The Kentucky Resolutions and the South Carolina Exposition and Protest
Introduction
The argument about state and national powers have existed for as long as the US acquired independence and John Adams proposed the idea of state constitutions in 1776. The government was federalist denoting a shared governance between the state and national levels. The two had exclusive and concurrent powers to help in keeping a check on each other as they rolled out their various functions. The framers of the Constitution acknowledged the origin of the idea of states as coming from the separate and diverse colonies. Article four of the Constitution states out the duties and responsibilities of the states towards one another and the federal government’s towards the states. However, over the years, the functions of each level of government has intertwined and in some cases, the federal government has encroached on the state’s responsibilities. However, despite all these, the states have always pushed back and set out to enforce their responsibilities and functions, thus living up to the letter and spirit of the Constitution.
Thomas Jefferson authored the Kentucky Resolution anonymously in 1798 and his friend, John Breckinridge sponsored it. The resolution aimed at giving states the power to declare certain federal laws as unconstitutional and, therefore, void. It also suggested that in a case where a state establishes such unconstitutionality, nullification should be the ideal remedy (Bolt, 799). This document came about as a result of the laws of Congress known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. It opposed Congress coming up with the laws as depicting federal government going beyond the powers that the Constitution stated out for it. The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 constituted of four laws that restricted the movement of foreigners in the country and curtailed freedom of speech and of the press. The laws also came about at a time when the country was almost going to war with France. The resolution denoted a Democratic- Republican response to the actions of a Federalist government. Jefferson had to write the resolution anonymously fearing the provisions of the Sedition Act. He had hoped to gain the support of the other states to stand up against the federalist government. However, the only state that joined in the course was Virginia through their resolution of the same year. Even though the resolutions failed in inspiring other states to joined their course, they were establishing factors in the effort towards the separation of powers. They also assisted Jefferson in the later presidential elections. The Madison report that aimed at defending the resolutions also became significant fronts in the development of the first amendments freedom of speech and of the press.
John C. Calhoun wrote the South Carolina Exposition and Protest in 1828 during the nullification crisis. He wrote the exposition in objection of the Tariffs Act of 1828 (Martinico, 40). Congress passed the Act in a bid to protect the growing economy in the North. It aimed at protecting the manufacturing businesses that were suffering because of low priced imports from Europe. However, as Congress tried to assist the North, southern states felt neglected and the tariffs hurt them even more. The south was primarily agricultural and the expensive imported goods meant less purchase of their agricultural products. Calhoun’s Exposition, as it came to be known protested the protective tariffs and stated that the US Constitution had given states the right to challenge and block such a federal law. They therefore, declared the tariffs null and even threatened secession. In 1832, South Carolina adopted the Ordinance of Nullification that declared the tariffs null, void and not binding to the states. The exposition also showed that states had a right to reject federal laws that they deemed as not representative of their needs and rights.
The Kentucky Resolution and the South Carolina Exposition and Protest have some factors in common. First, they were both deliberate actions and efforts by states to stand up against the federal government enforcing their rights. While the Kentucky Resolution rejected the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, the Calhoun Exposition stood up against the ‘tariffs of abomination’. Both documents rendered such moves by Congress as null and void, and, therefore, unconstitutional. Second, the two documents spoke towards the issue of nullification of federal laws. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison brought up the issues in the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions in 1798. John Calhoun furthered this discussion later on in the 1828 exposition. Both documents acknowledged the place that the thirteen states, and former colonies occupied in the government as parts of a compact and stated that they had the right to leave when the federal government acted unconstitutionally. Thirdly, for both documents, their authors were vice presidents at the time who concealed their identities. The other similarity between the two documents is that they both garnered less support from other states. The Kentucky resolution only had the support of Virginia while the Calhoun Exposition stood alone.
One of the differences between the two documents is that while the Kentucky Resolution fought against the Alien and Sedition acts of 1798, the South Carolina Exposition and Protest was against the protective tariffs of 1828 and 1832. Second, while Thomas Jefferson authored the resolution, John Calhoun wrote the exposition. The two documents also came out at different times, one in 1798 and another around thirty years later. Another difference is that the Kentucky Resolution had the assistance of the Virginian resolution running at the same time. However, the Calhoun exposition fought alone. There was no state that joined their fight. Also, while drafting the Kentucky Resolution, Thomas Jefferson was a vice president under President John Adams. John Calhoun, on the other hand, was the vice president under President John Quincy Adams and then Andrew Jackson. The result was the fallout between Thomas Jefferson, who was the vice president at the time with President Andrew Jackson.
Conclusion
The US Constitution does not have any provisions giving states the power to nullify federal laws. However, the federal government exists because of the states through the people. States should not have the ability to nullify federal laws that they deem unconstitutional. In an instance where a state views specific laws that Congress passes as null and void, they should seek another remedy such as the court’s interpretation. The court should, therefore, be able to either agree or disagree with the states motion and declare such laws constitutional or not. The use of nullification, on the other hand, gives the states absolute powers not subject to judicial review or appeals.
Works Cited
Bolt, William K. “The American Revolution, State Sovereignty, and the American Constitutional Settlement 1765–1800 by Aaron N. Coleman.” Journal of the Early Republic 37.4 (2017): 799-801.
John C. Calhoun. “South Carolina Exposition and Protest.” (1828). en.wikisource.org/wiki/South_Carolina_Exposition_and_Protest
Martinico, Giuseppe. “An Uneasy Character: John Calhoun’s Cameos in The Gorgeous Hussy and Amistad.” (2018): 35-51.
“The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions”. Bill of Rights Institute,