ment; of making law and enforcing obe-
dience to them, which in all societies, must
be vested somewhere; under our form of
government is vested in the Government of
the United States and the States. The doc-
trine that sovereignty cannot be apportioned,
no longer exists here or is applicable to our
form of government. The whole sovereignty
is made up of the sovereignty conferred upon
the United States, plus the sovereignty re-
tained by the several States, or the people of
the State's.
I announce that proposition as the incontro-
vertible theory cot our Government. And as
further confirming this doctrine, I would refer
to the Federalist, No. 32, page 140: " Anentire
consolidation of the States into one complete
national sovereignty, would imply an entire
subordination of the parts, and whatever
powers remain in them would be altogether
dependent on the general will. But as the
plan of the Convention aims at only a partial
union or consolidation, the State Govern-
ments would clearly retain all the rights of
sovereignty which they before had, and which
were not by that act, exclusively, delegated
to the United States."
I refer again, upon the same point, to page
142. "The necessity of a concurrent jurisdiction
in certain cases, results from a divi-
sion of lire sovereign power; and the rule
that all authorities of which the States are
not explicitly divested in favor of the Union,
remain with them in full vigor, is not only
a theoretical consequence of that division, but
is clearly admitted by the whole tenor of the
instrument which contains the articles of the
prepared Constitution." Federalist. No. 32.
And then I turn to page 178, in further
confirmation of the doctrine, " In this rela-
tion, then, the proposed government cannot
be deemed a national one; while its jurisdic-
tion extends to certain enumerated objects
only, and leaves to the several States a resi-
duary and invioliable sovereignty over all other
subjects." Federalist, No. 39.
The same result will be reached by a dif-
ferent process of reasoning. These States
were formerly colonies, and were settled un-
der different grants from the sovereigns of
Great Britain. Bach was a separate and dis-
tinct community, with different laws, and
clothed with different colonial powers; and
having different governors and assemblages
exercising legislative power. Under the
colonial system, the allegiance of the inhabi-
tants of the colony was due solely and exclusively
to the sovereign of Great Britain.
This allegiance in that form was one and un-
divided and paramount. When our ances-
tors moved by the series of wrongs inflicted
by the mother country, determined to seek
redress for the injuries too long borne, sever-
al of the colonies, prior to the Declaration of
Independence, framed a Constitution and declared
themselves independent States, thus |
assuming the right of self-government, and
vesting themselves with sovereignty—and on
the 28th day of June, 1776, prior to the De-
claration of Independence, South Carolina
fought the battle of Fort Moultrie, her men
marching to the conflict flying State colors
and led by officers who were commissioned by
John 'Rutledge, President of the Republic, of
South Carolina, And South Carolina, Vir-
ginia and New Hampshire adopted severally a
Declaration of independence, prior to July
4th, 1776. By resolution, however, of July
2, 1776, they with 'the other colonies sundered
all ties with Great Britain, in these words :
"Resolved, That these United Colonies are
and of right ought to be free and independ-
ent States, that they are absolved from all
allegiance to the British crown, and that all
political connection between them and the
State of Great Britain is and ought to be to-
tally dissolved." Then came the Declaration
of Independence in which they declare—
"We. therefore, the representatives of the
United States of America, in general Con-
gress assembled, appealing to the Supreme
Judge of .the world, for the rectitude of
our intentions, do, in the name and by
the authority of the good people of these
colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that
these United Colonies are; and of right ought
to be, free and independent States—"
Not a free and independent government,
not a free and independent community, all
the States fused into one, but—
"Free and independent States: That
they are absolved from all allegiance to
the British crown, and that all political con-
nection between them and the State of Great
Britain is, and ought to be totally dissolved ;
and that as free and independent States, they
have full power to levy war, conclude peace,
contract alliances, establish commerce, and to
do all other acts and things which independ-
ent States may of right do, and for the sup-
port of this Declaration, with a firm reliance
on the protection of Divine Providence, we
mutually pledge to each other "our lives, our
fortunes, and our sacred honor."
Through seven long years of toil, suffer-
ing and alternate defeat and success, those
revolutionary men fought until their solemn
pledge to Almighty God was fulfilled, and
their independence was acknowledged by trea-
ty stipulations with Great Britain, France and
other powers. They became then each sepa-
rate and distinct sovereign States. The al-
legiance formerly due by tire people of the
separate colonies to the English sovereign was
transferred, on the happening of the revolu-
tion to the government of the several States.
Mcllvaine vs. Coxe, 4 Cranch, 209. This al-
legiance was a unit, undivided, and the several
States claimed it, and claimed it properly, as
paramount.
The States next united under articles of
confederation, under which the whole system |
