ving been a State out of the Union.
The original ones passed into the Union even before they cast off their
British colonial dependence, and the new ones each came into the Union
directly from a condition of dependence, excepting Texas. And even Texas
in its temporary independence was never designated a State. The new ones
only took the designation of States on coming into the Union, while that
name was first adopted for the old ones in and by the Declaration of
Independence. Therein the "United Colonies" were declared to be "free
and independent States;" but even then the object plainly was, not to
declare their independence of one another or of the Union, but directly
the contrary, as their mutual pledges and their mutual action before, at
the time, and afterward abundantly show. The express plighting of faith
by each and all of the original thirteen in the Articles of
Confederation two years later, that the Union shall be perpetual, is
most conclusive. Having never been States, either in substance or name,
outside of the Union, whence this magical omnipotence of "State-Rights,"
asserting a claim of power to lawfully destroy the Union itself? Much is
said about the "sovereignty" of the States; but the word is not in the
National Constitution, nor, as is believed, in any of the State
constitutions. What is _sovereignty_ in the political sense of the term?
Would it be far wrong to define it "a political community without a
political superior?" Tested by this, no one of our States, except Texas,
ever was a sovereignty. And even Texas gave up the character on coming
into the Union, by which act she acknowledged the Constitution of the
United States, and the laws and treaties of the United States made in
pursuance of the Constitution, to be for her the supreme law of the
land. The States have their status in the Union, and they have no other
legal status. If they break from this, they can only do so against law
and by revolution. The Union, and not themselves separately, procured
their independence and their liberty. By conquest or purchase, the Union
gave each of them whatever of independence or liberty it has. The Union
is older than any of the States, and, in fact, it created them as
States. Originally some dependent colonies made the Union, and in turn
the Union threw off their old dependence for them, and made them States,
such as they are. Not one of them ever had a State constitution
independent of the Union. Of cours