elatively small and uninfluential group" (201). Two North-South issues dominated national politics in the 1820s and 1830s. One was whether slavery would be extended to the then largely uninhabited western territories encompassed by the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Under the Missouri Compromise of 1820 engineered by Whig Henry Clay of Kentucky, slavery was banned north of latitude 36 degrees, 30', except for Missouri. It was supported by the South consistent with the spirit of the era of good feelings and party cooperation of the early 20s.
The first major conflict was the Nullification Crisis of 1832, which came about over an attempt of the South Carolina legislature to nullify a tariff enacted by Congress. It was resolved through a combination of President Andrew Jackson's staunch support of the Union and some scaling back of tariffs to placate the South. The Nullification Crisis, however, highlighted the growing disparity between the economies and societies of North and South. The economy of the South remained primarily agricultural.
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