MILITARY CHANGES

I believe that consideration should be given to the enactment of legislation that would shift the control of the military to a multi-jurisdictional basis. Also, control of immigration should be handed over to the States of the Union excepting the Constitutional provision in regard to naturalization of non-citizens into Citizens of the United States of America.

At the outset of the United States, a Citizen of the United States was a Citizen because he was a Citizen of one of the sovereign States of the Union. The people living in the District of Columbia were Citizens because they were Citizens of one of the States. If a person lived in the District of Columbia but was not a Citizen of a sovereign State, he was not a Citizen of the United States. He was a subject of the exclusive Legislative Power of Congress. [That may be the secret reason that many in the District agitate for "Statehood."]

For example, Robert E. Lee was a Citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia and felt obliged to defend the Sovereign State of his birth. He would be a traitor if he did not.

The Bill of Rights did not reach any person living under the exclusive municipal power of Congress. Still, Congress - in its wisdom - might allow such privileges, but such were not inherent rights. These subjects might be called "Citizens" by Congress, but everyone knew that these were not the same as a Citizen of a Sovereign state.

When the Insular Law cases had finally run their course, the Supreme court had decided that there were three different "United States." One was composed of the Sovereign States of the United States which were subject to the U.S. Constitution and their several State constitutions. Another was the District of Columbia, Federal Territories, Military Depots, and the like, which were subject to the Exclusive Legislative Power of Congress. Another involved the President when representing the nation before foreign nations.

Former Supreme court Justice Thurgood Marshall had lectured students that the U.S. Constitution had been superseded by the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment forced the Sovereign States of the Union to treat the "Citizens" of the District of Columbia as equal with the Citizens of the Sovereign States.

The reason that thinkers in the North took this course was that no one knew quite what to do with the slaves. The slaves were not Citizens of the Sovereign States in which they dwelled. What to do? They were made "Citizens" of the "United States" which jurisdiction happened to be the District of Columbia, military forts, Territories, et al. Therefore, they became, in fact, subjects of the Exclusive Legislative Power of Congress.

This was a very revolutionary step. It would lead to the intrusion of Federal Power over and through the previously Sovereign States.

Without going any deeper into this area, I would like to see a restoration of some of the former powers that were held exclusively by the Sovereign States.

I believe that each Sovereign State should create and control its own Army. At the Federal level a small officer corps, including non-commissioned officers, would remain to plan for contingencies that would be a threat to the nation. The President would still be Commander-in-Chief. The Navy would be a more centralized military force.

However, a small standing officer corps would control a Sovereign State's Army. Most of the members of the Army would be functioning in a manner similar to National Guardsmen now. In short, the U.S. Army would have at least fifty States' Armies under it. Each State might operate similar to an Army base in America today. Each State's Army would be divided into Divisions based on the population of the State.

If danger threatened the nation, these Armies could be completely summoned to duty, or partly. There would be contingency planning and exercises for this purpose.

Otherwise, the Governor of the Sovereign States would be its Army's "Commander-in-Chief." He could call out part of this State Army to protect its borders, if they ran along the border of a foreign nation and a threat manifested itself.

I believe that the ineffectiveness of the Federal Army and the Federal police in protecting Sovereign States under the command of presidents warrants reassigning this task to the Governors of the Sovereign States to interpret and execute according to the Will of the Citizens of his/her State and with the consultation of Governor's of neighboring Sovereign States of the Union.

By reassigning authority over the bulk of the Army to the Sovereign States, I believe that a greatly increased esprit de corps would occur in each Army organized in each Sovereign State. Uniforms peculiar to each State would be allowed, so that the 12th Arkansas Division would be instantly recognized as distinct from the 12th California Division, and so on.

I believe that it is very important to keep the military heart of America - its Army - close to home, where its active duty members stay professional and professionally ready, should the need arise.