Ch.12, Sec.3 – Conflicts Over States’ Rights

1. Rising Sectional Differences Ch.12, Sec.3 – Conflicts Over States’ Rights - Jackson dealt with economic conflicts between the United States’ three main areas: the Northeast, the South, & the West • the economic problems were: • 1. the sale of public lands • 2. internal improvements • 3. tariffs - Northeasterners did not want the federal government selling new lands for cheap prices because it would attract workers who were needed in their factories

2. Ch.12, Sec.3 – Conflicts Over States’ Rights - Westerners wanted the land sold cheaply so more people would settle there, giving the areas more political power - business leaders in the Northeast & West backed government spending on internal improvements (roads & canals) - Southerners opposed these improvements because the government got its funding for these projects through tariffs, which were taxes on imported goods - tariffs were the government’s main source of income

3. Ch.12, Sec.3 – Conflicts Over States’ Rights - Northerners supported high tariffs because they made imported goods more expensive than American-made goods - Southerners did not support tariffs because its economy depended on foreign trade • Tariff Abominations - before John Quincy Adams left office, he passed a tariff act which enraged Southerners and cost them money at the expense of the Northerners who were unaffected - Southerners called the act the Tariff of Abominations

4. Ch.12, Sec.3 – Conflicts Over States’ Rights

5. Crisis over Nullification Ch.12, Sec.3 – Conflicts Over States’ Rights - South Carolina was hit hard by the tariff and there was talk of them leaving the Union - John C. Calhoun, Jackson’s vice-president, came up with the doctrine of nullification, which granted states the right to nullify federal laws they deemed as unconstitutional - many political leaders felt that freedom and a unified country went hand in hand, so the doctrine went against their beliefs - John C. Calhoun & Andrew Jackson became political enemies

6. South Carolina Threatens to Secede Ch.12, Sec.3 – Conflicts Over States’ Rights - South Carolina threatened to secede from the Union if the tariffs were collected by the federal government - When Jackson won re-election in 1832, he threatened the South Carolina congressmen with military force if they didn’t obey federal laws