I contend he thought he could save the union by appeasing the southern states 'rights' crowd. Just as I said earlier in the thread.
You have not cited one reason in all your posts why anyone should believe that anyone intended the First Eight Amendments to apply to the States.
There is nothing in the constitution to suggest otherwise, except for the 'congress shall make no law' remark in regard to religion, in the 1st.
The rest of the BOR's are obviously the 'peoples' inalienable rights that are not to be infringed by any level of the republican government we are guaranteed, in every state.
Your belief that they did, against all evidence and all logical rules for applying context in legal interpretation, is not an argument.
To the contrary, your position is not logical on its face. It is ludicrous that the founders would protect individual rights so clearly in our US Constitution, and then acknowlege that states could violate them at will. Such an 'intent' would make no sense, and never has.
Except perhaps to those who would deny rights to certain 'persons'.
(And in the case of the First Amendment, of course, it isn't even history and context, the Amendment specifically addresses Congress--no one else!)
Yep, a peculiar wording, -- imo written to appease the states that still had an 'offical' church. Congress was forbidden to interfere in that other 'peculilar institution', - as well.
Other than that, I will rest on our previous posts to let any rational surfer draw his or her own conclusions.
Fine with me.
However, I will note, in addition to all previous points, that your suggestion that Justice Marshall was motivated by political motives near the end of his life, in a job which was his for life, is ridiculous. On just what do you base such an assertion?
You replied:
I contend he thought he could save the union by appeasing the southern states 'rights' crowd. Just as I said earlier in the thread.
Up until that time there had been no serious suggestion of dissolving the Union, except for the brief flare in New England, during the War of 1812. The concern in the early 1830s had been South Carolina's attempt at Nullification of Federal tariff law, made pursuant to delegated authority in the Constitution. Marshall's recognition that the Federal Courts could not make the city of Baltimore compensate the Plaintiff for its exercise of eminent domain, had nothing whatsoever to do with any threat of disunion.
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site