Whereas the good people of the States of this Federal Union, from the origin of their colonial existence, have been recognized as distinct and separate communities in their political actions and forms of Government, and in their relations towards each other, as the exigency seemed to prompt, have employed various modes of association—by a Continental Congress, by Articles of Confederation, and last under the present Constitution—with a view of forming a more perfect Union, still cautiously providing a reservation of all rights not delegated, and retaining their respective forms of State government: and whereas these various changes and modifications have always been effected peaceably and by voluntary consent and agreement: and whereas, in the present juncture of our affairs, it is the deliberate and settled opinion of many well-dis-posed citizens in all of the States, that this last form of government, by the action of time and by the force of circumstances not foreseen by its illustrious framers, and beyond the control of human agency, has ceased to answer all the purposes of its creation and threatens to become destructive of some of the great objects it was intended to accomplish, either through irremediable perversions of its powers, or possibly through its legitimate action; and in order to check its revolutionary tendencies and provide reasonable safeguards for the better security of the just exercise of its proper functions, so as to perpetuate the high aims designed by its founders, and still continue its blessings of constitutional government to each and every State in its reversed and Federal relations’ and that to effectuate this purpose amendments have become necessary, or, if this rendered impossible by the antagonistic interests that have supervened, that then each State should be formally reinvested with all its powers as a distinct and independent nationality, and placed in a position, by common consent, to provide for its own security as fully as if no powers had even been delegated: and whereas we fully recognize the great political truth that the sovereign people of each State are competent to manage their own affairs, to organize, reorganize, or change their form of government deliberately and without violence: and whereas a convention of all the States is among the modes prescribed by the Constitution, (and probably intended to provide for cases where general revision had become necessary,) by which amendments may be made, if the present form of government is to be continued: and whereas much ap-prehension prevails among the good people of all the States that our whole system, State and Federal, may prove a […], and we think without just cause, and a very grave crisis has been reached in the progress of the Republic, requiring the most calm, profound, and deliberate action on the part of all the State and Federal authority, and es-pecially of the Representatives of the people in Congress assembled: and whereas we have good reason to believe that certain States of the Union are about to withdraw from its jurisdiction by all the authentic modes recognized as regular by State action, alleging for cause repeated and persistent violations of the compact of the Union by certain other States, and that they are hopeless of preserving the inalienable and reserved rights of their people, and maintaining good and orderly government within their limits under the existing system: and whereas it is the part of wisdom to ascertain, […], the cause of these troubles, and provide, if possible, an adequate remedy and secure a continuance of the blessings of constitutional liberty to ourselves and our posterity forever under the present form of government: and whereas serious doubts are entertained whether ample and competent provision can be made under the existing federation to insure to all the States and the people thereof the full measure of their in-alienable and constitutional rights; and that the time as come when other plans must be devised to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty to the people of all the States: and whereas, if the latter opinion be really well founded, it is proper that an amicable settlement shall be made without unnecessary delay, and an equitable adjustment of all matters between the States separating from each other, so that each and every State and the people thereof may know their precise duties and obligations in that event, and no justifiable cause of disturbance may take place in the future, as far as human foresight can guard against it; and further to enable them, as they have lived so long together in the bonds of Federal Union, to acquiesce peaceably in the necessity that compels them to separate; and further to provide, in case of disagreement in the future, some plan, if possible, by which the same may be speedily and fairly adjusted: Therefore,

Resolved, That the select committee appointed on the President’s message inquire, among other things, if any measures can be adopted to preserve in their purity the constitutional rights of all the States within the Union; and if, in their judgement, this be impracticable, then farther to inquire as to the most reasonable and just mode by which their rights may be secured in a state of separation, each sovereign State, in that event, being repossessed of its delegated authority to the Federal Union, and adjusting the relative liabilities of each, with such other measures of fair settlement as may appear to them just; and recommend, also, some plan in that event, by which, in the future if any disputes shall arise, they may be fairly and speedily settled.

• Resolution on Constitutional Rights and the Federal Union (introduced on 1860-12-12 12:00:00 - CREATE - e811902) [This document] [view current proposal at this moment]
  • None (introduced on 1860-12-12 12:00:00 - REPORT_PROPOSAL - e811911) [view current proposal at this moment]