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What Degree of Madness?: Madison's Method to Make America STATES Again

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In Federalist Number 46, James Madison insists that Americans would never be crazy enough to fund a federal government that was destroying rather than protecting their property. Madison promised his readers that his countrymen would never watch while the storm clouds of tyranny gathered and grew darker, much less stand by while a deluge of despotism drowned themselves and their posterity.
Sorry, Mr. Madison, but we are just that lazy and just that crazy!
Just in case his worst-case scenario should come to pass, though, Mr. Madison left us with an inventory of “powerful” weapons that he said states would have “at hand.”
“What Degree of Madness?” chronicles how we got in our current condition and how we can still deploy the weapons Madison catalogued to Make America STATES Again!
And, if we are diligent, we will finally force the federal beast back inside its constitutional cage!
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Joe Wolverton’s latest book provides a message America needs. America needs a course correction. Instead of following the success formula set forth in our founding documents, The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution, we have been traveling a suboptimal path. Restoration of the proper relationship between the states and the federal government will restore the greatest freedom to our country. We will no longer have a national government but will bring us back to a federal government which will bring lasting freedom and prosperity. Joe’s scholarship and writing on this important topic is vital to our nation’s future.
— Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.)

“State nullification" has always been part of the American political tradition, but since the Civil War a largely suppressed part. Today, however, state nullification (and even secession) are again topical—though not well understood. This book—well suited for a general audience—is a thorough study of the importance of state nullification today as a lawful instrument for resisting federal tyranny.
— Donald Livingston, Prof. of Philosophy, Emory University (retired) and President, Abbeville Institute

Joe Wolverton gets to the heart of the fundamental problem in American aggressive nationalism. His prescription for making "STATES again" is nothing short of fantastic. Anyone who believes we need to be "thinking locally and acting locally" needs to read this book.
— Dr. Brion McClanahan, author of 9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America , How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America , and is the host of The Brion McClanahan Show.

The U.S. government was created as the joint agent of the peoples of sovereign States. It was designed to manage those interests that the States shared and it was of specifically limited powers. No honest observer can deny this historical truth. Today we have a federal government that has no limits on its power—that controls toilets and parking lots and has a hundred military installations around the world. While the States are nearly inert. But the States are what we have. They are historical realities and potential points of power and allegiance. Joe Wolverton, a prolifically published constitutional lawyer, shows how the States might become restrainers of illegal federal acts. What other hope do we have against Leviathan?
— Clyde N. Wilson, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of History, University of South Carolina

162 pages, Paperback

Published January 13, 2020

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Joe Wolverton

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60 reviews1 follower
May 25, 2023
I thought I knew the Founding Fathers and their goals for a more perfect union. That all changed once I started reading this book. I would grab the writings and memoirs of James Madison, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and many others to verify each chapter I just read.

While some of our Founding Fathers like Alexander Hamilton preferred a much stronger central government than someone like Jefferson or Madison - it is now obvious to me that the federal government has far exceeded its authority over state sovereignty and our lives. Much further than even Hamilton would have approved of.

This book should be required reading for all Americans, especially students, immigrants, and registered voters - because our education system, politicians, and government have not been honest with us regarding state rights, inalienable rights, US history, the Constitution, and on the manner of how we are to be governed.
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