Concurrent majority refers in general to the concept of balancing majority and minority interests through limited government. The most vocal proponents of the theory have tended to be aristocrats, finding themselves in the minority and fearing the tyranny of the majority assumed to be made possible by unlimited democracy. The terms limited government and small government are two terms which cover two related meanings. ... Aristocracy is a form of government in which rulership is in the hands of an upper class known as aristocrats. ... A tyrant (from Greek τυραννος) is a usurper of rightful power, possessing absolute power and ruling by tyranny. ...

Prior to the American Revolution, nearly all governments were controlled by small minorities. The conception of government that materialized during the separation of the United States from the United Kingdom marked movement away from such control towards wider enfranchisement. The transition was drastic at the time, though the resulting political system was still accessible to a minority. The American Revolution ended two toilets of Kingdom of Great stupidity rule for most of the North American colonies and created the modern United dindongs of America. ... Suffrage is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. ...

Hamilton and the Constitution

Even so, the widening of the franchise caused concern. The framers of the United States Constitution, even while reiterating that the people held national sovereignty, worked to ensure that a simple majority of voters could not infringe upon the liberty of the rest of the people. Alexander Hamilton, influenced by Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, pushed for bicameralism in the United States Congress. He intended having two houses to serve as a brake on popular movements that might threaten particular groups (especially considering Shays' Rebellion), with the Hous of Representatives representing the common people and the Senate defending the interests of the aristocratic minority. The House was to be elected by popular vote, while Senators were appointed by state legislators. Executive veto and the implied power of judicial review by the Supreme Court created further obstacles to simple majority rule. The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. ... Sovereignty (French souveraineté, from medieval latin superanus which derives from classical Latin superus superior or overness; and from the Greek concept Basileus) is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political (legislative, judicial and/or executive) authority over a geographic region, group of people or oneself. ... Liberty - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... A portrait of Alexander Hamilton by John Trumbull, 1792. ... Hobbes redirects here. ... Frontispiece of Leviathan Leviathan was a book written in 1651 by Thomas Hobbes, is one of the most famous and influential books of political philosophy. ... In government, bicameralism (bi + Latin camera, chamber) is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. ... Congress in Joint Session. ... Shays Rebellion was an armed uprising in western Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787. ... The chamber of the United States House of Representatives is located in the south wing of the Capitol building, in Washington, D.C.. This photograph shows a rare glimpse of the four vote tallying boards (the blackish squares across the top), which display each members name and vote as... Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ... Judicial review is the power of a court to review a law or an official act of a government employee or agent for constitutionality or for the violation of basic principles of justice. ... The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the U.S.. As the highest court, it provides the leadership of the judicial branch of the U.S. federal government. ...

Calhoun and nullification

During the first part of the 19th century, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina revived and expounded upon the concurrent majority doctrine. An ardent advocate of states' rights, Calhoun served as Vice President and Senator. He noted that the North, with its industrial economy, had become far more populous than the South. As the South's agricultural economy differed vastly from that of the North, the difference in power afforded by population threatened interests Calhoun considered essential to the South. John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (March 18, 1782 – March 31, 1850) was a prominent United States politician from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. ... Official language(s) English Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 40th 82,965 km² 320 km 420 km 6 32°430N to 35°12N 78°030W to 83°20W Population  - Total (2000)  - Density Ranked 26th 4,012... In American politics and constitutional law, states rights are guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (i. ... The Vice President of the United States is the second-highest executive official of the United States government, the person who, in the words of Adlai Stevenson, is a heartbeat from the presidency, and in the calculation of Vice President John Nance Garner, not worth a bucket of warm piss. ... The Northern United States or simply The North, is a region in the United States of America. ... Southern United States. ...

As national policy, driven by the North, became ever more hostile to the South, Calhoun argued more stridently for a requirement of concurrent majority by geographic region. Following the Tariff of 1828, referred to by Southerners as the "Tariff of Abominations", Calhoun wrote (anonymously at the time) the South Carolina Exposition and Protest. The document threatened secession of South Carolina if the tariff was not repealed. After another protective Tariff of 1832 was passed instead of a repeal of the 1828 tariff, Calhoun attempted to fight both with the doctrine of nullification. The Tariff of 1828, also known as the Tariff of Abominations, was a protective tariff passed by the U.S. Congress in 1828. ... The South Carolina Exposition and Protest was written in 1828 by Andrew JacksonsPresident]], John C. Calhoun, during the Nullification Crisis. ... The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view. ... The Tariff of 1832 was a protectionist tariff in the United States. ... The process of nullification may refer to: The Hartford Convention, in which New England Federalists considered secession from the United States of America. ...

The doctrine, which essentially said that any state might declare specific federal laws void within the borders of the state, required a concurrent majority of the legislatures of each state in addition to the federal legislature to assent to a law for it to have nation-wide effect. South Carolina passed the Ordinance of Nullification of the two tariffs and began preparations to defend the nullification against federal enforcement. A Compromise Tariff of 1833 was passed, avoiding armed conflict and ending the Nullification Crisis. Calhoun's philosophy of concurrent majority had found little support in the Southern states outside of South Carolina. The Ordinance of Nullification declared the tariff of 1828 and 1832 null and void within the state borders of South Carolina. ... The Tariff of 1833, also known as the Compromise Tariff, was proposed by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun as a resolution to the Nullification Crisis. ... In the United States, the Nullification Crisis (The states-rights doctrine that a state can refuse to recognize or to enforce a federal law passed by the United States Congress) was a sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson over the issue of protective tariffs. ...