Yes , Any dispute about which is more powerful -- the federal government or the states -- was settled in 1789 when the Constitution granted the federal government the right to collect taxes, regulate interstate commerce, raise an army and adjudicate legal disputes between states.States, or alliances of states, have attempted to nullify federal power, but the federal government has eventually prevailed, although in the case of Southern slavery, it took a four-year war for the federal government to do so. Beyond that, states have served as pockets of resistance or innovation, attempting to weaken federal laws, or to advance new legislation that the federal government is not yet ready to consider.
In general, the southern state governments formed during this period of Reconstruction represented a coalition of African Americans, recently arrived northern whites (“carpetbaggers”) and southern white Republicans (“scalawags”).
The term you're describing is p<span>rotectorate. These nations do have their own government but don't have a good enough military to defend themselves. They rely on stronger countries to help them in time of war.</span>
