Defunct
81-460: Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other The National Journalism Center ( NJC ) is an American conservative political organization established in 1977 by conservative journalist M. Stanton Evans . Its president is Scott Walker , former Republican governor of Wisconsin , who
162-666: A federal republic under the rule of law . Conservative philosophy also derives in part from the classical liberal tradition of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, which advocated laissez-faire economics (i.e. economic freedom and deregulation ). Louis Hartz argues that socialism has failed to become established in the United States because of Americans' widespread acceptance of an enduring, underlying Lockean consensus. While historians such as Patrick Allitt (born 1956) and political theorists such as Russell Kirk (1918–1994) assert that conservative principles have played
243-432: A Conservative Party. They soon merged it into the state Democratic Parties. All of the major American political parties support republicanism and the basic classical liberal ideals on which the country was founded in 1776, emphasizing liberty, the rule of law, the consent of the governed , and that all men were created equal. Political divisions inside the United States often seemed minor or trivial to Europeans, where
324-434: A Constitution for the United States and of amendments thereto, they constituted a general government for special purposes, delegated to that government certain definite powers, reserving each State to itself, the residuary mass of right to their own self-government; and that whensoever the general government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force: That to this compact each State acceded as
405-522: A State, and is an integral party, its co-States forming, as to itself, the other party....each party has an equal right to judge for itself, as well of infractions as of the mode and measure of redress. The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which became part of the Principles of '98 , along with the supporting Report of 1800 by Madison, became final documents of Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party . Gutzman argued that Governor Edmund Randolph designed
486-612: A balance between federal government and states' rights . Apart from some right-libertarians , American conservatives tend to favor strong action in areas they believe to be within government's legitimate jurisdiction, particularly national defense and law enforcement while opposing government intervention in social issues such as healthcare and the environment . Social conservatives —many of them religious—often oppose abortion and same-sex marriage . They often favor prayer in public schools and government funding for private religious schools . Like most political ideologies in
567-657: A balanced budget. They argue that low taxes produce more jobs and wealth for everyone, and, as President Grover Cleveland said, "unnecessary taxation is unjust taxation". A recent movement against the inheritance tax labels such a tax as a " death tax ." Fiscal conservatives often argue that competition in the free market is more effective than the regulation of industry and is the most efficient way to promote economic growth . The Republican Party has taken widely varying views on protectionism and free trade throughout its history. Others, such as some libertarians and followers of Ludwig von Mises , believe all government intervention in
648-637: A case which arose out of the Colfax Massacre of Black residents contesting the results of a Reconstruction-era election, the Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply to the First Amendment or Second Amendment to state governments in respect to their own citizens, only to acts of the federal government. In McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), the Supreme Court held that
729-576: A liberal bias . Alumni of journalism include: Several NJC alumni have gone on to author books and become leading personalities on cable news shows. Conservatism in the United States Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Conservatism in
810-491: A major role in U.S. politics and culture since 1776, they also argue that an organized conservative movement with beliefs that differ from those of other American political parties did not emerge in the U.S. at least until the 1950s. The recent movement conservatism has its base in the Republican Party , which has adopted conservative policies since the 1950s; Southern Democrats also became important early figures in
891-600: A monarchy, an established church, or a hereditary aristocracy. American conservatism is best characterized as a reaction against utopian ideas of progress and European political philosophy from before the end of World War II . Russell Kirk saw the American Revolution itself as "a conservative reaction, in the English political tradition, against royal innovation". In the 2022 book The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism , Matthew Continetti noted that
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#1732847608240972-749: A more militaristic , interventionist foreign policy aimed at promoting democracy abroad, which stands in stark contrast to Paleoconservatisms more isolationist foreign policy. Neoconservatives often name communism and Islamism as the biggest threats to the free world. They often oppose the United Nations for interfering with American unilateralism. National conservatism focuses on upholding national and cultural identity . National conservatives strongly identify with American nationalism , patriotism , and American exceptionalism , while opposing internationalism , globalism , and multiculturalism . The movement seeks to promote national interests through
1053-768: A professor of history at Mount Holyoke College , wrote: Here was no lover of government by plutocracy, no dreamer of an America filled with factions and hard-packed cities. Here was a man who loved America as it was and had been, one whose life was a doughty testament to the trials and glories of ordered liberty. Here ... was the model of the American conservative. States%27 rights Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other In American political discourse , states' rights are political powers held for
1134-614: A smaller government is known as starve the beast . Activist Grover Norquist is a well-known proponent of the strategy and has famously said, "My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub." The argument in favor of balanced budgets is often coupled with a belief that government welfare programs should be narrowly tailored and that tax rates should be low, which implies relatively small government institutions. Neoconservatism emphasizes foreign policy over domestic policy. Its supporters, mainly war hawks , advocate
1215-446: A steady flow of "prescription and prejudice". Kirk's use of the word "prejudice" here is not intended to carry its contemporary pejorative connotation: a conservative himself, he believed that the inherited wisdom of the ages may be a better guide than apparently rational individual judgment. Through much of the 20th century, a primary force uniting the varied strands of conservatism, and uniting conservatives with liberals and socialists,
1296-406: A strong national defense , gun rights , capital punishment , and a defense of Western culture from perceived threats posed by communism , Islamism and moral relativism . American conservatives may question epidemiology , climate change , and evolution more frequently than moderates or liberals . In the United States, " conservative " is often used very differently from the way it
1377-534: A study of human experience. On this point we are, without reservations, on the conservative side. According to Peter Viereck , American conservatism is distinctive because it was not tied to a monarchy, landed aristocracy, established church, or military elite. Instead American conservatives were firmly rooted in American republicanism , which European conservatives opposed. They are committed, says Seymour Martin Lipset , to
1458-562: A week. Placements have included Newsmax , The Daily Caller , The Washington Free Beacon , Catholic News Service , RealClearReligion , and Red Alert Politics . Participants also attend a weekly seminar at Young America's Foundation headquarters in Reston, Virginia . Additional reported program activities have included a six-week course on investigative reporting from a Free Beacon journalist and visits to National Rifle Association headquarters where interns shot AR-15 rifles and AK-47s . Though
1539-536: Is a form of democratized Whig constitutionalism plus the free market . The point of difference comes with the influence of social liberalism ". American conservatives tend to support Christian values , moral absolutism , and American exceptionalism , while opposing abortion , euthanasia , and some LGBT rights (depending on the politicians). They tend to favor economic liberalism , and are generally pro- business and pro- capitalism , while opposing communism and labor unions . They often advocate for
1620-419: Is a large and mainstream ideology in the Republican Party and nation. As of 2021, 36 percent of Americans consider themselves conservative, according to polling by Gallup, Inc. Conservatism in the United States is not a single school of thought. According to American philosopher Ian Adams, all major American parties are " liberal and always have been. Essentially they espouse classical liberalism , that
1701-580: Is also president of Young America's Foundation . The current program director is Becket Adams, who has written for conservative publications including the Washington Examiner and the National Review . The NJC runs programs and internships for journalism students to educate them on professional journalism and conservative political issues and values. The 12-week Washington, D.C. based program places interns at news outlets where they work four days
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#17328476082401782-524: Is used in Europe. Following the American Revolution , Americans rejected the then core ideals of European conservatism, which were based on landed nobility , hereditary monarchy , established churches , and powerful armies. Conservatives in the United States historically view individual liberty within the bounds of conservative values as the fundamental trait of democracy . They typically believe in
1863-761: The Civil Rights Cases (1883), the Supreme Court allowed segregation by striking down the Civil Rights Act of 1875 , a statute that prohibited racial discrimination in public accommodation. It again held that the Equal Protection Clause applied only to acts done by states, not to those done by private individuals, and as the Civil Rights Act of 1875 applied to private establishments, the Court said, it exceeded congressional enforcement power under Section 5 of
1944-623: The Dred Scott decision —all triumphs of the Slave Power —did far more than either tariffs or internal improvements, which in their origin were also southern measures, to destroy the very memory of states' rights as they existed in 1789. Whenever a question arose of extending or protecting slavery, the slaveholders became friends of centralized power, and used that dangerous weapon with a kind of frenzy. Slavery in fact required centralization in order to maintain and protect itself, but it required to control
2025-474: The South Carolina Exposition and Protest in 1828, written in response to the " Tariff of Abominations ". Exposition and Protest was the work of South Carolina senator and former vice president John C. Calhoun , formerly an advocate of protective tariffs and internal improvements at federal expense. South Carolina 's Nullification Ordinance declared that both the tariff of 1828 and
2106-590: The New Deal , and then World War II saw further growth in the authority and responsibilities of the federal government. The case of Wickard v. Filburn allowed the federal government to enforce the Agricultural Adjustment Act , providing subsidies to farmers for limiting their crop yields, arguing agriculture affected interstate commerce and came under the jurisdiction of the Commerce Clause even when
2187-452: The nuclear family . There are two overlapping subgroups of social conservatives: the traditional and the religious. Traditional conservatives strongly support traditional codes of conduct, especially those they feel are threatened by social change and modernization. Religious conservatives focus on conducting society based on the morals prescribed by fundamentalist religious authorities, rejecting secularism and moral relativism . In
2268-633: The state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution , reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the Tenth Amendment . The enumerated powers that are listed in the Constitution include exclusive federal powers , as well as concurrent powers that are shared with the states, and all of those powers are contrasted with the reserved powers —also called states' rights—that only
2349-606: The tariff of 1832 were null and void within the state borders of South Carolina. This action initiated the Nullification Crisis . Passed by a state convention on November 24, 1832, it led, on December 10, to President Andrew Jackson 's proclamation against South Carolina, which sent a naval flotilla and a threat of sending federal troops to enforce the tariffs; Jackson authorized this under color of national authority, claiming in his 1832 Proclamation Regarding Nullification that "our social compact in express terms declares, that
2430-680: The 1980s preached traditional moral and religious social values. The history of American conservatism has been marked by tensions and competing ideologies. During the era of Ronald Reagan , a coalition of ideologies was formed that was known as "the Three Leg Stool " — the three legs being social conservatives (consisting of the Christian right and paleo-conservatives ), war hawks (consisting of interventionists and neoconservatives ), and fiscal conservatives (consisting of right-libertarians and free-market capitalists ), with overlap between
2511-592: The American conservative movement has been fractured for a century. Political conservatives have emphasized an identification with the Founding Fathers of the United States and the U.S. Constitution . Scholars of conservative political thought "generally label John Adams as the intellectual father of American conservatism". Russell Kirk points to Adams as the key Founding Father for conservatives, saying that "some writers regard him as America's most important conservative public man". In 1955, Clinton Rossiter ,
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2592-512: The Confederacy's actions during the war: The attempts of the Confederacy to annex Missouri and Kentucky , for example, against the will of these states, prove the hollowness of the pretext that it is fighting for the rights of the individual states against the encroachments of the Union. On the individual states that it considers to belong to the "South" it confers, to be sure, the right to secede from
2673-502: The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights, and the reality that the slave-power represented, as what they describe as an anti-democratic, counter-republican, oligarchic, despotic, authoritarian, if not totalitarian, movement for ownership of human beings as the personal chattels of the slaver. As this cognitive dissonance increased, the people of
2754-593: The Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison secretly wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions , which provide a classic statement in support of states' rights and called on state legislatures to nullify unconstitutional federal laws . (The other states, however, did not follow suit and several rejected the notion that states could nullify federal law.) According to this theory,
2835-636: The Fourteenth Amendment . By the beginning of the 20th century, greater cooperation began to develop between the state and federal governments and the federal government began to accumulate more power. Early in this period, a federal income tax was imposed, first during the Civil War as a war measure and then permanently with the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913. Before this, the states played a larger role in government. States' rights were affected by
2916-678: The Land" and provides that "the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." However, the Supremacy Clause only applies if the federal government is acting in pursuit of its constitutionally authorized powers, as noted by the phrase "in pursuance thereof" in the actual text of the Supremacy Clause itself (see above). When
2997-737: The NJC's political stance. Academic directors moderate discussion groups following breakfast. In the 1990s a number of NJC alumni worked with tobacco company Philip Morris USA as part of a campaign to generate public distrust of the United States Environmental Protection Agency risk assessment report on Environmental Tobacco Smoke . Philip Morris financially supported the NJC in order to gain access to alumni journalists. Some participants have stated that NJC's internship programs encourage conservative students to enter and ideologically diversify media organizations accused of showing
3078-647: The North. The North, by contrast, had a growing domestic industrial economy that viewed foreign trade as competition. Trade barriers, especially protective tariffs, were viewed as harmful to the Southern economy, which depended on exports. In 1828, the Congress passed protective tariffs to benefit trade in the northern states, but that were detrimental to the South. Southerners vocally expressed their tariff opposition in documents such as
3159-517: The Northern states, and the Northern states themselves, became increasingly inclined to resist the encroachments of the Slave Power upon their states' rights and encroachments of the Slave Power by and upon the federal government of the United States. The Slave Power, having failed to maintain its dominance of the federal government through democratic means, sought other means of maintaining its dominance of
3240-564: The Second Amendment right of an individual to "keep and bear arms" is incorporated by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and therefore fully applicable to states and local governments. Furthermore, United States v. Harris (1883) held that the Equal Protection Clause did not apply to an 1883 prison lynching on the basis that the Fourteenth Amendment applied only to state acts, not to individual criminal actions. In
3321-433: The Southern " Bible Belt " and in recent years played a major role in the political coalitions of George W. Bush and Donald Trump . Fiscal conservatism has ideological roots in capitalism , limited government , free enterprise , and laissez-faire economics. Fiscal conservatives typically support tax cuts , reduced government spending , free markets , deregulation , privatization , minimal government debt , and
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3402-483: The Southerners only advocated states' rights when they disagreed with a policy. Examples given are a states' right to engage in slavery or to suppress freedom of speech. They argue that it was instead the result of the increasing cognitive dissonance in the minds of Northerners and (some) Southern non-slaveowners between the ideals that the United States was founded upon and identified itself as standing for, as expressed in
3483-545: The Territories—which are the common possession of the United States—to give advantages to the citizens of one State which are not equally secured to those of every other State. Southern states argued against "states' rights" when it benefited them in the context of fugitive slave laws . For example, Texas challenged some northern states having the right to protect fugitive slaves, with the argument that this would make
3564-464: The Union, but by no means the right to remain in the Union. The historian William H. Freehling noted that the South's argument for a state's right to secede was different from Thomas Jefferson's, in that Jefferson based such a right on the unalienable equal rights of man. The South's version of such a right was modified to be consistent with slavery, and with the South's blend of democracy and authoritarianism. Historian Henry Brooks Adams explains that
3645-468: The United States is based on a belief in individualism , traditionalism , republicanism , and limited federal governmental power in relation to U.S. states . Conservatism is one of two major political ideologies of the United States with the other being liberalism . Conservative and Christian media organizations and American conservative figures are influential, and American conservatism
3726-469: The United States , conservatism originates from republicanism , which rejects aristocratic and monarchical government and upholds the principles of the 1776 U.S. Declaration of Independence ("that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness") and of the U.S. Constitution , which established
3807-495: The United States, and that the ordinances of secession, and all the acts of the legislatures within seceding states intended to give effect to such ordinances, were "absolutely null " under the constitution. A series of Supreme Court decisions developed the state action constraint on the Equal Protection Clause . The state action theory weakened the effect of the Equal Protection Clause against state governments, in that
3888-491: The United States, this translates into hard-line stances on moral issues, such as opposition to abortion , LGBT rights , feminism , pornography , comprehensive sex education , and recreational drug use . Religious conservatives often assert that America is a Christian nation , calling for laws that enforce Christian morality . They often support school prayer , vouchers for parochial schools , and restricting or outlawing abortion . Social conservatives are strongest in
3969-436: The anti-slavery North took a consistent and principled stand on states' rights against federal encroachment throughout its history, while the Southern states, whenever they saw an opportunity to expand slavery and the reach of their political influence, termed Slave Power , often conveniently forgot the principle of states' rights—and fought in favor of federal centralization: Between the Slave Power and states' rights there
4050-735: The belief in America's "superiority against the cold reactionary monarchical and more rigidly status-bound system of European society". In terms of governmental economic policies, American conservatives have been heavily influenced by the classical liberal or libertarian tradition as expressed by Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman , and a major source of influence has been the Chicago school of economics . They have been strongly opposed to Keynesian economics . Traditional ( Burkean ) conservatives tend to be anti-ideological, and some would even say anti-philosophical, promoting, as Russell Kirk explained,
4131-402: The central government, authorizing it to exercise powers deemed necessary to exercise its authority, with an ambiguous boundary between the two co-existing levels of government. In the event of any conflict between state and federal law, the Constitution resolved the conflict via the Supremacy Clause of Article VI in favor of the federal government, which declares federal law the "supreme Law of
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#17328476082404212-401: The centralized machine; it needed despotic principles of government, but it needed them exclusively for its own use. Thus, in truth, states' rights were the protection of the free states, and as a matter of fact, during the domination of the Slave Power, Massachusetts appealed to this protecting principle as often and almost as loudly as South Carolina . Sinha and Richards both argue that
4293-405: The clause was held not to apply to unequal protection of the laws caused in part by complete lack of state action in specific cases, even if state actions in other instances form an overall pattern of segregation and other discrimination. The separate but equal theory further weakened the effect of the Equal Protection Clause against state governments. With United States v. Cruikshank (1876),
4374-691: The divide between the left and the right led to violent polarization, starting with the French Revolution . In 2009, Emory University history professor Patrick Allitt wrote that attitude, not policy, are at the core of differences between liberals and conservatives: Certain continuities can be traced through American history. The conservative 'attitude' ... was one of trusting to the past, to long-established patterns of thought and conduct, and of assuming that novelties were more likely to be dangerous than advantageous. No American party has ever advocated traditional European ideals of "conservatism" such as
4455-416: The economy is wasteful, corrupt, and immoral. Fiscal conservatism advocates restraint of progressive taxation and expenditure. Fiscal conservatives since the 19th century have argued that debt is a device to corrupt politics; they argue that big spending ruins the morals of the people, and that a national debt creates a dangerous class of speculators. A political strategy employed by conservatives to achieve
4536-493: The era, we are, without reservations, on the libertarian side. The profound crisis of our era is, in essence, the conflict between the Social Engineers, who seek to adjust mankind to scientific utopias, and the disciples of Truth, who defend the organic moral order. We believe that truth is neither arrived at nor illuminated by monitoring election results, binding though these are for other purposes, but by other means, including
4617-608: The federal government, by means of military aggression, by right of force and coercion, and thus, the Civil War occurred. In Texas v. White , 74 U.S. 700 (1869) the Supreme Court ruled that Texas had remained a state ever since it first joined the Union, despite claims to have joined the Confederate States of America ; the court further held that the Constitution did not permit states to unilaterally secede from
4698-519: The federal government. The most vociferous supporters of states' rights, such as John Randolph of Roanoke , were called "Old Republicans" into the 1820s and 1830s. Tate (2011) undertook a literary criticism of a major book by John Taylor of Caroline , New Views of the Constitution of the United States. Tate argues it is structured as a forensic historiography modeled on the techniques of 18th-century Whig lawyers. Taylor believed that evidence from American history gave proof of state sovereignty within
4779-474: The federal union is a voluntary association of states, and if the central government goes too far each state has the right to nullify that law. As Jefferson said in the Kentucky Resolutions: Resolved, that the several States composing the United States of America, are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their general government; but that by compact under the style and title of
4860-533: The fundamental alteration of the federal government resulting from the Seventeenth Amendment , depriving state governments of an avenue of control over the federal government via the representation of each state's legislature in the U.S. Senate . This change has been described by legal critics as the loss of a check and balance on the federal government by the states. Following the Great Depression ,
4941-538: The institution null once a particular slave had crossed into a free state . The question was pivotal in the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford . The historian James McPherson noted that Southerners were inconsistent on the states' rights issue, and that Northern states tried to protect the rights of their states against the South during the Gag Rule and fugitive slave law controversies. Contemporany political thinkers like Karl Marx also noted this inconsistency regarding
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#17328476082405022-459: The late eighteenth century to support slavery. A major Southern argument in the 1850s was that federal law to ban the expansion of slavery into the territories discriminated against states that allowed slavery, making them second-class states. In 1857 the Supreme Court sided with these states' rights supporters, declaring in Dred Scott v. Sandford that Congress had no authority to regulate slavery in
5103-406: The laws of the United States, its Constitution, and treaties made under it, are the supreme law of the land" and for greater caution adds, "that the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding." Over following decades, another central dispute over states' rights moved to the forefront. The issue of slavery polarized
5184-476: The movement's history. In 1937, Southern Democrats formed the congressional conservative coalition , which played an influential role in Congress from the late 1930s to the mid-1960s. In recent decades, Southern conservatives voted heavily Republican. Conservatism in the United States is not a single school of thought. Barry Goldwater in the 1960s spoke for a " free enterprise " conservatism. Jerry Falwell in
5265-461: The non-slave-states' rights were violated both by that decision and by the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. While historians in the 21st century agree on the centrality of the conflict over slavery, they disagree sharply on which aspects of this conflict (ideological, economic, political, or social) were most important. Southern states had a long tradition of using states' rights doctrine since
5346-516: The preservation of traditional cultural values , restrictions on illegal immigration , and strict law and order policies. In the United States, there has never been a national political party called the Conservative Party. Since 1962, there has been a small Conservative Party of New York State . During Reconstruction in several states in the South in the late 1860s, the former Whigs formed
5427-514: The program does not accept or deny placement in regard to political preference, intern placements are often in well-known conservative publications. Internships draw from the United States and Canada . Each intern is given a monthly stipend ($ 1,000 a month as of 2015). Weekly discussion groups on issues are held at the National Press Club , where the NJC offices are located. Guest speakers include journalists, alumni, and lobbyists that share
5508-526: The protest in the name of moderation. Gutzman argues that in 1798, Madison espoused states' rights to defeat national legislation that he maintained was a threat to republicanism. During 1831–33, the South Carolina Nullifiers quoted Madison in their defense of states' rights. But Madison feared that the growing support for this doctrine would undermine the union and argued that by ratifying the Constitution states had transferred their sovereignty to
5589-483: The same time as news of the great American victory at the Battle of New Orleans , the Federalists were politically ruined. One major and continuous strain on the union, from roughly 1820 through the Civil War, was the issue of trade and tariffs . Heavily dependent upon international trade, the almost entirely agricultural and export -oriented South imported most of its manufactured goods from Europe or obtained them from
5670-614: The sides . In the 21st century United States, types of conservatism include: In February 1955, in the first issue of National Review , William F. Buckley Jr. explained the standards of his magazine and articulate the beliefs of American conservatives: Among our convictions: It is the job of centralized government (in peacetime) to protect its citizens' lives, liberty and property. All other activities of government tend to diminish freedom and hamper progress. The growth of government (the dominant social feature of this century) must be fought relentlessly. In this great social conflict of
5751-399: The states and the people therein only if the act was in pursuance of constitutionally granted powers, and juxtaposing acts which exceeded those bounds as "void and of no force": But it will not follow from this doctrine that acts of the large society which are not pursuant to its constitutional powers, but which are invasions of the residuary authorities of the smaller societies, will become
5832-452: The states possess certain powers to the exclusion of the federal government, even if the Constitution does not explicitly limit them to the states. The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution states: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof ; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be
5913-402: The states possess. Since the 1940s, the term "states' rights" has often been considered a loaded term or dog whistle because of its use in opposition to federally-mandated racial desegregation and, more recently, same-sex marriage and reproductive rights . The balance of federal powers and those powers held by the states as defined in the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution
5994-574: The supreme law of the land. These will be merely acts of usurpation, and will deserve to be treated as such. In the period between the American Revolution and the ratification of the United States Constitution , the states had united under a much weaker federal government and a much stronger state and local government, pursuant to the Articles of Confederation . The Articles gave the central government very little, if any, authority to overrule individual state actions. The Constitution subsequently strengthened
6075-402: The supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding. (Emphasis added.) In The Federalist Papers , ratification proponent Alexander Hamilton explained the limitations this clause placed on the proposed federal government, describing that acts of the federal government were binding on
6156-510: The territories. Jefferson Davis used the following argument in favor of the equal rights of states: Resolved, That the union of these States rests on the equality of rights and privileges among its members, and that it is especially the duty of the Senate, which represents the States in their sovereign capacity, to resist all attempts to discriminate either in relation to person or property, so as, in
6237-506: The union, against the arguments of nationalists such as U.S. Chief Justice John Marshall. Another states' rights dispute occurred over the War of 1812 . At the Hartford Convention of 1814–15, New England Federalists voiced opposition to President Madison's war, and discussed secession from the Union. In the end they stopped short of calls for secession, but when their report appeared at
6318-571: The union, with the Jeffersonian principles often being used by both sides—anti-slavery Northerners, and Southern slaveholders and secessionists—in debates that ultimately led to the American Civil War . Supporters of slavery often argued that one of the rights of the states was the protection of slave property wherever it went, a position endorsed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857 Dred Scott decision . In contrast, opponents of slavery argued that
6399-428: Was first addressed in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819). The Court's decision by Chief Justice John Marshall asserted that the laws adopted by the federal government, when exercising its constitutional powers, are generally paramount over any conflicting laws adopted by state governments. After McCulloch , the primary legal issues in this area concerned the scope of Congress' constitutional powers, and whether
6480-467: Was no necessary connection. The Slave Power, when in control, was a centralizing influence, and all the most considerable encroachments on states' rights were its acts. The acquisition and admission of Louisiana; the Embargo; the War of 1812 ; the annexation of Texas "by joint resolution" [rather than treaty]; the war with Mexico , declared by the mere announcement of President Polk ; the Fugitive Slave Law ;
6561-675: Was opposition to communism, which was seen not only as an enemy of the traditional order but also the enemy of Western freedom and democracy. Between 1945 and 1947, it was the Labour government in the United Kingdom, which embraced socialism, that pushed the Truman administration to take a strong stand against Soviet Communism . Social conservatism in the United States is the defense of traditional family values rooted in Judeo-Christian ethics and
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