Andrew Jackson Confronts the Doctrine of Nullification

[Hawk1981]

In November 1832, the South Carolina legislature passed an ordinance of nullification against the protective tariffs legislation passed by the US Congress in 1828 and 1832 which dramatically increased the cost of manufactured goods. The ordinance declared that South Carolina would "not submit to the application of force, on the part of the Federal Government, to reduce this state to obedience; but that we will consider the passage by Congress, of any act to coerce the state, shut up her ports, destroy or harass her commerce, or enforce the acts hereby declared null and void..."

Concluding the statement with the threat that South Carolina would secede from the union and "forthwith proceed to organize a separate Government, and do all other acts and things which sovereign and independent states may of right do."

President Andrew Jackson and members of Congress recognized the ordinance as a threat to the Federal Union. Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, normally a staunch opponent to the President's policies, rallied to Jackson's defense by denouncing nullification, stating that "It is resistance to law by force, it is disunion by force, it is secession by force: it is civil war!"

On news that South Carolina was raising an army, Jackson drafted orders to General Winfield Scott to lead federal troops against the rebellious forces. Jackson stating that "I will meet all things with deliberate firmness and forbearance, but woe to those nullifiers who shed the first blood."

Jackson responded to South Carolina's ordinance by sending ships to Charleston harbor and forces to strengthen federal fortifications there. He formally issued a Proclamation to the People of South Carolina in December, 1832, where he declared nullification to be "incompatible with the existence of the Union, contradicted expressly by the letter of the Constitution, unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle on which it was founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was formed."

Appealing to the people of South Carolina, Jackson wrote "Seduced as you have been, my fellow countrymen by ambitious, deluded and designing men, I call upon you in the language of truth, and the feelings of a Father to retrace your steps."

Again taking up his role as the “Great Compromiser”, Henry Clay led Congress to pass the revised Compromise Tariff Act of 1833 which provided for the reduction of tariffs over the next ten years to the levels of 1816. On the same day Congress also passed the Force Bill authorizing Jackson to employ military forces to uphold federal law.

The combination of the two laws allowed the federal government to assert its authority while allowing South Carolina to save face and rescind the nullification ordinance, resolving the showdown without bloodshed.

 

[Pogo]

Welcome, OP. Good to see somebody else with an appreciation for historical backgrounds and the root causes of things. Here's the instructive example of South Carolina threatening to secede a third of a century before they actually did.

>> The 1828 tariff was part of a series of tariffs that began after the War of 1812 and the Napoleonic Wars, when the blockade of Europe led British manufacturers to offer goods in America at low prices that American manufacturers often could not match. The first protective tariff was passed by Congress in 1816; its tariff rates were increased in 1824. Southern states such as South Carolina contended that the tariff was unconstitutional and were opposed to the newer protectionist tariffs, as they would have to pay, but Northern states favored them because they helped strengthen their industrial-based economy.[6]​

​

In an elaborate scheme to prevent passage of still higher tariffs, while at the same time appealing to Andrew Jackson's supporters in the North, John C. Calhoun and other Southerners joined them in crafting a tariff bill that would also weigh heavily on materials imported by the New England states. It was believed that President John Quincy Adams's supporters in New England, the National Republicans, or as they would later be called, Whigs, would uniformly oppose the bill for this reason and that the Southern legislators could then withdraw their support, killing the legislation while blaming it on New England. << --- Wiki: Tariff of Abominations​

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

In November 1832, the South Carolina legislature passed an ordinance of nullification against the protective tariffs legislation passed by the US Congress in 1828 and 1832 which dramatically increased the cost of manufactured goods. The ordinance declared that South Carolina would "not submit to the application of force, on the part of the Federal Government, to reduce this state to obedience; but that we will consider the passage by Congress, of any act to coerce the state, shut up her ports, destroy or harass her commerce, or enforce the acts hereby declared null and void..."

Concluding the statement with the threat that South Carolina would secede from the union and "forthwith proceed to organize a separate Government, and do all other acts and things which sovereign and independent states may of right do."

President Andrew Jackson and members of Congress recognized the ordinance as a threat to the Federal Union. Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, normally a staunch opponent to the President's policies, rallied to Jackson's defense by denouncing nullification, stating that "It is resistance to law by force, it is disunion by force, it is secession by force: it is civil war!"

On news that South Carolina was raising an army, Jackson drafted orders to General Winfield Scott to lead federal troops against the rebellious forces. Jackson stating that "I will meet all things with deliberate firmness and forbearance, but woe to those nullifiers who shed the first blood."

View attachment 326607

Jackson responded to South Carolina's ordinance by sending ships to Charleston harbor and forces to strengthen federal fortifications there. He formally issued a Proclamation to the People of South Carolina in December, 1832, where he declared nullification to be "incompatible with the existence of the Union, contradicted expressly by the letter of the Constitution, unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle on which it was founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was formed."

Appealing to the people of South Carolina, Jackson wrote "Seduced as you have been, my fellow countrymen by ambitious, deluded and designing men, I call upon you in the language of truth, and the feelings of a Father to retrace your steps."

Again taking up his role as the “Great Compromiser”, Henry Clay led Congress to pass the revised Compromise Tariff Act of 1833 which provided for the reduction of tariffs over the next ten years to the levels of 1816. On the same day Congress also passed the Force Bill authorizing Jackson to employ military forces to uphold federal law.

The combination of the two laws allowed the federal government to assert its authority while allowing South Carolina to save face and rescind the nullification ordinance, resolving the showdown without bloodshed.

Or..to be a bit more accurate--solving the immediate crisis, while kicking the can down the road 30 years,

There is a school of thought that believes that Jackson was too forbearing--and should have resolved the issue there and then.

Sadly..where is our Daniel Webster..or Henry Clay...our Andrew Jackson?

To your point..Nullification is Unconstitutional. I guess we could revisit it--I like the thought of Sovereign States--people voting with their feet..as cultural beliefs and preferences. If it could be done with killing off a few millions and wrecking our world for 100 years...it'd be nice!

 

[Pogo]

In November 1832, the South Carolina legislature passed an ordinance of nullification against the protective tariffs legislation passed by the US Congress in 1828 and 1832 which dramatically increased the cost of manufactured goods. The ordinance declared that South Carolina would "not submit to the application of force, on the part of the Federal Government, to reduce this state to obedience; but that we will consider the passage by Congress, of any act to coerce the state, shut up her ports, destroy or harass her commerce, or enforce the acts hereby declared null and void..."

Concluding the statement with the threat that South Carolina would secede from the union and "forthwith proceed to organize a separate Government, and do all other acts and things which sovereign and independent states may of right do."

President Andrew Jackson and members of Congress recognized the ordinance as a threat to the Federal Union. Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, normally a staunch opponent to the President's policies, rallied to Jackson's defense by denouncing nullification, stating that "It is resistance to law by force, it is disunion by force, it is secession by force: it is civil war!"

On news that South Carolina was raising an army, Jackson drafted orders to General Winfield Scott to lead federal troops against the rebellious forces. Jackson stating that "I will meet all things with deliberate firmness and forbearance, but woe to those nullifiers who shed the first blood."

View attachment 326607

Jackson responded to South Carolina's ordinance by sending ships to Charleston harbor and forces to strengthen federal fortifications there. He formally issued a Proclamation to the People of South Carolina in December, 1832, where he declared nullification to be "incompatible with the existence of the Union, contradicted expressly by the letter of the Constitution, unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle on which it was founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was formed."

Appealing to the people of South Carolina, Jackson wrote "Seduced as you have been, my fellow countrymen by ambitious, deluded and designing men, I call upon you in the language of truth, and the feelings of a Father to retrace your steps."

Again taking up his role as the “Great Compromiser”, Henry Clay led Congress to pass the revised Compromise Tariff Act of 1833 which provided for the reduction of tariffs over the next ten years to the levels of 1816. On the same day Congress also passed the Force Bill authorizing Jackson to employ military forces to uphold federal law.

The combination of the two laws allowed the federal government to assert its authority while allowing South Carolina to save face and rescind the nullification ordinance, resolving the showdown without bloodshed.

Or..to be a bit more accurate--solving the immediate crisis, while kicking the can down the road 30 years,

There is a school of thought that believes that Jackson was too forbearing--and should have resolved the issue there and then.

Sadly..where is our Daniel Webster..or Henry Clay...our Andrew Jackson?

To your point..Nullification is Unconstitutional. I guess we could revisit it--I like the thought of Sovereign States--people voting with their feet..as cultural beliefs and preferences. If it could be done with killing off a few millions and wrecking our world for 100 years...it'd be nice!

Coincidentally enough speaking of 'voting with their feet', this was the same period (1830s) that a lot of South Carolinians did just that, moving to the western "frontier" called Mississippi, after the Native Americans there had been, as we say in our sanitized vernacular, "cleared". Including my ancestors who split off and left the stay-putters to become Strom Thurmond.