List three things you have learned about Andrew Jackson
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slaves.
Jackson made his money in the cotton business and owned
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Jackson beat up his own assassin.
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Jackson fought the Indians, but adopted two as children.
What is a tariff?
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country.
A tariff is a tax placed on items that are being imported into the
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A country would impose a tariff on items that are being
imported into the country in order to make those items more expensive for
consumer.
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The idea is that by making imported items more expensive,
consumers will choose to buy goods made in their own country.
What was the Tariff of Abominations?
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When John Quincy Adams was President, American industry
was just getting started, and British goods were much less expensive.
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Adams and Congress placed a tariff on goods being imported
into the United States, specifically targeting the United Kingdom.
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This benefitted the Northern states, where the industry was, but
harmed the Southern States where the agriculture was.
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in the US
England turned around and placed a tariff on farm goods grown
What is “nullification”?
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South Carolina understandably freaked out over the
Tariff. Their economy depended on selling rice, indigo, and cotton to
England.
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Following a precedent set under the first Adams administration,
the people of South Carolina decided to nullify the Tariff.
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Nullification, or to declare something null and void, basically
means to treat something as if it did not exist.
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South Carolina, led by Jackson’s VP Calhoun, decided to just
not enforce the tariff.
Is nullification constitutional or legal?
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No.
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Article 6 of the US Constitution contains the supremacy Clause.
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That says if there is a conflict between the US Constitution and
a State law or Constitution, the US Constitution wins.
How did Jackson respond to Nullification?
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Many people thought that Jackson would side with South
Carolina since he was from the Southern part of the United States and was a
farmer.
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However, he in this instance he thought upholding the law was
more important.
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Jackson convinced the Congress to pass the Force Act, allowing
him to use the military to ensure that those tariffs were collected.
Why didn’t this lead to Civil War?
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On one side you have Jackson with the United States military
ready in basically invade South Carolina.
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On the other side you have South Carolina, knowing that the
tariff is going to crush their economy if they enforce it.
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Both sides were ready to fight.
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In steps Henry Clay, Senator from Kentucky. He proposes that
the tariff be lowered slowly until it was at the same level it was before.
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same day.
Both Clay’s Compromise and the Force Act were passed on the
How did this conflict end?
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Faced with a way to get out of this problem, South Carolina
agreed to the compromise that would lower the tariff slowly.
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They did, however, nullify the Force Act. (Which was not
needed, as they were now paying the tariff.)
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John Calhoun, Jackson’s first Vice President and leader of the
nullification effort, became the first Vice President to resign from office.
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Jackson chose Martin Van Buren to replace Calhoun.