Tariff of 1832 Facts

July 14, 1832

Key facts about the Tariff of 1832.

Andrew Jackson, Portrait, Painting

On July 14, 1832, Congress enacted, and President Andrew Jackson approved, a bill entitled An act to alter and amend the several act imposing duties on imports. Commonly known as the Tariff of 1832, the measure reduced or eliminated some protective measures adopted in 1828, but it did not placate firebrands in the South. [Wikimedia Commons]

  • On July 14, 1832, Congress passed An act to alter and amend the several act imposing duties on imports, commonly known as the Tariff of 1832.
  • On July 14, 1832, President Andrew Jackson signed the Tariff of 1832 into law.
  • The Tariff of 1832 did not go far enough to end Southern grievances over the Tariff of 1828.
  • The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Tariff of 1832 by a vote of 132-65. Nearly half (30) of the dissenting votes were cast by Southern representatives.
  • The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Tariff of 1832 by a vote of 32-16. Of the 16 Senators who voted against the tariff, 15 were from the South.
  • At the urging of U.S. Vice-president John C. Calhoun and U.S. Senator Robert Hayne, South Carolina Governor James Hamilton, Jr. called a special session of the state legislature to consider the state’s response to the Tariff of 1832.
  • On October 25, 1832 the South Carolina legislature enacted a measure authorizing a statewide convention to consider a response to the enactment of the Tariff of 1832.
  • On November 24, 1832, by a vote of 136 to 26 the delegates to a South Carolina convention endorsed a proclamation drafted by William Harper entitled, An ordinance to nullify certain acts of the Congress of the United States, purporting to be laws laying duties and imposts on the importation of foreign commodities, more commonly known as the South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification.
  • An ordinance to nullify certain acts of the Congress of the United States, purporting to be laws laying duties and imposts on the importation of foreign commodities, is more commonly known as the South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification.
  • The South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification declared that the Tariff of 1828 and the Tariff of 1832 were unconstitutional and that they were therefore considered to “be held utterly null and void” by the citizens of South Carolina.
  • The South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification declared that South Carolina would secede from the Union if the U.S. government attempted to use military force to enforce the tariffs of 1828 or 1832 in South Carolina.
  • The South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification precipitated a Constitutional crisis that nearly led to warfare.

Citation Information

The following information is provided for citations.

  • Article Title Tariff of 1832 Facts
  • Date July 14, 1832
  • Author
  • Website Name American History Central
  • Access Date December 8, 2023
  • Publisher R.Squared Communications, LLC
  • Original Published Date
  • Date of Last Update December 16, 2022

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