The Compromise of 1833 | Henry Clay and the Struggle for the Union

Learn how the threat of secession triggered a national crisis and how U.S. Senator Henry Clay mediated the Compromise of 1833.

In late 1832, many feared civil war would break out over the standoff between President Andrew Jackson and the state of South Carolina over the federal government’s authority to levy tariffs, or tax imports. President Andrew Jackson submitted a Force Bill to Congress in January 1833, seeking authority to call out the military to force the collection of tariffs.