A HISTORY AND ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, WITH A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE CONFEDERATIONS WHICH PRECEDED IT; OF THE JUDICIAL DECISIONS WHICH HAVE CONSTRUED IT ; WITH PAPERS AND TABLES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE ACTION OF THE GOVERN- BY NATHANIEL C. TOWLE, COUNSELLOR AT LAW, WASHINGTON, D.Ø. THIRD EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED. BOSTON: LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY, Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1871, by N. C. TOWLE, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. CAMBRIDGE: PRESSWORK BY JOHN WILSON AND SON. PREFACE. I PRESENT to the citizens of the United States an account of the proceedings which established the political institutions, from which have originated, and by which are maintained, their freedom and their prosperity. I purpose to show how, by a movement at first almost imperceptible, but increasing in the progress of time, until it assumed the attitude of independence, the Colonies of America became a Confederation, and finally a republic of States. I intend to exhibit the results of the deliberations of every convention or congress of the colonies and States, from that which assembled at Boston within the first half century of their settlement, to that which, in 1787, finally established the basis of our government. My object is not so much to give a detailed history of each particular step of our national progress, as to familiarize the people with the original principles of the government under which they now live. I endeavor to do this by offering to the public such a statement of the origin of our Constitution, and of the confederations, conventions, judicial decisions, and other papers which relate to its adoption and practical operation, as will convey a clear idea of the elements of which our national polity is composed. And it need not be said, that the more widely and accurately the essential principles and the proper functions of the political institutions of a State become known to its members, the more enlightened will be the legislation emanating from those who make their laws, and the more just will be the administration of their laws, and consequently the more will their general welfare and prosperity be promoted. In the hope that this volume will, in some degree, assist in the attainment of such results, and that its operation upon the minds of those who peruse it, may be productive of some benefit to the interests of our country, I venture to submit this work to the American people. N. C. TOWLE. WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 1, 1860. PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. BROAD and trackless oceans separate the Old World from the New. Equally separated are the principles which underlie and give form and vitality to the institutions that prevail in the two hemispheres. The institutions of the Old World are founded in precedent, and derive their strength from the mouldering elements of the dead past. American institutions, on the contrary, are implanted in the living present, and depend, for their strength and vitality, upon the progressive development of the human mind. Asiatic and European nations and peoples are enthralled and impeded in their efforts for improvement by the chains and manacles, the intricate web and woof of inherited tyranny; all of which our fathers, when they emigrated to this New World, were wise enough to leave behind. The May Flower brought no parchment. And this is not the only evidence we have of the good sense of our fathers, for they not only brought none of the monuments of feudal power with them, but they suffered none to be imposed upon them subsequently; and made no attempt to impose them upon their descendants. In their minds, after almost vainly struggling for recognition for more than sixteen centuries, the great principle seemed to dawn that government is made for man, and not man for the government. And this great principle is the spirit-the soul of the Constitution of the United States. As embodying this |