Definition of states' rights
: all rights not vested by the U.S. Constitution in the federal government nor forbidden by it to the separate states
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Recent Examples of states' rights from the Web
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By the end of the day, there was unanimous support among these ambitious Democrats in supporting the states' rights to legalize marijuana without federal interference - the stance of the Obama administration.
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The decision was seen as a victory for states' rights advocates, who called Obama's establishing of the monuments gross federal overreach.
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Thomas is a conservative and a strict constructionist who supports states' rights.
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While some contend that the Civil War was fought over states' rights, scholars generally agree that slavery was the primary driver of the conflict.
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Luther Martin was a Founding Father who refused to sign the Constitution over states' rights objections.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'states' rights.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of states' rights
1824
Law Dictionary
states' rights
legal Definition of states' rights
1
: rights and powers not forbidden to the states nor vested in the federal government by the U.S. Constitution
2
singular in construction
: a doctrine based on states' rights that has been used to justify state resistance to federal authority in matters seen as the exclusive concern of the states and that is most often associated with the states favoring slavery and secession in the 19th century — compare federalism
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See words that rhyme with states' rights Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about states' rights
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