So, again in the news South Carolina is being known for Nullification. ( The T and D March 2013 ) So just what the heck IS Nullification? Didn't we learn in school that it was John C. Calhoun's pathetic attempt to save slavery? (I didn't learn that, but apparently many did) Let's take a closer look at what Nullification actually is.
If you do a Google search on "nullification" you will get a number of differing opinions about nullification along with the ad that says "eBay- great deals on nullification" (huh?). Dig deeper, and you find there are few who actually know what nullification really is.
Nullification is " the action of a state impeding or attempting to prevent the operation and enforcement within its territory of a law of the United States " Merriam-Webster dictionary. Basically it is the state saying "NO!" to the federal government when a law is passed that is considered by the state to be unconstitutional. Wait, you say, that isn't in the Webster's definition. No it isn't, but that is what nullification is. Its a legal theory, and sometimes practice, where a state determines under the power of the 10th amendment is unconstitutional.
We all seem to remember ole' John C. Calhoun from our history classes being the "man" on nullification. Oh he got all hot and bothered over a tariff that would have really hurt the economy of South Carolina. This was the Tariff of Abominations. Now all this happened in the 1820's and 1830's. This Tariff WOULD have hurt South Carolina, as well as other agricultural states. So, South Carolina said it was not constitutional to levy such a tax on imported goods made from the raw exports from South Carolina, and they refused to collect it for the federal government. Well President Jackson said he'd send troops to make them collect, and South Carolina threatened to leave the union if they did. It was sometimes called the "Nullification Crisis", and it ended up with a compromise on the tariff that both kept South Carolina in the Union, and collected a tax on those goods. Anyhow, all of this would be tied to States Rights later on, and then erroneously tied to slavery.
The idea of Nullification did not come from the loins of our dear John C., (though some historians claim Lincoln did... oh but I digress) the idea was the brain child of Thomas Jefferson. He said in 1798 that "That a nullification, by those sovereignties, of all unauthorized acts done under color of that instrument, is the rightful remedy" (Kentucky Resolution, 1799). Much of what Jefferson believed was influenced by John Locke, but that is another historical story for another day. None-the-less, Jefferson believed that states could and should nullify things that were not constitutional in order to prevent the federal government from becoming a tyrannous ruler over the free people.
Are all laws going to be nullified? No. Most laws are perfectly constitutional. Should all laws be nullified? No. Can all laws be nullified? No, they must be considered unconstitutional by the states to be subject to nullification.
Some historians blame Calhoun for the crisis that followed the nullification and secession threats. That crisis was the war between the states. Some even say nullification was a way to protect slavery. Those are not true. It is in many ways a stepping stone to states rights. The important thing to remember about nullification is that its based on the 10th amendment, and it is a way for the people to protect their rights when the federal government encroaches too far past what the Constitution allows.
(Another good overview of Nullification can be found here: http://www.libertyclassroom.com/nullification/ )
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