Did Andrew Jackson threaten to kill the Vice President?

Question

In my Government and Politics class the other day, we were taught that Andrew Jackson threatened to kill the vice president. This sounded a bit odd to me so I wrote it in my notes and resolved to look into it later.

Answer 1

Yes. John C. Calhoun supported states’ rights. Southern states felt the federal tariffs were unfair and South Carolina passed the Nullification Act. Calhoun, from South Carolina, supported nullification. Jackson responded with the Force Act and the south threatened to succeed. Jackson told Calhoun “If you succeed from my nation, I will succeed your head from the rest of your body.” Later, when asked about regrets, Jackson stated that he regreted not hanging Calhoun. Of course, we do not know how serious this threat was and if he would have tried to go through with it.