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"Nullies" vs. Unionists
Led by John C. Calhoun, a majority of South Carolina slaveholders claimed that a state had the right to nullify or veto federal laws and secede from the Union. Nullification and secession, according to Calhoun, were the reserved rights of the states and therefore constitutional. Calhoun’s constitutional theories and the overtly proslavery discourse of the nullifiers laid the political and ideological foundation for southern nationalism. They were known as nullifiers or "nullies", throughout Jackson's first term they aggressively tried to muster the required 2/3 vote for nullification in the South Carolina legislature. Although to their dismay a determined minority of unionists known as "submission men" blocked their desperate attempt. Unlike free traders, who opposed the tariff or protective duties in the interest of all consumers, nullifiers claimed that the tariff hurt the South in particular. And they linked their opposition to the tariff to a proslavery position by arguing that northerners intended to interfere with the institution of slavery by impoverishing the South. Calhoun argued that nullification or state interposition would establish a constitutional precedent that would safeguard the interests of the slaveholding minority in a democratic republic. His theory of nullification i combined the anti-democratic ideals of the Federalists with the states’ rights ideals of the Jeffersonians. Calhoun’s justification of nullification and secession as constitutional rights of the state also went beyond traditional states’ rights doctrine because they were based on an unprecedented idea of absolute state sovereignty. Most old states’ righters, including James Madison, condemned nullification as an unconstitutional theory as it was not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.
Calhoun’s associates in South Carolina, James Hamilton, Robert Hayne, and George McDuffie, formed the States Rights and Free Trade Party to implement nullification after Calhoun’s break with President Andrew Jackson became final. Most of the Calhounites had been nationalists in state politics prior to the tariff controversy. Like Calhoun, their political views went from nationalistic to sectionalistic. Older states’ rights leaders such as William Smith, John Taylor, and David Rogerson Williams helped to form the opposition Union Party, which also contained Jacksonian Democrats such as Joel Poinsett and Benjamin Perry, and unionists such as James L. Petigru. While the nullifiers gained many supporters in the state’s large slavery areas , the base of the Union Party lwas in the nonplantation northwestern parts of the state. In order to call a state convention to nullify the federal tariff laws of 1828 and 1832, nullifiers launched a campaign that emphasized sectionalism, the defense of slavery, and opposition to majority rule. Unionists on the other hand appealed to loyalty to the Union and the American government. The nullifiers gained the upper hand because they had the support of a majority of the slaveholding planter class that dominated the state’s government. Unionists lost to the nullifiers in the state legislature elections of 1832. The nullifiers’ victory allowed them to dominate the General Assembly. Having gained a two-thirds majority in the legislature, nullifiers proceeded to call a convention and put in place an ordinance of nullification.
Led by John C. Calhoun, a majority of South Carolina slaveholders claimed that a state had the right to nullify or veto federal laws and secede from the Union. Nullification and secession, according to Calhoun, were the reserved rights of the states and therefore constitutional. Calhoun’s constitutional theories and the overtly proslavery discourse of the nullifiers laid the political and ideological foundation for southern nationalism. They were known as nullifiers or "nullies", throughout Jackson's first term they aggressively tried to muster the required 2/3 vote for nullification in the South Carolina legislature. Although to their dismay a determined minority of unionists known as "submission men" blocked their desperate attempt. Unlike free traders, who opposed the tariff or protective duties in the interest of all consumers, nullifiers claimed that the tariff hurt the South in particular. And they linked their opposition to the tariff to a proslavery position by arguing that northerners intended to interfere with the institution of slavery by impoverishing the South. Calhoun argued that nullification or state interposition would establish a constitutional precedent that would safeguard the interests of the slaveholding minority in a democratic republic. His theory of nullification i combined the anti-democratic ideals of the Federalists with the states’ rights ideals of the Jeffersonians. Calhoun’s justification of nullification and secession as constitutional rights of the state also went beyond traditional states’ rights doctrine because they were based on an unprecedented idea of absolute state sovereignty. Most old states’ righters, including James Madison, condemned nullification as an unconstitutional theory as it was not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.
Calhoun’s associates in South Carolina, James Hamilton, Robert Hayne, and George McDuffie, formed the States Rights and Free Trade Party to implement nullification after Calhoun’s break with President Andrew Jackson became final. Most of the Calhounites had been nationalists in state politics prior to the tariff controversy. Like Calhoun, their political views went from nationalistic to sectionalistic. Older states’ rights leaders such as William Smith, John Taylor, and David Rogerson Williams helped to form the opposition Union Party, which also contained Jacksonian Democrats such as Joel Poinsett and Benjamin Perry, and unionists such as James L. Petigru. While the nullifiers gained many supporters in the state’s large slavery areas , the base of the Union Party lwas in the nonplantation northwestern parts of the state. In order to call a state convention to nullify the federal tariff laws of 1828 and 1832, nullifiers launched a campaign that emphasized sectionalism, the defense of slavery, and opposition to majority rule. Unionists on the other hand appealed to loyalty to the Union and the American government. The nullifiers gained the upper hand because they had the support of a majority of the slaveholding planter class that dominated the state’s government. Unionists lost to the nullifiers in the state legislature elections of 1832. The nullifiers’ victory allowed them to dominate the General Assembly. Having gained a two-thirds majority in the legislature, nullifiers proceeded to call a convention and put in place an ordinance of nullification.