Why did southerners threaten tarriffs?

Southerners threatened tariffs primarily because they feared that protective tariffs would harm their economy, which relied heavily on agriculture and export of cotton. They believed that higher tariffs would raise the cost of imported goods and provoke retaliatory measures from other countries, negatively impacting their trade. Additionally, they saw tariffs as a means for the northern states to gain economic dominance at their expense, heightening tensions between the regions. This discontent contributed to the broader conflicts that led to the Civil War.