South Carolina was a state controlled by slaveholding planters where slaves were a majority of the population, worried that the same federal authority used to impose tariffs might ultimately be used to end slavery. If Congress could create taxes to benefit northern industries, the governor of South Carolina claimed, it could also outlaw slavery.
In November 1832 a South Carolina state convention adopted an ordinance of nullification repudiated two federal tariffs designed to protect the northern industries. In this action against the federal forces, South Carolina stood alone since most of the southern expressed sympathy but none endorsed nullification.
President Andrew Jackson sent federal soldiers to South Carolina, where the nullifies mobilized the state militia. In 1833 the president requested from Congress a "force bill" authorizing him to use the army, and, at the same time, he supported a bill in the Congress that would have lowered tariff duties substantially within two years.
On March 1, 1833, Congress passed the agreement tariff and the force bill, and the next day Jackson signaled both. Both sides were able to claim victory. Jackson had supported the supremacy of the Union, and South Carolina had defended a reduction of the federal tariff.
