states' rights

also States' rights (stāts)

pl.n.

1. All rights not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution nor denied by it to the states.

2. The political position advocating strict interpretation of the Constitution with regard to the limitation of federal powers and the extension of the autonomy of the individual state to the greatest possible degree.

states' righter n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

states' rights

(in the US) pl n (often capitals)

1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the rights and powers generally conceded to the states, or all those powers claimed for the states under some interpretations of the Constitution

2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a doctrine advocating the severe curtailment of Federal powers by such an interpretation of the Constitution

states' righter n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

states'′ rights′

n.pl.

the rights belonging to the states, esp. with reference to the strict construction of the Constitution by which all rights not delegated to the federal government belong to the states.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	states' rights - a doctrine that federal powers should be curtailed and returned to the individual states doctrine, ism, philosophical system, philosophy, school of thought - a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school nullification - the states'-rights doctrine that a state can refuse to recognize or to enforce a federal law passed by the United States Congress
	2.	states' rights - the rights conceded to the states by the United States constitution right - an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature; "they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights"; "Certain rights can never be granted to the government but must be kept in the hands of the people"- Eleanor Roosevelt; "a right is not something that somebody gives you; it is something that nobody can take away" plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one

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References in periodicals archive

The American South is often viewed as a bastion of states' rights, and protecting states' rights is sometimes offered as a cause of the Civil War.

Confederate Political Economy: Creating and Managing a Southern Corporatist Nation

What is important to note here is that they are all non-BJP states, representing a very wide political range - from states' rights ideology parties like the Trinamool Congress to a strong states' rights advocate in a weakening Delhi party like the Congress' Siddaramaiah in Karnataka to a universalist ideology party with a strong local base in the Communist Party India (Marxist) in Kerala.

The spectre of non-Hindi resistance

The coastal states' rights over the contiguous zone encompass only preventive measures against infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws.

Unclos: 'Mare Liberum' or 'Mare Clausum'?

WASHINGTON -- State bans on same-sex marriage have been justified based on judicial precedent, states' rights, regulating procreation, optimal child-rearing, and centuries-old tradition.

Five arguments to watch in marriage cases

The American president said that opposition to federal powers does not make one racist, however, the states' rights supporters should acknowledge the history associated with that philosophy, which reflected southern thinking during the Civil War and the civil rights movement, News Max reported.

Obama says people dislike him because he is black

The author contends that Reagan's consistency in his rhetoric about issues, such as states' rights, Vietnam, and the Iran-Contra affair, contributed to his ability to reframe public memory surrounding those events.

The Reagan Rhetoric: History and Memory in 1980s America

Too many times the claim of states' rights was used to maintain the status quo.

States' wrongs

In a rare move, the bill was opposed using a states' rights defense.

Travel and take guns

Some of the defenders also argued that Obama's "states' rights" stance--his contention, made once again at a press conference shortly after the marriage vote in New York, that marriage is a state issue--is correct.

Big difference: a uncomfortable comparison between New York's Governor Cuomo and the president on marriage equality underscores the flaws in Obama's leadership

It is easy to be beaten about the ears with accusations of racism if one defends states' rights, because the lazy thinker segues from states' rights to the secession of the Confederate states and, from there, to an assumption that anyone defending states' rights therefore secretly must be a fan of slavery.

Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century