Presidents and Economics: John Quincy Adams and the Tariff of Abominations
John Quincy Adams is generally regarded as an excellent diplomat and an outstanding abolitionist but not a great president. That's not an altogether fair assessment. It's true that Adams did not enjoy universal respect due to the manner in which he became president. (He finished second in the popular vote and electoral college, but since no candidate had a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives decided the outcome.) Adams was stymied by a Congress controlled by his political enemies. His lack of doling out patronage appointments didn't win him any friends either. But as president, Adams made some strides in modernizing the American economy and promoting education. He also succeeded in paying off much of the national debt.
During his term in office, Adams' goal was to transform the United States into a world power. He used a high tariff on imported goods to obtain revenue to support internal improvements such as road-building. He promoted the need for a national bank to support industry and he saw the need for a national currency. In his first annual message to Congress, Adams presented an ambitious program for modernization that included roads, canals, a national university, an astronomical observatory, and other initiatives. His proposals met with opposition, mainly from the supporters of Andrew Jackson, who believed that Adams had stolen the presidency from Jackson by means of a "corrupt bargain" with Henry Clay.
Some of Adams' proposals were adopted. Cumberland Road was extended into Ohio with surveys for its continuation west to St. Louis. Construction of a number of canals was begin including the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and the Louisville and Portland Canal around the falls of the Ohio, as well as the connection of a canal from the Great Lakes to the Ohio River system in Ohio and Indiana and the enlargement and rebuilding of the Dismal Swamp Canal in North Carolina.
The imposition of protective tariffs was a politically divisive issue. Henry Clay, Adams' Secretary of State, was a leading advocate. In his last year in office, Adams signed into law the Tariff of 1828, known to its critics as the "Tariff of Abominations." The major goal of the tariff was to protect industries in the north which were being driven out of business by low-priced imported goods. The South, however, was harmed directly by having to pay higher prices on goods which it did not produce. It was also hurt because a reduction in the number of British goods imported into the US made it difficult for the British to pay for the cotton they imported from the South.
The tariff was signed into law by President Adams, even though he realized it could weaken him politically. In the Presidential election of 1828, Andrew Jackson defeated Adams with a popular tally of 647,286 votes (to 508,064 for Adams) and an electoral count of 178 (to 83). The tariff forced the South to buy manufactured goods from U.S. manufacturers, mainly in the North. Despite the sufferings of the South, the US experienced net economic growth with US GDP increasing from $888 million in 1828 to $1.118 billion by 1832 largely due to growth of the Northern manufacturing base.
In the next administration, Vice-President John C. Calhoun strongly opposed the tariff. He anonymously authoring a pamphlet in December 1828 entitled "The South Carolina Exposition and Protest" in which he urged nullification of the tariff within South Carolina. The expectation of southerners was that, with the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828, the tariff would be significantly reduced. When the Jackson administration failed to do so, the most radical faction in South Carolina began to advocate that the state itself declare the tariff null and void within South Carolina. In Washington, an open split on the issue occurred between Jackson and Vice-President Calhoun.
Ultimately, on July 14, 1832, Jackson signed into law the Tariff of 1832 which made some reductions in tariff rates. Calhoun resigned on December 10 of the same year. The reductions were too little for Calhoun and his supporters and on November 1832 South Carolina held a convention which overwhelmingly adopted an ordinance of nullification.
The Nullification Crisis would be resolved in early 1833, but the tariff policy would continue to be a national political issue between the Democratic Party and the newly emerged Whig Party for the next twenty years.
During his term in office, Adams' goal was to transform the United States into a world power. He used a high tariff on imported goods to obtain revenue to support internal improvements such as road-building. He promoted the need for a national bank to support industry and he saw the need for a national currency. In his first annual message to Congress, Adams presented an ambitious program for modernization that included roads, canals, a national university, an astronomical observatory, and other initiatives. His proposals met with opposition, mainly from the supporters of Andrew Jackson, who believed that Adams had stolen the presidency from Jackson by means of a "corrupt bargain" with Henry Clay.
Some of Adams' proposals were adopted. Cumberland Road was extended into Ohio with surveys for its continuation west to St. Louis. Construction of a number of canals was begin including the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and the Louisville and Portland Canal around the falls of the Ohio, as well as the connection of a canal from the Great Lakes to the Ohio River system in Ohio and Indiana and the enlargement and rebuilding of the Dismal Swamp Canal in North Carolina.
The imposition of protective tariffs was a politically divisive issue. Henry Clay, Adams' Secretary of State, was a leading advocate. In his last year in office, Adams signed into law the Tariff of 1828, known to its critics as the "Tariff of Abominations." The major goal of the tariff was to protect industries in the north which were being driven out of business by low-priced imported goods. The South, however, was harmed directly by having to pay higher prices on goods which it did not produce. It was also hurt because a reduction in the number of British goods imported into the US made it difficult for the British to pay for the cotton they imported from the South.
The tariff was signed into law by President Adams, even though he realized it could weaken him politically. In the Presidential election of 1828, Andrew Jackson defeated Adams with a popular tally of 647,286 votes (to 508,064 for Adams) and an electoral count of 178 (to 83). The tariff forced the South to buy manufactured goods from U.S. manufacturers, mainly in the North. Despite the sufferings of the South, the US experienced net economic growth with US GDP increasing from $888 million in 1828 to $1.118 billion by 1832 largely due to growth of the Northern manufacturing base.
In the next administration, Vice-President John C. Calhoun strongly opposed the tariff. He anonymously authoring a pamphlet in December 1828 entitled "The South Carolina Exposition and Protest" in which he urged nullification of the tariff within South Carolina. The expectation of southerners was that, with the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828, the tariff would be significantly reduced. When the Jackson administration failed to do so, the most radical faction in South Carolina began to advocate that the state itself declare the tariff null and void within South Carolina. In Washington, an open split on the issue occurred between Jackson and Vice-President Calhoun.
Ultimately, on July 14, 1832, Jackson signed into law the Tariff of 1832 which made some reductions in tariff rates. Calhoun resigned on December 10 of the same year. The reductions were too little for Calhoun and his supporters and on November 1832 South Carolina held a convention which overwhelmingly adopted an ordinance of nullification.
The Nullification Crisis would be resolved in early 1833, but the tariff policy would continue to be a national political issue between the Democratic Party and the newly emerged Whig Party for the next twenty years.