|
Introduction to the Source Documents
Website
This document was first created on Thursday, March 12,
2009 and was most recently revised on Thursday, August 18, 2011.
This website is a work-in-progress. It might
take me many years to finish it, if I ever manage to do so. My hope
is to eventually present here text versions of every constitution, and
some related documents, of every American state. You might be surprised
at how big a job that is. If you have the text of any constitutions
or of any other related documents that you can provide to me, or if you
can direct me to any credible sources of any such documents, then I'll
be happy for you to contact me. See the Contact Information on the
Administrative Items page.
I've seen constitutions and other such documents referred to by various
names. Some people call then organic law. I think that's a
silly name for them. Things that are organic are things that eat,
breathe, and so forth. Some people have called constitutions fundamental
law. I don't think that constitutions are fundamental. I think
that the principles upon which they're based, or upon which they ought
to be based, are fundamental. However, even if I don't regard them
as fundamental, constitutions and other such documents are the sources
of governments. Therefore, I've decided to refer to them as Source
Documents. I believe that requires a little more explanation.
A legitimate government doesn't exist by it's own authority. It
exists by the authority of a constitution. The constitution, not
the government, is the source of the government's existence and legitimacy.
The constitution, not the government, declares the government's powers,
its limits, its departments, its officers, and so forth. The government
isn't the source of the constitution. The constitution is the source
of the government. Thus, I'll refer to constitutions and other such
documents as Source Documents. If somebody thinks of a better term,
then I'm open to suggestions.
The idea that a government is a creature of its constitution has a practical
consequence that isn't usually acknowledged.. That consequence is
that, when a constitution is terminated and a new constitution is enacted
in its place, then the government doesn't exist continuously through the
transition. Rather, the previous government, under the previous constitution,
is utterly destroyed when its constitution is terminated or superseded.
A new government, under the new constitution, is erected in its place.
The name of the new government might be the same as the name of the previous
government. That's irrelevant. My grandfather, my father, and
I all shared the same name but we were three completely different men.
Similarly, one government isn't the same institution as another government
simply because they have the same names.1
Some of the forms of the new government might be the same as some of the
forms of the previous government. That's also irrelevant. My
grandfather, my father, and I all had the same form but we were three completely
different men. The territory occupied by the new government might
be the same as the territory occupied by the previous government.
Even that is irrelevant. Over a period of time, my grandfather, my
father, and I each occupied the same chair in the kitchen. We were
still different men. A culture might have continuity during a change
in constitutions but a state, a government, is discontinuous when one constitution
is replaced by another. Thus, the State of Georgia, for example,
isn't the same State of Georgia that previously existed on this continent.
The previous states named Georgia were completely different states.
They're completely gone. They were unconnected to the present State
of Georgia except in a way that's somewhat analogous to the way in which
my grandfather and my father are connected to me. So, there have
been on this continent about a dozen completely different states named
Georgia, each occupying roughly the same territory as the present State
of Georgia. They don't have any more connection to the present State
of Georgia than England has to The United States of America.
—Sam Aurelius Milam III
| 1 |
^ |
Consider Georgia on
the east coast of the USA and Georgia near Russia. |
|
|
