Federalizm w myśli politycznej Starego Południa Stanów Zjednoczonych

From the beginning of the United States, there was the debate about the interpretation of the US Constitution and the meaning of federalism. Opposing the centralisation promoted by the Northern Federalists and later the Nationalists, Southern statesmen countered with the concept of states’ rights, compact theory and strict construction of the Constitution, which were the basis of the Southern understanding of federalism. In this article, the author analyses the origins of these crucial categories and their justification in the reflections of the most important theorists of the Old South: Tucker, Taylor of Caroline, Randolph of Roanoke, Hayne and Calhoun.