He was the Nullifier Party's nominee for vice president of the United States in 1832, coming in third place out of four major candidates.

When the textile business dried up, he began importing indigo, iron and sugar and sold salt to the Du Pont Company for the manufacture of munitions.

He dedicated himself to the study of political economy and to the collection of financial and commercial statistics and exchanged correspondences with contemporary British economists such as McCulloch, Tooke, Villiers and Cobden, who considered him an authority.

He was a frequent contributor to the "Free Trade Advocate" and other periodicals and author of the book "Boston Reports" in 1827.

[2] Though his 1830 race was unsuccessful, it gained him further notoriety as a free trade supporter and so when the new Independent Democratic or Nullifier Party, which strongly opposed tariffs, met on November 20, 1832 in Charleston, South Carolina, Lee was well-known voice for the cause.