Nullification is the legal theory that a state has the right to invalidate federal laws that they deem unconstitutional. This theory divided the nation during the early 1800s, especially around tariffs that hurt the Southern economy. States' rights advocates like John C. Calhoun argued states should be able to nullify laws, while others felt states must follow all federal laws. The 1832 Nullification Crisis in South Carolina intensified the debate and moved the nation closer to civil war.
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1. “Ultimately, the debate over ratification of the Constitution came down to competing economic interests.” In what ways do you find this contention persuasive? In what ways not? Illustrate your analysis with examples from the text
Constitution is a written document that sets forth the fundamental rules and certain regulations by which society is administrated. The United States of America is one of the states which have had a constitution which governs its individual’s ways of life. Throughout the development of history, the United States has lived under two Constitutions ever since the British-American colonies affirmed their independence from Great Britain in the year 1776 which are Articles of Confederation (1789-1789) and the Constitution of United States of America (1789 to present). Ratification of the constitution is a process of confirming the constitution which is normally done through voting which works to validate the proposed law of the land. The nine states are known to have been ratified by the end of June 21, 1788. Ratification is a process that is known to have begun immediately after the convention. The debate is a formal discussion which was done on the ratification of the constitution in a public meeting or legislative assembly, in which opposing arguments are put forward.
In the United States of America, there has been a huge debate for a long period of time which has it that the ratification of the constitution was due to the economic interest of some leaders (Russ Castronovo, 2001). The members of the United States of America, who were supporting the ratification of the constitution, were actually the Federalist as opposed to those who were against this common idea forming the Anti-Federalists. There are different ideas which work to support and others to oppose this idea that ratification of the Constitution is due to economic interests.
There are some of the arguments which support the debate that ratification of the Constitution is due to economic interests. Federalists were supporting the idea of ratification of the constitution for it had many benefits to the society and country as a whole. The supporters of ratification of the constitution had the idea that this process would result in energies being built which would make such countries act together and be stronger than before especially financially. Federalist, who was led by Alexander Hamilton, argued that there were many barriers which were making citizens not to be in a position to act together hence ratification would make them be similar due to the ability to be similar. “To generate support, Hamilton, Madison and Jay composed a series of eighty-five essay that appeared in newspapers under the penname Publius and were gathered as a book The Federalist, in 1788.” (Give Me Liberty, 263) Ratification was for economic interests for it made states start using a common currency which actually promoted trade among various states hence leading to growth ...
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1. Nullification Ali Conley Harini Muralikrishnan Shivani Upadhya Max Porazzo Jake Stanton Mark Abraham John Irwin
2. General Nullification is the legal theory that a state has the right to nullify (invalidate) any federal law that they see as unconstitutional The state, not the federal government, intimately determines and interprets the extent of the power At the Hartford Convention, the idea of nullification increasingly became associated with matters pertaining to slavery. The most famous statement of the theory of nullification, authored by John C. Calhoun, appeared in the South Carolina Exposition and protest of 1828. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (1798) declared that the states had the right to nullify laws of the federal government that had “overstepped boundaries”
3. Division Divided the national greatly Some states believed in following all federal laws, no matter what However, some states believed that they should be able to disregard (nullify) the laws as a state The Tariffs of 1816 and 1824 divided the nation Hurt the South greatly Didn’t hurt the North as much
4. States Rights vs. Federal Rights Been an issue since the Revolutionary War Opposition began with the Articles of Confederation because many people felt it was too weak States thought that they should be responsible for determining the constitutionality of laws John Calhoun was one of the main senators that supported nullification
5. Laws and Decisions Main argument: should states be able to nullify federal laws? South Carolina decided to nullify federal laws This infuriated Jackson He threatened to hang John Calhoun because of this Also threatened accusations of treason If he had hung all nullifiers, many riots would’ve arose from anger because of people who believed in the nullification theory Once states started to support the idea of nullification, the idea of unity in the nation quickly vanished Laws weren’t the same throughout the country
6. Significant Events Tariffs of 1816 and 1824 There were protectionist Tariffs Southern States’ economy suffered Northern States suffered no severe economic loss This helped spark the idea of Nullification, by John C. Calhoun Jackson’s Response Jackson was angered by this suggestion Threatened accusation of treason Threatened to Invade South Carolina and hang Calhoun It was no longer a matter of preventing the Civil War after this, it was just a matter of delaying it
7. Results Many states realized that nullification wasn’t consistent between states Didn’t earn them respect from the federal government Led to secession This secession of states eventually became one of the top five reasons for the Civil War
8. What Would We Do? Our group would be inclined to accepting the federal laws, because municipalities that can veto the power of the combined municipalities negates the need for a combination of powers in the first place.
9. Today Nullification, and the concept surrounding it, has become a hot topic in the current session of Congress. The concept that 2/3 of states can disagree with a bill signed into law by the federal government as unconstitutional is becoming more of a reality. With the healthcare reform in dramatic debate many citizens either want to repeal the law in its entirety or change certain aspects before it goes into full effect. Usually the use of the 2/3 concept is rare and does not have enough support - yet there is potential to actually repeal the law, formally called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The current context of nullification has multiple similarities to the events leading up to the Civil War.
11. Bibliography Andrews, E. Benjamin. "1869-1868 Chapter II Secession." civl war. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Jan. 2011. <http://www.civilwar.com/index.php?option=com_content&catid=291&id=148464&lang=en&view=article>. Digital History. “The Pre-Civil War Era Timeline.” Digital History. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Jan. 2011. <http://www.digitalhistory2.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=5&smtID=4>. Ellis, Richard E. "Nullification Proclamation: Nullification Crisis" Thomas Legion. Thomas Legion, 1992. Web. 7 Jan. 2011. <http://thomaslegion.net/nullificationproclamationnullificationcrisis.html>. Hickey, Nancee. "The Nullification Crisis." Culture History. N.p., 2000. Web. 4 Jan. 2011. <mgagnon.myweb.uga.edu/students/4070/04SP4070-Hickey.htm>. Kelly, Martin. "Top 5 Causes of the Civil War." About.American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Jan. 2011. <http://americanhistory.about.com/od/civilwarmenu/a/cause_civil_war.htm>. "Nullification Background." Congressional Compass. N.p., 23 Aug. 2008. Web. 1 Jan. 2011. <http://www.congressionalcompass.org/content/nullification-background>. "Nullification Crisis." America's Civil War. Georgia's Blue and Gray Trail, 2011. Web. 07 Jan. 2011. <http://blueandgraytrail.com/event/Nullification_Crisis>. "Nullification Crisis." Aadet. Aadet, n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2011. <http://www.aadet.com/article/Nullification_Crisis>. "Nullification Crisis." Country Studies. Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, 2011. Web. 07 Jan. 2011. <http://countrystudies.us/united-states/history-50.htm>. "Nullification Crisis." New World Encyclopedia. N.p., 3 Apr. 2008. Web. 2 Jan. 2011. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Nullification_Crisis>. "Nullification Crisis - States." United States History. Online Highways - Travel and History, 2011. Web. 07 Jan. 2011. <http://www.u-s-history.com/about.html>. "Nullification Proclamamtion." Web Guides. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Jan. 2011. <http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Nullification.html>. Streich, Michael. "The Nullification Crisis of 1832." Suite101. N.p., 30 Aug. 2009. Web. 20 Dec. 2011. <http://www.suite101.com/content/the-nullification-crisis-of-1832-a143976>. Taussig, F. W. “The Tariff History of the United States (Part I).” Teaching American History. N.p., 2010. Web. 6 Jan. 2011. <http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=1136>. "The Road to Nullification in South Carolina (1828-1832)." Congressional Compass. N.p., 24 Aug. 2008. Web. 5 Jan. 2011. <http://www.congressionalcompass.org/content/road- nullification-south-carolina-1828-1832>.