each department to its own field, declares that this is done "to the end it
may be a government of laws and not of men."

The third class of limitations I have mentioned are those made necessary by
the novel system which I have described as superimposing upon a federation
of state governments, a national government acting directly upon the
individual citizens of the states. This expedient was wholly unknown before
the adoption of our constitution. All the confederations which had been
attempted before that time were simply leagues of states, and whatever
central authority there was derived its authority from and had its
relations with the states as separate bodies politic. This was so of the
old confederation. Each citizen owed his allegiance to his own state
and each state had its obligations to the confederation. Under our
constitutional system in every part of the territory of every state
there are two sovereigns, and every citizen owes allegiance to both
sovereigns--to his state and to his nation. In regard to some matters,
which may generally be described as local, the state is supreme. In regard
to other matters, which may generally be described as national, the nation
is supreme. It is plain that to maintain the line between these two
sovereignties operating in the same territory and upon the same citizens is
a matter of no little difficulty and delicacy. Nothing has involved more
constant discussion in our political history than questions of conflict
between these two powers, and we fought the great Civil War to determine
the question whether in case of conflict the allegiance to the state or the
allegiance to the nation was of superior obligation. We should observe that
the Civil War arose because the constitution did not draw a clear line
between the national and state powers regarding slavery. It is of very
great importance that both of these authorities, state and national, shall
be preserved together and that the limitations which keep each within its
proper province shall be maintained. If the power of the states were to