Meeting in Columbia, John C. Calhoun and the Nullification convention formulates plans to usurp federal authority. They adopt an Ordinance of Nullification declaring the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 "...null, void and no law."
At the dedication of the National Cemetery in Gettysburg President Lincoln delivers a two-minute speech. Immediately following the speech he calls it a "flat failure." The speech is known today as the Gettysburg Address