Perverted Construction : James Madison, the Virginia Resolutions, and the Nullification Crisis

Abstract

This study focuses on James Madison's Virginia Resolutions, and the justification that John C. Calhoun and others found in those Resolutions for the doctrine of nullification, established in response to the Tariff of 1828. Madison denied this connection as a misconstruction of his doctrines. This study finds that Madison's Resolutions called for cooperation among the states to put an end to unconstitutional assumptions of power by the national government, and that he never advocated nullification on the part of an individual state or absolute state sovereignty, but instead emphasized divided sovereignty and shared power between the states and the national government. Furthermore, Madison argued that the tariff itself was constitutional, as instituting protective tariffs was within the powers of Congress. Difficulty in interpreting the Resolutions has led some to contend that Madison changed his mind or tempered his doctrines later in life, but this study argues that Madison was consistent, and that charges of inconsistency are based on a misunderstanding of the principles established in his Virginia Resolutions.