What is Tariff of Abominations?

Definition: The Tariff of Abominations, or Tariff of 1828, is the highest and most controversial tariff ever passed in the history of the United States to shield American industries from the British.

What Does Tariff of Abominations Mean?

What is the definition of tariff of abominations? Seeking to protect the US industry and particularly the agricultural products from the northern and western states from the imported goods, especially from the U.K., the Tariff of Abominations was voted 105 for, 94 against. In that way, imported goods would become more expensive, turning domestic consumption to domestic producers.

Although the North was in favor of the tariff, the South opposed for two main reasons: 1) the southern states lacked a major manufacturing company and were forced to import foreign goods and 2) the economy of the southern states was mostly reliant on the export of domestic products to Europe. The new tariff would impose significantly higher taxes on the exports. The opposition of the South led to the Nullification Crisis when South Carolina threatened to nullify the power of President Jackson and the federal government with an Ordinance of Nullification. Eventually, the government voted for an amended tariff in 1832.

Let’s look at an example.


The Tariff of Abominations raised the prices of imported goods, enabling manufacturers of the northern states to manufacture and sell their products at competitive prices to domestic consumers. The opposition of the southern states was justified, considering that their economy was mostly based on imports. However, more than this, the tariff was viewed from the South as a Bill to favor the interests of the North, and particularly the manufacturing industries at the expense of the southern farmers.

As a result of the tariff, the foreign demand for cotton and tobacco, the two main products that the South was exporting to Europe, decreased. Similarly, the foreign demand for textiles, the main product that the South was importing, declined. The Tariff of Abominations is a largely divisive Bill as, for many, it includes elements of nationalism and sectionalism between the North and the South.

Summary Definition

Define Tariff of Abominations: ToA means a law passed in 1828 that placed taxes on goods entering the United States from England.