The issue of states' rights was a major constitutional issue leading up to the Civil War. The question of whether individual states had the right to nullify federal laws or secede from the Union was a contentious one, and it ultimately played a significant role in the outbreak of the war.
At the heart of the issue was the interpretation of the Constitution itself. Some argued that the Constitution was a compact between sovereign states, and that each state had the right to nullify any federal law that it deemed unconstitutional. Others argued that the Constitution established a strong federal government with the power to regulate the states.
This debate was most famously played out in the Nullification Crisis of 1832, when South Carolina attempted to nullify a federal tariff law. President Andrew Jackson responded by threatening to use military force to enforce the law, and the crisis was ultimately resolved through a compromise.
The issue of states' rights continued to simmer, however, and it came to a head in the years leading up to the Civil War. Southern states argued that they had the right to secede from the Union if they felt that their rights were being violated by the federal government. This was based on the idea of "compact theory" - that the Constitution was a compact between sovereign states, and that each state had the right to leave the Union if it chose to do so.
Northern states, on the other hand, argued that secession was unconstitutional and that the federal government had the power to prevent it. This was based on the idea of "national supremacy" - that the Constitution established a strong federal government with the power to regulate the states.
The issue of states' rights ultimately played a central role in the outbreak of the Civil War. Southern states seceded from the Union in 1861, arguing that they had the right to do so under the principles of compact theory. The federal government, under President Abraham Lincoln, argued that secession was unconstitutional and that the Union could not be dissolved. This led to a bloody and protracted conflict that ultimately resulted in the defeat of the Confederacy and the reunification of the United States.