Sovereignty under 'Federalism'... please understand that the 50 states are indeed sovereign... having by negotiation and law surrendered certain elements of their soverignty to officiate the construct of our Federal Government and the Republic. The fact that States assigned certain soverign rights to the Federal Government for ADMINISTRATION of those rights doesn't negate their origin or their OWNERSHIP...
The United States of America is a Constitutional Republic... operating by CONSENT OF THE STATES (sovereigns) under a Federal System of government. The Federal System derives ALL OF ITS POWERS BY CONSENT OF THE SOVEREIGNS IT SERVES. The States and their PEOPLE, CITIZENS are the sovereign not the federal system of administration. Make no mistake the Marxist would have us believe that the CENTRAL GOVERNMENT is the true soverign when THEY ARE NOT.
Again, we are a Constitutional Republic consisting of 50 Soverign States... whose consent by law assigns certain Constitutional Duties to a Federal System for their ADMINISTRATION. The federal system administers those SVOERIGN rights assigned to it by the Soverign states. The Federal System of government doesn't give States rights. The States grant the Federal Government its right to exist and assigns its powers as enumerated in our Constitution. . The Federalist System of government exists to serve its soverign members.
Hence as sovereigns, the States may dissolve or otherwise modify their relationship with the Federal System at will... in our case using Article 5 of the US Constitution the States can unilaterally assign, remove, and otherwise restructure the Federal Government... granting it new rights and powers ... abolishing old rights and privileges as the States exercise their God-given soverignty. under the US Constitution. As sovereigns, the several States may engage in anti-commandeering and nullification tactics to limit or avoid federal overreach at will. Any Federal Court attempting to violate a State's rights may be set aside as void and further action is taken to correct the misinterpretation of their jurisdiction and powers up to and including the removal of activist judiciary.
The Federal System of Government is the construct of the Sovereign States... as lawfully entered and agreed to under the US Constitution. The Federal Government receives all its powers from the States thru lawful assignment by agreement... the US Constitution. Whenever the States determine that the Federal Government has overstepped its bounds and has become a burden upon the states they may by convention under Article 5 of the Constitution act to modify the Constitution to reign in an out-of-control Federal Government by 3/4ths of the State's consenting to Amend the Constitution.
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The rights of states and descending ordrrs of authorities, all the way down to both local government and vounty government----'-to interpose, to stand in the way----and to nullify unlawful edicts, proves who is sovereign. It is the Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate, based in common, moral law. This points right back to the Declaration of Independence, that WE are created with unalienable rights. We are sovereign and so are states, except where the federal constitution delegates supremecy to the feds, but those delegations are still subordinate to the constitution.The feds have only jurisdictions of power in matters defined by the constitution and must also be only those necessary and proper ( in adherance to the constitution) and for the purpose of the protection of our rights. The Declaration does state that a new government may be instituted, and that also points to the power of both states and people.
Excellent comment Jea9... well stated. and cogent.
The States are sovereign and the Federal Government is their creation and servant... as the agents of the State's sovereignty... assigned to them by the Constitution and the several States. The States and the PEOPLE OWN the sovereign rights the Federal Government presumptively usurped.
The Federal Courts need to be hauled up short by the States... using a Constitutional Amendment to reign in their jurisdiction; too, eliminate 'Stari Decisis' by limiting their jurisdiction to the case before them. No more universal jurisdiction. The amendment needs to direct Congress to rewrite the Federal Judiciary Act, redistricting the Federal Courts thus effectively dismissing every sitting Federal Judge subject to new appointments.
A permanent siting congressional committee needs to be appointed... with the authority to review Judicial abuse and activism. Congress also needs to be directed by amendment to reorganize the DOJ and FBI... with the intent to hold senior management more responsive to the President and the States, through the creation of a review panel with the power to appoint special prosecutors and Grand Juries, to independently investigate and indict criminal acts by the DOJ, FBI and Federal Judiciary. This review panel must be allowed to receive complaints from the States and the Public for review and action.
The records of the Constitutional Convention and the Federalist Papers... are fraught with rancorous debate over the forming a federal system of government. Many in the Constitutional Convention questioned the need for a more powerful Union to be administered by a federal system of government. The Colonies already had a working CONFEDERACY under the Articles of Confederacy; albeit, a very cumbersome and problematic system needing reforms. The 13 Colonies called for the Constitutional Convention to reform the Articles of Confederacy but after many long hours decided to create an entirely new charter for the Union... the US Constitution... which created the Constitutional Republic, administered by a Federal System of government, as defined and limited by the US Constitution.
The Federalist system of government is not soverign... their powers are granted to them by the Constitution in covenant with the several soverign States. It is the States who are soverign and have the power to reign in the federal government. The Federal Government is the administrator of the Union and is to serve at the pleasure of the Union's members, not the other way around. The States provide the Federal Government with the power to administer the Federal System of Government.
The States are the sovereign and they need to start acting like it... It took 245 years to slowly erode the core principle of the Union and its federal system of government; too, SUBJUGATE the States as the servants of a rogue central government. However, the seeds for our recovery remain alive in our Constitution... if the STATES WILL SOW THEM... we can yet reap a harvest of liberty and prosperity for our Children and Grandchildren.
Much controversy exists regarding the powers of states under the Constitution; however, these controversies contain the common error of believing the United States to be a single nation under the Constitution, rather than each state being a separate sovereign nation unto itself-- united by the CREATION of a Constitutional federal republic. This error is not surprising, since the American POLITICAL POWERS have long revised, twisted, and suppressed true history, to support the supremacy claims of a rogue federal government.
State sovereignty began, officially, under the U.S. Declaration of Independence, wherein the colonies were declared to be “free and independent states (plural)…” and that as free and independent states, they had the full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and “to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do.” This clearly defines the states to be sovereign nations—and the union among them was simply a military alliance for mutual support, rather than a conjoined effort to produce one sovereign state (i.e. one nation) out of the thirteen colonies; rather, each colony was to be a free, sovereign and independent state. Why do you think it took them so long to create and ratify our Constitution... the colonies did not want to surrender their soverignty and it took several years and much work to create a Constitution that permitted the several colonies to be independent sovereign within a Constitutionally defined Union.
.Each State of the Union has its own separate Constitution and is a member of the Union by CONSENT... to the US Constitution. It is the Constitution that established the United States of America, as a Republic, to be 'Administered' by a Federal System of law. That Consent to that Union is conditional and based on the US Constitution; whereby, the States ceded certain soverign rights to the CENTRAL GOVERNMENT for ADMINISTRATION as the servant of the States. The several states did not surrender their soverignty and retained several checks and balances to ensure they retained them. The electoral college gives the several states the power to elect the President... the federal governments Chief Executive... it originally gave the States the power to appoint or elect US Senators giving control of those running the US Senate to the States... that needs to be returned to the States as it has resulted in horrible abuses of State's rights and federal encroachments on their soverignty.
The Federal Government is the CREATION of the Soverign states by Constitutional contract... Under the Federal System, the 50 states and their citizens have contracted by mutual consent to assign certain SPECIFIC soverign powers to the Federal Government for their mutual benefit and central ADMINISTRATION. The States under the 9th and 10the Amendments however retain their soverignty assigning the administration of 18 enumerated powers to the Federal Government and no others. However, over time the Federal Courts, Congress, and the Executive have USURPED State's and Citizen's rights, doing so without consent thru dubious acts of legislation and judicial fiat. The Federal Government is presently in gross BREACH OF CONTRACT with the States and the Constitution. The States have the legal right to demand a return to the Constitution or they may leave the UNION, as the Union is in breach of its founding contract. The US Constitution has been extensively violated by the federal government.
Further, Sovereigns (the states and people) are the only legitimate source of law and government... States have a complete system of state law, government institutions, and administration. The Federal System was assigned specific rights to administer specific areas of mutual interest for the benefit of the States: defense, monetary concerns, interstate commerce, foreign affairs, and other enumerated powers, as contained in the US Constitution. The Federal Government is NOT A SOVERIGN deriving all its powers from the States and its citizens The Federal Government is the agent of sovereigns and it needs to be jerked up by its neck and straightened out in that regard... starting with Maybury vs. Madison, and the failure to properly administer the SUPREMECY CLAUSE of the Constitution.
The only time the Federal Government is SUPREME is when it involves one of the 18 powers granted to it by the Soverign states... it is not supreme in any other areas of mutual concern. Criminal law for example should not be the purview of the Federal Government; whenever, criminal conduct occurs within a State and is not a violation of one of the soverign powers granted to the Federal Government i.e. Immigration, counterfeit currency, weights and measures, customs law, military law, etc. The State criminal code has jurisdiction over the Federal Criminal code.
The most significant problem with the Federal Government is that it has become soverign unto itself... taking unto itself powers never granted it by the US Constitution or the several states. It is time to reverse those usurpations and to once again properly restrain federal power to those activities assigned by the Soverign states under our Constitution.
We will have to disagree with anyone who claims State's are not soverign as they indeed are and it is that principle that has made us a nation of liberty.... restraining the consolidation of power under a central government ... keeping the reigns of power AS CLOSE TO THE CITIZENS AS POSSIBLE and practical.
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The States are supreme in soverignty.... the supremacy clause is improperly and deliberately misstated ... the Federal Government is supreme only when it comes to the powers and areas of mutual consent within the Constitution. At all other times, the Federal Government has overreached and usurped powers not granted them. The Federal Government has 18 specific powers granted to it by the soverign states. Those powers are enumerated in the US Constitution as primarily explained and detailed in Article 1, Section 8, 9, and 10 (limits on states).
The several States remain sovereigns under their contract with the Union granting by mutual consent select powers to the Federal Government. These powers belong to several States and ARE ONLY ON LOAN to the Federal Government as they may be retracted by the States at any time by Amendment or secession of a State. What is key to remember is that all soverign powers belong to the States, not the Federal Government. The Federal Government only administers those powers granted them under the Constitution. The Union, Republic, and Federal Government are the construct of the Several States... they are not soverigns.
SOVEREIGN: One possessing supreme power and authority in a state. That is the definition when used as a noun.
SOVEREIGN: Supremacy in power and authority. CHIEF,HIGHEST. Having independent authority. Dominant, predominant, paramount, preponderate.
SOVEREIGNTY: Supremacy in rule or power. Power to govern without external control. The supreme political power in a state.
Just to save you the time in looking up the definition of sovereign.
Once again, this IS a single Nation. It is composed of 50 States coming together to form a Union, binding them together as one. Amendment 10 talks about powers, not Rights. There is no RIGHT to secede from the UNION. It Does not exist, it is NOT Constitutional.
While your information is good reading your conclusions are based on a faulty premise. The STATES ARE NOT SOVEREIGN. Never were. Never will be unless the country is destroyed.
The Supremecy Clause in the Constitution applies ONLY TO THOSE 18 Constitutional Powers granted by the several States to the Federal Government.... the Federal Government has overreached its authority and the States have failed to reign in its rogue appetite for USURPED POWER.
Nowhere in our Constitution does it state we the Federal Government do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America... The people and their State's created the Federal Government... as a UNION of United States. The power ASSIGNED to the Federal Government is on LOAN from the States. The States can reassign, withdraw, or completely remove, those powers at will. Congress may not. It takes 3/4ths of the States to RATIFY, consent to changes to the Constitution. It is the States that MUST approve any assignment of their soverign powers to the Federal Government making the states the sovereigns. The apparent ABDICATION of the States soverignty, in recent years, doesn't change the fundamental source for those powers... the States and their Citizens... are sovereign.
The United States is a UNION... of sovereign States, not a single nation. We operate as a unified nation for defense, commerce, foreign policy, and a host of administrative functions... but remain a UNION of States... THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A state is a soverign.... has the innate power to function as a soverign at will. The Marxist would love to expand Federal Power to the point that they eliminate most if not all the soverign rights of the States and by association its Citizens. Do not be fooled every State has its own government and is able to exercise soverign powers within the confines of the US Constitution. Any encroachment by the Federal Government to FORCE the States to remain yoked to them would be a BELIGERANT FORCE...