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Columbia Encyclopedia entry: nullification
Nullification, in U.S. history, a doctrine expounded by the advocates of extreme states' rights. It held that states have the right to declare null and void any federal law that they deem unconstitutional. The doctrine was based on the theory that the Union is a voluntary compact of states and that the federal government has no right to exercise powers not specifically assigned to it by the U.S. Constitution. The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions declared (1799) nullification to be the rightful remedy by the states for all unauthorized acts done under the pretext of the Constitution. A closely reasoned reinforcement to the doctrine of nullification was set forth—in response to the tariff of 1828, which favored Northern interests at the expense of the South—by John C. Calhoun in his South Carolina Exposition (1828). The strong pro-Union stand of President Jackson brought forth further remonstrances from Southern leaders. After enactment of the tariff act of 1832 South Carolina called a state convention, which passed (1832) the ordinance of nullification. This ordinance declared the tariff laws null and void, and a series of enactments in South Carolina put the state in a position to resist by force any attempt of the federal government to carry the tariff act into operation. President Jackson in reply dramatically issued a strong proclamation against the nullifiers, and a force bill was introduced into the U.S. Senate to give the President authority to use the armed forces if necessary to execute the laws. Jackson, however, felt that the South had a real grievance and, behind his show of force, encouraged friends of compromise, led by Henry Clay, to prepare a bill that the South would accept. This compromise tariff was rushed through Congress, and after its passage (1833) the South Carolina state convention reassembled and formally rescinded the ordinance nullifying the tariff acts. To preserve its prerogative it adopted a new ordinance nullifying the force bill. But the issue was not pressed further until the election of Abraham Lincoln, when the doctrine of secession was brought to the foreground.

See C. S. Boucher, The Nullification Controversy in South Carolina (1916, repr. 1968); C. M. Wiltse, John C. Calhoun: Nullifier, 1829–1839 (1949); W. W. Freehling, ed., The Nullification Era (1967); M. D. Peterson, Olive Branch and Sword: The Compromise of 1833 (1982).

The Columbia Encyclopedia. Copyright © 2001-09 Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

Columbia Encyclopedia search results: nullification
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  • Pickens, Francis Wilkinson

    Pickens, Francis Wilkinson, 1805–69, American politician, b. Colleton District, S.C.; grandson of Andrew Pickens. A lawyer, he served in the state house of representatives and was an ardent su...

  • Hayne, Robert Young

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  • Poinsett, Joel Roberts

    Poinsett, Joel Roberts, 1779–1851, American diplomat and politician, b. Charleston, S.C. In 1810 he was sent as a special commissioner to South America to investigate political conditions of t...

  • McDuffie, George

    McDuffie, George, 1790–1851, American politician, b. Columbia co., Ga. He was a member of the South Carolina legislature and served (1821–34) in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he qui...

  • Grundy, Felix

    Grundy, Felix, 1777–1840, American political leader, b. Berkeley co., Va. After a successful career in Kentucky, he moved to Nashville, Tenn., where he became a noted criminal lawyer. A member...

  • Legaré, Hugh Swinton

    Legaré, Hugh Swinton, 1797–1843, American lawyer and public official, b. Charleston, S.C. He was admitted to the bar in 1822, served in the South Carolina legislature (1820–22, 1824–30), and w...

  • Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

    Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, in U.S. history, resolutions passed in opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts, which were enacted by the Federalists in 1798. The Jeffersonian Republicans...

  • Calhoun, John Caldwell

    Calhoun, John Caldwell, 1782–1850, American statesman and political philosopher, b. near Abbeville, S.C., grad. Yale, 1804. He was an intellectual giant of political life in his day. Calhoun s...

  • Cass, Lewis

    Cass, Lewis, 1782–1866, American statesman, b. Exeter, N.H. He established (1802) himself as a lawyer in Zanesville, Ohio, became a member (1806) of the state legislature, and was U.S. marshal...

  • Green, Duff

    Green, Duff, 1791–1875, American journalist and politician, b. Woodford co., Ky. After service in the War of 1812, he settled in Missouri, where he became (1824) editor of the St. Louis Enquir...

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