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The Bluffton Movement was spawned during a political rally held under the "Secession Oak" in the village of Bluffton, South Carolina, on July 31, 1844.〔Jeff Fulgham, ''The Bluffton Expedition: The Burning of Bluffton, South Carolina, During the Civil War'' (Bluffton, S.C.: Jeff Fulgham, 2012), 7. 〕 The movement was an attempt to invoke "separate state action" against the tariff of 1842, after John Calhoun's failure to secure the presidential nomination and the Northern Democrats' abandonment of the South on the tariff had apparently destroyed hope for relief within the Democratic Party. Though many of the "Blufftonites" undoubtedly contemplated disunion, the object of their leader, Robert Barnwell Rhett, seems rather to have been a "reform" of the Union giving further safeguards to Southern interests. The movement collapsed within a short time, largely through its repudiation by Calhoun. ==Origins== The impetus for the Bluffton movement was the passing in congress of the tariff of 1842, a protectionist tariff that enraged southern planters. The tariff raised the amount of dutiable goods as well as the rate of taxation on all goods, and resulted in a sharp decrease in international trade. This proved to be beneficial to northern industrialists, who no longer had to worry about competition from overseas, but greatly hurt southern planters who relied on international markets for their products. The inequity of the tariff, as well as the fact that it was in direct contrast to the Compromise of 1833, which was passed to insure that southerners would not have to face high protectionist tax rates, caused massive unrest in the south. A second, equally important motivation for the movement was the debate over the annexation of Texas. Southerners were adamant that Texas be admitted as a slave state of the union, while northern abolitionists insisted that another slave state could not be admitted. Southerners feared that if this were allowed to pass, their institution of slavery would be doomed and England would add Texas to its empire. Both of these outcomes were unacceptable to southern democrats. While southerners agreed that action needed to be taken, the correct course of action was unclear, and politicians in South Carolina, the most radical state, squabbled over how to effectively stand up to the south. Influential South Carolina statesman, Senator John C. Calhoun had hoped to gain a presidential nomination from the southern Democratic Party on the principles of annexation and nullification of the tariff of 1842 and no compromises. While Calhoun felt strongly about the injustices of the tariff and abolition, he also was against separate state action and insisted that the south must act together to stand strong against the north. His strong stance was too much for the rest of the party, and he failed to secure the nomination and James K. Polk was nominated. While some southerners and South Carolinians rejoiced that Polk was the answer to their problems, many were not so optimistic. A group known as the “regency” or the “clique” led by congressman Rhett called for immediate state action and gained followers in Rhett’s constituencies. The movement came to a head in Bluffton when several hundred prominent young planters and followers of Rhett gathered under a large oak tree, which came to be known as the “secession oak.” Rhett declared that there was no hope for the south’s interest and that nothing would be gained by the election of Polk to the presidency. He proclaimed that the only hope for the south as they knew it was for immediate nullification of the tariff, or secession of South Carolina. He insisted that once South Carolina took action others would follow, and called for a state convention as soon as the next congress was finished, to resolve these issues. To conclude his revolutionary speech, Rhett raised his glass and said, “may it be as useful as the convention of 1776.”(Bluffton Breeze Arts) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bluffton Movement」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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