Some Pertinent Provisions

 Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--

Constitutional provisions:

 The Congress shall have Power…. To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; [Art. I, S. 8, C. 3]

(Until recently, since Roosevelt threatened to pack the Court, the Court has basically allowed anything that the Congress claimed to be a commerce power. Recently, in general law, the Court has started to limit Congress’ use of this power. Can we ask for limitations on its use in Indian Affairs? Does the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations or states give the federal government plenary power over them?)

 No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. [Art. I, S. 9, C. 8]

 The Constitution, Nobility and Different Classes of Citizenship  by Darrel Smith

 The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed. [Art.3, S. 2, C. 3]

 The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. [Art IV, S. 2, C. 1]

 no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. [Art.IV, S. 3, C 1]

 The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State. [Art. IV, S. 3, C. 2]

 (Can the federal government reestablish territory in states? Shouldn’t the Fourteenth overrule this?)

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government [Art. IV, S. 4]

 This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land [Art. VI, C.2]

 The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution [Art. VI, C. 3]

 nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; [Amendment V]

 In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed [Amendment VI]

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. [Amendment IX]

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. [Amendment X]

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. [Amendment IV, Section 1.]

 The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude [Amendment XV, Section 1.]