In her western counties, however, where a movement was in
progress for a constitutional convention to redistribute political
power so that the populous interior should not be subordinated to
the slave-holding minority of the coast, there was a strong
sentiment in favor of the constitutionality and expediency both of
federal internal improvements and the tariff. Nevertheless,
Virginia's voice was determined by the ascendancy of the old-time
plantation interests. In 1825, Jefferson suggested that the
legislature of Virginia should pass a set of resolutions, declaring
the internal-improvement laws null and void. He advised, however,
that, at the same time, the issue should be avoided by an act of the
Virginia legislature validating these congressional laws [Footnote
2: Jefferson, Writings (Ford's ed.), X., 348-352; Ames, State Docs.
on Federal Relations, No. 4, p. 8.] until action could be taken on a
carefully guarded proposal to amend the Constitution so as to grant
the right. This was the last effort of Jefferson to stay the tide of
internal improvements which was sweeping opposition before it, and
even he withdrew his project before it was acted on.
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