Tariff Dbq

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Tariffs are a crucial part of America’s history, as they are necessary for a society to run because the revenue gained from duties help fund a variety of things, such as education, technology, health care, defense, national debt, and the list goes on. However, taxes have been debated on whether or not it is constitutional because people claim that the taxes do not represent the people. Investing in tariffs do grant Americans benefits, but on the contrary, forcing too many duties causes economic issues, which causes anger amongst the citizens. Such is the case in the Nullification Crisis, where John Quincy Adams issued a protective tariff protecting the southern economy from British competition. While the Tariff of 1828 did accomplish its given …show more content…

The tariff succeeds in doing its job, “...however, the resulting tax on foreign goods would raise the cost of living in the south and cuts into the profit of New England industrialists” (Excerpts taken from the History House). The South becomes furious as a result because the duties took its toll on the economy. Furthermore, the tariff was essentially pointless because cotton exports were one of the least competitive areas of trade, as the South was the leading exporters of cotton at the time. However, despite the tariff being useless, it remained and was in full effect. In fact, the government declared that “...it shall be the duty of the collector to reside at such a place, and there to detain all vessels and cargoes arriving in the said district until duties imposed…by law... be paid in cash” (Excerpts from the Library of Congress). Tensions between tax collectors and the citizens grew, and eventually, the South refused to pay the duties and attacked anyone who attempted to reinforce the duties. This leads to the beginning of the Nullification Crisis, where the South declares nullification on the Tariff of 1828, which they called the Tariff of Abominations due to the depression it brought to the …show more content…

South Carolina debated whether or not they should accept the tariff because they fought to bring the Tariff of Abominations to an end as well as to get the government to stop abusing their powers. This split the South into different factions because half of them wanted complete nullification, whereas some of them was fine with accepting the revised tariff. It was “...an act to alter and amend the several acts imposing duties on imports… one tenth of such excess shall be deducted… from the day of December, one thousand eight hundred and thirty seventh...deducted” (Excerpt from the Library of Congress). Taxes were reduced over time, but still had to be paid regardless because taxes were necessary for society to progress. “...the duties imposed by this act shall remain and continue to be collected” (Excerpts from the Library of Congress). Both sides reconciled and manages to settle on a position they are equally comfortable with. The lowered rates of the tariff reduced living costs in the South, but otherwise tax rates were approachable and less difficult to pay off. While in the middle of their negotiations, the South also nullified the Force Act because they claimed that the use of force in such a manner is unconstitutional and tyrannical. Though it was a petty act that reflects the South’s inflexibility, it was important in

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