State Nullification: An Idea Deeply Embedded in American History
In today’s American history textbooks, nullification is treated as a fringe idea at best, and treasonous at worst. Yet not only did two of America’s greatest Founding Fathers (James Madison, the “Father” of the Constitution, and Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence) fully embrace the concept, but nullification was employed in the Northern states to restrain the federal government, as well as in the South.
A review of American history prior to the Civil War reveals that nullification was actually a common political tool. But because of the Civil War, the practice fell into disfavor, as pro-Union propaganda portrayed just about any effort to retard the centralization of government as somehow disloyal.
Nullification is the idea that, if the federal government extends its powers beyond those found in the Constitution, a state has both a right and a duty to resist such usurpations by declaring the law or other unconstitutional action of the federal government null and void. It is important to keep in mind that both federal and state officials — including the members of the federal and state legislatures as well as “all executive and judicial Officers” — are bound by oath to support the U.S. Constitution, under Article VI. State officials who accept unconstitutional federal usurpations within their state borders are neglecting their oath.
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