Government buys off the populace

“We've known conclusively since the Civil War of the 1860s the United States is not a voluntary association. With the states as captive subdivisions, ‘state's rights’ became a phrase with no corresponding reality. This was memorialized a century ago with the end of state governments' constitutional oversight of the central government they created.” -- Woodpilereport.com

(The U.S. Senate was to keep an eye on the overall government, while the House of Representatives acceded to the will of the people in individual districts in individual states. Direct election of senators took from states a power recognized as necessary by the writers of the Constitution.

(Rulers in the District of Columbia recognized since the 1861 war that a rebellious people must be defeated and the supporters of strong federal government can be bought.)