Why did the Founding Fathers (tm) use the phrase "several states" in the Constitution? Why "several"?
The term is used all over the document. It appears in the sections on formation and powers of the Congress, powers of the President, and the powers and responsibilities of the states themselves. It also appears in the 5th (amending the Constitution), 6th (supremacy of the Constitution), 14th (Citizenship rights), 16th (income tax), 18th (prohibition), 20th (Presidential, Congressional terms), 21st (prohibition repealed), and 22nd (Presidential term limit) amendments.
What does "several states" mean? It isn't hard to find out. The first definition of "several" at Miriam-Webster is this:
separate or distinct from one another
Separate. Distinct. A union of individual entities.
The balance between Federal and State powers has shifted grotesquely since the Constitution was written. It is both sad and dangerous that the states have traded their riding crops for a federal yoke.
Well, they also used the word "several" because there was real doubt that the Const. would be ratified by all the States when presented. They only needed 9 to ratify for it to become binding on all 13. There was not really unanimity even among the framers, several of whom refused to sign it.