LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Tariff of 1828: South Carolina
built 236 days ago
The so-called Tariff of Abominations of 1828 was a high protective tax levied on goods coming into the country from abroad. It was passed at the instigation of Northern manufaaurers, but it distressed many Southern planters who depended on foreign trade for their livelihood. Protest in South Carolina was strong. Agriculture was undergoing grave difficulties because of soil exhaustion, and many believed that the extraordinarily high tariffs would damage the state's economy. During 1828, protests were voiced through Southern newspapers and town meetings, and finally, on December 19, the state legislature of South Carolina issued "The South Carolina Exposition and Protest," which declared the tariff unconstitutional. The author of the document was John C. Calhoun, who chose to initially keep his identity hidden in order to protect his politcal career.
Source:
The practical result of the conflict over the tariff was a compromise. Congress passed an act gradually reducing the duties to a revenue basis, and South Carolina repealed her nullification measures. As the result of the conflict, Calhoun was greatly strengthened in his position as the leader of his party in the South. Southern leaders generally were now beginning to perceive, as Calhoun had already seen, that there was a permanent conflict between the North and the South, not only a divergence of interests between manufacturing and agricultural sections, but an inevitable struggle between free and slave labor. Should enough free states be admitted into the Union to destroy the balance of power, the North would naturally gain a preponderance in the Senate, as it had in the House, and might, within constitutional limits, legislate as it pleased. The Southern minority recognized, therefore, that they must henceforth direct the policy of the government in all questions affecting their peculiar interests, or their section would undergo a social and economic revolution.
Source:
Although the cultivation of new lands contributed to overproduction and falling prices, the Southern cotton planters blamed their misfortunes on the tariff, which by raising the cost of manufactured goods tended to depress the foreign market for their own staple. In South Carolina, men talked ominously of calculating the value of the union. The very high Tariff of 1828 drove the cotton states to the verge of rebellion. Calhoun had turned against the tariff after 1824, but Jackson's position was equivocal. To advise the incoming president of what the South expected of him, the South Carolina legislature asked Calhoun to prepare a report. The resulting document, known as the South Carolina Exposition (1828), was the first explicit statement of Calhoun's unique political philosophy.
Source:
The tariff of 1828 exasperated the divisions between North and South. Many southerners led by Calhoun began to talk abut the right of states to secede. On January 25th Rober Y. Hayne of South Carolina gave a stirring speech on behalf of state sovereignty. The next day before a packed Senate Senator Daniel Webster gave a stirring speech which ended with Liberty and Union, now and forever.
Source:
The second great period in the tariff history of the United States opens with the Civil War. It is true that the first steps towards a policy of higher protection were taken just before the war began. In the session of 1860-61, immediately preceding the outbreak of the conflict, the Morrill Tariff Act was passed by the Republican party, then in control because the defection of Southern members of Congress had already begun. It substituted specific duties for the ad valorem duties of 1846 and 1857, and made some other changes of significance, as in the higher duties upon iron and steel. Nevertheless, the advances then made were of little importance as compared with the far-reaching increases of duty during the Civil War. These formed part of the general resort to every possible fiscal device.
Source:
The administration welcomed the change of heart, and Jackson threw himself into crafting a new tariff bill. Clay finally introduced a bill that offered graduated reductions in the tariffs over ten years–a reckless move that would severely harm the nation's economy a decade later, but for now stood as the best option. The bill soon passed both houses of Congress. Meanwhile, Calhoun had tried and failed to kill the Force Bill, so Jackson signed both bills into law on March 2, 1833. A week later, South Carolina repealed the nullification ordinance. To celebrate, Jackson set off on a long tour of the country in the spring of 1833, visiting Staten Island and receiving an honorary degree from Harvard University.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
South Carolina