tariff, meaning that it would no longer have any legal effect.

However, President Jackson was fiercely opposed to this move. As Emory Shi points out, he believed that allowing states to pick and choose which federal laws they would follow would lead to chaos and anarchy. So Jackson stood firm against the supporters of nullification, even though many of those in favor had helped get him elected.

Initially, Jackson attempted to craft a political compromise by calling on Congress to reduce tariff rates. However, supporters of nullification were still unsatisfied as tariff rates on British cotton fabric and clothing remained high. In response, nullifiers in South Carolina convened a special convention at which they passed an Ordinance of Nullification that disavowed the supposedly unconstitutional Tariffs of 1828 and 1832.

Jackson responded fiercely. In an open letter to the people of South Carolina, he declared nullification to be an “absurdity,” a “mad product of disunion.” For good measure, he warned them that disunion by armed force was treason and that secession meant civil war.

Jackson took the threat of secession very seriously, as can be seen by his decision to send federal soldiers and a warship to Charleston to protect federal customhouses where tariffs were applied. Jackson further angered supporters of nullification by demanding the authority from Congress to force compliance with federal law. However, Calhoun and the other nullifiers backed down, and a political compromise was reached, thus diffusing a major constitutional crisis that could easily have led to the outbreak of civil war.

The Nullification Crisis began in November of 1832, when South Carolina passed an Ordinance of Nullification, declaring the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null void, prohibiting the collection of the tariffs after February 1, 1833.  After South Carolina nullified the tariff laws, Vice President John C. Calhoun resigned his office and then was chosen to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate.  Andrew Jackson sought increased power from Congress to enforce the tariff law.  In January of 1833 the Force Bill was introduced in Congress that would give the president the power to collect customs duties in South Carolina using the full power of the government if necessary, meaning the use of military power.  This bill went nowhere until a compromise tariff bill was introduced in Congress by Henry Clay which provided for the gradual lowering of the tariff until 1842 when no duty could exceed 20%. Both bills passed Congress and on March 2, 1833, President Jackson signed both.  With the lowering of the tariff and the threat of military action against South Carolina, and with no other southern state backing South Carolina, on March 15, 1833, South Carolina repealed its nullification ordinance.  The nullification crisis came to an end, though 3 days later, to preserve what it felt was the state’s right, it nullified the Force Act.  Though the crisis came to an end, the debate over the right of a state to nullify federal laws continued.

Basically, the nullification crisis was handled because Andrew Jackson acted with a combination of toughness and gentleness.

Andrew Jackson was a Southerner and so his attitude mattered a lot.  When he came out strongly in favor of the national government (and against nullification) it was very important.  He acted very toughly by speaking out against nullification and even threatening military action.

At the same time, though, he was more conciliatory.  He worked to get Congress to reduce the tariff that made the South Carolinians so angry.

So Jackson's combination of toughness and kindness settled the crisis by getting South Carolina to back down.

The Nullification Crisis was brought about by a tariff increase which, in many parts of the South, was called the Tariff of Abominations. The South was more dependent on imports than the North and would have had to pay more for goods. The tariff was raised in order to protect Northern manufacturing interests. South Carolina stated that they would not enforce the tariff and threatened secession. This was important because the most prominent South Carolinian politician of the day, John C. Calhoun, was Andrew Jackson's vice-president.

Jackson saw the threat of secession as a threat to federal authority and he stated that he would personally lead an army into South Carolina in order to enforce federal control. South Carolina backed down from its secession threat when other states did not join in protesting the tariff and secession. This threat to the Union, nearly thirty years before the Civil War, proved that the nation was becoming more sectarian than ever and would soon split unless something was done soon.  

Prior to the Force Bill, President Andrew Jackson responded to the Nullification action of South Carolina by issuing a Nullification Proclamation. In his proclamation, Jackson stated that Nullification of a federal law by a state was:

Incompatible with the existence of the Union, contradicted expressly by the letter of the constitution, unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle for which it was founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was formed

He also told the people of South Carolina that they should not follow false leaders:

The laws of the United States must be executed....Those who told you that you might peaceably prevent their execution deceived you; they could not have been deceived themselves....Their object is disunion

He further stated that any attempt to sever the union by armed force would constitute treason.

Although Jackson did secure a Force Bill from Congress, he did not believe that he needed the blessing of Congress to act;as President he was charged with the responsibility to enforce the law, and this would include the Tariff. He sent troops under the command of General Winfield Scott to South Carolina to enforce the tariff, and armed combat appeared inevitable, as South Carolina Governor Robert Hayne had called up the state militia to resist any federal "invasion." Jackson actually signed the Compromise Tariff proposed by Henry Clay on the same day that he signed the Force Bill, March 2, 1833. South Carolina, in order to give the appearance that it had not backed down, passed a resolution declaring the Force Bill null and void, and the crisis was ended in such a way that both sides to claim to have won.

The Nullification Crisis came about in 1832 after South Carolina declared that the Federal Tariffs signed into law by President Andrew Jackson were unconstitutional.

After the national economy began to fall, South Carolina found itself hardest hit due to tariffs placed by the federal government during the War of 1812. South Carolina convened and declared that all such tariffs were unconstitutional and therefore null inside state boundaries. This was a direct threat to the federal government's power over national issues, and President Jackson responded by first initiating a Force Bill, allowing military action against South Carolina in the event of non-compliance -- this in itself an unprecedented act -- and then, after public outrage led by Presidential hopeful Henry Clay, who also introduced a Compromise Bill to settle the issue, South Carolina repealed their Nullification Act, and the Compromise Bill was passed by Congress.

Jackson's move to military force in the face of this crisis was both decisive and divisive, as it alienated Southern interests while uniting the federal government against state-independence. Ultimately, Jackson's initial refusal to compromise, only mitigated by the populist rhetoric of Henry Clay, was an integral step on the path to the U.S. Civil War.

The nullification crisis that arose during Andrew Jackson’s presidency was a serious challenge that he had to face. The people of South Carolina was very unhappy with the high protective tariff of 1828 because they believed it hurt the South while benefitting the North. John C. Calhoun believed a state should be able to reject a law if it hurts a state or region while helping another state or region. This would violate the Constitution because the Constitution states that federal laws are supreme.

President Jackson had a clear stance on this issue. He said that states couldn’t nullify federal laws. He indicated that the tariff would be enforced throughout the country. When South Carolina threatened to secede over this issue, Jackson indicated there would be a military response by the federal government. President Jackson was not going to just allow South Carolina to secede. Fortunately, a compromise was reached that allowed for a gradual lowering of the tariff over a ten-year period. South Carolina stayed in the Union and the issue was resolved, at least in the short-term.

There are reasons why the nullification crisis was a good thing. Going back to 1798, when the Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, there had constantly been some discussion by some states about the nullification of federal laws. These Acts were aimed at the Democratic-Republican Party. More immigrants were joining the Democratic-Republican Party than the Federalist Party. By passing the Alien Act, it lengthened the amount of time it took for an immigrant to become a citizen. This meant that the immigrants couldn’t vote until they became citizens, which now would have taken more years to occur. It increased the likelihood of the Federalists staying in power. The Sedition Act made it illegal to falsely criticize the government. The South, where the Democratic-Republicans had more power, threatened to nullify these laws. Specifically, the states of Virginia and Kentucky threatened to nullify these laws. Since the laws were repealed, the threat of nullification ended. However, the threat of nullification didn’t go away.

In 1828, the people of South Carolina were outraged by the high tariff that was placed on imported products. Led by John C. Calhoun, South Carolina insisted that it could nullify any federal law that helped one state or region at the expense of another state or region. President Andrew Jackson insisted the tariff would be enforced throughout the country, including South Carolina. President Jackson suggested military force would be used to enforce the tariff, if necessary. While this crisis faded when a compromise was reached gradually lowering the tariff over a ten-year period, President Jackson made it clear that federal laws were supreme and would be enforced. It sent a message that nullification wasn’t acceptable.

While this issue wasn't clearly put to rest until after the Civil War was fought, the nullification crisis reinforced the powerful of the federal government. It also made it clear the federal laws can’t be rejected by individual states. This nullification crisis reinforced the ideas about the federal government and the federal laws that are stated in the Constitution.