The Constitution Is Too Small

The Constitution Is Too Small

by Russell D. Longcore

The premise I am presenting is that the United States population has outgrown the US Constitution. By offering this premise, I wish to lead you to the conclusion that secession is the answer to the failure of the DC government to serve the American population. There are myriad reasons why the Constitution fails America. This is but one.

In Article I, Section 2, clause 3 of the Constitution, apportionment of Congressional seats was stated in two sentences: “Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.”

“The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at least one Representative.”

After the War of Northern Aggression, the Fourteenth Amendment superseded the original intent of the Constitution. Apportionment exists today because of these changes.

In 1776, the population of the thirteen states was 2,090,619. The states had the following numbers of citizens:

1. Virginia               447,016
2. Pennsylvania       240,057
3. Massachusetts    235,808
4. Maryland            202,599
5. North Carolina    197,200
6. Connecticut        183,881
7. New York           162,920
8. South Carolina    124,244
9.  New Jersey        117,431
10. Rhode Island      58,196
11. New Hampshire   62,396
12. Delaware            35,496
13. Georgia              23,375

In 1789, there would have been 70 Congressmen and 26 senators. That is a manageable ratio of representation. Perhaps it is not ideal, but remember that the Constitution was a document created by negotiation and compromise.

Fast forward to today. As of 2008, the US population was 320,746,592.

Since 1789, when the new Federal Government began functioning under the new Constitution, the number of citizens represented per congressional district has risen from an average of 33,000 in 1789 to nearly 700,000 as of 2016.

The same premise holds for the Senate. 26 senators for 13 states in 1789, representing about two million citizens. In 2008, 50 senators represent 320 million.

Even if Congress and the Senate were as pure as the driven snow, its present apportionment is entirely unmanageable. No American could expect adequate representation when there are so few Congressmen and Senators for such a large population here in America. If the old ratio was still in place, there would need to be about 10,700 Congressmen to provide adequate representation.

So to few Congressmen is a problem, and ten thousand Congressmen would be a disaster.

State secession can fix this national problem. Instead of one nation of 320 million, secession takes the states back to national sovereignty. Even the most populous state, California, only has about 39 million citizens. The new government of such a state could create adequate representation.

This article addresses one issue showing that individual state sovereignty is superior to the United States of America. Secession is the only solution for a government that can protect individual liberty and property rights.