Colonies and States over 250 years
The United States is composed of 50 states which began in colonial times as COLONIES, mostly formed at different times beginning in the 1600s and after the United States nation was created in 1789; nearly 250 years ago, these individual colonies were marked off into territories and eventually granted somewhat independent statehood, united to form a larger nation--the United States of America, that covered most of North America except for Canada to the north, Mexico to the south, and western territories not yet fully settled and divided into territories.
From the late 1600s for two centuries, battles ensued between the mostly European settlers who became US Citizens and the nomadic Indian tribes living on the land unsettled by the predominently white Europeans. Eventually over the next century, the settlers encroached on all the land within the Territories and states. Enforced by the US Cavalry on horseback, the federal troops regulated control over the indian tribes. They loosely called themselves various tribal Indian Nations but most were forced by the federal government into reservations, where they set up their own governments, under control of a federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The US Constitution created a Federal government that was composed of the existing 13 colonies along the east coast, and when it was signed the then 13 colonies were granted some independent control of their affairs as STATES. They did fall loosely under the federal government which was designed to have limited powers over the states. Later as more land was settled, additional states were created and granted some statehood autonomy--but always under the federal government headquartered in Washington DC. States had governments to manage roads and civil affairs including schools, courts, and laws independent of the federal Congress.
Since the United States' creation, there have always been debates and legal actions settling disputes over what powers belonged to state governments and which were the purview of the federal government.
Since the United States' creation, there have always been debates and legal actions settling disputes over what powers belonged to state governments and which were the purview of the federal government.
The Supreme Court of the US has decided these decisions based on the Justice's interpretation of the Constitution which was signed by the original 13 colonies. The states managed to hold the nation together until 1861 when Southern states seceded from the federal union...but a bloody Civil War ensued mostly over slavery and state's rights over the federal authority to ban it--which had become controversial by this time. The war cost many thousands of Americans from both the North and the Southern states and it ended in 1865 when the Southern States, calling itself the Confederate States of America, surrendered in Virginia. (Photo above is a reenactment of a Civil War battle between the invading northerners and the southerners who had raised an army to push the union out of their states.} The federal government resumed peaceful control of the South and enforcing its emancipation (giving citizenship to black slaves and ending white ability to buy and sell kidnapped black people and their families.)
US
USA.Gov lists state agencies and officials. Enter your state.
US Dept of Education
State Contacts
State Pressure for More Conservative Autonomy
US
USA.Gov lists state agencies and officials. Enter your state.
US Dept of Education
State Contacts
State Pressure for More Conservative Autonomy
Conservative/Republican Pressure has organized to help their party in state legislatures to exert more control by their states for their parties' political agenda. With some corporate help, the movement writes proposed laws and gives them to their party members of various states to accomplish their political goals. They include cutting taxes to limit state governments, control elections and districts for representatives to Congress--all to provide more power to their party. This, along with their political action in many, mostly Southern states, has won them voting majorities in their state legislatures. There have been both political and conservative religious/reproductive laws passed--some standing and others declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
ALEC Republican and Corporate influence on state legislatures.
Republicans getting help from member corporations writing state laws for their GOP legislators friends. Wikipedia Report
Sourcewatch - ALEC watchdog group
Politicians seeking a back door to helping corporations.
Corporations that Have Cut Ties to ALEC - SourceWatch
ALEC is a corporate bill mill of the worst of Republican willingness to sell out democracy. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporate lobbyists write laws for Republican state legislators to get passed, and reportedly some legislators introduce these right leaning legislative proposals word for word. Some topics include favorite targets designed to polarize American politicans and generally please the right leaning, usually MAGA electorate.
There's a great deal of similarity among red states to ban abortions as much as allowable, despite some polls showing state voters support referenda advocating women's choice. Other movements by state Republicans discourage minority voting by restricting voting hours and polling places and making it harder to register or stay registered.
An Essay by the System Admin
They do it with a corporate sponsored organization to write proposed state laws to get em passed all over the country--mostly favoring corporations who fund ALEC.
National Democratic County Officials Assn FB
NGA Nat'l Governors Assn
Daily STATES Govt news Generally Non partisan
Republicans getting help from member corporations writing state laws for their GOP legislators friends. Wikipedia Report
Sourcewatch - ALEC watchdog group
Politicians seeking a back door to helping corporations.
Corporations that Have Cut Ties to ALEC - SourceWatch
ALEC is a corporate bill mill of the worst of Republican willingness to sell out democracy. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporate lobbyists write laws for Republican state legislators to get passed, and reportedly some legislators introduce these right leaning legislative proposals word for word. Some topics include favorite targets designed to polarize American politicans and generally please the right leaning, usually MAGA electorate.
There's a great deal of similarity among red states to ban abortions as much as allowable, despite some polls showing state voters support referenda advocating women's choice. Other movements by state Republicans discourage minority voting by restricting voting hours and polling places and making it harder to register or stay registered.
An Essay by the System Admin
Democratic STATE PARTIES must quit acting like SOCIAL CLUBS and get MEDIA smart, which they're NOT!
They should be out there printing lists of Democrat state legislator candidates and mass mailing them at election time, since TV stations won't report on candidacies in all those districts. Their market areas are too big to drill down to neighborhood state representatives. Nobody'd watch local TV news if they did that.
It's the STATE LEGISLATURES that are passing all this anti-woman rights legislation and trying to make voting lines longer, and screwing around with unisex bathrooms in grade schools. That is a DELIBERATE Republican Strategy to push for Republican ideas to include writing proposed laws toget em passed in states, ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
They do it with a corporate sponsored organization to write proposed state laws to get em passed all over the country--mostly favoring corporations who fund ALEC.
ALEC EXPOSED. By Center for Media and Democracy
NGA Nat'l Governors AssnBestLinks US National (USA) government agencies and departments
Political ACTIVISM
This is an important election on November 5th... some call it ROEvember 5th. Here is a list of well over a hundred links (News, Progressive, and Conservative web, facebook and Twitter pages wher eyou can keep up on this critical election that has our very democracy at risk. Just read, or participate in these groups. This is a rare and comprehensive list and if you want to help your nation, make good use of it.
Click this link to see the BOOKMARK/FAVORITES file, which you can import into your browser program or just open this bookmark file in your browser and PRESS the SMALL STAR on the address line to save it in your favorites. It will not disturb other favorites you have already created. You may wish to copy this link on your OWN Facebook page to share it with your activist friends.
Political ACTIVISM
This is an important election on November 5th... some call it ROEvember 5th. Here is a list of well over a hundred links (News, Progressive, and Conservative web, facebook and Twitter pages wher eyou can keep up on this critical election that has our very democracy at risk. Just read, or participate in these groups. This is a rare and comprehensive list and if you want to help your nation, make good use of it.
Click this link to see the BOOKMARK/FAVORITES file, which you can import into your browser program or just open this bookmark file in your browser and PRESS the SMALL STAR on the address line to save it in your favorites. It will not disturb other favorites you have already created. You may wish to copy this link on your OWN Facebook page to share it with your activist friends.
