Resolved, That the government of the United States, in the language of Mr. Webster, is "the result of compact between the States," each State for itself adopting for its government the Constitution of the United States.

2. That the people of each State adopted for their government the Constitution of the United States, in the same way as they adopted their State constitution.

3. That the Constitution of the United States was not binding, nor had it force or effect in any State until it was ratified and adopted by the people thereof, as is evidenced by the fact that the people of North Carolina were not bound by it, nor was North Carolina a member of the Union created by it, for some time after the government had been organized under it, and after it had been ratified by eleven other States.

4. That the government created by the Constitution of the United States is "neither wholly national nor wholly federal. Were it wholly national, the supreme and ultimate authority would reside in the majority of the people of the Union, and this authority would be competent at all times, like that of a majority of every national society, to alter or abolish its established government. Were it wholly federal, on the other hand, the concurrence of each State in the Union would be essential to every alteration that would be binding on all." The mode provided by the Constitution for its amendment "is not founded on either of these principles." "In requiring more than a majority, and particularly in computing the proportion by States, not by citizens, it departs from the national and advances towards the federal character. In rendering the concurrence of less than the whole number of States sufficient, it loses again the federal and partakes of the national character. The government created by the Constitution of the United States, therefore, is neither a national nor a federal government, "but a composition of both." "In its foundation it is federal, not national; in the sources from which the ordinary powers of the government are drawn, it is partly federal and partly national; in the operation of these powers it is national, not federal; in the extent of them it is federal, not national."

5. That it is essential to the preservation of the government created by the Constitution that the military should be subordinate to the civil power, and that such was the intention of the founders of the government is evidenced by the fact that the President was made commander-in-chief of the army and navy.

6. That Congress alone can declare what are crimes against the United States, and can alone legislate for the punishment thereof. That it is not competent for the President in any character, or for any military commander, to restrict the right of suffrage in any State, or to impose conditions precedent to the exercise thereof; nor can the will or judgment of the President enlarge his powers beyond what are conferred by the Constitution.

7. That all the powers of the general government are derived from the Constitution; that the Constitution of the United States confers power, and the constitutions of the several States limit power; that the general government can only exercise such powers as are conferred by the Constitution of the United States; that but for the State constitutions, each State, within its own jurisdiction, could exercise all governmental power.

8. That governments are instituted for the protection of minorities, the chief objects being to secure to the citizen his right to personal liberty, and to protect him in the possession and enjoyment of his private property.

9. That there is no such power as "the war power" known to the government of the United States, outside of the powers conferred by and enumerated in the Constitution of the United States.

10. That the government of the United States enforces obedience to its Constitution and laws, as do the State governments, by acting directly upon the citizen; that it cannot create a State government or a State constitution, or alter one; that it has no right to interfere, directly or indirectly, to alter, abolish, or procure a change in the constitution of any State, but is bound to protect existing constitutions in each and every State from any attempt to substitute for them a government not republican in form, and cannot act against States or political communities as such, but is confined in its action to the punishment of persons, there being no right of eminent domain in the government of the United States, the soil of each State belonging to it and the people thereof.

11. That any attempt on the part of the government of the United States, or any department thereof, to destroy the State governments, and substitute for them territorial or any other form of government, would be an exercise of arbitrary and usurped power, destructive of the liberties of the people, violative of the Constitution, and an overthrow of the government created by it.

12. That it is the duty of the servants of the people, to whom the administration of the government is intrusted, and to whom its powers have been confided, to put down rebellion against its authority whenever organized, to the end that the law-abiding citizen may be protected in the enjoyment of the blessings the government was designed to confer; that, if necessary to this end, the whole military and naval power of the government can and should be used, not against the States as such, nor in a war against populations and homes, but against the citizens and persons so resisting the authority of the government and defying its power.

13. That the whole military power of the government should be directed against the armies of the confederates, and that, until they are broken and dispersed, there can be no peace upon the basis of a re-union of the States.

• Resolutions on the Nature of the Government (introduced on 1864-01-07 12:00:00 - CREATE - e727891) [This document]

• Resolutions on the Nature of the Government (introduced on 1864-01-07 12:00:00 - CREATE - e727891) [This document] [view current proposal at this moment]
  • Motion to Print and Lay the Resolutions on the Table (introduced on 1864-01-07 12:00:00 - PROCEDURE - e727892) [view current proposal at this moment]
    • None (introduced on 1864-01-07 12:00:00 - ADOPT_PROPOSAL - e727893) [view current proposal at this moment]