We are in no danger from violations of the Constitution by which
encroachments are made upon the personal rights of the citizen. The
sentence of condemnation long since pronounced by the American people
upon acts of that character will, I doubt not, continue to prove as
salutary in its effects as it is irreversible in its nature. But against
the dangers of unconstitutional acts which, instead of menacing the
vengeance of offended authority, proffer local advantages and bring
in their train the patronage of the Government, we are, I fear, not so
safe. To suppose that because our Government has been instituted for the
benefit of the people it must therefore have the power to do whatever
may seem to conduce to the public good is an error into which even
honest minds are too apt to fall. In yielding themselves to this fallacy
they overlook the great considerations in which the Federal Constitution
was founded. They forget that in consequence of the conceded diversities
in the interest and condition of the different States it was foreseen at
the period of its adoption that although a particular measure of the
Government might be beneficial and proper in one State it might be the
reverse in another; that it was for this reason the States would not
consent to make a grant to the Federal Government of the general and
usual powers of government, but of such only as were specifically
enumerated, and the probable effects of which they could, as they
thought, safely anticipate; and they forget also the paramount
obligation upon all to abide by the compact then so solemnly and, as
it was hoped, so firmly established.
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