South Carolina Exposition and Protest

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The South Carolina Exposition and Protest, also known as Calhoun's Exposition, was written in 1828 by John C. Calhoun, in disguise under the pseudonym Mr. X, during the Nullification Crisis. At the time, Calhoun was Vice President of the United States under Andrew Jackson. The document was a protest against the Tariff of 1828 also known as the Tariff of Abominations. It stated that if the tariff was not repealed, South Carolina would secede. It stated also Calhoun's Doctrine of nullification. IE, The idea that a state has the right to reject federal law, first introduced by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in their Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. On December 19, 1828, it was presented to the South Carolina State House of Representatives. It was not formally adopted by the legislature, nor did it affect the tariff, but a pamphlet of it was published and circulated. Since Calhoun was then both Vice President and a Vice-Presidential candidate, he chose to conceal his authorship. However, South Carolina did adopt the nullification doctrine, nullifying the tariffs and voting to build its own army.