The Constitution for the United States was written in September of 1787. It was an agreement between the states and the government they had proposed to create. This government was to be the servant of the states and was created to protect the people from the abuse of power by the states. The powers granted to the government of the United States were limited and well defined. Any authority not granted to the central government was to be retained by the states. Any power not enumerated was to be prohibited,
In Article I Section 8 Clause 17 the Constitution authorizes the new government's jurisdiction not to exceed 10 miles square. The government of the United States was only allowed to purchase land from the states with the consent of their legislatures.
All land outside of Washington D.C. was to be owned and managed by the states. As territories became states the Federal lands were supposed to be turned over to the newly created state. This doctrine of equal footing was established in the Northwest Ordinance on 1787. The ceding of government land in the territories to the states was followed until the admission of several of the western states.
While states east of Colorado have an average of 3 to 5% of their land managed by the Federal government in the 13 western states the Federal government owns and controls over 50% of the acreage. How can it be said that the states have equal footing when the Federal government owns or controls 3% of the land in some states and over 50% in some of the other states.
When a binding contract is breached the contract is nullified. If the government of the United States does not treat the western states the same as the eastern states, it is my opinion that the western states should secede from the United States and form a new nation.
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