A state

How powerful is a state? How powerful should it be? These questions have been debated since the
Revolution. Under the Articles of Confederation, we saw states with significantly higher power than the

national government; there was an attempt at more balance in the Constitution. Yet the debate over the

power of each level of government continued to be debated, and this debate formed some of the reasoning

behind having a Bill of Rights, led to the formation of our two political parties, and formed the basis of

many of our conflicts in U.S. history. In the Federalist Era, we saw James Madison and Thomas Jefferson

write the “Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions,” in reaction to the Alien and Sedition Acts; their work

outlined their beliefs of where national law overreached and states should be able to counter that law. And

in the Age of Jackson, we see the issue arise again in relation to the tariffs.

Sample Solution