states' rights (English, noun)
expansion: states' rights pl (plural only)
Senses:
topics: government
politics
qualifier: conservatism
glosses: Rights reserved to the 50 state governments of the United States that allow each one to set policy on some issues, rather than being subject to federal policy, especially in reference to their right to allow slavery before the Civil War.
tags: US
plural
plural-only
Forms: