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Taxes on imported goods nearly sparked civil war in 1832 By Parke Pierson
When Andrew Jackson wrested the White House from John Quincy Adams in 1828, Southerners - particularly South Carolinians - breathed a collective sigh of relief. Jackson, the reasoning went, would surely repeal the hated Tariff of 1828.
But it didn't quite work out that way. IronicalJy, the Tariff of 1828, which raised the prices of imported manufactured goods needed by the agrarian South, had been partially crafted before the election by South Carolinian John C. Calhoun, Adams' vice president.
Calhoun believed the tariff bill was packed with measures so odious even to New England manufacturers that Congress would vote it down. Adams would take the blame, and Jackson, a Democrat like Calhoun, would become president.
But the tariff passed, and Adams signed it into law - losing in the process the Southern political support that helped elect Jackson.