The Constitution of Empire: Territorial Expansion and American Legal History Book

This is an interesting analysis of the Nullification Crisis of 1832-33, but it is written in a rather dry academic style that makes it slow going. I particularly liked Ellis' discussion of how nullification (the idea that any state, based on its sovereignty, may nullify - or refuse to acknowledge - any law passed by the federal government) fits in with various theories of states' rights. He also points out how the convergence of nullification and states' rights theories with efforts to justify slavery helped bring on the Civil War.