Who wrote the
South Carolina Exposition?
The South Carolina Exposition
was written in secret by John C. Calhoun in December 1828. At the
time the South Carolina Exposition was written, John C. Calhoun was
a powerful politician, vice president under John Quincy Adams
with future ambitions to become
president. He would continue his role of vice president under Andrew
Jackson. John C. Calhoun did not publicly admit authorship of the
South Carolina Exposition until 1832, during the
Nullification Crisis, when he
resigned in protest against Jackson's continuing support of the
1828 Tariff of
Abominations.
South Carolina Exposition for kids:
Definition
of
a Tariff
What is a tariff? A Tariff is a tax placed on goods
imported from foreign countries. Tariffs enable a nation
to raise money from these taxes and at the same time
protect a nation's goods from cheaper priced foreign
items - hence the term protective, or protectionist,
tariffs. The 1828 Tariff of Abominations was
the third protective tariff implemented by
the government.
● The
Tariff of 1816 placed a 20-25%
tax on all foreign goods
● The Tariff
of 1824 was the second protective tariff. It raised the duties
still higher. There was 35% duty on imported iron, wool, cotton,
and hemp.
● The Tariff
of 1828 (the Tariff of Abominations) was the third protective
tariff and taxes increased to nearly 50%
The South, being predominantly agricultural and reliant on the North
and foreign countries for manufactured goods, saw this tariff as
damaging to their economy. The Southern states contended that their
livelihoods were being harmed firstly by having to pay higher prices
on goods the South did not produce, and secondly because increased
taxes on British imports made it difficult for Britain to pay for
the cotton they imported from the South.
What was the Purpose of the
South Carolina Exposition?
The purpose of the 1828 South
Carolina Exposition was to introduce a document that reinforced the
principle of Nullification in relation to the series of
protectionist tariffs (taxes) that were passed to give protection to the
Industrialists and manufacturers in the North at the expense of the
South. The South Carolina legislature asked John C. Calhoun to
prepare a report on the tariff situation. His 35,000 word draft
would become his "Exposition and Protest".
However, as John C. Calhoun was Vice-President, and presided
over the debates of the Senate, the ideas contained in the South
Carolina Exposition document were conveyed in a series of speeches
by Senator Robert Hayne of South Carolina.
South Carolina Exposition for kids: The
Doctrine of Nullification
What is Nullification? What does Nullification mean? Definition:
Nullification relates to the act of nullifying, canceling or making
null and void. The principle of Nullification is the term used to
encompass the states' rights doctrine in that a state can
refuse to recognize, or to enforce, a federal law passed by the
United States Congress. Nullification is used as a reason to
counteract or override the effect or force of something and John C.
Calhoun used the Doctrine of Nullification in his 1828 South
Carolina Exposition protesting against the laws passed in relation
to protective tariffs (taxes).
South Carolina Exposition: The Constitution
The South Carolina
Exposition, written by John C. Calhoun in response to the Tariff of
Abominations, contended that
the tariff was unconstitutional. John C. Calhoun's Doctrine of
nullification explained the idea that a state has the right to
reject federal law. This Doctrine (principle) was first
introduced by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in their
1798 and 1799 Virginia
and Kentucky Resolutions. The argument was based on the
belief that:
● The
Constitution was a compact (meaning a formal agreement or
contract) between the states
● It
therefore followed that a state could determine whether any act
of Congress was constitutional or not
● It
therefore followed that any state could refuse to permit an Act
of Congress to be enforced within its limits.
The 1828 South
Carolina Exposition expressed the belief that the Constitution
protected all economies in the union. Article 1, Section 8. Clause 1
of the Constitution states that "The Congress shall have Power To
lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts
and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United
States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform
throughout the United States."
South Carolina Exposition argues the Tariff of 1828
is Unconstitutional
In his South
Carolina Exposition document John C. Calhoun raised the arguments that:
● The 1828
Tariff of Abominations was unconstitutional because it favored
manufacturing over agriculture and commerce
● Tariff
power could only be used to generate revenue, not to provide
protection from foreign competition for U.S. industries
● The people
of a state, or several states, had the power to veto any act of
the federal government which violated the Constitution
The power of
veto was the essence of the Doctrine of Nullification in the South Carolina Exposition.
Calhoun believed the 1828 tariff would bring "poverty and utter
desolation to the South."
Significance and Importance of the
South Carolina Exposition
The
Significance of the South Carolina Exposition was that it caused the
Nullification Crisis bringing the
sectional interests of the North and the South into conflict for the
first time. The
conflicts between the North and South would ultimately lead to
the American Civil war (1861-1865). South Carolina eventually became
First State to Secede from the
Union on December 20th, 1860. This event was one of the
Causes of the Civil War.
Protective Tariffs
For additional facts and a timeline
refer to
Protectionism and Tariffs.
South Carolina
Exposition for kids
The info about the South Carolina
Exposition provides interesting facts and
important information about this important event that occured during the presidency of the 6th President of the United States of America.
South Carolina Exposition - President John Quincy Adams Video
The article on the
South Carolina Exposition provides an overview of one of the Important issues of his presidential term in office. The following
John Quincy Adams video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 6th American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1825 to March 4, 1829.
South Carolina Exposition
●
Facts about the
South Carolina Exposition for kids and schools
●
Facts about the South Carolina Exposition by John C.
Calhoun
●
Definition of the South Carolina Exposition
●
John Quincy Adams Presidency from March 4, 1825 to March 4, 1829
●
Fast, fun, interesting facts about the South Carolina
Exposition
●
Foreign & Domestic
policies of President John Quincy Adams
●
John Quincy Adams Presidency and
the South Carolina Exposition for schools,
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