Tariff of 1833

This Act stipulated that import taxes would gradually be cut over the next decade until, by 1842, they matched the levels set in the Tariff of 1816—an average of 20%.

[1] The compromise reductions lasted only two months into their final stage before protectionism was reinstated by the Black Tariff of 1842.

In essence, the South was simultaneously forced to pay more for goods and to face reduced income from sales of raw materials.

[citation needed] In particular, the state of South Carolina vehemently opposed the tariff, leading to the Nullification Crisis.

Jackson issued the Proclamation to the People of South Carolina, in which he called the positions of the nullifiers as "impractical absurdity."

He provided this concise statement of his belief: "I consider, then, the power to annul a law of the United States, assumed by one State, incompatible with the existence of the Union, contradicted expressly by the letter of the Constitution, unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle on which It was founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was formed.

"[4]Jackson went on to warn nullifiers that their actions could lead to war: "But the dictates of a high duty oblige me solemnly to announce that you cannot succeed.

"[5]The state, ready to defend itself from the government, began making military preparations to resist federal enforcement.

Though the exact impact of the Force Act on South Carolina's decision to accept the Tariff of 1833 cannot be measured, undoubtedly, it made fighting for nullification a potentially devastating choice.

Unsurprisingly, the impact of the Black Tariff of 1842 was immediate; as the cost of imports jumped, a sharp decline in international trade occurred in 1843.