Thanks Elizabeth......
Kind of what I gathered was the question - hence my response. although I missed the part about the states not liking each other.
I think that is a misguided assumption. When the country was being formed we had regions, territories. This is a BIG country and even before most of it was "discovered" the countries who were staking their claim did so in chunks of land. England had most of the east coast, Florida was Spain's, Louisiana was claimed by the french and Texas and most of the south west was still claimed by Mexico.
It was easier to govern and much like the counties in the UK, were controlled by some nobleman or another. As we grew, it was a formula that was kept. Each state has it's own government and system. However, they country as a whole has it's system as well. State's rights are foremost in most cases, but the federal government helps to level the political and legal playing field.
Economically it made sense, back before the country was a unified entity there were several different forms of currency. It got really confusing. You could compare the concept to that of the EU...one money system makes things so much easier.
Strategically it made sense. Most states didn't have the capabilities to defend themselves from invasions. Working together, they were able to be a united front against invasions.
However, we are the UNITED states of America. Just as England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are the UNITED Kingdom. Would you say that England hates Scotland? or vise versa? No more than say Alabama hates Colorado? They are part of a team. Sure there are differences, but that makes it interesting and amazing to live here. It doesn't mean the states are "pretending" to get along. I think on the whole we do get along and we enjoy the benefits unity brings us as a country.
Kind of what I gathered was the question - hence my response. although I missed the part about the states not liking each other.
I think that is a misguided assumption. When the country was being formed we had regions, territories. This is a BIG country and even before most of it was "discovered" the countries who were staking their claim did so in chunks of land. England had most of the east coast, Florida was Spain's, Louisiana was claimed by the french and Texas and most of the south west was still claimed by Mexico.
It was easier to govern and much like the counties in the UK, were controlled by some nobleman or another. As we grew, it was a formula that was kept. Each state has it's own government and system. However, they country as a whole has it's system as well. State's rights are foremost in most cases, but the federal government helps to level the political and legal playing field.
Economically it made sense, back before the country was a unified entity there were several different forms of currency. It got really confusing. You could compare the concept to that of the EU...one money system makes things so much easier.
Strategically it made sense. Most states didn't have the capabilities to defend themselves from invasions. Working together, they were able to be a united front against invasions.
However, we are the UNITED states of America. Just as England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are the UNITED Kingdom. Would you say that England hates Scotland? or vise versa? No more than say Alabama hates Colorado? They are part of a team. Sure there are differences, but that makes it interesting and amazing to live here. It doesn't mean the states are "pretending" to get along. I think on the whole we do get along and we enjoy the benefits unity brings us as a country.
