Jackson to The Nullification Crisis

once in office, further controversy * new scandals and personal vendettas * authoritarian tendencies
in the first year alone, he replaced 919 federal officials with campaign supporters * claimed it would reduce corruption, however, it actually increased it * beginning of the “spoils system” as later administrations did the same

1828 import tariffs were passed under Adams * to boost northern manufacturing * hurt southern planters
South Carolina politicians feared the “tariff of abominations” could lead to a direct attack on slavery
John C. Calhoun (Jacksons VP) anonymously wrote “South Carolina Exposition and Protest”, which argued: * US was a compact of states, not people * states were still sovereign * thus, a state could nullify a federal law it considered unconstitutional * if necessary, a state could leave the union
Jackson furious, felt personally betrayed
November 1832, a special convention was held in South Carolina * declared tariffs null and void * threatened secession if federal government attempted enforcement
Jackson immediately responded * threatened to hang Calhoun for treason * 1833 Force Bill authorized the use of military to enforce tariffs * Henry Clay and others broker a compromise deal with Calhoun
legacies: * showed slaveholder power and axiety] * linked states’ rights, slavery and secession * ideas shaped future crises over slavery