Can Congress pass laws saying that States don't count as part of the Union?
Peter:
Most of what I say is cobbled off of here
I found something; There is a determinitive precedent, Georgia v. Stanton, which actually has to do with the Reconstruction Acts. Unfortunately, it is from 1868 and therefore I am unable to find an online copy.
The original intent of the Founders says that Article IV Section 4 does what I say it does though:
"a republican government must be the basis of our national union; and no state in it ought to have it in their power to change its government into a monarchy." - Edmund Randolph.
I'll now straight quote some stuff off the page:
In Luther v. Borden (1849), the Supreme Court established the doctrine that questions arising under this section are political, not judicial, in character and that "it rests with Congress to decide that government is the established one in a State . . . as well as its republican character."
In Georgia v. Stanton (1868), the State attempted to attack Reconstruction legislation on the premise that it already had a republican form of government and that Congress was thus not authorized to act. The Court viewed the congressional decision as determinative.
A18:
Ah, interesting. So then it's saying that the federal government must guarantee to every State a Republican form of Government, even by protecting the State against itself.
However, none of the Confederate States adopted a monarchy or anything of the sort. They were all Republics; and it is dangerous to allow the federal government to pick and choose between Republics, requiring Congressional approval of a State to exercise its own sovereignty.
Peter:
Quote from: Philip on January 10, 2005, 08:07:51 PM
However, none of the Confederate States adopted a monarchy or anything of the sort. They were all Republics; and it is dangerous to allow the federal government to pick and choose between Republics, requiring Congressional approval of a State to exercise its own sovereignty.
The Court's previous precedent of 1849 said that it couldn't intervene in these cases as they were inherently political. From what I know, I'd have to agree that the Confederate States during and after rebellion were under a Republican government; However, this doesn't negate the ability of Congress to do what the Supreme Court had said it could, even if it flew in the face of common sense and reason. Thats just the way the US Congress carries on I'm afraid.
A18:
But they didn't declare the States un-Republican anyway. They said they were out of the Union, and required them to ratify the 14th amendment to get back in.
Peter:
Quote from: Philip on January 10, 2005, 08:18:55 PM
But they didn't declare the States un-Republican anyway. They said they were out of the Union, and required them to ratify the 14th amendment to get back in.
You got a link to the specific text of the Act/Resolution?
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