This hub is a treatise on how "the Law" actually works within the United States.

You most likely did not learn this in public schools or even colleges or universities.

It may seem strange or even crazy. However, once you come to comprehend both how the law works and who you are, you can manipulate your status to be subject only to the laws you wish to be subject to. The only caveat is that as a decendant of the race of Man, you are subject to Natural Law.

With that said, if you have not reviewed my hubs on what the law is and who you are, please be sure to do so before attempting to comprehend this information as this hub assumes that you already have a firm groundwork in such things. As always, for definitions I will draw upon Bouvier's Law Dictionary, 6th edition which is also linked for your convenience.

Today, those of us living in the United States know that something is wrong.

Whether we see it as being control by a power behind the throne, ever more things being criminalized, or just a feeling in the back of our head that this country is not as free as it used to be, most of us know that something is wrong.

Many of us try to stand up for ourselves, go into court, and fight as best we can. We win some and we lose some.

We speak of the constitution, the bill of rights, and various other things and are shocked when judges say "Don't mention the constitution in MY court again or I'll put you in contempt!". We don't even know what to say to that.

Our problem is not necessarily government gone completely rogue. Our problem is that, as Old Mama states in the Fox and the Hound, "Lack of education leads to Elimination".

We do not know who we are or what the law is. Those of us who are awake are frantically seeking the keys. We think that we are "The people of the united States of America", "The people of the state of (whatever)", etc.

With that in mind, perhaps this hub will help some of you key seekers open a few more doors within your mind so that you can more clearly grasp exactly what is going on. I do not have all the answers. I certainly don't even see the big picture. However, I am just starting with the assumption that I know nothing and using Bouviers Law Dictionary to answer questions.

So, let us see,  with our knowledge of what law is and who we are, what exactly exists in the area of Earth commonly referred to as The United States.

STATE, government.

1. This word is used in various senses.
   • In its most enlarged sense, it signifies a self-sufficient body of persons united together in one community for the defence of their rights, and to do right and justice to foreigners. In this sense, the state means the whole people united into one body politic; (q. v.) and the state, and the people of the state, are equivalent expressions.
   • In a more limited sense, the word `state' expresses merely the positive or actual organization of the legislative, or judicial powers; thus the actual government of the state is designated by the name of the state; hence the expression, the state has passed such a law, or prohibited such an act.
   • State also means the section of territory occupied by a state, as the state of Pennsylvania.
2. By the word state is also meant, more particularly, one of the commonwealths which form the United States of America. The constitution of the United States makes the following provisions in relation to the states.
3. (skipping a few related to what states cannot do)
4. 8. The district of Columbia and the territorial districts of the United States, are not states within the meaning of the constitution and of the judiciary act, so as to enable a citizen thereof to sue a citizen of one of the states in the federal courts.
5. 9. The several states composing the United States are sovereign and independent, in all things not surrendered to the national government by the constitution, and are considered, on general principles, by each other as foreign states, yet their mutual relations are rather those of domestic independence, than of foreign alienation.

So, state can mean the whole body politic, the legislative type group of the body politic (if any), or territory occupied by a state.

When signing legal forms or reading legal jargon, you might want to make sure of the definitions being used. State != State != State. Three seperate things.

Before we can fully understand this we need to know what the underlined terms mean.

Each of what we think of today as states is a commonwealth...

COMMONWEALTH, government.

1. A commonwealth is properly a free state, or republic, having a popular or representative government. The term has been, applied to the government of Great Britain. It is not applicable to absolute governments. The states composing the United States are, properly, so many commonwealths.
2. It is a settled principle, that no sovereign power is amenable to answer suits, either in its own courts or in those of a foreign country, unless by its own consent. 4 Yeates, 494.

A commonwealth is a republic.

REPUBLIC.

1. A commonwealth; that form of government in which the administration of affairs is open to all the citizens.
2. In another sense, it signifies the state, independently of its form of government. In this sense, it is used by Ben Johnson. Those that, by their deeds make it known, whose dignity they do sustain; And life, state, glory, all they gain, Count the Republic's, not their own, Vide Body Politic; Nation; State.

For the purposes of determining what the united states that we think we are a part of is, we use the first piece and note that each commonwealth (state) is an independant, sovereign nation in its own right.

SOVEREIGN

1. A chief ruler with supreme power; one possessing sovereignty. (q. v.) It is also applied to a king or other magistrate with limited powers.
2. In the United States the sovereignty resides in the body of the people. Vide Rutherf. Inst. 282.

So, the united states we learned about in school has the people as sovereigns. This makes sense as the people created the government. They got together and created a society, writing up some ground rules as a constitution.

SOVEREIGN STATE.

1. One which governs itself independently of any foreign power.

Younger people might not realize this, but older people probably remember something called states rights.

Now we know that the people are sovereign over the government and each state (commonwealth) is independent of any foreign power...or at least was until the civil war.

SOVEREIGNTY.

1. The union and exercise of all human power possessed in a state; it is a combination of all power; it is the power to do everything in a state without accountability; to make laws, to execute and to apply them: to impose and collect taxes, and, levy, contributions; to make war or peace; to form treaties of alliance or of commerce with foreign nations, and the like. Story on the Const. §207.
2. Abstractedly, sovereignty resides in the body of the nation and belongs to the people. But these powers are generally exercised by delegation.
3. When analysed, sovereignty is naturally divided into three great powers; namely, the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary; the first is the power to make new laws, and to correct and repeal the old; the second is the power to execute the laws both at home and abroad; and the last is the power to apply the laws to particular facts; to judge the disputes which arise among the citizens, and to punish crimes.
4. Strictly speaking, in our republican forms of government, the absolute sovereignty of the nation is in the people of the nation; (q. v.) and the residuary sovereignty of each state, not granted to any of its public functionaries, is in the people of the state. (q. v.) 2 Dall. 471; and vide, generally, 2 Dall. 433, 455; 3 Dall. 93; 1 Story, Const. §208; 1 Toull. n. 20 Merl. Reper. h. t.

Sovereignty is the union and exercise of all power within a state to do things without accountablility...and it rests in the people who created it. Our public functionaries (public servants) have those powers the people gave to them, the rest of the powers being reserved to the people. ( can we say 9th and 10th amendment to the federal constitution? )

REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT.

1. A government in the republican form; a government of the people; it is usually put in opposition to a monarchical or aristocratic government.
2. The fourth section of the fourth article of the constitution, directs that "the United States shall guaranty to every state in the Union a republican form of government." The form of government is to be guarantied, which supposes a form already established, and this is the republican form of government the United States have undertaken to protect. See Story, Const. §1807.

A government of the people, not of the aristocracy or monarchy.

TERRITORY.

1. A part of a country, separated from the rest, and subject to a particular jurisdiction. The word is derived from terreo, and is so called because the magistrate within his jurisdiction has the power of inspiring a salutary fear. Dictum cat ab eo quod magistratus intra fines ejus terrendi jus habet. Henrion de Pansy, Auth. Judiciare, 98. In speaking of the ecclesiastical jurisdictions, Francis Duaren observes, that the ecclesiastics are said not to have territory, nor the power of arrest or removal, and are not unlike the Roman magistrates of whom Gellius says vocationem habebant non prehen-sionem. De Sacris Eccles. Minist. lib. 1, cap. 4. In the sense it is used in the constitution of the United States, it signifies a portion of the country subject to and belonging to the United States, which is not within the boundary of any of them.
2. The constitution of the United States, art. 4, s. 3, provides, that "the congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and regu-lations respecting the territory or other property of the United States; and nothing in this constitution shall be construed, so as to preclude the claims of the United States or of any state."
3. Congress possesses the power to erect territorial governments within the territory of the United States; the power of congress over such territory is exclusive and universal, and their legislation is subject to no control, unless in the case of ceded territory, as far as it may be affected by stipulations in the cessions, or by the ordinance of 1787, 3 Story's L. U. S. 2073, under which any part of it has been settled. Story on the Const. §1322; Rawle on the Const: 237; 1 Kent's Com. 243, 359; 1 Pet. S. C. Rep. 511, 542, 517.
4. The only organized territories of the United States are Oregon, Minnesota, New Mexico and Utah. Vide Courts of the United States.

Remember, one definition of State is the section of territory occupied by a state.

With this definition of territory, we are still not quite sure what is meant as we do not know for sure what a country is.

COUNTRY.

1. By country is meant the state of which one is a member.
2. Every man's country is in general the state in which he happens to have been born, though there are some exceptions. See Domicil; Inhabitant. But a man has the natural right to expatriate himself, i. e. to abandon his country, or his right of citizenship acquired by means of naturalization in any country in which he may have taken up his residence. See Allegiance; Citizen; Expatriation. in another sense, country is the same as pais. (q. v.)

Wait, what?

By substituting definitions in we get the following.

A State is ... (4) the section of territory occupied by a state.

A State is ...the section of [a part of a country] occupied by a state.

A State is ...the section of [a part of a state of which one is a member] occupied by a state.

At first glance we get a nonsensical definition. However, we have not defined occupied. Let us do so now.

OCCUPANCY.

1. The taking possession of those things corporeal which are without an owner, with an intention of appropriating them to one's own use. Pothier defines it to be the title by which one acquires property in a thing which belongs to nobody, by taking possession of it, with design of acquiring. The Civil Code of Lo. art. 3375, nearly following Pothier, defines occupancy to be "a mode of acquiring property by which a thing, which belongs to nobody, becomes the property of the person who took possession of it, with an intention of acquiring a right of ownership in it."
2. To constitute occupancy there must be a taking of a thing corporeal, belonging to nobody with an intention of becoming the owner of it.
   1. - 1. The taking must be such as the nature of the time requires; if, for example, two persons were walking on the sea-shore, and one of them should perceive a precious stone, and say he claimed it as his own, he would, acquire no property in it by occupancy, if the other seized it first.
   2. - 2. The thing must be susceptible of being possessed; an incorporeal right, therefore, as an annuity, could not be claimed by occupancy.
   3. - 3. The thing taken must belong to nobody; for if it were in the possession of another the taking would be larceny, and if it had been lost and not abandoned, the taker would have only a qualified property in it, and would hold the possession for the owner.
   4. - 4. The taking must have been with an intention of becoming the owner; if therefore a person non compos mentis should take such a thing he would not acquire a property in it, because he had no intention to do so. Co. Litt. 41, b.
3. Among the numerous ways of acquiring property by occupancy, the following are considered as the most usual.
   1. Goods captured in war, from public enemies, were, by the common law, adjudged to belong to the captors. Finch's law, 28; 178; 1 Wills. 211; 1 Chit. Com. Law, 377 to 512; 2 Wooddes. 435 to 457; 2 Bl. Com. 401. But by the law of nations such things are now considered as primarily vested in the sovereign, and as belonging to individual captors only to the extent and under such regulations as positive laws may prescribe. 2 Kent's Com. 290. By the policy of law, goods belonging to an enemy are considered as not being the property of any one. Lecon's Elem. du Dr. Rom. §348; 2 Bl. Com. 401.
   2. When movables are casually lost by the owner and unreclaimed, or designedly abandoned by him, they belong to the fortunate finder who seizes them, by right of occupancy.
   3. The benefit of the elements, the light, air, and water, can only be appropriated by occupancy.
   4. When animals ferae naturae are captured, they become the property of the occupant while he retains the possession; for if an animal so taken should escape, the captor loses all the property he had in it. 2 Bl. Com. 403.
   5. It is by virtue of his occupancy that the owner of lands is entitled to the emblements.
   6. Property acquired by accession, is also grounded on the right of occupancy.
   7. Goods acquired by means of confusion may be referred to the same right.
   8. The right of inventors of machines or of authors of literary productions is also founded on occupancy.

So, the first definition certainly does not apply as there were thriving native american nations (societies) here.

The second applies if we denote that the european countries committed larceny against the native american nations.

Ah, there we go, the third definition is the justification. Goods acquired by war or confusion.

Ok, at least we now have a definition that is semi-coherant.

A State is the section of a part of a state of which one is a member being held as property by a state.

So, whatever a society can take by force or trickery and hold on to is the territory of the state.

When we do that it is called theft, larceny, or fraud. When a bunch of people get together and do it, it is, as a matter of law, fine and dandy. Good to know.

PAIS, or PAYS.

1. A French word signifying country. In law, matter in pais is matter of fact in opposition to matter of record: a trial per pais, is a trial by the country, that is, by a jury.

As noted in the hub on who we are, there is a United States which is a corporation.

Said United States corporation has child corporations called such things as "The State of Virginia", "The State of Delaware", etc.

Look them up on the big stock exchanges. They are all corporations. I won't get into the nitty gritty of how exactly this all came to pass ( partly because much of it is quite hard to believe and partly because I have not done enough research to be sure of various details ), but we don't need to know how to see that it is true.

Remember what the law looked like concerning corporate employees ( which are considered to be artificial persons as a matter of law, subject to the law of objects )?

Both versions of the united states still exist. However, your rights, duties, responsibilities, and priviledges vary greatly depending upon which you are a member of.

The union of the several united States (original)

In this country, one is a state citizen. And by virtue of being a state citizen, one has access to the state constitution and federal constitution. The acts of the legislature which are outside of strict constitutional powers are nullities and of no effect on the people as the people created the government.

There are no social benefits in this united states. No welfare, no foodstamps, no social security, etc. There may or may not be public schools in this united states. That depends on the constitutions of each state.

If you don't like the constitution of one state, you can pick up and choose a different one.

There are no income taxes, sales taxes, non-commercial drivers licenses, regulatory bodies, ordinances, statutes, etc.

The law is so simple that ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it. Do no harm to others or their property.

Rather than fining and caging people for harming others, those causing harm are made to give restitution to those they have harmed if at all possible.

A harder life, but one with much more freedom and very limited government. It is a bottom up system. Control comes from the people.

Money is gold, silver, or whatever the people want to trade in.

If you are one of those who feels oppressed by the government and does not fully know why, this is the society you should join.

The United States (corporation)

This united states is the one that you live in if you have a social security number and birth certificate.

This united states has a plethora of social programs and agencies.

It also has a plethora of regulations and taxes.

It has so many laws that no one knows ten percent of them.

Money is federal reserve notes.

If you are one who is comfortable with how things are, then this is the society you should join.

Of course, within the corporate united states you have quite a bit of leeway to do things if you know how you adjust your status.

Your status can be adjusted by switching the office you hold, by accepting or refusing various benefits and licenses, and by registering things you own. Of course, those in higher offices don't like competition and so you had best learn law if you want to be able to properly avoid various benefits. You can also change your status by rebutting the presumption that you are a debtor to the corporation.

There are tons of options out there, but in order to go after any of them you need to know the structure of law, who you are, what "the government" is, which society you prefer, and what place you want in your preferred society.

Only you know that answer.

Look over the structure of law and then consider what benefits, licenses, etc. you currently have.

Realize that benefits, licenses, etc. make you subject to civil laws you otherwise would not be subject to.

Using the process I have outlined in these hubs, figure out what "Submit an Application for Registration" means as a matter of law and then look to see what a Record is.

You cannot claim your sovereignty if you do not know what words mean as even if you were able to do so, you would be tricked right back out of it.

Driving a Motor Vehicle upon the road is very different that Travelling in an automobile upon the road...and both are very different from Travelling in a Motor Vehicle upon the road.

You can travel in an automobile upon the road freely in both societies. But, to do so in either one requires some serious study and consideration.

You change which laws effect you by changing your status.

You change your status by using real, factual, knowledge. No one can tell you how and have it be of any use. You have to learn and truly know what you are doing. Claiming that it is too much effort is akin to claiming that it is not worth your time and that you prefer your current status.

You do have free will and this is a free country.

Peace.

It could be argued that there is only one united states and that we, the people have simply forgotten who we are and do not realize that we can change our status to change which laws apply to us.

Under said argument, there are two seperate, distinct citizenships, that of each state, and that of the federal united states. The federal united states citizenship is the 14th amendment citizenship subject to congress, from which all of the benefits and taxes flow. If one simply equates 14th amendment citizenship to corporate citizenship, the results are close to the same. The primary difference exists in the amendments to the constitution as there is compelling evidence that the 13th amendment everyone knows about is not the real 13th amendment...and that the 14th amendment was not lawfully ratified.

Personally, I am undecided on which one is the case. However, it really does not matter too much as either way, there is a lot of freedom for the claiming if you have the will and are willing to expend the energy to do so.