Quote:
Originally Posted by Idle
In these cases the general will of the people effected about 51% of our population in the first example and about 12% in the second.
These are taxpaying Americans we are talking about here and I really don't think the will of the people has much to do with it. The supreme law of the land is the US Constitution and how it effects the lives of Americans is what is important.
If we are to run this place depending on the will of the people then what do we need a Constitution for?
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That is a nice idealistic thought. If at the end of the Civil War the Public had demanded that the Negros get full rights as Citizens the Government would have had to do that. But, instead most of the White People in the Country including a good deal of the Anti-Slavery People did not want and in fact prevented the Negros from having the same rights as themselves. All that despite CONUS.
And, then along with that was no Vote for Women even though there was at least one State that allowed Women to Vote at that time.
Neither of the above are isolated or extreme examples of CONUS being disregarded because the General Population supported that.
In My opinion as Religion became less important to the Population in General they started insisting on a different definition of the separation of Church and State than had been previously practiced.