History Homework Help- Nullification Crisis?

Question

Hi i am studying the Nullification Crisis in my History class. Here is my question: (and all help is very much welcome and appreciated, but please dont leave rude or mean comments or answers here, please!! thanks everyone very much!!)

Why did S. Carolina (and all the southern states, actually) oppose high tariffs so much? What states actually supported the high tariffs? (i think the answers the northern/new england states b/c they protected trading, but i could be wrong..)? What did the Nullification Crisis indicate about the relationship between the North and South in the late 1820s and into the 1830s? What was the significance of the Nullification Crisis (i know it drove a wedge between jackson and calhoun, as well as the north and south, but what else?)?

thanks!!

Answer 1

1.) The southern states opposed high tariffs, because it increased the cost of overseas goods (which they often bought), and didn't help them, since they weren't industrializing. Also, when nations increase tariffs, affected nations often reciprocate - and if the countries that bought Southern agricultural goods raise tariffs, it hurts the Southern states again.

2.) The nullification crisis showed the cultural and economic differences between the North and South, which can actually be well summed up by the differences between Hamilton and Jefferson. Hamilton (and the North) wanted industrialization and improvement in public works and infrastructure. They were largely involved in trade and commerce. Jefferson envisioned the US as an agrarian utopia, and did not want to see massive industrialization. The South reflected this in many ways - until after the Civil War, there was never heavy investment in infrastructure (especially railroads) or industry.

3.) The Nullification Crisis helped not only drive a wedge between Jefferson and Calhoun, but also ensured that a robust minority part would develop (the Whigs). The failure of the states to nullify the tariff also reinforced the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, and increased general dissatisfaction in the South.

Answer 2

Nullification was the act of a state declaring a federal law would not be followed if it interfered with the state's activity, that the federal law would not be followed. Andrew Jackson issued his own Nullification Proclamation denying any state's right to nullify federal laws. This question of nullification had been brewing since the Constitution was ratified in 1786. The South decided to secede from the Union in order to keep it's cultural and economic base of slavery in effect. The North was bent on ending slavery by abolition (the abolishing of slavery).