One of the first crises to test the stability of the American Union came shortly after the nation had celebrated fifty years of existence. On December 19, 1828, Vice President John C. Calhoun wrote the "South Carolina Exposition and Protest", a document protesting the Tariff of 1828. At the time Calhoun was Vice-President under John Quincy Adams, but he would continue in that role under the next President, Andrew Jackson. He would also threaten to break up the union.

The document was a protest against the Tariff of 1828, which its critics called the "Tariff of Abominations". Calhoun's protest stated that if the tariff was not repealed, South Carolina would secede. It stated also Calhoun's Doctrine of nullification, i.e., the idea that a state has the right to reject federal law, a concept first introduced by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in their Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.

Calhoun argued that the tariff of 1828 was unconstitutional because it favored manufacturing over commerce and agriculture. The tariff power, he argued, could only be used to generate revenue, not to provide protection from foreign competition for American industries. He believed that the people of a state or several states, acting in a democratically elected convention, had the retained power to veto any act of the federal government which violated the Constitution.

On December 19, 1828, the report was presented to the South Carolina State House of Representatives, which had five thousand copies of it printed and distributed. Calhoun, who still had designs on succeeding Jackson as president, was not identified as the author but word on this soon leaked out. When Jackson took office in March of 1829, the issue put a huge strain on the relationship between President and Vice-President.

The relationship between Jackson and Calhoun was further strained when the Vice President's wife, Floride Calhoun, led several other Cabinet members and their wives in the social ostracism of Secretary of War John H. Eaton and his wife, Margaret O'Neill Eaton in what became known as the Petticoat affair. Martin Van Buren also resigning as Secretary of State, but he played a leading role in the new unofficial cabinet. At the next Democratic National Convention, Calhoun and Jackson broke apart politically from one another, and Van Buren replaced Calhoun as Jackson's running mate in the 1832 presidential election.

In an incident at the April 13, 1830, Jefferson Day dinner, involving after-dinner toasts, Robert Hayne began by toasting to "The Union of the States, and the Sovereignty of the States." Jackson then rose, and in a booming voice added "Our federal Union: It must be preserved!" – a clear challenge to Calhoun. Calhoun clarified his position by responding "The Union: Next to our Liberty, the most dear!

On July 14, 1832, after Calhoun had resigned his office in order to run for the Senate where he could more effectively defend nullification, Jackson signed into law the Tariff of 1832. This compromise tariff received the support of most northerners and half of the southerners in Congress. The reductions were too little for South Carolina, and in November 1832 a state convention declared that the tariffs of both 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and unenforceable in South Carolina after February 1, 1833.

Military preparations to resist anticipated federal enforcement were initiated by South Carolina. In late February a Force Bill was passed, authorizing the President to use military forces against South Carolina. But in the end, the crisis was averted not by Jackson's show of force, but by a compromise brought about by an enemy of Jackson's (though some argue that Jackson's show of force made southerners more willing to compromise.)

Jackson had defeated Henry Clay in the presidential election in 1832. Clay was no ally of Jackson's and he was concerned that Jackson was determined to kill protectionism. In February of 1833, after consulting with manufacturers and sugar plantation owners in Louisiana (who favored protection for the sugar industry), Clay began work on a compromise plan. He took the nullifiers up on their offer of a transition period, though he extended it from seven and a half years to nine years. Clay secretly negotiated with Calhoun through an intermediary and later the two men met privately at Clay’s boardinghouse.

Clay introduced the negotiated tariff bill on February 12, and it was referred to a select committee consisting of Clay as chairman, Felix Grundy of Tennessee, George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania, William Cabell Rives of Virginia, Webster, John M. Clayton of Delaware, and Calhoun. On February 21 the committee reported a bill to the floor of the Senate, with few changes to the bill proposed by Clay. Under the bill, the Tariff of 1832 would continue except that all rates above 20% would be reduced by one tenth every two years with the final reductions back to 20% coming in 1842. The bill allowed for raising the tariff if national interests demanded it.

In his February 25 speech ending the debate on the tariff, Clay secured support from Calhoun and other southerners by condemning Jackson's Proclamation to South Carolina as inflammatory. He said that the Force Bill was too severe a measure (though necessary if nullification took place.) He praised the Compromise Tariff as the final measure to restore balance, promote the rule of law, and avoid the damage (which he described as "sacked cities, desolated fields,and smoking ruins") that he said would result from the failure to reach a compromise bill. The House passed the Compromise Tariff by 119-85 and the Force Bill by 149-48. In the Senate the tariff passed 29-16 and the Force bill by 32-1 with many opponents of it walking out rather than voting for it.

Calhoun immediately returned to Charleston with the news of the final compromise. The Nullification Convention met again on March 11. It repealed the November Nullification Ordinance, though in what it called "a purely symbolic gesture", it nullified the Force Bill. The nullifiers claimed victory on the tariff issue, even though they had made concessions. While the crisis was averted, many believe that it only kicked the problem down the road and fueled the resentment that would later lead to civil war.

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