Nullification: A Tradition of Resistance

• Wednesday, January 20, 2010 7:12:49 AM · by RepublicnotaDemocracy · 35+ views

  Tenth Amendment Center ^ | 01-19-2010 | Walt Garlington

  State nullification, whereby a state refuses to comply with a federal measure, became a formal constitutional doctrine in the United States in 1798 when Thomas Jefferson and James Madison penned the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, even though it had been practiced prior to that date. In the Kentucky Resolution, Jefferson laid down a series of constitutional principles. It began, “Resolved, that the several states composing the United States of America, are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their General Government…” That statement alone is enough to shock some people today. But it gets better, much better. “…but…

Nullification: A Tradition of Resistance

Advertisement