The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-07-28

Corpse
ton to the study of the subject from
constitutional standpoint. In this age
1t is taken as matter of course that
upon the call of the president the peo
pie shall respond without hesitation and
without inquiry. This was not always
the case in our republic, for it is in the
memory of living men that the gov
ernors of sovereign states have refused
to call their state militia organizations
into the federal services at the request
of the constitutional commander-in-
chief of the army and navy.
The doctrine of state sovereignty was
promulgated from the beginning of the
history of the republic, and the de-
tenders of that Interpretation of the
constitution were among the strongest
men in the forensic arena of congress.
1t was the doctrine of state sovereignty
that really brought about the civil war
That doctrine was finally interpreted
by the supreme court of battle, and
upon many fields, in the deadly grapple
between the sections,i it was decided that
the United States government is a
national government and not a separa-
BILE confederacy. 1t was settled by the
civil war that the sovereign states of
this republic are all of them subordinate
to the general government at Washing
ton; although each of the sovereign
states retains its independent charac-
teristics and maintains its independent
functions, just as thoroughly as before
the civil war, just as completely as
though there had been no civil war.
We owe it to the doctrine of state SOW
ereignty that the Dominion of Canada
is not an integral portion of this repub-
lie. We owe it to the doctrine of state
sovereignty that our northern boundary
is fixed at the great lakes and the ST.
Lawrence instead of at the north pole
1t was because of the doctrine of state
sovereignty that the governors of the
New England states refused to respond
to the call of President Madison, when,
on June 10, 1912. he declared this coun-
try to be at war with Great Britain and
her dependencies.
1t will be news to the younger read
ers, probably, that the doctrine of state
sovereignty was carried to this extent
by the New England states so early in
the history of the republic, because the
prevailing impression seems to be that
the doctrine of state sovereignty was
put forth and maintained by the people
of the southern states, who finally
fought for that doctrine during four
years of most bloody war; war car
ried on, on both sides, by brave Ameri-
can soldiers. Such, however, is the
case, and, instead of considering the
confederates as the first rebels against
the government at Washington, we
must know and remember that Roger
Griswold, governor of Connecticut, was
the first rebel, and that his defiance of
federal supremacy was sustained by the
people of his state.
If it had not been for the recalcitrancy
of the New England men the war of
1912 would have been concluded with
the loss of Canada by England and the
annexation of that territory by the
United States; because the young re-
public achieved ultimate victory in
that war anu was dDle 10 dictate terms
of peace. The philosophers of history
have often specialized upon the posi-
bilities which might have resulted if
the doctrine of state sovereignty had
not been sprung upon the republic Mt
that time. 1t is fairly assumed that, by
this time, the republic of the United
States would have extended from the
frozen fields of the arctic regions unto
the lsthmus of Panama.
When President James Madison de-
clared war the republic was as unpre-
pared for that event as it was when war
was declared against Spain. There was
ample cause for the war and the COM
mander-in-chef never doubted for
moment that all of Me people of this
republic would promptly and enthusi
astically sustain him. There was an
enormous extent of frontier on the
northern and northwestern lines to be
defended against British regulars,
Canadian militia and the indians The
region northwest of the Mississippi
was wilderness. The Atlantic sea-
board was almost defenseless. Against
the greatest of all naval powers the
young American republic presented 16
fTigates, ships and armed briggs, 1865
Punboa and hastIiy constructed forts