I am not really a great fan of Alexander Hamilton, but I think he had one thing really right at the constitutional constitution when he stood up and said we needed to abolish states. Jay, in one of the earliest (3rd I believe) supreme court decisions said states were "artificial entities". Of course that prompted the 11th amendment almos…
I am not really a great fan of Alexander Hamilton, but I think he had one thing really right at the constitutional constitution when he stood up and said we needed to abolish states. Jay, in one of the earliest (3rd I believe) supreme court decisions said states were "artificial entities". Of course that prompted the 11th amendment almost immediately. Every crisis this country has faced in its history has been centered on the battle between states and the federal government. Lincoln's "house divided" was not just divided over slavery, but has been divided over the concept of state supremacy v. federal supremacy. Are we a hodgepodge of 50 mini-countries, or one company. Mr. Hartman you know as well as I do that the design of two senators per state was really contentious and was done for the very reason that larger population centers could be countered by minor population centers having an "equal Voice". Even then, at the time of the convention, three states had over half of the population---so as long as state governments feel they are equally important, or to put it better, as long as state governments are able to maintain parity despite population, the country will remain a government impotent in the face of the conflict---and that is the whole reason we have two senators per state---
I am not really a great fan of Alexander Hamilton, but I think he had one thing really right at the constitutional constitution when he stood up and said we needed to abolish states. Jay, in one of the earliest (3rd I believe) supreme court decisions said states were "artificial entities". Of course that prompted the 11th amendment almost immediately. Every crisis this country has faced in its history has been centered on the battle between states and the federal government. Lincoln's "house divided" was not just divided over slavery, but has been divided over the concept of state supremacy v. federal supremacy. Are we a hodgepodge of 50 mini-countries, or one company. Mr. Hartman you know as well as I do that the design of two senators per state was really contentious and was done for the very reason that larger population centers could be countered by minor population centers having an "equal Voice". Even then, at the time of the convention, three states had over half of the population---so as long as state governments feel they are equally important, or to put it better, as long as state governments are able to maintain parity despite population, the country will remain a government impotent in the face of the conflict---and that is the whole reason we have two senators per state---