State Prohibitions: Beyond dropping the language about “independent” and “sovereign” states, the Constitution also contains a long list of prohibited activities by the states, including bans on coining money, entering into treaties and acting against a foreign country (Article I, Section 10). The Constitution further dictates the structure of state governments, requiring them to operate as republics (Article IV, Section 4). Most significantly, the Constitution makes federal law “supreme,” giving federal courts the power to strike down state statutes deemed unconstitutional. That provision in Article VI states: “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.” In other words, the Constitution constrains what the states can do and sets rules for their structures. If, say, a state wanted to become a monarchy, the federal government would step in and say no. When 11 slave states tried to secede from the Union after Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860, they were declared in rebellion and were militarily defeated by a federal army. consortiumnews/2013/03/06/dangerous-state-sovereignty-myth/
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 14:18:56 +0000
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