Did the southern states think that the federal government had the right to make laws about slavery?

Many southern states believed that the federal government did not have the authority to make laws regarding slavery, viewing it as a matter of states' rights. They argued that the Constitution allowed states to determine their own policies on slavery without federal interference. This belief contributed to tensions leading up to the Civil War, as southern states sought to protect their slave-based economies and way of life against perceived overreach by the federal government.