By James L. Hirsen, J.D., Ph.D. Sovereignty. Americans are generally unaccustomed to giving much thought to this subject. Perhaps it is because we take our sovereignty somewhat for granted, or perhaps because we have not felt the urgency to take heed. However, in the light of some recent occurrences, there may be good reason to give this topic our attention. The origin of the grand experiment we call America was based upon a divinely inspired and unique political perspective, that being, that individual rights do not come from government but are endowed to mankind by the Creator.
Power is, therefore, vested in government solely through a legal conveyance from the people.
The document our founders used for this conveyance was the Constitution. The Founders did not intend to provide the means for any branch of government to utilize treaties to bypass other constitutional prohibitions. Yet, as treaties and international agreements were increasingly being employed to control domestic concerns, citizens within and outside of government began to discern a threat to the integrity of the Constitution. One of these adherents was Senator John Bricker who proposed a constitutional amendment that would place clear limitations on the legal applicability of treaties in order to preserve individual and states' rights as well as American sovereignty. Leading the opposition to the Bricker Amendment for the Eisenhower Administration was Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles.