The President's Bank veto called a halt in these tendencies, and exerted an influence for the restoration of executive independence, and of the "check and balance" system, provided in the Constitution; and it called the people into a closer and more immediate relation to the President than they had before occupied, in that the President now appealed to them to decide the question between him and the Congress, in the election which was then about to take place. These were the political principles contained in the Bank veto, and whether they, or the more democratic principle of anti-monopoly, or the more socialistic principle of government banking, moved the masses, certainly they were profoundly moved. Had the popular vote been taken, the day before the appearance of the veto, upon the question of the Bank's re-charter, it is altogether probable that an overwhelming majority would have been found in its favor. Against the veto, however, no sufficient majority could be united in Congress, and when the results of the presidential election became known, it was found that Jackson had carried the country with him in the unequal contest, and that the people had made the principles of the Jacksonian democracy the ruling spirit of the Constitution. {210} CHAPTER X. NULLIFICATION The Indian Question in Georgia--The Indian Springs Convention--The Repudiation of the Agreement--The Controversy between the Administration and Georgia--The Creek Convention of 1826--The Governor of Georgia Repudiates the Convention of 1826--The President Submits the Matter to Congress--Georgia and the Cherokees--Jackson and the Indian Question--Indian Policy before Jackson--The Case of the Cherokee Nation--The Case of Worcester against Georgia--The Failure of the President to Execute the Decision in the Worcester Case--Jackson and Calhoun--The Call of the Convention of 1832 in South Carolina--The Nullification Ordinance--The Addresses Issued by the Convention--The Acts of the Legislature of South Carolina for the Execution of the Ordinance--The Meaning of Nullification as Understood by the Nullifiers--Jackson's View of Nullification--The President's Proclamation of December 10th--The President's Military Preparations--The President's Instructions to the Customs Officers in South Carolina--The Popular Approval of the President's Course--The Verplanck Tariff Bill--Governor Hayne's Counter-Proclamation--The President's Message of January 16th, 1833--Calhoun's Explanations in the Senate--The "Force Bill"--The Postponement of the Execution of Nullification--The Compromise Tariff--Mr. Calhoun's Support of Mr. Clay's Bill--The Opposition to the Bill--Passage of the "Force Bill" by the Senate--Passage of the Compromise Tariff Bill and the "Force Bill" by Congress--The Nullification Ordinance Withdrawn. [Sidenote: The Indian question in Georgia.]