because he is himself a man, fashioned by the same Almighty hand as the
rest of his species and entitled to a full share of the blessings with
which He has endowed them. Notwithstanding the limited sovereignty
possessed by the people of the United States and the restricted grant
of power to the Government which they have adopted, enough has been
given to accomplish all the objects for which it was created. It has
been found powerful in war, and hitherto justice has been administered,
and intimate union effected, domestic tranquillity preserved, and
personal liberty secured to the citizen. As was to be expected,
however, from the defect of language and the necessarily sententious
manner in which the Constitution is written, disputes have arisen as to
the amount of power which it has actually granted or was intended to
grant.

This is more particularly the case in relation to that part of the
instrument which treats of the legislative branch, and not only as
regards the exercise of powers claimed under a general clause giving
that body the authority to pass all laws necessary to carry into effect
the specified powers, but in relation to the latter also. It is,
however, consolatory to reflect that most of the instances of alleged
departure from the letter or spirit of the Constitution have ultimately
received the sanction of a majority of the people. And the fact that
many of our statesmen most distinguished for talent and patriotism have
been at one time or other of their political career on both sides of
each of the most warmly disputed questions forces upon us the inference
that the errors, if errors there were, are attributable to the
intrinsic difficulty in many instances of ascertaining the intentions
of the framers of the Constitution rather than the influence of any
sinister or unpatriotic motive. But the great danger to our
institutions does not appear to me to be in a usurpation by the