The conclusion of my last article read, “If there is any hope for America, it lies with We The People taking back our country from the crooks and criminals in Wash., D.C. who are running our country into the ground… There is a new hope for America… and it involves the States and the People working together, as the Founders intended, to make the America of all our dreams.”

The State governments of the original Thirteen States of the United States of America established the federal government to act as their agent in a world of interdependent nations.  Those original Thirteen States did not have to establish a federal government, but because those states collectively wanted to be represented to the world as one whole nation of States, they chose to have an agent, our federal government, to represent the collective interests of the several States.  Thus, the federal government, as our agent, is at all times accountable to the States, and to We The People!

The Federalist papers were written prior to the passage of our Constitution, to help the citizens understand its principles and meaning.  James Madison wrote in The Federalist that the new federal government was to exercise its powers in external relations of “war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce” with other nations.  These are the things outlined in our Constitution that the federal government is authorized to act upon.

James Madison also wrote in The Federalist that, “The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people.”

In other words, the original State governments were very active, and were engaged in supporting all aspects of the lives and daily living, and concerns, and interests, and rights of the people.

Over the past 233 years, the federal government has slowly exceeded its Constitutional powers until we have arrived at the situation we find ourselves in today.  It is now very clear that the people are sick and tired of our federal government’s usurpation of powers – exercising powers never granted, nor ever intended to be granted, by the Constitution.

Pennsylvania State Rep. Sam Rohrer, sponsor of PA’s State Sovereignty Resolution says, “This federal intrusion on state sovereignty has reached a breaking point.”

Apparently, many people feel the same way, and it is this feeling among We The People that has given birth to the growing State Sovereignty Movement.  Rep. Rohrer says, “Like our sister states, Pennsylvania must draw a line in the sand and reassert its sovereignty.”

But the reasons for the States declaring sovereignty today under the Tenth Amendment are many and varied.  Some States are concerned with out-of-control federal spending.  Oklahoma State Sen. Randy Brogdon, sponsor of Oklahoma’s Sovereignty Resolution, H.J.R. 1003 (which, by the way, passed in the Oklahoma House by 83 to 13), said, “A sixth grader should realize you can’t borrow money to pay off your debt, and that is the Obama administration’s answer for a stimulus package.”

However, the primary reason for the State Sovereignty Movement remains the very matter of sovereignty itself, guaranteed by both the Ninth and Tenth Amendments.  The Ninth Amendment makes it clear that “Sovereignty itself remains with the people, by whom and for whom all government exists and acts.” (U.S. Supreme Court in Yick Wo vs. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 370, an 1886 case)

State Rep. Judy Burges, a sponsor of Arizona’s Sovereignty Resolution, H.C.R. 2024, sums up our frustrations: “The federal government has been trouncing our Constitutional rights.  We are a sovereign State in Arizona, not a branch of the federal government, and we need to be treated as such.”

The wording of resolutions makes the intent unmistakable.  Tennessee’s resolution, H.J.R. 108, begins, “A Resolution to affirm Tennessee’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and to demand the federal government halt its practice of assuming powers and of imposing mandates upon the states for purposes not enumerated by the Constitution of the United States…”

These are difficult times, and it will take much work to build a just world.  But we must start here, at home, in America.  Some believe this movement will incur the wrath of the federal government, as troops are sent in to quell opposition to its policies.

This is a revolutionary freedom movement; we must stand firm.  We can practice non-violent resistance.  The real reason for the Second Amendment was to prevent our government from becoming tyrannical.  If the federal government responds violently, we will all know it is still exercising powers never intended by, nor enumerated in, the Constitution.

If we do not stand up, and act, and take back America, the federal government will lead us into a great depression, the likes of which no one will want to see.  The choice is up to us, take back control of America, or be controlled by evil forces, yes, evil forces, bent on the total destruction of liberty and justice for all.

Ray Bilger [send him email] is a freelance writer and investigative journalist. Mr Bilger’s articles are first published at The Loop Newspaper in Tehachapi, CA.