Jefferson's Republic ended with the 14th Amendment. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out.
The states would have a greater ability to insist on their Constitutional rights, if they managed their own affairs more responsibly. In both Canada and the US (both federal sytems with state/provincial and federal levels of government) the federal governments have been able to usurp power by bribing states/provinces into ceding control over matters of state/provincial jurisdiction. The feds know that many state governments will sell these Constitutional rights in exchange for federal grants. All we have to do is remember how the states clamoured for Obama’s bailout money.