ipl-logo

The Primary Source: Vice President John C. Calhoun

474 Words2 Pages

The historical context for the primary source, “Vice President John C. Calhoun Argues That Tariffs Disadvantage the South, 1828," is Vice President John C. Calhoun's speech in 1828, where he argues against the tariff system and its negative impact on the Southern states. The speech was likely delivered in a political setting, such as a congressional session or a public gathering, where Calhoun expressed his views on the tariff policy. Vice President John C. Calhoun criticizes tariffs, saying they hurt the South's agricultural economy while benefiting the North's manufacturing industries. He argues that this system favors some regions over others, “So partial are the effects of the system, that its burdens are exclusively on one side, and the …show more content…

The primary source is a speech delivered by Daniel Webster in response to Robert Hayne, a senator from South Carolina, during a debate in the United States Senate in January 1830. The debate centered around the issue of nullification, which was the idea that individual states had the right to nullify or reject federal laws they deemed unconstitutional within their borders. Webster’s quote, “I understand the honorable gentleman from South Carolina to maintain, that it is a right of the State legislatures to interfere, whenever, in their judgment, this government transcends its constitutional limits, and to arrest the operation of its laws,” (Daniel Webster, p. 247), highlights the central issue of the debate, which is the assertion that state legislatures have the right to nullify federal laws if they believe the government exceeded its constitutional authority. This concept caused a major disagreement between people who believed in states' rights and those who supported a strong central government. Senator Daniel Webster asserts that the United States government is created and answerable to the people, not the State legislatures. He emphasizes the Constitution's supremacy as the people's law, granting them the authority to control and modify the government. Webster concludes that the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, should resolve constitutional disputes, strengthening a centralized government for national

Show More
Related

  • The Constitution Dbq Essay

    763 Words  | 4 Pages

    Yet, to most people at the time the Constitution created an effective central government and federal system, “…Should all the states adopt it, it will be then a government established by the thirteen states of America…, but by the people at large… The existing system has been derived…whereas this is derived from the superior power of the people”(Document 8). James Madison included the statement above in his speech defending the Constitution, for he believed that the Constitution was a document by the people and for the people. What’s more was that he believed the Constitution provided a balance between the states and federal government that no other document had ever did

    Read More

  • The Supreme Court Larry Kramer Summary

    247 Words  | 1 Pages

    This statement from the passage shows that the Supreme Court is depended on to choose what’s right and what’s wrong for us. Secondly, I believe that the Supreme Court is given too much power because the Judicial branch, which includes the Supreme Court, is envisioned as superior than the others. In

    Read More

  • Tariffs In The Northern States: A Case Study

    511 Words  | 3 Pages

    It was clear that there would be far more benefit to the North by these tariffs. He argued that by placing tariffs, the South would be forced to pay more for goods that they themselves didn’t produce and it would also make it difficult for the British to pay the South back for the cotton they imported. The South would have

    Read More

  • Summary Of Federalist No. 78

    1535 Words  | 7 Pages

    In Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton lays out his vision for the Supreme Court of the United States. In this essay, Hamilton explains that the court should function as a “bulwark against majoritarian excesses,” (O’Brien 181) to protect the rights of the minority, from the tyranny of the majority. Hamilton makes the assurance that the court will use separation of powers as a “check” on Congress in order to protect against popular will (O’Brien 22). To accomplish this, the court had to function as an independent body to “safeguard” against “occasional ill humors in the society,” (O’Brien 349) in the event that popular will was harmful to the minority. Conversely, in his opinion for the Marbury v. Madison case, Chief Justice John Marshall

    Read More

  • Why Did Jackson And Calhoun Contribute To The Civil War

    849 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nullification was a controversial constitutional theory started by John C. Calhoun. He came up with the idea because he believed the tariff of 1816 was responsible for fall of South Carolinas economy. When in fact it was the exhausted farm land in the state which had caused the downfall. With his future political dreams resting on how he met this challenge in his home state he developed the theory of nullification. The theory stated that a state can suspend, within its boundaries, a federal law that was thought to be unconstitutional.

    Read More

  • John C Calhoun Political Analysis

    1320 Words  | 6 Pages

    John C. Calhoun John C. Calhoun was a great politician of the 19th century. He strengthened the nation with internal improvements. Mr. Calhoun really wanted to charter a new United States bank t help the money situation and improve the economy. He was very supportive to all these national projects in Congress. John Calhoun was known as a very famous politician and was about to be elected president.

    Read More

  • Supreme In Mcculloch Analysis

    468 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Gibbons, Marshall continues this same logic as he asserts the supremacy of the Federal over the states; Marshall writes, “the acts of congress… are supreme; and the law of the state… must yield to it,” Though the states righters believed the states to win out in conflicts of state and federal shared powers, Marshall, by means of the Constitution, makes it clear that the unified government over the Union is supreme as a body with more widespread will granted by the unified people rather than by the individual state

    Read More

  • Apush Chapter 4 Key Terms

    1081 Words  | 5 Pages

    The new tariff plagued the young nation by added fuel to growing sectional differences. States’ Rights Debate Andrew Jackson taking office in 1829 meant he had was forced to respond to the conflicts over tariffs, the core of dispute was questioning of an individual state’s right disregarding a law passing by the U.S Congress. Nullification Crisis Vice President John C. Calhoun’ s early political career supported a criteria of a strong central government, 1828 was when congress passed Tariff of Abominations, ands Calhoun joined fellow southerners in protests. Economic depression/ previous tariffs severely damaging economy of his home town South Carolina, recovering in 1828, some leader spoke of leaving Union over the issue of tariffs.

    Read More

  • John Calhoun Political Beliefs

    1176 Words  | 5 Pages

    After the War of 1812, Calhoun worked together with other U.S. Congressmen to establish the Second Bank of the United States, a standing army and navy, and also introduced the idea of a permanent road system. In the 1820’s Southerners grew worried that the North was strongly influencing the federal government. The south was anxious that the government would end southern institutions. In 1828, the Tariff of Abominations was passed. The tariff “sought to protect northern and western agricultural products from competition with foreign imports; however, the resulting tax on foreign goods would raise the cost of living in the South and would cut into the profits of New England's industrialists” (http://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/36974).

    Read More

  • John Calhoun Crisis Analysis

    605 Words  | 3 Pages

    By: Abdulaziz Alaskar John C. Calhoun Crisis #3 Dear Citizens of the U.S., I am 100% opposing to the tariffs. The purpose of the Tariffs was to provide protection to Industrialists and Manufacturers in the North, to do that they increased duties on imported foreign goods by the British. The union is helping one part and affecting the other. Us the southerners are being harmed firstly by paying higher prices on goods that we couldn’t produce, and secondly increasing taxes on British imports made it difficult for Britain to pay for the cotton they imported from the South.

    Read More

  • John C. Calhoun's Debate

    696 Words  | 3 Pages

    Calhoun did not do his public promoting committing to federalism on time which was in other words a way of saying that he was late to his promoting committing to federalism. Calhoun wanted to keep his place as a well-known southern leader and get to is political goals that he wanted to complete in life as he as being taken to a future. Calhoun had a new and even more influential bully pulpit for his pro-Southern arguments Calhoun gave a bill to make good things in roads Calhoun offered a bill to make improvement in

    Read More

  • Era Of Good Feelings Dbq Analysis

    776 Words  | 4 Pages

    When Congress issued tariffs on foreign goods, Southerners believed that Congress favored the North since this tariff would benefit them. John Randolph spoke of this issue, arguing that Congress was being unfair since the South was not benefiting from the actions of Congress at all while the North benefited (Doc A). As for political conflict, there was a clear case of factionalism and political rivalry in 1824 (Doc I). With these conflicts amongst the varying factions and political parties, the political tension and sectionalism within America continued to grow. Accusations and anger from the South further separated them from the North, which did not contribute “good feelings” to the country at

    Read More

  • Nullification And Secession Of States During The Civil War

    1002 Words  | 5 Pages

    During the civil war era the nullification and secession in the South was perfectly constitutional. According to the Compact theory, the federal government is only powerful due to the power of the states, therefore, the state’s have a say in the federal government and their rights. The South failed even though secession and nullification was constitutional only because the North had a more powerful army than the South and were able to overpower them. Nullification is a legal theory that a state has the right to invalidate any federal law in which that state deems as unconstitutional.

    Read More

  • Is The Us Constitution A Living Argumentative Essay

    601 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution is the outline our founding fathers created to describe the nature and functions of government. Its first three articles consist of a doctrine of the separation of powers, which divides the federal government into three branches: the legislative, consisting of Congress; the executive, consisting of the President; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. The constitution is meant to govern the federal government while the bill of rights is meant to govern the

    Read More

  • Constitution Guard Against Tyranny Analysis

    882 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The accumulation of all powers… in the same hands, whether one, a few, or many… may be justly pronounced the very definition of tyranny. ”-James Madison. Fifty-five delegates, from the thirteen states, met in Philadelphia in May of 1787 to discuss and revise the Articles of Confederation. The chief executive and the representatives worked to create a frame for what is now our Constitution. The Constitution guarded against tyranny in four ways; Federalism that creates a State and Federal government, Separation of Powers that gives equal power to the three branches, Checks and Balances that create balance in the three branches by checking each other and being checked and the Small States vs the Big States ensures an equal voice for all states no matter what their size.

    Read More

More about The Primary Source: Vice President John C. Calhoun

Open Document