Tariff of 1832 and Clay's Compromise

<h1>Text Preview</h1> <p> <P>South Carolina stood firm against the Tariff of 1828 with such acts of defiance as lowering the flags to half-mast. These displays made President Jackson realize that intervention was necessary. John C. Calhoun still carried some influence with the president, who at Calhoun’s urging encouraged Congress to enact the Tariff of 1832. This new tariff reduced the rate of the Tariff of 1828. However, producers in the south remained distraught over the high tariffs and resisted this compromise, as well. <BR></P> <P>Again, the nullies asked the South Carolina legislature to nullify the tariff, which would affect the entire union. This time, the legislature agreed. In fact, the legislature went further by choosing Robert Y. Hayne as the new South Carolina governor, selecting Calhoun to fulfill Hayne’s spot in the Senate, and threatening to secede from the Union if the tariffs were not reduced.<BR></P> </p> <p> <P>However, President Jackson was tired of threats from the nullies, and disgusted by the idea that one state could nullify a federal law and secede from the union. His response was firm. He met their challenge by raising an army and sending it to South Carolina. Shortly after his re-election, in his annual message on December 4, 1832, Jackson stated his intention to enforce the tariff, although he too encouraged Congress to reduce the burdensome tariff rates.<BR></P> <P>Jackson followed his speech six days later with the Nullification Proclamation, which further denounced South Carolina’s action. With his army standing ready to enforce the tariff, Jackson called South Carolina’s bluff. He called upon Congress to develop a “Force Bill” to authorize his use of army personnel to enforce the tariff. Existing legislation already granted him that power, but Jackson felt that a new and specific bill would strengthen his case against South Carolina.<BR></P> </p> <p> <P>With South Carolina painted into a corner, Calhoun, who had resigned his vice presidency to lead the nullification cause, pleaded with his old friend Henry Clay to help him draft a solution. Clay, who had been embroiled in the scandals surrounding the 1824 presidential election, responded with a compromise proposal. Under Clay’s plan, the high tariffs that burdened the South would be reduced by ten percent over an eight-year period. The Compromise Tariff of 1833 was passed by a small minority in Congress, but it finally brought about significant tariff change.<BR></P> </p> <p> <P>The new rates were not as low as the Southerners would have liked, but they were more pleased with the compromise than they were with the Force Bill, which they called the “Bloody Bill.” In response, although the South Carolina legislature voted to rescind its nullification of the tariff acts, it also nullified Jackson’s Force Bill. By then the nullification of the Force Bill was a moot point, but it allowed South Carolina to feel a small taste of victory. However, the issues of nullification and succession had stirred the first rumblings that would eventually lead to the Civil War.<BR></P> </p> <p id="TextCopyright">Copyright 2006 The Regents of the University of California and Monterey Institute for Technology and Education</p>