Tariffs, Nullifications, Fugitive Slave Act and States' Rights

Tariffs and Nullifications
      After the War of 1812, a series of protective tariffs were passed by the Congress. The tariff of 1828 was one of these tariffs. The tariff of 1828 taxes imported goods and increased the cost of goods in the U.S. This tax was passed in order to protects industries in the North. The Northerners enjoyed this tax, but the South did not. Southerners felt that Congress had intentionally passed the law to help the North, which they did. The South thought they were being ignored and they were upset that their goods cost more. Because of this tariff, the South did not trust the government and legislature anymore. South Carolina was one of the Southern states that really opposed the new tax. John C. Calhoun, Vice President of the United States, was born in South Carolina and agreed with the thought of canceling the tariff in South Carolina. The nullification of the tariff of 1828 almost caused a war between the legislature and South Carolina. Finally, the Compromise Tariff of 1833 was created. This tariff put an end to disagreements and changed the previously troublesome tariff.
Fugitive Slave Act
     In 1850 the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. This act was in favor of the South because it required citizens to assist in the recovery of fugitive slaves. Federal officials hired people to help find slaves and bring them back to their owners' plantation. Once caught, the owners had to prove the slaves were theirs in court. But the slave could not speak out in court, so if you weren't actually a slave, then you couldn't argue with the whites. The act/law allowed California to enter as a free state and it banned slave trade in the Columbia District. Signs and posters were put up to look for runaway slaves. The closer you found the slave to its home, the less money you would get. Many people were out on the streets, looking for slaves and hoping to get a reward.
      The Fugitive Slave Act inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe to write her famous book, Uncle Tom's Cabin. The book was written on June 5, 1851. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote this novel to explain how the United States needed to give the slaves their freedom and equality. She was so against slavery because she has witnessed it first hand, since her grandmother had had African American servants. Her story inspired slaves to speak up and assisted in the abolition movement. Uncle Tom's Cabin is now a hugely famous book that is viewed and read in every part of the country. The novel forever changed how Americans view slavery.

Slave Rights
     The concept of states' rights was an old idea by 1860. States had little to no rights because the government had all the power for the states. At the start of the civil war, Southern states decided they wanted fair rights and a weak federal government. They believed that they could govern themselves, without the governments help. The South thought that they had the power to cancel the agreement, they had made, to join the new nation. Debates soon broke out about which powers the states had and what the Federal government had. The government was not about to give up power, but the Southern states were not going to have the federal government govern them anymore. All the debates and arguments about states rights were a contribution to the start of the civil war which began in 1861.