From: Jennifer Morrone
Date: 3/21/00
Time: 11:31:39 AM
Remote Name: 155.247.244.77
Martin Van Buren was a Senator from New York whom later became Secretary of State, minister to England, Vice President to Jackson, and eventually President. President Jackson was writing to Van Buren on behalf of South Carolina's fear of federal power. S.C. had a commitment to preserving slavery and feared the federal government would end it. They also had another grievance, the protective tariff. They favored the right of the state to veto power over federal actions they viewed contrary to their interests. Tariffs increased the prices that southern agriculturists paid for manufactured goods and threatened to undermine their foreign markets by creating counterprotection. Vice President Calhoun took the Southerners side. Van Buren sided with President Jackson. Jackson usually stood for state's rights and strict interpretation of the Constitution, but he opposed the theory of nullification and saw it as a threat to the survival of the Union. He thought federal power should be held state. If there was a federal law that did not agree with the state they, wanted power to set aside federal law. in check, but this did not mean the states were truly sovereign. Jackson was characterized as being decisive. Being a man of military background, he would not permit the nation's disintegration at the hands of "domestic dissent". In the instance of the South he alerted the secretary of war to prepare for possible military action and issued a statement denouncing nullification as being treason against the Union. But he also wanted to stay in accordance with Congress as not to be labeled a tyrant. The letter tells of the rivalry between the states and the federal government for power. The states had full power over its citizens before the constitution was written. When the federal government was created many states had a hard time giving up the authority. They wanted the right to govern themselves as they saw fit for their individual state. They wanted power to put aside any federal law that did not agree with their own.