Fighting Words 1 by Warren Bull

Fighting Words 1 by Warren Bull

John C. Calhoun developed and wrote language that hastened the American Civil War. Early in his political career, Calhoun favored expansion of the federal government, supporting tariffs to raise money, a national banking system and improvement in transportation. He served as Vice President in Andrew Jackson’s administration.  However, he discovered that his beliefs made him unpopular throughout the south and especially in his native state of South Carolina. He quietly reversed his position but kept the change to himself.

Without telling the President, in 1828 Calhoun anonymously wrote a pamphlet titled “Exposition and Protest” which passionately criticized a proposed tariff. Calhoun took the position that state “interposition” could block enforcement of federal law. The state would be obliged to obey only if the law were made an amendment to the Constitution by three-fourths of the states. The “concurrent majority”—i.e., the people of a state having veto power over federal actions—would protect minority rights from the possible tyranny of the numerical majority.

Two years later, Calhoun’s argument was echoed by South Carolina Senator Robert Hayne who said secession might be necessary to preserve state and personal rights. South Carolina, fortified by the recent election of many "state nullifiers," formed a convention that denounced the tariff and formally adopted an Ordinance of Nullification declaring the tariffs null and void and forbidding the collection of duties within the boundary of the state. Finally, the ordinance declared that any act of force by Congress against South Carolina would lead to its immediate secession from the union.

Andrew Jackson advised his Secretary of War Lewis Cass to prepare for war, and over the course of a few months, Cass compiled arms and enlisted a militia in preparation to enter South Carolina to enforce the tariff and prevent secession. During his war preparations, Jackson engaged in a national public relations campaign to discredit nullification in the mind of the American public. Jackson gave speeches against nullification that vehemently denounced South Carolina and promoted unionism. Jackson also gave a special speech to Congress asking them to reaffirm his authority to use force to ensure the execution of United States laws, which Congress promptly complied with the request.

Jackson threatened to come to South Carolina and to personally hang everyone who advocated the state leaving the union. He wrote that nullification might be used in support of secession over the issue of slavery in the future.

Only during the crisis did Calhoun tell Jackson about his new political beliefs. The crisis ended when a lower tariff was passed but for the first time, the prospects of secession and Civil War were seriously raised. Although Thomas Jefferson and James Madison had argued that the states should have more power than the federal government, Calhoun developed the language for succession that would be adopted in the future.

In 1832 succession was too radical for other states including Georgia which condemned the action. However, within 30 years the idea took hold and ultimately was used to justify secession.