During the 1820s, a
decade that historians have called "The Age of the Common Man," voting increased
because many states removed property requirements for voting. These changes meant that most
white men could now vote, regardless of their economic status. In addition, several northern
states allowed freed African-American men to vote. Most African-Americans and all women,
however, still could not vote. Voting procedures were also changed so that voting by voice was
replaced by paper ballots; these changes encouraged people to vote the way they wanted and to
feel less pressured to vote in the way their social superiors did. These changes in the
electorate helped Andrew Jackson win the Presidency in 1828.
The
Nullification Crisis of 1832 involved the refusal of South Carolina to pay the Tariff of 1832
(and the earlier Tariff of 1828), which they referred to as "The Tariff of
Abominations." They objected to a high tariff (a tax on imported goods) that made
manufactured goods from Europe very expensive. By stating that they could nullify, or declare
void, a federal law, South Carolina set a dangerous precedent (which had been used earlier by
New Englanders during the Hartford Convention) that southern states would use later during the
outbreak of the Civil War. However, Andrew Jackson passed a Force Bill through Congress in 1833
that authorized the use of force to collect the tariff, and a compromise was reached that
lowered the tariff. As a result, South Carolina, though backed by Jackson's Vice-President, John
Calhoun, relented and paid the tariff.
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