States' rights

In American politics and constitutional law, states' rights are guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, (i.e. the tenth article of the Bill of Rights). It is usually used to defend a state law that the Federal government seeks to override, or a perceived violation of the bounds of Federal authority. "States' Rights" is actually a misnomer; only the people, in American constitutional law, hold rights. Governments hold "powers" or "authority."

The civil rights movement

During the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, states' rights again become strongly associated with Southern racial politics, with proponents of racial segregation and Jim Crow laws denouncing federal interference in these state-level policies. In 1948, pro-segregationist Strom Thurmond broke with the Democratic Party and formed the States' Rights Democratic Party, also known as the "Dixiecrats". Some observers pointed out that a plausible solution to the dilemma posed by "civil rights" vs. "states' rights" would have been the passage of civil-rights laws on a state rather than a federal level; when few as if any such laws were actually introduced during this time (though many were proposed, and passed, later), critics proclaimed the states' rights movement to be a smoke screen for continuing racial discrimination and segregation.

Related Topics:
Civil rights movement - 1950s - 1960s - Racial segregation - Jim Crow law - 1948 - Strom Thurmond - States' Rights Democratic Party

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