There was a chance, however, for one final fling. By a vote of
132 to 19 the convention soberly adopted an ordinance nullifying the
Force Bill and calling on the Legislature to pass laws to prevent the
execution of that measure--which, indeed, nobody was now proposing to
execute.
So the tempest passed. Both sides claimed victory, and with some show
of reason. So far as was possible without an actual test of strength,
the authority of the Federal Government had been vindicated and its
dignity maintained; the constitutional doctrines of Webster acquired a
new sanction; the fundamental point was enforced that a law--that
every law--enacted by Congress must be obeyed until repealed or until
set aside by the courts as unconstitutional. On the other hand, the
nullifiers had brought about the repeal of the laws to which they
objected and had been largely instrumental in turning the tariff
policy of the country for some decades into a new channel. Moreover
they expressed no regret for their acts and in no degree renounced the
views upon which those acts had been based.
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