it was a law passed by the state of South Carolina in 1832 that declared the federal government's Tariff of 1828 and 1832 to be unconstitutional. The act was seen as a direct challenge to the authority of the federal government and was the first instance of a state attempting to nullify a federal law. The debate between the power of the federal and state governments was a central issue in the early years of the United States, and the Nullification Act was seen as a major event in this debate.