How does the tariffs affect the southern farmer?

Answer 1

Two ways:

1.) Many goods that the Southern farmers needed to buy were foreign goods. Tariffs on these goods raised prices for these farmers without providing any benefit to them, since they weren't industrializing. Even when there were competing domestic goods, the costs were still higher.

2.) The response of many governments to the US raising tariffs is for them to also raise tariffs on goods that the US exports to them. This lowers the farmers' profit margin on the goods they're raising for export (chiefly - tobacco and cotton).

In effect, the tariffs had 2 negative effects for the farmers, and no positive effects (since they're meant to protect domestic industries, which the South didn't have much of).