The nation suffered an economic downturn throughout the 1820s, and South Carolina was particularly affected. The highly protective Tariff of 1828 (called the "
Tariff of Abominations" by its detractors), designed to protect American industry by taxing imported manufactured goods, was enacted into law during the last year of the presidency of
John Quincy Adams. Opposed in the South and parts of New England, the expectation of the tariff's opponents was that with the election of
Andrew Jackson the tariff would be significantly reduced.