Nullification Act of 1832
States could nullify laws of Congress
The Supreme Court can nullify an Act of Congress. They would have to say that it specifically contridicted the Constitution. The President could affect a law by refusing to enforce it.
They felt they had the right to nullify the tariff based on the principle of states' rights and the belief that states could reject federal laws they deemed unconstitutional. This perspective was rooted in the idea that the federal government was created by the states, and thus states had the authority to interpret the Constitution. Additionally, they argued that the tariff disproportionately harmed their economic interests, particularly in the South, where it raised the cost of imported goods. This led to a broader conflict over the balance of power between state and federal authority.
They disagreed on practically everything but their esteem for George Washington. Specifically, however, their greatest and most significant difference on a power of Congress was whether Congress could establish a national bank (the "First Bank of the United States"). Hamilton argued that because Article I, section 9 of the Constitution did not specifically prohibit Congress from creating a national bank, then Congress was empowered to do so under Article I, section 8, clause 18 (the "implied powers clause," "necessary and proper clause," or "elastic clause"). Jefferson, who took a more limited view of Federal power, argued that because Article I, section 8 did not specify Congress could create a national bank, then it could not. Jefferson believed that only specified powers (such as power to tax, to maintain an army, to punish counterfeiters, etc.) could be exercised by Congress.
Congress could not tax and it could not control or interfere with trade between the individual states.
States could nullify laws of Congress
States could nullify federal laws. That states could and should decide when Congress was passing unconstitutional laws PLATOO against a loose interpretation of the constitution
In the debate, Webster argued that states did not have the power to nullify a federal law. He also argued that states could not secede from the Union. Daniel Webster held several offices throughout his career, including Senator from Massachusetts.
The Supreme Court can nullify an Act of Congress. They would have to say that it specifically contridicted the Constitution. The President could affect a law by refusing to enforce it.
Nullification was the idea that the states could declare acts of congress to be unconstitutional. In particular South Carolina objected to the federal tariff while Jackson was president and decided to nullify it and so not collect it or pay it.
Andrew Jackson refuted South Carolina's claim to nullify federal laws by asserting the supremacy of the federal government over state actions. He argued that the Constitution, as the supreme law of the land, did not permit states to unilaterally reject federal laws. Jackson emphasized the importance of preserving the Union and maintained that such actions could lead to anarchy and disunity among the states. He believed that the authority to interpret laws and their constitutionality rested with the federal judiciary, not individual states.
b. state government could nullify any federal law.
Daniel Webster
This doctrine taught that any state could nullify a law of the United States that was contrary to the Constitution as they understood it.
They disagreed on practically everything but their esteem for George Washington. Specifically, however, their greatest and most significant difference on a power of Congress was whether Congress could establish a national bank (the "First Bank of the United States"). Hamilton argued that because Article I, section 9 of the Constitution did not specifically prohibit Congress from creating a national bank, then Congress was empowered to do so under Article I, section 8, clause 18 (the "implied powers clause," "necessary and proper clause," or "elastic clause"). Jefferson, who took a more limited view of Federal power, argued that because Article I, section 8 did not specify Congress could create a national bank, then it could not. Jefferson believed that only specified powers (such as power to tax, to maintain an army, to punish counterfeiters, etc.) could be exercised by Congress.
Congress could not tax and it could not control or interfere with trade between the individual states.
Congress could not tax and it could not control or interfere with trade between the individual states.