Compact theory is a theory relating to the development of some federal constitutions.

Contents 1 Compact theory in the United States 2 Compact theory in Canada 3 References 4 See also

[edit] Compact theory in the United States

In regards to the Constitution of the United States of America, it claims that the nation was formed through a compact agreed upon by all the states, and that the national government is consequently a creation of the states. Concordantly, states should be the final judges of whether the national government had overstepped the boundaries of the "compact". A leading exponent of this theory was John C. Calhoun. [1]

Using this theory, Thomas Jefferson claimed that the Alien and Sedition Acts were examples of the government overstepping its authority, and advocated nullification of the laws by the states. The first resolution of the Kentucky Resolutions begins by stating "that the several States composing the United States of America, are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their general government; but that by compact under the style and title of a Constitution for the United States and of amendments thereto"^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Compact theory in Canada

In the Canadian context, compact theory posits that Confederation was an agreement between the two founding peoples — French and English — and that therefore Quebec should have special veto powers relating to its position in the federal structure.^[1] However, compact theory was rejected by the Supreme Court of Canada in the 1981 Patriation Reference.^[2] Compact theory is often advanced by Quebec nationalists.

[edit] References

1. ^ Stephen Brooks, Canadian Democracy: An Introduction, 5th ed. (Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press, 2007), 201.
2. ^ Brooks, 201.

[edit] See also

• Interposition
• Social contract
• Classical republicanism

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