So many questions I see display an incredible lack of understanding of the structure of the United States of America and its constitution. So how can this be explained simply? I’ll try.

Coming out of the Revolution you had 13 Colonies that became 13 Countries. Yes we called them States, because that is a generic term. Countries are States. They initially united under a pact called the Articles of Confederation, which gave them a relationship similar to the EU. The States did not give up their independence, they agreed to a contract of cooperation that put very limited powers into the hands of a central government. When it was apparent that this relationship wasn’t working as well as desired, the leaders of the states decided to try to improve the situation. In the ensuing argument over how to amend the Articles of Confederation proponents of giving the central (what we now call Federal) government more power won out and the Articles of Confederation were rewritten into the Constitution of the United States. The States then signed (nee ratified) this new contract. And that is the key thing to remember, the Untied States Constitution is a contract between the States. The reality is you are a citizen (even though we now say resident) of a State, and your relationship with the country as a whole is the result of that state’s contract with the other states.

Because the States agreed to give up some of their powers to a Federal Government, nearly everything about the structure of that Federal Government is designed to protect the interests of the States. The States select the President. Why do you think we have an Electoral College? Each State selects delegates to send to the Electoral College to represent it. The representatives of the States then pick a President. The States have a lot of leeway in how they select their delegates. Most states have settled on an election in which all the delegates are pledged to vote for whoever wins that State’s Presidential Election. But they don’t have to allocate them that way, it is just the way that gives the State the most influence over who will be President.

The Senate represents the States. It used to be that State Legislatures actually picked Senators, and that was changed to be votes within the states. But here is something crucial, the only thing you can’t amend in the U.S. Constitution is that each State has the same representation in the U.S. Senate. It is that important to the contract that changing it is explicitly forbidden. The next time you wonder why Wyoming (least populous) has as much power in the U.S. Senate as California (most populous) it is because the Constitution is a contract between the States, the States are equal in that contract, and the Senate represents the States.

Why are Federal Judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate? The States wanted to make sure that the Judiciary, as the mediator between the States, represented their interests. The President, who represents the States, nominates a judge. The Senate, which represents the States, confirms the Judge. When a Federal Judge, particularly when you talk about the Supreme Court, rules on a Constitutional issue they are acting as a representative of the States.

Why are the senior Federal Government officials confirmed by the U.S. Senate? The States, after choosing the President, wanted to make sure that the rest of the senior government leadership was acceptable to them.

Want to change the Constitution? That’s up to the States. It is a contract between them, and changing it without their overwhelming support invalidates it. So yes, Wyoming has as much say in changing the Constitution as California.

There is only one institution in the Federal Government that is not beholden to the States, the House of Representatives. The House is elected directly by U.S. Citizens without the States as intermediaries. Its one unique power is that only the House can initiate legislation to tax Americans. That whole “taxation without representation” thing really had an influence on the structure of the U.S. Government. But also it means that the States can’t impose legislation on the country without the consent of the body that directly represents the people. So it is the true balance point between the Federal Government being a representative of the States and the People having direct representation.

Many of the tensions in society these days stems from forgetting that we are union of 50 separate countries governed by a contract between those countries. Over time the Federal Government has expanded its power by finding cracks in the definitions of what its limited powers were supposed to be. The fact that the Senate, Judiciary, and Presidency are there to represent the States has failed to keep this power expansion in check. You can take any issue in the country today, from why the “Presidential Popular Vote” is meaningless to Abortion, Gun Control, Immigration, Health Care, etc. and get a much better understanding of why the debate exists the way it does in the U.S. by examining it in the light of the true nature of the U.S. Constitution. It is a contract between the States, and they remain independent countries in most regards. They become downright indignant when other states try to cram something down their throat via the Federal Government, particularly when it was not something they agreed to give the Federal Government powers over.