Federal and State Conflicts Pre-Civil War

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The formation of the United State’s Constitution in 1789 marked the birth of a new governmental system. Beforehand, the Articles of Confederation served as the governing document of the nation and laid out a foundation for several self-governing states to be loosely unified. The federal government, during this time, did not acquire enforcement power compared to the individual states. The Constitution established a system in which federal and state powers were concurrent. However, between 1789 and 1865, conflicts arose due to the controversies regarding federal power and states’ rights. The manifestation of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions as well as Hartford Convention underlined nullification, secession, and various states’ and regional rights as pertinent areas of controversy due to the ambiguous nature of the Constitution. Simultaneously, rulings in the Marshall Court assisted the long term enforcement of supreme federal power in the nation for years to come. Eventually, these conflicts would help fuel the beginnings of the Civil War, the results of which finalized the idea of strong, centralized federal power and annulled two extreme states’ rights: nullification and secession. In 1798, the first conflict regarding the controversy between federal and state power arose. During the year, four bills constituting the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by Congress with laws including powers serving to deport foreigners, restrict new immigrants’ right to vote, and deter government criticism. However, these laws were deemed controversial as members of the Republican party declared their violation of the First Amendment right to free speech. Thus, the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, drafted by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, were passed to resolve the situation in those states. Both authors’ explanations regarding the unconstitutionality of the Alien and

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