The Framers of the Constitution were representative of the people living in twelve of the thirteen states. They drafted a document that gave the central government a short list of enumerated powers and prohibited the government from doing anything else. The Writers made it clear that the states were to retain their sovereignty and the government of the united States was to be the servant of the states and of the people, respectively.
In Article I, Section 8, the enumerated powers are clearly defined. They stated that all powers not specifically delegated to the central government by the states were to be retained by the states or to the people respectively. In other words Congress and the President did not have “jurisdiction” outside of the District of Columbia. Congress has no more right to tell the states what to do than the ruler of a foreign country.
The states never relinquished their sovereignty to the central government and Federal government that was created to protect the rights of the people has become the author of tyranny. The dictator of a third world nation does not have the authority to tell your county and state officials what to do and neither does the President of the united States.
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