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If the COTUS applies to the states, what would be the purpose of the state consitutions, asks I, somewhat rhetorically.
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Good point, but Madison himself did intend for the BoR to apply against the states, worrying that individual states could inflict harm upon the rights of their citizens. The 14th Amendment was meant to reinforce that idea.
Black's doctrine of "incorporation" is an artificial and clumsy doctrine, but I'd argue it was a necessary one to counter the drubbing that the Chase and Taney courts gave to the idea.