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sovereign power has been divided in its exercise, the experience and wisdom of ages have devised but one mode by which such political organization can be preserved; that is, to give to each co-estate the right to judge of its powers, with a negative or veto on the acts of the others; a principle recognized in all our Constitutions, in the distribution of power among their respective departments, as essential to the independence of each, but far more essential, for the same object, in the great and fundamental distribution of powers between the States and the General Government. So essential is this principle, that to withhold the right from either, where the sovereign power is divided, is in fact, to annul the division and to consolidate in the one left in the exclusive possession of the right, all of the powers of the Government, for, it is not possible to distinguish, practically, between a Government having all power, and one having the right to take what power it pleases.

These views are thus summed up, in the proclamation of Governor Hayne: "The Constitution of the United States is a compact between sovereign States-it creates a confederated republic, not having a single feature of nationality in its foundation-the people of the several States, as distinct political communities, ratified the Constitution, each State acting for itself, and binding its own citizens, and not those of any other State, the act of ratification declaring it to be binding upon the States so ratifying-the States are its authors; their power created it their voice clothed it with authority-the Government which it formed, is composed of their agents, and the union of which it is the bond, is a union of States, and not of individuals-that, as regards the foundation and extent of its power, the Government of the United States is, strictly, what its name implies, a Federal Government-that the States are as sovereign now, as they were prior to the entering into the compact-that the Federal Constitution is a confederation in the nature of a treaty-or an alliance, by which so many sovereign States agreed to exercise their sovereign powers conjointly, upon certain objects of external concern, in which they are equally interested, such as WAR, PEACE, COMMERCE, FOREIGN NEGOTIATION, AND INDIAN TRADE; and upon all other subjects of civil government, they were to exercise their sovereignty separately."

"For the convenient conjoint exercise of the sovereignty of the State, there must be, of necessity, some common agency or functionary. This agency is the Federal Government. It

represents the confederated States, and executes their joint will, as expressed in the compact. The powers of this Government are wholly derivative. It possesses no more inherent sovereignty than an incorporated town, or any other great incorporate body-it is a political corporation, and, like all corporations, it looks for its powers to an exterior source. That source is the States."

VIII. And, if in the exercise of the unquestionable right of the State to nullify such laws of the General Government, that Government proceed to enforce them, the State is justifiable in dissolving the Union.

346. This extraordinary power, so pregnant with disunion, so incompatible with all the conservative principles of the General Government, rests on the alleged undivided sovereignty of the States, and upon the position that in this sovereign capacity they formed a league in the Constitution. Both these grounds are erroneous.

I. The Constitution of the United States forms a Government-not a league-a political association of one people, and not the union of distinct communities. So far from being the creature of the States, many of the States, certainly, if not all, have been created by the General Government. Such is unquestionably the case with all that have been formed since the declaration of independence, and those at that time in existence may be fairly deemed to owe their independence to that declaration, made by the people of the United Colonies. In the formation of the Constitution, the PEOPLE executed their will, through the agency of the State Legislatures, in electing the framers of the compact, and through the agency of separate conventions, in ratifying its provisions. That there might be no doubt of this important fact, they have, in the first article of that instrument, declared, that, WE, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, have established this Consti tution; and, consistently with this declaration, many of the most important functions under the Constitution are fulfilled by the people, as by one people. We are one people in the choice of President and Vice President. The choice is not determined by a sense of the majority of States, but by the sense of the majority of the people of all the States; and a majority of the States may support a candidate who is rejected by a majority of the People. The House of Representatives is, emphatically, the representation of the people of the United States. not of particular States. The members are ap

pointed, it is true, in some instances, by a State vote, in others by a district vote, but this no more makes them exclusive representatives of States or districts, than the members of the State Legislatures, elected by the respective counties, are exclusively the representatives of such counties. In both cases, the member is the representative of the great body politic, selected from a constituent portion. The representative in Congress is not accountable to a State for the performance of his legislative functions; and though, in practice, he may, as his duty, prefer the interests of his particular constituents, when conflicting with other partial or local interests, yet it is his first and highest interest, as representative of the United States, to promote the general good.

II. The Government of the United States is one in which all the people are represented; one which acts upon the people, individually, and not upon the States. The States, retaining such powers as they have not granted, have expressly given such as were requisite to constitute, jointly with other States, a single nation. Having so done, no State can secede, because she would thereby not break a league, but destroy the unity of a nation. To say that, a State may, at pleasure, secede from the Union, is to say, that, the United States are not a nation; because it would be a solecism to contend, that, any part of a nation may dissolve its connection with the other parts, to their injury or ruin, without committing offence. Secession, like any other revolutionary act, may be, morally, justified by the extremity of oppression; but it is a confounding of terms to call it a constitutional right, and can be done, only, in great error, or with a view to deceive.

III. That the Union is formed by compact, affords no reason that any of the parties may destroy it. On the contrary, it is, because it is a compact, a binding obligation, that they cannot depart from it. A compact may, or may not, have a sanction or penalty for its breach. If it have none, it may be broken with no other consequence than moral guilt; if it have a sanction, the breach incurs the penalty expressed or implied. A league between independent nations, generally, has only a moral sanction; or if there be other, there is no common superior to enforce it. A Government always has a sanction, express or implied, and in our case has both, An attempt, by force of arms, to destroy it, is an offence against which the Government has, by the law of self-defence, authority to provide, by the punishment of the offender, subject,

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of course, to the restraints of the Constitution. In our system, although the power is modified in the case of treason, yet authority is expressly given to pass all laws necessary to carry its powers into effect, and provision has been made for punishing acts which obstruct the administration of the laws.

IV. The States, severally, have not retained their entire sovereignty; but have surrendered many of its essential parts. The right to make treaties declare war-levy taxes-exercise exclusive judicial and legislative powers, were all essential parts of sovereignty; but for these important purposes the States, individually, are no longer sovereign. The allegiance of their citizens was due, in the first instance, to the Government of the United States; they became American citizens and vowed obedience to the Constitution, and laws of the United States, made in conformity with the powers vested in Congress. How then can a State be sovereign and independent, whose citizens owe obedience to laws not made by it, and whose magistrates are sworn to disregard such laws, when they conflict with those passed by another?

V. But it is vain to say, that, the Constitution of the United States, and the treaties and laws made under it, are the supreme law of the land, and that, the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or law of any State, to the contrary notwithstanding, if an individual State may, at pleasure, annul those laws. If by the expression of its will, one State may annul the laws, there is scarce a law which would be preserved; for, it is scarce practicable to make a law equally acceptable to every State. Had this doctrine been established, at an earlier day, the Union would have been dissolved in its infancy. The excise law in Pennsylvania, the embargo and non-intercourse laws in the eastern States, the carriage tax in Virginia, were all deemed unconstitutional, and were more unequal in their operation, than the laws now complained of; but, fortunately, none of these States discovered, that, they had the right to annul them. Had such been the case, the war into which we were forced, to support the dignity and rights of the nation, might have ended in defeat and disgrace, if the States which supposed it ruinous and unconstitutional, had chosen to annul the law by which it was declared, and to deny the supplies for its prosecution.

VI. But what if the Government of the United States pass laws which are unconstitutional, or intolerably oppressive, is there no tribunal to which an appeal may be made? Cer

tainly; the Constitution has provided two, to pass upon the constitutionality of laws, and two to remedy every species of oppression.

VII. To the Supreme Court it belongs, to pass upon the constitutionality of every act of the General Government, which can, by judicial forms, be brought before it. By the Constitution, "the judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, and which shall be made, under their authority; and such power shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts, as Congress may, from time to time, ordain and establish." These provisions are explicit and full. They make the Supreme Court of the United States the umpire in all such cases, in the last resort. And it may be justly retorted, that the doctrine which denies to the General Government the right of protecting its powers, and vests in the States, respectively, the right to determine the powers delegated to it, is incompatible with the sovereignty of the United States.

VIII. But, there may be cases of legislative and executive character, to which the powers of the judiciary do not reach. Such is that presented by the tariff laws. In form, they are, unquestionably, constitutional, and if they be otherwise it is from their motive. All admit, that Congress have the right to levy imposts, but it is denied, that they have the right to levy them, for the protection of manufactures. For such cases, for cases of legislative oppression, and for cases of premeditated abuse of power, by all departments of the General Government, the Constitution has provided appropriate remedies.

In the first place, the people, by the exercise of the elective franchise, may check and remedy any or all of these evils -removing the legislature and the executive-and in case the judges have entered into any corrupt conspiracy, may remove them by impeachment. A reformed Congress would repeal all laws, which prove oppressive or are adverse to the Constitution. Besides this, there is, yet, another remedy, in the power of amendment to the Constitution, given in that instrument, by which three-fourths of the States may alter its provisions. And lastly, when all these constitutional modes have been tried in vain, is the appeal to the ultima ratio, the physical power of the people sacred insurrection.

IX. The Government is a government of the majority, according to the principles which have been established by its

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