ABSTRACT
The compromise tariff of 1833 was intended by Mr. Clay, its author, by its supporters in Congress, and by General Jackson, who approved it, as a peace measure-an offering upon the altar of the Union, which was seriously threatened by the sectionalism incited by the cotton-growers of South Carolina and their sympathizers in other parts of the South. The effects of this unwise legislation were not sensibly felt during General Jackson's administration. Mr. Van Buren entered upon the Presidency March 4, 1837, and found himself constrained, by the foregoing considerations, to convene Congress in extra session in September of that year - the exigency being so great that he could not await the meeting of the regular session in December. But there were aspects of the existing state of affairs, which Mr. Van Buren could not fail to observe, especially the fact that the revenues were rapidly declining.
