South Carolina officials maintained that they had the right to secede on the basis of states' rights and the principle of nullification. They argued that as sovereign states, they had voluntarily entered into the union and retained the right to revoke their consent to be governed by the federal government if they believed their rights were being violated. They also asserted that the federal government was overreaching its constitutional authority, particularly in regard to issues such as slavery and tariffs, and therefore they had the right to withdraw from the Union.
