Nullification
| Federalism |
|---|
| •Key terms • Court cases •Major arguments • State responses to federal mandates • Federalism by the numbers • Index of articles about federalism |
Nullification refers to the constitutional theory that argues states have the power to invalidate federal laws, treaties, or judicial decisions they find to be in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Notable historical attempts by states to nullify federal laws include the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798, the Nullification Crisis of 1832-1833, and Arkansas’ attempt to nullify Brown v. Board of Education in 1957.[1]
Background
The constitutional theory of nullification argues that states have the ability to invalidate federal laws, treaties, or judicial decisions they believe are in violation of the U.S. Constitution. This theory is based upon compact theory, which maintains that states created the federal government via a compact and, therefore, are the subsequent interpreters of the federal government’s authority, not the federal courts.[2] Thomas Jefferson and James Madison—authors of the Kentucky Resolution of 1798 and the Virginia Resolution of 1798, respectively—are generally credited with originating the theory of nullification.
The constitutional theory of nullification differs from other types of nullification. For example, jury nullification is a distinct concept that refers to instances when, for a variety of reasons, a jury in a criminal case returns a not guilty verdict despite the defendant having broken the law beyond a reasonable doubt.[3]
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798
Congress in 1798 passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which granted the president the power to deport people he deemed a threat to national security and criminalized speech critical of the federal government. Then-Vice President Thomas Jefferson believed the acts were an overreach of the federal government’s authority.[1]
Jefferson responded by creating a series of resolutions for the Kentucky State Legislature that aimed to nullify the Alien and Sedition Acts by declaring them unconstitutional and void in the state of Kentucky. The state of Virginia also sought to nullify the acts through the Virginia Resolution of 1798, written by James Madison. Though no other states followed suit, the Alien and Sedition Acts' unpopularity helped Jefferson be elected president in 1800.[1][4]
Nullification Crisis of 1832-1833
- See also: Nullification Crisis
The Nullification Crisis refers to the events surrounding the South Carolina State Legislature’s passage of an Ordinance of Nullification in 1832 that declared the Tariff of 1828 (also known as the Tariff of Abominations) and the Tariff of 1832 void because they disproportionately financially burdened southern states. In response, Vice President John Calhoun anonymously drafted an article titled "Exposition and Protest" that argued states could veto federal acts they judged to go beyond the federal government’s powers because the U.S. Constitution was an agreement among states.[1]
President Andrew Jackson, however, condemned the theory of nullification. In his “Proclamation to the People of South Carolina” issued in December 1832, Jackson cited the Supremacy Clause to support his claim that nullification was “incompatible with the existence of the Union, contradicted expressly by the letter of the Constitution, unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle on which it was founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was formed.”[5]
Congress in 1833 passed a bill authorizing President Jackson to deploy federal troops to South Carolina and enacted the Compromise Tariff, which aimed to ease the tax burden on the South. South Carolina repealed its ordinance in November 1833.[1][5]
Little Rock Crisis of 1957
- See also: Brown v. Board of Education
In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that school segregation violated the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and ordered schools across the nation to desegregate.[1]
Despite the ruling, Arkansans amended their Constitution in 1956 to instruct the state legislature to oppose the desegregation mandate in Brown v. Board of Education. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus (D) in September 1957 ordered the deployment of the Arkansas National Guard to prevent nine Black high school students, formally known as the Little Rock Nine, from attending Little Rock Central High School. President Dwight Eisenhower (R) on September 25 authorized the National Guard and sent U.S. Army troops to Little Rock to personally guard the students so they could attend classes safely.[6]
Impact
Following the Little Rock incident, the U.S. Supreme Court in 1958 unanimously decided Cooper v. Aaron (1958), which held that the precedent set forth in Brown v. Board of Education was the supreme law of the land under the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. All states, therefore, were required to desegregate schools regardless of any state laws to the contrary.[1][7][8]
See also
- Federalism
- Federalist Papers
- Anti-Federalist papers
- Compact theory
- Supremacy Clause
- Article VI, United States Constitution
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Constitution Center, "Looking Back: Nullification in American History," accessed September 12, 2022
- ↑ History, "Mayflower Compact," accessed February 27, 2022
- ↑ ‘’Fully Informed Jury Association’’, “What is jury nullification?” accessed September 15, 2022
- ↑ Middle Tennessee State University, "Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798," accessed September 12, 2022
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Library of Congress, "Nullification Proclamation: Primary Documents in American History," accessed September 12, 2022
- ↑ National Museum of African American History and Culture, "The Little Rock Nine," accessed September 12, 2022
- ↑ Cooper v. Aaron (1954), accessed September 12, 2022
- ↑ Oyez, "Cooper v. Aaron," accessed September 12, 2022
| |||||