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Opey, Opey, Opey,Get around the Constitution. Are you sure you want to do that? Once you find that path it can be used on all other Constitutional matters.Since you apparently aren’t familiar with the Constitution or Bill of Rights I’ve used a lot of space to quote them for your pleasure. Please feel free to circle the ones you want to get around. You also can read it and see how to get things done within the Constitution. (After all America did have Prohibition for a while and that worked out well didn’t it?)Perhaps you would be kind enough to write the US a new Constitution.The Constitution of the United States of America:[1][1][1][1]We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence (sic), promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.Article. I.Section. 1.All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.Section. 2.The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse (sic) three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.The House of Representatives shall chuse (sic)their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.Section. 3.The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore (sic), in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.Section. 4.The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing (sic) Senators.The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.Section. 5.Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour (sic), and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.Section. 6.The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased (sic) during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.Section. 7.All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed (sic) by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.Section. 8.The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence (sic) and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;To establish Post Offices and post Roads;To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;To define and punish Piracies (sic) and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;To provide and maintain a Navy;To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;—AndTo make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.Section. 9.The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.Section. 10.No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul(sic) of the Congress.No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.Article. II.Section. 1.The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as followsEach State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse (sic) by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse(sic) the President. But in chusing (sic) the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse (sic) from them by Ballot the Vice President.The Congress may determine the Time of chusing(sic) the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased (sic) nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."Section. 2.The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.Section. 3.He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.Section. 4.The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.Article III.Section. 1.The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour (sic), and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.Section. 2.The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;—to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;—to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;—to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;—to Controversies between two or more States;— between a State and Citizens of another State,—between Citizens of different States,—between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.Section. 3.Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted (sic).Article. IV.Section. 1.Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.Section. 2.The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.No Person held to Service or Labour (sic) in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour (sic), but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour (sic) may be due.Section. 3.New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.Section. 4.The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence.Article. V.The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.Article. VI.All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.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.The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.Article. VII.The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.The Word, "the," being interlined between the seventh and eighth Lines of the first Page, The Word "Thirty" being partly written on an Erazure (sic) in the fifteenth Line of the first Page, The Words "is tried" being interlined between the thirty second and thirty third Lines of the first Page and the Word "the" being interlined between the forty third and forty fourth Lines of the second Page.Attest William Jackson Secretarydone in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independance (sic) of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,The Bill of Rights:[2][2][2][2]The U.S. Bill of RightsThe Preamble to The Bill of RightsCongress of the United Statesbegun and held at the City of New-York, onWednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.Note: The following text is a transcription of the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights."Amendment ICongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.Amendment IIA well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.Amendment IIINo Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.Amendment IVThe right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.Amendment VNo person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.Amendment VIIn all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.Amendment VIIIn Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.Amendment VIIIExcessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.Amendment IXThe enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.Amendment XThe 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.Best get to work, you gotta lot to do.CiaoFootnotes[1] The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription[1] The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription[1] The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription[1] The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription[2] The Bill of Rights: A Transcription[2] The Bill of Rights: A Transcription[2] The Bill of Rights: A Transcription[2] The Bill of Rights: A Transcription

Because it is false.In Hannah MacAndrews’ answer, she makes claim of a highly dubious and inaccurate nature.The Civil War was about slavery, full stop.This fact is supported by Alexander Stephens, the Vice President of the Confederate States of America, who, in his infamous Cornerstone Speech, stated[1][1][1][1][2][2][2][2]:The new constitution has put at rest, forever, all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution, African slavery as it exists amongst us – the proper status of the negro in our form of civilization. This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution. Jefferson in his forecast, had anticipated this, as the “rock upon which the old Union would split.” He was right. What was conjecture with him, is now a realized fact. But whether he fully comprehended the great truth upon which that rock stood and stands, may be doubted. The prevailing ideas entertained by him and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old constitution, were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and politically. It was an evil they knew not well how to deal with, but the general opinion of the men of that day was that, somehow or other in the order of Providence, the institution would be evanescent and pass away. This idea, though not incorporated in the constitution, was the prevailing idea at that time. The constitution, it is true, secured every essential guarantee to the institution while it should last, and hence no argument can be justly urged against the constitutional guarantees thus secured, because of the common sentiment of the day. Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error. It was a sandy foundation, and the government built upon it fell when the “storm came and the wind blew.”Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.This is further supported by the fact that constitution of the Confederate States of America itself defended slavery as a right[3][3][3][3]. From Section Nine of the Confederate Constitution:No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves shall be passed.It is finally borne out by the fact that almost every Southern state declared that slavery or the fear of abolition was a primary reason for secession. Below are but a few examples selected from the various declarations, articles and ordinances of secession of the Southern states.From the South Carolina articles of secession[4][4][4][4]:The ends for which the Constitution was framed are declared by itself to be "to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity."These ends it endeavored to accomplish by a Federal Government, in which each State was recognized as an equal, and had separate control over its own institutions.The right of property in slaves was recognized by giving to free persons distinct political rights, by giving them the right to represent, and burthening [sic] them with direct taxes for three-fifths of their slaves; by authorizing the importation of slaves for twenty years; and by stipulating for the rendition of fugitives from labor.We affirm that these ends for which this Government was instituted have been defeated, and the Government itself has been made destructive of them by the action of the non-slaveholding States. Those States have assume the right of deciding upon the propriety of our domestic institutions; and have denied the rights of property established in fifteen of the States and recognized by the Constitution; they have denounced as sinful the institution of slavery; they have permitted open establishment among them of societies, whose avowed object is to disturb the peace and to eloign the property of the citizens of other States. They have encouraged and assisted thousands of our slaves to leave their homes; and those who remain, have been incited by emissaries, books and pictures to servile insurrection.From the Mississippi ordinance of secession[5][5][5][5]:Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery-- the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin.From the Alabama ordinance of secession[6][6][6][6]:WHEREAS, the election of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin to the offices of President and Vice-President of the United States of America, by a sectional party, avowedly hostile to the domestic institutions and to the peace and security of the people of the State of Alabama, preceded by many and dangerous infractions of the Constitution of the United States by many of the States and people of the northern section, is a political wrong of so insulting and menacing a character as to justify the people of the State of Alabama in the adoption of prompt and decided measures for their future peace and security; therefore,…From the Virginia ordinance of secession[7][7][7][7]:The people of Virginia, in their ratification of the Constitution of the United States of America, adopted by them in Convention, on the twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, having declared that the powers granted under the said Constitution, were derived from the people of the United States, and might be resumed whensoever the same should be perverted to their injury and oppression, and the Federal Government having perverted said powers, not only to the injury of the people of Virginia, but to the oppression of the Southern slaveholding States,From the Georgia ordinance of secession[8][8][8][8]:The people of Georgia having dissolved their political connection with the Government of the United States of America, present to their confederates and the world the causes which have led to the separation. For the last ten years we have had numerous and serious causes of complaint against our non-slave-holding confederate States with reference to the subject of African slavery. They have endeavored to weaken our security, to disturb our domestic peace and tranquility, and persistently refused to comply with their express constitutional obligations to us in reference to that property, and by the use of their power in the Federal Government have striven to deprive us of an equal enjoyment of the common Territories of the Republic. This hostile policy of our confederates has been pursued with every circumstance of aggravation which could arouse the passions and excite the hatred of our people, and has placed the two sections of the Union for many years past in the condition of virtual civil war.The question of slavery was the great difficulty in the way of the formation of the Constitution. While the subordination and the political and social inequality of the African race was fully conceded by all, it was plainly apparent that slavery would soon disappear from what are now the non-slave-holding States of the original thirteen. The opposition to slavery was then, as now, general in those States and the Constitution was made with direct reference to that fact. But a distinct abolition party was not formed in the United States for more than half a century after the Government went into operation.And from the Texas ordinance of secession[9][9][9][9]:In all the non-slave-holding States, in violation of that good faith and comity which should exist between entirely distinct nations, the people have formed themselves into a great sectional party, now strong enough in numbers to control the affairs of each of those States, based upon an unnatural feeling of hostility to these Southern States and their beneficent and patriarchal system of African slavery, proclaiming the debasing doctrine of equality of all men, irrespective of race or color-- a doctrine at war with nature, in opposition to the experience of mankind, and in violation of the plainest revelations of Divine Law. They demand the abolition of negro slavery throughout the confederacy, the recognition of political equality between the white and negro races, and avow their determination to press on their crusade against us, so long as a negro slave remains in these States.…..We hold as undeniable truths that the governments of the various States, and of the confederacy itself, were established exclusively by the white race, for themselves and their posterity; that the African race had no agency in their establishment; that they were rightfully held and regarded as an inferior and dependent race, and in that condition only could their existence in this country be rendered beneficial or tolerable.That in this free government all white men are and of right ought to be entitled to equal civil and political rights; that the servitude of the African race, as existing in these States, is mutually beneficial to both bond and free, and is abundantly authorized and justified by the experience of mankind, and the revealed will of the Almighty Creator, as recognized by all Christian nations; while the destruction of the existing relations between the two races, as advocated by our sectional enemies, would bring inevitable calamities upon both and desolation upon the fifteen slave-holding states.It is clear from these pieces of evidence that slavery was the primary reason for the secession of the Southern states, therefore bringing about the carnage that followed.There are some who may accuse that I have merely shown that a minority of the seceding states left the Union because of slavery. They will allege that the other seven of the states may have left because they cared about states rights.But if so, those seven other states could have quashed any attempt to defend slavery as a right in the constitution of the Confederate States of America. They did not.The simple fact is that the secession movement was driven by racists who thought that they had a right to enslave their fellow man, and who attempted to tear apart the Union in an attempt to preserve that “right”.Ms/Mrs. MacAndrews is furthermore incorrect in stating that secession, in of itself, was legal.She states:The Constitution:is an international compact among nine or more nation-states, whichestablished the voters of each ratifying nation-state, as the final authority therein. Andit did not unite the states as a single nation-state.This fact was suppressed by a continental coup of censorship and mass-murder during the Lincoln Administration, which established Totalitarian Democracy and Crony Capitalism under a rogue empire.From Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, writing in the 1798 Kentucky Resolutions:That the several States composing the United States of America, are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their General Government; but that, by a compact under the style and title of a Constitution for the United States, and of amendments thereto, they constituted a General Government for special purposes, -- delegated to that government certain definite powers, reserving, each State to itself, the residuary mass of right to their own self-government; and that whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force; that to this compact each State acceded as a State, and is an integral party, its co-States forming, as to itself, the other party: that the government created by this compact was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers delegated to itself; since that would have made its discretion, and not the Constitution, the measure of its powers; but that, as in all other cases of compact among powers having no common judge, each party has an equal right to judge for itself, as well of infractions as of the mode and measure of redress.Here is the proof from the facts of American history, from the actual documents:We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that, as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.--Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776And so each state was originally declared as a separate nation unto itself in 1776; and they mutually recognized each other as such.Next, they formed an international confederacy in which each state expressly retained this declared status:To all to whom these Presents shall come, we the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting.Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.I. The Stile of this Confederacy shall be "The United States of America".II. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.--Articles of Confederation : March 1, 1781Then, this declared status became official in 1783, thus making each state into a separate sovereign nation— equal to the nations of Europe:In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity. It having pleased the Divine Providence to dispose the hearts of the most serene and most potent Prince George the Third, by the grace of God, king of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, duke of Brunswick and Lunebourg, arch-treasurer and prince elector of the Holy Roman Empire etc., and of the United States of America,..His Brittanic Majesty acknowledges the said United States, viz., New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, to be free sovereign and independent states, that he treats with them as such, and for himself, his heirs, and successors, relinquishes all claims to the government, propriety, and territorial rights of the same and every part thereof.-- The Definitive Treaty of Peace 1783And finally, the Constitution then made the electorate— i.e. the citizen voters— in each state, into the final authority over the individual nation-state; while government just became the hired help:We, the people [i.e. voters] of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.- -Constitution of the United States : PreambleSo each state was made a separate, sovereign nation unto itself, supremely owned and ruled by its respective voters; and they never united their individual nation-states, as a single nation-state.And that can’t be done inferentially, since a sovereign nation is its own final authority, while only a higher authority can make such an inference.As noted in US Constitution, Article VII:The ratification of the conventions of nine states, shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the states so ratifying the same.And these conventions were elected directly by the voters of the individual state; not by the Congress or the state legislature.Thus:Each state’s voters,ratified the Constitution as the final rulers of a separate nation.Accordingly, as foreseen in the Declaration of Independence as a “self-evident truth that the Founders sought to effect:The government was established by the voters,deriving their just powers by consent of the governed, whothus had the right to alter or abolish it and institute new government.And the Constitution united the states not as a single nation-state,; but as an international union among 13 separate nation-states.So under the Constitution, each American state was established as a true democracy; i.e. wherethe voters held final authority, andsimply delegated authority to their subordinate agents in governmentThis is a historical fact.True democracy is where the voters have final authority over their nation.This is regardless of whetherthey choose to exercise it; orinstead choose to simply delegate it to subordinate agents to act on their behalf.The issue, is final authority belonging to the voters— not some middleman, which defines Totalitarian democracy…which unfortunately is what we are told is “democracy” today.……..And so each state was indeed a democratic nation, each experimentally proceeding with progress toward universal franchise; and thus the USA was an international union of individual democratic nation-states.This was an unprecedented experiment in human freedom…. in progress.Lincoln, however, declared supreme power to the federal government, under the following myth:Descending from these general principles, we find the proposition that in legal contemplation the Union is perpetual confirmed by the history of the Union itself. The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of Association in 1774. It was matured and continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It was further matured, and the faith of all the then thirteen States expressly plighted and engaged that it should be perpetual, by the Articles of Confederation in 1778. And finally, in 1787, one of the declared objects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was "to form a more perfect Union."But if destruction of the Union by one or by a part only of the States be lawfully possible, the Union is less perfect than before the Constitution, having lost the vital element of perpetuity.It follows from these views that no State upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union; that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void, and that acts of violence within any State or States against the authority of the United States are insurrectionary or revolutionary, according to circumstances.However, this is founded upon a gross misapprehension of the law.Madden states that Lincoln’s declaring the federal government to be superior to the states in the quote below, was founded upon a myth.Descending from these general principles, we find the proposition that in legal contemplation the Union is perpetual confirmed by the history of the Union itself. The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of Association in 1774. It was matured and continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It was further matured, and the faith of all the then thirteen States expressly plighted and engaged that it should be perpetual, by the Articles of Confederation in 1778. And finally, in 1787, one of the declared objects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was "to form a more perfect Union."But if destruction of the Union by one or by a part only of the States be lawfully possible, the Union is less perfect than before the Constitution, having lost the vital element of perpetuity.It follows from these views that no State upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union; that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void, and that acts of violence within any State or States against the authority of the United States are insurrectionary or revolutionary, according to circumstances.In the above quote, Lincoln merely asserts that since the Union is perpetual by law, no state can leave it[10][10][10][10]. It does not mean that the people of the United States are not the authorities from whence all power is derived. To make such an assertion is to misrepresent Mr. Lincoln’s words.Lincoln’s assertation that the Union is perpetual is supported by an examination of the facts.The Union was already in existence before the Constitution, which was just a reform upon the government of the Union. Owing to this, the founding principles of the government not superseded by the Constitution are still in place. Among these is a certain mandate from the Articles of Confederate, which states[11][11][11][11]:the Union shall be perpetual.If any state which had joined the Union could leave, then the Union would not possess that element of perpetuity. Were any state able to leave, all the states composing the Union would be able to leave, and if so, then the Union could be ended any moment. Therefore, secession is illegal.This fact is confirmed by the fact that a seceding state, being a party to the Union, would no longer be part of it, thus no longer being united with the rest of the Union. Thus the immortal compact binding them would not be perpetual, as that state would have terminated it.Furthermore, were secession legal, then it would imply that the Union were a confederacy, where a member state may enter and leave at will. Thus, nullification would also be legal.But nullification is not legal. In the decision United States v. Peters, the Supreme Court ruled[12][12][12][12]:If the legislatures of the several States may, at will, annul the judgments of the courts of the United States, and destroy the rights acquired under those judgments, the Constitution itself becomes a solemn mockery, and the nation is deprived of the means of enforcing its laws by the instrumentality of its own tribunals.We may additionally apply the judgements of the Court to secession itself. If a state can secede, then the Constitution is a mockery, since it has no real force in the face of secession. Therefore, if we apply the Court’s words because when a state secedes, it is its own nation, making laws in defiance of federal law and federal courts. Thus, it annuls the judgements of the courts and the Constitution, as it is no longer subject to either of them.But, what about the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions? Doesn’t that prove that nullification is legal? Doesn’t that show that your argument is invalid?Again, it does not.Firstly, under our constitutional system, the power to judge the constitutionality of laws in vested solely in the judicial system[13][13][13][13]. To quote from Article III[14][14][14][14]:The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may, from time to time, ordain and establish.Since the judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court, then what the Supreme Court decides, in adjudicating a case, is law. Therefore, since we have determined that under United States v. Peters, nullification and secession are illegal.We may additionally determine from the words of the Founding Fathers that nullification and secession is illegal.Here we consult one of the actual Founding Fathers who held the same beliefs as Jefferson. That man’s name is James Madison, and in his Notes On Nullification, Mr. Madison stated[15][15][15][15][16][16][16][16]:…[I]t follows from no view of the subject, that a nullification of a law of the U. S can as is now contended, belong rightfully to a single State, as one of the parties to the Constitution; the State not ceasing to avow its adherence to the Constitution. A plainer contradiction in terms, or a more fatal inlet of anarchy cannot be imagined….[I]s there any thing…from which a single State can infer a right to arrest or annul an Act of the General Govt. which it may deem unconstitutional? So far from it, that the obvious & proper inference precludes such a right on the part of a single State; plural number being used in every application of the term.There is nothing here which Mr. Madison did not pen himself. If one wishes, this passage can be looked up. The search will find that it does indeed come from an actual writing of James Madison.In a letter written on December 23, 1832, Madison declared[17][17][17][17]:The essential difference between a free Government and Governments not free, is that the former is founded in compact, the parties to which are mutually and equally bound by it. Neither of them therefore can have a greater fight to break off from the bargain, than the other or others have to hold them to it.And in a letter written on January 1, 1833, Madison stated[18][18][18][18]:I do not consider the proceedings of Virginia in 98-99 as countenancing the doctrine that a State may at will secede from its constitutional compact with the other States. A rightful secession requires the consent of the others, or an abuse of the compact, absolving the seceding party from the obligations imposed by it.….It surely does not follow from the fact, of the States or rather people embodied in them, having as parties to the compact, no tribunal above them, that in controverted meanings of the Compact, a minority of the parties can rightfully decide against the majority; still less that a single party can decide against the rest, and as little that it can at will withdraw itself altogether, from a compact with the rest.Therefore, we may conclude that from the words of Madison, nullification and secession are illegal.But that is a mere aside. Already, by the system that the Constitution established, the decision of the Supreme Court is justification enough.Now, some may say that Madison does state that there is such a thing as a rightful secession. Therefore, let us examine the secession of the South through his criteria.Madison states:A rightful secession requires the consent of the others, or an abuse of the compact, absolving the seceding party from the obligations imposed by it.We determine that for the secession of one state to be legal, it requires either the consent of all the other states, or an abuse by the federal government of its powers. Since the other states did not consent to the secession of the South, then we must establish that the federal government had abused its powers.Here, the argument in favor of Southern secession alleges that by attempting to rob the South of its “right” to own slaves, the federal government abused its powers.In the first part, this is false. Let us examine the Republican party platform of 1860. One will find that there is no mention of abolition within it, nothing which is against the right of the Southern states to own slaves[19][19][19][19]. The most opposed to slavery the Republican party platform of 1860 gets is to advocate for a ban of slavery in the territories, and that is no abuse of the powers of Congress. Congress, in Article Four given the power[20][20][20][20]:to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United StatesIndeed, Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, outlawed slavery in the Northwest Territory[21][21][21][21].However, I cannot but take issue with the argument that were the federal government to move against slavery, it would have been an attack against Southern “rights”. Slavery is nothing but the most vile, unconscionable, cruel, immoral, and evil tyranny known to man. Its very existence is animated by hatred, its foundations built upon subjugation, its very breath the crack of the whip, and its death was a step forward for this nation and for American democracy.Ms/Mrs. MacAndrews is further mistaken when she alleges that the United States is not legally a nation. This is entirely false, and can be demonstrated merely with the words of the Founding Fathers.For example, Madison, in the Virginia Plan, referred to Congress as the “National Legislature”[22][22][22][22]. He could not refer to a “National Legislature” if the nation in question were not a nation.This is further supported by the fact that constitutionally, the states do not enjoy the prerogatives of sovereign nations. To quote from Article One, Section Nine[23][23][23][23]:No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress.No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage in a war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.All of these are things which sovereign nations regularly do. And all of these things are prohibited to the states. How can this be if they are their own nations? The only logical conclusion is that contrary to the assumptions of Ms/Mrs. MacAndrews, the several states are not their own nations. And if they are not nations themselves, what can they be but part of one greater nation, the United States, the departure of which would be illegal.Some may quote Madison’s words in The Federalist No. 39, using the statements rendered as justification for the idea that the United States is not a nation[24][24][24][24].It is to be the assent and ratification of the several States, derived from the supreme authority in each State, the authority of the people themselves. The act, therefore, establishing the Constitution, will not be a NATIONAL, but a FEDERAL act.However, Madison uses quite a peculiar definition of what he refers to as a national act. He states:a NATIONAL government…[is] a CONSOLIDATION of the States.What is meant by a consolidation of the states? A consolidation of the states is one where the state governments are nonexistent. A national government, according to Madison, would do away with the concept of the states, merely consisting of the people on one hand and the national government on the other. Examples of these governments can be found in Great Britain and France.Madison expounds upon this statement later in the article, stating:Were [the United States government] wholly national, the supreme and ultimate authority would reside in the MAJORITY of the people of the Union; and this authority would be competent at all times, like that of a majority of every national society, to alter or abolish its established government. Were it wholly federal, on the other hand, the concurrence of each State in the Union would be essential to every alteration that would be binding on all.An example of this definition being used may be found later in the same article, where Madison states:The difference between a federal and national government, as it relates to the OPERATION OF THE GOVERNMENT, is supposed to consist in this, that in the former the powers operate on the political bodies composing the Confederacy, in their political capacities; in the latter, on the individual citizens composing the nation, in their individual capacities. On trying the Constitution by this criterion, it falls under the NATIONAL, not the FEDERAL character…..When one examines Madison’s statements in the context of his definition, one will conclude, as he did, that:The proposed Constitution, therefore, is, in strictness, neither a national nor a federal Constitution, but a composition of both. In its foundation it is federal, not national; in the sources from which the ordinary powers of the government are drawn, it is partly federal and partly national; in the operation of these powers, it is national, not federal; in the extent of them, again, it is federal, not national; and, finally, in the authoritative mode of introducing amendments, it is neither wholly federal nor wholly national.However, this does not mean that the United States is not a nation.In fact, John Jay, in The Federalist No. 2, stated that the purpose for convening the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was because[25][25][25][25]:This intelligent people….being persuaded that ample security for both [liberty and union] could only be found in a national government more wisely framed, they as one voice, convened the late convention, to take that important subject under consideration.How could he state that the purpose of the Constitutional Convention was to establish “a national government more wisely framed” if there was no nation for which a national government could exist? Ergo, contrary to the statements of Ms/Mrs. MacAndrews, we have established that the United States is a nation, solely by the words of the Founding Fathers.Our conclusions are confirmed by the legal understanding of the definition of a nation. Indeed, even by the pre-Civil War legal understanding of what a nation was, the United States meets the definition.According to the 1860 version of Bouvier’s Law Dictionary, which, considering the fact that Lincoln took office in the year 1861, should be sufficiently free from the “corruption” of post-Civil War legal thought, the definition of the term nation is[26][26][26][26]:[an] independent [polity]; [a society] of men united for the purpose of promoting their mutual safety and advantage by the joint efforts of their combined strength.2. But every combination of men who govern themselves, independently of all others, will not be considered a nation; a body of pirates, for example, who govern themselves, are not a nation. To constitute a nation another ingredient is required. The body thus formed must respect other nations in general, and each of their members in particular. Such a society has her affairs and her interests; she deliberates and takes resolutions in common; thus becoming a moral person who possesses an understanding and will peculiar to herself, and is susceptible of obligations and rights. Vattel, Prelim. §1, 2; 5 Pet. S. C. R. 52.We observe that by every part of this definition, the United States is a nation. It is an independent polity, a society of human beings united for the purpose of promoting their mutual safety and what the dictionary refes to as advantage, by the joint efforts of their strength.This is confirmed by Article Three of the Articles of Confederation. which states[27][27][27][27]:The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever.It is evident that the purposes of the entering into the Union were specifically for promoting the mutual safety of the states, hence the statement that the states entered into the Union for their common defense, and to promote the mutual advantage of the states, hence the statement that the states also entered into the Union for the security of their liberties and for their mutual welfare.This was reiterated in the Preamble to the Constitution[28][28][28][28], which states that the objects of the Constitution were to:…form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty….Bouvier’s Law Dictionary further elaborates on the nature of a nation, stating that in order to be considered a nation, a polity must:….respect other nations in general, and each of their members in particular.In this case, we need only cite a list of the treaties the United States has made. Indeed, merely the Pinckney treaty ought to suffice as evidence of this fact[29][29][29][29].It is clear that the United States is one nation, united and whole.Hannah MacAndrews states that her claims represent the facts of American history.She is wrong in that regard. The facts of American history show that the United States is indeed a singular nation-state, from which secession is illegal, except by a case of an abuse of the powers of the government, which is not applicable to the case of the South. The facts confirm, moreover, that the South seceded because it wanted to protect slavery.We cannot disguise these facts. The South really did secede because of slavery and it really was in the legal wrong by seceding. Any attempt to say otherwise is intellectually disingenuous and deceiving.The thesis of Hannah MacAndrews, as it stands, is incorrect.Footnotes[1] https://iowaculture.gov/history/education/educator-resources/primary-source-sets/civil-war/cornerstone-speech-alexander[1] https://iowaculture.gov/history/education/educator-resources/primary-source-sets/civil-war/cornerstone-speech-alexander[1] https://iowaculture.gov/history/education/educator-resources/primary-source-sets/civil-war/cornerstone-speech-alexander[1] https://iowaculture.gov/history/education/educator-resources/primary-source-sets/civil-war/cornerstone-speech-alexander[2] Alexander Stephens Cornerstone Speech[2] Alexander Stephens Cornerstone Speech[2] Alexander Stephens Cornerstone Speech[2] Alexander Stephens Cornerstone Speech[3] Constitution of the Confederate States; March 11, 1861[3] Constitution of the Confederate States; March 11, 1861[3] Constitution of the Confederate States; March 11, 1861[3] Constitution of the Confederate States; March 11, 1861[4] Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union[4] Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union[4] Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union[4] Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union[5] Avalon Project - Confederate States of America - Mississippi Secession[5] Avalon Project - Confederate States of America - Mississippi Secession[5] Avalon Project - Confederate States of America - Mississippi Secession[5] Avalon Project - Confederate States of America - Mississippi Secession[6] Ordinance of Secession, adopted by the Alabama constitutional convention of 1861. :: Alabama Textual Materials Collection[6] Ordinance of Secession, adopted by the Alabama constitutional convention of 1861. :: Alabama Textual Materials Collection[6] Ordinance of Secession, adopted by the Alabama constitutional convention of 1861. :: Alabama Textual Materials Collection[6] Ordinance of Secession, adopted by the Alabama constitutional convention of 1861. :: Alabama Textual Materials Collection[7] Virginia Ordinance Of Secession[7] Virginia Ordinance Of Secession[7] Virginia Ordinance Of Secession[7] Virginia Ordinance Of Secession[8] Avalon Project - Confederate States of America - Georgia Secession[8] Avalon Project - Confederate States of America - Georgia Secession[8] Avalon Project - Confederate States of America - Georgia Secession[8] Avalon Project - Confederate States of America - Georgia Secession[9] A Declaration of the Causes which Impel the State of Texas to Secede from the Federal Union[9] A Declaration of the Causes which Impel the State of Texas to Secede from the Federal Union[9] A Declaration of the Causes which Impel the State of Texas to Secede from the Federal Union[9] A Declaration of the Causes which Impel the State of Texas to Secede from the Federal Union[10] First Inaugural Address - Lincoln Home National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)[10] First Inaugural Address - Lincoln Home National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)[10] First Inaugural Address - Lincoln Home National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)[10] First Inaugural Address - Lincoln Home National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)[11] Articles of Confederation : March 1, 1781[11] Articles of Confederation : March 1, 1781[11] Articles of Confederation : March 1, 1781[11] Articles of Confederation : March 1, 1781[12] United States v. Peters[12] United States v. Peters[12] United States v. Peters[12] United States v. Peters[13] Avalon Project - U.S. Constitution[13] Avalon Project - U.S. Constitution[13] Avalon Project - U.S. Constitution[13] Avalon Project - U.S. Constitution[14] Articles of Confederation : March 1, 1781[14] Articles of Confederation : March 1, 1781[14] Articles of Confederation : March 1, 1781[14] Articles of Confederation : March 1, 1781[15] James Madison: On Nullification[15] James Madison: On Nullification[15] James Madison: On Nullification[15] James Madison: On Nullification[16] Founders Online: Notes on Nullification, December 1835[16] Founders Online: Notes on Nullification, December 1835[16] Founders Online: Notes on Nullification, December 1835[16] Founders Online: Notes on Nullification, December 1835[17] James Madison to Nicholas P. Trist, December 23, 1832.[17] James Madison to Nicholas P. Trist, December 23, 1832.[17] James Madison to Nicholas P. Trist, December 23, 1832.[17] James Madison to Nicholas P. Trist, December 23, 1832.[18] Founders Online: James Madison to A Friend of Union & State Rights [Alexander R …[18] Founders Online: James Madison to A Friend of Union & State Rights [Alexander R …[18] Founders Online: James Madison to A Friend of Union & State Rights [Alexander R …[18] Founders Online: James Madison to A Friend of Union & State Rights [Alexander R …[19] Republican Party Platform of 1860[19] Republican Party Platform of 1860[19] Republican Party Platform of 1860[19] Republican Party Platform of 1860[20] U.S. Constitution : Article IV[20] U.S. Constitution : Article IV[20] U.S. Constitution : Article IV[20] U.S. Constitution : Article IV[21] Transcript of Northwest Ordinance (1787)[21] Transcript of Northwest Ordinance (1787)[21] Transcript of Northwest Ordinance (1787)[21] Transcript of Northwest Ordinance (1787)[22] Avalon Project - Variant Texts of the Virginia Plan - Text A[22] Avalon Project - Variant Texts of the Virginia Plan - Text A[22] Avalon Project - Variant Texts of the Virginia Plan - Text A[22] Avalon Project - Variant Texts of the Virginia Plan - Text A[23] U.S. Constitution : Article I[23] U.S. Constitution : Article I[23] U.S. Constitution : Article I[23] U.S. Constitution : Article I[24] Federalist No 39[24] Federalist No 39[24] Federalist No 39[24] Federalist No 39[25] The Federalist Papers No. 2[25] The Federalist Papers No. 2[25] The Federalist Papers No. 2[25] The Federalist Papers No. 2[26] Law dictionary : adapted to the constitution and laws of the United States of America, and of the several states of the American union[26] Law dictionary : adapted to the constitution and laws of the United States of America, and of the several states of the American union[26] Law dictionary : adapted to the constitution and laws of the United States of America, and of the several states of the American union[26] Law dictionary : adapted to the constitution and laws of the United States of America, and of the several states of the American union[27] Articles of Confederation : March 1, 1781[27] Articles of Confederation : March 1, 1781[27] Articles of Confederation : March 1, 1781[27] Articles of Confederation : March 1, 1781[28] Constitution of the United States : Preamble[28] Constitution of the United States : Preamble[28] Constitution of the United States : Preamble[28] Constitution of the United States : Preamble[29] Treaty of Friendship, Limits, and Navigation Between Spain and The United States; October 27, 1795[29] Treaty of Friendship, Limits, and Navigation Between Spain and The United States; October 27, 1795[29] Treaty of Friendship, Limits, and Navigation Between Spain and The United States; October 27, 1795[29] Treaty of Friendship, Limits, and Navigation Between Spain and The United States; October 27, 1795

In all humility, I think no.The Constitution and everyone following the Constitution is what's good for America, IMHO.It provides certain, limited powers to the Executive Branch. Nowhere amongst these enumerated powers does it require that the POTUS brief Congress on Executive decisions (other than Treaties and Appointments):Article 2 of the Constitution of the United States enumerates the Executive's powers:SECTION. 1. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."SECTION. 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.SECTION. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.SECTION. 4. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.http://constitutioncenter.org/constitution/the-articles/article-ii-the-executive-branchTo continue, Congresspeople aren't useless, though it may seem that way at times. It might also seem like the POTUS is useless too, perhaps.But, even though Congress and the President don't actively participate in each other's decisions, the political pressure they each exert on each other and the others' political party is not inconsiderable.Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States enumerates Legislative powers:SECTION. 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.SECTION. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.SECTION. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.SECTION. 4. The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.SECTION. 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.SECTION. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.SECTION. 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.SECTION. 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;To establish Post Offices and post Roads;To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;To provide and maintain a Navy; To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards and other needful Buildings;AndTo make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.SECTION. 9. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.SECTION. 10. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.http://constitutioncenter.org/constitution/the-articles/article-i-the-legislative-branch