Switzerland enjoys the same "state-level" autonomy, and they still get to call themselves "Swiss" at the end of the day. Having studied the Constitution and su

Switzerland enjoys the same "state-level" autonomy, and they still get to call themselves "Swiss" at the end of the day. Having studied the Constitution and surrounding documents with some degree of rigor, I think it's incorrect to assert that that a large difference was intended between the United States and the European Union. It's of course open to interpretation, but the idea that states espouse a degree of autonomy beyond a monolithic federal government isn't absurd, and is even codified into both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.