Posted on 09/30/2003 12:19:22 PM PDT by sheltonmac
Whether or not they can leave the nation is, of course, the key issue. Several of the clauses suggest that the state can't simply leave the compact, which is the whole point of contention. The Constitution states that "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." This means that treaties, as well as the Constitution, become the "Law of the Land". Judges are bound to this "Law of the Land", "any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding."
The Constitution also says, "The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution[.]"
It is especially and morally problematic to insist they abide by that compact when they have reached the conclusion that the compact has already been violated when deciding that they must leave the compact. The decision is to leave the compact. All strictures upon them for abiding by the compact are null and void once they've left.
It is more morally problematic to assume that the constituent components of a nation or even individuals can unilaterally choose to leave a nation and abandon the laws and treaties of that nation. The Constitution contains mechanisms for addressing conflicts between the states and between the states and the national government, among them the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Convention.
The seceding states did not first violate the Constitution by refusing to uphold all treaties...no...they first seceded. Such a secession was a formality as the Constitution to which they had been sworn had already been sundered by the actions of the Federal Government.
In other words, it wasn't a matter of secession so much as revolution.
The case Marbury vs Madison established the Court's right to declare legislation unconstitutional and to review the legality of legislation. That is a necessary check on the Congress, which can pass laws by over the President's veto.
You know the routine: The Congress passes law, the Executive branch enforces the law, and the Judicial branch interprets the law. When Congress passes, and the President signs, a law that is contrary to the principles laid down in the Constitution, it is ultimately the Court that acts to protect your liberties.
Was the Supreme Court right or wrong to intervene in Gore v Bush in December 2000? They ruled on the application of standards in the counting of votes in a Federal election held under Florida State laws. If the Court was right to intervene there, a right ultimately derived from Marbury vs Madison, then they were right to rule in Texas vs White.
Take a look at how much money the South now sucks out of the North, a big hunk ofit going to Federal military installations and Federal agencies. Do you really believe the New South is going to shoot the golden goose that feeds it? As for threats about it happening "again", you'll notice that it didn't go so well the first time and I see no reason to believe that it would go any better a second time.
the beast NEVER cared a damn about blacks EVER. and he didn't care whether the klan or anyone else abused the newly freedmen either.
what he DID do was make himself & his cronies RICH on the backs of the southland's poor of all colors.
FYI, he HATED my people, the American Indians, with a passion un-surpassed by anyone i can think of.
free dixie,sw
the damnyankee apologists claim anywhere from 3,000-6,200 died there. (see, the damnyankees themselves can't agree on a number. as my grandfather used to say, "figures do not lie, but liars sure know how to figure.")
free dixie,sw
neither is suitable reading for the bedtime entertainment of children!
there was NOTHING ACCIDENTAL about the tortures, denial of medical treatment, rapes, robberies & murder of POWs;it was part of the yankee war plan!
that is FACT.
free dixie,sw
As I said, President Lincoln thought it probably best that the races be separated, but he never suggested that anyone be forced out of the country.
It's easy to show you up for the charlatan you so clearly are.
President Lincoln's letter to Governor Andrew was over a year after his special address on 12/01/62. His ideas had changed; he was working for complete assimilation of blacks into American society.
Walt
"Criminal idea?" Exactly which clause of the federal Constitution did State secession violate? Funny how these foaming-at-the-mouth unionists never manage to cite a specific constitutional provision that was violated by the Southern States.
Obviously, they prefer some sort of 'unwritten law.' And (IMHO ;>) government officials that give priority to their own personal 'unwritten law' over the United States Constitution should be fired - and jailed...
;>)
Constitutional revisionism began with the Taney court. See Madison and his comments on the use of the world 'servitude' and the reasons 'slave' was not used in the constitution. The Fugitive Slave Act was a constitutional fraud.
I would also point out that when J Q Adams got up in Congress to mention the right of Massachusetts to secede from the Union, it was the southern Congress that censored him for it. Some actually wanted to boot him. What weak kneed and unconscionable hypocrites you draw your political inheritance from.
Go read Woodrow Wilson some more. He's got a lot of pointers for you.
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