Condy Raguet

“ The history of the United States forcibly admonishes the people of America that they should suffer no invasion of their political Constitutions (however trivial the instance may appear,) to pass away without a determined persevering resistance. The future evils of a bad example in Government are far heavier than any immediate mischief that can possibly result. Every unreproved invasion of our political constitutions invites the crusades of arbitrary power against the public liberties ”

“ It is, on the contrary, his solemn duty to recommend, either the abandonment of the usurpation or the call of the Convention of the States—And hence, if the Executive perform his duty, [and he has no power to do otherwise] there can be neither violence nor any risk of Disunion. It is, in fact, the very repugnance and aversion which we entertain to the idea of Disunion that causes us to revolt at the remedy of Secession which has been maintained by Col. Drayton to be the only rightful Remedy of the States, on the failure of reason and remonstrance. ”

“ If regardless of our duty as citizens, and our solemn obligations as Representatives—regardless of the Rights of our constituents—regardless of every sanction human and divine, we are ready to violate the Constitution we have sworn to defend; will the people submit to our unauthorized acts; will the states sanction our usurped power? ”

“ But the Committee who drafted the Constitution unhesitatingly rejected it as repugnant to the spirit of our Institutions and in derogation of the Sovereignty of the States.
Ineed the entire scheme of our government, on its very face, and from its very nature, is simply one of mutual benefits, and separate advantages. The idea of Force is utterly abhorrent to its character. Has it ever been pretended that the States which have entered into the Union and adopted the General Compact, were compelled by coercion to do so? ”

“ Under these circumstances none but madmen would attempt an usurpation.—But Sir, the People themselves, have it in their power effectually to resist usurpation, without being driven to an appeal to arms. An act of usurpation is not obligatory—it is not law!! Any man may be justified in his resistance to it. Let him be considered as a criminal by the General Government—yet his own fellow citizens alone can convict him.—They are his Jury ”

“ Reasonable men, those who regarded the Union of the States as the anchor of political safety, and the supremacy of the Laws as the trident by which every thing dear was to be protected, shuddered at the sight of a powerful State arrayed in arms, under the sanction of the Legislative authority, to oppose the execution of a judicial decision.—That the seat of this insurrection should have been in the streets of our largest City—that in the face of day the Marshal of the District should be braved by eight obscure men of no influence, no consideration in society ”

“ We must be reduced to the miserable extremity of opposing force to force, and arraying citizen against citizen, for it is vain to expect that the States will submit to manifest and flagrant usurpations of power by the United States, if (which God forbid) they ever attempt them. If Congress should pass a Bill of Attainder, or lay a tax or duty on articles exported from any State, (from both which powers they are expressly excluded) such laws would be null and void, and all persons who acted under them, would be subject to actions in the State Courts. ”

“ With them we propose to enact laws of restriction and penalty, to arrest the progress of the evil," and when the severity of our laws shall be complained of, we will offer a compromise, (such as theirs,) of repealing the penalties upon the withdrawal of the obnoxious acts. With them, we solemnly declare, that we propose such measures in no spirit of hostility to the Union, but merely, in the event of refusal to annul the oppressive acts, to bring the question before the nation—that is a Convention of the States. ”

“ Yet these cases do not, and will not, frequently occur: for in ordinary cases, it is ever found that juries are content to abide by the opinion of a majority—but in those rare cases in which an individual juryman finds himself bound, on principle, to resist to the utmost, and under every privation and suffering, a decision, of whose injustice he has a perfect conviction, he practises a rightful and a righteous nullification, which has often effected the most blessed results, and established the most sacred ends of justice. ”

“ On the 9th of July, 1778, "Articles of confederation and perpetual Union" were adopted, "between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, &c.," to the number of thirteen States—which articles commence thus: "The style of this confederacy shall be the United States of America.
"Each State retains its Sovereignty, Freedom and Independence, and every power, jurisdiction and right, which is not, by this Confederation expressly delegated to the U. States in Congress assembled." ”

“ It behoves the General Assembly, even if a compromise be effected, to take measures for vindicating the character of the State, and also for awakening the attention of the separate States to the consequences that may result from the doctrines of the Federal Courts upon the question that have arisen. And besides, as it is possible that the proposition of compromise may not be accepted, it is the duty of the General Assembly to take ulterior measures for asserting and maintaining the Rights of the State. ”

“ But it has been said that this power in each state, of arresting within its own limits, the unlawful Acts of the Federal Government, would render that Government less powerful than even the little State of Delaware. To this we reply, that this peculiarity in our system (which is urged as a defect) is its greatest excellence—namely that the smallest State in our Union is more powerful for all Constitutional purposes, than the combined departments of the Federal Government for unconstitutional objects. ”

“ The United States have no power, legislative or judicial except what is derived from the Constitution. When these powers are clearly exceeded, the independence of the States, and the peace of the Union demand that the State Courts should, in cases brought properly before them, give redress. ”

“ So again, each of these States has an equal representation in the higher branch of the Federal Legislature, of which it cannot be deprived—and in this branch a majority of the States, forming, perhaps, a minority of the people may arrest (or nullify) the measures of a majority of that people in the same house, and of a vast majority of the people in the houses below. ”

“ Thus we find that Virginia, in 1798, under the sanction of such men as Jefferson and Madison, not only recognized the principle, but actually passed an Act, enforcing the practice of the doctrine of Nullification. This Act, it is true, only extended to the members of her Legislature. But their can be no doubt that a general act would have soon followed, extending to all citizens of Virginia, if the Alien and Sedition Laws had been re-enacted or continued in force. ”

“ On such occasions passive submission would, on the part of the people, be a breach of their allegiance, and, on our part, treachery and perjury—For the people are bound, by their allegiance, and we are additionally bound by our oaths, to support the Constitution and the State—and we are responsible to the people and to our God for the faithful execution of the trust. ”

“ Even thus it is with each State of our Union in similar cases of insidious and intolerable injustice—each has the power and the right to arrest the oppression of a majority, by her veto, until justice is vindicated, and the right prevails.
The operation of this remedy would be wholly through the juries of the country—and we consider the following to be a perfect definition of nullification, viz: the arresting of federal usurpation by carrying an entire case to a jury, under a State law, enabling that jury to give a verdict upon the blended fact and law (under the direction of the judge;) ”

“ Resolved, That the Act of Congress passed on the 12th July, 1798, entitled "An Act in addition to the Act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States," is not law, but is altogether void and of no effect. ”

“ We are told by our opponents, that the Northern States, with few exceptions, are equally opposed to the Tariff with ourselves, and that they equally suffer from its oppressions; as Consumers alone are the subjects of the Tax. ”

“ That some of these Colonies adopted separate constitution and declarations of independence previous to the adoption of similar measures by a general action of the Colonies—for instance, South Carolina and Virginia established independent constitutions and forms of government several months previous to the general Declaration of Independence—upwards of two years antecedent to the "Articles of Confederation"—and twelve years before the adoption of the present Federal Constitution—acting, for all that period, as perfectly distinct and independent sovereignties. ”

“ It will be for our State, through her appropriate Representatives, in her Legislature, or in Convention, to determine, in their sound discretion, upon the fit time for its application. let all doubts but be satisfied as to the Right, and the question of expediency will be of lesser moment and easier solution. Though we cannot for ourselves see aught to be gained by continued delay, save the steady increase and permanent fixture of the usurpation and the gradual destruction of our powers and our spirit of resistance. ”

“ For no sophistry [however ingenious] can blind our eyes to the simple and self-evident proposition that as much of the European Articles with which our produce is purchased, as is taken in Duty from the Merchant, so much the less can he pay the planter for that produce ”

“ Resolved, That this assembly highly approve the conduct of his Excellency the Governor in declining to designate persons to carry into effect, by aid of military powers, the Acts of the United States, enforcing the embargo—and that his letter, addressed to the Secretary at War, containing his refusal to make such designation, be recorded in the public records of this State, as an example to persons who may hold places of distinguished trust in this Free and Independent Republic. ”

“ But who doubts for a moment that if C. J. Tilghman had decided in favour of Pennsylvania, the nullification would have been continued and carried out?
It however so happened in this case that Pennsylvania was in the wrong—as every lawyer must know; the U. S. Courts having full jurisdiction in Admiralty cases. ”

“ Resolved, That the several States, composing the United States of America, are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their General Government, but that by a compact under the style and title of a Constitution for the United States, and of amendments thereto, they constituted a General Government for special purposes ”

“ But if she had been in the right, or if there had been the greatest doubt of the right being with the United States, as there is in our case of the Tariff—and if her Chief Justice had decided in her favour, Pennsylvania never would have yielded—never would have withdrawn her nullification.
But to pretend to deny that she did nullify at all in the case of Olmstead is the height of absurdity, and is, in fact, what no man of sense would attempt to do; for in truth there were no less than four instances of complete nullification in the course of these proceedings, viz. ”

“ And if any member or members of the said Senate or House of Delegates, shall be arrested or imprisoned, for or on account of any words spoken or written, or for any proposition made, or proceedings had, in the said Senate or House of Delegates, such member or members may apply to the General Court, or to a superior court of law, or any Judge thereof, in vacation, for a writ of Habeas Corpus, who are hereby empowered and required to issue the same, returnable before the said Court or said Judge, and upon the return thereof, to liberate and discharge such member or members. ”

“ The assertion having been repeatedly made, by various writers in the Consolidation journals of this city, and throughout the country, that the rightful and peaceable, though much vituperated, State remedy of Nullification had never been in reality recognized, vindicated, or enforced, by any of the States of this Union ”

“ If there should be an usurpation, it will not be upon the farmer and merchant occupied solely with their several pursuits—It will be upon thirteen Legislatures completely organized, possessed of the confidence of the people, and having the means, as well as the inclination to oppose it successfully. ”

“ All apprehensions of the too frequent assertion of this power, are surely idle and unfounded: for the odium of the world would not readily be encountered without abundant cause to justify, and ample grounds to sustain, its adoption. ”

“ But we deny in toto this theory of the Consumer alone being the sufferer from this system, and aver it to be our perfect conviction that the tax upon the Consumer is comparatively insignificant, whilst the almost entire burthen falls upon the Southern Planter in the diminished value of his produce, resulting from this restriction upon its exchangeable values. ”

“ On the 27th February, 1809, Governor Snyder sent a message to the Legislature of Pennsylvania, informing them of the peremptory Mandamus, and that he was making preparations to call out a portion of the Militia to protect the persons and property of the Executrices against any process that might be issued under the Mandamus. ”

“ In pursuance of which on the 16th of October, 1786, the Virginia Legislature passed an Act for the "appointment of seven deputies by joint ballot at both Houses of Assembly" "to meet such deputies as may be appointed by other staets, to meet in Philadelphia, for the purpose of revising the Federal constitution"— (See the Act, Elliot's Debates, vol. 4, p. 30.) ”

“ Projects of usurpations cannot be masked under pretences so likely to escape the penetration of select bodies of men, as of the people at large. The Legislatures will have better means of information. They can discover the danger at a distance ”