Page:Nullification Controversy in South Carolina.djvu/248

Rh of the state for Floyd, governor of Virginia, and Lee, a Massachusetts free-trade advocate. During September and October Jackson was kept informed of affairs in the state by letters from Joel R. Poinsett. This Union leader told the President that the Union men would firmly oppose nullification and adhere to their allegiance to the United States. He reminded Jackson, however, that allegiance implied protection, and that the Unionists relied upon the government to act with vigor in their behalf. The Nullifiers, he said, seemed to believe that no measures would be taken against them; he assumed otherwise, however, and recommended that the forts be supplied with muskets, hand grenades, and ammunition enough to enforce the customs laws if necessary. Jackson soon recognized that a crisis was fast approaching in South Carolina. As early as September 11 he had sent word to the Secretary of the Navy that a confidential friend had "more than intimated" that efforts had been made by the Nullifiers, "and perhaps not without success," to