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The South Carolina Exposition and Protest, also known as Calhoun's Exposition, was written in December 1828 by John C. Calhoun, then
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under
John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...
and later under
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
. Calhoun did not formally state his authorship at the time, though it was widely suspected and later confirmed. The document was a protest against the
Tariff of 1828 The Tariff of 1828 was a very high protective tariff that became law in the United States in May 1828. It was a bill designed to not pass Congress because it was seen by free trade supporters as hurting both industry and farming, but surprising ...
, also known as the Tariff of Abominations. It stated also Calhoun's Doctrine of
nullification Nullification may refer to: * Nullification (U.S. Constitution), a legal theory that a state has the right to nullify any federal law deemed unconstitutional with respect to the United States Constitution * Nullification Crisis, the 1832 confront ...
, i.e., the idea that a state has the right to reject federal law, first introduced by
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and
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in their
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were political statements drafted in 1798 and 1799 in which the Kentucky and Virginia legislatures took the position that the federal Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. The resolutions argued ...
.


Background

After the final vote on the Tariff of 1828, the South Carolina congressional delegation held two caucuses, the second at the home of Senator
Robert Y. Hayne Robert Young Hayne (November 10, 1791 – September 24, 1839) was an American lawyer, planter and politician. He served in the United States Senate from 1823 to 1832, as Governor of South Carolina 1832–1834, and as Mayor of Charleston 1836– ...
. They were rebuffed in their efforts to coordinate a united Southern response and focused on how their state, by itself, would react. While many agreed with
George McDuffie George McDuffie (August 10, 1790 – March 11, 1851) was the 55th Governor of South Carolina and a member of the United States Senate. Biography Born of modest means in McDuffie County, Georgia, McDuffie's extraordinary intellect was noticed ...
that tariff policy could lead to secession at some future date, they all agreed that as much as possible the issue should be kept out of the upcoming presidential election. John C. Calhoun, while not at this meeting, served as a moderating influence. He did not feel that the first step in reducing the tariff was to defeat Adams and his supporters in the upcoming election. William C. Preston, on behalf of the
South Carolina General Assembly The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and t ...
asked Calhoun to prepare a report on the present situation of the tariff. Calhoun readily accepted the challenge and in a few weeks time had a 35,000 word draft of what would become his "Exposition and Protest." Fearful that "hotheads" such as McDuffie might force the legislature into taking some drastic action against the federal government, Calhoun aimed for a more measured process:


Document

Calhoun's "Exposition" was completed late in 1828. In it, Calhoun argued that the tariff of 1828 was unconstitutional because it favored manufacturing over commerce and agriculture. The tariff power, he felt, could be used to generate revenue but not to provide protection from foreign competition for American industries. He believed that the people of a state or several states, acting in a democratically elected convention, had the retained power to
veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...
any act of the federal government that violated the Constitution. The veto, the core of the doctrine of nullification, was explained: The report also detailed the specific southern grievances over the tariff that led to the current dissatisfaction."


Impact

On December 19, 1828, the report was presented to the
South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seati ...
, which had five thousand copies of it printed and distributed. The
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had occurred, and John Quincy Adams had been defeated by
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
. Calhoun, who still had designs on succeeding Jackson as president, was not identified as the author but word soon leaked out. The legislature took no action on the report at that time. In 1832, as vice president under Jackson, Calhoun went public with his ideas during the nullification crisis. Both that and the political fallout from the
Petticoat affair The Petticoat affair (also known as the Eaton affair) was a political scandal involving members of President Andrew Jackson's Cabinet and their wives, from 1829 to 1831. Led by Floride Calhoun, wife of Vice President John C. Calhoun, these wo ...
ended friendly relations between Calhoun and Jackson. As a result, Calhoun was replaced as Jackson's running mate in the 1832 election by
Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (Uni ...
. Calhoun resigned the vice presidency in December 1832 to take a seat in the
US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
, where he continued to speak in opposition to the 1828 tariff.


References

{{Wikisource 1828 in the United States Nullification crisis 1828 documents John C. Calhoun