Question

Which of the following best compares Northern and Southern views on states’ rights?
A. Some Southern states interpreted the three-fifths clause in the Constitution as being antislavery, and some Northern states interpreted the three-fifths clause as being proslavery.
B. Some Southern states argued that the union of states created by the Constitution was voluntary, whereas some Northern states argued that the union was a binding agreement that could not be broken.
C. Some Northern states argued that state law is supreme and takes precedence over the U.S. Constitution, whereas some Southern states argued that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
D. Some Northern states interpreted the importation of enslaved people clause in the Constitution as promoting slavery, whereas the Southern states interpreted it as supporting the use of slavery.

Answer 1

The answer is B.

Answer 2

B

Explanation: Southern leaders argued the states had voluntarily joined the Union and retained the right to withdraw or nullify federal laws (states' rights/secession doctrine). Northern leaders maintained the Constitution created a binding, perpetual Union and that states could not unilaterally break it.