Lesson 55 Assignment – What are the compact and nationalist theories of the Union?

The Compact Theory was basically the idea that the states were free and independent entities that composed the whole of the union. They were not controlled by a centralized government, rather the centralized government was chosen and directed by them. In this system, the states have a higher standing than the central government, being able to overrule impositions made by it. They also have the choice to leave the union whenever they want or for whatever reasons, this is because the states compose the government and are willingly unified under the union rather than forced to by a centralized political structure.

The nationalist theory, on the other hand, is the complete opposite, as it stands on the grounds that the states compose the nation, and at the head of the nation is the centralized government. The same can apply federal laws and establish national armies that are at the service not of each state, but the centralized government.