Federal Sovereignty vs. Rights of the States Continued…. Federal Sovereignty versus States Rights was not a new problem to the United States. First appearing during the writing of the Constitution and continuing through Hamilton’s Bank and the Federalist Papers, this debate raged right into the 19th century, beginning with the Hartford Convention, where delegates proposed that a state had the right to “interpose authority” in a case of “dangerous and palpable infractions.” However, this was only the first in a series of arguments t ....