The Shaping of the U.S. Constitution

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In the initial years of the United States a meeting of delegates appointed by the several states met for the sole purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. The result of this meeting was the creation of the U.S. Constitution that would soon become the ultimate directive for both Federal and State Governments. Since its birth it has been revised, amended, and ratified in order to solidify the allocation of power between the separate branches of government. Although this may be the case, distribution of the powers has been disputed ever since the formation of the Constitution. These political, legal, and quasi-legal constitutional disputes triggered civil unrest and led to explicit acts of opposition involving nullification and sovereignty resolutions. Specified in the constitution and pertaining to the concept of federalism, governing powers were to be delegated to both the federal and state governments. This means that even though the states were part of a Union each state had certain rights to limit the power of the federal government to avoid bias. This was arguably the most important role of the states. This being said, Article VI of the Constitution makes federal law even above state law the "fundamental and paramount law of the nation," especially in judiciary circumstance (U.S. Const. art. VI, S2). As stated by Hays, scrutinizing nullification’s rejection provides insight into the role of federalism in constitutional policies, including contemporary state expressions of constitutional dissent. Throughout the nullification crisis and afterwards as well, southern states that buttressed South Carolina’s position on the Tariff of 1828 ultimately dismissed the proposed doctrine of nullification. This was the case because... ... middle of paper ... ...an, T. R. S. (2003). Constitutional dialogue and the justification of judicial review. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 23(4), 563-584. Retrieved from http://ojls.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/4/563.full.pdf Bradley D. Hays. 2013. “Nullification and the Political, Legal, and Quasi-Legal Constitutions.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism. 43. Spring: 221-222) Chemerinsky, E. (2002, August). The rhetoric of constitutional law. Retrieved from http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1633&context=faculty_scholarship In text: Fundamental and paramount law of the nation (U.S. Const. art. VI. S2) Reference list: U.S. Const. art. VI, S2. Levinson, Sanford. (1988). Constitutional rhetoric and the ninth amendment, Available from Vol.64. (Iss.1, Article 7) Retrieved from http://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2714&context=cklawreview

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