To: 4CJ
You are arguing a straw man since I have never claimed the American people gathered en masse. The Congress's call for ratification conventions was a call to the American people to gather in states for them. This was a administrative convenience and that was the principle reason states were not abolished. Plus that structure made it easier to incrementally enlarge the Union. But the states themselves were explicitly excluded from making the decision to ratify or reject.
Another prime reason the Founders set up the representative structure as it did was not to emphasis the separate state structure but to prevent Democracy from gaining power.
Every federal election is, in fact, an action taken by the American people en masse it just is not reflected as a direct democratic vote but filtered through the representative process. But it represents the voice of the American people. Georgia does not refuse to vote or Illinois decide it will vote before the rest.
To: justshutupandtakeit
But the states themselves were explicitly excluded from making the decision to ratify or reject.Explicit? Where? It's just the opposite - 'The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same'. The Constitution is established bewteen STATES. The conventions represent the sovereigns of the state - the people. They are they state. And it took 9 states to create the new union, not 9 people. States.
Every federal election is, in fact, an action taken by the American people en masse it just is not reflected as a direct democratic vote but filtered through the representative process. But it represents the voice of the American people. Georgia does not refuse to vote or Illinois decide it will vote before the rest.
No. Georgians do not vote for anyone in South Carolina. The people or America do not vote en masse for anyone!
277 posted on
03/09/2006 2:13:36 PM PST by
4CJ
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