From a four-step plan to undermine and defeat federal programs in 1788, to a duty to interpose in 1798 - and nullification as a natural right in 1834 - James Madison saw the states and people as essential checks on federal power.
The post Stop the Feds: James Madison-Style first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center.In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about a recently published academic paper that obliterates conventional thinking about nullification and interposition. In 1798, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison penned the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts. These documents, approved by the Kentucky and Virginia state legislatures,…
“The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.” ~ James Madison, 1829 So, all quiet on the health care front? Definitely not. There were recent news reports about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to consolidate and hear several health care law… more
This is Part 5 in an ongoing series about the concept of nullification by states; the idea that individual states can declare a federal law or regulation unconstitutional, and therefore, refuse to implement it. See FOOTNOTE section for links to Parts 1 – 4 and additional supporting information.1 (See the far right sidebar for making [...]
This is Part 2 in a continuing series on nullification. For Part 1, click HERE. In Part 1, I explained that in the past year, I’ve come to realize that nullification is not a solution that should be pursued by the states. That change of opinion, the result of much research and reflection, includes a [...]
This is the first installment in a series about nullification. On March 21, 2010 – I stood on an improvised stage (the back of a pickup truck) located between the State Capitol and the Governor’s mansion at GiN’s flash rally “Kill or Nullify the Bill!”. Throughout the preceding two week period, it had become clear [...]
“Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding, and should, therefore, be construed by the ordinary rules of common sense. Their meaning is not to be sought for in metaphysical subtleties, which may make anything mean nothing or everything, at pleasure.“ Many people are seeking solutions to rein in the growth of government, most particularly [...]