THE HARTFORD CONVENTION AND THE NULLIFICATION CRISIS

Abstract

The issues of nullification, as a right of the states to nullify the acts of Federal Government, and secession are the most important legal questions in the first decades of the U.S. That period was marked by fierce political struggle between followers and opponents of nullification and secession. In this article the author analyzes two important events in this struggle: The Hartford Convention and the Nullification crisis. Although these events are different, both had roots in Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. Secession was thought to be the ultimate legal and political instrument that the states have as sovereign bodies against unconstitutional acts of the Federal Government. That theory got its legal shape in the writings of John Calhoun. On the other hand, the theory of opponents of nullification and secession was not drafted until 1830s.