Final answer:
State's rights are powers given to states by the U.S. Constitution and have been used by conservative candidates to appeal to southern voters, sometimes masking racial prejudices. In the Civil War era, it was a legal justification for secession to maintain slavery. Today, the concept is involved in various political debates over local versus federal control.
Step-by-step explanation:
State's rights refer to the powers that the U.S. Constitution expressly grants to the states. These powers are part of the federal balance between national authority and state sovereignty. Throughout history, and particularly during the Civil War era, the concept of state's rights was pivotal. Southern secessionists believed they had the legal right to leave the Union to protect their interests, namely slavery, which they believed was a property right.
Conservative candidates have historically used state's rights to appeal to southern voters by advocating for local control and against federal overreach. They claim this aligns with constitutional allowances and common sense, arguing that those closest to the issues should manage them. However, this same argument was historically employed to oppose civil rights by cloaking racial prejudices under the guise of protecting state sovereignty. In essence, local governance was favored, particularly during Reconstruction and the subsequent Civil Rights era, in order to maintain racial segregation and suppress African American civil liberties. For conservative supporters of civil rights, there was a fear that federal intervention might disrupt the states' autonomy as laid out in the Constitution.
During the 1950s and 60s, tactics like literacy tests and poll taxes were implemented under the pretense of state's rights to prevent African Americans from voting, effectively upholding white supremacy. The argument for states' rights continues to be invoked in modern political discourse, often in debates over issues like gun control, environmental regulation, and LGBTQ+ rights.