Nullification Crisis of 1832

The Nullification Crisis of 1832 was one of the first events of the American history which pitched the state government and federal government directly against each other. The crisis occurred in early 1830s, when Andrew Jackson was the President of the United States of America. The state government in question here was non other than the state of South Carolina - one of the numerous southern states which was of the firm belief that the federal government was biased towards the northern states. Going through the summary of this historical event given below will give you a rough idea as to what was the Nullification Crisis of 1832, and what was the outcome of the same.

Nullification Crisis of 1832 Summary

The Prelude: Tariff of 1828
The Nullification Crisis of 1832 revolved around the federal government's attempts to enforce tariffs on the states and South Carolina's attempts to nullify these tariff laws within its geographical boundaries. It all started with the Tariff of 1828 (the Tariff of Abominations,) which had quite a few negative implications on the southern states - which were predominantly dependent on agriculture. This Tariff was more inclined towards the betterment of the US industrial sector, and did very little for the agricultural sector. At the end of the day, the southern states which were more dependent on agriculture had to bear the brunt of this newly introduced Tariff laws, and therefore they decided to take the matters in their own hands.

The Beginning of Nullification Crisis
Among the affected southern states, one of the most affected was the state of South Carolina. The Tariff of 1828 imposed a tax on those goods which were imported from the other nations, which in turn resulted in rise of prices of manufactured goods in South Carolina as well as other southern states. This tax also had its indirect effects on agricultural exports which was of much greater harm to these agricultural states in the south. Over the late 1820s and early 1930s, this issue dominated the politics of South Carolina with some factions within the state even threatening to nullify these laws and secede from the United States, if required.

John C. Calhoun and Nullification Doctrine
Even the then Vice-President of the United States - John C. Calhoun, came out in open support of the right of various states to nullify laws imposed by the federal government which the states thought were not suitable for them. John Calhoun - a Democratic senator from South Carolina, was an ardent advocate of the Nullification Doctrine, and believed that the state governments should have the right of nullifying any federal law if the said law was not in compliance of the states. Calhoun even resigned from his position in the federal government and became the first Vice President to resign from office.

Tariff of 1832 and Ordinance of Nullification
The strong opposition on various fronts eventually resulted in introduction of the Tariff of 1832 on 14th July, 1932. Even though this was less burdensome than the Tariff of 1828, it failed to appease the citizens and authorities of South Carolina. The new tariff was supposed to come into effect from 4th March, 1833. As it became clear that the federal government is not going to budge from its stance, the government of South Carolina decided to issue the Ordinance of Nullification which would declare the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null and void within the geographical boundaries of the state. A state convention was called on 24th November, 1832, and the legislature of South Carolina voted for the Ordinance of Nullification - which called the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 unconstitutional and declared them null and void within the territory of South Carolina.

The End of Nullification Crisis of 1832
In reply to South Carolina's Ordinance of Nullification, President Andrew Jackson dispatched the US naval fleet to South Carolina in a bid to strengthen the position of central government in this region. According to Jackson, not paying a tax levied by the federal government or threatening to secede from the nation was nothing short of a treason and had to be met with serious action. On the other hand, the Congress introduced the Force Bill in the house which gave the federal government the right to use military force to enforce tariff in South Carolina. Citing a likely confrontation between the federal troops and South Carolina, Senator Henry Clay put forth a new tariff act which was supposed to gradually lessen over the period of a decade. Referred to as Clay's Compromise Tariff of 1833, the new tariff act was passed on 1st March, 1833, along with the Force Bill.

This prompted South Carolina legislature to repeal the Ordinance of Nullification, and accept the new tariff which was a lot better than the previous ones. There were numerous factors which came into play to bring the Nullification Crisis of 1832 to an end. According to the historians the most prominent factors were the introduction of Clay's Compromise Tariff of 1833, South Carolina being left to fend on its own by the other southern states and the federal government sending its troops to counter what Jackson called the 'treason'.