USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -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-2: -Andrew Jackson, generally in favor of states’ rights, saw nullification as a threat to the Union. In his view, the federal government derived its power from the people, not from the states, and the federal laws had greater authority than those of the individual states.

Detailed explanation-3: -Although the nullification crisis was ostensibly about South Carolina’s refusal to collect federal tariffs, many historians believe it was actually rooted in growing Southern fears over the movement in the North for the abolition of slavery.

Detailed explanation-4: -Pres. Andrew Jackson regarded the South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification as a clear threat to the federal union and to national authority. He reacted by submitting to Congress a Force Bill authorizing the use of federal troops in South Carolina if necessary to collect tariff duties.