US Presidency
1865

As a consequence the State governmentis limited as to the General Government in the interest of union, as tothe individual citizen in the interest of freedom. States, with proper limitations of power, are essential to the existenceof the Constitution of the United States. At the very commencement, whenwe assumed a place among the powers of the earth, the Declaration of Independencewas adopted by States; so also were the Articles of Confederation: andwhen the people of the United States ordained and established the Constitutionit was the assent of the States, one by one, which gave it vitality. Inthe event, too, of any amendment to the Constitution, the proposition ofCongress needs the confirmation of States. Without States one great branchof the legislative government would be wanting. And if we look beyond theletter of the Constitution to the character of our country, its capacityfor comprehending within its jurisdiction a vast continental empire isdue to the system of States. The best security for the perpetual existenceof the States is the supreme authority of the Constitution of the UnitedStates.