Nullifier Party

The State Rights and Free Trade Party, commonly known as the Nullifier Party, was a political party in Antebellum South Carolina. It was one of two main political parties in South Carolina during the 1830s, alongside the Union Party. The party defended the legal theory of nullification, which held that states could unilaterally declare federal laws unconstitutional. John C. Calhoun anonymously published the South Carolina Exposition and Protest in response to the Tariff of Abominations, which dramatically increased the rate of tax on imported raw materials. The Exposition went beyond the earlier Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in asserting the right of the states to nullify unconstitutional laws. Calhoun claimed that the severe harm done by the tariff to South Carolina's plantation economy justified the step of nullification. Calhoun's ideas were notable for their proslavery emphasis; likeminded contemporaries portrayed the tariff as an abolitionist conspiracy and a vital threat to the planter class. While Calhoun made a formal distinction between nullification and secession, opponents accused him of advocating disunion. Nullifiers outperformed expectations in the 1830 legislative elections, holding the Unionists to narrow majorities in six contested Charleston districts. Local associations were established in every district and parish the following year, largely through the efforts of Calhoun's associate James Hamilton Jr., the manager of the state party. Nullifiers held a more than two-thirds supermajority in the South Carolina General Assembly after the 1832 elections, which were marked by significant political violence. The party was strongest in the South Carolina Lowcountry. In Charleston, Nullifiers drew support from planters outside the economic and political establishment, as well as merchants, brokers, and laborers employed in economic sectors tied to the export trade. New voters after 1830 overwhelmingly favored the Nullifiers, reflecting the party's appeal with young voters. Nullifier control of the legislature was important during...