The States & Sovereignty

You cannot begin to discuss the union, the constitution or America at all unless you deal with the concept of the states and their sovereignty (or lack thereof).  Are we a union of individual sovereign countries or are the States little more than glorified counties?  The videos below deal with this topic, exploring not only the original creation of the unions setup but, how the organizational structure was decided upon in the Constitutional Convention and State Ratifying Conventions.

Part 1 –

Nation Or Sovereign States?  Which Came First?

The question of whether the States were independent sovereignties before the adoption of the Constitution has long been a subject of controversy.  The issue is fundamental to States’ Rights claims and therefore deserves close attention.  This video briefly examines the status of the 13 Colonies before the ratification of the Constitution in the words of the ratifiers and representatives of the people to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

Part 2 –
National Supremacy Or Dual Sovereignty

Many people think the Federal Government is supreme in all things with the states being little more than irrelevant boundaries on a map.  But, is this what the Constitution established?  Is this what the Founders envisioned when constructing it?  Despite what the talking heads on television will tell you today, THIS IS NOT TRUE!  The following video outlines, in the founders own words, how the powers were to be distributed between the Federal and the State Governments under the Constitution.  The State Governments retained sovereignty and powers that could not be encroached upon by the Federal Government.