TARIFF TROUBLE
North-South Conflict
Do you remember how manufacturing
grew in the Northeastern states during the War of 1812? And how the South kept
its interest in farming? This difference in occupations led to serious trouble
when tariff laws were passed by Congress in 1816, 1824, and 1828. A tariff
is a tax on goods imported from foreign countries. The 1828 tariff raised
the price of imported goods. This meant that people would buy goods made in our
own factories because these products were cheaper than foreign goods.
The tariff laws helped Northeastern manufacturers sell their products; in
the South tariffs encountered opposition. Southerners had to buy much of the
manufactured goods they used, and tariffs made manufactured goods more
expensive. An imported woolen coat, for example, might cost one-half more than
its price before the tariff was added. The 1828 law had pushed the tariff higher
than ever. People in the South angrily called it the "Tariff of
Abominations." (Abomination means something hateful.)
South Carolina Nullifies Tariffs
South Carolina led the South in
opposing the tariff. Its legislature prepared a paper written by John Calhoun,
Vice-President of the United States. This paper stated that when Congress passed
a law that was unfair to a section of the country, individual states could
nullify this law, so that it would not apply to them. Thus, through
nullification, individual states could refuse to carry out laws passed by
Congress.
No further move was made until a new tariff law was passed in 1832.
Then, at a state convention called by the legislature, South Carolina nullified
the tariff laws of 1828 and 1832. State spokesmen declared that they would not
permit the tax to be collected in their state and that if the Federal
Government tried to force South Carolina to adopt the tariff, the state would
secede, or withdraw from the United States.
Jackson Puts the Nation
First
Andrew Jackson, born in the South, understood the feelings of the southerners.
Still, he believed in keeping the nation united. He issued a very important
paper called the "Proclamation to the People of South Carolina." This paper
said that no state could refuse to obey the laws of the land, nor could any
state leave the Union. He asked the secretary of war to alert the forts in
Charleston Harbor. "Old Hickory," as Jackson was called, believed that the laws
of the land must be enforced.
Compromise Tariff
of 1833
Henry Clay of
Kentucky saved the day with a compromise bill that would gradually lower the
tariff over a ten-year period. Congress passed it, and South Carolina was then
willing to withdraw its nullification. Also, the Force Bill was passed, giving
Jackson the power to use our military forces to collect the tariff if
necessary. This satisfied Jackson. Thus, the nation was safe once again, and
South Carolina felt that it had by no means lost the tariff fight. For the time
being, people were content. But the future was to bring even more serious
problems for the North and the South to solve.