Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Virginia's Response To Nullification 1832-33, Robert Lawrence Musick Jr.

Honors Theses

The year 1832 found the United States in the midst of acute internal turmoil. Plagued by numerous and various problems, the Union felt its bonds strained to the bursting point. A serious rupture between the states and the federal government seemed imminent.

Congress in 1828 had enacted a tariff, known in the South as the Tariff of Abominations, which boosted the duties on certain manufactured goods and raw materials from about 37 per cent to 45 per cent. An effort by the South was made in 1832 to reduce this onerous burden. However, the new tariff law fell far short …