The Life of Andrew Jackson

by Robert V. Remini

The central question of the nullification controversy, raised by the tariff dispute, was whether the states had the right to declare federal law invalid within their boundaries (and, if necessary, to secede from the Union) in order to protect their rights. And Andrew Jackson had an absolutely clear answer to this question. It was simple and direct. It may not have been historically accurate, but he sincerely believed it to be so. The federal government, he said, was “based on a confederation of perpetual union” by an act of the people. A state may not invalidate federal law and may never secede. Moreover, the people, not the states, granted sovereignty to the federal government through the Constitution. They called the Union into existence, they created the federal government, and they granted federal power. These actions, he insisted, were taken by the people at conventions when they ratified the Constitution. And in ratifying the Constitution the people automatically amended their state constitutions to accord with the new arrangement.