My post asserted two things: first, that the Supreme Court considers Publius to be authoritative; and second, that you can very clearly find in the Federalist Papers the argument that the Constitution exists to prevent the states from dividing into regional confederations--that is, to prevent the Balkanization of the United States. Both of these are empirical claims--neither of them is propaganda. All best, Kevin Kevin R. Hardwick, Ph.D. Department of History James Madison University ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html