DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.--_Nullification_.--South Carolina (1832) passed a Nullification ordinance declaring the tariff law "null and void," and that the State would secede from the Union if force should be employed to collect any revenue at Charleston. President Jackson acted with his accustomed promptness. He issued a proclamation announcing his determination to execute the laws, and ordered troops, under General Scott, to Charleston. [Footnote: John C. Calhoun and Robert Y. Hayne were the prominent advocates of the doctrine of "State rights," which declared that a State could set aside an act of Congress. During this struggle occurred the memorable debate between Webster and Hayne, in which the former, opposing secession, pronounced those words familiar to every school-boy, "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." Calhoun's public life extended over forty years. He was one of the most celebrated statesmen of his time. As a speaker he was noted for forcible logic, clear demonstration, and earnest manner. He rejected ornament, and rarely used illustration. Webster, his political antagonist, said of him, "He had the indisputable basis of all high character, unspotted integrity, and honor unimpeached. Nothing grovelling, low, or meanly selfish came near his head or his heart."] In the mean time Henry Clay's celebrated "Compromise Bill" was adopted by the Senate. This measure offering a gradual reduction of the tariff, was accepted by both sides and quiet restored. [Footnote: Alexander H. Stephens says: "To do this, Clay had to break from his old political friends, while he was offering up the darling system of his heart on the altar of his country. No one can deny that he was a patriot--every inch of him. When he was importuned not to take the course he did, and assured that it would lessen his chances for the Presidency, he nobly replied, 'I would rather be right than President'--a sentiment worthy to be the motto of every young patriot in our land."] [Illustration: BANK OF THE UNITED STATES (now the Custom House).] _Bank of the United States_.--During his first term, Jackson vetoed a bill renewing the charter of the United States Bank. After his re-election by an overwhelming majority, considering his policy sustained by the people, he ordered (1833) the public money to be removed from its vaults. The bank thereupon contracted its loans, money became scarce, and people being unable to pay their debts, commercial distress ensued. Jackson's measure excited violent clamor, but he was sustained by the democratic majority in the House of Representatives.