Nullification

Nullification the MOVIE  (View the Preview)

The Nullification Movement is gaining acceptance as more people get informed

• Health Care Nullification:  As we gear up for the 2011 State legislative sessions, we need to get behind all actions that resist federal encroachment on a state level.  One of the best examples of this is House Bill 297 (HB297) prefiled in Texas last month -- The Federal Health Care Nullification Act.  Unlike lawsuits, it doesn't reject just the mandates.  It nullifies ALL of Obamacare...
• Reclaiming the Commerce Clause:  For decades, using a tortured definition of the "Interstate Commerce Clause," Congress has claimed the authority to regulate, control, ban, or mandate virtually everything. Virginia's HB1438 puts that to an end by taking control of ALL commerce within the state
• Gun Rights, EPA Regulations, Monetary Policy and more: Expect to see various states around the country consider legislation on these, and other, issues in 2011.  Any undelegated federal power can, and should, be nullified on a state level.

     www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/

Listen to these important warnings presented by Mark Bork.

        www.youtube.com/watch?v=za8_pdJ1dPo&feature=channel_page

Nullification: a U.S. State has the right to nullify, or invalidate, any federal law that the state has deemed unconstitutional.  Two great U.S. Presidents explained how nullification is necessary to stop the unrelenting growth of the Federal Government.  Thomas Jefferson said it was the responsibility of the state to use nullification to defend the states and their citizens against Federal encroachment.  

The U.S. Supreme Court being a branch of the Federal Government is not a neutral arbiter when a state declares a Federal law unconstitutional and void.  The U.S. Supreme Court may be an impartial judge when two different states have a conflict, but  cannot hold a monopoly on Constitutional interpretation.  

A Federal Government cannot judge its own powers; to do so only allows it to continue to grow. The states never agreed to a system that would subordinate themselves to the Federal Government.

The legislature of a state has the intelligence to recognize an unconstitutional law, rule or act of the Federal Government.  If a state is in error, it is a minor evil compared to the evil done by a Federal Government that means to rule the nation taking UnConstitutional power.  Most likely, a state that wrongfully nullifies a Federal Law will reverse itself over time when no other state nullifies the same law.  But if that state is the first state to bravely nullify a Federal Law, and it is  correct, then it is doing a great service for the liberty of the citizens.

The Nullification Crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson occurred with South Carolina's 1832 Ordinance of Nullification. This ordinance declared, by the power of the State itself, that the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and therefore null and void within the sovereign boundaries of South Carolina. The highly protective Tariff of 1828, "Tariff of Abominations" was enacted into law during the presidency of John Quincy Adams and maintained by Andrew Jackson.

South Carolina was damaged by the tariff that promoted American manufacturing in the north over its British competition.  By 1828 South Carolina state politics increasingly organized around the tariff issue.

In November 1832 a state convention declared that the tariffs of both 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and unenforceable in South Carolina after February 1, 1833.  At the federal level both a Force Bill, authorizing the President to use military forces against South Carolina, and a new negotiated tariff satisfactory to South Carolina were passed by Congress. The South Carolina convention reconvened and repealed its Nullification Ordinance on March 11, 1833.  Apparently the use of nullification led to an acceptable conclusion for the state!

The Virginia Resolution was adopted by the Virginia Senate on December 24, 1798, as a protest against the Alien and Sedition Acts passed by Congress. It was authored by James Madison, in collaboration with Thomas Jefferson, who authored a set of resolutions for Kentucky.


Virginia Resolution of 1798 began with:

“RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of Virginia, doth unequivocably express a firm resolution to maintain and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of this State, against every aggression either foreign or domestic, and that they will support the government of the United States in all measures warranted by the former.

That this assembly most solemnly declares a warm attachment to the Union of the States, to maintain which it pledges all its powers; and that for this end, it is their duty to watch over and oppose every infraction of those principles which constitute the only basis of that Union, because a faithful observance of them, can alone secure it's existence and the public happiness”.   

James Madison clearly stated that it is the State's obligation to stop the Federal Government when it violates the Constitution.
http://www.constitution.org/cons/virg1798.htm

Nullification is a moderate solution; Secession is an extreme solution. 

When the State of South Carolina signed The Ordinance of Secession on Dec 20, 1860, the President of the United States used the army to exert the power of the Federal Government over a sovereign state.  All individual states retain the right to secede from the Union.  An act of force by the Union Army did not alter the truth.

The 10th Amendment codifies in law that We the People of the several states created the Federal Government to be our agent for certain enumerated, or listed, powers – and nothing more.  The Federal Government is a creature created by the states.  It is not the master of the states.  The Federal Government routinely violates the Constitution while claiming it defends it.

The Federal Government’s invasion of the states that seceded from the union caused over 600,000 Americans' deaths, plus the additional wounded and maimed.  Many wounded became drug addicted.  During the conflict, the Federal Government committed many unconstitutional acts:

Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and used the military to arrest and imprison opposition to his war and domestic policies.

Newspapers that criticized Lincoln were shut down.  Some publishers and editors were imprisoned without trial.  Federal Troops interfered with Maryland elections, even throwing out votes for candidates opposed to the war.

Most of Maryland’s duly elected legislature were imprisoned for suspected southern sympathies.

There was no Congressional consent given in 1861 when President Lincoln sent 75,000 troops to invade the seceding states.  A blockade of Southern ports was ordered by a President of the US.  The U.S. Constitution permits a blockade only as an act of war against a foreign power and requires a Congressional resolution.  The President asserted that the states were in "rebellion" and went ahead and blocked their ports with no Congressional Resolution.  

If nothing has the power to oppose a wrongful use of Federal Power, then Federal abuse of power flourishes.  We witnessed this historically.  The different branches of the Federal Government have not restrained the growth of the central government.     

Following the use of force that laid waste to several southern states, corrupt and opportunistic carpetbaggers swarmed into South Carolina and ripped off the residents. The Federal Government sanctioned the plunder.  Hundreds of thousands of acres of land were stolen.  Can nullification, even when wrongfully applied, ever reach the heights of evil that followed the surrender of the Confederate Armies?   A Federal Government invaded states that exercised their right to secede and then plundered their economies after the fighting ended.  The state of Mississippi was one of the wealthest states prior to invasion by the Federal Government.  Did  the citizens of Mississippi deserve to have their economy ruined and the people killed?   

After the war ended in 1865, the central government had by force suppressed state sovereignty. The next advancement of central government power took place in the early 1900’s.    A well funded and orchestrated campaign culminated in 1913 with the 16th and 17th Amendments and the creation of the Federal Reserve System. 

In 1905, 100 people met in New York and organized the Intercollegiate Socialist Society (ISS).  Their mission was to promote the world wide "industrial democracy" or socialism.  The democracy term is used to legitimize the collective ownership through government of all means of production.  "Production for use, not for profit" was the catch phase for the ISS. 

The United States of America is a Republic.  A Republic governs through elected representatives and allows for the country to scale to any size.  A Democracy becomes unmanageable as the country increases in size.  Full participation by all citizens in government affairs cannot be sustained over time. Historically, democracies self-destruct and transition into a tyranny.

Progressives and socialists launched ideological campaigns during the early 1900s.  The socialist worked to displace the Constitutional Republic in the minds of the populace with the term "democracy".  The Intercollegiate Socialist Society (ISS) relabeled themselves as "The League for Industrial Democracy".   The word "democracy" was used to give a favorable feeling towards any nationalization of the means of production and distribution.  Socialism and Communism in the Soviet Union showed its unrelenting violence and tyranny.  When in America the public reacted to the violence, the socialists resorted to word management tactics.  Democracy and progressive were the new labels for socialism.   In Europe, democracy or democratic is used as a euphemism for socialism.  Socialism ran several countries in Europe into the ground.  No country in Eastern Europe thrived under communist control.

President Woodrow Wilson surrounded himself with recruits from the ISS movement.  President Wilson pushed the phrase of making the world safe for democracy.   America was a democracy was the theme.  Replacing Republic with Democracy in communications was used to advance the narrative that portrays the Constitution as outdated and wrongfully constraining the government.  This messaging continued into modern times.  Socialists require a very controlling central government,  not a Republic, to institute a European style unitarian state.  

The 17th Amendment released U.S Senators from accountability to their states and therefore damaged one essential check on national government growth.  The Federal Reserve System took control of the nations money.  The 17th Amendment allowed  money and propaganda to be potent factors for winning elections for U.S Senators.  U.S Senators look to big money corporations, labor unions, and major media to stay in office for decades.  A Senator demanding reforms with the Federal Reserve System creates powerful adversaries.  The average citizen gain little with the direct election of the Senator.  A U.S Senator that works completely independent of his state's government is a Washington creature.  The Senator  willingly passes legislation that gives greater power to the national government and its bureaucracy.  When the State Legislatures elected their U.S. Senator,  hugh sums of money from outside the state had far less influence over the selection process.

The 16th Amendment and 17th Amendment need to be repealed.  The Progressive Income Tax System, which implements socialism,  is an abomination that is too complicated.  National statists had three great achievements in 1913 to permit the continuous growth of central government power going forward.  Schools stopped teaching the Constitution.  The public had always been well informed on the Constitution and how it restrains increasing government power.  Its tough to repeal amendments, but the states still have the nullification to use for defense against usurpation of the Constitution. 

When the Federal Government violates it limits, what do we do about it?  The words of Thomas Jefferson reminds us that the States are, “the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against antirepublican tendencies.”
Jefferson answered in 1798 that “whensoever” the Federal Government “assumes undelegated powers,” a “nullification of the act is the rightful remedy.” 

Notice that Jefferson didn’t tell us that a nullification of the act is a “good idea” – or that we should first try federal lawsuits or wait for the next election cycle.  He said, in fact, that every time Congress exercises powers not delegated to it – every time – it must be resisted on a state level.  Thus, when states pass laws to reject unconstitutional federal “laws,” this is not rebellion – it’s duty.

To review history that was filtered out the school systems starting in the early 1900's,  read or listen to the audio book:   "Nullification How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century"

by Thomas E. Woods, Jr. 

The Mises Institute Website has review and video on this book.

Citizens across the country are fed up with the politicians in Washington telling us how to live our lives and then sticking us with the bill. But what can we do?

Just say no.  New York Times bestselling author Thomas E. Woods, Jr., explains, nullification allows states to reject unconstitutional federal laws.  Nullification is the best way to stop an overreaching government that routinely takes power..

From issues ranging from privacy concerns to nationalized healthcare, Woods shows how knowledge of nullification can empower states to take action against socialist and special interest  policies. Unconstitutional laws are pouring out of Washington;  stopping them requires some historical education.

Ask Thomas Jefferson. There is a rightful remedy to federal power grabs. Its Nullification.

In Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century,  a historian explains not only why nullification is the constitutional tool the Founders envisioned, but how it works.    It was used to knock down fugitive slave laws, sedition laws, and destructive tariffs before the Civil War.

Get your State Representatives educated on Nullification.   Everyone needs to know the truth on how to safeguard liberty.  The Book explains:

How the states were meant to be checks against federal tyrannyand how a growing roster of governors and state attorneys general are recognizing they need to become that again.

Why the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution reinforces the rights of states to nullify unconstitutional laws.

Why it was left to the states to uphold the simple principle that an unconstitutional law is no law at all.

Why, without nullification, ordinary Americans will continue to suffer the oppression of unjust, unconstitutional laws.

The Author's web site:   www.tomwoods.com/books/nullification/

“Thomas Jefferson said, ‘Whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force.’ It turns out that at least two thirds of congressional spending is absent of any constitutional authority. That means that at the very least, it is going to take the vigorous use of nullification to restore the American republic. Anyone in the Tea Party movement or elsewhere who really wants to limit government ought to start with this highly readable and informative book.”

Walter E. Williams
John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics
George Mason University

Federal Tyranny depends on ignorance and propaganda.   Citizens with a sense of duty and public virtue are the defenders of the free republic.

Understand the Declaration of Independence and your U.S. Constitution to build your base for truth and confidence.    The book "The 5000 Year Leap,  Principles of Freedom 101"  explains the 28 principles learned by Americans during the 180 years prior to the American Revolution.  

  Visit the National Center for Constitutional Studies

Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared.  - --Eddie Rickenbacker

 MONTANA TO INTRODUCE BROAD-BASED STATE  NULLIFICATION ACT

www.newswithviews.com/JBWilliams/williams130.htm 

http://polymontana.com/freedom-bills/

The Key to Taking Back Freedom from a growing National Government is your state.

chuck-baldwin's State-Nullification-requisite-to-freedom  article.

Health Care Freedom Act  introduced in South Carolina

See article posted on 10th Amendment Center:

Defending the state's citizens against UnConstitutional Federal Laws.

TEXAS PLAYS DEFENSE

On Nov. 16, Texas Representative Leo Berman (R-Tyler) filed a bill in the Texas House of Representatives that would nullify federal health care legislation in the the Lone Star State  HB-297  asserts:

The federal Act is not authorized by the United States Constitution and violates the Constitution’s true meaning and intent as expressed by the founders of this country and the ratifiers of the Constitution.
The federal Act:
(1)  is invalid in this state;
(2)  is not recognized by this state;
(3)  is specifically rejected by this state; and
(4)  is null and void and of no effect in this state.

The bill takes things a step further, making it a crime for any official, agent, or employee of the United States or an employee of any corporation to enforce any part of the health care act in Texas, and imposes fines up to $5,000  and/or five years in prison for anyone convicted of doing so.

While some might call this legislation radical, it rests squarely within the scope of state power as understood by the framers of the Constitution. James Madison wrote in the Virginia Resolution of 1798 that states not only have a right, but a duty to step in when the federal government oversteps its authority.

That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it views the powers of the federal government, as resulting from the compact, to which the states are parties; as limited by the plain sense and intention of the instrument constituting the compact; as no further valid that they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact; and that in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining within their respective limits, the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining to them.

John C Calhoun

In the summer of 1831, John C. Calhoun wrote his famous “Fort Hill Address: On the Relation which the States and General Bear to Each Other.”   His prose included:

“The Constitution of the United States is, in fact, a compact, to which each State is a party. ... States, or parties, have a right to judge of its infractions; and in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of power not delegated, they have the right, in the last resort, to use the language of the Virginia Resolutions, ‘to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining, within their respective limits, the authorities, rights, and liberties appertaining to them.

“This right of interposition ... be it called what it may, — State-right, veto, nullification, or by any other name, — I conceive to be the fundamental principle of our system ... and I firmly believe that on its recognition depend the stability and safely of our political institutions.”

John C. Calhoun  (1782 - 1850) was born in Abbeville, on the frontier of South Carolina, the fourth child of Scots-Irish immigrants.   He was the Vice-President of the United States with two different Presidents.