Proponents of nullification continue to spread the message that the solutions that Americans say they want will not be found at the federal level. They painstakingly show how the principle is constitutional, supported by history and attractive to people from all points of view. Yet, despite these efforts one charge is always leveled at nullification in an attempt to shut down debate. This charge is that nullification is synonymous with racism.
The people who trumpet this charge base it on two points, the accurate statement that several southern states attempted to nullify desegregation in the 1950s and the inaccurate statement that the South used nullification to protect slavery in the first half of the 19th Century. However, if we look at nullification’s history we find that it becomes incredibly difficult to make the claim that nullification is racist in principle.
Let’s review some of the ways in which the principles of nullification have been used with respect to race.
1826: Pennsylvania enacts a Personal Liberty Law which makes it more difficult to return runaway slaves to bondage. The Supreme Court later declares this law unconstitutional.
1854-1858: Passage of Northern Personal Liberty Laws, state laws aimed at nullifying the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (eight Northern states pass laws to this effect and Ohio passes two).Details