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Andrew Jackson is one of the best known, most influential, and certainly one of the more controversial presidents in American history. The populist president transformed the way in which presidential campaigns are conducted and championed a number of ideas and causes that were not always successful, but defined his presidency nonetheless and set the course of American history for the following few decades. Most people know about President Jackson’s bank war and his policy of Indian removal, but just as important as those policies was the Nullification Crisis of 1832-1833.
==Which state caused the Nullification Crisis?==The Nullification Crisis was a volatile political situation whereby the state of South Carolina, led largely by Vice President and then -Senator John C. Calhoun, declared the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null and void. As the rhetoric surrounding the controversy heated up, Jackson threatened to use the military on South Carolina to enforce federal law, while South Carolina politicians ordered its state militia to be on guard. The tensions were high, as was the possibility of secession.
Finally, largely due to Senator Henry Clay, a compromise tariff was enacted in 1833 that diffused the situation, but not before the crisis made a great impact on America’s political landscape. The conflict of state’s rights versus unionism made its first showing in what would be the first of many debates leading up to the Civil War. President Jackson’s political capital was damaged by the crisis, but the prospects of his old enemy, Henry Clay, grew as a result of his efforts. Finally, the Nullification Crisis led directly to the formation of the Whig Party.
