There were two sides in this cause: State rights VS federal rights. The Articals Of Confederation was the first federal government, although it was very weak. Some say we should be able to make unconstitutional decisions. Others disagree and say that the federal government should make all the decisions.
Thomas Pickering is a politician from Massachusetts. He believed that the federal government should have more rights than the state. He and many other federalist opposed the war 1812.