South Carolina responded to the Tariff of Abominations by embracing the doctrine of nullification —arguing that a state could declare a federal law null and void within its borders, ultimately issuing an Ordinance of Nullification against the tariff.

South Carolina Responded to the Tariff of Abominations By…

Quick Scoop

The short classroom-style answer:

South Carolina responded to the Tariff of Abominations by threatening nullification and possible secession , eventually calling a convention that declared the federal tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null and void within the state.

In other words, the state did not just complain; it formally rejected the tariff’s authority.

What Was the Tariff of Abominations?

  • In 1828 Congress passed a very high protective tariff that raised duties on many imported goods.
  • Northern manufacturers liked it because it protected their industries, but southern planters hated it because it raised prices and threatened their export-based economy.
  • Southerners, especially in South Carolina, nicknamed it the “Tariff of Abominations” because they saw it as unfair and unconstitutional.

South Carolina’s First Steps: Protest and Theory

Before outright defiance, South Carolina developed an intellectual and political justification:

  • Vice President John C. Calhoun (a South Carolinian) secretly wrote the South Carolina Exposition and Protest in 1828, arguing that states could “nullify” unconstitutional federal laws.
  • This document laid out the idea that a state, as part of a compact with other states, retained the right to interpose itself and block a federal law it judged unconstitutional.

These writings were the ideological groundwork for what followed.

The Concrete Response: Nullification Convention

When the follow-up Tariff of 1832 only slightly reduced rates, South Carolina escalated:

  • The state legislature called a special convention in Columbia in 1832 specifically to address the tariff question.
  • On November 24, 1832, the convention adopted the South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification , declaring the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 “null and void” and nonbinding within South Carolina.
  • The ordinance ordered that after a set date, no tariff duties under those acts could be collected in the state and warned that any federal attempt to enforce them could justify secession.

So in textbook phrasing: South Carolina responded by nullifying the tariff and threatening secession.

The Crisis That Followed

South Carolina’s move triggered the Nullification Crisis :

  • President Andrew Jackson rejected the idea that a state could nullify federal law and proclaimed union and federal supremacy.
  • Congress passed the Force Bill in 1833, authorizing the president to use the military to enforce tariff collection.
  • At the same time, Congress approved the Compromise Tariff of 1833 , gradually lowering rates to ease southern opposition.
  • South Carolina then repealed its nullification of the tariff but symbolically nullified the Force Bill to save face.

Multiple-Choice Style “Correct Answer” Phrases

If you’re studying for a test, the “best” answer to:

“South Carolina responded to the Tariff of Abominations by…”

would usually look like one of these:

  • “calling a state convention and adopting an Ordinance of Nullification against the tariff.”
  • “asserting the doctrine of states’ rights and nullification , declaring the tariff laws null and void within the state.”

Any option that says nullified the tariff / declared it void / threatened secession over it is the historically accurate choice.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.