Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1860-12-15
For the BuEls.
N o NJ B Z r I,


political party Of Radical AbolitiOrisis," which
we, Of llIinois, in the late Presidential election,
correctly. as we hope, named "The True Democrd-
cy." Our motto 10 LIBERTY, EoUALIrY, FRArEsNI-
TY. Whether we shall deserve the name which
we have chosen. 10 yet to be tested by our future
devotion to the great cause Of human rights. By
human rights, l mean to include as the most
important, the natural, Inherent and absolutely
sovereign right Of erery man and OF erery woman
10 selt-government. 1t they possess this inherent
right OF Self-goSernment, there is then, Of neees.i.
'y, 90 end to the absurd and impudeut claim for
either the Federal or State Governments being, in
any seuse Of tho term sovereign. And this brings
me to the subject proposed for discussion in these
ossnys. namely, the sovereignty Of these confeder
ated States, and their unques,ionAble right peace
ably 10 sccede from tue Union.
fenc you those essays for publication from n
conviction that they will meet your appreciation,
and be given to your renders for their calm and
candid consideration. l am led to this conclusion
from the fact. that you are the only editor north
Of Mason aid DiIon's line, lat leost so far as ny
knowledge extends who, taking his stand upon
the Declaration Of American Independence, bold.
y s'ows the right Of a State to secede from The
Union, without incuring the guilt of treason and
rebellion.
The subject Of sovereignty is infinitely more
important to the people of the several states than
the question Of Who shall administer the fedora
government. because i, undsrlies the whole super.
structure Of our complex, yet simple, system Of
federal and state governments. The terms. sover.
eighty, sovereign states. aud popular sovereignty,
are in every day use, and yet few OF those who use
these terms seem to have any definite idea Of lhair
meaning.
For instance, nearly everybody, in speaking oil
the states Of this oonfederacy, call them Sovereign
states" and yet they utterly demolish 'state soy
ereignty' by admitting The 'old .Ederdt' theory.
that leach state expressly parted with 30 many
powers as to constitute jointly with the other states
n single nation"
Now it is clear that state and nation are CONVEX
tiLle terms. How, then, could the odd thirteen
states" after adopting the federal constitution,
to be states, if leach state expressly par
ted with SO many powers as to constitute jointly
with the other states a single nation 2" II a sin
gle '%ndtion" was formed by the consolidation Of
The original thirteen states, then il 10 clear as the
noor-day Gun that ours 10 not a icon federdcy of
states" but a consolidated despotism. The term
iespotism is used because, il ours is = consolida.
ted government, it 10 the most unequal and unjust
as will be shown in a future number.
In order to get a correct view Of this question
sovereignty" il 10 necessary TO 90 back in
history to the Declaration Of Independence, which
enphaticAlly declares:
THAT these united colonies are, and of right
ought TO be, free and independent states that
they are also free from oil allegiance 10 the British
aud that they have full power to levy war,
peace, contract alliances. establish com
merce, and do all other acts and things, which in
dependent states mag Of right do"
On the 4,h os July. l176. then, it is clear, that
the colonies became free and independent states"
and consequently. sovereign states. Two years
later, in 1873, the ssstes, by adopting the articles
OF the confederation, assert their sovereignty by
declaring tina: EACH STATE RETAINS ITS SOVEREIGN
Tr." Up, then, to the adoption Of the federal con.ti-
tuition, il is undisputable that each state was a sov-
ereign commonwealth, republic or nation.
Now whore, when and how were the states,
since that day. d~espOiled of their sovereignty ,
Notwithstanding the proof that the states have
parted with their inherent sovereignty to the fed
ersl government, necessarily devolyes on those
who assert the claim, l will endeavor to prove the
negative OF their false position. The lO;h article
Of the amendments TO the federal constitution de-.
clsres that 1.-The powers not delegated to The Uni
ted States, nor prohibited to the states, are reserv-
ed to the states respectively, or 20 the ~peorls."
Now no one will claim that sovereignty is among
the expressly delegated powers, and i. is absurd to
claim that an attribute so essential to the very ex-
lstence Of the states has been delegated by impli-
cation. This, the most ardent cold federalis,,"
would not claim. To obvia,s this difficulty. it is
claimed that Sovereignty is divided between the
states and The federal government, and tina. the
allegiance Of the citizens Of the several states il
due so the federal government, as we'll as 10 the
state governments"
This doctrine Of a divided sovereignty and Il
transfer of allegiance, either in whole or part, to
the federal government war first au,horitively
announced by General Jackson, in bis pro.
Of 1882. In this document, which
he hid no constitutional right to issue, Gen. Jack.
son Gays:
'Of this nature appears to DO the assumed RICH,
OF secession. It rests, ss We have seen, on the al
lodged undivided sovereignty of the statep, and on
their having formed. in this sovereign capacity, n
compact which 10 called the constitution. y y y y
The states s%everally have not retained their entire
sovereignty. 1t has been shown that, in becoming
parts Of a nation, noi members Of . league, they
surrendered many other essential parts of soyer.
eighty. The right to make treaties declare war;
levy taxes exercise exclusive judicial and legisla-
rive power-Were all Of them ~lunctions of soyer.
eign power. The states, then, for all these impor-
tant purposes were no longer sovereign. The al
legiance Of their citizens was transferred, in the
first instance. to the government Of the United
States"
Now it is clear that il, on adopting the federal
constitution. the states did no, "retain their entire
sorersignty." that they then absolutely ceased to
be sovereign or supreme, in the legitimate mean.
ing of The torn, because sovereignty is of necess.
ity indiVisible-the term sovereign being, as every