" By these words they meant that the
laws should not be carried out in South Carolina. Then they added: "If the
United States Government tries to enforce these laws on our soil, South
Carolina will go out of the Union and form a separate nation."
Andrew Jackson was at that time President of the United States. Although
he himself did not favor a high tariff, he was firm in his purpose that
whatever law Congress might pass should be enforced in every State in the
Union. When the news came to him of what South Carolina had done, he was
quietly smoking his corn-cob pipe. In a flash of anger he declared: "The
Union! It must and shall be preserved! Send for General Scott!" General
Scott was commander of the United States army, and "Old Hickory," as
President Jackson was proudly called by many of his admirers, was ready to
use the army and the navy, if necessary, to force any State to obey the
law.
In this bitter controversy Daniel Webster, then senator from
Massachusetts, had taken a bold stand for the Union. He said: "Congress
passed the tariff law for the whole country. If the Supreme Court decides
that Congress has the power, according to the Constitution, to pass such a
law, that settles the matter.
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