Not to the
Federal Government; for they disclaimed, as a fundamental principle, the
sovereignty of any government. There was no such surrender, no such
transfer, in whole or in part, expressed or implied. They retained, and
intended to retain, their sovereignty in its integrity--undivided and
indivisible.
"But, indeed," says Mr. Motley, "the words 'sovereign' and 'sovereignty'
are purely inapplicable to the American system. In the Declaration of
Independence the provinces declare themselves 'free and independent
States,' but the men of those days knew that the word 'sovereign' was a
term of feudal origin. When their connection with a time-honored feudal
monarchy was abruptly severed, the word 'sovereign' had no meaning for
us."[62]
If this be true, "the men of those days" had a very extraordinary way of
expressing their conviction that the word "had no meaning for us." We
have seen that, in the very front of their Articles of Confederation,
they set forth the conspicuous declaration that each State retained "its
_sovereignty_, freedom, and independence."
Massachusetts--the State, I believe, of Mr. Motley's nativity and
citizenship--in her original Constitution, drawn up by "men of those
days," made this declaration:
"The people inhabiting the territory formerly called the
Province of Massachusetts Bay do hereby solemnly and mutually
agree with each other to form themselves into a free,
_sovereign_, and independent body politic, or State, by the name
of _The Commonwealth of Massachusetts_.
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