Uncompromising the Nullification Crisis

• In Event: Nineteenth Century American Political Thought

Abstract

It is said that compromise lies at the heart of American politics and even democracy itself. Nevertheless, American history is marked, especially in the nineteenth century, by a series of high-profile crises each of which was resolved by a compromise brokered in the U.S. Congress. In order to navigate the serious sectional issue with South Carolina over the federal tariff, once such compromise was concluded in the waning hours of the 22nd Congress and the ingredients and events leading to it help us to understand the nature of compromise in the American political context and how it differs from the colloquial understanding of the term for philosophers and laymen alike.

Author

• Justin B. Litke, Catholic University of America