And in this way it is by no means improbable that, as Grimm the
German and Candolle the Frenchman long since foretold, the language of
Shakespeare may ultimately become the language of mankind.
In view of these considerations as to the stupendous future of the
English race, does it not seem very probable that in due course of time
Europe--which has learned some valuable lessons from America
already--will find it worth while to adopt the lesson of federalism?
Probably the European states, in order to preserve their relative weight
in the general polity of the world, will find it necessary to do so. In
that most critical period of American history between the winning of
independence and the framing of the Constitution, one of the strongest
of the motives which led the confederated states to sacrifice part of
their sovereignty by entering into a federal union was their keen sense
of their weakness when taken severally. In physical strength such a
state as Massachusetts at that time amounted to little more than Hamburg
or Bremen; but the thirteen states taken together made a nation of
respectable power. Even the wonderful progress we have made in a century
has not essentially changed this relation of things. Our greatest state,
New York, taken singly, is about the equivalent of Belgium; our weakest
state, Nevada, would scarcely be a match for tha county of Dorset; yet
the United States, taken together, are probably at this moment the
strongest nation in the world.
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