Sorry, I thought I'd better get out before I caught my second wind.
It distresses me on occasion that the tenth amendment lies dusty and forgotten because the Civil War's result made it acceptable for the federal government to meddle just about anywhere they like.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
Yes, my phrase was simplistic but right there in that hotly debated yet still enacted phrase lies the root of the civil war. Did the federal government have the right to dictate policy to the states?
States' rights advocacy drifts in and out of vogue with groups depending upon which party has real or perceived control of the Federal government. In 1861 the touchstone issue was slavery. I maintain that if it hadn't come to a head at that point the split could have occurred over any of the issues that subsequently became constitutional amendments, over depression-era food policy, or over just about any of the issues that people like to wave flags over today.
The Civil War did put an end to what was a dying institution of slavery. It also radically changed our system of government, concentrating power in a manner antithetical to the intentions of the founding fathers. That hasn't always been bad, it hasn't always been good but it has been different.
Reading recommendation of the moment: Jeffersonian Legacies Edited by Peter S. Onuf 1993 University of Virginia Press
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An oddly simplistic line in an otherwise thoughtful comment.
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It distresses me on occasion that the tenth amendment lies dusty and forgotten because the Civil War's result made it acceptable for the federal government to meddle just about anywhere they like.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
Yes, my phrase was simplistic but right there in that hotly debated yet still enacted phrase lies the root of the civil war. Did the federal government have the right to dictate policy to the states?
States' rights advocacy drifts in and out of vogue with groups depending upon which party has real or perceived control of the Federal government. In 1861 the touchstone issue was slavery. I maintain that if it hadn't come to a head at that point the split could have occurred over any of the issues that subsequently became constitutional amendments, over depression-era food policy, or over just about any of the issues that people like to wave flags over today.
The Civil War did put an end to what was a dying institution of slavery. It also radically changed our system of government, concentrating power in a manner antithetical to the intentions of the founding fathers. That hasn't always been bad, it hasn't always been good but it has been different.
Reading recommendation of the moment: Jeffersonian Legacies Edited by Peter S. Onuf 1993 University of Virginia Press
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