But this is not the case. There is no
divided sovereignty, no divided allegiance. Sovereignty is one,
and vests not in the General government or in the State
government, but in the United States, and allegiance is due to
the United States, and to them alone. Treason can be committed
only against the United States, and against a State only because
against the United States, and is properly cognizable only by the
Federal courts. Hence the Union men committed no treason in
refusing to submit to the secession ordinances of their
respective States, and in sustaining the national arms against
secession.
There are two very common mistakes: the one that the States
individually possess all the powers not delegated to the General
government; and the other that the Union, or United States, have
only delegated powers. But the United States possess all the
powers of a sovereign state, and the States individually and the
General government possess only such powers as the United States
in convention delegate to them respectively. The sovereign is
neither the General government nor the States severally, but the
United States in convention. The United States are the one
indivisible sovereign, and this sovereign governs alike general
matters in the General government, and particular matters in the
several State governments. All legal authority in either
emanates from this one indivisible and plenary sovereign, and
hence the law enacted by a State are really enacted by the United
States, and derive from them their force and vitality as laws.
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