>>>He also stated at one point during our exchange that until the 14th Amendment was adopted, the Bill of Rights applied only to the Federal government, not the States.<<<
He even got that part wrong. The purpose of the 14th Amendment was to give former slaves the same rights as the whites. Nothing else. The phony concept of "Incorporation", which "applied" the Bill of Rights to the states, was just another in a long line of Supreme Court usurpations.
Thanks. That's pretty much my take on it too.