
According to the doctrine of nullification, states
had the authority to determine if a law is
constitutional.
Be sure to restate the question in your answer!
Check for Understanding
• B ask A: What was the name of the
document in which Calhoun published
his doctrine of nullification?
Calhoun published his doctrine of nullification in
the “South Carolina Exposition and Protest.”
Be sure to restate the question in your answer!
Get your whiteboards
and markers ready!
10. How would the doctrine of nullification provide a way for states to
avoid paying the high tariff?
A. State legislatures could nullify their own tax
obligations to federal government.
B. State legislatures could pay the tariffs in
inflated state currency, which is called
nullification.
C. State legislatures could change new federal
tariff laws before they could go into effect.
D. State legislatures could nullify a tariff law,
and not collect the tariff.
Objections to Nullification
• the permanency of the Union
• the supremacy clause of the
Constitution
• the Marbury v. Madison decision
• the fears of anarchy
Permanent Union
• Some Americans were
opposed to the ideas of
states’ rights and the
compact theory.
• States voluntarily gave
up their sovereignty
when they entered the
Union.
• They could not secede
from the Union once
they became part of the
United States.
The Supremacy Clause
• Most Northerners believed that
the Kentucky Resolution was in
conflict with the supremacy
clause of the Constitution.
• Federal laws are the law of the
land, and state laws may not
contradict federal law.
The Marbury v. Madison Decision
To many, the
Supreme Court’s
decision in Marbury
v. Madison made
nonsense out of the
doctrine of
nullification.
In 1801, the court had ruled that the authority to
determine the constitutionality of a law belonged
to the Supreme Court alone, not the states.
Fears of Anarchy
• Opponents of the doctrine of nullification
were very concerned about threats of
secession.
• States ruling on constitutionality would
lead to chaos in the nation.
Check for Understanding
• A ask B: What does the supremacy
clause say about conflicts between
federal law and state law?
The supremacy clause says that state
laws may not contradict federal laws.
Be sure to restate the question in your answer!
Check for Understanding
• B ask A: According to Marbury v.
Madison, who has the authority to
declare a law unconstitutional?
According to Marbury v. Madison, only the
Supreme Court has the authority to declare
a law unconstitutional.
Be sure to restate the question in your answer!
1828
• Congress passed the ‘Tariff
of Abominations.’
• Calhoun published “South
Carolina Exposition and
Protest;” explaining the
doctrine of nullification.
• Andrew Jackson was
elected president, partly as
a protest against the tariff.
Check for Understanding
• A ask B: What did Southerners
call the Tariff of 1828?
Southerners call the Tariff of
1828 the ‘Tariff of Abominations.’
Be sure to restate the question in your answer!
Check for Understanding
• B ask A: Why did Southerners object
to the Tariff of Abominations?
Southerners objected to the Tariff of
Abominations because it raised prices on
imported goods.
Be sure to restate the question in your answer!
1829
• Jackson took
office, with
Calhoun as his
vice-president.
• Public debate over
the tariff and the
doctrine of
nullification
continued.
1830
• Daniel Webster and Robert Hayne
debated the issue of states’ rights
and nullification in Congress.
• Jackson learned of Calhoun’s
support for nullification.
Get your whiteboards
and markers ready!
11. What was the Webster-Hayne
debate?
It was a debate
between Senators
Daniel Webster and
Robert Hayne over . . .
A.
B.
C.
D.
President Jackson’s impeachment.
the doctrine of nullification.
internal improvements.
the Tariff of 1832.
1832
• Congress reduced the tariff, but not
enough to make Southerners happy.
• South Carolina nullified both tariffs,
threatened to secede, and began building
an army.
• Jackson was re-elected (without Calhoun);
threatened to use force against South
Carolina to enforce federal laws.
Check for Understanding
• Who debated the nullification issue in
Congress?
• How did Congress try to solve the crisis?
• How did South Carolina respond?
• What threat does Jackson make?
Be sure to restate the question in your answer!
1833
• Henry Clay created
another compromise
tariff, and it was quickly
passed by Congress.
• South Carolina repealed
its bill of nullification,
and the crisis was
averted, ending the
threat of civil war.
Check for Understanding
• Who helped the nation avoid war over
the Tariff of Abominations?
• What did Clay do to help?
• How did South Carolina respond to the
new compromise tariff?
Be sure to restate the question in your answer!
Get your whiteboards
and markers ready!
12. How was the nullification
crisis resolved?
A. President Jackson sent federal troops into
South Carolina to collect the tariff.
B. the Webster-Hayne debate gave everyone a
better understanding of the issues.
C. South Carolina came up with a new tariff
rate that Congress quickly accepted.
D. Henry Clay worked out a compromise tariff
that South Carolina could accept.