Early in his political career, Vice-President John C. Calhoun had supported the criteria of a strong central government. But in 1828, when Congress passed the Tariff of Abominations, Calhoun joined his fellow southerners in protest. Economic depression and previous tariffs had severely damaged the economy of his home state, South Carolina. It was only beginning to recover in 1828. Some leaders in the state even spoke of leaving, or seceding from, the Union over the issue of tariffs. Calhoun understood the problems of South Carolina's farmers because he was one himself. But he wanted to find a way to keep South Carolina from leaving the Union. The answer he arrived at was the doctrine of nullification. A state, Calhoun said, had the right to nullify, or reject, a federal law that it considers unconstitutional.

Question

Early in his political career, Vice-President John C. Calhoun had supported the criteria of a strong central government. But in 1828, when Congress passed the Tariff of Abominations, Calhoun joined his fellow southerners in protest. Economic depression and previous tariffs had severely damaged the economy of his home state, South Carolina. It was only beginning to recover in 1828. Some leaders in the state even spoke of leaving, or seceding from, the Union over the issue of tariffs. Calhoun understood the problems of South Carolina's farmers because he was one himself. But he wanted to find a way to keep South Carolina from leaving the Union. The answer he arrived at was the doctrine of nullification. A state, Calhoun said, had the right to nullify, or reject, a federal law that it considers unconstitutional.
Which of the following options best describes the passage above?
A strong central government was argued to fix the issue.
Seceding from the Union was argued to fix the issue.
Nullification was argued to fix the issue.
None of these options describe the passage.

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The option that best describes the passage above is: Nullification was argued to fix the issue.

The passage details John C. Calhoun's shift in perspective regarding the role of the federal government in light of the Tariff of Abominations, leading him to advocate for the doctrine of nullification as a solution to South Carolina's grievances.