“It is federal, because it is the government of States united in a political union, in contradistinction to a government of individuals, that is, by what is usually called, a social compact. To express it more concisely, it is federal and not national because it is the government of a community of States, and not the government of a single State or Nation.” StatesGovernmentPoliticalIndividualNationsSocialCommunityUnitedUnionsCompact Book:A DISQUISITION ON GOVERNMENT AND A DISCOURSE ON THE CONSTITUTIONA ND GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES Source: A DISQUISITION ON GOVERNMENT AND A DISCOURSE ON THE CONSTITUTIONA ND GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES
“I have the highest veneration of those Gentleman, -- but, Sir, give me leave to demand, what right had they to say, We, the People? My political curiosity, exclusive of my anxious solicitude for the public welfare, leads me to ask who authorized them to speak the language of, We, the People, instead of We, the States? States are the characteristics, and the soul of the confederation. If the States be not the agents of this compact, it must be one of great consolidated National Government of the people of all the States.” PeopleIfsGivingSoulStatesGovernmentPoliticalAsksSpeakLanguageDemandHighestConstitutionGive MeCuriosityAgentsWelfareGentlemanCharacteristicsAnxiousSovereigntyExclusiveLeading MeCompactVenerationSolicitudeConfederationPublic Welfare Author:Patrick Henry