Tennessee Revives Committees of Correspondence and Begs the Question "Do We Have States Or Colonies?"

In a move that was probably unthinkable as too radical as little as a decade ago, the Governor of Tennessee issued an invitation for other states to join in a "working group" to discuss ways to resist federal government encroachment on state sovereignty.

This represents the next logical step for states, among which include Alaska and West Virginia, that have passed resolutions asserting their rights under the Tenth Amendment. Texas set off fireworks with its governor's offhand suggestion that his state could choose to secede at some point.

Issues include unfunded mandates, unnecessary regulation, and the federal government's explosion of possible new taxes and restrictions. A Georgia gubernatorial candidate has threatened that under his administration, the State Police will arrest any federal authority that attempts to confiscate a firearm. Montana and Ohio are looking into ways to protect firearms fully manufactured in and sold within their state boundaries from federal laws based upon the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

Not in recent memory has the state sovereignty movement acted with such vigor. The federal government had never acted with such sweeping force before either. The Constitution protects states through the Tenth Amendment, but Congress uses an expanded interpretation of the Interstate Commerce Clause and threats of suspended highway funding to enforce their will on state government.

Tennessee's invitation does not specifically mention the phrase "committees of correspondence," but it is the same principle. These were set up in the early 1770s to coordinate colonial authorities' against draconian British legislation. Such committees served as the foundation for the Continental Congress that launched the American Revolution.