Devised by Calhoun. Questioned the legality of applying some federal laws in sovereign states. Calhoun argued that the US Constitution was based on a pact by 13 sovereign states. He thought that if the Constitution was established by 13 sovereign states then each state had the right to nullify or reject a federal law that it considered unconstitutional. Calhoun believed that if the federal government refused to let a state nullify a federal law the state had the right to withdraw from the Union.
