Question

Why did Jackson oppose the South California Exposition and Protest?

Answer 1

At the outset of their administration, President Andrew Jackson's disputes with Vice President John C. Calhoun were nothing compared to what would take place on the issue of tariffs. Tariffs, or import tariffs, hurt South Carolina, which was having to cope with low cotton prices and high prices of imported finished products, and was still failing. In 1828, the Tariff of 1828 was approved by Congress before the Jackson-Calhoun ticket was chosen. In response, Calhoun wrote an Exposition and Protest for South Carolina. In the document which he did not sign, Calhoun argued that 'the entire scheme of legislation enforcing duties on imports is unlawful, unequal and repressive, and is designed to corrupt the popular virtue and to ruin the liberty of the land, not the income but the security of one branch of industry at the expense of others.

A year into Jackson's presidency, the contradictions between Jackson and Calhoun started to surface. Up until this point, the views of President Jackson on the topic had remained a secret, but Calhoun was directly in the rights camp of the states. Jackson was invited at a dinner in 1830 to give a toast, which he did, proclaiming the protection of the Union above all else. He was now aware of his views he was against nullification. By promoting independence before unification, Calhoun attempted to respond, but he did nothing and the dilemma remained unsolved for the time being.

By recommending the elimination of tariffs, President Jackson made an attempt to appease the nullifiers. In 1832, Congress passed several reductions, but they were not enough to appease the dissatisfied.

South Carolina held a special convention in 1832, at which they passed an order finding the tariff acts of 1828 and 1832 unconstitutional and requiring that no taxes could be raised. The same year, the legislature of South Carolina named Senator Foot as governor and named John C. Calhoun to replace Governor Foot in the House. Calhoun resigned from the vice president and took his seat in the Senate, upholding South Carolina's nullification stance.