USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Calhoun, who opposed the federal imposition of the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 and argued that the U.S. Constitution gave states the right to block the enforcement of a federal law. In November 1832 South Carolina adopted the Ordinance of Nullification, declaring the tariffs null, void, and nonbinding in the state.

Detailed explanation-2: -The tariff was so unpopular in the South that it generated threats of secession. John C. Calhoun, Andrew Jackson’s vice president and a native of South Carolina, proposed the theory of nullification, which declared the tariff unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable.

Detailed explanation-3: -Vice President John C. Calhoun of South Carolina published the South Carolina Exposition and Protest, responding to the 1828 tariff and setting forth arguments in favor of state nullification of federal laws.

Detailed explanation-4: -What was John C. Calhoun’s nullification theory as set forth in “The South Carolina Exposition"? His theory was that the US Constitution was based on a compact among the sovereign states and so each of the 13 sovereign states had the right to nullify or reject a federal law that it considered unconstitutional.

Detailed explanation-5: -Nullification is the constitutional theory that individual states can invalidate federal laws or judicial decisions they deem unconstitutional, and it has been controversial since its inception in early American history.