Analysis Of Forest Mcdonad s States Rights And The Union

In Forest McDonad’s States Rights and the Union: Imperium in the Imperio, 1776-1876, he simply begins the book by stating the main problem that the United States faced during the first one hundred years of existence: the state and national government authority were not easily separated. Before the time period of which McDonald analyzes, the people of the future country, the United States, lived in England, where the line between state and national government authority was clear. McDonald mentions the Act of Settlement of 1701 where Parliament decided the plan of succession, and he mentions how Parliament could not compromise when English colonists who were settled in America questioned their right to tax or make laws for the colonists.†¦show more content†¦The Declaration of Independence is split up into three parts. The preamble states the beginning and the purpose of the country, the government being put into place, and how the government can be destroyed if necessa ry. The rather lengthy second part of the Declaration is filled with accusations of the King of Great Britain of the time. The actual declaration occurs in the third part of the document; in this part of the document, the states are declared free and independent where they hold the power to â€Å"’levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  (10). Yet, the union itself can only do these three acts. The country’s issue of determining where the states’ and the union’s power ends and begins starts with the first document of the entire existence of the United States. McDonald brings up the interesting point concerning War of 1812 again dealing where the authority of the government and the states lie. Many did not agree with going to war in the beginning, and even the votes in the Senate and the House were pretty divided. Those in the New England states protested and refused to fight in the war. According to the Declaration of Independen ce, the states are sovereign; yet, when the War of 1812 was on the horizon and without the approval from Congress, Madison issued for one hundred thousand men in the militia to gather and fight for the United States against the British. The people of the New England were furious; even the governor of Massachusetts hindered