DEDICATION.

ΤΟ

All true friends of the Union under the Constitution of the United States, throughout their entire limits, without regard to present or past party associations; and to all true friends of Constitutional Liberty, the world over, now and forever, especially to all, everywhere, who may, now or hereafter, look to the Federative System, between neighboring Free Democratic States, as the surest means of saving Mankind from ultimate universal Monarchical Rule, this Work, with all the earnestness of his nature, which the great subject thoroughly awakens, is hereby, not formally, but most solemnly and sacredly, dedicated by the

Liberty Hall, Crawfordville, Ga., 16 Dec'r, 1867.

AUTHOR.

MR. STEPHENS'S UNION SPEECH OF 1860 THE SUBJECT ON WHICH THE

DISCUSSION BEGINS-THE MOST THOROUGH DEVOTION TO THE UNION

CONSISTENT WITH THE RECOGNISED SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEVERAL

STATES-THE UNION ITSELF IS A UNION OF SOVEREIGN STATES-THE

WHOLE SUBJECT OF THE WAR, ITS CAUSES, NATURE, AND CHARACTER,

OPENED UP BY A QUESTION PROPOUNDED, HOW MR. STEPHENS WITH

HIS SENSE OF DUTY COULD GO WITH HIS STATE ON SECESSION AGAINST

THE UNION?-BEFORE GOING INTO A FULL ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION,

TWO PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS MADE, ONE RELATING TO CITIZEN-

SHIP, THE OTHER TO THE SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND-CITIZENSHIP

PERTAINS TO THE STATES-OBEDIENCE IS DUE TO THE SUPREME LAW

WHILE IT IS LAW, BUT ALLEGIANCE IS DUE TO THE PARAMOUNT AU-

THORITY-OBEDIENCE TO LAW WHILE IT IS LAW, AND ALLEGIANCE

WHICH IS DUE TO THE PARAMOUNT AUTHORITY WHICH CAN RIGHT-

FULLY MAKE AND UNMAKE ALL LAWS, CONSTITUTIONS AS WELL AS

OTHERS, ARE VERY DIFFERENT THINGS-THE QUESTION PROPOUNDED

REQUIRES A THOROUGH INQUIRY AS TO WHERE, UNDER OUR SYSTEM,

THIS PARAMOUNT AUTHORITY RESIDES.

COLLOQUY II.

CON-

INQUIRY INTO THE
THE NATURE OF THE UNION—A BRIEF HISTORICAL

SKETCH THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE-THE FIRST

FEDERATION-A COMPACT BETWEEN SOVEREIGN STATES-JUDGE STORY

REVIEWED.

17

50

COLLOQUY IIL

HISTORY OF THE UNION TRACED-ANALYSIS OF THE ARTICLES OF CON-

FEDERATION-THE DEFECTS IN THEM TREATED OF THE CALL OF THE

FEDERAL CONVENTION TO REMODEL THEM-THE SOLE OBJECT OF THIS

CONVENTION WAS TO REVISE THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND

NOT TO CHANGE THE BASIS OR CHARACTER OF THE UNION-THIS

APPEARS FROM THE CALL ITSELF AS WELL AS THE RESPONSES OF THE

STATES TO IT-THERE WAS NO INTENTION TO CHANGE THE FEDERAL

CHARACTER OF THE UNION.

82

#