Since the inception of the United States as a Constitutional Republic, there have been many opponents of democracy.  For example, John Adams and his Federalist buddies passed the Alien and Sedition Acts which prohibited open criticism of the then established federal government.  Of course, this act flew directly into the face of the Constitution, in particular the First and Ninth Amendments of the Bill of Rights.  In contrast to the Alien and Sedition Act was the Virginia Resolution of 1798 and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 and 1799 were written as strenuous objections to what was believed to be a vast overreach of the federal government. 

According to the Kentucky Resolution of 1798 and 1799 all “acts which assume to create, define, or punish crimes other than those so enumerated in the Constitution,) are altogether void, and of no force; and that the power to create, define, and punish, such other crimes is reserved, and of right appertains, solely and exclusively, to the respective states, each within its own territory.”[1]  The Virginia Resolution was in lock step with the Kentucky Resolution, saying “the General Assembly doth solemnly appeal to the like dispositions in the other states, in confidence that they will concur with this commonwealth in declaring, as it does hereby declare, that the acts aforesaid are unconstitutional; and that the necessary and proper measures will be taken by each, for cooperating with this state, in maintaining unimpaired the authorities, rights, and liberties, reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”[2]

In reading Story, it was also established that “it should be the object of every patriot in the United States to encourage a high respect for the State governments.”[3]  Based on these mentioned sources, it is my belief that that the duty of nullification belongs to the states and not the Judiciary.  The people of the Unites States have been conditioned by actions taken by, and through, the Supreme Court that this court is paramount arbiter of the U.S. Constitution.   As such, I believe that the Supreme Court in some ways has overstepped its bounds as it pertains to the scope of their mission. 

Over time, the rights of the states have been eroded by the constant flowing of federal government oversight, as apparent in the recent pandemic mandating that citizens follow certain protocols which are in direct opposition to the rights enumerated in the U.S. Constitution.

Elliott, Jonathan. Kentucky Resolutions of 1798. November 19, 1798. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Kentucky_Resolutions_of_1798 (accessed June 1, 2021).

—. Virginia Resolutions of 1798. December 21, 1798. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Virginia_Resolutions_of_1798 (accessed June 1, 2021).

Story, Joseph L. Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States (1833). n.d. https://lonang.com/library/reference/story-commentaries-us-constitution/sto-304/ (accessed June 1, 2021).

Upshur, Abel P. A Brief Enquiry into the Nature and Character of our Federal Government/Complete. n.d. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Brief_Enquiry_into_the_Nature_and_Character_of_our_Federal_Government/Complete (accessed June 1, 2021).