MESSAGE ON THE SOUTH CAROLINA PROCEEDINGS.
In his annual message to Congress at the opening of the session
1832-'33, the President had adverted to the proceedings in South
Carolina, hinting at their character as inimical to the Union,
expressing his belief that the action in reducing the duties which
the extinction of the public debt would permit and require, would
put an end to those proceedings; and if they did not, and those
proceedings continued, and the executive government should need
greater powers than it possessed to overcome them, he promised
to make a communication to Congress, showing the state of the
question,--what had been done to compose it,--and asking for the
powers which the exigency demanded. The proceedings not ceasing, and
taking daily a more aggravated form in the organization of troops,
the collection of arms and of munitions of war, and in declarations
hostile to the Union, he found himself required, early in January,
to make the promised communication; and did so in a message to both
Houses, of which the following are the essential parts which belong
to history and posterity:
"Since the date of my last annual message, I have had officially
transmitted to me by the Governor of South Carolina, which I
now communicate to Congress, a copy of the ordinance passed by
the convention which assembled at Columbia, in the State of
South Carolina, in November last, declaring certain acts of
Congress therein mentioned, within the limits of that State,
to be absolutely null and void, and making it the duty of the
legislature to pass such laws as would be necessary to carry the
same into effect from and after the 1st of February next.
"The consequences to which this extraordinary defiance of the
just authority of the government might too surely lead, were
clearly foreseen, and it was impossible for me to hesitate as to
my own duty in such an emergency.
"The ordinance had been passed, however, without any certain
knowledge of the recommendation which, from a view of the
interests of the nation at large, the Executive had determined
to submit to Congress; and a hope was indulged that, by frankly
explaining his sentiments, and the nature of those duties which
the crisis would devolve upon him, the authorities of South
Carolina might be induced to retrace their steps. In this hope,
I determined to issue my proclamation of the 10th of December
last, a copy of which I now lay before Congress.
"I regret to inform you that these reasonable expectations have
not been realized, and that the several acts of the legislature
of South Carolina, which I now lay before you, and which have,
all and each of them, finally passed, after a knowledge of the
desire of the administration to modify the laws complained of,
are too well calculated, both in their positive enactments, and
in the spirit of opposition which they obviously encourage,
wholly to obstruct the collection of the revenue within the
limits of that State.
"Up to this period, neither the recommendation of the Executive
in regard to our financial policy and impost system, nor the
disposition manifested by Congress promptly to act upon that
subject, nor the unequivocal expression of the public will, in
all parts of the Union, appears to have produced any relaxation
in the measures of opposition adopted by the State of South
Carolina; nor is there any reason to hope that the ordinance and
laws will be abandoned.
"I have no knowledge that an attempt has been made, or that it
is in contemplation, to reassemble either the convention or the
legislature; and it will be perceived that the interval before
the 1st of February is too short to admit of the preliminary
steps necessary for that purpose. It appears, moreover, that
the State authorities are actively organizing their military
resources, and providing the means, and giving the most solemn
assurances of protection and support to all who shall enlist in
opposition to the revenue laws.
"A recent proclamation of the present Governor of South Carolina
has openly defied the authority of the Executive of the Union,
and general orders from the head quarters of the State announced
his determination to accept the services of volunteers, and his
belief that, should their country need their services, they will
be found at the post of honor and duty, ready to lay down their
lives in her defence. Under these orders, the forces referred to
are directed to 'hold themselves in readiness to take the field
at a moment's warning;' and in the city of Charleston, within a
collection district and a port of entry, a rendezvous has been
opened for the purpose of enlisting men for the magazine and
municipal guard. Thus, South Carolina presents herself in the
attitude of hostile preparation, and ready even for military
violence, if need be, to enforce her laws for preventing the
collection of the duties within her limits.
"Proceedings thus announced and matured must be distinguished
from menaces of unlawful resistance by irregular bodies of
people, who, acting under temporary delusion, may be restrained
by reflection, and the influence of public opinion, from
the commission of actual outrage. In the present instance,
aggression may be regarded as committed when it is officially
authorized, and the means of enforcing it fully provided.
"Under these circumstances, there can be no doubt that it is
the determination of the authorities of South Carolina fully
to carry into effect their ordinance and laws after the 1st of
February. It therefore becomes my duty to bring the subject
to the serious consideration of Congress, in order that such
measures as they, in their wisdom, may deem fit, shall be
seasonably provided; and that it may be thereby understood that,
while the government is disposed to remove all just cause of
complaint, as far as may be practicable consistently with a
proper regard to the interests of the community at large, it is,
nevertheless, determined that the supremacy of the laws shall be
maintained.
"In making this communication, it appears to me to be proper not
only that I should lay before you the acts and proceedings of
South Carolina, but that I should also fully acquaint you with
those steps which I have already caused to be taken for the
due collection of the revenue, and with my views of the subject
generally, that the suggestions which the constitution requires
me to make, in regard to your future legislation, may be better
understood.
"This subject, having early attracted the anxious attention of
the Executive, as soon as it was probable that the authorities
of South Carolina seriously meditated resistance to the faithful
execution of the revenue laws, it was deemed advisable that
the Secretary of the Treasury should particularly instruct the
officers of the United States, in that part of the Union, as to
the nature of the duties prescribed by the existing laws.
"Instructions were accordingly issued, on the sixth of November,
to the collectors in that State, pointing out their respective
duties, and enjoining upon each a firm and vigilant, but
discreet performance of them in the emergency then apprehended.
"I herewith transmit copies of these instructions, and of the
letter addressed to the district attorney, requesting his
co-operation. These instructions were dictated in the hope that,
as the opposition to the laws, by the anomalous proceeding
of nullification, was represented to be of a pacific nature,
to be pursued, substantially, according to the forms of the
constitution, and without resorting, in any event, to force
or violence, the measures of its advocates would be taken in
conformity with that profession, and, on such supposition, the
means afforded by the existing laws would have been adequate to
meet any emergency likely to arise.
"It was, however, not possible altogether to suppress
apprehension of the excesses to which the excitement prevailing
in that quarter might lead; but it certainly was not foreseen
that the meditated obstruction to the laws would so soon openly
assume its present character.
"Subsequently to the date of those instructions, however, the
ordinance of the convention was passed, which, if complied with
by the people of that State, must effectually render inoperative
the present revenue laws within her limits.
"This solemn denunciation of the laws and authority of the
United States has been followed up by a series of acts, on
the part of the authorities of that State, which manifest a
determination to render inevitable a resort to those measures of
self-defence which the paramount duty of the federal government
requires; but, upon the adoption of which, that State will
proceed to execute the purpose it has avowed in this ordinance,
of withdrawing from the Union.
"On the 27th of November, the legislature assembled at Columbia;
and, on their meeting, the Governor laid before them the
ordinance of the convention. In his message, on that occasion,
he acquaints them that 'this ordinance has thus become a part of
the fundamental law of South Carolina;' that 'the die has been
at last cast, and South Carolina has at length appealed to her
ulterior sovereignty as a member of this confederacy, and has
planted herself on her reserved rights. The rightful exercise of
this power is not a question which we shall any longer argue.
It is sufficient that she has willed it, and that the act is
done; nor is its strict compatibility with our constitutional
obligation to all laws passed by the general government, within
the authorized grants of power, to be drawn in question, when
this interposition is exerted in a case in which the compact
has been palpably, deliberately, and dangerously violated. That
it brings up a conjuncture of deep and momentous interest,
is neither to be concealed nor denied. This crisis presents
a class of duties which is referable to yourselves. You have
been commanded by the people, in their highest sovereignty,
to take care that, within the limits of this State, their
will shall be obeyed.' 'The measure of legislation,' he says,
'which you have to employ at this crisis, is the precise amount
of such enactments as may be necessary to render it utterly
impossible to collect, within our limits, the duties imposed
by the protective tariffs thus nullified.' He proceeds: 'That
you should arm every citizen with a civil process, by which he
may claim, if he pleases, a restitution of his goods, seized
under the existing imposts, on his giving security to abide the
issue of a suit at law, and, at the same time, define what shall
constitute treason against the State, and, by a bill of pains
and penalties, compel obedience, and punish disobedience to your
own laws, are points too obvious to require any discussion. In
one word, you must survey the whole ground. You must look to and
provide for all possible contingencies. In your own limits, your
own courts of judicature must not only be supreme, but you must
look to the ultimate issue of any conflict of jurisdiction and
power between them and the courts of the United States.'
"The Governor also asks for power to grant clearances, in
violation of the laws of the Union; and, to prepare for the
alternative which must happen, unless the United States shall
passively surrender their authority, and the Executive,
disregarding his oath, refrain from executing the laws of
the Union, he recommends a thorough revision of the militia
system, and that the Governor 'be authorized to accept, for
the defence of Charleston and its dependencies, the services
of two thousand volunteers, either by companies or files;' and
that they be formed into a legionary brigade, consisting of
infantry, riflemen, cavalry, field and heavy artillery; and
that they be 'armed and equipped, from the public arsenals,
completely for the field; and that appropriations be made for
supplying all deficiencies in our munitions of war.' In addition
to these volunteer draughts, he recommends that the Governor be
authorized 'to accept the services of ten thousand volunteers
from the other divisions of the State, to be organized and
arranged in regiments and brigades;' the officers to be selected
by the commander-in-chief; and that this whole force be called
the 'State Guard.'
"If these measures cannot be defeated and overcome, by the
power conferred by the constitution on the federal government,
the constitution must be considered as incompetent to its
own defence, the supremacy of the laws is at an end, and the
rights and liberties of the citizens can no longer receive
protection from the government of the Union. They not only
abrogate the acts of Congress, commonly called the tariff
acts of 1828 and 1832, but they prostrate and sweep away, at
once, and without exception, every act, and every part of
every act, imposing any amount whatever of duty on any foreign
merchandise; and, virtually, every existing act which has ever
been passed authorizing the collection of the revenue, including
the act of 1816, and, also, the collection law of 1799, the
constitutionality of which has never been questioned. It is
not only those duties which are charged to have been imposed
for the protection of manufactures that are thereby repealed,
but all others, though laid for the purpose of revenue merely,
and upon articles in no degree suspected of being objects of
protection. The whole revenue system of the United States, in
South Carolina, is obstructed and overthrown; and the government
is absolutely prohibited from collecting any part of the public
revenue within the limits of that State. Henceforth, not only
the citizens of South Carolina and of the United States, but
the subjects of foreign states, may import any description
or quantity of merchandise into the ports of South Carolina,
without the payment of any duty whatsoever. That State is thus
relieved from the payment of any part of the public burdens, and
duties and imposts are not only rendered not uniform throughout
the United States, but a direct and ruinous preference is given
to the ports of that State over those of all the other States of
the Union, in manifest violation of the positive provisions of
the constitution.
"In point of duration, also, those aggressions upon the
authority of Congress, which, by the ordinance, are made part of
the fundamental law of South Carolina, are absolute, indefinite,
and without limitation. They neither prescribe the period when
they shall cease, nor indicate any conditions upon which those
who have thus undertaken to arrest the operation of the laws
are to retrace their steps, and rescind their measures. They
offer to the United States no alternative but unconditional
submission. If the scope of the ordinance is to be received as
the scale of concession, their demands can be satisfied only by
a repeal of the whole system of revenue laws, and by abstaining
from the collection of any duties or imposts whatsoever.
"By these various proceedings, therefore, the State of South
Carolina has forced the general government, unavoidably, to
decide the new and dangerous alternative of permitting a State
to obstruct the execution of the laws within its limits, or
seeing it attempt to execute a threat of withdrawing from
the Union. That portion of the people at present exercising
the authority of the State, solemnly assert their right to do
either, and as solemnly announce their determination to do one
or the other.
"In my opinion, both purposes are to be regarded as
revolutionary in their character and tendency, and subversive
of the supremacy of the laws and of the integrity of the Union.
The result of each is the same; since a State in which, by a
usurpation of power, the constitutional authority of the federal
government is openly defied and set aside, wants only the form
to be independent of the Union.
"The right of the people of a single State to absolve themselves
at will, and without the consent of the other States, from their
most solemn obligations, and hazard the liberties and happiness
of the millions composing this Union, cannot be acknowledged.
Such authority is believed to be utterly repugnant both to the
principles upon which the general government is constituted, and
to the objects which it is expressly formed to attain.
"Against all acts which may be alleged to transcend the
constitutional power of the government, or which may be
inconvenient or oppressive in their operation, the constitution
itself has prescribed the modes of redress. It is the
acknowledged attribute of free institutions, that, under them,
the empire of reason and law is substituted for the power of the
sword. To no other source can appeals for supposed wrongs be
made, consistently with the obligations of South Carolina; to no
other can such appeals be made with safety at any time; and to
their decisions, when constitutionally pronounced, it becomes
the duty, no less of the public authorities than of the people,
in every case to yield a patriotic submission.
"In deciding upon the course which a high sense of duty to all
the people of the United States imposes upon the authorities of
the Union, in this emergency, it cannot be overlooked that there
is no sufficient cause for the acts of South Carolina, or for
her thus placing in jeopardy the happiness of so many millions
of people. Misrule and oppression, to warrant the disruption of
the free institutions of the Union of these States, should be
great and lasting, defying all other remedy. For causes of minor
character, the government could not submit to such a catastrophe
without a violation of its most sacred obligations to the other
States of the Union who have submitted their destiny to its
hands.
"There is, in the present instance, no such cause, either in
the degree of misrule or oppression complained of, or in the
hopelessness of redress by constitutional means. The long
sanction they have received from the proper authorities, and
from the people, not less than the unexampled growth and
increasing prosperity of so many millions of freemen, attest
that no such oppression as would justify or even palliate such
a resort, can be justly imputed either to the present policy
or past measures of the federal government. The same mode of
collecting duties, and for the same general objects, which
began with the foundation of the government, and which has
conducted the country, through its subsequent steps, to its
present enviable condition of happiness and renown, has not been
changed. Taxation and representation, the great principle of the
American Revolution, have continually gone hand in hand; and
at all times, and in every instance, no tax, of any kind, has
been imposed without their participation; and in some instances,
which have been complained of, with the express assent of a part
of the representatives of South Carolina in the councils of the
government. Up to the present period, no revenue has been raised
beyond the necessary wants of the country, and the authorized
expenditures of the government. And as soon as the burden of the
public debt is removed, those charged with the administration
have promptly recommended a corresponding reduction of revenue.
"That this system, thus pursued, has resulted in no such
oppression upon South Carolina, needs no other proof than the
solemn and official declaration of the late Chief Magistrate
of that State, in his address to the legislature. In that he
says, that 'the occurrences of the past year, in connection with
our domestic concerns, are to be reviewed with a sentiment of
fervent gratitude to the Great Disposer of human events; that
tributes of grateful acknowledgment are due for the various
and multiplied blessings he has been pleased to bestow on our
people; that abundant harvests, in every quarter of the State,
have crowned the exertions of agricultural labor; that health,
almost beyond former precedent, has blessed our homes; and that
there is not less reason for thankfulness in surveying our
social condition.' It would, indeed, be difficult to imagine
oppression where, in the social condition of a people, there
was equal cause of thankfulness as for abundant harvests, and
varied and multiplied blessings with which a kind Providence had
favored them.
"Independently of these considerations, it will not escape
observation that South Carolina still claims to be a component
part of the Union, to participate in the national councils,
and to share in the public benefits, without contributing to
the public burdens; thus asserting the dangerous anomaly of
continuing in an association without acknowledging any other
obligation to its laws than what depends upon her own will.
"In this posture of affairs, the duty of the government seems
to be plain. It inculcates a recognition of that State as a
member of the Union, and subject to its authority; a vindication
of the just power of the constitution; the preservation of the
integrity of the Union; and the execution of the laws by all
constitutional means.
"The constitution, which his oath of office obliges him to
support, declares that the Executive 'shall take care that the
laws be faithfully executed;' and, in providing that he shall,
from time to time, give to Congress information of the state of
the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as
he shall judge necessary and expedient, imposes the additional
obligation of recommending to Congress such more efficient
provision for executing the laws as may, from time to time, be
found requisite.
"It being thus shown to be the duty of the Executive to execute
the laws by all constitutional means, it remains to consider
the extent of those already at his disposal, and what it may be
proper further to provide.
"In the instructions of the Secretary of the Treasury to the
collectors in South Carolina, the provisions and regulations
made by the act of 1799, and also the fines, penalties, and
forfeitures, for their enforcement, are particularly detailed
and explained. It may be well apprehended, however, that these
provisions may prove inadequate to meet such an open, powerful,
organized opposition as is to be commenced after the first day
of February next.
"Under these circumstances, and the provisions of the acts
of South Carolina, the execution of the laws is rendered
impracticable even through the ordinary judicial tribunals of
the United States. There would certainly be fewer difficulties,
and less opportunity of actual collision between the officers of
the United States and of the State, and the collection of the
revenue would be more effectually secured--if indeed it can be
done in any other way--by placing the custom-house beyond the
immediate power of the county.
"For this purpose, it might be proper to provide that whenever,
by any unlawful combination or obstruction in any State, or
in any port, it should become impracticable faithfully to
collect the duties, the President of the United States should
be authorized to alter and abolish such of the districts and
ports of entry as should be necessary, and to establish the
custom-house at some secure place within some port or harbor of
such State; and, in such cases, it should be the duty of the
collector to reside at such place, and to detain all vessels
and cargoes until the duties imposed by law should be properly
secured or paid in cash, deducting interest; that, in such cases
it should be unlawful to take the vessel and cargo from the
custody of the proper officer of the customs, unless by process
from the ordinary judicial tribunals of the United States; and
that, in case of an attempt otherwise to take the property by a
force too great to be overcome by the officers of the customs,
it should be lawful to protect the possession of the officers by
the employment of the land and naval forces, and militia, under
provisions similar to those authorized by the 11th section of
the act of the ninth of January, 1809.
"It may, therefore, be desirable to revive, with some
modifications better adapted to the occasion, the 6th section
of the act of the 3d of March, 1815, which expired on the 4th
of March, 1817, by the limitation of that of the 27th of April,
1816; and to provide that, in any case where suit shall be
brought against any individual in the courts of the State, for
any act done under the laws of the United States, he should
be authorized to remove the said cause, by petition, into the
Circuit Court of the United States, without any copy of the
record, and that the courts should proceed to hear and determine
the same as if it had been originally instituted therein. And
that in all cases of injuries to the persons or property of
individuals for disobedience to the ordinance, and laws of
South Carolina in pursuance thereof, redress may be sought in
the courts of the United States. It may be expedient, also, by
modifying the resolution of the 3d of March, 1791, to authorize
the marshals to make the necessary provision for the safe
keeping of prisoners committed under the authority of the United
States.
"Provisions less than these, consisting, as they do, for the
most part, rather of a revival of the policy of former acts
called for by the existing emergency, than of the introduction
of any unusual or rigorous enactments, would not cause the
laws of the Union to be properly respected or enforced. It
is believed these would prove adequate, unless the military
forces of the State of South Carolina, authorized by the late
act of the legislature, should be actually embodied and called
out in aid of their proceedings, and of the provisions of the
ordinance generally. Even in that case, however, it is believed
that no more will be necessary than a few modifications of its
terms, to adapt the act of 1795 to the present emergency, as,
by the act, the provisions of the law of 1792 were accommodated
to the crisis then existing; and by conferring authority upon
the President to give it operation during the session of
Congress, and without the ceremony of a proclamation, whenever
it shall be officially made known to him by the authority of
any State, or by the courts of the United States, that, within
the limits of such State, the laws of the United States will
be openly opposed, and their execution obstructed, by the
actual employment of military force, or by any unlawful means
whatsoever, too great to be otherwise overcome.
"In closing this communication, I should do injustice to my
own feelings not to express my confident reliance upon the
disposition of each department of the government to perform its
duty, and to co-operate in all measures necessary in the present
emergency.
"The crisis undoubtedly invokes the fidelity of the patriot and
the sagacity of the statesman, not more in removing such portion
of the public burden as may be necessary, than in preserving the
good order of society, and in the maintenance of well-regulated
liberty.
"While a forbearing spirit may, and I trust will be exercised
towards the errors of our brethren in a particular quarter,
duty to the rest of the Union demands that open and organized
resistance to the laws should not be executed with impunity."
Such was the message which President Jackson sent to the two
Houses, in relation to the South Carolina proceedings, and his own
to counteract them; and it was worthy to follow the proclamation,
and conceived in the same spirit of justice and patriotism, and,
therefore, wise and moderate. He knew that there was a deep feeling
of discontent in the South, founded in a conviction that the federal
government was working disadvantageously to that part of the Union
in the vital points of the levy, and the expenditure of the federal
revenue; and that it was upon this feeling that politicians operated
to produce disaffection to the Union. That feeling of the masses
he knew to be just and reasonable, and removable by the action of
Congress in removing its cause; and when removed the politicians
who stirred up discontent for "_personal and ambitious objects_,"
would become harmless for want of followers, or manageable by the
ordinary process of law. His proclamation, his message, and all his
proceedings therefore bore a two-fold aspect--one of relief and
justice in reducing the revenue to the wants of the government in
the economical administration of its affairs; the other of firm and
mild authority in enforcing the laws against offenders. He drew no
line between the honest discontented masses, wanting only relief and
justice, and the ambitious politicians inflaming this discontent for
ulterior and personal objects. He merely affirmed the existence of
these two classes of discontent, leaving to every one to classify
himself by his conduct; and, certain that the honest discontents
were the mass, and only wanted relief from a real grievance, he
therefore pursued the measures necessary to extend that relief while
preparing to execute the laws upon those who should violate them.
Bills for the reduction of the tariff--one commenced in the Finance
Committee of the Senate, and one reported from the Committee of
Ways and Means of the House of Representatives--and both moved in
the first days of the session, and by committees politically and
personally favorable to the President, went hand in hand with the
exhortations in the proclamation and the steady preparations for
enforcing the laws, if the extension of justice and the appeals of
reason and patriotism should prove insufficient. Many thought that
he ought to relax in his civil measures for allaying discontent
while South Carolina held the military attitude of armed defiance to
the United States--and among them Mr. Quincy Adams. But he adhered
steadily to his purpose of going on with what justice required for
the relief of the South, and promoted, by all the means in his
power, the success of the bills to reduce the revenue, especially
the bill in the House; and which, being framed upon that of 1816
(which had the support of Mr. Calhoun), and which was (now that
the public debt was paid), sufficient both for revenue and the
incidental protection which manufactures required, and for the
relief of the South, must have the effect of satisfying every honest
discontent, and of exposing and estopping that which was not.