Tom Woods: "Nullification and State Resistance to Federal Tyranny" Pt. 2

[SovereignStatesman]

Tom also fails to address the fundamental fact that the Union is a federal republic of sovereign nations, not a single sovereign nation of subordinate states.

By failing to do this, he implicitly concedes the latter, and thus his entire point.

Anyone reading the Constitution, can see in Article VI that the federal government supersedes state governments-- but not the state's PEOPLE, who RATIFIED the Constitution as SOVEREIGN NATIONS.

This means that each state REMAINS a sovereign nation.

[SovereignStatesman]

Regarding the response to the Alien and Sedition Acts by other states:

They protested the notion that state GOVERNMENTS could overrule the federal government.

Here, Madison responded in his less-famous "Report on the Virginia Resolutions" in January of 1800, where he wrote that the term "states" here referred to the PEOPLE of the state as a sovereign nation, NOT the state government.

So nullification would be by convention of the state's People-- not its legislature.

VITAL STIPULATION there!

[SovereignStatesman]

Ok, Tom is wrong here.

Nullification is NOT the state government standing between its people and the federal government; it's the PEOPLE of the state exercising sovereign power to OVERRULE their delegated subordinates.

Madison was vehement to express that the state was "a people in their highest sovereign capacity," i.e. a SOVEREIGN NATION.

Until we get this ONE POINT straight, then that sovereignty defaults to the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT and its 545 sitting officials as a supreme ruling oligarchy.

[rolgorevene]

fierce woods like it.

[tyavfm]

He He He. I like how he calls US politicians "sociopaths."

[SovereignStatesman]

@tyavfm

More like Machiavellian pragmatists... same difference, really.

[econogate]

That congressman that was imprisoned during the Alien and Sedition Acts was re-relected while INCARCERATED! Just think about it, how much the federal government must have been out of step with the public back then.