Changes

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.

== Why did Democrats support tariffs on wool, hemp, and pig iron? ==

In order to understand how the Nullification Crisis became such an important part of American history, the idea of government spending, tariffs, and how the future of the country was envisioned in the early nineteenth century must be understood. Speaker of the House and one of the leaders of the National Republican Party, Henry Clay of Kentucky, envisioned a grand idea whereby the United States would be modernized through a series of programs and projects, which he termed “The American System.”

The compromise satisfied most of the national Nullifiers, but something was needed to appease Webster, Jackson, and the Unionists, so a “Force Bill” was attached to the tariff that authorized the use of force to collect the duties if need be. Although the compromise tariff had the votes to go through Congress, it ultimately came down to how the state Nullifiers in South Carolina viewed it. On March 11, 1832, the Nullifiers held another convention where they voted to accept the compromise. <ref> Ellis, p. 176</ref> The crisis had been averted, but immense political damage had been done.

== What was the Impact of the Nullification Crisis? ==

[[File: Clay_portrait.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|250px|Henry Clay (1777-1852)]]

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{{Contributors}}

[[Category: United States History]] [[Category: Jacksonian America]] [[Category:Wikis]]

[[Category: Antebellum History]] [[Category: 19th Century History]] [[Category: Political History]]