Year: 1865

STATE RIGHTS About the last issue of the
Richmond Enquirer, previous to the capture of
the City, it made the declaration that States
Rights was "the weakness Of cur cause" and
that the theory is beautiful, "but in practice it
is utterly defective" It was peryersion of the
States Rights doctrine that brought the South
to make the attempt of secesson and after it
was too late the extreme advocates of States
Rights in the rebel States, discovered their mis-
take; that the absolute sovereignty of States
was simply beautiful in theory, but led to dis
integration and anarchy when brought into
practice. 1t was found that even the Southern
States, blended together as they were by COM
mon political ties and domestic interests, could
not maintain government founded upon that
principle. A State could, whenever it become
dissatisfied with the operations of the govern
ment of the so-called Southern Confederacy,
secede at pleasure. None of the States did ac-
tually secede, but the right to do so was un-
doubted, and some of them were constantly
threatening to do so. This DESTROYED the faith
Of the people in regard to the stability of their
government, and the lack of unanmity in prin-
ciple and action, which followed from this
source, had powerful tendency to bring about
the downfall of secession and Southern Iude-
pendence. General Lee confesses that the de-
struction Of the Confederate government carries
with it the overthrow of the States Rights doc
trine. The doctrine, as construed by Southern
factonists inaugurated secession and civil war
and now after thorough trial in practice of
four years of bloody war, it is pronounced by
its former supporters, delusion, inadequate in
its foundation principle for the government of a
nation. The government of the United States
which declares that its Constitution and the
laws made in pursuance thereof shall be the su-
preme law Of the land, anything in the consti-
tuition or laws Of any State to the contrary not
withstanding, has come out triumphant in its
great battle against insurrection and secession.
The Federal government has shown itself sufIi-
ciently strong to put down stupendous rebel
lion and crush ont the miserable dogma that
the subordinate State governments have the
right to secede from it upon any pretext Still,
no sensible person will contend that the States
have no reserved rights, Independent of the gen.
eral government The Constitution declares
that "the enumeration IL the Constitution, of
certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people" And
again, in Art 9, amendments of the Constitu-
tion, is the following: ''The powers not dele
gated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved
TO the States respectively, or to the people,


AL powers not delegated, nor prohibited by
the Constitution, are reserved to the States or
the people thereof. Among the reserved rights
it was held by the Confederate leaders of the
South, was the right of secession; but the Con-
stitutioa shows the fallacy of that doctrine by
the clause in which the power 10 staHtvd the
general government, "TO provide for calling
forth the militia to execute the laws of the
Union suppress instructions and repel inva-
sions." So it is clear that among the rights
which remain with the States, the right to rebel
against the lawful authority Of the United
States, does not exist.