

NULLIFICATION. 



declared thai the several acts of Congrow imposing ! (ion of this ordinance tli~ convention issued an address 

 MM iport for the pr. I ilomestic to the w-\eral States of the 1'nion setting forth its 



1 action and the grounds on which it was based. 



(tu I tec. In. ls:;:>. Pres. Jackson issued a proclama- 



duties upon import* tor the u 

 msAO&rtum are deliberate and highly d > 



oppressive- 



ustitiitiun. and t)i:i( il 



any State su.Ti-riiii: thereby. after iill 

 is lost, to iui. ij in it- nmnjq 



u the ru'ht of 



hope of redrew , 



capacity f.r iho purpose of arresting the progress of 



the cvii< ihi~4.iiom.-d by such unconstitutional acts. 



On June 14. IS32, Pres. Jack^-m .sent a letter to 

 citueos of Cli irl.i":i. by whom In- had been invited 

 to unite with them in com mem or.it ing independence 

 ih the fiiMiiiiir <th of July. Tlii* letter \y;is mild and 

 "ii-ili.itory in its general tone, but contained the fol- 

 lowing MnUnot*. that was tin- only expression contained 

 in it that indicated the ini.-n ! 1 attitude of the admin- 

 istration. He says, speaking of the circumstances that 

 should be weighed in the existing state of affairs . 

 " But he should also see that high and Hand duties. 

 which must and will at all hazards be performed, 

 present an insuperable barrier to the success of any 

 plan of disorganization, by wli.it.-.' r patriotic name it 

 may be decorated, or whatever high feelings may be 

 arrayed in support of it" On Dec. 17, 1831. the 

 Legislature of .South Carolina declared that the letter 

 fs. Jackson was to be re-'irl.' I as an official 

 utterance, and, as such, "is an unauthorized irAerfer- 

 cnce in the affairs of this State : that the principles 

 advanced in it are incompatible with the Constitution, 

 and subversive of the rights of the State: that tin; 

 threatened course of executive conduct would, if acted 

 upon, destroy the liberties of the country, and as a 

 threat is a dangerous precedent, highly repulsive to the 

 feelings of a free people." The report on which this 

 action was based distinctly i-- i;n - the ground that a 

 State has the right to withdraw from the Union, and 

 is the sole judge of the ^luvieticy of the ground for so 

 doing, this right being stated as inherent in the com- 

 pact of the States. 



Congress, in 1832, repealed the act of 1828 ami re- 

 adjusted a tariff of duties, to take effect from .March 

 3, 1833. 



On Oct. 26, 1832, tin- l/Vislature of South Carolina 

 called* convention of t!i<- St u<> to take into considera- 

 tion the acts of Congress imposing duties on fop i-n 

 im|K>rts for the p_rotecti'>n of domestic manufactures. 

 to determine their character and means of redress ; 

 also any amendment of, or substitute for, such arts 

 that Congress may enact ; also all laws for executing 

 and enforcing tin- >M . 



The convention m-t. and on Nov. 24, 1832, adopted 

 an ordinance " to nullify certain acts of the Congress 

 of the United States purporting to be laws laying 

 duties and imposts on the importation of foreign com- 

 ui lities." After reiMtin.s; that the object of these 

 laws was for the protection of domestic manufacture^ 

 and characterizing them as oppressive and unronstitu- 

 tioml. it di-clare* that the acts of I82S and !-' arc 

 uti.iuthorized by the Constitution and are null and void, 

 with all obligations, acts, and judicial proceedings 

 tamUfhf tlieir cnforivnicnt. It declares unlawful 

 any attempt to enforce the collection of such duties by 

 any officer of the State or of the United States, and 

 upon the Legislature the passage of acts to 

 enforce this ordinance. It declares that there shall be 

 no appeal from any judgment denying the validity of 

 such acts of Congress, and that no record in any such 

 case shall be transmitted to the appellate court, but 

 the courts of the State shall proceed to execute any 

 .u -h judgment notwithstanding any such appeals, and 

 the taking of such an appeal Khali be regarded as a 

 contempt of the court. It further requires an oath to 

 il|i|x>rt tlii- ordinance to be taken by all public officers 

 and Jurors. Finally, it doc-lares that if any attempt 

 should be m id.- bv the federal government to coerce 

 the State, they will bold themselves absolved from all 

 further oUfBUOM to maintain or preserve their polit- 

 ical connection with the people of the other States, but 

 will organise a separate government. Upon the adop- 



tion reciting the ordinance of South Carolina and the 

 grounds on which it was placed, and characterizing it 

 as an act of nullification and secession, and declan -d it 

 uuconstitiitional. He states that as the opposition to 

 the laws Lad clothed it.sclf with State authority, an 

 exposition of the views of the administration was ap- 

 propriate, lie holds that the onlv appeals from the 

 action of Congress, recognized by Hie Constitution, are 

 t'j the judiciary, the people, and the State.", and that 

 as the Constitution is the supreme law of the land no 

 State can annul a law. He claims that the declaration 

 that the law was intended for the protection of domes- 

 tic manufactures, and therefore was unconstitutional, 

 goes to the motives that prompted the law and not to 

 the authority by which it was passed, and is a danger- 

 ous construction. He holds that tlic government of 

 the United States is a national government, and not 

 merely a league ; that to the extent of the grant of 

 power to Congress th States parted with their sov- 

 ereignty, and tho allegiance or their ci'izens was, to 

 that extent, transferred to the national government. 

 ' "rts the ;>eoplc of South Carolina to yield obe- 

 dience to the law, and finally declares his determina- 

 tion ''to execute tha laws, to preserve the Union by 

 all constitutional means, to arrest, if possible, by mod- 

 erate and firm measures, the necessity of a resort to 

 force." He says that he would not unnecessarily 

 cause the shedding of blood. This masterly document, 

 issued in the name and by the authority of the Presi- 

 dent, was prepared by his secretary of state, Edward 

 Livingston. 



OnDec. 17, 1832, the Legislature of South Carolina 

 directed tho governor, in view of the President's proc- 

 lamation, to issue his proclamation to the people of the 

 State, warning them against the "attempt of the 

 President of the United States to seduce them from 

 their allegiance," and exhorting them "to disregard 

 his vain menaces," and calls upon them to protect the 

 liberty of the State. This proclamation was issued 

 Dec. 21, 1832. On Dec. 20, 1832, an act was passed 

 to carry into effect the ordinance, providing judicial 

 remedies for the recovery of goods seized or held for 

 the payment of duties imposed by the act of Congress, 

 and on the same day one was passed regulating the 

 taking of the oath called for by the ordinance. 



Virginia responded to the address of the convention 

 of South Carolina, communicating her views through 

 a commissioner sent to that State. Virginia, while 

 holding to the general doctrines propounded and acted 

 upon by South Carolina, did not approve of the adop- 

 tion of the ordinance, and advised its repeal. 



On March 2, 1833, Congress amended the act of 

 1832, by the Compromise act, the main feature of 

 which was the reduction of the duties imposed by that 

 act where such duties were in excess oflN percent, ad 

 i-'ilni-i nt. to that amount, by a gradual process, that 

 should not be com | 'let c' until the year 1S42. This act 

 was followed on the next day by the Force act, by 

 which the I'rc-ident was authorized to remove any 

 custom-houses, where obstruction existed to the en- 

 forcement of the revenue laws, to_ some convenient 

 place where the collector must remain, and to use the 

 military f " 56 * sec""' l'ie collection of duties at such 

 place. This act also increased the judicial authority 

 of the courts of the United States in revenue cases. 



On .March 15, 1833, the convention, which had been 

 reconvened, passed an ordinance reciting the act of 

 March 2, 1833, and repealing the ordinance of nullifica- 

 tion and secession, and <m March 18 adopted an ordi- 

 nance declaring null the act of Congress known as 

 the Force net, which la-t measure was followed by an 

 act of the Legislature to carry into effect such annulling 

 ordinance. The repeal of the ordinance of nullifica- 

 tion, aimed at the acts imposing duties, left those acts 



